Why is it that the weekends are always so short? And what's with the weather outside? It's a heat wave - all 42 blessed degrees of it. I think it's supposed to get bitterly cold again though, before the week is out. However, I swear I saw 50 degrees on the 10-day forecast....what do they know?

Meanwhile, this weekend I had the opportunity to stick it to Best Buy because they've screwed me over so many times before.

1) I bought a digital camera for my mother and selected the specific camera because it came with FREE memory card. But then, then the memory card was on backorder, and then they were out - so instead, BB sends me a gift certificate to purchase the mem card on my own (point of order: the amount did not cover the cost of a mem card). However, the certificate had an expired before I had a chance to use it - because the expiration date was like a week from when it was issued. Bastards - there goes $40.

2) I join BB rewards so that I can get cash back on my purchases. However, for 2 months they are unable to find my account when I go to check out, ergo, I lose $50 in cashback points because they can't apply my purchases to my account....in the midst of the CHRISTMAS SEASON. Bastards - there goes another $50 (at least).

3) This one just occrured to me. But, when Jen and I bough our TV, we had seen a deal online that if you bough a TV you got an under-the-counter dvd player ($150 value). We mentioned this to the guy in the store, he pulls up the website and sees nothing of the sort. we don't get the extra dvd player. Later on, I read a story on Consumerist about how BB has two websites, the external one on the internet AND an internal store intranet. It works like this: you come in and say you saw something on the website. they pull up the INTRANET website, don't see the deal you saw, and you get nothing. you home, pull up the website and notice that you got screwed.

That's exactly what happened to me. Bastards - there goes $150. and last, but not least, my "revenge."

4) I purchase a My Book (external hard drive) - it fails to work. I forget about it for awhile, and finally take it in to get a replacement. They say that there is nothing they can do. I say, you sold me a product that does not turn on, right out of the box - and there's nothing you can do? Correct. Hmm ok. So I purchase another My Book, switch the one that doesn't work into the new packaging and return the one that does not work hahahahha - it's not like you lose any money, just send it back to the manufacturer. stupid bastards.

All in all, they've cost me around $250, not to mention the not working My Book - that I haven't returned just yet - so hopefully, my diabolical plan will succeed!

In other unrelated news, this was just brought to my attention. Our food service, Aramark, post their menus online. Todays menu includes, under the "Hot" food section this nibblet: "Celebrate Black History Month! $5.05" Ok, so far so good. Click on the link....."Choice of BBQ Chicken of Fried Catfish Nuggets with choice of two sides." Uh, yeah. At the least, that's ill-advised and at the worst, outright offensive. Anyone else think so?
UPDATE: After a quick email to the aramark representative, rhonda receives a phone call from aramark apologizing for their mistake. the offending link is taken down...

So yeah, the impending war with Iran. I vote that if we attack Iran with nuclear weapons, we all need to go to Canada. And by go, I mean run. Because if we use nuclear weapons in Iran, or fuck, even conventional weapons in Iran...if we attack/invade Iran without legitimate provocations (which they are not going to give) then we are, to put it in valley girl-ese, so totally fucked. Despite our immenent fuckedness, here's where we stand.

1) Two, soon to be three aircraft carrier battle groups steaming towards the Gulf.
2) Patriot missile defense deployed to Iraq.
3) Detaining Iranian personnel in Iraq
4) Stating that materials for IEDs have been funneled in from IRAN
"The officials also asserted, without providing direct evidence, that Iranian leaders had authorized smuggling those weapons into Iraq for use against the Americans" NYT (Note: this article quotes the defense department giving an exact number of allied forces that have been killed with munitions supposedly originating from Iran. The same DoD that can't even (and doesn't want to) keep track of Iraqi civilians killed in the occupation.)
5) Declining (snubbing) Iran invitations to open a dialog
6) Appointing a Navy Admiral to command forces in the area
7) Raiding the Iranian consulate against the wishes of the local authorities.
8) Making the mistake of confounding the Iranian government, the Iranian people, and extremists in Iran.
9) Saying shit like this "They intend to be as provocative as possible and make the Iranians do something [America] would be forced to retaliate for," says Hillary Mann, the administration's former National Security Council director for Iran and Persian Gulf Affairs." Newsweek
10) And this:

"At a farewell reception at Blair House for the retiring chief of protocol, Don Ensenat, who was President Bush's Yale roommate, the president shook hands with Washington Life Magazine's Soroush Shehabi. "I'm the grandson of one of the late Shah's ministers," said Soroush, "and I simply want to say one U.S. bomb on Iran and the regime we all despise will remain in power for another 20 or 30 years and 70 million Iranians will become radicalized."

"I know," President Bush answered.

"But does Vice President Cheney know?" asked Soroush.

President Bush chuckled and walked away."

11) Combined with this: "The details suggest Cheney was almost a deputy president with a shadow operation. He had his own source of advice. He had his own source of access. He was making his own decisions," Light said.

Yeah, we're going to war.

Meanwhile another helicopter was shot down in Iraq, we still don't have enough people in Afghanistan and we can't armor the troops we already have deployed. Standard military, National Guard and Reserves have all served multiple deployments and seen their time between deployments slashed. No one is allowed to retire (we're still kicking out the gays, though!), returned soldiers are committing suicide because the facilities to help them with PTSD are just not there, and they are being shot at from all sides in Iraq...because it's a civil war. All the while, the Republicans are stalling debate on Iraq, and more soldiers are dying. And Bush wants to take us into ANOTHER war. With what army? With what resources? With what reason?!

Notice that Bush has all but abandoned the "Iran will have nuclear weapons - and that's not allowed " tact and has latched onto "Iran is hurting our troops in Iraq." It means that dear Bushie thinks that if he makes Iran about completing the mission in Iraq, then he doesn't have to go get another Authorization for Military Force..he will have already had one. Sneaky bastard.

Concurrent Resolution on the President's Escalation Plan

This week the House of Representatives will be considering the following Concurrent Resolution.

Disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That—

(1) Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq; and

(2) Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

It bothers me to now end that we even have to include part 1. Of course, we support the troops. Of course we protect the members of the armed services. Hating the war, disapproving of the war has nothing NOTHING to do with the troops. It has everything to do with the Administration that sent them into an unlawful war, based on deeply flawed and outright fabricated evidence.

Meanwhile, just where are countless homeland security funds going? Oh right to little places like Cheshire, MA. Population ~ 3400. They just got a homeland security grant of $665k. That's right, $665k to tiny Cheshire MA. Surely, they will now be protected from the terrorists. Yeah...right.
What a waste.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/02/09/firefighters_windfall_comes_with_a_catch/

How can you be a paleontologist and think that the world is 10k years old? How do you rectify that in your head, if you are seeing evidence for life 65 million years ago and continue to cleave to the idea that everything the bible says is literally true? I mean, I'm sure he is a very good paleontologist, his work is even described as "impeccable" but how do you make sense of it in your head? That is all.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/science/12geologist.html?em&ex=1171429200&en=a234866b369106cf&ei=5087%0A

Completely unrelated to anything...I highly enjoy the www.afterellen.com synopses of L word episodes. They almost always make me chuckle, if not laugh out loud - much to the chagrin of my coworkers. Now, am I the only one that needs to see some more of that Shane/Paige action? Ok. Also, last night's sex scene (the longest one of the season,) was irrevocably marred by the fact that we were at natalie's and her mother was watching with us. talk about awkward.

Here's some excellent thoughts on what we've all known for awhile. Bush is the puppet and Cheney is the puppet master. talking Points memo riffs on this quote:

"The Vice Presidency is a unique office that is neither a part of the executive branch nor a part of the legislative branch, but is attached by the Constitution to the latter. The Vice Presidency performs functions in both the legislative branch (see article I, section 3 of the Constitution) and in the executive branch (see article II, and amendments XII and XXV, of the Constitution, and section 106 of title 3 of the United States Code)."

Meaning, of course, that the VP does not have to submit to the Executive Branch or the Legislative Branch but is a power unto itself. right. so does this mean that if subpoenaed in the Scooter Libby trial, he also does not have to submit to the Judicial Branch?
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/012263.php