THIS THURSDAY IS SEEING HERE IN THE MINNWISSIPPI REGION WHERE YOUR CORRESPONDENT RESIDETH a rather nice day approaching the Mother's Day weekend--not to mention that marking the 150-year anniversary of Minnesota Statehood, the actual anniversary thereof occuring Sunday.

Isn't that something of a coincidence?

Heading into the weekend, expect there to be a rather showery period through the weekend into early in the week ahead up this way. The fact of which was enough to prompt moi to, following his morning's service @ the motel here in Winona, do a little stocking up (as it were) on laundry detergent (Watkins Lemon Liquid, a super-concentrated affair as works rather well), liquid Calgon water softener (a necessity, considering where the water in these parts is hard and can do a number on laundry) and a few stamps to get ready for the increase in letterpost rates to 42¢ come Sunday.

(Incidentally, if you still have mail stamped with 41¢ such as is going out either Friday or Saturday, rest assured that such will be delivered without the postman asking for postage due on the receiver's end.)

*************

THOSE OF YOU STILL HARD-WIRED IN YOUR ZEALOTRY AND TRUE BELIEF AS A GOOD CHRISTIAN FOR THE TERRIBLE-TEMPERED MR. BANG in Indecision 2008 might want to reconsider after seeing this video of TTMB's "other" Spiritual Advisor, Rev. Rod Parsley, calling for nothing short of RAHOWA (as it were) against Islam, and excusing such as America's Predestiny:

Cf. Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli, vintage 1797, which itself has been the subject of dispute and overzealous interpretation in Certain Less-Enlightened Circles (thanks to Wikipedia for the text):

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

=============

COME TO THINK OF IT, YOU HAVE TO WONDER IF THE TERRIBLE-TEMPERED MR. BANG'S SEEKING OUT THE ELMER GANTRY ELEMENT as a way to pacify the Religiopolitical Right amounts to a show of serious desperation for the GOP.

I say "serious desperation" inasmuch as they're experiencing serious financial as much as morale problems of the highest sort heading into Indecision 2008's campaign becoming dead earnest. Problems which are no doubt sure to scare off any semblance of financial support from "angels" among the ranks of "the Four Hundred" in particular as would be their Last and Only Hope for Salvation.

Problems which, beyond any doubt, could mean that the GOP will likely be asked to have their advertising buys paid for in cash; likewise with those involved with their 2008 National Convention in the Twin Cities after Labour Day from the standpoint of electronics, lighting, audio/visual, logistics and related matters. 

Come to think of it: Might I suggest that the GOP place themselves under administration per the same restrictive bankruptcy laws they pushed for a few years back; the better so they can find out what it feels like to be put under administration?

*************

ESTIMATES OF THE DEATH AND DEVASTATION FROM THE RECENT CYCLONE AND TIDAL SURGE AFFLICTING THE SO-CALLED "UNION OF MYANMAR" have now been dramatically raised higher--as in some 100,000 dead and over one million displaced or left homeless.

Aid shipments arriving, yet subject to delay by the military regime's insisting that entry visas be "in proper form" (or so the junta's "inside of the inside" thinks), particularly among those with international relief agencies.

Not to mention fresh reports emerging that the regime failed to issue proper or timely warnings beforehand, nor conduct any evacuations from areas of the Irrawaddy Delta as were especially prone to devastation, thus worsening the casualty numbers. Let alone the prospect of the regime's "inside of the inside" watching "elegant poornoo" in their bunker while death and destruction held high carnival, oblivious to what was going on in The Real World.

*************

HILLARY RODHAM-CLINTON'S LATEST PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN GAMBIT, NOTWITHSTANDING HER CAMPAIGN'S SERIOUS FINANCIAL DESPERATIONS, is to have Congress declare the ilk of OPEC as Illegal Cartels Contrary to Public Interest--let alone American Energy Self-Reliance based on North Korea's juche model, with necessary adaptations to conform to free-market capitalist models and paradigms.

Regardez: It's my understanding that consumer-protection advocates in Louisana won default judgement against OPEC a few years back on charges of Antitrust Law Violations.

The which, like The Terrible-Tempered Mr. Bang's delusion of a gas tax holiday over the summer, is "good concept, but no sense"--which, in this case, amounts to nothing short of licence to engage in wasteful and potentially counterproductive exploratory drilling in especially such areas unlikely to have commercially viable crude oil deposits worth extracting in profitable quantities. Besides, virtually all the major oil fields in the major oil-producing regions (as in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisana and California) are past their prime in terms of production, requiring costly and potentially harmful extraction methods to maintain any semblance of useful production ... and, even with the discoveries in the Bakken fields of northwestern North Dakota into eastern Montana, such may not be enough to adequately meet American oil and gas requirements until such time as decent infrastructure (pipelines and storage facilities in particular) can be set up.

That, and asking whether His Fraudulency's Great Within may secretly be paying oil companies to take refineries out of production just to keep supplies low and prices high--and maximise the value of any futures contracts they may secretly be investing in.

What stands in the way of such a possibility being looked into?