Time for some Friday cat blogging. And seeing as Meowza is such a good kittycat, another pic of him.

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Well, someone would think she wouldn’t be in the offering as they have been at each other tooth and nail. Kindof like watching a cat fight but more fun.

“She is tireless, she is smart. She is capable. And so obviously she’d be on anybody’s short list to be a potential vice presidential candidate,” said Obama, who inched closer to winning the nomination by routing Clinton in North Carolina and almost defeating her in Indiana on Tuesday.

Some Democrats are saying Obama and Clinton would be a formidable team against Republican John McCain in the race to the November election.

According to a CBS News/New York Times poll released last week, a majority of both Obama and Clinton voters say they would favor a so-called “Dream Ticket” involving both candidates.

Well, that would unite the Democrats, more fodder for the Republicans too. Aside from that, people have been hinting for Hillary to bow out now but she isn’t. And the political pundits have been having a field day over why she’s still here. Reminds me, need to stock up on popcorn.

It could be a lot worse. Case in point, Burma’s government is worse.

Myanmar’s military government came under pressure on Wednesday to open its borders to more international help after a devastating cyclone that a U.S. diplomat said may have killed more than 100,000 people.

That’s a lot of deaths. In terms of loss of human life, it is a huge tragedy. Dwarfs Katrina although our government’s response to Katrina was less than optimal, ok abysmal.

image credit AFP

Naturally, politics only makes it worse, sounds familiar.

“What remains is for the Burmese government to allow the international community to help its people. It should be a simple matter. It is not a matter of politics,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters in Washington.

John Holmes, the top U.N. humanitarian official, urged Myanmar to waive visa restrictions he said were slowing efforts to bring in relief experts and supplies to help an estimated one million people affected by Cyclone Nargis.

Even the U.N. can’t get much action here. I listened to Laura Bush speak about this last Saturday but as the death toll wasn’t estimated to be that high, I didn’t blog about it. There was a volcano eruption somewhere else, earthquakes, lots of stuff I missed blogging about. Incidentally, she looked awful like she’s had too tight a face lift. To recap unless this escaped people, it was reported to be a Category 3, like Katrina actually. Cyclone is a hurricane.

The cyclone, with 190 kph (120 mph) winds, slammed into coastal towns and villages in the rice-growing Irrawaddy delta southwest of Yangon on Saturday. Witnesses reported villages destroyed and people fighting for survival by clutching trees.

Reminds me of the tsunami although on a smaller scale, only one country affected. One who’s government is slow to accept aid. Still a major humanitarian disaster.

Disasters can strike anywhere and it is better to be prepared rather than expect government to do it. They tend to muck it up under the best of circumstances. Come to think of it, government can be a disaster. If Newt is right, it just may be come November. We shall see.

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Oil just keeps going up and up. The latest. This hits the pocketbook faster than anything a politician proposes.

Oil futures extended their seemingly relentless advance Wednesday, rising to a new record near $124 a barrel as investors captivated by the market’s upward momentum looked past the government’s report of an increase in crude and gasoline supplies. At the pump, gas prices rose for the first time since last week.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery hit a new trading record of $123.90 in after-hours activity on the New York Mercantile Exchange after settling up $1.69 at a record close of $123.53 a barrel.

That means gas will er has gone up too. And will keep going up.

At the pump, meanwhile, the average national price of a gallon of regular gas rose Wednesday for the first time since last week, adding 0.8 cent to $3.618, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices are back within a cent of the record $3.623 a gallon set last week, and are expected to rise to an average of $3.73 a gallon next month, according to the latest Energy Department forecast.

And may make it to $4 a gallon sooner rather than later. Not good at all. Hillary has proposed a gas tax holiday for the summer. Problem with that is summer will be here before she or, more likely, Obama gets elected. Any relief, if it is to come, will be from the Bush administration. Dems haven’t come thru with their promise to bring down gas prices either. Typical empty rhetoric.

More Meowza tummy for Tummy Tuesday. Notice he has an audience.

More kitty goodness: BKCFoC CotC Cat ARK FF MM TT WCB

Blogged too soon about this. Oil set a new record high. Oh, just bookmark that link, same as yesterday. Oil prices indeed.

Oil futures blasted to a new record of $122 a barrel Tuesday, gaining momentum as investors bought on a forecast of much higher prices and on any news hinting at supply shortages. Retail gas prices edged lower, but appear poised to rise to new records of their own in coming weeks.

A new Goldman Sachs prediction that oil prices could rise to $150 to $200 within two years seemed to motivate much of Tuesday’s buying, although a falling dollar and increasing concerns about declining crude production in Mexico and Russia contributed, analysts say.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped to a new record of $122 a barrel before retreating slightly to trade up $1.92 at $121.89 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil prices have nearly doubled from about $62 a barrel a year ago, which Goldman sees as a sign that the world is in the midst of a “super spike” in oil prices. Analyst Arjun Murti said in a research note released Monday that prices would ultimately force demand to fall sharply.

Just imagine what gas will cost when oil hits $200 a barrel. On second thought, don’t. It won’t be pretty. Just tell yourself, “I will not drive. I will not drive.”

Oil is up. Not good at all. I keep track of these things as they impact the cost of everything and thus my standard of living.

Oil futures surged to a new record over $120 a barrel Monday, raising concerns about higher prices for gasoline and goods and services throughout the economy. Retail gas prices fell more than a cent over the weekend, but oil’s advance increased the likelihood that pump prices would resume their climb.

Supply threats that emerged overseas and a weaker dollar sent light, sweet crude for June delivery to a new trading record of $120.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before futures retreated slightly to settle up $3.65 at a record $119.97.

But gas is down. But for how long?

The average national price of a gallon of regular gas slipped to $3.611 a gallon on Monday, down 1.1 cents from Friday, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Prices reached a record $3.623 a gallon on Thursday.

Wow! Big decline not! There is some good news if you can call it that.

While oil prices have risen nearly 94 percent in one year, gas prices are up only 19 percent.

Small comfort indeed. Expect gas prices to catch up eventually. I’m driving a whole lot less than I was a year ago. Expect that trend to continue.

I can relate, I can so relate to this having gone thru the experience myself. It’s been two months today that Izzy and Jezi have been gone and no cat pee on the countertop or on any of the appliances on it. I can safely say it’s time to remove the grocery bags that have been protecting said countertop appliances.

I couldn’t be happier, still miss them thou. Time for some mancat that doesn’t pee on the counters.

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Don’t feel much like doing anything except lay around. Maybe a nap on the sofa with kitties is in order. Don’t want to go out, it’s 94° outside. Wait for the carnivals to post while Backup runs, yes a nap with them is perfect. Backup slows everything down to a crawl anyway. Here’s where I usually haul out the MacBook but it gets warm fast. So too does a lap full of kitties. Can’t pet the MacBook thou. It’s the kitties. At least til they get too hot for comfort.

Here’s a silly Meowza pic I don’t think I uploaded anywhere else, too many blogs to keep track. Hmmm, would have made a nice Tummy Tuesday post. Oh well, Meowza tummy is good any day.

Weekend catting:

Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos at Catsynth
Optional Theme - music, art, or technology
Carnival of the Cats at Momma Grace & Company
Friday Ark at the Modulator always
Weekend Cat Blogging at Kashim & Othello

Finally a cat pic and it’s Cece. Well, if Meowza would get off the sofa and pose nice or Bazel even, I’d have more variety. Ever since I put down this microfiber throw, cats have been laying on it. Even when I’m not under it. Put there cause Keefe was bent on puncturing my legs with his sharp little claws. An extra layer between them and my flesh. He won’t let me do his nails either. Throw’s covered with cat hair now. Cece doesn’t lay on it. Course my not letting him in helps there.

Weekend catting: BKCFoC CotC ARK WCB

No, not me. I’m still awake. Them and I don’t mean them.

The White House said on Friday that there was no evidence so far that the U.S. economy had slid into recession after the government released an employment report showing only a small decline in jobs.

“The evidence of one isn’t there so far,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters on Air Force One when asked about the prospects for a recession as President George W. Bush headed to St. Louis for a speech on the economy.

Guessing Bush doesn’t do the shopping in his family. The rich/elite are clueless to how the other half live, the masses, the common folk. Those that have to work to survive. Us.

I did sleep last night but I found myself nodding off this morning trying to read. It’s all I can do to stay awake. I can only imagine publishing gibberish cause I fell asleep typing. At least my head hasn’t hit the keyboard this morning.

Yet!

Still, the urge to sleep beckons.

So does that pile of dirty dishes I accumulated after cleaning out the fridge but not as much as sleep.

Major pain at the pump according to Yahoo.

Retail gas prices began April at $3.26 a gallon nationwide but crept up to $3.57 per gallon by the last week, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. They set a record on Wednesday, rising to a national average of nearly $3.62 a gallon.

And people are starting to get the hint, sales of big trucks and SUV’s are down. Actually, the big three aren’t doing so well. My car is already small and gets around 30 mpg so no need to switch.

Although a small Mercedes would be soooo nice. I can dream. Hey, Rev. Jeremiah Wright has two, guy sure knows how to live.

On the brighter side, the Dow hit 13,010.00. Finally. Again. Had topped 14,000 a while back before all that bad economic news tanked it. And people are spending more. Er, just looks like it.

Don’t be fooled by a larger-than-expected increase in consumer spending. People aren’t buying more - they’re just paying more for what they buy.

Comforting, not. Oh well, there is discretionary spending still. Just have a refrigerator go out and you’ll have to spend big bucks to replace it. But barring any more disasters, I won’t be buying much at all.

They always get it wrong, the MSM. Case in point.

While pursuing peace with Abbas, Israel continues to pursue Gaza militants involved in attacks on Israel.

Terrorists not militants, terrorists who attack and kill innocent Israelis civilians.

Hamas confirmed that a “leading commander” was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza on Thursday, and its military wing vowed to avenge the death of Nafez Manzur.

“The blood of our late commander will not be shed in vain,” the statement read. “We have the full right to respond in the time and place that we choose.”

Israel said Manzur was involved in the capture of Cpl. Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier seized in June 2006 after militants from Hamas and two allied factions tunneled under the Israeli border and attacked a military post. Two other soldiers were killed in that raid.

Seem to me airstrike and subsequent death of Manzur was justifiable retaliation for the attack and subsequent casualties the Israelis suffered at the hands of Palestinian terrorists. And further action on the part of the Palestinians should be reason for retaliation on Israel’s part. Seems like this could go on forever. Actually it won’t.

Schalit remains in captivity in Hamas-ruled Gaza as talks have stalled on swapping him for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Rather an unfair exchange, one innocent soldier for hundreds of terrorists, held in prisons for good cause. Release one of them and they would just commit more acts of terror on Israel. Release hundreds and results could be disastrous. No telling if they’d actually release Schalit. I have my doubts.

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Might as well share another pic of Cece, others haven’t gone out where the good tummy shots are for Tummy Tuesday. Least during the day. Probably just as well, it got up to 99° F outside. Can’t wait for the summer. Not! I bout died by the time I got back from the store, never should have gone out in the daytime. Cats are smarter than I am. But they have more kitty food so they be happy cats. The sacrifices we humans make for the little beasties.

The cat stuff: BKCFoC CotC ARK WCB

By the same comments he only found offensive before, well those and a few more. From CNN is his response.

Sen. Barack Obama said he is “outraged” by comments his former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, made Monday at the National Press Club and is “saddened by the spectacle.”
Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday denounced comments made by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

“I have been a member of Trinity Church since 1992. I have known Rev. Wright for almost 20 years,” he said at a news conference in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. “The person I saw yesterday is not the person I met 20 years ago.”

Obama said he is outraged by Wright’s remarks that seemed to suggest the U.S. government might be responsible for the spread of AIDS in the black community and his equation of some American wartime efforts with terrorism.

Maybe he should have paid attention to the clips that have been running on FoxNews these past several weeks that sparked the outrage. Took Wright hammering in the point for Obama to get the point.

“What particularly angered me was his suggestion somehow that my previous denunciation of his remarks were somehow political posturing,” Obama said, adding that Wright had shown “little regard for me” and seemed more concerned with “taking center stage.”

His mild refuting of them earlier came across as disingenuous. And it took him a few days and more than one reiteration by Wright to notice Wright dismissed his distancing himself from Wright as political posturing. Wonder too if it still is. Note, with both of them, it’s all about “me.”

Obama said Wright’s comments were not only “divisive and destructive,” but they “end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate.”

Obama said he did not think Wright’s comments accurately portrayed the perspective of the black church and said they “certainly do not portray accurately” his own values and beliefs.

Oh yes, I had failed to come up with Wright’s comment on that, something along the lines of it being not an attack on him but an attack on the black church. Maybe Obama was one of those C & E people and just failed to catch the offensive sermons. That would have been a good excuse. He goes on to really distance himself from Wright.

Obama said Monday that Wright’s remarks were “antithetical to our campaign; it was antithetical to what we’re about.”

“I cannot prevent him from making these remarks,” but “when I say I find these comments appalling, I mean it. It contradicts what I’m about and who I am. … It is completely opposed to what I stand for and where I want to take this country.”

Well, Wright left no doubt where he stands and it isn’t taking sound bytes out of context. Obama had no choice but to come out forcefully against his former minister if he’s to win the election and put this mess to rest. But do we believe him or is it politics as usual?

While waiting for the fridge to be delivered, I took pics of the only cat I could find outside and that be Cece. Doesn’t he look just adorable here?

All the cats, Cece included, disappeared when they arrived with the fridge. Lots of styrofoam packing, didn’t recognize it until they had peeled off the stuff. Then I could say that’s the one. I was pleasantly amazed at how easily they got the old fridge out and put the new one in, even connected up the water line as this one has an ice maker. Never had one of those before. Only missed two pieces of tape, they had unpacked it pretty well. I was impressed.

Anyway, food is back in the fridge and the cats have come out and I gave them extra treats, Whiskas® | Purrfectly Fish, real fish in it too. Cats love it. Nothing like having happy cats.

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The Reverend Wright story isn’t going away, well not with him going on his ‘all about me’ tour. This in USA Today article.

“I come from a religious tradition where we shout in the sanctuary and march on the picket lines,” he said. “The black religious experience is different. … Different does not mean deficient.”

During a nearly hour-long interview aired Friday on PBS, Wright said he had been “crucified by corporate-owned media.” He did not recant his controversial sermons — including one in which he suggested that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were payback for “terrorism” that the U.S. government had perpetrated abroad in military actions against Libya, Panama, Iraq and in the nuclear attacks on Japan that ended World War II.

He said he is being exposed to “vitriolic hatred” and death threats because Americans “would rather cling to what they are taught” than come to grips with facts about their government’s acts of oppression against Native Americans, African-Americans and foreign civilians caught in the crossfire of war.

And what Barack Obama had to say about the controversy, note he doesn’t say which comments offended him.

“I think that people were legitimately offended by some of the comments that he had made in the past,” he said. “The fact that he’s my former pastor I think makes it a legitimate political issue.”

OK, that means he’s fair game for the Republicans. Meanwhile over at CNN, Wright clarifies his position.

Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama’s former pastor told an audience of thousands at an NAACP dinner Sunday that he was “descriptive” but “not divisive” when he talks about race relations in America.

“I describe the conditions in this country,” the Rev. Jeremiah Wright said during his lively keynote address at the Detroit chapter’s 53rd Freedom Fund dinner.

“Conditions divide, not my descriptions,” he said.

“I am sorry your local political analysts and your neighboring county executives think my being here is polarizing and my sermons are divisive, but I’m not here to address an analyst’s opinion,” he said. “I am here to address your 2008 theme … (of) change is going to come.”

Um, not divisive, not buying that. And from the sound bytes I’ve heard today and I’ve heard plenty, he’s still divisive.

None the worse for wear but a wee bit dirty, Meowza, after his little wrassling match with Cece.

Weekend brings some mighty fine catblogging on some very pretty blogs:

Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos at Pet’s Garden Blog
Carnival of the Cats at House Panthers
Friday Ark at the Modulator always
Weekend Cat Blogging at A Byootaful Life

Found this fun plugin for WordPress blogs that makes posting more fun… if you’re a cat. I think it explains their attention to details like spellcheck. Meowza tested it out as did I, works up to 2.6 (bleeding).

It is not necessary to have all boring plugins, gotta have some amusement.

Unrelated, I finally fixed the nice title bit when I mouse over stuff. I’ve been tinkering with the site.

Now, I must peruse this dictionary, always can find words I don’t know. Or can’t spell.

And soon to be put out of it’s misery, my fridge. What! You didn’t think it was a cat, did you? They are all nice and healthy. Anyway, got to get ready for the new one, clean out the fridge and all. Big pain, even bigger cause of the way the kitchen is designed, kindof U C shaped with one entry between counter and wall, all of 28 inches wide. Hard to find a fridge that will fit in the kitchen at a reasonable price seeing as they make the more affordable ones too deep for the space.

I was expecting it seeing as the fridge was 23 years old. They don’t last forever. Longer than kittycats thou. I thought about replacing the thermostat or whatever is making it so everything is freezing but doubt I could find the part seeing as it is so old.

Still, going for economy not flash, no stainless steel fridge for me.

Well, it was for me, $3.439 per gallon for regular. Just filled up. Was $3.199 per gallon last time I filled up, same station, not quite three weeks apart. Expected to go higher too.

At the pump, meanwhile, gas prices rose another 2.1 cents Friday to a record national average of $3.577 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices have been following oil futures higher, but are also rising due to concerns about whether gasoline supplies are adequate to meet peak summer driving demand.

Analysts expect gas prices to continue rising for at least another month to $3.70 to $4 a gallon. To a large extent, how high gas prices peak depends on what oil does.

Next higher grade was up there, they didn’t waste any time here raining the price. Why the rise? Today? Oh just this.

Oil prices rose sharply Friday on news that a ship under contract to the U.S. Defense Department fired warning shots at two boats in the Persian Gulf. Retail gas prices as expected rose further into record territory, nearing $3.60 a gallon.

Crude prices rose on initial reports that a U.S. ship had fired on two Iranian boats; the news raised concerns that a conflict between U.S. and Iranian forces could cut oil supplies from the region. A Navy spokeswoman said the origin of the boats was unclear.

Just what we needed, a provocative move by Iran. Not! Oil and gas prices are doing just fine going up on their own. Don’t need Iranian help.

The news was enough to send light, sweet crude for June delivery up to $119.55 before the contract retreated to settle up $2.46 at $118.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Least oil is still below $120 a barrel. Some consolation.