Dakota Today

**Happy New Year and some links and software

Stumbled onto this site while searching for Bible references to
"pissing on a wall"(ie, see 1 and 11 Kings). But, probably more
interesting is the information on "The replicator" software. The
links are more or less in a backwards list.

Any comments on the software or the sites? The site organization
and design is also interesting for that matter.

Replicator Manual LAT= http://mindprod.com/webstarts/replicatormanual.html

About Replicator LAT=http://mindprod.com/webstarts/replicator.html

MIND PRODUCTS--MENU LAT= http://mindprod.com/index.html#MENU

Religion at MindProducts

Biblestudy Churches Don't Want you to Read

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR even if it doesn't seem a bit like
we should be in the year 2006 and somedays I feel like I am
16 and others like 105. Keep thinking up.

**Stay Tuned even if you have already written two checks with 2005 for the year--Doug Wiken

**Here it is..the latest SD Unreadable License Plate

I have a previous post on the latest mediocre SD license plate design here already. This is the beauty you will get with new license starting next year. Looks nice if you like photos of Mt. Rushmore, but if you like readable license plates with useable information on them it sucks.

But, with only about 770,000 of us in SD, not too many of the license plates ever get far enough away from SD that they make diddly squat difference on tourism or anything else.

**Stay tuned and don't tailgate..Buckle your seatbelts. Drive Sober and watch out for deer with that George Bush look in their eyes---Doug Wiken

**John Dean writes on George W. Bush as the New Richard M. Nixon: Both Wiretapped Illegally, and Impeachably

Link: George W. Bush as the New Richard M. Nixon: Both Wiretapped Illegally, and Impeachably.

Published on Friday, December 30, 2005 by FindLaw George W. Bush as the New Richard M. Nixon: Both Wiretapped Illegally, and Impeachably Both Claimed That a President May Violate Congress' Laws to Protect National Security by John W. Dean

Long story with many links. Take a look. John Dean knows of what he writes.

**Blog with Knowledgeable posts on Bush administration use of threats to cover up their misdeeds

Link: Unclaimed Territory - by Glenn Greenwald: Threatening Administration critics with criminal prosecution.

Saturday, December 31, 2005 Threatening Administration critics with criminal prosecution

Yesterday’s report that the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the disclosure of the Administration’s illegal surveillance program should come as no surprise. Wielding threats of criminal prosecution against those who speak out against the Administration is not a new tactic.

After the first Bush Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neill, was fired, he became the primary source for Ron Suskind’s book, The Price of Loyalty, which was sharply critical of the Administration, revealing, among other things, that Bush had been pining for a war to oust Saddam since well before 9/11 ("from the very beginning"), and depicting Bush as a highly disengaged Chief Executive.

Check the blog and bookmark it too. Looks like there are enough facts and points here to keep Bush apologists searching for cover for several years.

I haven't seen our SD papers yet today. I doubt I will find outrage from editors who are apparently unaware of the dangers of an administration that shields criminal behavior under a veil of secrecy and threats of prosecution for those who disclose the criminality.

Where is the outrage? Apparently turning our country in the direction of banana republics does not bother the corporate shills in the media. Yes, we have no bananas.

This is not the time for real patriots to sit on their thumbs watching the wind blow snowflakes past their windows. It is also not the time for our two Democratic representatives in Congress to be supporting this administration unless they truly desire a millstone or an albatross tied around their necks.

*** Stay tuned..unfortunately these are interesting times---Doug Wiken

Pope Joan: Biography and Testiculos habet et bene pendentes

Link: Pope Joan: Biography and Much More From Answers.com.

Although the Roman Catholic Church still vehemently denies the legend of Pope Joan, it has been alleged that the Church used to compel a candidate for the papacy to seat himself naked on a bottomless stool, to be viewed by cardinals in the room below. Before he could be declared pope, this inspection committee had to cry out: "Testiculos habet et bene pendentes" — "He has testicles, and they dangle nicely."

Oh my goodness. ABC TV last night spent a 20-20 special hour on this. It all reminded my of an old Ole and Lena joke about a Christmas tryst that went awry and ended with the punch line "Yezzzus keerist, Yingle, Yingle."

Is it all a church hoax or a TV hoax? Inquiring minds are shaking their heads and the rest of us are mildly amused at the high silliness of all that religious hokum, smoke, mirrors, and broken statuary, shattered bone remnants and saintly relics, dark of the moon, howling wolves, etc etc.

***Stay tuned and don't get yourself in a "Yingle, Yingle" situation---Doug Wiken

** Snoopervision Report---Wayne Madsen Report

Link: Wayne Madsen Report.

news.gif (10434 bytes)

December 30, 2005 -- BREAKING NEWS. The Alberto Gonzales Justice Department is opening up a criminal investigation of the leak of classified NSA information about President Bush's illegal wiretapping operations directed against U.S. citizens. The investigation may force journalists, including the two New York Times reporters who broke the domestic surveillance story -- James Risen and Eric Lichtblau -- to testify before a grand jury and identify their sources within the NSA and other intelligence agencies.

A WHOLE LOT MORE on these issues at the site. Take a look. You won't need to curl your hair. The Bush Thug administration has long knives and deep pockets.

**Stay tuned..and oh...Help Impeach Bush and Damn the Whores He Rode in On---Doug Wiken

**NSA leaves persistent cookies..privacy experts perturbed

Some more Bush government illegality, but perhaps not quite as serious as the FISA violations. NSA and some other government sites such as drug enforcement sites have been leaving "persistent cookies". The story is here Information Today..NSA Persisent Cookies. LAT= http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml?sssdmh=dm4.162076&articleID=175700996

Check the site. It is one of those with stern warnings about using any information without express permission. Some of the experts say there is no "accidental cookie" exclusion. They are flat banned without express privacy notifications on government sites. In any case, the NSA site is so seldom updated that they said there was no good legitimate reason for any cookies from that site.

Government snoopervision not of terrorists, but nearly everybody and their computer with your phone companies and internet providers aiding and abetting the perverted government snoopers and "Windows" peepers...not sure about " Linux" peepers.

Well, that is sort of a big story, but no doubt whatsoever about what are the not-big stories that annually are purveyed by TV and papers as big news. That inanity is the astrology reports. George Bush has cancer in his underwear. The US is a bushel of corn or is that Capricorn on the husk of a cusp. The economy is in the doldrums because some planet is aligned with a whatsit. Total ninny medevial bullshit. One would think a "news" program would be concerned if staff thought any of their viewers found astrology interesting or amusing.

**Stay tuned. A little snow after some really nice weather is a downer. Year ending with a splat an my wimpering--Doug Wiken

**Get your South Dakota Lutefixk Magazine

Take advantage of this offer. Even if Bernie H. has to have a little fun at expensive of Norskes, he is offering a good deal on the South Dakota Magazine in the process.

So hop, skip and jump over to SD Magazine Time Limited Uffda Offer. LAT=http://www.southdakotamagazine.com/?p=678.

The regular price of South Dakota's best magazine is a pretty good deal and half price is darn good.

And no, I am not getting a commission...just passing on a good deal.

**Stay tuned..you are welcome back anytime and when your internet connection is down, put your feet up on a chair and look at a pile of SD Magazines---Doug Wiken/strong>

**Top Ten LIsts

It is that time of the year. Everybody and his mangy yellow dog is making Top 10 lists. I have mentioned a couple at the RC Journal's Mt. Blogmore. Take a look at those.

PP at SD War College has a pretty good South Dakota politics Top Ten. Take a look at those here: SD WC Top 10 LAT=http://dakotawarcollege.blogspot.com/2005/12/sdwcs-top-ten-south-dakota-political.html
The guys and gals at Mt. Blogmore are going to like PP's list.

I don't have a good enough memory of last week let alone last year to drag out 10 top much of anything.
I suppose somebody should be working on the Why Sibby is Nuts Top Ten, but cutting a few hundred examples/reasons down to only 10 would be nearly impossible.

On the other hand, putting together a list of The top 10 actions of SD Politicians worthy of Profiles in Courage would be impossible not because of the huge surplus of reasons, but the moonscape dry hole complete absence of sterling examples of backbone, courage, integrity, or intelligence. But, probably not nearly as tough as putting together a Top 10 list of Whip-Smart Things Said by George Herbert Hoover Bush.

We have a start on the top ten ways to not save money on do-it-yourself car repairs. So far, number one on the list is getting a sliver of steel in an eye that meant a trip to local eyeman Dr. Dan Peters who put on clothes and ventured out after 10PM to do some fishing for steel in my son's eye. We haven't a clue of how it got in there. He was wearing safety glasses. I guess that burned up about $93 of any savings on labor, but was probably good news anyway...and it seemed a lot better when a local mechanic said his kid managed to get a sharp dowel in his eye and that cost them and their medical insurance $40,000. Which reminded me of my long-dead grandfather Wiken who had an eye put out in Norway by an arrow and had a glass eye. No sophisticated surgery those days even for $40,000.
In his old age, it was obvious he had one eye not working, because he never bothered to clean the lens on the glasses for that eye. Looking at one good eye and another behind a lens that looked like a frosted car windshield was somewhat disconcerting. More than once, he trusted one of us kids to wash off his glasses. Sometimes it helped him read the Decorah Posten.

Well, time to hit the sack. Need to get up early tomorrow and take advantage of what we hope will be a day or two more good weather. We have a few more things to work on getting the old clunker car herd running well again.

**Stay tuned..I may change the name of this blog to SD Warped Collage---Doug Wiken

**Gosh. Somebody said I had a good idea..almost a first for this year

This kind of mention is almost as rare for me as hurricanes in SD.
Top 10 Non-News Stories at RC Mt.Blogmore
LAT=http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/politicalblog/?p=1028

I can still remember about 40 years ago the first time somebody said "Congratulations" to me when I won a campus election. That happened so rarely for me that it took me hearing several such comments before I realized the correct response is "Thank You".

So, take advantage of my horn-blowing here today and have a little fun generating your own list or making suggestions to Mt. Blogmore. Give Bill Harlan, Denise Ross, K. Woster, et al credit for having one of the better blogs in South Dakota with a very good mixture of posts and a wide spectrum of posters with various experiences, ideological, religious, and partisan perspectives and knowledge. Hell, you might even drop them a note telling them "Congratulations"...but don't expect a free subscription to the dead tree version of the paper as "thanks". And, if any of the gods damned to send lightning bolts down from Mt. Blogmore read this, if one of them would take a few moments to write their description of Mt. Blogmore, I would add that information to the SD Bloglist...(click on icon to right to see that service of Dakota Today)...

Awfully nice weather here for a few days and I hope for a few more. Remarkable change from the truly miserable blizzard and snow we had a couple weeks ago. Some of the 10 foot piles have shrunken to a yard or so deep. Also very nice that a lot of people got to visit relatives and friends this Christmas without driving on snow-packed icy streets and roads.

And while on the topic of driving for a few seconds, "Drive Sober. Fasten Your Seatbelts, and watch out for Deer on the Highway with that George Bush in the spotlight look in their eyes."

And now off to tinker with our herd of clunker cars and maybe drive into town for a dead-tree version of the newspapers.

**Stay tuned, You never know what the next days will deliver...Oh, and Thanks to you to for taking time to read this blog now and then and sharing your comments as well.---Doug Wiken