The Marfa Lights "Shimmer"

Updated: Moving this post to the top for today's event. And click on the "Comment" icon at the end -- it's the tiny little cloud on the left -- and ask Spacedark what size he thinks they are.)

(Note: Author David Morrell -- whose sponsorship of this blog appears at right -- will be signing copies of "The Shimmer" at Murder by the Book, 2342 Bissonnet, on Tuesday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m.)

Football-sized lights hover over the dark horizon outside Marfa, Texas, bouncing, shimmering, even changing colors. Some can see them, others can't. Theories abound as to what they are, but no one seems to know for sure.

A newspaper article about this real-life mystery inspired David Morrell to give it his own, very creative spin. The result is "The Shimmer," a high-caliber, one-of-a-kind action thriller only the creator of "Rambo" could have conceived and executed to perfection.

In the novel, Marfa becomes Rostov, but otherwise, the two towns are almost identical. Like the real town, Rostov is located in grassland near the Mexican border. Standing a short distance away are a radio observatory, an abandoned World War II airfield, and an observation platform to view the lights. As the author says in the afterword, the novel contains a "surprising amount of 'reality.'"

The story begins as Dan Page, a sheriff's deputy in Santa Fe, N.M, receives a phone call from the Rostov police chief: His wife Tori, missing for two days, has been found there. Page, a private pilot, hops on his Cessna and flies to the small town. He finds Tori on the observation platform, but before he can have any significant conversation with her, a man appears with an AK-47 and begins shooting toward the lights, shouting "Don't you see how evil they are?" He then turns the gun on a crowd gathered around the platform, killing a dozen.

More here.

The Weekly Wrangle

Time for this week's Texas Progressive Alliance highlight reel.

Off the Kuff suggests that a pro-science PAC could do a lot of good, nationally and in Texas.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson reminds us that despite the brouhaha over transportation during the recently passed legislative session, TxDOT is still broken.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is outraged at the way Texas Republican crony capitalism whips patients in hospitals and psychiatric facilities.

Nat-Wu at Three Wise Men takes a look at the nation's unemployment picture, and finds it's even worse than the numbers make it appear.

Over at Texas Kaos, Lightseeker shares an email indicating Big Insurance doesn't just want to maximize the profits it makes from its members, it wants them to help protect them from competition. No, REALLY. Big Insurance Wants YOUR Help to Block Competetive Reforms.

Barfly at McBlogger takes a look at an exciting new movie coming out soon that's sure to draw in every douchebag you know.

With the news that the CIA concealed a clandestine counter-terrorism program from Congress on direct orders from Dick Cheney, the recently loquacious former veep has once again clammed up and disappeared. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs notes the turnabout.

Teddy at Left of College Station asks whether or not soon to be former Governor Sarah Palin is going with the flow, swimming upstream, or flopping on the shore? Teddy also answers the question of whether or not Congressman Murphy can push through legislation that would be the beginning of the end of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Also, Left of College Station covers the week in headlines.

Neil at Texas Liberal watched a 35-year-old rerun of All In The Family. In the episode Neil watched, George Jefferson called Archie a honky.

WhosPlayin posted video of an inappropriate campaign solicitation at Congressman Michael Burgess' recent town hall meeting.

The GOP's politics of resentment

Another blistering from Frank Rich:

Sarah Palin and Al Sharpton don’t ordinarily have much in common, but they achieved a rare harmonic convergence at Michael Jackson’s memorial service. When Sharpton told the singer’s children it was their daddy’s adversaries, not their daddy, who were “strange,” he was channeling the pugnacious argument the Alaska governor had made the week before. There was nothing strange about her decision to quit in midterm, Palin told America. What’s strange — or “insane,” in her lingo — are the critics who dare question her erratic behavior on the national stage.

That's going to sting for a few minutes.

Sharpton’s bashing of Jackson’s naysayers received the biggest ovation of the entire show. Palin’s combative resignation soliloquy, though much mocked by prognosticators of all political persuasions, has an equally vociferous and more powerful constituency. In the aftermath of her decision to drop out and cash in, Palin’s standing in the G.O.P. actually rose in the USA Today/Gallup poll. No less than 71 percent of Republicans said they would vote for her for president. That overwhelming majority isn’t just the “base” of the Republican Party that liberals and conservatives alike tend to ghettoize as a rump backwater minority. It is the party, or pretty much what remains of it in the Barack Obama era.

That’s why Palin won’t go gently into the good night, much as some Republicans in Washington might wish. She is not just the party’s biggest star and most charismatic television performer; she is its only star and charismatic performer. Most important, she stands for a genuine movement: a dwindling white nonurban America that is aflame with grievances and awash in self-pity as the country hurtles into the 21st century and leaves it behind. Palin gives this movement a major party brand and political plausibility that its open-throated media auxiliary, exemplified by Glenn Beck, cannot. She loves the spotlight, can raise millions of dollars and has no discernible reason to go fishing now except for self-promotional photo ops.

There's a lot more to sink yourself into, including the inevitable comparison to Dick Nixon and the "kick around" speech.

(Let's try to remember that Nixon did make a big comeback, before he scowled away into history as America's worst president ever ... until, of course, the most recent Republican.)

Sunday Funnies

"Efforts to reach Cheney through relatives and associates were unsuccessful."

That's the most surprising news in the article, frankly:

The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.

The report that Cheney was behind the decision to conceal the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush administration had put a high priority on the program and its secrecy.

Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of its existence from subordinates on June 23, briefed the two intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions the next day.

Recall that Seymour Hersh was the guy who reported on Cheney's death squads, commanded by Stanley McChrystal, that allegedly took out Benazir Bhutto and the Lebanese prime minister and so on and so on. Obviously that's not information Cheney would want Congress to find out about directly from the CIA.

What would the Republicans in Congress do if the Justice Department chose to prosecute the former veep? Oh, right ...

My guess is Kay quits

The race for governor, not her Senate seat. Harvey Kronberg, yelling again:

PERRY LEADS HUTCHISON BY 12 POINTS IN NEW TEXAS POLITICS PROJECT POLL

For second time in as many weeks, a survey of Texans shows Perry with double-digit lead.

A new horse race poll out today has Gov. Rick Perry with a double-digit lead over U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison for the GOP nomination for Governor next year. Perry leads Hutchison by a 38 percent to 26 percent margin in the survey conducted by UT’s Texas Politics project.

Perhaps more notable is that this is the second survey in as many weeks to show Perry with a significant lead over his Republican rival. In late June, the Texas Lyceum released a poll showing Perry leading Hutchison, 33 percent to 21 percent.

But if the Hutchison camp can find something heartening, it’s the high level of Texans who have yet to pay attention to the horse race. The Texas Lyceum poll found 45 percent of those surveyed undecided about their choice for Governor. That number was down significantly in the UT poll but 34 percent still said they either would vote for someone else or were undecided.

If I'm wrong, and she quits the Senate soon to focus on this ill-fated attempt to be governor, then I believe that Rick Perry will take John Cornyn's advice and appoint Greg Abbott to fill the unexpired term. I don't think the governor likes Dewhurst as much; his good buddy Roger Williams (despite the love from Paul Burka and Roger Staubach) probably doesn't have enough name recognition to close the deal, and I think Perry is too afraid of his base to nominate a black man to the post.

And if I'm wrong again and Dewhurst does get the seat, then Abbott runs for lieutenant governor. We're not going to rid ourselves of that guy no matter what.

Don't hate the G8 playas, hate the game

Thanks to Julie Mason of the Washington Examiner for the caption.

Update: Yes, the video reveals a different truth:

Post-Fourth Wrangle

Now that we've celebrated another birthday for America, it's time for the weekly Texas Progressive Alliance blog roundup. Here are your highlights from the holiday week.

Neil at Texas Liberal says that while people went on about Michael Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court was making it more difficult for black folks to get promoted at work.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme thinks Manuel Banales should recuse himself from all things Mauricio Celis.

Off the Kuff takes a look at what happened during the blink-and-you-missed-it special session.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson has more on the impending statewide campaign of former Travis County as the draftronnie.com site goes live: Ronnie Earle is causing a stir.

Mr. The Plumber took some time out recently to talk about much the Founding Fathers hated those Godless Communists. McBlogger, obviously, thinks he's kind of a dummy.

Over at Texas Kaos, Libby Shaw catches Cornyn in yet another big bad whopper: John Cornyn Out to Kill Health Care Reform: Misleads Houston Doctors.

WhosPlayin wondered what could be the real reason for Sarah Palin quitting her post, and decided to post a little poll.

Sunday Funnies

Happy Fourth

Eleanor Tinsley Park, last night.

Ariza for Artest is a bad deal

Kobe Bryant always admired that Ron Artest never acted like he wanted an autograph when duty demanded that he defend him. He loved that Artest was combustible and crazy and always left people wondering: Is this the moment when Ron-Ron loses his mind again, when all hell breaks loose?

Deep down, Bryant wanted Artest on his side. Artest gives a thirtysomething Kobe what Dennis Rodman gave a thirtysomething Michael Jordan: A belligerent, tough guy bearing the burden of protecting the superstar’s back.

This is a final insult to the Rockets from LA, worse than getting your nose rubbed in the ground after a bad beating by the neighborhood bully. Ron Artest was the only reason the Rockets made it out of the first round in years, and the only reason they made it to the seventh game. Trevor Ariza isn't half the defensive player, and while he may blossom at some point, will likely also leave after suffering ignominy in H-Town.

(Y)ou can be a star without being a star with the Lakers. When L.A. is winning championships, the role players become commodities. They get endorsements. They get television careers. Ask Rick Fox. Or Derek Fisher. Ariza was an L.A. kid living a dream, 24 years old, a gifted, young talent on the defending champion, and his agent’s bluff backfired.

Now, Artest trades places with Ariza, and the Lakers get a dimension they haven’t had in a long, long time. Perhaps three or four years ago, Artest couldn’t have handled living and playing in L.A. He gives the Lakers sheer nastiness, and as an executive with one of his past teams said Thursday night, “Ronnie will show everyone that he can win. I think he’s matured, and overall, he’ll be on his best behavior. Phil [Jackson] has been through this before with Rodman. He’ll handle this.”

Most here think this is a great trade, but I'm not one of them. And if it also costs them Von Wafer ... Most in the NBA think it's curtains for everybody but the Lakers:

“I hope it’s chaos,” a Western Conference GM texted Thursday night.

And maybe, in some ways, that won’t be the worst thing in the world for the Lakers. Chaos? That’s letting your agent’s agenda and big mouth get your butt shipped from the Los Angeles Lakers for lottery land in Houston. Kobe Bryant had been willing to take back his whole team, but Ariza made the mistake of giving the Lakers what they always wanted, what they always believed was available to them: the combustible and crazy Ron Artest.

Kobe Bryant gets his Rodman now, and yes, this is how all hell breaks loose in Hollywood.

All hell is probably going to be a lot more fun than whatever next fall holds for the Rockets.

Bible Spice steps down to pack for the 2012 GOP Clown Car Caravan

Or maybe not:

"If she is thinking that leaving her term 16 months early is going to help her prepare to maybe go on to bigger and better things on the political stage, I think she's sadly mistaken. You just can't quit," said Andrew Halcro, a Palin critic who lost the 2006 gubernatorial race to her.

Palin's abrupt announcement Friday rattled the Republican Party but left open the possibility of a presidential run. She and her staff are keeping mum on her future plans.

Palin's spokesman, David Murrow, said the governor didn't say anything to him about this being her "political finale."

"She's looking forward to serving the public outside the governor's chair," he said.

As what exactly? Continuing nightly entertainment courtesy of every comedian in the world?

"Many just accept that lame duck status, and they hit that road," Palin said. "They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that."

The people of Alaska may now breathe a deep sigh of relief. But the rest of us couldn't be this lucky, could we? Thanks to Pam for the headline.