Nothing Else Fit

a current-events poem

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by fiddler Sonnet of a disgruntled citizenry (with minor apologies to Homer, Chapman, et al.) Sing, news, of Obama’s promises, made To voters who elected him to power. Which has he kept? Wars’ ends? Taxes paid By the rich? An economy in flower? New jobs for all who seek them? Emptying Guantanamo’s cells, its prisoners … Read more

at night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines

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by fiddler

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is taking aim at the single biggest killer of teenagers — car crashes. For the second year she’s sponsoring a bill to require all states to make 18 the minimum age for an unrestricted driver’s license. At this point only a few states and DC keep teen drivers from unrestricted licenses until age 18; the others are divided between 16 and 17-1/2. States that let a driver have an unrestricted license at 18, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, include Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey and Virginia. Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts and Ohio requires drivers to be 18 to drive at night. The article above, from Congress.org, said 12 states plus DC, which means they’re including Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, when young drivers turns 18 their licenses automatically become unrestricted; otherwise, restrictions are removed after a year of driving without a crash or conviction if the driver has completed a driver’s education course.

There are good statistical, practical reasons for this change. ‘Motor Vehicle Traffic’ accounts for 39.98 percent of fatalities for people age 16-19, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

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till the landslide brings it down

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by fiddler

Following up on previous posts (here, here, here, here, and here):

HBGary Federal, Team Themis, Hunton & Williams and the US Chamber of Commerce:

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how do you like living in Omelas?

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by fiddler

Despite eastern Virginia’s steamy summers, the temperature can drop close to or below freezing at night in late fall, winter and spring. Concrete is not a good insulator against the chill in the ground, or in the air. And in a concrete cell in the brig at the Marine base in Quantico, VA, US Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is being forced to go without clothing for hours at a time, including sleeping at night and for inspections.

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Going to the dogs open thread

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by liberal japonicus Hoisted from the comments (from bedtimeforbonzo longtime friend of the kitty) …after almost three years following the untimely deaths of my beloved CoCo and Bowser — we are again (since August) a two-dog household. Joining the indestructibe Hamilton, our loud and proud 16-year-old Beagle, is Cody, who was supposed to be my … Read more

Your sports open thread

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by liberal japonicus One area that has never really gotten much love here is sports. According to my rather spotty memory, back in the distant past, Sebastian talked about his volleyball playing, and Slarti talked a bit about competitive swimming, which isn't really a sport so much as a freakish ability of some people (I … Read more

Remeet Liberal Japonicus, New ObWi Front Pager, Longtime Presence

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Posted by Gary Farber, introductory guest post written by Liberal Japonicus.

Hello. (image of Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globes)

  Ricky-gervais-host-golden-globes

I'm liberal japonicus and my name has suddenly appeared on the sidebar. I'm still trying to figure out what this may mean, but one thing that it seems to suggest is that it is necessary to post something in the way of an introduction.

I'd note that in Japan, where I reside and where half of my genes are from, it is called a jiko shoukai ('self-introduction') and if you go to almost any small group meeting in Japan, you'll find a portion of it devoted to going around the table and doing said jiko shoukai.

Even if you are practically positive that you know everyone in the room, on the off chance that there is one newbie present, or someone has been struck with retrograde amnesia in the past 24 hours, everyone has to stand up, introduce themselves, not forgetting to add a little tidbit of new information that really isn't important, but allows those assembled to feel like they know you a bit better.

So a few quick facts.

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MAJ. Andrew Olmsted

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 by Gary Farber

Olmsted

Andrew Olmsted was my friend. 

He honored me with that. 

He's in my thoughts, every day, several times a day.

Please forgive me for being very personal in this post.  I am also apt to edit it and change some of it.

Hilzoy on January 04, 2008:

Andrew Olmsted, who also posted here as G'Kar, was killed yesterday in Iraq. Andy gave me a post to publish in the event of his death; the last revisions to it were made in July.

Andy was a wonderful person: decent, honorable, generous, principled, courageous, sweet, and very funny. The world has a horrible hole in it that nothing can fill. I'm glad Andy — generous as always — wrote something for me to publish now, since I have no words at all. Beyond: Andy, I will miss you.

My thoughts are with his wife, his parents, and his brother and sister.

As mine also always are, every day.  I think of Wes, Andrew's father.  I think of Nancy, Andrew's mother.  I think of Amanda, Andrew's wife.  I think of Eric, known as "Enrak" when he was commenting on blogs, primarily Andrew's.

I've met them all.

I think of Corrine, Eric's wife, and writing by her I read via Wes, and now I'll think of Catherine, Andrew's sister. 

I think of these men:

Andy's unit

Wes Olmsted wrote me this of himself and his Nancy on November 10th, 2010:

We both think of Andy every day, it seems so impossible that he has been gone for so long.  Sometimes I come down the stairs and open up my emails just hoping that somehow he has written again. 
 
I did want to let you know that there is a new "Andrew" in town.  Eric and Corinne have named their new son William Andrew Olmsted.  We spent Thanksgiving with them and really enjoyed our time with them.  How Andy would have enjoyed this young man! 
 
Life goes on but not as well as it used to.  Nancy and I will be moving back to Maine next June, after she retires.  We are having a house built in central Maine at the head of Penobscot Bay.  The best part is that we will be close enough to Eric, Corinne, and Will to see them much more often.

Andy and I went back to 2002 together.  We started blogging within two months of each other.  Myself on December 30th, 2001, and Andrew at on Andrew Olmsted.com on 2/04/2002 07:42:00 AM.

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Enough About You: Let’s Talk About Me

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by Gary Farber

My name is Gary Farber.  You killed my father.  Some of you are familiar with me, and some are not. 

Who the hell am I?

I'm the FNG as an Obsidian Wings front-page blogger.

But!

My first appearance at Obsidian Wings was via a post by Katherine R. on December 16th, 2003, when she linked to a post of mine, and named it Post Of The Week.  This attracted my attention to Obsidian Wings, with its first set of bloggers, Moe Lane, Katherine R,  and Von.

Set the Wayback Machine, Sherman!

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Confederate History Month, The Conclusion (?)

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by Robert R. Mackey crossposted from the Huffington Post This is the third, and unless there is a major gaffe tonight from Richmond, the final part of my writing on the serious problems with Confederate Heritage Month in Virginia. In the first entry, I noted the slight "omission" by Governor McDonnell of the institution of … Read more