Feeling slighted

Kulongoski gets to stay overnight, and I got rolled out in a wheelchair one hour after the surgery to puke at home all night! Hmm, and apparently I was supposed to sign away my powers...

Governor to undergo surgery on gall bladder

SALEM, Ore. - Gov. Ted Kulongoski is scheduled to undergo surgery Saturday to have his gall bladder removed after it was discovered to be infected this week, his staff confirmed Friday.
The discovery came when Kulongoski went to see a doctor earlier this week after not feeling well, according to Rem Nivens, the governor's deputy press secretary. An ultrasound showed that the organ needed to be removed, Nivens said.
Nivens called it a "routine procedure."
The gall bladder, a small pear-shaped organ located near the liver, aids in the digestive process.
Before Kulongoski is put under anesthesia for the surgery, he and Secretary of State Bill Bradbury will sign a letter that will transfer gubernatorial powers to Bradbury. When the governor comes to, the letter will be revoked, Nivens said.
Nivens said the governor will stay in the hospital overnight and will have a light work schedule next week as he recovers.
The surgery will force him to miss a trip to Wyoming next week for a gathering of governors from western states.

ESPN cares?

I think the Disney/ABC/ESPN monopoly is an evil empire, but this is the type of piece that could get the attention of a lot of men who would benefit from a few lifestyle changes.

Here's hoping this voice echoes on and on

George Carlin died yesterday, and 71 years weren't nearly enough.

Rep. Kucinich calls for Bush impeachment

I love the brief summary paragraph at the end. Too bad Obama won't support Kucinich's move.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich defied his party leadership on Monday by calling for the impeachment of U.S. President George W. Bush for launching the Iraq war -- but his move was not expected to go anywhere.

The Ohio representative outlined his intention to propose more than two dozen charges against Bush on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Kucinich, a former presidential candidate, accused Bush executing a "calculated and wide-ranging strategy" to deceive citizens and Congress into believing that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly said she opposes trying to remove the Republican president who leaves office next January because such an attempt would be divisive and most likely unsuccessful.

Kucinich, an outspoken Iraq war critic who has consistently voted against funding the war and led anti-war efforts in Congress, offered a resolution to impeach Vice president Dick Cheney in April 2007. That also failed to move forward.

Many Democrats and civil liberties groups have accused the Bush administration of providing misleading information before the 2003 Iraq invasion as well as violating the rights of U.S. citizens with its warrantless surveillance program. The White House denies the charges.

The Magnetic Fields

You're probably familiar with them, but if not, I recommend that you check them out.

This isn't a music video created by the band. I kind of like it, though. Song title: "I don't want to get over you."

Brighter thoughts

My last few blogs have been ridiculously whiny. Here's a quick update about a few things I'm looking forward to.

On Saturday I am making a quick trip to Winston where I taught for two years, delivering graduation gifts to a couple of students who've invited me to graduation. I'd like to make it to the ceremony, but I have a conflicting graduation party to attend in Corvallis, and a ton of work to do before my Monday deadline. A former student's parents own a fantastic vineyard in the Umpqua Valley, and I've become friends with the family; the wife, Hilda, was president of the school board while I worked in the district, and we always enjoy talking about education, politics, wine (despite my limited knowledge), etc. Anyway, their wine is fantastic, some of the best on the West Coast, and I'm picking up bottles of their newly-released Albarino for myself, Josh, and a professor who was blown away by last year's Albarino at a fall department gathering. Check out the site: Abacela.com

I have a Monday deadline for my papers on Hawthorne and Chaucer because I'm flying to Michigan on Tuesday morning for 10 days. When I return, it's back into a potentially grueling academic grind: 9 weeks of Spanish from 9 a.m. to noon 5 days a week, my thesis work, and 3 credits of ENG 506, Special Projects, assisting the composition director in developing/publishing resource guides for instructors of WR 121 and WR 214.

But enough about that! In the nearer future, it's wine and Lake Superior sunshine.

Plagiarism spoof: a joke on the tired volunteer?

Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm doing.

I'm an online tutor for a college nearby, a volunteer position outside of OSU to gain experience in the composition cyber world. Tonight I read a WR 121 essay comparing Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Apparently MLK was a plagiarist through graduate school. I learned this about three paragraphs after the section in the essay that prompted me to Google one of the student's sentences, which appeared immediately as the first search result. Wikipedia, of course. And the student's citation for the information about MLK's plagiarism: Famous Plagiarists.

Why don't I just stand behind a sales counter wearing a $12 tie and talk you into this great new cell phone with a full keyboard, 358 gig hard drive, and free matching Jew's harp (offer good thru June)?