Two Belgian draft horses bedecked in red Christmas bows pulled a traditional horse-drawn carriage up Pennsylvania Ave. today in Washington, DC, stopping at the North Portico of the White House to deliver an 18-1/2 foot Douglas fir which will be used as the White House Christmas tree. First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha were on hand to receive the 12-foot wide tree, which will be decorated by thousands of volunteers and used as the personal Christmas tree of President Obama and his family. It will be displayed in the oval-shaped Blue Room on the State Floor, where tourists and White House party-goers can admire it.

Growers Eric and Gloria Sundback, college sweethearts who are now in their 80s and who have been Christmas tree farmers since 1956, personally presented the tree to Mrs. Obama and her children. The Douglas fir was planted at their Shepherdstown, WV farm in 1996. More than a dozen smaller trees from their farm will decorate other White House rooms, including the Oval Office. This is the fourth time that a Sundback-grown tree has been chosen as the White House Christmas tree. Since 1966, the winner of the National Christmas Tree Association’s annual contest has a tree selected from their farm for the White House. The Sundbecks won the contest twice during the Reagan administration and once during Jimmy Carter’s presidency. Mr. Sundback told CNN: “What we really like this year is that it’s going to the family.”

President Benjamin Harrison first put a Christmas tree in the White House in 1889, but it was not until 1961 that first lady Jacqueline Kennedy moved the official tree to the Blue Room, so that the public could enjoy it. The National Christmas Tree, a living Colorado blue spruce located south of the White House on the Ellipse, will be lit by the Obamas next Thursday.

Read about Canada’s peremptory strike, in which the country declared that Santa Claus is a Canadian citizen.

Photo credit: Jason Reed / Reuters and Jim Young / Reuters

Copyright © 2009 pajamadeen.com

At a Columbus, OH book signing last week where she appeared to promote her best-selling Going Rogue: An American Life book, Sarah Palin told Canadian comic Mary Walsh that “Canada needs to dismantle its public health-care system and allow private enterprise to get involved and turn a profit.” In her role as Marg Delahunty for her This Hour Has 22 Minutes TV show, Walsh initially had remarked: “We’re from Canada, and we’re just looking for a few words of encouragement for the Canadian conservatives who have worked so tirelessly to destroy the socialized medicare that we have.”

As Walsh was escorted out of Borders bookstore by four bodyguards, she says Palin remarked: “…keep the faith (something like that), and said we’re all trying for the same thing.” Walsh waited for Palin at the loading dock area where Palin’s bus was parked. When Palin approached, Walsh said: “Hey, remember us, we’re the Canadians! We came all the way here from Canada!…When we asked you that question, we didn’t hear your answer.” Palin then commented on her idea that Canadian public health care should be dismantled and privatized.

The cost of Palin’s tome has plummeted, from an initial price of about $29.00 to $14.50 on Amazon at present. Last week, it was offered on Hannity’s faux news show for about $5.00. A much more interesting read is Going Rogue: The Sarah Palin Rogue Coloring & Activity Book book by satirist Micheal Stinson and political cartoonist Julie Sigwart, at $8.64.

Political humorist Daniel Kurtzman calls Palin’s book Going Rogue: An American Laughingstock. TV host David Letterman has had some fun, commenting that “People in Alaska are looking forward to Sarah Palin’s memoir. They’re already calling it ‘The Book to Nowhere.’ ”

Letterman also aired Top Ten Sarah Palin Tips For Writing A Book. They are:

10. Close curtains so you don’t get distracted by Russia.
9. Increase vocabulary — use words like “slanket.”
8. First buy yourself 100-grand worth of writing outfits.
7. Don’t write a word until the check clears.
6. Limit yourself to one “you betcha” per chapter.
5. You can never have enough stories about ice fishing or killing things with your bare hands.
4. When in doubt, just type (wink).
3. Don’t let writing cut into attending “Fire Letterman” rallies.
2. Have a book translated for sale to European countries like London.
1. I’ll try to find ya some tips and I’ll bring ’em to ya!

If you can stand it, read more Palin political news.

Photo credit: Julie Sigwart

Copyright © 2009 pajamadeen.com

Happy Thanksgiving from a turn-of-the-century c. 1907-1915 Uncle Sam! Our readers know of our penchant for unusual vintage postcards, and this one is a winner with its patriotic red, white and blue motif, combined with Uncle Sam ready for the kick-off, football in hand. The artist signed antique post card (Percy, last name illegible) says “World’s 20th Century Champion.” Sports and imperialism are an unusual combination, but here you have it.

So finish up the turkey and enjoy the big day’s triple header: the NFL’s Green Bay Packers meet the Detroit Lions on the Lions’ home turf; the Oakland Raiders travel to Dallas to take on the Dallas Cowboys in the Raiders’ first Thanksgiving game since 1970; and the first turkey day game in Denver since 1963 is on TV tonight, as the Denver Broncos host the New York Giants.

See last Thanksgiving’s black Americana Thanksgiving postcard, or browse lots more holiday eye candy at VintagePostcards.org.

Copyright © 2009 pajamadeen.com

No, not with a bill, or in a pothole or in a traffic jam. I’ve found the Holy Grail an H1N1 flu shot. It took seven weeks. As someone who’s had bronchitis since age 12 and who’s had pneumonia several times, I don’t mess around with respiratory illnesses. I thought both the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 shot might be hard to find this year. But when I set out on October 1 to get a seasonal flu shot at an Elizabethtown, KY clinic, signs were up everywhere offering the flu shot. One was at a pharmacy here in Tiny Town. Another digital sign at a bank flashed the news that a flu clinic was being held just down the road, at the agricultural extension office. I went there and found only one person in line ahead of me. Bonus! A nurse named Julie Percefull — someone I particularly admire — was giving the shots. So, thanks to Julie and the LaRue County Health Department, and $23.00 later, I had my shot.

I had a surprise when I reached Elizabethtown to go grocery shopping. (Mostly, I try to shop Tiny Town. But the two grocery stores…Think 30 years ago. Anything remotely unusual is not to be had. Want fresh spinach? Out of luck. Tofu? What’s that? Balsamic vinegar? Never heard of it. Never mind our adventures with wasabi and walnut oil. How come we can have cutting-edge digital signs in Tiny Town but not fresh spinach?) Seasonal flu shot shortage? More signs than I’d ever seen offering flu shots were plastered everywhere — at Walgreen’s. At more banks. At Kroger’s. At Wal-Mart. No shortage here.

Things were different when it came to H1N1, though. There’s one doctor’s office in LaRue County. Yes, that’s right — one. I called there twice, learning that they were getting very small batches of the H1N1 vaccine and that, basically, the Lincoln Trail District Health Department was telling them who could — and could not — receive the shot when it comes to at-risk populations. I was put on their waiting list and continued my search. Google maps, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services, has created a flu shot finder. Type in an address and (theoretically) the map will find a location that has H1N1 or seasonal flu shots available. One promising listing a couple of weeks ago was for a mass inoculation drive-through clinic at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville, on a Wednesday and a Thursday. Wednesday was chaos: Some people waited in line up to 13 hours. It was anticipated that all the vaccine would be gone by 1 PM on Thursday. A 13-hour wait sounded…intimidating.

As late as today, typing in Hodgenville, KY in the Google flu shot finder produces this result: “No flu shots found near Hodgenville, Kentucky.” You can find supplementary results at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Google’s flu shot map does indicate that the Lake Cumberland District Health Department offices in Greensburg and Campbellsville will be giving H1N1 vaccinations from 5 PM to 8 PM starting on December 3.

While I have some risk factors, I also need to visit my elderly mother in a nursing home out-of-state and in a heavily populated metropolitan area. As much as I don’t want to give the frail residents the flu, I also don’t want to contract it from them. Finally, I prevailed at the LaRue County Health Department and got the shot last Friday. I’m laying low, in hopes of not contracting anything before eight days elapse and I’m immunized against H1N1. It looks like I’ll get to see my mother before Christmas after all. And that’s something to be grateful for, this Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Read about Gene Simmons and the rock band KISS, and see if you can figure out what Pajamadeen will be doing later tonight.

Copyright © 2009 pajamadeen.com

The hard rock band KISS has a Thanksgiving Eve treat for us — their first live Internet webcast, which we can all see and hear when the heavy metal band performs at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California at 7 PM PST tonight, November 25. You can watch the concert for free at the Ustream TV website, and also interact with other KISS fans on Facebook.

The iconic band and its leader Gene Simmons are celebrating the release of a new three-song Guitar Hero® track pack. It’s anticipated that the Ustream concert could set new viewership records. Who said Thanksgiving had to be peaceful and relaxing?

Update: Not home tonight? Not a problem. You can watch the concert stream on your iPhone or Android, live on 3G or WiFi networks. The apps are free and you can get them at the iTunes App Store and the Android Market.

Read what Gene Simmons had to say after Michael Jackson died.

Copyright © 2009 pajamadeen.com

An unassuming-looking Kentucky wildflower that grows nowhere in the world but Bullitt County and Jefferson County is on track for federal designation as an endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has released its latest list of candidates eligible for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and two of the top five flora and fauna eligible for candidacy because they face “immediate, identifiable threats” are in Kentucky, according to the FWS.

Glade cress, among the top five threatened species, grows in small depressions on exposed bedrock, producing tiny white flowers in the spring. If glade cress is successfully listed, protection for the plant would be mandatory for any land projects that receive federal funding, and the cress would also be protected on federal land. However, the Endangered Species Act doesn’t protect threatened or endangered plants on private property.

In addition to the Kentucky glade cress (Leavenworthia exigua var. laciniata) that grows in Bullitt and Jefferson counties, rabbitsfoot mussel (Quadrula cylindrica) — found in Kentucky streams — is another highly threatened candidate. The mussel is found in only 49 streams in 15 states. More than half of endangered and threatened species are found in wetlands or aquatic habitats, which are especially vulnerable to both development and environmental changes.

In other recent environmental news, a Laurel County company was fined $50,000 in mid-October for dumping pollution into a creek and killing two tiny, rare blackside dace fish. The dace, which are less than 3 inches long, are found only in streams in southeast Kentucky that feed into the Cumberland River, while another small population of dace is found in northeast Tennessee.

The federally endangered dace (Phoxinus cumberlandensis) wasn’t recognized as a species until 1975; it’s been protected since 1987. The fish lives in cool, upland streams in forests and prefers clear water — so much so that it won’t mate when water is clouded by silt. The dace is thus particularly vulnerable to coal mining activities and oil and gas drilling. Kyle Edelen, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, commented: “It’s common knowledge that there are blackside dace in that area and that it is a threatened species of fish.” He also said that changes in water color which occurred when drilling fluids were dumped in Acorn Fork during the violations could easily be seen.

As a result, Nami Resources of London, Kentucky pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court last month to violating both the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act and paid a $50,000 fine: $25,000 for violating the Clean Water Act and $25,000 for violating the Endangered Species Act. The violations occurred from May to August 2007. Bob Snow, a senior special agent with the FWS, said it was the largest Endangered Species fine he’s seen in the nine years he’s been working in Kentucky, and the first case involving prosecution for harming blackside dace.

Nami, which released a statement through its attorney, blamed the incident on independent contractors who weren’t directly supervised by the company while drilling natural gas wells. The unnamed contractors have since been dismissed, and the company says it voluntarily cleaned up the well sites.

Read more Kentucky environmental news.

Photo credit: The Nature Conservancy

Copyright © 2009 pajamadeen.com

Although our regular scheduled programming was interrupted by some road trips, we thought we’d pick up where we left off in the blog, with some thrifty tips for the persistent.

Pajamadeen recently saved $159.56 in one day by being…persistent, and we thought we’d share the info on how we accomplished this. We have Comcast’s high-speed cable Internet and TV service. Well, sometimes we have it. Most of the time we have it. But when it goes out, work screeches to a halt and there’s not much to do because there’s nothing that qualifies as “TV reception” here without Comcast. So what’s a girl to do? Read a book? No, that requires too much of a time commitment — the cable might come back on. Garden? Well, okay, but not for hours. Then it ceases to be pleasurable and becomes a four-letter word: w-o-r-k. Clean the house? Anyone who knows me well knows that ain’t gonna happen. For that, I might need another four-letter word: m-a-i-d.

Our notes showed that we had Internet outages on August 20 (10 hours), August 29 and September 17. When our $112.16 Comcast bill arrived for cable TV and the high-speed Internet connection, Wrinkled Randy got on the horn and called Comcast billing. The conversation quickly turned surly, with an unfortunate young lady telling Wrinkled that one must call in during the outage so that Comcast will be aware of it and can adjust one’s bill. This sent Randy into a rage; if you have Comcast service, you know that if the outage is a big one, you can’t call Comcast’s technical support number because Comcast throws up a recording advising that they’re aware of the outage in the greater Nashville area or in the Elizabethtown, KY area (the other usual culprit). Frequently the message says that there is no timetable for a fix: It will get fixed when it gets fixed. Frustrating, but fair. However, the customer service rep told Randy that one MUST call during the outage to get a credit for services not rendered. As mentioned, it’s impossible to do that. She then advised Randy “that’s the way it works,” and there was nothing she could do about it.

Wrong move. The color deepened in Randy’s face, to a sort of beet-red. He demanded to speak to a supervisor. Mr. Supervisor, Jonathan, was more amenable. Perhaps Jonathan has heard of the Public Service Commission. At any rate, he did see our point that services not rendered called for a refund. It would appear on our next bill. (Think how much money Comcast made while not providing service, at $9.56 a head for subscribers in the greater metro Nashville and extending another 120 miles or so up Interstate 65 to about the Elizabethtown, KY area. Remember, there’s basically no TV reception without Comcast. That’s a whole lotta money.) I asked to speak to Jonathan’s supervisor. Pajamadeen worked a split-shift one summer in college, at the phone company. There, she quickly learned that “customer service” mostly means dealing with complaints. Thank you is seldom heard. So I decided then that when I encountered excellent service in life, I would thank that employee via their supervisor. Spread the love, so to speak.

Next came a call to MasterCard. Some time ago, they offered me an option of a $25 credit on my credit card for every $2,500 in purchases I made, in the form of “points” that accumulated, or a $25 check every so often. I opted for the points, and credits on the credit card. In opening this credit card bill, I noticed tiny print indicating that I”d accumulated an impressive 16,000 mythical “points.” But nothing had ever been deducted from my credit card balance. Now, while I do appreciate the idea of “free money,” I was in for a surprise when I called customer service at MasterCard. It seems that one has to call to redeem the points, which have a shelf life of two years before expiration. I asked the customer service representative if many people called to redeem their points. He got a little fuzzy with that question. (Translate: No, most people probably don’t see the tiny print on the credit card bill and don”t call.) He did allude to the upset customers who call only to find that their points have expired. So pay close attention to your credit card “points,” lest they expire. Pajamadeen got a $150 credit to her next bill by calling in and asking.

While I’m on a roll with thriftiness, and if you’re just plain old busy or you live in the middle of nowhere like I do, consider this. I’ve always been a fan of catalog shopping. I last went to a mall in approximately 2003. If you want some sweats to wear around the house this winter while you’re trying to avoid everyone with the flu, go to Wallet World’s website and order all your goodies online. Wal-Mart delivered four pairs of sweats to my front door at a cost of only $0.97 shipping per item, or $7.76. ($48 for the sweats.) This was a real bargain: saving me the time and gas I would have used for the 35-mile round-trip drive to Wallet World, the dreadful Wal-Mart parking lot, the hordes of people, the too-few cashiers, etc. Tons of merch online that you never see in Walmart stores. If you sign up for Big Crumbs, you’ll get an additional discount on Walmart goodies. Come to think of it, Big Crumbs offers discounts at many stores — Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, Nordstrom’s and so forth. It’s worth checking out. As Dorothy said: “There’s no place like home.”

Read about other fun and games with Comcast.

Photo credits: Lynsye Medalia and Robert Meganck

Copyright © 2009 pajamadeen.com

Once in awhile, you meet someone who’s just so cool that you want to tell the world. Unlike my “neighbor,” who suddenly showed up one day at the back door — squinting through the Venetian blinds — and waving a check for…$50 whole dollars for a website (the check was returned to his mailbox that evening), my friend Dana Slatkin lives far, far away in Beverly Hills-land. There, she founded the Beverly Hills Farmers Market, is known as the Beverly Hills Farmgirl, wrote a cookbook and has a blog just chock full of yummy recipes, at Dana Slatkin.

Let’s face it — This woman is better than us. Do you know anyone else who can make kale palatable? Dana can — with Parmesan Kale Chips. And how come nobody else ever thought of Mushroom Quinoa Risotto? Thirsty? Try Blueberry Mint Lemonade. See what I mean? One never knows what to expect with Dana — and that’s half the fun of it.

Now, Dana’s been nominated in the Best WordPress Design of 2009 contest. Go vote for her, so she’ll stay inspired and keep cranking out great recipes for us.

Inspect more closely the differences between life in the perpetual sunshine of Los Angeles and life in Tiny Town.

Copyright © 2009 pajamadeen.com.

Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), 77, died of brain cancer last night, just before midnight, at his Hyannis Port, MA family compound. First diagnosed in May 2008 with a malignant glioma after experiencing a seizure at home — and initially given less than a year to live — the “Lion of the Senate” was largely absent from the Washington political scene after the diagnosis, concentrating instead on family life at his Cape Cod home. Rumors of his declining condition seemed confirmed when he was absent at three August events: the funeral of his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver; the Senate confirmation vote for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor; and a ceremony last week when his daughter Kara Anne accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom for him.

Exactly one year to the day before his death, Kennedy electrified the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado with his appearance. Advised by doctors not to make the trip, he instead left his hospital bed and flew to Denver, where he told a crowd of 20,000 at the convention that it was “a season of hope.” One of his final public appearances was at the Inaugural Breakfast, after President Obama was sworn in; however, he had a seizure at the breakfast as well. In March 2009, he received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth, for his efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland and for his championship of better health care and better education. He served in the Senate for 47 years, actually influencing the course of the nation perhaps more so than either of his assassinated brothers were able to do.

Time Magazine once wrote that Kennedy’s “titanic record of legislation” touched “the lives of virtually every man, woman and child in the country.” He described universal health care as “the cause of my life,” he wrought changes in health care, immigration and gun control as well. He led the opposition to the 1986 Supreme Court nomination of Judge Robert Bork, and came to oppose the Vietnam War.

Bitterly opposed to the Bush administration, he said his proudest Senate vote came in 2002, when he voted against authorizing President Bush to use military force against Iraq. In a 2004 speech at the Brookings Instituion, he said: “There was no imminent threat…This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud.”

He led the Senate with his stands on civil rights, campaign finance reform, education, health care and labor law. Kennedy’s legislation created access to health care for millions of people and funded cures for diseases afflicting people throughout the world. He promoted AIDS research and treatment and biomedical research. He led the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and the 1996 Kennedy-Kassebaum bill , allowing employees to keep their health insurance after leaving a job. He supported recent immigration law reform and spearheaded the 1965 fight to pass the Hart-Cellar Act, which lifted a 1924 ban on Asian immigration and abolished immigration quotas. Other notable laws bearing his imprint include the 1982 Voting Rights extension and a rare raise in the minimum wage for Americans.

Kennedy reportedly expressed a wish that his wife, Victoria, succeed him in office. Under Massachusetts state law, a vacant Senate seat can only be filled with a special election; Victoria Kennedy would have to campaign for the Senate seat.

Read the speech Ted Kennedy gave when endorsing Barack Obama.

Photo credit: MSNBC and Reuters

Copyright © 2009 pajamadeen.com.

The 17-year-old man and 22-year-old woman who burned the small chocolate brown mixed-breed dog are charged with extreme animal cruelty: They face a prison sentence of up to six months in jail; fines up to $3,300 USD; and a lifetime ban from keeping any animal. Court authorities in the city of Perpignan, where the unprecedented trial will be held, have ruled that the defendants should remain anonymous until trial because there have already been threats of violence against them. Last week, people were so upset by what happened to Mambo that 200 protesters marched through Espira-de-l’Agly. The two accused are out of jail on bail until their December court date with Mambo, when Mambo’s terrible burns will be shown to the judge and jury by prosecutors. Meanwhile, Mayor Gerard Bile of Espira-de-l’Agly,said: “We are already sending the bills to the torturers’ families. What happened was grotesque. This hero dog deserves our full admiration.”

Mambo is in the care of the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) in Perpignan until a new home is found for him. I can’’t imagine that placing Mambo will be a problem. Mambo deserves a better life, and I’ll gladly adopt him if a home can’t be found.

Read about Bonnie Grace, a lucky and loved rescue dog.

Photo credit: MAXPPP

Copyright © 2009 pajamadeen.com.