In the John Waters-esque sector of northwest Baltimore—equal parts kitschy, sketchy, artsy and weird—Gerry Mak and Sarah Magida sauntered through a small ethnic market stocked with Japanese eggplant, mint chutney and fresh turmeric. After gathering ingredients for that evening’s dinner, they walked to the cash register and awaited their moments of truth.

“I have $80 bucks left!” Magida said. “I’m so happy!”

“I have $12,” Mak said with a frown.

The two friends weren’t tabulating the cash in their wallets but what remained of the monthly allotment on their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program debit cards, the official new term for what are still known colloquially as food stamps.........

Natoma Canfield, the cancer-stricken woman who has become a centerpiece of President Obama’s push for health care reform, will not lose her home over her medical bills and will probably qualify for financial aid, a top official at the Cleveland medical center treating her told FoxNews.com.

Though Canfield’s sister Connie Anderson said her sibling is afraid she’ll lose her house and Obama warned at an Ohio rally Monday that the patient is “racked with worry” about the cost of tests and treatment, she is already being screened for financial help…

people have such short memories. ronald reagan used reconciliation to get most of his economic agenda through congress in his first term. why is it soooooo unacceptable now?

Today marks the anniversary of Rachel’s death, seven years ago, in the occupied territory of Palestine.

There will be a remembrance tonight, March 16, at the Urban Onion Ballroom, 116 Legion Way SE, from 6:30pm - 9:30pm. It’s a potluck, so bring a dish to share. There will be updates from a festival in Gaza, community discussion, a Q&A forum, and updates from Rachel’s parents on their effort toward accountability with a civil case in Israel.

On the anniversary of her squishing, rather than think about a stupid, brainwashed, terrorist apologist, I’ll spend the day thinking about a few other Rachels, all of whom were murdered by the palestinian terrorists who were Rachel Corrie’s friends............

The president will refuse to make fund-raising visits during November elections to any district whose representative has not backed the bill.

...put aside the present for the moment and step into my time machine. Dial the date selector back to 2005 when the Republican majority in Congress approved a national debt limit increase using a self-executing rule similar to the Slaughter Solution.

Guess who went to federal court to challenge the constitutionality of the move? The Ralph Nader-backed Public Citizen legal activists.

~ * ~
It’s important to be clear that the issue before the court was whether a minor text correction was sufficient to satisfy the constitutional requirement that both chambers of Congress must pass the exact same bill. In this 2005 case, the court ruled the minor correction was acceptable.

The deeming of an entire bill to have been passed without a prior recorded vote goes far beyond a minor text correction, so the constitutional principle clearly would be violated by the Slaughter Solution.

And now for the kicker, guess who joined Public Citizen in that suit with amicus briefs:

Nancy Pelosi

Henry Waxman

Louise Slaughter

A lot of you have probably already heard about Conet, or at least the Numbers Stations, as they’re pretty old news - like, cold-war old.  But they’re still interesting and weird.

Numbers stations (or number stations) are shortwave radio stations of uncertain origin. They generally broadcast artificially generated voices reading streams of numbers, words, letters (sometimes using a spelling alphabet), tunes or Morse code. They are in a wide variety of languages and the voices are usually female, though sometimes male or children’s voices are used.

Example of the latter: the Swedish Rhapsody Irdial recording.  The weird static-y music box is odd enough, but when that monotone, synthesized little-kid voice kicks in it gets hair-raising.

You can download all four discs of these, or individual files, for free (legally) from Irdial.  Click the link and look for The Conet Project about 3/4 down the page.

*

( * * )

“ FOX News contributor, author, pundit and highly successful internet radio show hostess Tammy Bruce seen here in the Bahamas with married conservative female blogger...”

the time for talking is over…

President Barack Obama’s motorcade went past the lines of protesters about 12:30 p.m. today, and many of those lining the street started chanting, “Kill the bill,” referring to Obama’s health care proposal.

~ * ~
By 11:30 a.m., the number of protesters stretched over three blocks with American flags and placards; drivers in cars and trucks honked as they went by.

LCS

words, phrases or images that make you want to kickbox someone…

My newest chafes: Wall Street Casino.

And “cute” kitty avatars.

The Kirkland man who shot and seriously wounded a robber at his home is a well-known Washington medical marijuana activist named Steve Sarich.

Sarich tells The Associated Press that it happened early Monday morning after his dogs barked and woke him up. He walked down a hallway with a .22-caliber handgun when he was confronted by a man with a shotgun, who raised it and fired. Pellets hit Sarich in the face and the leg, and he says the main blast nearly took his head off.

Sarich also fired, but missed.......

With the help of the MRC’s talented Bob Parks, the Culture and Media Institute produced a video based on its report, “Sex, Violence and Hate: the Top 10 Most Disgusting Attacks on Conservative Women.”

From Playboy magazine’s “hate f---” list to comparing Sarah Palin to a case of “herpes,” the media took every opportunity to tear down conservative women, not based on what they had to say or the values they promoted, but by commenting on their looks and perceived sexual behavior in incredibly misogynic ways…

Americans who voted for “hope and change” are feeling buyer’s remorse. In honor of President George W. Bush and the conservative cause, we’re pleased to introduce the new “Miss Me Yet?” Bumper Sticker and T-shirt! We’re also asking you to sign a “We Miss You” Letter to President Bush and a “Stop Blaming Bush” Letter to Barack Obama…

~ * ~