Ken Bern's America's National Parks just finished a week long run. The parks are either beautiful or important, The parks were established on Indian land and the Indians living there for millennia were evicted, discarded like old shoes. The parks were not discovered by us; the Indians knew about them and respected them.

Aren't we beautiful and moral people? We can tell evryone how to behave.

_{Star-Telegram/Ron T. Ennis}

Tony Romo dodges Tyler Brayton in the second quarter as the Carolina Panthers play the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tx., Monday, Sept. 28, 2009. Star-Telegram/Ron T. Ennis.

It's Tuesday, and I'm with Tony Romo. This week's better than last week.

It ended like this:

_{STAR-TELEGRAM/RODGER MALLISON}

Pursued by Panthers wide receiver, Steve Smith, Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman (23) runs an interception in for a touchdown in the second half as the Dallas Cowboys host the Carolina Panthers in Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas, on Monday September 28, 2009. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Rodger Mallison)

and the final score was 21-7, which ... looks better than it might've been, 'cause sacks and penalties cost the Cowboys at least one touchdown in the first half, maybe two. But then came the 2nd half -- and for a wonder, Jason Garrett

Swine flu is still a deadly disease, although as a pandemic it's not as virulent as the avian flu. Still, people are trying to sanitize their personal universes in response ...

Hantavirus, which is harder to acquire, isn't getting easier to survive.

The virtual fence along the border isn't going away anytime soon, regardless of its inimical impact on towns, commerce, and the environment -- just like FEMA. How come the teabaggers aren't protesting this wasteful government enterprise, or the $7 billion dollar genuine fence, with its building and maintenance costs, the DHS hasn't scrapped already despite the proof that it won't work and the myriad groups protesting its construction, from California to the Gulf Coast? Oh, I forgot -- this boondoggle helps keep out brown people.... which means, of course, that it's one of those few things the government gets right, according to the Loud Obbs crowd. Unlike clean water and good schools, which like mines and well-drilling for gas and oil, all ought to be as profit-driven as healthcare. Once they hear about Bill Richardson's effort to improve economic conditions for Native American tribes, they'll be wanting the fence to enclose his state, too. Not that my neighbors to the west would be interested, but sometimes I wish I could swap governors with 'em, not to mention Senators.

Jobs are dropping like flies across the Southwest, too, not just in Texas and New Mexico. Take a hard look at what's happening in California, Nevada, and Arizona.

_{Wide receiver Miles Austin, right, slips a tackle from Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Jermaine Phillips (23) before scoring a touchdown in the second quarter. AP Photo}

It remains to be seen tomorrow night how Terrell Owens' first game as a Buffalo Bill will go, but the Dallas Cowboys' season opener decisively underlined the benefit of having him out of their locker room.

Romo completed 16 of 27 passes for a career-high 353 yards, including touchdowns of 80, 66 and 42 yards to receivers Patrick Crayton, Roy Williams and Miles Austin.

The top two folks still in that locker room are looking forward,

I hope Leah's okay.

From the Station Fire to Pendleton remains aflame, as the LA NBC's photo slideshows reveal.

And I missed it, but you don't have to -- go check out community coverage! There are seven parts and they're also posted at YouTube.

In news you may not have heard yet: Some big banks and some not-so-big banks are repaying their bailout money, and the US Treasury is actually seeing a profit.

“The taxpayers want their money back and they want the government out of our banking system,” Representative Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican and a member of the Congressional Oversight Panel examining the relief program, said in an interview.

Profits were hardly high on the list of government priorities last October, when a financial panic was in full swing and the Treasury Department started spending roughly $240 billion to buy preferred shares from hundreds of banks that were facing huge potential losses from troubled mortgages. Bank stocks began teetering after Lehman Brothers collapsed and the government rescued A.I.G., and fear gripped the financial industry around the world.
...
But critics at the time warned that taxpayers might not see any profits, and that it could take years for the banks to repay the loans.

As Congress debated the bailout bill last September that would authorize the Treasury Department to spend up to $700 billion to stem the financial crisis, Representative Mac Thornberry, Republican of Texas, said: “Seven hundred billion dollars of taxpayer money should not be used as a hopeful experiment.”

So far, that experiment is more than paying off. The government has taken profits of about $1.4 billion on its investment in Goldman Sachs, $1.3 billion on Morgan Stanley and $414 million on American Express. The five other banks that repaid the government — Northern Trust, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street, U.S. Bancorp and BB&T — each brought in $100 million to $334 million in profit.

The figure does not include the roughly $35 million the government has earned from 14 smaller banks that have paid back their loans. The government bought shares in these and many other financial companies last fall, when sinking confidence among investors pushed down many bank stocks to just a few dollars a share. As the banks strengthened and became profitable, the government authorized them to pay back the preferred stock, which had been paying quarterly dividends since October.

.

Hmm. So it appears that Texas' House Republicans,

Nice Polite Republicans being the on-air home of Cokie Roberts and David Brooks, I've started sleeping through Morning Edition. But this week something strange has happened. Partial transcripts of a couple of NPR interviews by Steve Inskeep as proof:

 Read more…

According to a NYT breaking news update, he passed away Tuesday night at his home. The Senator was 77.

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 -- 1:31 AM ET
-----

Edward M. Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies at 77

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a son of one of
the most storied families in American politics, a man who
knew triumph and tragedy in near-equal measure and who will
be remembered as one of the most effective lawmakers in the
history of the Senate, died late Tuesday night. He was 77.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na

UPDATE: I don't have a live feed for CBS here, but CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 is showing it as Breaking News. FoxNews has a statement here.

Senator Kennedy served in the Senate for 43 years.

Oh, it's ON now --

Tony Romo.

Jason Witten.

Marion Barber,

and a

Brand New House to play in.

Oh, and if you want, you can see the game for $29. Right there in Cowboys Stadium.

Good.

Via the AP:

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration filed court papers Monday claiming a federal marriage law discriminates against gays, even as government lawyers continue to defend the law.

Justice Department lawyers are seeking to dismiss a suit brought by a gay California couple challenging the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. The administration's response to the case has angered gay activists who see it as backtracking on campaign promises made by Barack Obama.

In the court papers, the administration urges the repeal of the law but says in the meantime, government lawyers will continue to defend it as a law on the books.

 Read more…

and the First Family will be visiting Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon this weekend. Talk about a whilrwind tour!

Celebrating something the government does right -- parks.

A few weeks ago I accidentally found out, by showing up at the gate of my local park, Gulf Islands National Seashore, that our national parks set aside 3 weekends this year that you could get in for free. The final weekend of the summer is August 15-16 and will be here before you know it, so here's a reminder, to give you plenty of time to plan ahead, and some photos to entice you away from your keyboard.

according to the New York Times.

Some of these folks have done some really extraordinary things.

Nancy Goodman Brinker

 Read more…

I want a new pony.

I want that pony to be named "Medicare Equality."

I like this pony because I think it would work as well or better than the masterful frame "pro-life." Much as I regret its existence. It does work well, because it is hard to be anti-life. I mean, really.

Which segues into "equality."

And how Telfon-y it is. And how it confers magnificence on whatever concept it adorns.

"Gay marriage"?

No no no.

"Marriage equality"?

You betcha!

So I'm thinking: Medicare Equality.

Nice pony. Good pony. Pettable pony.

Let's get buddhist-analytic and divide thing into component parts.

Part one:
"Medicare"

Medicare? What's not to love? It's been around a long time, people like it, they're used to it, it's an old comfy shoe.

Part two:

That's my hypothesis.

Keith Olbermann's not in his usual chair this week at Countdown. Instead a variety of guest hosts will appear, including on Tuesday and Wednesday nights Dr. Howard Dean. No cable? ABC's Nightline has overtaken, in the ratings war, both NBC's Conan OBrien and CBS' David Letterman. Elsewhere Howard Kurtz reports a sailor accusing a Miami Herald reporter of sexual harassment, and a storied AP reporter is leaving the organization after 49 years.

Over at ZeroHedge the big news seems to be something called flash orders, and apparently this high-frequency trading (is this anything like what they used to call "churning"?) has come under unfavorable scrutiny. Why?

is this.

Seriously, I am very excited to see the idea of a fruit/veggie dominant diet gaining traction in American culture. Yeah, I know, I know, it's the New York Times. But still...

Ok,

Day XXX of Obama's ascendency and nothing dramatic to report. Despite earlier fears/hopes koolaid is still the same old price. Obama fanatics are still as bossy and annoying as ever. Detractors beginning to voice their opinions gingerly. Unemployed are still unemployed but less vocal about it.

break up into groups, discuss, report back by midnight.

Actually, it was 'visit your parks for free' weekend [and if you missed this one, there's still one more this summer], but I just found out about this morning when I packed the dog and a picnic breakfast into the car and drove out to check on the newly re-opened Ft Pickens -- five years after hurricane Ivan destroyed the road, and much of the park's picnic and camping facilities. I was planning to take pictures to post for y'all, but it was raining.

I have to admit, I'd pretty much written NOW off a long time ago as an DC-insider suck-up organization. And Kim Gandy's choice of Obama-worship over substantive advocacy for women last year would have been a turn-off in any case. But the recent election of new NOW president Terry O'Neill has allowed me, well, a bit of hope.

The election shaped up as a female-only replay of much of the divisions in the primaries (hot young things full of hope vs bitter elderly knitters), a point even Salon's Broadsheet noticed. O'Neill's opponent was Latifa Lyles, who had Gandy's endorsement and an Obama-like rhetorical style, which Salon's Berman, oddly, quotes as proof in support of Lyles' substance:

Its that time again. What's on your book shelf and what are you reading?

Real life has kept me silent of late, but I've been enjoying the commentary. There has been some talk about Dems selling out and Obama's right-wing policies. This got me thinking about what it means to be a liberal. What is our philosophical rationale for the policies we wish to pursue? What are some of the books that all liberals should read? Any hard core philosophy books?

I'll get back to Guadalupe Mountains National Park another time,

_{Guadalupe Mountains NP, seen from Carlsbad Caverns NP}
but in the spirit of keeping my promises to talk more about Carlsbad,

here are some photos from the National Park

_{view southeast from the visitor's center, toward Mexico}

(not the caves themselves -- there's more than one, but I didn't get to go inside because I reached the park after closing time).

<sub>Panorama looking west from the visitors' center parking lot

Visitor's Center, from the southwest approach</sub>
Since this trip I've been up to Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas Panhandle,