Kit's Concatenation

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31428202009-03-13T15:11:40.390-04:00Kit's Concatenation. . . . Do the research and think for yourself.Knoreply@blogger.comBlogger507125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-58681429590820185302008-03-14T11:37:00.003-04:002008-03-14T11:43:48.607-04:00Economic meltdown.

Hmm. The assets of Carlyle Capital have been seized by its lenders; its shares have fallen more than 90 percent in the past week.. Carlyle Capital is part of the private equity fund Carlyle Group. ...Carlyle Capital invested in triple-A rated mortgage debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and like other investment vehicles it had leveraged its capital aggressively, borrowing $31 for every

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-72462360875391644932007-08-23T12:47:00.000-04:002007-08-23T13:06:22.690-04:00

I haven't posted here in a long time, and I may not be keeping this blog up to date regularly because I am posting in several other places online -- as twistedchick on LiveJournal, for instance. Here is my latest post from over there; you might want to consider wandering in that direction if you like it.

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1159895629812288272006-10-03T13:09:00.000-04:002006-10-03T13:13:49.863-04:00

The gift of an October SurpriseWhen I moved to the DC area, nearly two decades ago, I was sharing a house with Peace Corps returnees and Capitol Hill temps and aides. One of the things we did one night, as a matter of mutual safety, was to compare notes on chickenhawks so we'd know who to avoid. These chickenhawks had nothing to do with war. These chickenhawks were Congressmen and highly

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1157299272762221662006-09-03T11:59:00.000-04:002006-09-03T12:01:12.786-04:00

Private losses, yours and mineI've been thinking back to that Camelot time, before Bush, before 9/11. One thing stands out for me as the most broad-ranging change from that time: the loss of the unobserved life.Unless you live in the countryside, several miles from a village, it is probably impossible now to have a private life, a life in which what you do is your affair. I'm not talking

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1143647074317181942006-03-29T10:23:00.000-05:002006-03-29T10:49:58.383-05:00

Remembering where we came from, this time aroundThe United States has an extremely short view of history. Much of this may be due to people forgetting just what went on before 1776, and concentrating on the enormous changes that occurred since the Industrial Revolution. Often now, though, people's 'long view' barely stretches back to World War I a century ago. I don't see this happening in

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1142884775825336062006-03-20T14:57:00.000-05:002006-03-20T14:59:36.036-05:00

So, what will life be like without the Fourth Amendment?Back before the 2004 election, I recall a political commentator saying that maybe the Democrats should *let* the Republicans win, because the resulting mess would break the party. Hmm. He may have had something there. Not the Democrats giving up, but the Republicans breaking their own party apart. Democrats & Liberals chronicles the Five

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1138499190753725692006-01-28T20:42:00.000-05:002006-01-28T20:46:30.773-05:00

Requiescant Twenty years ago I was working on the copydesk of a small Western NY daily newspaper, taking the news from the city and regional editors and making and remaking the front page of the local section. The editor who usually did this had been promoted, and I was filling in until someone else could be named. We did four editions a day -- for nearby Pennsylvania, for the rural county east

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1137608439266830982006-01-18T13:02:00.001-05:002006-01-18T13:20:39.273-05:00

The Christian Coalition has plans for '06; what will you do?This link takes you to the Christian Coalition's Agenda for 2006. Let me paraphrase them to reduce the level of jargon and add some context:1. Require broadcasters to carry Christian programming on cable and satellite media; currently, cable services 'bundle' stations, which means that subscribing to X also gets you A, B, C and Y.

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1137607908364179982006-01-18T13:02:00.000-05:002006-01-18T13:11:48.393-05:00

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1137522362083888142006-01-17T13:11:00.000-05:002006-01-17T13:27:33.113-05:00

What deity asks this of us?I have been looking for some time, and can't find the original quote by some at-this-time-nameless politician alleging that the reason the war is going so badly is that the American people have not been called to 'sacrifice' enough in its support.I would like to find out who said that so I can shove it down his throat sideways, so to speak.Anyone who thinks Americans

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1136843665955267352006-01-09T16:46:00.002-05:002006-01-09T16:54:25.976-05:00

The worst choice for the Supreme CourtSen. Ted Kennedy, senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has set the agenda for the questions Samuel Alito will be asked in his confirmation hearings, starting today. The issues: Alito's credibility; executive (presidential) powers; commerce and gun control; the rule of law and Constitution in American's rights. Why should we question a judge's

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1136843606287083202006-01-09T16:46:00.001-05:002006-01-09T16:53:26.306-05:00

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1136843522362826822006-01-09T16:46:00.000-05:002006-01-09T16:52:02.383-05:00

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1135014660925012782005-12-19T12:46:00.000-05:002005-12-19T12:51:00.946-05:00

Looking over my shoulder into the darknessWho's looking over your shoulder? Almost everyone in the government, these days. Since Bush admitted he'd authorized spying on Americans without a warrant, the Hill has been in an uproar. Both the Senate and the House want investiations in this. ..."The president has, I think, made up a law that we never passed," said Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.).Sen.

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1134844429229902822005-12-17T13:29:00.000-05:002005-12-17T13:37:02.560-05:00

What ban on torture?Bush is putting a good face on the White House's caving in to Sen. John McCain's ban on cruel, degrading and inhuman treatement of prisoners, but I think there are other aspects to this that aren't being discussed. McCain looks like an independent instead of a neoCon, and talks like an independent in the Goldwater style, but if you look at his votes in the past year he's been

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1134767801542284202005-12-16T16:10:00.000-05:002005-12-16T16:17:53.800-05:00

It's the time of year for the annual plea:If the Concatenation has interested you, or helped you, or shown you something you didn't know before, please consider clicking on the donation button in the upper left and contributing a little something toward the cost of keeping things running -- such as for ISP fees.I deeply appreciate every dollar you contribute. Money contributed goes to support

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1134766698397407082005-12-16T15:49:00.000-05:002005-12-16T15:58:35.520-05:00

The bells of liberty are ringing -- for now In 1791 on this day, the Bill of Rights was ratified in the United States.Today, it was upheld by the courage of 47 Senators who voted against ending debate on the renewal of the Patriot Act, and for continuing the discussion of how the legislation affects the civil liberties of Americans. In terms of Senate procedure, there was a call for a cloture

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1134669004664763662005-12-15T12:46:00.000-05:002005-12-15T12:50:04.706-05:00

The Patriot Act renewal and your civil liberties.The Patriot Act:I have heard both today and tomorrow for when the Senate is to argue -- possibly filibuster -- the Patriot Act renewal, and the issues of civil liberties and invasion of personal freedom involved. I suspect the vote itself may have been put off for Friday because of the impending storm -- it is snowing outside as I write this,

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1134511204225538772005-12-13T16:58:00.000-05:002005-12-13T17:05:49.616-05:00

A Christmas wish list for all of usWhat I'd like for Christmas, and for the New Year -- a wish list in no particular order.-- I'd like to see Americans getting involved with their government at all levels. I'd like to see more Americans who feel disenfranchised by the current Administration running for public office -- I don't care if it's dogcatcher or village clerk, it's important. I'd like to

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1133574281211780292005-12-02T20:42:00.000-05:002005-12-02T20:44:41.226-05:00

Panis et circenses in Americum hodie est.I have been thinking for some time about my gut-deep dislike of so-called 'Reality TV' shows, but it wasn't until a friend mentioned her views against them that I could put into words the reasons why I hate them:Reality TV is the contemporary American version of Roman circuses. People are stripped of their humanity, humiliated, made to endure trials in a

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1132840482320190972005-11-24T08:40:00.000-05:002005-11-24T08:54:42.376-05:00

Losing paradise againThen the coal company came with the world's largest shovelTo torture the timber and stripmine the landThey took it away till the land was forsakenAnd wrote it all down as the 'progress of man'.-- John Prine, "Paradise"Your government at work, fellow Americans. You think that's just a song?By a two-vote margin the House voted to sell off federal land to companies and

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1132674445967210272005-11-22T10:37:00.000-05:002005-11-22T10:47:26.010-05:00

not with a bang but a backfireThe more I hear about General Motors laying off 30,000 people, the stranger it feels. Weird, in a sort of inevitable way, as if the basic framework of the universe were rusting slightly. You might say I grew up in the midst of GM; my father was a senior tool engineer in the design shop at Rochester Products, where the engines were designed. He worked on every

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1130946486677949742005-11-02T10:46:00.000-05:002005-11-02T10:48:06.693-05:00

Your online right to speak freely needs to be protectedDaily Kos urges us to support House Resolution 1606, which comes up for a vote today. It has to do with how political speech is regulated. The idea is to keep the Internet exempted from the category of "public communication" (which is regulated) and reserved as private speech, which enjoys First Amendment freedoms....Let me tell you what the

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1130865005238801502005-11-01T11:55:00.000-05:002005-11-01T12:10:05.333-05:00

Questions with no good answersHow disgusting can this Administration get?Bush has no shame, and all the gall in the universe. It would take both of those conditions to explain Bush taking Alito to use Rosa Parks' coffin for a photo op. Yes, you read that right. Would either of them have gone to visit her when she was alive? And Daily Kos asks why Alito (and Bush) have to prop up their

Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3142820.post-1130774506114574762005-10-31T10:57:00.000-05:002005-10-31T11:10:31.090-05:00

They call him 'Scalito', but probably not to his faceBush has decided to go with the hard-right neoCons -- possibly the only real support he has left -- in nominating Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court, in place of the defeated Harriet Miers.Be aware, this is a move carefully calculated to do several things:-- take attention away from the continuing investigation into Karl Rove and others,

Knoreply@blogger.com