Hilary Clinton made a pretty good speech last night, and a good part of it dealt with unity in the Democratic Party. She made important points about the importance of including women and racial minorities and homosexuals, and in thanking her supporters meticulously included Puerto Rico and the territories.

I was really feeling that unity glow, too, right up to the end... and then she did what so many politicians have done before her, and she metaphorically threw me out of the tent. She's far from the first, she won't be the last, and it seems to be getting worse rather than better in the Democratic Party.

You didn't catch it? it was when she ended with this: "That is our duty, to build that bright future, and to teach our children that in America there is no chasm too deep, no barrier too great — and no ceiling too high — for all who work hard, never back down, always keep going, have faith in God, in our country, and in each other."

Those of you who already either know me or know of me know that I am a massive pootie person. We are currently unable to have a cat, due to living in a motel; however I grew up with both cats & dogs and I love both. I do not discriminate against any animal & love animal photos of all kinds. Please enjoy the following and add any photos that you think the community would like to see.
Just two things to remember:

1. NO INFIGHTING WITH OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS

2. NO DISCUSSION OF ANY ISSUE FROM ANY OTHER DIARY

Now, enjoy the photos & have some fun. :)

subtitled: Bringing a Gun to a Knife Fight

For those that would like to hide my views away from the world this is your opportunity to do so...at least on this website.  But before you send me to the wolves here's a thought or two:

Your particular issues are important, they are held in high regard by most people on this web site including myself.  But if you allow your particular views to soften or deflect punches meant for the other side of the aisle then perhaps you are doing a dis-service to the Democrats as a whole.  

Thousands of us have been pushing for Dems with stronger backbones, louder voices, and the balls to attack corrupt policies and policymakers on every level.  In order to attract that type of candidate we ourselves must become stronger and louder.  We cannot worry about hurting someone's feelings or alienating a certain group, if those groups don't understand the fight we are in then that is their problem, hopefully they'll catch up.

This is a hodge-podge of food news, garnered from the four (?) corners on "teh internets", I read them for you so you don't have to. Although in some instances it can provoke a laugh or two.

Consuming milk can assist muscle recuperation after exercise according to a study published in the August edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism.

Source: Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, Volume 33(4): 775–783 (2008)

‘Acute milk-based protein–CHO supplementation attenuates exercise-induced muscle damage’

Authors: Emma Cockburn, Philip R Hayes, Duncan N French, Emma Stevenson, and Alan St Clair Gibson.

Moving along.

I have had very little luck photographing sharp-shinned hawks.  They're small, fast, skittish and aggressive.  The picture here is the very first I ever took of one.  It was taken on Pack Monadnack, NH; it was coming in to attack a plastic hawk that had been put up in order to attract raptors for the Fall hawk watch.  

But I still have a fondness for this photo, as it illustrates what I think of as proper sharp-shinned stance: flying in the air, talons out, ready to attack something three times its size.

There's a running joke during hawk watch: if you see an accipiter (I'll explain that term after the fold) in flight you can tell the sharpies because they're the ones chasing the other birds away.

As always, these are all smaller versions of the photos, which are clickable links to the larger versions, with details about type of camera, ISO settings, etc.

I've been on hiatus for the last few weeks, but I'm back with the weekly list of books by kossacks (or former kossacks or close relatives of kossacks).  There are some new additions to the list this week (and a new author category) so be sure to check it out.

As usual, if you know of any any authors who I am missing, respond in the comments or send me email.  If you're an author who'd like to be added to the list anonymously, email me and I'll be happy to leave off your dKos ID.  

I need to insert my standard plug here: if you like to talk about books, be sure to check out the weekly diary series  What Are You Reading and Bookflurries.

If any author below feels misclassified by my system, just let me know and I'll be happy to move you to whichever section you think best describes your work.

I'm sorry.  I can't sit by on this one.

If you haven't read droogie6655321's recommended diary, head over there and catch up on what has transpired since Droogie published yesterday's diary (since deleted) about the AP.

Much, much more over the fold.

You'd think living in Ireland I'd be safe against say, drought? Well, think again. There was an article yesterday in the Irish Times. Unseasonal monsoon weather conceals the fact that eastern population centres are only one drought away from water rationing, writes Harry McGee, Irish Times contributor.

The twin pressures - dwindling resources and an increased demand from population growth - makes water a premium product that could be considered analogous to oil.

"Just from population growth alone, Dublin city needs to find alternative sources of supply. It will need an extra 350 million litres a day to be brought to Dublin by 2015,"

In a previous water diary I related the UN prediction: by 2025, two thirds of the global population will experience water shortages, with severe lack of water affecting the lives and livelihoods of 1.8 billion.

DIDS is a serial devoted to gathering around and sharing interesting stories about the past week, about the things we did (a DIDS) or that others did (also a DIDS) or that we want to do soon (ditto, a DIDS) or wish we had done (that's DIDS enough for me).

So, without further to-do, let me tell you what I DIDSed.

I was so moved by last night's speech by Michelle Obama, I decided to attempt a conversion of the text into a free verse poem.

(braces for critiques to come)

Perhaps you have some literature to share too? It might get lonely up here...

(attempt below the break)

Those of you who already either know me or know of me know that I am a massive pootie person. We are currently unable to have a cat, due to living in a motel; however I grew up with both cats & dogs and I love both. I do not discriminate against any animal & love animal photos of all kinds. Please enjoy the following and add any photos that you think the community would like to see. Now, enjoy the photos & have some fun. :)

Look what has happened! OMG! OMG! OMG!  I, who have prided myself on being able to claim the title of "Leftwing Blogger," I who have resisted pandering to the Mojo dispensing masses, I who have remained at my keyboard despite the Siren call of Denver, I have finally lost my TU.

That may mean nothing to you, that may be no big deal if it happened to you, but to me it means, OMG! OMG! OMG!, it means something.  Specifically, it means that the inhuman, heartless algorithm, or put another way, the machine that decides who is worthy here and who is trusted, and who is not worthy and who is not trusted, has reached a conclusion, a wrong conclusion, and has unjustly and capriciously labeled me unworthy, untrusted.

I'm watching a lot of the campaign coverage, and going to watch some of the speeches tonight, but there aren't a lot of places in the continental U.S. that are much further from Denver than Vermont, so I'm watching from afar.

Many of you know me (Julie Waters) through birding and photography, though some of you know me through puzzles and some know me from some of my psychology-related diaries.

I don't write a lot here about music.  I love music, and have a lot to say about it, but I don't always know how to articulate it.

As things happen, however, I needed to get a new computer and the MacBook Pro I got has a nice little feature: a built in webcam.  So this afternoon, I played around with it and got a video of some of the stuff I do:

I hope you enjoyed watching / listening to it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Feel free to use this as an open "I'm not in Denver" thread.

Those of you who already either know me or know of me know that I am a massive pootie person. We are currently unable to have a cat, due to living in a motel; however I grew up with both cats & dogs and I love both. I do not discriminate against any animal & love animal photos of all kinds. Please enjoy the following and add any photos that you think the community would like to see. Now, enjoy the photos & have some fun. :)

Fitness Monday is a community series for health and fitness support.‭  ‬None of the hosts or diarists are professionals.‭  ‬Please consult your own general practitioner if you have questions.‭  

Fit Kos-friends have more energy to elect more and better Democrats‭!  

No canvassing for me this weekend.  I spent Saturday at a volunteer training event in Columbus, Ohio and I am now a Neighborhood Team Leader for the Obama/Biden campaign.    If you've taken on the role of "armchair campaign manager" recently, then this is the volunteer position for you.  If most of your diaries contain the theme "The Obama campaign needs to..." then this is the position for you.  If you deeply care about this campaign and want to make sure we win, then this is the position for you.  If you want to learn more about this role, follow me after the jump.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your support, kudos, & kind words last week & tonight. Next Sunday, we return you to your regularly scheduled "programming." :D

One of the most impressive things about YOU, fellow Kossaks, is the breadth of knowledge YOU have accumulated. Smarts spanning from aardvarks to Zymurgy.  If you ask a question on Dkos, ANY question, it WILL be answered`at the very least with a link or a clue!

The Daily Kos is truly a cornucopia of information. So much so that it can be like Sipping from a firehose ! I don't want to try to tell you how to use it!!! So here is Not buhdydharma's New User's Guide to dKos! The best guide to Dkos ever written IMHO! And for a list of GOOD series on Dkos have a look at part of the FAQ Yes dkos is Wunnerful and with these few extra gems of wisdom in hand, you may peruse its pulchritude at your pleasure!

Any Questions?