With or without a Democratic landslide, on FreeRepublic they're starting to describe the battlelines of an innevitable Republican civil war. Even naming the "excommunicators." The litmus test appears to be whetehr or not you support Palin. I don't normally take that site seriously, but I think this thread is informative (albeit ugly and a bit frieghtening). Pardon the content. Thoughts about what's next for the GOP.

Has anyone noticed the cameras over the stop lights at the intersection of Black Lake & Cooper Point? They appear to only be aimed at the turn lanes on Black Lake in both directions. Are they red-light cameras? How long have they been there? It was dusky when I rolled through, but didn't see a flash.

(Olympia, WA 10/25/08) Prosecutors have brought charges against twenty- six people arrested during a non-violent women's protest in November, 2007.

Thoughtful, Moral Demonstrations

For two weeks in November, hundreds of demonstrators blocked military equipment from moving through their publicly owned port. On November 13th, 39 women were arrested during a non-violent demonstration in solidarity with each other, women nationally, and the women in Iraq. Patty Imani, one of those charged, said Friday: "Thousands of women have been killed in Iraq. It's obscene that the city's response is to jail those of us who were only trying to stop more from dying." The women in Olympia saw the suffering that the United States' occupation of Iraq was causing, to the Iraqi people and particularly to the women of Iraq. The protest was carefully planned to bring attention to how the war has effected the lives of women in Iraq and the United States.

Inappropriate Prosecution

The City has waited nearly a year to bring these charges, and has suspiciously brought these new charges less than a week after their other cases against port protesters were dismissed. Also, prosecutors have a history of targeting women and people of color in protest cases. Twenty-six demonstrators have been singled out for prosecution, 25 of whom are women.

A Call for Solidarity

Those being prosecuted are calling for solidarity and support from all those who are concerned that women and people of color are being targeted for carrying out their constitutionally protected right to non-violently dissent. Defendants are available to speak to the press.

Press Contacts:

Anna Marie Murano (360) 878-1401

Noah Sochet (510) 325-8138

Patty Imani (360) 866-6983

12 mini-reviews for the short attention span, taken from dark corners of stevenl's video vault:

The Last of Sheila / directed by Herbert Ross (1973, VHS). Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, James Coburn, Joan Hackett, James Mason, Ian McShane, Racquel Welch. There has been a long standing rumor around McCleary that James Coburn, or George Peppard, or some actor of that ilk had a buddy around here. And whenever James Coburn, or George Peppard, or that ilkish actor wanted to get away from the fast lane of Hollywood and disappear, they would hide out up here for awhile. I mention this because that bit of gossipy trivia is far more interesting than this movie. This has the feel of those role playing murder mystery games, except it is more fun when you're with your friends in the living room than watching it in a bad film. Although the setting is exotic and the premise is full of suspense, the story quickly bogs down. It also has an enclosed made-for-TV feel. I found myself looking forward to James Mason's appearances on the screen, as he is always fun to watch no matter how awful the script. Actor Anthony Perkins was a co-author of this story. His true talent was in front a camera, not behind a typewriter.

"Sex and Violence" (Monty Python's Flying Circus ; v. 1, episode 2) / directed by John Howard Davies, Ian MacNaughton (1969, VHS). Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland. Harold the clever sheep, the French, A man with three buttocks, A man with two noses, Arthur Ewing and his musical mice, This is your moment Arthur Pewty, Victoria and Gladstone, Coal miner son visits playwright father, A Scotsman on a horse, The Epilogue: A question of belief, The mouse problem. Michael Palin seems to be having a hard time keeping a straight face. Lots of characters named "Arthur" in this one. "The Mouse Problem" remains a classic and is the standout sketch in this episode.

The following two movies will be playing this week at OFS:

My Winnipeg (Oct. 24-30):

From OFS: "Originally commissioned as a documentary for Canada's Documentary Channel, this "docu-fantasia," shot mostly in black and white and narrated by Maddin himself, uses personal memories and civic facts (and fictions) to create an unforgettable tribute to the director's hometown. "Hypnotic and audacious," says Peter Sobczynski of eFilmCritic.com."

Tell No One (Oct. 24-30):

From imdb: "8 years after his wife was brutally murdered shortly after their marriage, huminatarian pediatrician Alex is still an emotional wreck, struggling to move forward. He is still viewed by the police as the prime suspect, new evidence refocusing their attention. All of the sudden, he gets a mysterious email saying, "Tell no one. They're watching.", with a video attached that appears to show his wife still alive, and he is plunged into a waking nightmare from which there seems to be no way out. "

Find the OFS Calendar here.

Usually when I pass this sign my brain, which I allow to do all my reading for me, reads this as "Gloryhole." Or at least it did the first time and recalls it ad infinitum, as it is wont to do.

The first time I thought "What an odd name for a church." Yet it has a ring to it. Glory sounds right, and hole reminds of, say, deep-in-the-holler Ozarks which is what I think of when I see storefront churches. Also I beleive people inside should be wearing extravagant hats. With ostrich feathers.

The lure of the name and the hats? A brilliant marketing ploy. In the radical theory of parallel universes there is a world where this is named such as a cynical marketing ploy and people are wearing ostrich feathered hats; and there is a world where it is named such and people are wearing ostrich feathered hats in all earnestness.

Which world is preferable is varied depending on many factors, such as whether you are a milliner or an ostrich. 

Attorney and author O.M. "Ovie" or "Ovey" Nelson was a political gadly and fixture in Grays Harbor County elections for thirty years, 1916-1946. Most of his energy was spent running for either County Prosecuting Attorney or the 3rd District U.S. Congress seat. One reference mentioned he also tried for the State Senate at some time. He ran under the banner of four different parties in the course of his campaign career: Republican, Democrat, La Follette Progressive, and Union. This last party was the strangest of them all, and he was identified with it during a curious detour from his pattern of trying to obtain the above mentioned offices. Nelson was the Union Party's candidate for Governor in 1936.

Ove Malling Nelson was born Mar. 9, 1880 in Thorp, Clark County, Wis. His parents were immigrants from Norway. He came from a large farming family where politics was apparently in the genetic fiber. Ovie's nephew, Gaylord Nelson, would become a member of the U.S. Senate and the father of Earth Day.

In a May 27, 1999 "countdown to the millennium" piece, the Montesano Vidette included this background on Nelson:

"Raised in the mighty Wisconsin forest, his father carved a log home from the forest and would travel 40 miles for food, which he packed on his back. Young Ovey also attended school in a log school house in Thorp, receiving his diploma when he was 14 years old."

"Dissatisfied with the next three years of his life working on a farm, Ovey decided to take a high school course. He had to walk four miles to attend class and once there he was the only boy in a class of four students."

"Ovey then turned to teaching, but dissatisifed with the Wisconsin frontier, he decided to travel west, arriving in Everett in 1900."

A tv station in Florida asks Biden some tough questions. Now the Obama camp threatens the station, says no more interviews for you, and even cancels Biden's wife's interview later the same day.

Enough to bring a tear to your eye. :-)

Workforce Article

First Obama wants to "spread the wealth." Now Democrats, one here in Washington, want to have control over my retirement account? I have a hard time believing that Obama doesn't have his hand in this one too, but won't say anything until after the election because he is afraid of the American outcry it would cause. Please tell me that we are not heading down the road to a totally government controlled government. Reminds me of the book 1984. I feel we will be real sorry if we elect Obama.