Horrors of War Pictures, Primary Day in Indiana, The Rocket and Confession

Of note these past few days:

-via Arianna Huffington's blog, the horrors of war revisited with new found pictures of the aftermath of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The hideous aftermath.

-primary day here in Indiana. First time in a long time it makes a difference. Diane and I both took advantage of the mail-in-your-vote option which we did last Thursday. One thing for sure: Hillary is a fighter; hard to believe that she is still in there slugging it out. And it is very much not over. She got our votes.

-heard on the radio yesterday that Roger Clemens had apologized to his family and fans for unspecified mistakes in his past, a public confession of sorts with the hope that he will receive both his family's and the public's forgiveness, or maybe acceptance, that he is human after all. Just read the NYTimes article. You know, maybe that's not all that bad an idea, that we make this general confession every now and then, ask others to recognize that we are fallible. Of course, asking others to recognize that we are fallible doesn't necessarily mean that we are admitting to ourselves that we are fallible. Expect Roger Clemens still has a pretty fair opinion of himself; seems like that kind of guy.

Fine day to do just about anything. Like go vote. Like go golf.

Supposed legal justification for torture, new Hoosier coach

Picture: A little reading time for Leah.

Of Note:

-WaPo lead article reveals legal argument for torture. This guy Yoo was off the deep end from the start as far as I'm concerned. He obviously believes in an imperial presidency and the god like powers of the president in times of crisis. What I don't understand is that the WH believes that a memo from the Justice Department gives them cover and authority. I mean, John Yoo as the final say on what is law? Come on. Of course, maybe he's just a handy fall guy for the press and others to point to and blame. (Lots of blame to go around and it's the guy in the WH that holds the buck - you remember Harry-the-buck-stops-here guy.)

-lots of activity and energy all around me as Diane and Danielle and Naomi and Leah get ready to head north for a couple of days. Might be a tad quiet around here during that time, especially if I'm at the golf course.

-Tom Crean new coach of the Indiana Hoosiers boys basketball team. Looks like a very good choice to my very nonexpert eyes. Kravitz gives his two cents worth here.

More Spitzer, a Political Compass, Obama and Clinton

News of Note:

-Eliot Spitzer is still the hot news item with even PBS devoting a segment to the 'situation' last night. John Kennedy and Nelson Rockefeller (among many I am sure) might be thinking that they were pretty lucky to have lived in an earlier time when the sexual lives of the rich and famous were considered private.
--Update: from the Indy Star (!): Spitzer story a boon to comics.

-Marty sent me this political compass guide which is verrry interesting as it tries to marry the social with the economic sides of our nature to come up with a new and more meaningful definition of our political leanings. It's a goodie; go take it and find out who you really are.

-Obama wins another state. Ho hum...

-Mikey wants to know if Hillary Clinton were a man would she be one of the two remaining candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination? I think she would and I also think Barack Obama would be where he is no matter what. Has anybody stressed the organizational skills this guy has? Well, yes...

Torture: Moral Outrage

From Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post:

This week, George W. Bush reminded us how grievously he has wounded our nation's ideals, values and standing in the world -- and how big a challenge the next president will face in repairing the damage.

On Tuesday, authorized by the White House, CIA Director Michael Hayden gave Congress the fullest account so far of the CIA's use of waterboarding, which the administration calls an "interrogation technique" but which international agreements -- and plain English -- call torture.

Not to mention illegal even if the AG won't say it is. BTW, Mukasey is a disgrace, too.

Best go for a walk. Sun is shining, temperature rising.

Five years to the day: Colin Powell...

...went before the UN and lied. He wasn't meant to be a liar and I think it immediately showed in how he carried himself the rest of his time at State. How the mighty do fall. Too bad; I used to have a lot of respect for the man.

Night before Christmas and all through the house...

Picture: Wonder if Eric went out looking for a Christmas tree and found a horse? Nah... JaLo, Eric and Ian.

Christmas eve in our house as well. Marty met us in Bloomington about mid day as we did a little shopping and had a lunch and then wandered on back down to Loogootee. I stopped along the way and saw that Eric and Colleen and Sheryl and Lucas and Ian were just about ready for Santa. Colleen was all alone in the house making the last minute preparations for their family celebration, one which included the opening of a gift before heading off to bed to dream of sugar plums. Headed on home for more holiday cheer and goodies along with a phone call from Miki in New York where they had some snow fall during the day but nothing that stuck around. Looks as if Santa will have to use his wheeled sleigh this year both there and here in southern Indiana. Bells still okay though.

As many of you know by now, I take a lot of pictures with my digital camera and usually have it with me wherever I go. That was the case today and when I pulled it out and took a few shots at Applebees, Diane and Marty raised questions about the ethics and wisdom of taking pictures in a public place without consent in today's scary mad world. Hmmmm, I thought, as I snapped a picture of a young girl standing in the booth next to us and then another picture of an infant making a face peeking over a mom's shoulder. Hmmmm, I thought again, what really are the ethics in place now in the internet age, in a digital world? I thought of it on the way home and now, with Marty's help, did a little research at the google store. Here's a link that discusses some of the problems that we face, mostly of a moral nature since, as far as the author knows, it is not illegal to take decent pictures of people in public places. But then, who is to say what decency is? So, now I'm better educated about the question of taking pictures in public places and have seen some of the pros and cons. So, beware: when Mikey the Mad Photographer, is out there, whether that be at an Applebees or at a Lakeview Golf Course, be on guard: no telling when you too may get caught being yourself on that dastardly camera of his.

Update: Just finished reading a little something on photographers' rights - cool beans; from the comments section of the above link:

Here is a link to an attorney's site that has a .pdf you can print and carry in your wallet as a photographer in the United States.

http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm

Happy Holidays, you all.