The Libby trial closing arguments were absolutely enthralling to follow. We will be forever indebted to
Firedoglake for their live blogging of the proceedings. Will Libby be convicted? We don't know, but we find a strange and tiring irony to the argument that lying under oath isn't that important. How can that be? We just lived through the insane impeachment of a president for that very thing. "Please," they said at the time, "it's not about sex, it's about lying under oath." Oh, okay. This is about lying under oath, but they say it's about memory or something else. If justice prevails, Libby will be jailed and Cheney will be indicted.
We are utterly impressed by
Dana Priest's reporting about the deplorable conditions at Walter Reed Hospital, Building 18. Did we ever tell you that we had an opportunity to hear Ms. Priest discuss journalism at her alma mater, UC Santa Cruz. In her college years, she was the editor for the
UCSC campus newspaper City on a Hill Press. I was their adviser for 8 years, so when Ms. Priest came to campus (years before her Pulitzer) it was quite a moment to see how how much a motivated student can really achieve. She attended the university long before I was employed there, but the very fact of her was like a promise to all the students who came to listen in awe.
We had a crazy revelation the other day. We learned that the poet who started the
"Poets Against the War" as a protest to
Laura Bush's invitation to the White House in 2003, is a local poet and former editor of
Copper Canyon Press. Not only that, but Sam Hamill is the partner of a woman we met recently, and who we are are getting to know. Oh what a small and beautiful world it is.
My back has been bothering me lately, and the pain shoots down my leg. All I can think is that it's my sciatica acting up. For some strange reason I want to say sciatica sciatica like Al Pacino shouting
"Attica, Attica" in
Dog Day Afternoon. Pain can do that to you.
So, how are you and what are you talking about at the dinner table?
*****
Susannah of
Wanderin' Weeta is hosting Good Planets for the last time this Saturday. The final elemental theme is "fire." Please sent your fiery photos to susannah at dccnet dot com. The following edition after that will be March 10th at Bev's
Burning Silo.
The above photo is the mated pair we photographed last week. We think the object they are perched on is the tsunami warning siren for Port Townsend.
This post should have a photo of an eagle, but it doesn't. It has this, a photo of a Marbled Godwit. We don't see eagles here at the Capitola Beach, but yesterday we saw this fantastic Godwit. Still, this is a post about eagles. More than thirty of them. We received an email from Dave Dorsey of the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage, Alaska. They are providing health care for thirty injured eagles, and they are in need of financial assistance. Dave asked if we would put a word out on our blog, and we said, "Absolutely." Head over to The Bird Treatment Learning Center and read about the work they are doing, and if you can, please consider sending them some money.
