Canada Day 2011

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Happy Birthday, Canada!!!

We're 144 years old today.

To all my Canadian friends and family, have a safe and happy day. And to everyone else, to all of you from around the world, take a bit of time today to think of us. This is pretty wonderful country.

I posted this clip three years ago, and last year, and I'll post it again. It's one of the most stirring renditions of our national anthem I've ever heard, sung by the fans at Edmonton's Rexall Place before Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference playoff series between the Oilers and the Anaheim Ducks on May 23, 2006 (the Oilers won the series in five games before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in the finals, 4-3).

ForteBowie ft. Aleon Craft "Decatur"

July! and the many odd celebrations it has....

Selamat datang

( both 'hello' and 'welcome' in Malaysian)

There are many Monthly Observances in the month of July.

Some are also included in International themes of July.

in NO particular order:

Cell Phone Courtesy Month

Mango and Melon Month

National Ice Cream Month

Bereaved Parents Awareness Month

Eggplant and Lettuce Month

National Hot Dog Month

National Wheelchair Beautification Month

National Blueberries Month

National 'Doghouse Repairs' Month

Nectarine and Garlic Month

National Recreaton and Parks Month

Social Wellness Month

Smart Irrigation Month

National Grilling Month

Freedom from Fear of Speaking Month

National Horseradish Month

Sandwich Generation Month

Family Reunion Month

Bioterrorism/Disaster Education & Awareness Month

National Share a Sunset with Your Lover Month

Tour de France Month

National Make a Difference to Children Month

Family Golf Month

Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month

Women's Motorcycle Month

My goodness, that is quite some list!

I am sure I have not listed all of them!

As far as I can tell, there are people/organizations/committees/etc. involved with each of the above named.

And nope, I don't claim to be an authority, so don't blame me

if I have something wrong -

just drop me a note so I can correct it!

dominoes@myinkspired.com

Next up are some WEEKLY OBSERVANCES:

July 1 - 4: International Chicken Wing Week

July 3 - 9: Be Nice to New Jersey Week

July 4 - 10: Freedom Week

July 10 - 16: Sports Cliche Week

National Farriers Week

Now we need to go back to a couple of MONTHLY OBSERVANCES

that started this month, but extend into August:

July 3 - August 15: Air Conditioning Appreciation Days

July 3 - August 11: Dog Days

Just when you think you are all jiggidy-with-it,

Here come some individual days:

July 1st:

Canada Day

Second Half of the Year Day

U.S. Postage Stamp Day

Zip Code Day

International Chicken Wing Day

Total Solar Eclipse, South Indian Ocean

July 1st - 3rd:

Roswell UFO Days

July 2nd:

I Forgot Day

International Cherry Pit Spitting Day

International Day of Cooperatives

July 3rd:

Compliment Your Mirror Day

Stay Out of the Sun Day

July 4th:

Fourth of July/Independence Day USA

Independence From Meat Day

July 5th:

Bikini Day

I guess July 6th is

take-a-day-off-from-holidays day!

July 7th:

Chocolate Day

Father/Daughter Take a Walk Together Day

Global Forgiveness Day

Tell the Truth Day

July 8th:

SCUD Day

(Savor the Comic, Unplug the Drama)

Red Skelton pencil sketch

Soooooo, now you have no excuse to NOT celebrate ALL of these important holidays/celebrations. You have been given fair warning!

:0)   love those double negatives...

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com

http://www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/

Dom Kennedy "From The Westside With Love II" [ALBUM]

Click Cover to Purchase

1. Dom’s Prayer (prod. K Roosevelt)
2. Grind’n (prod. Cardo)
3. When I Come Around (prod. Unknown)
4. Come Over (prod. The Futuristiks)
5. She Ain’t In Love (prod. The Futuristiks)
6. Money Don’t Stop (prod. Chromatix)
7. O.P.M. (prod. Drewbyrd & Polyester)
8. Platinum Chanel (prod. Nick Cage)
9. I Love Dom (prod. Cardo)
10. The Ways (prod. THC)
11. Mr Champagne Intermission f. Polyester (prod. Swiff D)
12. Ice Cream Truck (prod. K Roosevelt)
13. New Jeeps f. Asher Roth & Mikey Rocks (prod. Chuck Inglish)
14. 2MPH f. Big K.R.I.T (prod. The Futuristiks)
15. Beats, Hoes & Rhymes f. Casey Veggies & ScHoolboy Q (prod. Champagne Click)
16. Dream To Me (prod. Scoop Deville)
17. Graduate (prod. HellagooD)

Literally Watch!

A great (and correct!) use of the word is found in a Washington Post story this morning:

D.C. firefighters from Rescue Squad One faced a monumental rescue problem Thursday evening...literally.

The reason it is correct?  They had to rescue the people from the elevator of the Washington Monument.



[Literally Watch is a public service of this blog, our effort to point out the correct --and incorrect-- use of the word. Many people use literally when they should use figuratively]

Into the abyss

By Greg Prince 

And so the shutdown begins. The GOP controlling the Minnesota legislature has demanded complete capitulation to their agenda and if they don’t get it they’re perfectly willing to drive off the cliff. This should be viewed as educational given current goings on in Washington D.C. as things portend badly both for the ongoing debt limit discussions, and the next budgetary cycle in general.

Yesterday, Monica Davey wrote in The New York Times about how Minnesota may be ungovernable. University of Minnesota political scientist Lawrence Jacobs is quoted:

It’s a very sad day for Minnesota. It’s a state that had a well-earned reputation for being well governed where, at the end of the day, politics were done in a fair and efficient manner. And it’s now on the cusp of ungovernability. There’s a new ethic here that compromise is weakness.

Well… let’s be clear about a few things. The GOP has not come to govern, they have come to burn down the house. With billions of dollars separating the legislature from the governor in final budgetary negotiations, they offer $200 million in adjustments as a compromise while demanding it be deducted elsewhere, and pretend they have given up the keys to the ranch. Meanwhile Governor Dayton has reduced his budgetary request by over $2 billion and wisely refuses to go any lower.

MNPublius has a good graphic which shows what’s really going in with the respective negotiating positions and how much each side in the debate has offered. The Minnesota GOP refuses to allow even the smallest tax increase even upon those making over $1 million a year – despite the fact that the wealthiest pay a significantly smaller share of their income in state taxes than do the poor and middle class.

As it became apparent a compromise would not be reached the “cone of silence” over negotiations collapsed and the details of competing offers are not pretty. The Star Tribune reports part of the GOP offerings included over $700 million in deferred payments to Minnesota school districts – this on top of the roughly $1.5 billion in “deferred” payments we know the schools will never see, and issuing “tobacco bonds”, adding to the state’s debt without clear benefit as with infrastructure, etc.

Talks also broke down because of Republican insistence on inserting policy provisions – voter ID requirements, abortion restrictions, etc. – into what should be clean budgetary bills.

Presidential wannabe Tim “hard times in the land of” Pawlenty presided over Minnesota’s desperate race to the bottom. He kicked the can down the road time and time again, unwilling to demonstrate the leadership and political courage necessary to undo the damage he initiated as majority leader in the Minnesota House. Minnesota used to be a national leader in health, education, job creation, innovation – now we’re middle of the pack, and only because the GOP hasn’t turned us into Mississippi. Yet. But they’re still trying.

Kudos to Governor Mark Dayton, who’s turning out to be a lot stronger and smarter than any of us anticipated, on standing firm and protecting Minnesota’s heritage of effective, responsible government.

The state government is now running with a skeleton crew – just a few essential services such as prisons and the state patrol are operating. It will be interesting to see how long this lasts, but let there be no confusion. Negotiation and compromise require two parties EQUALLY willing to participate. Thus far the GOP proposals have been a joke. They must do better. Minnesota demands no less.

(Cross-posted at Greg Prince's Blog.)

Why we presume innocence.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

That's why.



[NOTE: Read a New York perspective on the tabloid nature of the story, even if the story was wrong.]