Quickies and weekend

Image from the Contortion Photo Library.

The co-signer and I went to a wedding this weekend in Portland. An old friend of hers from high school got hitched at the Edgefield Manor. It really was a lovely wedding. The bride and groom looked wonderful, the ceremony was short, and everyone behaved. A nice touch to end the ceremony was when the newlyweds decided that, rather than a reception line, they would "dismiss" each row of guests, thanking them for attending and hugging them. The Edgefield was pretty nice - several bars/pubs on site and a golf course. We sat at the reception with the groom's sister, her family, and their godparents. We took off fairly early and retired to our hotel room down the road and the Beast Western.

This particular Beast Western was better than average. The room featured the tiny coffee pot, of course, but also a tiny microwave and refrigerator. We didn't use either, but it was a nice touch. In fact, we didn't use the coffee pot either as they were serving fresh Tully's coffee in the lobby. They had a decent breakfast as well featuring make your own waffles, eggs, hash browns, raisin bread, bagels, donuts, fruit, yogurt, cereal, and juice. It wasn't very good food, but at least there was something available for your stay and it was included in the room price.

We went to Powell's and hung out for a bit, buying a couple of books. We hung out at Moonstruck Cafe for a mocha. We wandered through the Chinese garden and had tea in their tea house. We had a light meal at Jake's before heading home on Sunday. On the trip home I read to the co-signer from The Omnivore's Dilemma, an excellent book that I have on loan from the library and need to return today.

All in all, a very nice weekend.

I see that Bush's approval ratings have hit an all time low. Perhaps it was his Macarena performance on April 26th? Kidding. Seriously, Bush is as unpopular as Jimmy Carter was.

Seniors are being exploited by insurance salesmen for pricey Medicare insurance that costs them, and taxpayers, more money. No one could ever have foreseen this outcome, I'm sure the Republicans (and Democrats) will cry.

Republicans and the Bush administration ignored warnings that taxpayers were getting fleeced by the student loan industry. See a pattern?

War fronts: U.S. soldiers' ethics questioned (actually, I am not surprised by the report, given the propaganda by this administration and human's general reactions in war), Secretary of Defense Gates may not be following the Bush play book (we'll see if at the end of this summer he quits after arguing with the Decider), think Walter Reed is bad? Check out the medical care for Iraqi soldiers. Al Qaeda's number 2 person says he wants the U.S. troops in Iraq. The memorial created last year to honor the American soldiers who died Iraq and Afghanistan has already run out of space. Shouldn't that be a sign?

Gasoline prices hit an all time high.

On another war front: The drug war still yields depressing stories while doing nothing to address the alleged problem it is supposed to face. How long are we going to continue to allow police to falsify evidence, make mistakes, and employ SWAT teams in the pursuit of a failed policy?

Did the White House want to have it's political hooks in the Justice Department for a much longer time, but was thwarted in that effort by a long time Justice employee? FDL has the original article and points to Law.com for further proof.

Israel expects another confrontation with Hezbollah this summer. They are trying to talk with Syria before it gets under way.

The Transportation Security Administration, the group responsible for checking names of passengers on air flights in the U.S., lost a hard drive with the names, social security numbers and more of 100,000 employees. Meanwhile, Homeland Security no longer wants to prescreen Canadians for streamlined entry into the U.S. because Canada refuses to thumbprint and check people who even approach the border.

The MPAA makes up numbers when it's convenient. Are we surprised? Do they work for Bush?