Unusually Warm November

And I'm lovin' it.

With the cost of natural gas skyrocketing this winter, I'm hoping the 60+ degree days last well into December.
Don't want to turn on the furnace 'til I see frost on the inside of my home.
Last winter, the coldest temperature recorded inside my house was 44 degrees Fahrenheit which is 6.6 degrees Celsius. That was downstairs, and it got that cold inside my humble abode because my furnace broke during the coldest part of the year and I didn't have the cash to fix it, and my own attempts failed.
$350 later, it's up and running.
You see, I'm in class 3 to 4 nights a week anyway, so it's ok if my house is an iceberg. After class I grab all my study material, put on the flannel jammies, and finish off my school work in bed before I go nite-nite.

What a glamorous life I lead.

Ok, back to the original intent of this title and subsequent post:

Schwarzenegger is being blamed by his fellow Republicans following his trouncing at the polls concerning his ballot propositions:

"What was defeated yesterday was a caricature of Arnold Schwarzenegger, not the reality of Arnold Schwarzenegger," Republican consultant Kevin Spillane said Wednesday.

Those Republicans are funny aren't they?

Tony Blair is getting to know what it feels like to be Bush and unmasked:

"Today the terrorism bill was receiving a relatively uncontroversial third reading in the Commons before it goes to the Lords - where even the compromise solution of a 28-day detention period could face a rough ride. Earlier today, Michael Howard repeated his call for Mr Blair to go, conceding that the
prime minister would probably still be here this Christmas - but that next Christmas was "another matter".
And in the Labour backbenches, rebel MP Paul Flynn warned that the parliamentary Labour party would no longer be Blair's
"poodle".

Bush is pure destruction plain and simple. Everything the guy touches turns to shit, and although Blair does not appear to need any help in that area he buddied up with Bush all the way. Ignorance does love company.
(better analysis and better commentary on Blair from the Dutch transplant himself...o shit I meant Dane transplant!)


The Asia Times reports on Bush the capitalist and how his foreign policies are anything but business friendly:

"The Bush administration has a reputation for creating an unusually business-friendly White House. Put Vice President Dick Cheney's secretive Energy Task Force and massive tax cuts together with corporate lobbyists writing regulations for their own industries, and you've made an argument that seems
pretty persuasive. There are reasons, however, to consider a contrary notion: Maybe President George W Bush and Cheney aren't very good capitalists at all.
Bush's history as a failed businessman is well known. Cheney, portrayed by conservatives as a brilliant ex-chief executive officer and by progressives as a Halliburton shill, also has a suspect past."
(snip)
"The Clinton administration served as a steady advocate for building a cooperative, "rules-based" international economy - a multilateral order known to critics as "corporate globalization". The Bush administration, while purporting to be interested in issues such as "free trade", has offered up a very different
set of policies. Aggressive and unilateralist, it has fashioned a new model of "imperial globalization", which has even put multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization, decried by globalization activists, in jeopardy.
Rather than working through such bodies, the current administration has regularly shown intransigence in international negotiations around trade and development; it has focused on tying its aid for other countries directly to its
militarist prerogatives; and it has tried to deny war-weary "Old Europe" its traditional role as a junior partner in the globalization endeavor. In the process, it has begun dismantling an international order that served multinational corporations very well in the booming 1990s, and facilitated their rise over the past 30 years."

Had to post that bit about Clinton, I know how much the right loves the Clenis!

The Asia Times also has a very informative article on Al Queada and some of its inner workings. Pretty good read if you have the interest.

Tim Kaine won the governorship here in Virginia despite Bush making a last minute airport stop to support Jerry Kilgore. I really don't think Bush had an impact one way or the other by his airport stop, but may have had an impact because he sucks ass as a President and Kilgore is party line towing - conservative culture of life - all about the death penalty - Republican.
Or maybe it's because Kaine and Warner together made great strides for Virginia and did what needed to be done, instead of towing the party line and playing politics. Hopefully we will see more of this type of politician enter civil service for both parties.

That's a fairly good article about the Kaine victory and the political makeup of Virginia, if you have the interest.

Let's see, what else is making the sun shine?
I have a ton of school work to do but the semester is over December 16th and the next semester starts January 9th. I love school, what can I say?
I have a lovely new job prospect on the horizon for the new year.
And, after a bitter and horrible relationship that drained me of every bit of energy and trust and nearly cost me my life, I might just be ready to venture out and about again.
There is a cute French lady that moved into the cube just down the hall about two weeks ago, a research scientist no less. As luck would have it, French is one of the languages I will be taking in the semester after the next.
Peut-être cette dame assez française serait intéressée donner des cours particuliers m'en français dans le commerce pour un gentilhomme méridional comme une escorte autour de l'état de Virginie, de même qu'autre placer nous pourrions aimer aller, non ? oui ?

There are more reasons for this unusually warm November, but this is enough for today.

Carry on. ,