Craig's List - ing...

And he looks about ready to tip over.

Notice I didn’t say bend over.
I’m not going to lower the level of the discussion here to point out the obvious.

Senator Larry Craig pled guilty to a federal misdemeanor that besides undermining his credibility on just about every political issue he purports to support, leaves him looking idiotic and puts him in the position of being the only sitting Senator to have been tried and convicted of violating federal law.

The last point alone should be enough for anyone to resign.

But no, not Larry. Instead he held a press conference, wife in tow wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and a less than supportive expression on her face. Before a crowd of reporters in downtown Boise, Larry took the opportunity to uh, defend himself.

In what reminds me of a spin-off of “we’re queer and we’re here,” Larry tells us that he’s not gay and he’s not going away.

Oh really? Could Larry be getting media tips from Mark Foley? Or maybe Dan Burton? I'll cut to the chase and join his GOP colleagues in suggesting he resign now and save us the need to make more fun of him during the workday.

Whether Larry Craig is gay or not is beside the point. Even if he were straight and in a co-ed bathroom and soliciting sex via subtle, coded foot tapping, I still don’t think such conduct is appropriate for a UNITED… STATES… SENATOR.

You know what I mean? I’m talking one half of the legislative branch of our national government, one of only 100 members of what has been called the most exclusive club on the planet, a person with power deriving from Article I , Section 3 of the United States Constitution.

Larry’s guilty plea puts him in the position of being a sitting Senator who is now convicted of violating federal law. The fact that he’s a perverted idiot who pled guilty without counsel is simply, uh window dressing.

No doubt tastefully decorated.

Say Goodnight Alberto

Overheard Sunday afternoon at lunch in Crawford, Texas:

"So, Al, uh... look on the bright side. You had a good run and did some great things."

"Uh huh, I can't recall."

"Don't say that dude, you really improved our numbers when it comes to drug interdiction and illegal immigration. And your arguments in favor of torture were killer."

"Uh, sure. I guess so."

"Hey, don't worry amigo, we'll always be buds. You and me, Hoss and Paco. It'll be like old times."

"But you'll still be in Washington and I'll... I'll... I don't know where I'll be."

"Oh come on Al... Where's that big Texas smile? I'll take care of you buddy."

"You will? Cool. Didn't you always say that you thought I'd make a great U.S. Supreme Court Justice? That would be nice steady work. What do you think?

"I did? Uh, I can't recall."

Shake Your Presidential Money-maker

With the President in town for a Domenici fundraiser (talk about timing), sources tell me that the Albuquerque Journal ran a story today noting that flight costs for Air Force One are $56,000 per hour and the total cost for a trip from DC to ABQ is approximately $224,000 each way, or $448,000 (not counting special expenses incurred locally by the Secret Service).

I recall that the President was here last summer campaigning for incumbent Representative Heather Wilson and attended a fundraiser that netted $375,000 for her campaign but cost the federal government at least $445,000. (Candidates do reimburse the feds up to the cost of a round trip business class ticket whenever the President visits on their behalf).

The point my source noted and you, clever reader, should already have seen, is that given the taxpayer incurred cost for Air Force One, it might make more sense to just have the federal government cut a check for $375,000 to Wilson's campaign and save the cost of sending the President.

Ah, but if we do that Mr. and Mrs. Campaign Donor will have no opportunity to strut their stuff or get in line for a choice political appointment.

Sigh.

Up, Up in the Air - cont.

The view after passing South Sandia Peak and looking behind me to the north.



Sunset on Saturday looking west out over the Rio Grande Valley.



I stopped for the night on an outcrop that seemed custom made for my campsite. This is Sunday morning.



Unseen from below, South Sandia Crest is surrounded by a mixture of open meadows and aspen groves.



While stopped for lunch on Sunday, I made a cold-blooded friend.



Nothing to do now but clean the equipment and plan for the next trip.

Up, Up in the Air - Day One

Both feet on the ground and some pics from the recent trip along the Sandia Crest Trail. It rained Friday night so I didn't get any pictures of the approach up from Tunnel Springs.

The view from my first night's camp.



I loaded up and hit the trail about 7:30.



The Needle as seen from the trail at about 9400 feet.



Lunch at a scenic overlook.



I survived a bout of wicked blisters on both heels and what seemed like a never-ending uphill climb (6150 to 10601 feet) but I made it to the end trail head in time for my shuttle ride on Sunday, back to where I parked my truck. (Thank you to the shuttle pilot for showing up with a mega-gulp each of ice water and Coke).

A Walk in the Woods

Heading up into the woods this evening...

It's been several years since I put a pack on my back and walked for any great distance. I grew up backpacking all over northern California. I also spent the first few years on the east coast sleeping in a tent on various parts of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

I like to think of myself as someone who doesn’t so much as hug trees as waves at them from a distance. Like old friends.

Over the past several years, however, I’ve been more enamored with the likes of the Westin and its room service, than I have of spending a night out under the stars, in a tent, on a Therma-Rest.

Still, the Sandias have a way of getting under one’s skin. After living in their shadow for more than a year, the Sandia Crest Trail has been on my mind. I want to see if I’m up to the challenge.

According to my trusty hiking guide, I’m looking at twenty-six miles of difficult trail with an elevation gain of more than four thousand feet. (check out the elevation gain)


I’ll hike north to south, beginning in Placitas at the Tunnel Springs trailhead and finishing in Tijeras at the Canyon Estates parking lot.

Weather looks mostly clear with a small chance of rain in the evenings.

I'll post some pictures with a bit of commentary after I get back.

The Ladies' Eating Schedule

"What about breakfast?

You've already had it.

We've had one, yes. What about second breakfast?

I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.

What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper?
He knows about them, doesn't he?

I wouldn't count on it."

Translation: Eleanor and Vivian apparently have yet to learn what eating three times a day can do for the sleep and shower schedules of their uh, caretakers.

Road Warrior - Mad Jim Oberstar

"I'm just here for the gasoline."

Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) advocates raising the gasoline tax by five cents to create a new trust fund dedicated for repairing the nation’s infrastructure. His call for the tax seems to imply that doing so might avert a future interstate bridge collapse like the one last week in his home state.

Beneath the Congressman’s stab at media face time, it’s important to understand how Congressional funding works before taking Oberstar’s suggestion too seriously.

Oberstar’s committee authorizes transportation spending projects. It doesn’t actually fund them, known in DC-speak as appropriation. The reason for what seems like a contradiction is because when actual funding takes place, it is the Committee on Appropriations that makes each and every decision. This committee is all-powerful (so much so that members may only serve on this one panel). Further, its members are not bound by the Transportation Committee's recommendations or priorities.

Why should you care? Because although Mr. Oberstar may advocate increasing the gasoline tax, he doesn’t serve on a committee with power to collect or spend revenue. (He doesn’t even serve on the committee that can increase the tax – that’s the Ways and Means Committee). Oberstar is doing what every authorizer in Congress does, making broad policy statements without having to take responsibility for actually implementing the policy.

Sort of an institutional version of “never having to put your money where your mouth is.”

One twist to this story: There is actually a disincentive for Congress to spend revenue generated by the gasoline tax. The so-called “trust funds” (another of which Oberstar is advocating should be created for his increase) are just accounting gimmicks used to offset other types of federal spending.

In other words, money comes in and is spent on a regular basis. The trust fund revenues don’t represent money saved or held-back by the government, only a positive balance in the records. When you hear that such and such trust fund has X billion in it don’t be fooled. It’s not like the money is sitting in Ft. Knox waiting to spent. It’s just an I.O.U. from Congress to itself with no power of enforcement.

End result, increase the gas tax and there is no guarantee that the money collected will even be spent, let alone spent on public infrastructure.

Mr. Oberstar should be less disingenuous and more focused on creating policy for which he will be actually responsible.

It's Brisk Baby! Brisk!

I was having lunch yesterday with my supervising attorney who told me an interesting story about a local attorney with quite a colorful attitude about the law. What caught my attention, however, was the mention of a photo that the attorney enlarged and hung on his office wall:


It seems that Frank Sinatra was arrested by the Bergen County, New Jersey sheriff in 1938 and charged with carrying on with a married woman. The charge was later changed to adultery and eventually dismissed. (Photo courtesy of The SmokingGun.com)

I'm not certain what message the photo conveys to prospective clients (or fellow attorneys) but I like the attitude it takes to hang it behind one's desk chair.

I also can't help but note the smirk on Sinatra's face in the left picture. I mean, why not? As I often tell myself, there are worse things to be busted for than being irresistible. Uh, right.

(Oh, and a serenade to the first person who can tell me where I got my title for this post)

House Beautiful

A new site on my radar is Snopes.com a rumor and urban legends collection helping shed some light on the many bogus and not-so bogus stories out there. A fellow lawyer sent me some domestic scoop on Al Gore and President George Bush regarding how much energy their respective homes consume on an annual basis.

I found it interesting, especially given Gore’s oft-touted pro-environmental stance and Bush’s less than environmentally-friendly administration (and no, calling for a meeting on Global Warming after denying its existence for the past six years does not make you pro-environment).

Gore’s house is a Hummer III …



… compared to Bush’s Toyota Prius.



Of course, Mr. Gore is a proponent of carbon trading, through which high energy consumers can offset particularly excessive uses by doing other things which decrease energy use. A simple analogy is to constantly leave lights on throughout your house while also installing compact florescent bulbs throughout; i.e. you get credit for the latter which theoretically, offsets your use.

Theoretically, mind you.

I’m sure Mr. Gore’s domestic servants sort his cans and bottles before putting them out on the curb so he’s probably covered re: his electricity costs.

Mr. Bush on the other hand, being a good Republican with a strong uh, conviction that social policy must be driven by a belief in God, Country and the Internal Revenue Code (in that order), no doubt received a significant tax credit for building such a green house.

Truly, a man’s home is his castle.

Messages Made Me Do It; That'll Be To Go!

Everything tastes better when it’s wrapped in pretty paper direct from the benign happy place inhabited by Ronald McDonald. That’s the message anyway from a new study published by the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.
Children ranging from three to five years old were shown foods wrapped in "MickeyD" wrappers and asked to compare the food’s taste with identical food wrapped in generic wrapper having similar colors. Overwhelmingly, the children described the McDonald’s-wrapped food as tasting better.

Taste is perception right? When children are bombarded with commercial images since practically the day they are born (or on the day they are born if Mom’s hospital room has a television), their perception regarding what is of quality or importance is markedly influenced.

I suspect it should come as no surprise to anyone that the costly-carefully-crafted, specifically designed-to-appeal-to-children messages are received loud and clear by their intended audience. Given the variety of advertising that is both child and adult-focused, I wonder what other messages are received. Immigrants are poor and threatening, beer makes everything better and the world's multinational corporations really do have your best interests in mind.

"Its the supermarket to the world and brings good things to life."

What I don’t wonder is whether corporate America has any hesitation to exploit our children on behalf of the bottom line.

"Parents don't choose for their children to be exposed to this type of marketing," noted Thomas Robinson, MD, director of the Center for Healthy Weight at Packard Children's and associate professor of pediatrics and of medicine at the School of Medicine. "Parents have a very difficult job. It may seem easier to give in to their child's plea to go to McDonald's than to give in to the many other hundreds of requests they get during a day."

Um hmmm… hundreds of requests... "Mommy, can I put my fingers in the garbage disposal?"... "Daddy, will you please give me a shot of Jack?"... "I hate you! You never let me play on the interstate like all the other kids!"

Yes, those hundreds of requests sure can wear a parent down. Better to make the kid fat and give-in than to have to make a good choice for one’s children. Ah well, McDonalds need not worry about my qualms.

Judging by the number of Happy Meals sold last year I’m clearly in the minority to suggest that the right choice is to not take your children to McDonalds or any other fast-food establishment.

This just in: The number of Happy Meals sold worldwide with apple slices rather than fries is not available. Apparently, because the company won’t disclose the information.

Open Wide and Bend Over

I have repeatedly resisted commenting on what I like to refer to as the “Wannabe’s on Parade”, otherwise known as the run-up to next year’s presidential race.

I’ve refrained simply because thinking about presidential politics in an off-election year is like... worrying about which assisted living community I’ll be residing in come oh, 2055... or how much in government welfare, uh, Social Security benefits I’ll be receiving (according to my annual statement) in 2032; basically there are more pressing concerns. Tonight, however,my political rhetoric (read:bullshit) meter has gone off the deep end.

Part-time New Mexico Governor and fulltime Presidential Candidate Bill Richardson has decided that universal health care is something he as President will champion.

From his website:
"America's moral values support the basic concept that no one should be denied the health care necessary to sustain their lives productively simply because of wealth or income."

Hmmm…

My only thoughts on this issue are two-fold:

First, a previous “Bill” took on that very same issue and was resoundly handed his lunch by the Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate. Must I point out who currently resides in control of both houses of Congress?

Second, and more relevant, at this moment New Mexico ranks 49th overall in the number of uninsured residents (Texas is last, nice huh?). Today, ONE out of FOUR people in Bill's and my state lack health care coverage and ONE out of FIVE CHILDREN have no health care coverage. (Source)

They say charity begins at home. What do you think Bill? Perhaps the same "moral values" should be applied in New Mexico first before rolling them out on the national stage. Could be me, but I think your credibility will be stronger that way.

Issues with Creating More Issue

People often take offense at the notion that human beings are descended from apes or (more accurately) share a common ancestor, aka Mr. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

I suspect folks take umbrage with the notion that we might have evolved from “animals” because they believe that God created Man in his own image (uh, God’s image, I think)… and as God is not an animal (uh? NO! of course not)... humans are most certainly not animals. It’s blasphemy to even suggest otherwise.

Hmmmm…

What about when human beings choose to breed like animals, with what appears to be little more thought or consideration?

Case in point, the Duggars of Tontitown, Arkansas. With the birth of their newest daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Duggar now have 17 children ranging in ages from 19 years to one day old. Mrs. Duggar, 40, has apparently been in a state of pregnancy for a total of 10.5 years.

After the birth, Mr. Duggar noted that, "We are just so grateful to God for another gift from him. We are just so thankful to him that everything went just very well."

Personally, I think any god would be shaking his or her head in concern and trying to figure out how in this instance a rabbit’s instinctual need to breed got put in the wrong animal.

Or, maybe Mr. Duggar just has a kink for prego-sex.