Patchouli herb plant

[Perry Templeton]

South Louisiana...below New Orleans. We had a hard freeze and I lost my patchouli plant, it seems. Where can I get another? Or seeds..? I've google and Ebayed. Thanks. Perry

[Cereus-validus...]

They are spending fourty million dollars for Dubya's inaugural balls? That leaves absolutely no doubt that the republicans have by far the biggest balls in the country.

Its not as though that money could have better spent on something more deserving like education, social security, AIDS research, disaster relief, etc. The rich have their priorities.

[zxcvbob]

How much did Carter, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, or Reagan spend? I think the inaugural is always a big expensive blow-out, no matter whose balls they are.

AFAIK, education, social security, AIDS research, disaster relief, etc. are being funded already, and cancelling the inaugural parties would not make a difference. There's nothing stopping you from writing a big ol' check and giving it to any one of these causes -- but I guess you have your priorities.

Best regards, Bob

[Cereus-validus...]

Not so Bobo.

You have not been paying attention to the news.

This is by far the most expensive presidential inauguration of all time. All other previous presidents would have been ashamed to so selfish as to waste that much money on themselves. Only three million is out of taxpayers coffers. All the rest is from private donations from the rich and special interests who want nothing more than favors in return. There is no doubt that this presidency is for sale and they don't care who knows it.

[paghat]

Also in the news, a survey of 20,000 individuals of many nations that would generally be considered as America's allies, finds that the majority of people throughout the world believe the world is a more dangerous place because Georgie Junior was returned to office.

There was one notable exception of a country who believe the world is a safer place thanks to Bush gaining a second term: Poland.

Thanks to Bush there have been Polish casualties in Iraq. As Poles fall, Bush demands the Polish government hold firm, & Poles are told, "Okay, it's your turn," & off they go, certain that Bush makes the world a safer place.

If only this were all one big pollock joke rather than pollock fact. Now I feel like such an ass having said that pollock jokes are racist & to stop telling them. To make up for my error, & with minor apology to Queen Wanda the heroic warrior queen of medieval Poland, I would like to repeat this one:

Two pollocks were walking across a meadow when they came upon a sheep that had its head stuck between the rails of a fence. One of the pollocks dropped his trousers & buggered the sheep. Then he said to his brother, "Okay, it's your turn." So the other pollock dropped his trousers & stuck his head in the fence.

-paghat the ratgirl

[paghat]

Carter's inauguration cost 3.5 million dollars. Reagan's first inauguration cost 15 million, his second cost 20 million (& he was the first second-term president to pay more rather than less for a second inauguration, since the second was always formerly thought to be a little redundant). Bush senior had the government dish out 30-million for his one & only inauguration. Clinton's first inaguration cost 25-million; his second inaguration cost less. Bushy Junior by comparison has so far spent

45-million for the one-day bash, & the real tally isn't even in, that 45 million is not counting millions more on police & city support that Bush has said the impoverished city government of D.C. will have to pay for out of its overburdened taxpayers' pockets.

Bush spent another 21-million dollars paid for by the government under the category of "Christmas cards" which was actually a federally funded fundraising campaign for Bush. That was probably illegal but the Democrats are too wussy to make anything of it, & it passed largely uncriticized. Bush had to be brow-beaten to promise so much as 15-million to tsunami victims, but thought nothing of spendinng 21-million for christmas cards.

Second-term presidents never have had expensive inaugural events. Dumbya needs one because he wasn't elected for his first time, he was essentially appointed by the supreme court. This has haunted him as one of history's handful of unelected presidents, & he needs to celebrate getting off that small list of poor performers. Also, his car was pelted with eggs & he was booed all along the route to the White House his first time -- he became the only president in a century who could not make the "inaugural walk" to the whitehouse because he was so hated & everyone knew he wasn't really voted in, so he literally had to be slipped in the back door garage. This time, he has established a no-free-speech zone & only supporters will be allowed to be in the streets. He'll be able to do the inaugural walk at last & can pretend for the rest of his life that America loves him since the Schutzstaffeln SS, er, I mean Secret Service SS can keep him more tightly protected from any brushes with reality.

It's also the first time costs for the inauguration have been fobbed off on the city taxpayers of Washington D.C. itself. In the past the cost to the city government has been reimbursed. This time Bush has instructed that the city eat the costs, using city funds that had been earmarked for home-security. THAT one will bite Bush in the butt, but he doesn't care, he just wants to feel like he's been crowned the King instead of the lame-duck president or that first-term guy who had to sneak in the back door to the White House scared of eggs. He'll go down in history alongside words like "quagmire" & "death-toll," but for this one day in his life he plans to be presented as Ceasar.

Tell that to D.C. city officials who thought they had funds for police protection & homeland security but were instructed by the feds to spend that on balloons & blockades & police support & keeping any advocates of free speech in a big pen far from the inaugural parade & cleaning up the mess afterward.

Do you mean to imply your priorities are balloons & bleechers & prohibition of expression of free speech in any location where such expression might be seen?

-paghat the ratgirl

[Swyck]

What message did Clinton send in '93 when he spent ONLY 33 million dollars on his inauguration? Not exactly being frugal or saving money for other priorities is it? Was that presidency for sale then too but just marked down? I guess the 30 mil in '97 was a real bargain.

It's all a needless waste of money as far as I'm concerned. However, a little accounting shows that this comes out to about 14 cents per citizen, so its really not all that much to get bent out of shape over compared to all the other needless waste. You couldn't buy many Yankees starting pitchers for that kind of money.

Go ahead and single out Bush as your personal anti-christ, but he's no worse then the others.

Swyck

[escape]

...and the beat goes on. Let's see if they show the crowds of protesting people who will be lining the streets. They didn't show them during the first unimaginable party 4 years ago.

Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for yourself or a friend?

[IntarsiaCo]

Whining soreloser, heh.

[zxcvbob]

No, I only mean to imply that talk is cheap. It doesn't cost anything to criticize Bush, and there is nothing stopping Cereus from giving money to the poor if he is so concerned about them. From what I've read of his many posts here, I'd presume to say that he couldn't care less about them.

(A better criticism would be, "Is it appropriate to have such an over-the-top celebration when there is a war on? Couldn't it be toned down just a little?)

Let the Republicans have their party, just like the Democrats do when they get the opportunity. The poor will always be there for you to help (and have always been there.)

Best regards, Bob

-- Ecclesiastes 3:4 "A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;"

[Janet Baraclough]

The message from [e-mail] (paghat) contains these words:

Next thing your borders will be closed and the entire civilian population banned from driving their car.

Janet.

[paghat]

Actually, Clinton spent 25 million on his, & that included picking up the tab for D.C.'s city costs, which Bush is refusing to do with any of his 45 million. But Cllnton's fund-raising to get corporations & lobbyists to pay for it netted 33 million, so it was a profitable inauguration. The message, of course, was the same for Clinton as for Bush: The president can be bought.

This kind of corporate buy-in is bad news for America whether it's done by a warmongering Republican or a cave-in-to-Republican-demands weak-kneed & continuously besieged Democrat. Of all things bad that any president has ever been, Bush is always in-your-face f*ck-america worse. He acts proud to be worse even as he arranges for thousands more to die & for his corporate buddies to continue to profit from human death. He shows neither shame nor restraint as he laughs & parties on the graves of American as well as foreign dead.

Bush's inauguration is the first to exclude all common citizens. If you didn't pay & pay dearly, you can't even be on the street. It's a big party for corporate interests, not for the sort of common citizens who're appreciated mainly as cannon fodder.

-paghat the ratgirl

[paghat]

Actually free speech is a right that has cost many Americans even their lives. To go hip-hip-hoooray for a President that has criminalized a lot of free speech through the Patriot Act, & made sure there will be no expression of free speech in sight of the inauguration, is not simply trying to destroy something that came cheap.

So, the sacking of America is okay & if anyone doesn't think so, they should give quarters to a bum. Novel thinking.

I wouldn't know about that one way or another & wouldn't hazard to guess. But being obnoxious for sport doesn't rule out the possibility of humanitarian spirit.

That's a side-issue of some significance, sure. The bigger issue is how much bigger & freewheeling & overt does corporate purchase of the presidential office have to get before citizens revolt & take back our government?

-paghat the ratgirl

[James]

I've read this whole thread and I see there are many children here posing as adults. For the Bush haters, rest assured the innaugaration will get almost no positive coverage and more of the same drivel from the other kids.

[paghat]

But of course, nothing could be more childish than your own "You're a baby! You're a baby!"

Personally I wouldn't rule out the possibility of children being a lot smarter than you give them credit. Certainly I've known a few who could launch a more convincing argument than "You're a baby!"

-paghat the ratgirl

[James]

If you say so mouse girl

[Phisherman]

Don't blame me. I voted against the Shrub two times and lost. Shame on the Democratic party for not having a better candidate. The Tsunami hero, Judd Bush, may be next in the White House? Spend, spend, spend.

[paghat]

Yup.

I think you've confused Ashley Judd's bush with Jeb Bush. If you're not confused, then hey, I'm with you, I'd vote for Judd's bush before Jeb any day.

-paghat the ratgirl

[Swyck]

If he doesn't think he's wrong then why would he show shame?

Well, let em sit in the cold, I didn't want to go anyway.

The real message is to do a better job of choosing candidates. At the presidential level its already too late. You don't get there unless you've played the game for years on end.

Swyck

[Swyck]

The tool to take back the government is available. It's called an election. No revolt is needed. The real question is how to get more capable people as candidates, and how to get them elected?

Swyck