Harsh Interrogation Techniques

CIA Director Michael Hayden will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee tomorrow, on the matter of the unfortunate Torture Tapes Incident.

Apparently, tapes recorded in 2002 documented the "harsh interrogation techniques" used on "terror suspects". The tapes were destroyed in 2005 for some reason, against legal advice. Our clueless leader has "no recollection" of having knowledge of the tape destruction beforehand, despite the fact that then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers knew, and advised against it. Of course, Dubya probably can't rightly recollect the last time he and Laura made whoopee either, so that's neither here nor there.

What I'm wondering is, since our government insists that these techniques are not torture, but in fact are effective methods used to extract accurate information ... will the Senate Intelligence Committee be using these "harsh interrogation techniques" during their questioning of Michael Hayden?

Goose, gander, and all that.

Gratuitous Overdue Pet Pics

Enchanted by the charms of the fetching Ms. Diamond, I was (finally) inspired to post pics of the Seattle Snow a while back. I have been sadly remiss in posting pics of the boys, which is ridiculous, seeing as I probably have about 673,892 photos of them, give or take.

We took them out to play in the snow, where Batman made a friend (Diesel, another black Labradog), Diesel lost his ball in the snow, Mason got bullied by an aggressive Dobie named General, and the humans pelted each other with snowballs. The boys don't get to see snow very often, so they got a little snow-happy.

Magic Eyes!
"Ms. Diamond ... you are getting very sleeeepy ...
You are strangely attracted to a dog named after a superhero..."

A roll in the snow. Still with the magic eyes.

Mason, with his stylish winter wear that doesn't quite fit.
No wonder the poor guy got beat up on the playground.

Mason getting a warm and reassuring pat from Teen Demon.

Freedom Requires Religion?

Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God.
~Mitt Romney, "The Faith Speech", Dec. 2007

I didn't realize that was the big benefit behind freedom. But then when it comes to people like me, Mitt's got this to say,

But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life.

It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism. They are wrong.

Say what? So, we've taken this "notion" of separation of church and state too far, Mitt? Really? Because after the last 8 years with your boy, George, I don't think we've taken it far enough. See, I thought religion was, actually, a private affair, with no place in governance.


Mitt falls back on the far Right's double standard around religious extremism:

These radical Islamists do their preaching not by reason or example, but in the coercion of minds and the shedding of blood. We face no greater danger today than theocratic tyranny, and the boundless suffering these states and groups could inflict if given the chance.

Nicely done. Very effective use of fear-mongering with a bit of us-them rhetoric thrown in. "Us", of course, being believers in Jesus Christ. Mitt knows he needs to jump on that Jesus Train if he's got any hope of being elected. Throughout the speech, Mitt played down the differences between Christians and Mormons, focusing on the fact that all believers have something in common, something that non-believers (and those pesky Muslims) apparently do not share.

And I'm sorry Mitt, but I'm pretty sure the last 8 years have been about some "theocratic tyranny" at the hands of King George, with plenty of "coercion of minds and shedding of blood" going on, but what do I know? Apparently, theocratic tyranny only applies to those scary radical religions. The "good religions", which Mitt is fervently hoping will now include Mormons, are not radical extremists bent on tyranny, they are merely God Warriors, carrying out the legacy of our founding fathers.


Looks like Mitt is hoping to catch a ride on the religion mobile by finding common ground with the Christians. And I'm thinking that the so-called "morality voters" might just figure that hey, any religious guy is better than a damn liberal. Unless they go with their boy Huckabee. (A most unpresidential name if ever I've heard one.)

Well, who knows. If the Irish, Italians, and Jewish folks eventually "became White", who's to say Mormons won't be accepted into the Christian fold against the advancing hordes of scary Muslims and non-believers?

I hope the more moderate folks on the right will look at the past 8 years and realize that more religion, of any kind, in governance is a slippery slope to that tyranny Mitt mentioned.

Like Prince Loves Purple

I like purple. Which pretty much means I could be descended from royalty, because purple was once worn only by royalty. I also have O-neg blood, which, according to some theories, is common to the descendents of some advanced alien beings. Hey, we all need to feel special, ok?


Anyway, I am a purple appreciater. I like purple things, like

Purple phones,


Purple velvet bags of lavender,


purple wallets,



purple stained glass lamp shades,

and purple sweatshirts.
And I really, really like ...

... funky purple Merino wool SCARVES, made by a funky and fabulous Boston friend by the name of Evil Ganome!

Oh yes he did! And this in spite of the fact that for an accomplished knitter such as himself, knitting scarves is apparently so boring as to cause said knitter to entertain thoughts of jabbing the knitting needles repeatedly into an eye, just to escape the boredom. I guess once you've moved onto complicated cableknit sweaters and *ahem* toasty basket warmers, the long uninterrupted length of a simple scarf no longer gives him a yarn woody. But knit it he did, which makes me love it even more, being a labor of love and head-banging boredom. I love me some Evil-G!

And I love love love my scarf!

To make it a little more interesting, he employed something called a seed stitch. I, of course, had no idea what that was, but promptly headed for The Googles, and found it is the reason behind the wonderful nubbly texture. I can't stop touching it. I guess it looks like a bunch of seeds, thus the name. There are other stitches where the origin of the name is a bit more ambiguous, as I recently learned at Tater's site, where he's been working on a piece using the Van Dyke Faggoting method. And that's the extent of my knowledge on knitting stitches.

He got the color just right too, decoding my vague statement that I like purple, but it's got to be the the bluey purples, not the pinky purples, you know what I mean? He did. He also remembered other preferences from a previous conversation, where I'd told him, You know I like 'em thick and long, honey. I'm not sure we were talking about scarves that day, but no matter; this purple wrap is a whopping 7 feet long, so I can wrap it 'til it works. Hell yeah. And the seed stitch assures the thickness factor.

I just love it when a man takes care of your needs, don't you?

Here's Bed Bear, above, my current sleeping partner, modeling it for you. Isn't he cute? (Yes, as a matter of fact, I do sleep with a teddy bear. He doesn't kick or snore - let alone fart - doesn't care if I shave my legs or wear knee socks to bed, and he never tries to get some in the night when I'm sleeping. On the other hand, he's pretty passive, and he never tries to get some in the night when I'm sleeping.)

I took these pics last night, close to midnight, so I was in no state of mind to do a full frontal facial shot. I tried to be creative and show off the scarf without showing off my dark circles and newly forming zit as well, but unfortunately most of the shots came out looking rather Burqaesque, as seen here.

Anyway, my scarf is gorgeous, I love it. Love it! Thank you Tony -- you're my boy!

Touch That Dial!

Only 8 minutes left 'til showtime! Get thee to a TV, kiddies! It's almost time for Year Without a Santa Claus, and you know what that means ... Heat Miser and Snow Miser. Hell yeah.

You gotta love a holiday special with quotes like,

Riding a Vixen the wrong way on a one way street!

Open to interpretation, of course.

They're Too Much!

UPDATE: Year Without a Santa Claus airs Monday, 8pm on ABC Family.

So for only the 2nd time in my entire history of blogging, Cowbell (barely) makes the deadline for Friday Videos. 'Tis the season for the Miser Brothers! That's right kids, it's Heat Miser and Snow Miser! Love these guys! As you can tell by my excessive use of exclamation marks!

This is one of the greatest songs in the history of Christmas specials. These guys rock. Snow Miser is such an engaging chap, you can't help but like him, and Heat Miser is the hottest cool cat around. Their songs, though set to identical tunes, each have their own flavor, Snow Miser snapping along at a cool crisp clip, and Heat Miser slowing up the tempo to groove on that warm bluesy flow.

I wish Heat Miser lived in my house. I like how his minions get their pogo stick on with those shovel thingies, plus he's a redhead with rock star hair. I was always a bit bothered by the icicles at the end of Snow Miser's nose, because what else could it be but snot, but he's such a jovial Miser that you kind of just ignore that unpleasantness.

The dueling Misers -- So cool, so hott. Enjoy!




Heat Miser, Snow Miser, and the Mini-Misers
from Year Without a Santa Claus

A Very Bohemian Christmas

Eric posted the other day about Christmas music, and even gave us a bit of Dollyday cheer. The Bohemian, who, I'm sure, was one of Santa's elves in a former life, came into the room, and heard me listening to Red's holly jolly tuneage. She froze. Her eyes, how they twinkled; her dimples, how merry. Her cheeks were like roses, her nose like a cherry. "Yes!" she squealed. "It's time for Christmas music! We need Harry!" She snatched the Christmas CD case off the shelf (yes, as a matter of fact, we do have a case of CDs specifically devoted to Christmas) and loaded up the Harry Connick Jr. holiday album.

The Bohemian loves the Yule season like Prince loves purple. Her first movie star crush was "Bernard", the Arch Elf from The Santa Clause. She has not outgrown it. I'm pretty sure my daughter is the only person to say, "He is so frickin' hot!" in regards to one of Santa's elves. Bernard could make her break her vow of singlehood, what with those striped socks and funky hat.

The Bohemian's childlike wonder is still going strong when it comes to Christmas lights, Christmas trees, yes, even the Starbucks Christmas cups. If it smacks of holiday cheer, the Bohemian is all about it. She especially loves the Christmas specials. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is her favorite. She still claps her hands in glee when it comes on. She loves all the old ones, the ones my sister and I grew up watching -- Year Without a Santa Claus, The Grinch (the original), Frosty, Charlie Brown Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. The classics. No Teenage Mutant Ninja Christmas for her.


Anyway, back to the other day -- it was the first day the Bohemian was starting to come back to her old self after her heinous bout with mono, and she was feeling a bit stir crazy. I was so glad to see her up and around, humor intact that morning. She put on Harry's seasonal croonage and got her Christmas Spirit on. Complete with Air Clarinet solo. Mason, though not quite a reindeer, warily joined in her frivolity.





Behold, the healing power of Christmas. She's even got her Christmas pajama pants on. It's all about Yuletide Cheer with the Bohemian.

Operation Home-In-a-Box

Thanks to RG for the title. Many of you have emailed/commented asking how to send items to Iraq for my friend's soldiers. Thank you -- I am very touched by that. I'm concerned about the length of the tour; in her original email, she said this tour will keep them away from home for TWO Christmases. (I've asked her to let me know more about that.) Anyway, she has given the OK to publish her name/addy on the Internets.

Betty Perry-Boehm
HHC 4TH BCT 3ID (S-4)
Unit # 40620
FOB KALSU
APO, AE 09312

So if you'd like to Support the Troops with more than a yellow ribbon magnet on the back of your car, these men and women would surely appreciate anything you could send over their way. Betty's idea is to put together Christmas stockings and have some nice surprises for the soldiers above and beyond the regular care items to make being away from home during the holidays a little easier. Here's a list of some suggestions to get you started, with some specific requests from the soldiers or my friend:

• Magazines (US, Cosmo, Psychology Today, Ebony, Muscle Mags, etc.)
• gummi bears
• hot tamales candy (for me)
• jelly bellies
• sour worms
• Ferrero rocher
• Mon Cheri
• almonds, cashews, other nuts
• other nice "stocking stuffer" type snacks/treats
• Jolly Ranchers, lemon drops, life savers, other hard candies
• AA, AAA, C batteries
• books! all kinds (incl. vampire books, Chicken soup books)
• crossword puzzles, word games, activity books
• 2008 Calendars
• modern music CDs; even Xmas music
• DVDs
• coffee, creamers, cider, hot chocolate packets
• small bottles of hand-sanitizer
• lotions, shower gels, or something nice for the ladies in the Bath & Body Works style (there are 10 females in my friend's group)

She'd like everyone to know they'll be happy about whatever folks wish to send, "even just Xmas cards". I know from just regular overseas military experience that a package at mail call is worth its weight in gold -- I'm sure that's even more true in Iraq.

Feel free to branch out from the list; if every person sends a big box of sour worms, it loses a bit of the appeal. It's good to pack items in Zip-lock bags, as the soldiers always use the bags.

I looked at some of the care package web sites and found these suggestions, if you want to include some regular care package items as well, or send something at a later date:

• board games and other "boredom busters"
• handheld electronic/travel games
• facial cleansing wipes (Oxy, Sea Breeze, Noxema, etc)
• eye drops
• wet wipes (baby wipes)
• foot powder
• hair elastics/barrettes
• dried fruit (healthy snacks are hard to find there)
• instant oatmeal packs
• pop-top canned fruit
• Pringles (they don't break)
• cookies
• powdered Gatorade drink mix
• Granola bars, trail mix
• microwave popcorn, soup cups, add-water foods like mac-n-cheese
• tuna/chicken sealed t0-go packets, Vienna sausage
• nail files
• Venus/Mach3 disposable razors
• Chapstick
• Neosporin/bandaids
• Dr. Scholl shoe inserts

Oh, and for you naughty types out there, these items are prohibited:
-anything depicting nude/semi-nude people
-"obscenity" or porn of any type
-any pork products
-alcohol

Unfortunately, the mailing deadlines for soldiers in Iraq are earlier than the deadlines for other overseas locations -- wish I'd known about the deployment earlier. The Parcel Post and Space Available deadlines have already passed, and the deadline for Iraq deployments (APO zips starting with 093__) is DECEMBER 1st.

If you can't get yours in the mail by that date, please don't let that stop you --- anything you send will still be much appreciated. (and if you just miss it by a day or two, it may still arrive in time.) But if there's any way you can get something mailed off to these guys by December 1st, that would be wonderful for them to have those stockings on Christmas.

When mailing, you'll need to fill out a customs form with a description of the contents. There's a place on the form where they'll ask for where to send it if not able to deliver to that individual. Just put "First Sergeant" and fill in the rest of the unit address in that space.


Again, a huge thank you to all of you who are willing to do this -- it will mean so much to my friend and her soldiers.

The War Just Got a Little More Personal

In other news...

I recently received a voice mail on my phone from one of my dearest friends. Most of my dear friends, the ones who are really in there, are far away. This particular friend and I met in Hungary. She was the First Sergeant for the post where I worked. She ran those soldiers, helped them grow up, and handled a clueless Post Commander brought in from the Reserves. She was tough, fair, and didn't take any bullshit. She also loved those young soldiers like they were her own kids, and went all out for them. She returned to Germany after her tour, came back to Hungary to visit, and came out to Seattle for a visit a couple of years back.

She did a tour as a Drill Sergeant before I met her. It amused me to no end to see her one minute, laughing over some girl talk, and the next minute, noticing some young soldier in need of "guidance", she'd pop into Drill Sergeant mode on a dime. You'd best lock it up, sol-DIER! Talking to that female is not part of your mission for tonight, now is it? Then you'd best get back to it, before I think of my own mission for you. Then that smile would be back, as if nothing had happened.

She's the type of person who takes in children of soldiers sent to Iraq or Korea. She adopted a teenager from Africa before we met, who has since made her a proud grandmother to twin girls. She has taken in so many kids over her lifetime, and really made a difference in those young lives, I am in awe of her. She also went back to school after her return to Germany. She earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology while raising up kids, training up soldiers, and doing her own job as an active duty soldier.

Her voice mail told me she is now in Iraq.

I felt like those words punched the air out of me.

I got an email from her yesterday. She talked about getting off the helicopter in the middle of the night - less of a target that way. She is trying to set up a decent Christmas for her soldiers there. She plans to put together stockings for them, asking people to send things from the States, so her soldiers can have things from home, a bit of tradition, something to open on Christmas. She sent me the address, not so I could write her, but to help fill soldier's stockings.

Typical - she's separated from her own family and friends, but thinking of her soldiers. She could've taken retirement the last couple of years, but now she's in Iraq.

Goddamn it, girl, why couldn't you just fucking retire?

I know she will do everything in her power to bring her soldiers safely home. Please just remember to take care of yourself as well, friend. Stay safe.

Giving Thanks

I imagine most of you are basting your turkeys or sweetening your yams. Oh, get your minds out of the gutter, I'm talking about dinner preparations, you freaks. Such a naughty bunch.

I'm watching football.

We're actually going to do our Big Meal on Friday. (A small strike back at government-mandated holidays) Teen Demon and the Male Offspring were invited to their significant others' houses today, and the Bohemian's throat will have an extra day to heal before the gluttony. Plus, it's not easy to put on a big meal Thursday if you work. Braving the grocery store mobs Wednesday night after work? Screw that. I hate grocery shopping even under the best of circumstances.  Add mob mentality, and I'm out of there. And then there's cleaning the house; when do you fit that in? I'm actually surprised more people don't do it on Friday. Probably better for travel arrangements as well.

Teen Demon isn't crazy about doing the extended family thing with Boyfriend's family, but she's putting on her game face. A few of them try to corner her on the religion thing every once in a while.  She's not down with that. Male Offspring was excited because Girlfriend's stepdad was thrilled to have a guy to watch the games with. Various uncles will be arriving later in the day as well.

It was a bit heartbreaking, watching his face light up at the prospect of watching the game "with the guys". I gave him a hug, seeing that bit of Little Boy shining through his teenage face, and he said, "It's not like my own dad watches the games with me, but whatever". I told him his dad would if he were here, to which he just rolled his eyes. Well, at least his mom is a football freak, so we do watch the game together every week. But multiple games with the guys, shoot, I'm envious, and I don't even have a penis. Anyway, we're doing our big dinner tomorrow, and it works out well for the son. I hope he has fun.

We did a big breakfast this morning and watched the Lions v. the Packers. I was rooting for the Lions (sorry, Lex) but the Packers won.

The Bohemian is improving - she's eating, her lymph nodes are receding, her throat is looking more normal every day. She's still very fatigued, but her humor is intact, she's resting, and she's going to be fine. I'm very thankful for that, and I'm thankful she was able to come home.

--------------------------

I'm always conflicted about this particular holiday. On the one hand, I should take time more often to really be thankful. Even when we feel our lives are shit, there are things to be thankful for. It's good to be reminded of that. Life gets in the way, things get busy, and I often think about what's gone wrong, my worries and stresses, where my life should be as compared to where it is. It's good to have a time where I'm reminded to consciously stop and reflect on those things for which I am thankful. That's a good thing.

On the other hand, the actual holiday on which this happens represents something very different for those people who were already here when the rest of our forebears immigrated. Being purposely thankful is good, and I need to do that more often, but celebrating this particular day and the history behind it ... I don't feel so good about that. I wish there were a different event or concept tied to celebrating thankfulness, rather than a skewed history, prettied up and neatly presented in textbooks and children's plays.

A construction paper pilgrim's hat, a feather paired with a few stripes of paint across a small face, people clap and smile as diminutive of pilgrims and Indians kindly help each other and give thanks together ... except that's not the whole story. It's very painful for many across this country to see this version so celebrated and honored.

And most of us ignore it and get on with our meal.

However, regardless of how one might personally feel about this holiday, the fact remains that this weekend is a four-day holiday, and we don't get to pick and choose when those come along. Grown children can return home. It's actually possible to take time out from life to visit and connect with friends and family. So we do. And yes, I'm thankful that we each have time off from our various jobs, schools, schedules, and are healthy and able to gather and be thankful for each other.

(And thus I rationalize, and get on with my meal.)

It would be nice if each worker could individually choose which 11 holidays to honor each year. Maybe there would be more actual honoring of history and people that truly have meaning for us, rather than just another day off work.

Anyway.

So tomorrow I get my domesticity on. Bring on the gluttony. To all of you turkey basters out there, enjoy your family, your friends, your turkeys, your football games, your connections over this weekend. I'm thankful for you guys, too.