Matt Taibbi unearths Michelle Bachmann

In the current version of Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi dissects Michelle Bachman. The biggest question is whether she is a nutcase or a knowing fraud, or both:

Bachmann's story, to hear her tell it, is about a suburban homemaker who is chosen by God to become a politician who will restore faith and family values to public life and do battle with secular humanism. But by the time you've finished reviewing her record of lies and embellishments and contradictions, you'll have no idea if she actually believes in her own divine inspiration, or whether it's a big con job. Or maybe both are true — in which case this hard-charging challenger for the GOP nomination is a rare breed of political psychopath, equal parts crazed Divine Wind kamikaze-for-Jesus and calculating, six-faced Machiavellian prevaricator. Whatever she is, she's no joke.
Speaking of jokes, Taibbi is one of the most entertaining writers out there, but also one of the most serious. His piece on Bachmann is one in a long line of hit pieces on well-deserving targets.

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Italians vote no to water privatization

As reported by Alternet, the Italian people do not want multi-national corporations controlling their water supply.   The vote can be seen as a declaration that water is a basic human right, which should also be seen as a stern pushback to the Ayn Randian Free-Market Fundamentalism that prevails in many places these days.

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Things to see

I recently bought a new camera, which tempts me to take more time to see more of the things around me, then try to capture them. Feel free to click on the images for better views. Here's a sampling--first, a tale of two birds: This turkey at the local Farmer's market is deemed to be food, whereas the peacock at the zoo is deemed to be art. Tonight, my family and I walked through Forest Park, where we were treated to a strikingly pink sky (none of these photos in this post have been retouched except for cropping): Refusing to stand idly by, my 12-year old daughter, JuJu, borrowed her mother's iPhone and took some photos, including this yellow flower: [More . . . ]

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