Worst Congress Ever Tops itself

“They didn't break me. I broke myself.”

-Max Brooks, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

As we enter the second week of the U.S. government shutdown, polls show that although most citizens still blame the GOP lead House of Representatives, they're more than willing to spread the blame around.

How we reached the point where handful of renegadeTeaParty Rupublicans, lead by junior Texas Senator Ted Cruz, could bring the entire U.S. government to its knees shows just how broken the system is.

With the Budget ceiling deadline coming up on Oct.17th, the stakes for reaching an agreement have never been higher. Failure to raise the debt ceiling to pay off money already spent would likely result in a huge disruption to the world economy. In fact, because the stakes are so high, few believe that even the most dysfunctional Congress ever would dare cross that line. We'll know soon enough.

Syria's Assad: Between Iraq and a Hard Place

“Perhaps, when we remember wars, we should take off our clothes and paint ourselves blue and go on all fours all day long and grunt like pigs. That would surely be more appropriate than noble oratory and shows of flags and well-oiled guns.” -Kurt Vonnegut 'Cat's Cradle'

As the second entry in my 'ruthless despot' series, I hereby present Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

It seems like only yesterday that South Korea's Kim Jong Un was grabbing all the headlines for his nuclear threats against the west and his nearby neighbors. But no sooner had ambassador Dennis Rodman defused the situation there, than, like a endless game of Whack-a-Mole, another dictator pops up to grab the world's attention.

Already, just a few weeks after Assad's military launched a sarin gas attack on his own people, here in the U.S., the media's focus has shifted more toward domestic budget issues for the time being.

Let's hope the latest UN/Russian/US plan to destroy Syria's chemical weapons doesn't go up in smoke and the middle east can get back to it's conventional mayhem.

Diana Nyad's Swim for the Ages

Somewhat lost amid last week's Syrian shuffle was the news that long distance swimmer Diana Nyad completed her swim from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida, a 110-mile swim through shark and jellyfish infested waters, without the use of a protective shark cage, a feat unmatched by anyone previous, let alone someone who recently celebrated their 64th birthday.

The 53 hour-long ordeal took its toll, both physically and mentally on Nyad. Besides contending with jellyfish stings, seawater intake, and nausea, the monotony of the trip led to hallucinations. Along the way, as the hours passed, the voice of her favorite artist, Neil Young, played in her head and in a semi-dream state, imagined that she was swimming toward the Taj Mahal.

The swim was her fifth and, as she made clear before setting out, final attempt. When she emerged, understandably dazed and exhausted, to greet her well-wishers, she had three inspirational messages for the crowd:

1. We should never give up.

2. You're never too old to chase your dreams

and

3. It looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team.

As a postscript, it should come as no surprise, in those post-Lance Armstrong era, that skeptics and naysayers are now surfacing to pee in Nyad's proverbial pool. Some have noted that, according to progress logs, her swimming speed nearly doubled along one stretch. While her team attributes the boost to favorable currents, the skeptics believe she must have been pulled along for a while by a support boat. Other open water swimmers criticized her use of a special jellyfish repellent swimsuit and mask, saying that it violates strict guidelines known as the English Channel rules.

Whatever details emerge in the coming days, there's little argument that Nyad's achievement is remarkable regardless of the details and as in every controversy, believers will continue to believe and skeptics will continue to have their doubts.

Sketchnotes from CBS Sunday Morning

I'm trying to get used to doing quick sketch notes of news programs to keep in practice. Here's a few from yesterday's "CBS Sunday Morning", a show that I love and try to never miss. The idea here is to do this as often as I can and hopefully develop my sketch note techniques.

The Head that Wouldn't Die

I caught this story while listening to on public radio a couple of weeks back about a recent discovery to come out of Rice University's Dept. of Biochemistry and Cell Biology. A faculty professor there, Janet Braam, found that some produce, which in her experiments included cabbage, responded to light and dark cycles, known as circadian rhythms, days after being harvested. Cruciferous veggies such as cabbage use these cycles to produce cancer-fighting compounds. For nutritionists, grocers, and food distributors, this finding will likely have a significant effect on the way fruits and vegetables are handled. By regulating the light and dark cycles to mimic nature, they'll be able to coax the maximum health benefits out of their produce.

More info on Prof. Braam and her colleagues' ongoing research can be found here.