Open thread

If you missed last night’s Harvest Moon, shame on you.

Take a look at these Mars photos.  Wow!  They are the best photos ever.  Look at the detail and clarity.  Oh, take special note the last picture shows one of our rovers perched on the edge of the crater.  Cool, dude!

While we’re on the subject of Mars and the rovers, did you know that mission was only supposed to last 90 days?  The rovers were designed for a three-month stint on the red planet.  Guess what?  It’s been almost three years!  “‘Today is day 960 of Opportunity’s 90-day mission to Mars,’ said Steve Squyres from Cornell University.”

Another death from the E. coli outbreak, so I’d stay away from spinach.  It amazes me it’s been put back on store shelves even though there are no answers to the problem and no guarantees that it’s safe.  That’s how much your government cares about you.

Marines in Gitmo are bragging about beating detainees.  “‘From the whole conversation, I understood that striking detainees was a common practice,’ the [Marine] sergeant wrote. ‘Everyone in the group laughed at the others’ stories of beating detainees.'”  America is just disgusting.

Check out Friday Ark #107 for a growing list of links to great animal photos.

Is that not the cutest puppy pic you’ve ever seen?  He either just peed on the carpet or chewed up your favorite pair of shoes.

We’ve discovered a new planet that orbits so close to its star that its year is only 10 hours long.  That’s more than two full swings around its sun in every one of our days.

The Democrats finally offer what looks like a sound plan to kick of the new Congress if they take over the majority position after the November elections.  I like what I see: sever lobbyist control of the legislature, enact the 9/11 Commission Report recommendations, raise the minimum wage, expand federal support of stem cell research, roll back some of Bush’s tax cuts (especially for the rich), cut interest rates on student loans, and empower the government to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies to lower Medicare prescription costs.  And she added the government would need to move forward on a “pay as you go” scheme (meaning no more increasing the deficit).  It’s a start, and it’s the first time the Democrats have offered any kind of definitive plan for anything.  Maybe they’re not as lost as I thought they were.

Last night’s episode of Battlestar Galactica was most excellent.  It’s such an appropriate allegory of the present state of America, except now it’s the “good guys” who are occupied by the “bad guys” who are just trying to do what they think is best.  The good guys, of course, become the insurgents and cross some lines that shouldn’t be crossed—that is, unless you’re trying to free your people from an occupying force and are rapidly running out of options… or so the ambiguity goes.

Another most excellent Special Comment from Keith Olbermann, this time calling the president to the carpet for lies about Democrats (and everything else) while campaigning for the coming election.

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