Turkey Day awaits...

Heading up to Olympia for the duration of the thankful period. Will celebrate Buy Nothing Day on the day after.

I'm hoping to take some of the holiday faithful out geocaching - to help avoid the urge to participate in the consumer orgy that is happening everywhere. I'll do my best, but I may cop out and buy a Slurpee.

Mmmmmm...forbidden Slurpee.

In other news...

Would some one please tell me why our pResident is asking that documents on hundreds of cases of autism allegedly caused by childhood vaccines be kept from the public? Along similar lines, why was it written into the Homeland Security Act that the pharmaceutical industry would be shielded from claims regarding vaccines?

Could it be that the mercury-based vaccines were somehow responsible for cases of autism? If there was no proof that harm was done, why is the Bush administration so eager to block public access? How is this important to Homeland Security? It isn't. It's just another cynical reminder that this administration will stop at nothing to see their agenda (and that of their corporate sponsors) achieved.....even if it means attaching unrelated bill riders to legislation formed out of the ashes of 9/11.

And that's not the only rider that came attached to the Homeland Security Bill. Turns out the Republicans inserted a measure that would limit the liability of airport screening companies that let the 9/11 terrorists on board with box-cutters. As a result, any pending lawsuits from families of victims was unceremoniously snuffed out. Another measure would direct money for security research largely to Texas A&M University. A third would allow the department to contract with companies that leave the country to avoid taxes.

Why does all of this sound bad - or at least unabashedly partisan in its toadyism?

Perhaps that's because it is.