What People Believe - By Charley Reese

"The trick is to remember to make the distinction between America in the abstract and America in reality. The America in the abstract is made up of all our experiences, memories, stories, legends and myths. The America in reality consists of what exists right at this moment. And what exists right at this moment is a corrupt federal government with a foolish man in the White House"

PASS THIS AROUND

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13410.htm

How Bad Does It Have To Get...

...Before They Call It A Civil War?

It's not just Baghdad. It's all over Iraq:

"Iraq's new prime minister declared a state of emergency Wednesday in the southern city of Basra...

"A car bomb in the northern city of Mosul, meanwhile, killed five policemen...

"In Baghdad, gunmen killed a Shiite muazzin, the man who calls for the five daily prayers...

"Jamal Kadhim Hassoun al-Zamili, a former governor of Diwaniyah, 180 miles south of Baghdad, was killed in a drive-by shooting...

"...a bomb hidden in an air conditioner exploded in the mayor's office in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad...

Complete article at Forbes.com.


(Side note to buttfuckboy: A while back, you said, "Bring 'em on".
They did.
Any more advice?)

Go Kansas!

Ex-Kansas GOP chair switches affiliation

TOPEKA, Kan. - The former chairman of the Kansas Republican Party jumped ship in a big way Tuesday, switching his affiliation to Democrat amid speculation that he would become Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' running mate.

Johnson County Elections Commissioner Brian Newby confirmed that Mark Parkinson, the state GOP chairman from 1999 to 2003, came to the office and switched his party affiliation shortly before noon.

...

Republican House Speaker Doug Mays said he was disgusted by Parkinson's lack of loyalty to the party that made him chairman, but he isn't surprised by the rift.

The Republican Party, which has dominated Kansas politics since statehood, has shifted to the right in recent years and it inevitably will shift back to the left, he said. Instead of defecting to challenge one another, though, Republicans need to find common ground, he said.( read on)

Who Are The Real Abortionists?

In this article, The Natural Family Planning Abortion, at Talk To Action, I learned that the "pro-life" position on birth control is that the godly way to prevent pregnancy, if you're married, is only to use Natural Family Planning (NFP) which was once called the "rhythm method". That means that you should avoid genital contact during a woman's fertile period around day 14 of the menstrual cycle. (Research confirms however that ovulation can take place at any time during the monthly cycle. The 14th day thing is out.) The official "pro-life" position against birth control pills, which raise the levels of progesterone, is that if the "tiny baby" (blastocyst) fails to implant in a hostile uterine lining (which is caused by raised levels of progesterone), the "tiny baby" will die. Thus birth control pills, in their opinion, produce chemical abortions.

But what about a female's natural progesterone? Breast feeding raises the level of progesterone in a woman's body (which causes "tiny babies" to die) so generally a woman does not get pregnant during this time. Religionists have no problem with using breast feeding as a natural way to space babies however it works the same way as the Plan B pill. "Pro-life" proponents ought to take into consideration then that breast feeding is also a chemical abortion. No?

What should be even more alarming to "Pro-lifers" is that new research also condemns the rhythm method as a killer of embryos. Using a condom or having an abortion causes LESS embryonic death world wide than using the rythm method!

As many as 50% of conceptions may not survive long enough even to disrupt menstruation, Bovens says. It is reasonable to assume then, he adds, that embryos created from sperm that has been sitting for days within the female's reproductive tract before ovulation may be disadvantaged.

The situation is similar, he suggests, for eggs that have been waiting around for sperm to arrive. These are the only two likely scenarios where fertilisation might occur using the rhythm method, he points out.

These embryos may then face a less-than-ideal uterine lining, he points out, since the uterus is not as receptive outside of the most fertile period.

Bovens calculates that, if the rhythm method is 90% effective, and if conceptions outside the fertile period are about twice as likely to fail as to survive, then “millions of rhythm method cycles per year globally depend for their success on massive embryonic death”.
...

If you’re concerned about embryonic death,” Bovens says, “you’ve got to be consistent here and give up the rhythm method.”

...

[Roger Gosden, at the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility in New York, US] recalls that at least one study found that Roman Catholics had higher rates of miscarriage, presumably, he says, due to aged gametes. "Actually confirming this is not easy, though," he admits.

uh oh, anyway.

In The Natural Family Planning Abortion article, this book, Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance by John M. Riddle who researched ancient birth control methods that were passed down from generation to generation of women discovered that the Catholic church in the 1200's offered instructions to the poor for "preventing pregnancy and provoking the menses - an eternal euphemism for abortion." Oh my.

The "pro-life" religionists ought to wake up and smell the science if they are so concerned about the killing of millions of "tiny babies" who meet up with a hostile uterine lining. It might behoove them to try to convince fellow religionists to completely avoid sexual contact with their spouses unless they are trying to conceive and to absolutely avoid sex during breast feeding as it works the same way as birth control pills.

a single incident

Something happened today. It would be easier to say that something happened in the American psyche and perhaps today, after Memorial Day, that we have lost our tolerance for our latest foreign excursion. We may now understand that we haven't been told the whole story. Now and for quite sometime.

But, that is impossible to know and improbable to believe. But something happened closer to home.

My father, with whom I have had terrible fights, philosophically and physically, called me tonight, near tears.

He was calling to ask my opinion about Haditha. He wanted to know if I thought that Marines had murdered innocent non-combatants.

I told him that yes, it appears that Marines did just that.

He said, "like My Lai?"

I said well, one thing is usually not like another. I don't think we should compare or wonder if one murderous rage is worse than another. But, yes, it appeared that young men, under- trained at best and laboring at a task for which they were not trained at worst, have murdered children.

My father said, "I was a soldier once. We were trained to fight the enemy, not children! The U.S. does so much good, but a single incident can undo all of that."

My father had served in the Texas National Guard in the Forty-ninth Armored Division and was activated U.S. Army by President Kennedy during the Berlin Wall crisis. He served in the Thirty-sixth Division from 1961-62 and during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He did not see combat, however, he identifies strongly with military troops.

"Everything is all messed up." he said.

Indeed. American troops are acting now as police officers. The young Marine Lance Corporal Roel Ryan Briones who was ordered to clean up and photograph one site of dead civilians was essentially told to clean up a crime scene. He told his mother, in one of the most dreadful accounts told in this war, that he picked up the body of a child and the child's brains fell out on to his boots. He may have post traumatic stress disorder. It may take him years to recover.

My father and I talked about the lack of training, the lack of discipline, how a killing machine, the U.S. Army, is being used as essentially police officers, not a fighting brigade to kill the enemy and secure real estate. They are not driving an opposing force out of Iraq. They are young and scattered. There are not enough troops there and they have done too many tours.

What we did not talk about was my father's military training that made it difficult for him to adjust to civilian life. What we did not talk about was his rage which was often directed at me as a child. We never talk about how he was abandoned as a child, left literally to die in an empty house while his father took up with a new wife. As a child, I had terrible allergies, I sneezed and got a handful of mucus. He beat me. I gasped in fear when he made a wrong turn on a highway under construction. He screamed at me for hours for gasping aloud. I had forgotten all that, or thought that it was in the past. That I was grown and he would react to me as an adult.

He beat me when I was 27 years old because I told him that he embarrassed me in front of a college friend. We were watching the news on New Years Eve and he screamed at me that I didn't know what I was talking about with my disapproval of the U.S. invasion of Panama.

I had post traumatic stress disorder for years.

All it takes is a single incident to set a person back, to throw them off track.

I don't blame the U.S. Army for my father's rage. He got that from his childhood. He didn't know that he had problems. Mental illness was what his brother, who was born at home, with hydrocephalus and later schizophrenia, had. Not my father. He never knew that there was something that could be done about his anger and violence.

When I called him after he beat me that last time, I asked him why he had battered me and that he needed help. He said sobbing again and again, "There is nothing wrong with me."

How Unamerican

MANCHESTER, NH – Members of Veterans for Peace yesterday were pulled out of the Memorial Day parade in Manchester and threatened with arrest for refusing to march without banners identifying themselves.

ALBANY, NY - Veterans call for peace on Memorial Day

FRANKFORT, MI - Veterans for Peace push their message

MADISON, WI - For the Madison chapter of Veterans for Peace, Memorial Day is an opportunity to promote peace and also unite against a war they feel has cost thousands of innocent lives.

SAN DIEGO, CA - Members of San Diego Veterans for Peace spent more than four hours painstakingly placing 2,468 small white crosses, Stars of David and crescents in long, neat rows in a corner of Fallbrook's Live Oak Park.

FORT WAYNE, IN - “Eyes Wide Open: The Cost of Human War” exhibit lands in Indiana.

DULUTH, MN - Some people think that Memorial Day shouldn't be politicized. Many others think it should.

CATONSVILLE, MD - Veterans for Peace marked the 38th anniversary of the Catonsville Nine protest with a May 17 march along Frederick Road.

AUSTIN, TX - Protesters Rally For Peace

SANTA BARBARA, CA - Twenty-four thousand crosses in the sand at West Beach made up "Arlington West." Each cross represented an American soldier who died during the war in Iraq.

ORANGE COUNTY, CA - Thirty-five seniors, ranging in age from 60 to 90, stood in the sun on Seal Beach Boulevard for two hours Saturday to make their displeasure known.

-------
Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War- As Many As 250,000

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed In Bush's War?- 2464

The War in Iraq Costs $284,158,553,915

avoid watching bush on television

That Look -- It's Catching!
Emotions, Like Germs, Are Easily Transmissible. The Trick Is Passing and Receiving the Right Ones

Excerpt:
"In a study at Uppsala University in Sweden, researchers exposed people to pictures of happy or angry faces for 30 milliseconds, immediately followed by neutral faces. Even though the participants didn't realize they'd just looked at a happy or angry face, they responded with distinct facial muscle reactions of their own that corresponded to the emotion they'd just seen.

"Those incremental muscle movements then trigger the actual feeling by causing the same neurons to fire in the brain as if you were experiencing the emotion naturally, according to Hatfield..."

Read the whole thing, it's a good article.

A Blonde Fish Outta Water

This "northeastern", "liberal", "intellectual", "metropolitan", "elitist", cum very amateur astronomer ventured 7 hours inland (north-central Pennsylvania) over the weekend to gaze at a dark sky rarely seen (unless there is a power grid failure) by those of us who are constantly blinded by the bright lights of the big apple.

We are not too elite to drive westward or southward because we think that certain states are meant to be "flown over"... it's just that it is a royal pain in the ass to get out of here by car. So don't take it personally that we don't visit more. I've often said that if gawd forbid we ever HAD to evacuate to the mainland via the bridges and tunnels, they might as well pass out cyanide pills.

You really have to want to or really need to get out of this eclectic mind trip that is the New York City metropolitan area for the rising blood pressure experience on the Cross Bronx Expressway to the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River, to head west, or the nightmare that is the Verrazano Bridge through the parking lot that is the Staten Island Expressway to yet another water crossing, in order to head south.

It's really much easier to travel north towards New England, that bastion of heathen liberalism and homosexuality, by car, where the highways are plentiful in all directions, than it is to hop on Route 80 traveling westward ho or Rt 95 heading south. It's easier to endure JFK airport than to drive to the mainland. (I could have driven to Portland, Maine (one 1 tank of gas) in holiday traffic faster than I drove to the Susquehanna State Forest to see the Milky Way.)

And just when you think you are on your happy way heading west through the less populated areas of western New Jersey at 70 MPH, there comes the great traffic snarl that is the gateway to Pennsylvania- the very narrow crossing of the Delaware Water Gap, which rivals the George Washington Bridge for extreme right leg fatigue (gas, break, gas, break, gas, break....) and aggravation, although the terrain is much prettier. Oh goodie, we made it to Pennsylvania. Now we can cruise the rest of the way... Au contraire, city slicker, you've entered the Poconos vacation area. You must slow down to a grinding halt once again for what seems like 100 miles, but it probably is only 20 miles or so yet seems an eternity.

Uh oh, looking at the map, it appeared that our destination would eventually take us off the major highway and through the winding mountain roads. Oh man, we are never going to get there. This really sucks.... but au contraire once again.... this was the best part of the trip. All the towns and villages with no obvious corporate sponsorship awaited us, as we wound our way, up and down from town to glorious Americana town. Main St. USA, where no one was in a rush to do much of anything on Memorial Day weekend, where the mom and pop shops closed early or shut down for the day, because after all, it was a holiday weekend, ya gotta go to a cookout or something to commemorate all those who fought for our freedom from fascism, and there were no corporate headquarters dictating that they must stay open 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. People just learn to deal.

I remember this! This is the way life was when I was a kid on Long Island... long before we ever heard of McDonalds, 7-11's, The Gap and chain restaurants. They don't have traffic lights on every single corner either. There's an occasional stop sign though. Oh my gawd, there are spaces between the towns! I remember that. They don't have 15 gas stations per town with required corporate convenience stores operated by non English speaking persons who cannot give directions and don't care or even have an idea of where they are on earth. I remember that too. Look at the pretty houses. Why, they are all different from each other. I almost forgot that I grew up in a neighborhood like that, (but you wouldn't recognize it as such today because they crammed cookie cutter houses, Blockbusters and strip malls in all the spaces.)

And oh yeah, this whole trip was to go star watching like I've never done before. You stay out under the stars all night long and then sleep during the day. (They could shoot a Red Bull commercial at a star party.) I felt like I was in the Hayden Planetarium. Oh, that's why the people who wrote Genesis described the night sky as a black dome with pin dot holes. We arrived with the car loaded to the gills with technological astronomy equipment, but I couldn't stop looking upward with my bare eyes drinking it all in. A Long Islander could barely find the usual guide stars and the constellations amid the billions of visible stars at Cherry Springs State Park- stars and galaxies that we can only see via telescope armed with GPS at home. Silly me, the Milky Way is the "clouds" we saw during the power grid failure a few years ago. Isn't it beautiful. I just have to lay on the top of the car and look at it an hour longer. Ok, let's look through the telescope at all the nebulae now. Ahhhhh.

prayer and pardon

Now that we know that Ken Lay is a good Christian and that the jury prayed to reach a verdict, will someone have the sense to stop reporting this and start reporting on the real story of the year, Lay and Bush?

One would have thought that the trial was about God's swift sword of Justice. I wonder if the jury's very public dependency on prayer and evidence as opposed to evidence alone is a basis for appeal? It is well known that if a jury employs the Good Book during deliberations, they have created grounds for a mistrial or appeal. It will be difficult for Lay's appellate team to employ religion as the basis for a new trial since Lay so quickly evoked that God is Good and the trial and the verdict was in His hands. All along I thought it had something to do with man's law and not God's law. If it was the later and not the former, would stockholders get to cast the first stone?

Why is it when someone is found innocent it is by the grace of God but when found guilty, it isn't God's fault? How could God hate Ken Lay so much? How could anyone think that years in a minimum security federal prison means that they are blessed?

Ken Lay was the biggest contributor to the Bush/Cheney White House bid and of course loaned his friends the corporate jet to bring the Good News--we are going to be richer and you're not--to the rest of America. Bush would not get involved in Enron's screwing of California and the subsequent end of Pete Wilson (remember him?). Bush even contacted Tom Ridge, yes him, the once head of Homeland Security (sounds just like an insurance company, there with their hand out until you need them) and Governor of Pennsylvania to open that fair state to Enron.

Lay met Cheney at the White House to develop the nation's energy policy. Not that you can review the documents surrounding that policy because the Supreme Court said you can't. Cheney and his fellow duck hunter, no not that lawyer fella from Texas but Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, didn't think we had a right to view those documents.

People in Houston talk chat radio have said some strange things. First in the parade of oddities is the notion that no one in Houston could be Ken Lay's peer. How could Kenny Boy get a fair trial by a jury of his peers ( to use the misleading cliche) when no one but 12 accountants could possibly understand spread sheets?

The government didn't base its case on accounting. It based it on law. Fraud is fraud. Accounting may be evidence of fraud, but usually the smoking gun isn't in a memo on a ledger. It is in the testimony of witnesses and in this case the strained credulity of Lay and his co-conspirator Jeff Skilling. The jury believed that they were lied to when the "boys" as one commentator called them, said they didn't know what was going on. It was someone else's fault. But the articles of incorporation and the stockholders charge Lay and Skilling with knowing what is happening. Trial analyst stated that the government's success was due in part to its lack of focus on accounting and its devotion to law.

The other weird statement was that Bush would have to be a fool to pardon Lay. Why wouldn't he? The pardon power is what wonky political science types call "an absolute power." There are no institutional checks and balances on it and their aren't any public opinion checks, either. Clinton made some well publicized pardons, but so did Reagan and Bush I, and of course Ford. Who did pay a heavy price for his pardon of Nixon.

Bush is leaving the White House and returning to business. Would it hurt his brother Jebby's chances? I don't think that it would. After all, Neil Bush didn't hurt either one of his brother's political ambitions. Would it hurt the Republican Party? Why? They expect payoff for their investments. They can only hurt themselves. Lay is Bush's friend. Didn't Lay expect something in exchange for those campaign contributions? If there is a quid pro quo relationship--campaign money in exchange for a rainy day--then that would indeed make an interesting story. One that won't be found at the Federal Election Commission's finance reports filed by Lay and Bush.

Would a pardon be the Christian thing to do? That hasn't swayed Bush before now. He wouldn't pardon Karla Faye Tucker who found God after she went to death row in Texas for leaving a pick axe in her victim's head. But then again, Bush wasn't friends with Karla Faye and Ken Lay didn't kill anyone.

we know Harry S Truman & George W. Bush, you are no Harry S Truman

Bush compared himself and his "war on terror" at yesterday's West Point graduation to Harry S Truman and his Cold War.

Can we get a grip on this? Just saying it doesn't make it so.

Some scholars suggest that Truman followed then Senator Arthur Vandenburg's suggestion that Truman had to "scare the hell out of the American people" if he wanted to get funding from Congress to fix elections in Greece and Turkey to insure that governments would be established there that were friendly to the United States and not the Soviet Union. Where the Red Army occupied, governments friendly to Moscow were in control. Where the American forces occupied, governments friendly to Washington were in place. Truman and then Prime Minister Winston Churchill went to Missouri and Churchill delivered the Iron Curtain speech saying that the specter of Soviet Communism was descending like an Iron Curtain across Europe.

Which would be a neat trick because the Soviet Union had lost at least 20 million people to the war and most of its industrial bases. But never mind, we were on a tear. We had The Bomb and we knew how to use it.

Truman too thought that he was a war president. He attempted to control the steal industry and the Supreme Court reminded him that he could not because he was not running a declared war.

Bush thinks that he too is a war president. He too does not have a declared war. The Supreme Court has told him that he cannot hold combatants without charges and without providing them access to attorneys. Truman believed that the Supreme Court had the final word. Even though he said that when a president puts a friend on the Supreme Court, the president has lost a friend. Truman did not attempt to expand the reach of the American Presidency--certainly no further than atomic weapons pushed it. He stopped his efforts to run the steal industries. Bush has ignored the Court. Their rulings are mere suggestions to Bush.

Truman believed the buck stopped with him. Bush made a truly strange concession speech late at night, late last week with Prime Minister Tony Blair. He admitted he made mistakes, thought their had been WMDs, shouldn't have said, "Bring it on." As Truman would say of Richard Nixon, even when Nixon didn't have to lie "he did just to keep his hand in." Would he say that of Bush? Even the apology seemed to be a lie because Bush didn't apologize for anything substantive. Apologizing for thinking their were WMDs when he knew that there weren't isn't much of an apology. He didn't apologize for lying.

When Mrs. Roosevelt called Truman who had been presiding over the Senate to the White House, Truman didn't say I will be right there after I finish my drink with Speaker Sam Rayburn. He walked to the White House not knowing he was now the president of these United States. He didn't wait or hesitate or as Bush stayed on task in a school room in Florida as the country was under attack. He didn't know why Mrs. Roosevelt called, but he went because duty called.

Truman made the decision to use atomic weapons against Japan. Will Bush draw on the Truman example if he decides to use nuclear weapons in Iran? Will Bush then travel to Iran to survey the implications of his decision as Truman went to Japan?

Truman, a Southern Baptist, was thrown out of his church for his insistence the Army be integrated. He laughed it off. Bush doesn't laugh at the religious conservative's far out plans, he implements their desires. Truman didn't speak to anyone in code. Bush speaks to the religious right in their coded language promising them all they want in exchange for their votes for tax breaks and welfare for the wealthy while the religious right can't qualify for those tax breaks.

Truman never "swift boated" any veteran. Or cut their benefits. And he certainly never said the job of the president is hard. He never justified his actions by saying he was the decider.

Fred Rogers

I just had to share this post. It's from Bob Cesca over at Huffpo.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/a-break-from-cynicism-mr_b_21668.html

It's a clip from a 1969 senate hearing regarding PBS funding.

I sure do hope we will be seeing another "Mr. Rogers" real soon.

In the meantime, I hope parents of young kids today are showing his re-runs. My kids are older now, but once in a while I still throw in a Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood tape in the VCR; just to hear his voice. He sure has a way of making everything OK.

For The Young'ens Looking For a Summer Job

Every now and then, I like to share some solid, sensible advice with young people who are thinking about getting a summer job. This is important because----and I'm sure we all agree---today's young people are tomorrow's old people and our nation's greatest natural resource. Well, along with that cool striped ketchup.

Having had a few summer jobs in my own teenhood, allow me to explain, my young friends, how to dress for a summer job interview.

For starters, you will want to avoid wearing any T-shirt that appears to be stained, torn, faded, or reads Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beer Holder.

While this is admittedly hilarious, it is doubtful that your prospective employer will get the joke. Most prospective employers pride themselves on being serious types, who will remind you that they are not paying you to be funny.

Young people, aside from dressing sensibly, you should also take great pains to check your vocabulary, avoiding the popular job applicant pitfall of lapsing into teenage slang. This slang will only confuse/scare your potential employer. Here is an example:

CORRECT: "I want to become a valued member of the Widgetville team!"

INCORRECT: "That weird machinery sound coming from over there is harshing my mellow, playa."

Now seems a good time to mention that you should always remember that, no matter what summer job you end up with, the customer is always right. No, really, I'm serious. The customer can basically treat you any way he or she wants and you must remain courteous and helpful. As in: "May I please show you the way to the exit door, you rotting corn pad of a human being?"

Once you are secure in your new job, my young friends, you must avoid the temptation to engage in what is commonly known as "white collar crime." This dastardly practice occurs when workers take home office supplies, etc, rationalizing that no one will miss packs of pens or notepads or the random laptop or three that can be sold on eBay.

I understand the tempation. Let's just say that during a brief period in the early 1970s, customers at a certain seafood restaurant never really got the forty-shrimp "barge" as ordered because five to ten of those suckers would mysteriously topple off the barge and into my mouth. Then again, what kind of a lard-ass orders anything called a barge? Talk about a cry for help.

Finally, don't ever talk back to your boss if you expect to keep your summer job.

CORRECT: "I'm sorry I was late, sir. In the future, I will check the schedule for possible last-minute changes!"
INCORRECT: "Yeah, right. Next time, I'll be sure to look in the sky for the frikkin' bat signal to tell me you buttholes have changed my shift again."

I don't want to limit my helpful advice to teenagers, of course. Let's see what we can do to help those unemployed dot-com'ers out there circling the want ads at their mommy's kitchen table and wonderin why they ever bought that silly Mercedes Benz SUV (Billy Bob meets the snooty Grey Poupon dude, what is that?)

I don't wish unemployment on anyone, except perhaps Chimp Boy and Congress, so now seems a good time for some resume-polishing advice.

A lot of downsized techno types like to post their resumes on the Internet where they can be assured that it will not be ignored by dozens of human resources managers but rather will be ignored by many thousands of human resources managers across this great land of ours.

The truth is, nobody gets a Real Job unless they know somebody. It has never happend in the history of jobgettingdom. Just ask Melissa Rivers. It's just like the experts say, location, location, location. No, wrong, experts. It's not what you know, it's who you know. Like if you know someone who has photos of the boss doing the nasty with the chick who changes the toner in the copying machine once a month, your job future is rosy indeed.

If blackmail is repulsive to you, take the high road and get a job the old-fashioned way: Stalking. Try to make friends with somebody who works high up in the company where you're looking. Hang out at the gym where they work out, manage to dine one table over at their favorite restaurant, shop in the same stores.

After a few weeks of this, you will either (1) have made small talk and a new friend who is dazzled by your knowledge and experience or (2) have Mr. Restraining Order filed against you.

One final note of caution: On the off chance that somebody acturally does slip up and call you to come in for an interview, your telephone answering machine message should always be crisp and professional.
WRONG: "I'm just a love machine, ooooh baby, I'm just a love machine, and I won't work for nobody but you, oooh, baby....."
ALSO WRONG: "Hi, you've reached Mike and Mary's answering machine. We are currently screening our calls because you people make us sick!"
WRONGEST OF ALL: "(Sound of heavily congested toddler mouthbreathing into the phone for several seconds, then) "Mommy and Daddy not home. Please moofully moofala." (sound of phone crashing to floor and loud wailing) Beeeep.

Headline of the Day:

Treasury’s Snow seen ready to resign

You 'spose the Dark Wraith (which is where I first heard about this), is gonna put in for the job?

Who better than The Wraith to be the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse?

And FWIW, here's a partial list of rats who have deserted the sinking shi... uh, er, those folks who have decided to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Actually, there's some good folks on that list who probably value their mental health more than how they make a living.

God's Weed

"No Association At All...Even A Suggestion Of Some Protective Effect" Between Heavy Smoking Of Marijuana And Cancer...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/05/26/no-association-at-all_n_21654.html

Most excellent comment thread going on over at huffpo now:
" I believe this calls for a joint session of Congress." You've gotta check it out...


Party on Garth!

The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille

Memorial Day Weekend – summer has begun! Wishing you all a safe and memorable long weekend. I’ll be taking the kids to a ceremony at the local Iwo Jima Memorial. Then we have the parade. Don’t you just love a parade! Nothing like a LOUD marching band. The fife and drums, the fire engines, the Shriners circling around in their little go-carts. For me, it’s quite the emotional experience.

THEN…my favorite part of the weekend – taking that ‘good book’ and my sand chair to the beach.

Oh so many good books on my must read list – too many choices – I’m on overload lately and can’t make a decision to save my life. I really don’t have the extra $ this week to buy one (I’m a book snob - only read hard covers) so off to the library. I just HAD to get one of my all time favorites-- The Gold Coast. DeMille’s character Mr. John Sutter is, well….he just DOES ME IN! He is the master snark! DeMille’s story is “Compellingly told with its relentless sense of impending tragedy, yet with an underlying gift for irrepressible, redeeming humor….”(cover)

I had been thinking back to when I first read the book. There was something Mr. Sutter had said about his wealthy “Gold Coast” mother when he compared her to his own son Edward. I just had to check it out again. Sometimes you miss something the first time around, maybe it’s the mood you were in at the time, or maybe you just have a different perspective on life years later.

I thumbed through and found the words he wrote. John and wife Susan (remember Lady Stanhope and her naked horseback rides!) were at a Southhampton club for dinner with their children Edward and Carolyn and John’s ‘aristocrat’ parents. He’s about ready to disown them:

…..and so we passed the time, my parents not inquiring after Susan’s parents or any of her family. They also did not ask about anyone. And while they were at it, they made a special point of not asking Carolyn or Edward about school. THERE ARE CERTAIN TYPES OF PERSONS, as I have discovered, who have a GREAT LOVE OF HUMANITY, like my parents, but don’t particularly like people……..As I addressed my parents upon leaving, “we have almost nothing in common and never did, so I would like to end these meaningless dinners if it’s all the same to you.” My mother snapped, “What a hateful thing to say,” but my father actually looked saddened and mumbled, “All right.” On the way home Susan asked me, “Will you regret that?” “No.” Carolyn spoke up from the backseat, “Did you mean it?” “Yes.” Edward said, “I kinda feel sorry for them.” EDWARD DOES NOT LOVE ALL OF HUMANITY, BUT HE LIKES PEOPLE, and he feels sorry for everyone. Carolyn feels sorry for no one, Susan doesn’t know what sorrow is, and I…well, sometimes I feel sorry for myself. But I’m working on that.

Have you ever thought about what kind of person you are. Do you love all of humanity but don’t particularly like people? Do you love people, but not all of humanity? I always considered myself a people-person. Lately though, I am disliking a lot of people. I need to work on that. I wonder if it makes a difference if you have a lot of money. Most people in power have a lot of money. Wouldn’t it be nice if all the people in power were the ones with the great love of humanity, and all the ones without a lot of money were the ones who cared for all the people? Do people with a lot of money feel sorry for other people? Is it easier to feel sorry for someone if you don’t have a lot of money?

Well, that’s what is going on in my head this morning.

I can’t wait to sit in that sand chair Sunday.....

Enjoy your weekend.

the story the NY Times sat on before 9/11

"The NSA had been listening in on a conversation between two members of Osama bin Laden's terror network. One was overheard saying to the other, "Don't worry, we're planning something so big now that the U.S. will have to respond."

......

Ultimately one can't help but wonder - if only… If only the Times had put something, anything, in the paper about the threat of an impending Al Qaeda attack "so big now that the U.S. will have to respond," perhaps the attack might have been averted. Or perhaps the people in the second World Trade Center tower would have known that the first plane to hit was a terrorist attack, and evacuated the building, saving hundreds of lives. Passengers on the hijacked planes that hit the WTC and the Pentagon might have reacted like those on United Flight 93." Rory O'Connor, AlterNet

Judith Miller didn't have all the details except that the NSA heard something big was going to happen. She said she "tried" to find out more and would have written something for the paper, but ya know, she was also trying to write a book at the time. Sooooo.... the rest is history.

bush says Abu Ghraib was biggest mistake

You don't even need to read what went on at the press conference last night if you look at the faces on the world leaders who fucked up the world.

Bush admitted a couple of mistakes. But not the mistake of invading and occupying Iraq to begin with. He blamed Abu Ghraib on ... well here's the quote:

Q: Mr. President, you spoke about missteps and mistakes in Iraq. Could I ask both of you which missteps and mistakes of your own you most regret?

PRESIDENT BUSH: It sounds like kind of a familiar refrain here. Saying "Bring it on." Kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people. That I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner. You know, "Wanted dead or alive," that kind of talk. I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted. And so I learned -- I learned from that.

And, you know, I think the biggest mistake that's happened so far, at least from our country's involvement in Iraq, is Abu Ghraib. We've been paying for that for a long period of time. And it's -- unlike Iraq, however, under Saddam, the people who committed those acts were brought to justice; they've been given a fair trial and tried and convicted.

The whole transcript is here

Load and listen

"Ann Coulter's Snatch," by Hamel On Trial, is the funniest (and most true) shit that I've heard this year.

Big props to Miriam for the info.

Kenny Boy Lay:

"I firmly believe I'm innocent of the charges against me. We believe that God in fact is in control and indeed he does work all things for good for those who love the lord." (more)

Happy Birthday, Texas Jaye

Hope you have a great one (if the world doesn't end today).

Now let's all sing a rousing chorus. Those of you with bad singing voices, please just raise your glasses in toast.

Power Outage Snarls Northeast Rail Service

"It's getting pretty hot in here, and the bathroom is getting backed up," he said.

Sorry...I don't know much more than that -- check out the AP reporting - see if you can figure out what happened


Maybe that comet is coming.... (good - I don't feel like watering today)

Might explain my major migraine -- I must be feeling the earth groans - PoLT??

Wait -- am I hallucinating -- I think our local preacher is knocking on my door.....maybe he's coming to have a chat with me about this secret FEMA plan.
I don't think I'm going to answer the door. --

I just came back from a visit with the Dark One -- he has an interesting graphic up today. Time for a nap.....

I hope you all will be here when I wake up
TTFN

UPDATE: 11:01 -- Another AP story on the Rail situation: (can't sleep)
"Thursday's outage was "shaping up as one of the worst ever."

"It's a kind of eerie, end-of-the-world feel," said Piasecki, who boarded the train in Trenton. "You have these two trains sitting here dead, not moving. You can't see any cars or anything else moving."

OMG what these poor, poor people must have had to endure!! -- WALKING A WHOLE MILE! OMFG! UFB!

PLEASE.....someone.... just put me out right now -- anybody got a golf club?

Am I succumbing to the arrogance of age, or, the feeblemindedness of old fartery?

That's the question I asked of a fellow blogger/musician after reading Joe Cannon's latest post entitled "Your-mission-find-this-video-update" wherein Joe says, "I always felt the Jesus-shtupped-the-Magdalene meme originated not with the Da Vinci Code, not with Holy Blood, Holy Grail, but with Ian Gillan's performance on the original (Jesus Christ) Superstar recording." "Jesus Christ Superstar" premiered at the West End in 1972. Controversial? I'd have to say not as much then as now. Maybe back then it was considered "frivolous".

What kinda bugged me was the realization that sometimes I assume too much; that I expect others to be as aware of recent history as me, who has lived through much of what others can only read about in history books--if it's to be read at all, and not suppressed. I just kind of figured everybody already knew it was a controversy. I apologize for that.

Anyhow, here's the lyrics to "Mary's Song":

I don't know how to love him.
What to do, how to move him.
I've been changed, yes really changed.
In these past few days, when I've seen myself,
I seem like someone else.
I don't know how to take this.
I don't see why he moves me.
He's a man. He's just a man.
And I've had so many men before,
In very many ways,
He's just one more.
Should I bring him down?
Should I scream and shout?
Should I speak of love,
Let my feelings out?
I never thought I'd come to this.
What's it all about?
Don't you think it's rather funny,
I should be in this position.
I'm the one who's always been
So calm, so cool, no lover's fool,
Running every show.
He scares me so.
I never thought I'd come to this.
What's it all about?
Yet, if he said he loved me,
I'd be lost. I'd be frightened.
I couldn't cope, just couldn't cope.
I'd turn my head. I'd back away.
I wouldn't want to know.
He scares me so.
I want him so.
I love him so.

Strange News

"Typical looking grandmother" is accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of yarn in Woodstock, Georgia. She even took a silk skein worth almost $40!

Two elderly women in Los Angeles would take out life insurance policies on homeless men... and then run them over with their car.

GEE WIZ!

"Hey, you! Yeah, you! Having a few drinks? Then, listen up! Think you've had one too many? Maybe it's time to call a cab or call a sober friend for a ride home. It's sure safer and a hell of a lot cheaper than a DWI! Make the smart choice tonight. Don't drink and drive!"

No, you're not hallucinating. God didn't speak to you from the urinal.

That's the talking message that wizzing men will hear from the urinals in 100 drinking establishments in Nassau County, NY. I'm so proud of my county. We're so progressive in fighting DWI.

"The Wizmark replaces the plastic apparatus that holds a sanitizing soap puck at the base of a urinal. The Wizmark's built-in battery and microchip releases a recording that lasts through 10,000 flushes, although guys with spotty potty habits will learn that the Wizmark's motion-sensitive device doesn't require a flush to begin operating."

I can't wait to see the faces of guys coming out of men's rooms this summer. No, I can't wait to see how many guys run out of the rest rooms with wet pants.

Humans Will Be Next On The List

Uh, only those humans which are unfit for breeding that is. They'll probably screw the program up though. Where's Adolph now that we really need him?

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Rhode Island could become the first state to require cat owners to spay or neuter their pets under legislation passed Wednesday by the General Assembly.
The measure would require pets older than 6 months to be spayed or neutered unless owners pay $100 for a breeder's license or special permit. Violators would be fined $75 a month.

Full story at The Associated Press.

Afghans' uranium levels spark alert

By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent

A small sample of Afghan civilians have shown "astonishing" levels of uranium in their urine, an independent scientist says. Critics suspect new weapons were used in Afghanistan.

He said they had the same symptoms as some veterans of the 1991 Gulf war. But he found no trace of the depleted uranium (DU) some scientists believe is implicated in Gulf War syndrome.

Other researchers suggest new types of radioactive weapons may have been used in Afghanistan.

The scientist is Dr Asaf Durakovic, of the Uranium Medical Research Center (UMRC), based in Canada. Dr Durakovic, a former US army adviser who is now a professor of medicine, said in 2000 he had found "significant" DU levels in two-thirds of the 17 Gulf veterans he had tested.

Rest of story at the BBC.

Orlando in April

NO, its not the title of a porn movie staring Orlando Bloom

Just keeping up on the Measles outbreaks, ODDLY ENOUGH, there seems to be a small epicenter in FLORIDA, you know, Jeb Bush's backyard.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has become aware of three laboratory-confirmed cases of measles associated with travel to Orlando, Florida in mid-April 2006. One case is in a 41 year old Allegheny County resident, one is an unvaccinated 2 year old from New York State, and one is in an adult international visitor from Venezuela. All three were in Orlando the week of April 16th.

Venezuela...isn't the misadministration angry at them for something? Ah yes, for having heaps more oil than we do, I wonder if Hugo Chavez has all his immunizations. Or maybe its a pre-emptive strike, get them all sick first and then launch the invasion. And then there is Disney; tourist capital of the free world, rife with both non-Amerukans and oodles of children. Why do I say this? Guess who suffers the most from complications of this disease

Complications of measles are more common among children younger than 5 years of age and adults 20 years of age and older.

Let me give you a wee bit of background on this:
CDC and state and local health departments continue to investigate an outbreak
of mumps that began in Iowa in December 2005
(<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5513a3.htm>) and involved at
least 10 additional states as of May 2, 2006.

Eight confirmed and five probable cases of mumps linked to the Midwest outbreak have been reported in Pennsylvania. Six counties are affected. The eight confirmed cases are on a single college campus in Lancaster County. Two of these are laboratory confirmed. Cases range in age from 18 to 57. Dates of onset are from 2/4/2006 through 5/14/2006.

As a result of increased surveillance for mumps, 65 additional confirmed, probable and suspect cases have been identified. In previous years, most of these cases would probably not have been reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. These cases are not related to the Midwest outbreak, and are not included in the above totals.


So 11 states now, well over 1,000 cases and spreading. WTF? I do realize that vaccines do not always give lifetime immunity and that there was a 'bad batch' of vaccine during the early 70's, but come on now. Can THAT many people in the United States be unvaccinated? Don't you need these to get into public school. (wonder how many patients were homeschooled and missed out on basic medical care?) And what will happen now that vacation season is fast approaching? Does anyone think Disney will be forthcoming if they become a breeding ground for disease? Talk about a hub of humanity, coming and going, constant interactions, physical contact, just consider how many hands have touched the door handle or safety bar of that ride.

Truth IS Stranger than Fiction or Conservatives Are Cracked

And now a word from your Auntie Roo:

Yes indeedy! There's no way I could make shit like this up.

Two goodies from ThinkProgress:

First we have the case of Pat Robertson's amazing " age-defying protein shake". Maybe he does have a special relationship with the Main Man upstairs. His shake sounds like it can work miracles.

In a recent email to get donations for his defense fund, Tom Delay makes an unusual choice in who he uses to prop up his political reasoning.

Too Good to Pass Up

From the Washington Post.

That's Bill "Cat Killer" Frist operating on a gorilla at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Poor gorilla. If it doesn't live, can we then refer to him as Bill "Gorilla Killa" Frist?

Captions, please

Love Thine Enemies. Matthew 5:44

"Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy's point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may in indeed see the basic weakness of our own conditon, and if we are mature, we many learn and grow and profit from the the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition."

--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Riverside Church, New York City, 1967

And if that's not so, then God's a possum!

Waking up, are we?

New Zogby Poll

75% said they trust government less than they did five years ago
5% said they think corporations do right by the consumers they are in business to serve

25% feel the reporting is fair and accurate in the newspapers or television.
60% said they believe the “state of honesty in America” today is in poor shape
(18% said it is in the worst possible shape).

3% said they think Congress in general is trustworthy
24% said President Bush is trustworthy
29% said they can put their faith in the national court system
7% said corporate leaders in America are trustworthy.

Can You Still Hate Wal-Mart?

It's a shockingly eco-friendly plan from the world's most toxic retailer. Did hell just freeze over?
By Mark Morford

Sometimes you just have to let the possibility breathe.

Sometimes you just have to allow that something grand and good and healthy might actually be born from the bowels of the dank and ravenous megacorporate world, like flowers from a dung heap, like vodka from old potatoes, even if it comes right alongside the nastiest, most abusive federal environmental policy you will see in your lifetime.

Take Wal-Mart, the most famously offensive, town-destroying, junk-purveying, labor-abusing, sweatshop-supporting, American-job-killing, soul-numbing, seizure-inducing, hope-curdling retailer in the known universe (just ask the fine local town of Hercules), moving upward of $300 billion in cheap mass-produced slurm every year via nearly 5,000 landscape-mauling eyesore stores stretching all the way from Texas to China and Argentina and South Korea and Mexico and your backyard, with U.S. stores accounting for fully 8 percent of all retail sales in our entire nation.

There has been, to date, very little good to say about this most voracious and powerful of low-end, trashy retailers, and certainly nothing from anyone even remotely concerned with the health of the planet and of the attuned consumers who inhabit it. Wal-Mart has always been, quite appropriately, the devil. ...

(click here to read the rest)

Can this guy write or what?

Just My Opinion. I Could Be Wrong.

One of the few things that I agree with Laura Bush on, is the fact that a gay marriage ban doesn't need an amendment to the constitution and it will hurt the GOP (not that that is a bad thing). She must be as heterosexual as I am, because straight people simply don't spend time worrying that legalizing gay marriage will ruin straight marriages. As a parent, I would feel much better knowing that if I had a homosexual child, he or she wouldn't feel compelled by society to live a lie or be persecuted for living as nature intended. Our kids will have enough to worry about in the future.

If a marriage is truly between straight people, what is there to worry about? Those who fight vehemently in congress and the senate for the ban on gay marriage must be living a lie in a "straight" marriage or it really wouldn't bother them in the least. Sour grapes. Maybe in some cases, if a politician's base is mostly christianist homophobes, they may be pretending to care. Have you ever met a homophobe who wasn't inherently gay? I haven't. Have you ever met a jealous spouse who wasn't cheating him or herself? Of course not. Your mother was right.

Read First couple splits over constitutional amendment banning gay marriage


UPDATE: Speaking of marriage amendments... in the comments, 100th Monkey, provided a link to an interesting article at boston.com
The article is written in defense of all the nastiness directed at John Kerry and Massachusetts by the Bushistas during the election campaign.

The divorce rate in Massachusetts is the lowest in the country. The states with the lowest divorce rates are not in bush's base: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. How can bush's base explain that commie heathens in Massachusetts value marriage 2:1 over Texans?

The states with the highest divorce rates are in bush's base states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas
------

As an aside, according to Watchdogblog, Massachusetts was also vilified for being "Taxachusetts" by the "values" voters. In fact, "Massachusetts has a combined state and local rate of 5.6%, ranking it the 34th highest out of the 50 states. For comparison: Nebraska, Montana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Idaho, and New Mexico are among those with higher rates." (NY should be in there too with high tax states)

Hey bushie, I'll give you unsettled. Right here.

Last week bush said his low poll numbers mean that Americans were "unsettled" about the Iraq war. I'm not sure who told him to say that, but they probably convinced him that it was true. I think it's more like "outrage" and "disgust" rather than "unsettled". Bush was probably told to use that word because he doesn't know what it means and it sounds good to him. Fewer and fewer Americans are telling me that we have an all "volunteer" Army so it's not like innocent Americans are being maimed and killed in war. I haven't had to tell too many of my (former) friends and acquaintances that they are war mongers in the past year. I can think of dozens more reasons Americans are "unsettled" as well. Perhaps Americans are also sick of fascist lying con artists posing as our leaders. Fortunately Stephen Colbert ran over the list with him a few weeks ago. (Incidently, Colbert's speech is #1 at iTunes. Yup, it beat the new Chili Pepper's CD)

Dahr Jamail is an American freelance reporter who visits Iraq frequently and reports back on the horrors and reality of war that you won't hear from the MSM. This week, he wants you to know how the invasion and occupation of Iraq has led to the near starvation of almost 25% of Iraq's children. It wasn't bad enough that US sanctions under Bill Clinton in the 90's killed over a half million Iraqi children, we are making sure that the US terrorizes children by arresting them, killing their parents right in front of them and torturing and raping children in Abu Ghraib.

Meanwhile, the Taliban reorganized in Afghanistan and things are heating up there. Afghanis fear that their country is becoming another Iraq. Sadly, it probably is.

I wouldn't describe my feelings for bush as "unsettled", I would describe them as sickened to the point where I could vomit every time I see him, read or hear his words or just listen to bushista propaganda on the news. I could vomit when I read about how our young people are trained to torture and kill others and be maimed and killed in return. And they call us civilized?

Were Iraq & Afghanistan Just A Warmup Exercise?

Back on September 5, in a post entitled "Carefully Line the Inside of Your Combat Helmet with Tin Foil", I wrote:

"Many people believe that the prospect of an impending attack by the United States on Venezuela is the stuff of conspiracy theory at its craziest, and that is certainly correct. How could a country like the United States, which is now laboring under the pain of dealing with the worst natural disaster in its history, even contemplate engaging in a pre-emptive war, especially considering that it is already being pressed beyond its military limits in a conflict of monumental and vexing proportions against a guerilla insurgency on the other side of the globe?"

That was then. Stephen Lendman now writes at Signs-of-the-Times an article entitled,
New Estimate of Venezuela's Total Oil Reserves Makes It the Grandest of Grand Prizes for US with these quotes:

"...the country may be of far greater strategic importance to the US than we likely realized."

"...the country has greater reserves than Saudi Arabia..."

"...a US Energy Department expert believes Venezuela holds 90% of the world's super-heavy tar oil reserves - an estimated total of 1,360,000,000,000 (1.36 trillion) barrels. Let me repeat that - 1.36trillion barrels."

"Venezuela is likely viewed by any US administration as the world's most important source of future oil supply."

"...US instigated serious trouble is heading toward Venezuela..."

Let's see now, install some troops on the Mexican border, militarize the New Orleans area, predict a bad hurricane season for the Gulf, get somebody to check and see if those naval ships are still floating around in the Gulf of Mexico, and...oh yeah, tell the American people that our troops will be greeted with flowers and candy from the grateful Venezuelans for liberating them from their oi...,er, dictator.


UPDATE: Since posting the above article I came across the following:
New Book Claims China and U.S. Headed for War

The number of dead in the Afghan/Iraq Wars ranges from 100,000 to 250,000 depending on the source. Anybody care to speculate on the number of people that will die if the U.S. goes to war with China?

This is Just Insanity!

The New York Police Department has arrested an 8 year old boy for homicide. An 8 year old boy! The boy is alleged to have boarded a vacant school bus and released the parking brake, after which the bus rolled down a hill and struck a young girl, killing her.

My heart aches for the young girl's parents, but geez, folks, have we completely lost our perspective in our thirst for vengence? Must every stupid mistake be made into a crime? This is a young boy being mischevious, albeit with tragic results, and he has been charged with negligent homicide. There used to be a doctrine in the law that kids below a certain age could not be charged with criminal offenses because they were not mature enough to form the requisite criminal intent. If we are down to charging 8 year old boys with murder, I guess we've thrown that doctrine out the window. In this day and age, he must pay!

So let's lock him up and throw away the key! Let's put him in a juvenile facility until he turns 21, with the gangbangers and the real bad kids. Let's make sure he pays and pays and pays for a mistake he committed at the age of 8 for the rest of his life!

Distraction, Much?

Katrina autopsy: Police shot mentally disabled man in back

Autopsy results obtained by CNN show a man was shot in the back when he was killed by New Orleans police in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The autopsy contradicts testimony by a police sergeant that the victim had turned toward officers and was reaching into his waistband when shot. Ronald Madison was shot when police responded to a report of gunfire from a bridge six days after Katrina hit New Orleans last year.

AND WHAT IS RIGHT NEXT TO IT ON THE BREAKING STORIES?

Suspect in Holloway case to be released
Attorney: Casino worker indicted on murder charge last week


Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared in May 2005 during a high school graduation trip to Aruba.


(CNN) -- A man indicted in the Netherlands on murder charges in the disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba will be released Tuesday but must remain available for questioning, the man's attorney said.

{ snark}
So how many men have they arrested and then released? (6 or so isn't it?) Seems to coincide with the most horrific stories of home grown nastiness. Although on the plus side, mothers in general must be keeping a closer eye on their blonde daughters as we haven't had a new 'missing white girl' to replace this one. {/snark}

Deja Vu (All Over Again)

By John Fogerty


Did you hear 'em talkin' 'bout it on the radio
Did you try to read the writing on the wall
Did that voice inside you say I've heard it all before
It's like deja vu all over again
Day by day I hear the voices rising
Started with a whisper like it did before
Day by day we count the dead and dying
Ship the bodies home while the networks all keep score
Did you hear 'em talkin' 'bout it on the radio
Did you try to read the writing on the wall
Did that voice inside you say I've heard it all before
It's like deja vu all over again
One by one I see the old ghosts rising
Stumblin' 'cross Big Muddy
Where the light gets dim
Day after day another Momma's crying
She's lost her precious child
To a war that has no end
Did you hear 'em talkin' 'bout it on the radio
Did you stop to read the writing at The Wall
Did that voice inside you say I've heard it all before
It's like deja vu all over again
It's like deja vu all over again

Al's right

From New York Magazine:

Does he, like many Democrats, think the election was stolen?

Gore pauses a long time and stares into the middle distance. “There may come a time when I speak on that,” Gore says, “but it’s not now; I need more time to frame it carefully if I do.” Gore sighs. “In our system, there’s no intermediate step between a definitive Supreme Court decision and violent revolution.”

Hat tip Bradblog

God Beats the Devil

Yes, dear readers, it is true. God has FINALLY figured out a way to beat the devil for the souls of humanity.

As we all 'know' from the wingnutters and end timers, the AntiChrist will make his/her appearance on June 6th of this year (6/6/06) HOWEVER, it won't matter, because the world will be ending on May 25th due to a comet* slamming into the Earth.

* Just for arguments sake, there is a growing number of people who say that it is not, in fact, a comet, but the Vogon constructor ship and that keeping your towel with you would be a VERY prudent idea.

In either case, when Old Scratch shows up on June 6th to unleash his vileness upon the masses, he will be sadly disappointed, as there will not be anyone left to torture....oh sure, there may actually be a FEW people who survive the initial impact, but after witnessing the devastation of the world, family and friends and managing to survive for eleven days...well, what sort of torture could REALLY compare to that.

{/ sarcasm}

Flight 77- still waiting for video

Notice how fast a story dies when it's a flop? On May 17th, CNN was abuzz waiting for the release of video footage showing a plane hitting the Pentagon. The footage didn't show an airplane. The story dropped dead.

I was wandering around on Randi Rhodes' website this morning and I came across this thread about the recent DoD video of the "plane" that hit the pentagon on 9/11. Seriously, I don't want it to have been a missile. I'd like to see proof and not because I'm a psycho who wants to see a plane crash. I want the 800 lb gorilla out of the room.

I found this link to flight77.info. This site documents the legal process in order to obtain government held video recordings of flight 77. According to flight77.info website, Judicial Watch was asking for video showing the impact and apparently that is why they got those unclear videos from the parking lot fisheye camera. Flight77.info has requested a second FOIA request for 84 other flight 77 recordings. As you may recall from your readings about Fl 77, there were videos confiscated by the FBI from local hotels and a gas station. Stay tuned.

Music Teachers Use 'American Idol' in Class

This is truly a sad story for me to read. I do not know what my children would do without the music program in their public school. I thank my goddess above that (so far) the town has ALWAYS supported its music and art instruction. I asked my youngest on her way out the door this morning (she plays the drums in band, the violin in orchestra, and sings in a madrigal group) if they ever played american idol in music class. She just gave me that scrunched-up nose/eyebrow look -- "what are ya talking about?" OH I was SO thankful! I immediately sent a quick e-mail off to the music teachers at school, thanking them for not contributing to the success of american idol -- along with the story. Imagine 80% - EIGHTY PERCENT!! of music teachers are using this "inexpensive" teaching tool:

ABC Top News
Music Teachers Use 'American Idol' in Class
Updated 3:44 AM ET May 22, 2006
Thirty-five million people watch "American Idol" every week -- none more intently than Evan Tobias' fifth and sixth graders at Willow Grove Middle School in New York state.

Watched in living rooms across the country, the reality show that churns out new pop stars and sets ratings records is required viewing. And it turns out that "Idol" is also a smash hit in music class.

Tobias' students aren't watching to see who gets eliminated or whether Paula is speaking to Simon. They're learning how to analyze music.

"I don't think that I normally thought to include a reality TV show in the classroom," Tobias said. "But because this was directly related to music, and it was directly related to the issues that we'd been talking about, it made sense to bring it in."

In a recent survey done by the National Association for Music Education, 80 percent of music teachers said they are using the nation's number-one TV show to teach. At Plainfield Elementary School in Nazareth, Pa., the second graders take turns playing contestants and judges.

"It gets them excited about music," said Sarah Wallace, music teacher at Plainfield Elementary. "I had record numbers this year in the chorus, and I'm sure that that has something to do with it."

Inexpensive Teaching Tool
There's also a practical consideration at work. At a time when music education budgets across the country are shrinking, a television show makes for an inexpensive teaching tool.

Just this year, 22 percent of school districts reported cutbacks in art and music instruction to make more time for reading, language arts, and math, according to the Center on Educational Policy.

"I think the concept of No Child Left Behind is certainly a good one," said John Mahlmann, executive director of the National Association for Music Education. "But ... because of the greater emphasis on math and science, and the testing that is embodied in that, too many of our parents and school administrators make it an either/or situation."

Tobias said most parents don't mind him bringing "Idol" into the classroom -- because so many of them are following along at home.
ABC News' Nancy Weiner originally reported this story for "World News Tonight."

I can't begin to tell you what the music and art programs have done for my kids. Even myself -- my clearest memories of K-12 were my concerts, plays, projects....LASTING impressions, all of them. I recently wrote a quick note to one of my kid's music teachers after her first solo performance: "you know those 5 people you meet in heaven...well, you are certainly one of those 5 that my child, and many others, will meet". I'm pretty sure most music teachers are the same. I hope the teachers that have no choice but to resort to american idol as a means to get kids interested and exposed to music are doing it in a different style than the version that we watch week after week after week....

Yes, I will probably tune into the final episode (I actually picked the two finalists early on when I first heard them -- you can even ask my daughter!) It is exciting to see who wins. We would have the show on occasionally - but after the'Pickler' I said NO MORE!! and I could not stand the ridicule anymore. I could not stand what it represented. Do you remember those old 'star search' type shows we used to watch? I don't remember them being so obnoxious. This NYTimes Editorial speaks for me:

American Awful
New York Times, January 23, 2005
EDITORIAL
At a time when the self-appointed guardians of family values have been denouncing television programming for everything from wardrobe malfunctions to SpongeBob's squishiness on gay tolerance, it's interesting that "American Idol" seems to be getting a pass. Fox's hugely popular search for the next singing sensation started its fourth season last week with a series of vicious encounters between hopeful but pathetically untalented young people and celebrity judges being paid to make fun of them. While the contests do not feature bare breasts or four-letter words, they send a truly dreadful message to millions of young viewers about the proper way to treat fellow human beings.

The high points of the early episodes of the show are the moments in which desperately clueless singers deliver unbearable versions of pop standards in front of judges who either burst into derisive laughter or helpfully advise the would-be idols that they are way too fat, badly dressed, funny looking or simply "honestly, excruciatingly awful." While some of the contestants have the sort of impenetrable self-obsession that seems to invite that kind of treatment, others react in ways that make it clear they are simply weak and vulnerable. The producers seem to feel it's funny to watch a trio of wealthy and famous adults making fun of a simple 16-year-old girl whose only sin was being "pretty sure I have a good voice" when she didn't.

About 100,000 contestants, all in their teens or 20's, auditioned for "American Idol," and the ones who wound up on national television survived at least two elimination rounds. While Fox said the survivors were chosen to be a good cross section, it is hard to imagine that any of the extremely naïve contestants understood that they were being moved along only because they showed promise for being ridiculous. In the ensuing battle for the "tickets to Hollywood," the viewers are invited to roar while young people who in many cases appear to be poor, of low intelligence or even mildly disturbed, sing enthusiastically and then stand gape-mouthed with shock while their heroes insult them on national television.

One of the points of any reality show is to allow the audience to watch as contestants humiliate themselves by screeching at their spouses on a race around the world, by being voted off the island first, or by failing to get a rose from the bachelor or bachelorette whom they have been desperately and publicly wooing. But there is a very wide gap between demonstrating that life is full of hard knocks and embarrassment, and glorying in the abasement of the utterly defenseless.

Now women can become president

Oh Sure, Now They Invent This
Menstruation Is Fast Becoming Optional

Not only can you avoid unwanted pregnancy, you can avoid getting your period altogether using new birth control pills. I remember back in the day how people said that women shouldn't take powerful jobs because of PMS. Gosh, if a woman were president she might start a world war or something when she was getting her period. Yeah, yeah, take that suckers.

-----------------
One Stop Shopping For All Your Birth Control Needs
In upscale neighborhoods, Planned Parenthood is opening birth control quickie marts.

The clinic will not perform abortions. Instead, lotions, essential oils and decorative carrying cases for pills and condoms will beckon shoppers inside, where they can also get oral contraceptives, pregnancy tests and screening for HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea — all in about 20 minutes.

These won't replace traditional Planned Parenthood Clinics. Anti-abortion activist moron in Minnesota claims that Planned Parenthood is 'addicted to abortions' therefore, he is against these one stop birth control clinics. I think he doesn't get it.

-----------------
Merck cancer vaccine faces Christian-right scrutiny

Merck & Co. Inc.'s vaccine to prevent the world's most prevalent sexually transmitted infection sailed through a panel of U.S. health experts, despite early fears of opposition from the Christian Right that it might lead to promiscuity and a false sense of security.

The 'christian wrong' is sort of backing off... sort of... they just don't want to make it a mandatory vaccination because they think that young women will think that it will vaccinate them against all STD's and then they'll become sluts and with more sluts in the world, it will be hard for 'christian wrong' men to control themselves.

McCain's aide posts a response to Jean Rohe's blog entry at huffpo

I have NEVER read anything more arrogant in my life!

"they could learn a thing or two about tolerance and respect from the students of Liberty University."

I am thankful that these students at New School University ARE NOT TOLERANT of politicians like John McCain. To ask people to tolerate war is not acceptable anymore - it is obvious that many, many americans now feel this way.

Let's work on acceptance a little more than tolerance -- it might help us all.

Here is Mr. Salter's comment:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/05/21/top-mccain-aide-insults-e_n_21405.html

Factoid of the Day:

"A fifth of Israelis now live below the poverty line, up from 15 percent in the 1990s, according to figures from Israel's National Insurance Institute, the government's main welfare arm. Among children, the figure is one in three."

Source: SwissInfo

DeLay On The Big Screen

Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck are Texas- based documentary filmmakers who’ve spent the last three years making The Big Buy; Tom DeLay’s Stolen Congress.

THIS LOOKS GOOD!! --
Read about it at TomPaine:

Don’t think it stands up to the likes of Mission: Impossible III or The Da Vinci Code ? Think again. This is turning out to be the year when the country wakes up out of its extended coma. All of a sudden, things look a little more dark. Which makes a noir-political conspiracy movie so timely. That it’s about stuff that’s really happening just makes it scarier. Don’t worry, it won’t break with the well-known Hollywood blockbuster formula.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/05/19/delay_on_the_big_screen.php

Hostile Takeover

Today, on Air America you can listen to the national radio show, State of Belief.

Whether you are a person of faith or not, it is important to understand why and be armed with information pertaining to the takeover of America's churches by right wing politics. It is through faux christianity that our democracy is at stake. Right wing think tanks came up with the plan for the take over. Three guests, Dr. Bruce Prescott, Dr. John Dorhauer and Dr. Andrew Weaver will discuss how this politically motivated takeover was achieved.

There is more on this at Talk To Action.
How to listen to this show on the web, on the radio or how to download mp3 podcasts to listen at a different time: Air America

I urge you to become more involved in this issue, learn as much as you can and be prepared to fight back against 'christianists' who claim to be real Christians. If we do nothing but complain about it, many many Americans will continue to support the fascist regime thinking they are voting with Christ.

----------
Please read "Religious Liberals Gain New Visibility" at the Washington Post for more on this issue.

"The wind is changing. Folks -- not just leaders -- are fed up with what is being portrayed as Christian values," said the Rev. Tim Ahrens, senior minister of First Congregational Church of Columbus, Ohio, and a founder of We Believe Ohio, a statewide clergy group established to ensure that the religious right is "not the only one holding a megaphone" in the public square.

You can also scroll down on this blog to Friday's post "Some Good News"

On May 22nd, Clergy for Fairness, a broad coalition of mainstream religious voices in America, will host clergy members and other religious leaders from across the country in Washington, D.C. to defend religious liberty and speak out against the discriminatory Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA).

Hospice

The NYTimes has an article about home hospice care.

Something moved me to have hospice come in to help my mom (and me) with my dad's last months in this life. There is something to be said about allowing a loved one to pass with dignity.

Barbaro

I don't know much about horses, much less about horse racing, but this just makes me very sad. He's a magnificent creature. I hope he will be okay.

Three things wrong with public education: students, teachers, and parents

Having finished another semester in 17 years of teaching community college classes, one constant is abundantly clear: students, parents, and teachers are responsible for the deterioration of public schools.

My remarks are limited to community colleges and secondary schools. They do not have anything to do with your school experience or even with your above average college student.

Students do not want to make the effort to earn their grades. Just like students generations before, they cheat. They do so in more high tech, sophisticated ways, but they cheat. They also feign ignorance. While busily insisting that they are brilliant, they suddenly do not know how to write a research paper or understand how to use Microsoft Word or any other computer and software. They can play solitaire to beat the band, but they don't know how to use a computer. These students don't want to try. They think they have reached the limits of what they should know and know how to do. They are right, they have. Every student should be required to take a class in Microsoft Word before they sit in a college classroom. They do not want to study largely because they hate to read. They do not have a good relationship with words, the English language, or with books. They are horrified at the length of books and really are ill equipped to shop in a bookstore.

This semester, I showed my classes political campaign commericals aimed at a general unsophisticated television viewer. You know, voters. The students thought that if it was on a television commerical that the candidate's proposals were real, were in place, whether that candidate was in office or not. They do not know that if a candidate loses, or even if they win, there is no guarantee that those promises are reality. I know I am supposed to teach them to be more sophisticated consumers of political information, but we are talking about a basic inability to comprehend the difference between a sales pitch and public policy.

What they hell did they do with these people in public school?

But that isn't the worst example. One young woman this semester couldn't take her finals because she was raped. She is dropping out. Tell me that her experience isn't any different than that of a black person traumatized by being refused admissions or attendance on a college campus because they are black. She was attacked because she is female and rape is indeed a civil rights violation. Not under our laws.

But that isn't the worst example. Perhaps the worst was when a woman asked me should she leave home to call the police after her children's father beat and raped her or should she wait until he passed out drunk and stay in the apartment to call the police. Our discussion on the court structure included how to get a protective order. The textbook we require her to purchase for $60.00 does not. How is she supposed to learn when her life has no relationship to what she is required to read? Do we have on campus counseling for domestic violence? No, but we throw one hell of a Cinco De Mayo party.

Parents are uninvolved with their children's education. After working all day, they come home, open a beer, and watch American Idol. They don't help their children with their homework or read to their children. They worked all day, they want the schools to educate their children but they certainly don't want to pay taxes to fund the school system. They speak contemptuously of their employers who make them do work and their children embrace the same attitude toward educators. They cheat on their taxes and their spouses so no wonder their children are such skilled cheaters in school. Their children beat the hell out of each other because their parents beat them when they are not ignoring them. Parents in Arlington, Texas recently learned via a new video for sale that their middle class kids beat the hell out of homeless people and listen to anti social music. These parents just don't know where their nice middle class children learned this. These same parents think nothing of listening to country music--which is incredibly shallow and violent--and they talk about killing and beating people they don't like. They scream kill the quarterback and kill the pitcher in front of their children and get drunk at the little league games and fight with the coach. And of course kids see their parents drunk and beating each other. No wonder they are little animals because they are raised by big animals.

Students don't take education seriously because parents don't take education seriously. And people who hold Ed.Ds should not be taken seriously. If the teacher who is teaching your child math doesn't have a math degree, why aren't you down at the school finding out why? Why can't you go to the school board and say this is unacceptable? Until you get into a screaming match with an education bureaucrat, you are not a fit parent.

The schools are job programs for people who shouldn't have graduated from college. The education departments at colleges, which should be abolished and the earth salted so they cannot reemerge, accept the lowest grade point averages and have the least demanding curriculum. Until they refuse anyone but a B+ student we are going to produce teachers with the intellectual curiosity of plants. Teachers are unprofessional. Unlike doctors or lawyers, teachers refuse continuing education courses to keep their licenses. We allow them to get away with that. Actually, people should be required to have degrees, preferably Master's degrees in the subjects they teach. They should not actually have teaching certificates which literally mean they have been told where to put the trashcan in their classrooms, but not how to teach youngsters who have drug problems, been raped either by a grown man their mother lets them date or by their fathers and step fathers and have been treated for sexually transmitted diseases -- often spread by the boys they have known since grades school and who have had abortions. That is who your child is sitting next to in Algebra which seems a little silly to be teaching to students who are so abused they don't know what normal life is. Or normal life is abuse.

Teachers really do believe that the best three things about being a teacher is June, July, and August off from work. Until teachers start acting like professionals and renew their licenses every year, they should not be paid as professionals. Teachers teach so they can be home in the afternoon with their children. Great. Their children are more important, they think, than your children. Professionals in the workplace should be home with their children in the afternoon, too. But that isn't our economy because we refuse to pay people a living wage to own a home, a car, and allow one parent, any parent, to stay home with the children. So we raise feral children. Teachers get no training in these issues from the schools of education at colleges and universities. None. But as a holder of a lifetime secondary teaching certificate, I have notes on where the trashcan goes in the classroom. I shit you not.

So stop funding college education courses. No more degrees in education. Close them down. Allow anyone who has a college degree teach subjects and require students to take classes and counseling in what a life without abuse might be. George Bush and Bill Clinton could not teach high school government because they don't have teaching certificates. Teach students to have self respect by accomplishing material that is difficult. Tell teachers to respect themselves enough to demand excellence from themselves and from their colleagues. When teachers know that other teachers are having sex with students--and they know because they too are gossips--the other teachers should be charged with aiding and abetting.

When students are violent, kick them out of school. Require that their parents attend classes in parenting before the student is allowed back around other people. Divorced people who the court finds dangerous must attend parenting classes before they can see their children. What is the difference. Do not have alternative schools because that lets the parents off the hook. The school district is not responsible for the behavior of your child, dear parents, you are.

If students won't study at home, make them study in the classroom. Teachers should shut up and lay off the worksheets and the crossword puzzles and the classroom games and allow the kids to read and write about their assignments. And people who want to be teachers should help the teachers grade the essays. Because the teachers are too busy going to faculty meetings and thinking up silly exercises for the students to do to actually do any teaching.

Every third administrator should be fired. Just randomly and as arbitrarily as they make decisions that affect students and teachers. We do not need anyone in a school that isn't teaching a class. Principals and Vice Principals might be busy. But if coaches can teach health and government courses, everyone else should teach. Including deans and vice-chancellors in charge of diagonal parking. If they aren't teaching they are part of the problem. They don't know who is sitting in class and what their needs are.

Every teacher who teaches adults should know who has a criminal record in their classes. The college should provide teachers with a list of the their convictions and plea agreements. Every ethnic group is involved in gangs, violence, and drugs. Every group is struggling with broken homes, poverty, and fear. College should have the right to say, no felons in my classroom. And remember, they have no training on how to teach felons. We don't talk about that at "in-services." We give each other awards and applaud each others well drafted lesson plans to teach the Constitution by having students break up into groups and write their own. Never mind we don't actually read the real Constitution or talk about how the prison system really works. The students know more about the court structure because they have been through it than the textbook authors who are so arrogant they won't research how it really works. There should be enough police on every campus to patrol the halls and be visible not watching video monitors of the halls. They need a show of force. If the Army can have recruiters on campus, the teachers should demand a cop in every hall and nothing less.

Every semester I feel like this and every semester it literally gets worse. These problems really aren't new. My grandfather quit school after the third grade to work in the fields. He couldn't read and my father has never read a book. The only way out of the field and poverty is education. My public school teachers wouldn't teach school today--today they are doctors, lawyers, judges, and CEOs. They crawled out of the classroom as quickly as it became more accepted for women to do something with their brains. Intelligent people wouldn't tolerate teaching under these modern conditions. It isn't about how much money we spend on public schools, it is about how much mediocrity we are willing to tolerate. We could produce average factory workers that show up, make widgets, and draw a check, however, that economy is gone. We cannot teach people to follow directions, think for themselves, protect their lives and stop acting like the thugs that raised them and soak up their tax money on that waste of public trust and money called public schools.

Yer doin' a heck of a job, bushie

As Death Stalks Iraq, Middle-Class Exodus Begins

"The main thing now is to just get out of Iraq," said Mr. Bahjat, standing in a room heaped with suitcases and bedroom furniture in eastern Baghdad.

In the latest indication of the crushing hardships weighing on the lives of Iraqis, increasing portions of the middle class seem to be doing everything they can to leave the country. In the last 10 months, the state has issued new passports to 1.85 million Iraqis, 7 percent of the population and a quarter of the country's estimated middle class.

read the whole story with pictures at the NY Times

Some More Linguistics

In case you haven't seen this before:

Having chosen English as the preferred language in the EEC, (now officially the European Union, or EU) the European Parliament has commissioned a feasibility study in ways of improving efficiency in communications between Government departments.

European officials have often pointed out that English spelling is unnecessarily difficult - for example, cough, plough, rough, through and thorough. What is clearly needed is a phased programme of changes to iron out these anomalies. The programme would, of course, be administered by a committee staff at top level by participating nations.

In the first year, for example, the committee would suggest using 's' instead of the soft 'c'. Sertainly, sivil servants in all sities would resieve this news with joy. Then the hard 'c' could be replaced by 'k' sinse both letters are pronounsed alike. Not only would this klear up konfusion in the minds of klerikal workers, but typewriters kould be made with one less letter.

There would be growing enthusiasm when in the sekond year, it kould be announsed that the troublesome 'ph' would henseforth be written 'f'.This would make words like 'fotograf' twenty per sent shorter in print.

In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted vernments would enkourage the removal of double letters which have always been a deterent to akurate speling.

We would al agre that the horible mes of silent 'e's in the languag is disgrasful. Therefor we kould drop thes and kontinu to read and writ as though nothing had hapend. By this tim it would be four years sins the skem began and peopl would be reseptive to steps sutsh as replasing 'th' by 'z'. Perhaps zen ze funktion of 'w' kould be taken on by 'v', vitsh is, after al, half a 'w'. Shortly after zis, ze unesesary 'o kould be dropd from words kontaining 'ou'. Similar arguments vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.

Kontinuing zis proses yer after yer, ve vud eventuli hav a reli sensibl riten styl. After tventi yers zer vud be no mor trubls, difikultis and evrivun vud fin it ezi tu understand ech ozer. Ze drems of the Guvermnt vud finali hav kum tru.

I never thought that Egypt would have amusement parks

They do! They do!

Review of Fantazy Land in Alexandria, Egypt
with exciting pictures. heh

I did not know this needed a vote

Senate votes English as the “national language.”

More Linguistics Gymnastics

The other day we had a post here on BlondeSense over Tony Snow's use of the term "tar baby". A fairly vigorous debate ensued, but thankfully, no innocent lives were lost. In today's episode of linguistic gymnastics, John Aravosis of AmericaBlog referred to Senator Pat Roberts (R-Land of Intelligent Design) as a "big girl" in this post. To, I am sure, no one's surprise, a debate over his use of this term has ensued. Some are saying the use of this term, as John Aravosis himself contends means "big fag", and that it is therefore it could not be sexist, and the wimmun who object should just get the fuck over it. Some, like Shakespeare's Sister, contend that the term is insulting to women and misogynistic, because it implies weakness or sissiness, and therefore should not be part of the gay vernacular.

And while we're on linguistic gymnastics, the Senate decided that we need to designate English as the country's national language. Shrubby says he was for it before he was against it.

Have at it.

Some Good News

A follow up to yesterday's outrageous news from HRC email news.

National Coalition of Religious Leaders
Speak Out Against the Federal Marriage Amendment
Religious Leaders from Across the Country to Gather in Washington on May 22nd

WASHINGTON – On May 22nd, Clergy for Fairness, a broad coalition of mainstream religious voices in America, will host clergy members and other religious leaders from across the country in Washington, D.C. to defend religious liberty and speak out against the discriminatory Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA). The FMA is set for a vote in the U.S. Senate the week of June 5th.

Members of the clergy and other religious leaders from a wide spectrum of religious traditions will use May 22nd as a national day to announce a petition drive against the FMA and call on all like-minded faith leaders to speak out against the Senate’s impending vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment.

Clergy members in Washington on that day will come from many faith traditions including United Methodists, Reform Judaism, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Unitarian Universalists, United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ and American Baptists.

These faith leaders are united behind a common principle that religious liberty must be preserved and that discrimination should not be written into our Constitution. At a time when our country is facing critical issues, the United States Senate should not be focused on undercutting the separation of church and state and treating an entire group of Americans differently. They believe that people of faith and goodwill can and do disagree about what constitutes marriage, but that this amendment would endorse one religiously biased view over all others and impose it on all Americans by constitutional fiat.

WHAT: Press Conference of National Religious Voices Against the Federal Marriage Amendment
WHEN: Monday, May 22nd at 11:00 a.m. (EST)
WHERE: United States Senate Dirksen 430

YOU CAN TELL IT'S AN ELECTION YEAR

Vote in House Seeks to Erase Oil Windfall
"In an attempt to revoke billions of dollars worth of government incentives to oil and gas producers, the House on Thursday approved a measure that would pressure companies to renegotiate more than 1,000 leases for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico."
New York Times

and one more thing...McCAIN HAS GOOK --oops...I mean GOT to GO!

I have to agree with Mr. Tristam's observations of Mr. McCain - far too many demons. He should be nowhere near the White House. He needs to GO AWAY -- RIGHT.... NOW!

I do not want to even imagine the horrific experience he had as a POW. I am thankful that he survived. I also wonder if his demons are from his own devices -- what do you think?


---------------
UPDATE: McCain Gets Cantankerous Reception at Commencement

NEW YORK (AP) -- Senator John McCain of Arizona received a cantankerous reception during his appearance at the New School commencement Friday, where dozens of faculty members and students turned their backs and raised signs in protest and a distinguished student speaker pointedly mocked him as he sat silently nearby.

Senator John McCain, the keynote speaker at the New School University graduation, was received with jeers, boos and insults.

The historically liberal university has been roiled in controversy in recent weeks over the selection of McCain, a conservative Republican and likely 2008 presidential candidate, to deliver the commencement address.

Some 1,200 students and faculty signed petitions asking the university president, former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, to rescind the invitation. Petitioners said McCain's support for the Iraq war and opposition to gay rights and legal abortion do not keep with the prevailing views on campus.

FOX NEWS IS PATHETIC ....

"In new global warming special, Fox News interviews scientists with industry ties, records of misinformation..." Watch on Sunday 5/21 (NOT!) Media Matters


Perfect timing to coincide with Al Gore's film: Climate crisis


Arianna saw AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH - Here is what she says

I am now convinced that FOX IS "THE STUDIO OF THE BEAST"
FOX NEWS IS PATHETIC -- pass it around QUICKLY (before 666) --

SAVE THE WORLD -- TURN OFF FOX!

Cancel All Plans!

Chimp Boy has isued a formal presidential proclamation designating May 29th, Memorial Day as "a day of prayer for permenent peace." Does this reek of hypocrisy or what?

Repeat after me. War is peace. War is peace. War is peace. War is peace.

The Constitutional Republic Known As America Just Died A Quiet Death In Maryland

"Couple Arrested For Asking For Directions"

"BALTIMORE -- Baltimore City police arrested a Virginia couple over the weekend after they asked an officer for directions. WBAL-TV11 News I-Team reporter David Collins said Joshua Kelly and Llara Brook, of Chantilly, Va., got lost leaving an Orioles game on Saturday. Collins reported a city officer arrested them for trespassing on a public street while they were asking for directions. "In jail for eight hours -- sleeping on a concrete floor next to a toilet," Kelly said. "It was a nightmare," Brook said. "I was in there thinking I was just dreaming and waiting to wake up."

Complete story at WBALchannel.com and thanks to "Starman Skye" over at the Rigorous Intuition Discussion Board.

Obligatory Friday Sex Post

C'mon, you know you love them.

This one is rather bizarre. It seems the mayor of the small Arkansas town of Waldron was arrested for extorting sex in exchange for . . . water. Or more specifically, town water services.

I guess people in power never get sick of abusing their positions. The news apparently was greeted by a shrug from at least one City Council member, who said, "As far as I'm concerned, the mayor is a fine man and has done a lot for the city of Waldron."

The Experts Have Spoken

Will the lapdogs of the Religious Right (a/k/a the Shrub Administration) listen?

An FDA advisory panel today voted 13-0 to endorse the safety and efficacy of the vaccine for human papilloma virus. HPV is believed to be responsible for about 70% of cervical cancers in the US, cervical cancer being the No. 2 cancer killer in women. The panel, which was comprised of scientists and doctors, recommended making the vaccine available to girls as young as nine years old.

Now I don't want to be cynical, because that's our friend from Jersey's job, but what kind of odds will I get on a wager that the FDA ignores this panel recommendation? Strikes me as Plan B redux. After all, why should the FDA listen to experts?

The Logic of 'Love It or Leave It'

by Vedran Vuk

(Editor's note: This and other fine essays can be found at LewRockwell.com. Also, although it says below it's my post, it was sent to me by the Sweet Flower of Southern Womanhood Missouri Mule, who shall get the credit for its discovery. I'm still trying to sort out some confusion about her password. -- PoLT)

"Any person who has strong sentiments against the way things are done in this country has probably heard "love it or leave it" at some point. What is the logic of this argument?

"First of all, we must apply this idea to common life and the problems that we encounter daily. Suppose I go into a fast food restaurant, and the place is packed. Kids are running around screaming, trash cans are overflowing, and the line seems endless. In this situation, the appropriate response might be to leave and go to another establishment.

"This is obviously an easy choice that takes no major effort. However, there are other alternatives. You could complain to a manager about the restaurant’s environment and express your inability to return until conditions have changed. It is likely that your complaint will not do much, but it could. This second alternative is obviously a choice other than leaving. The second alternative promises some change (profit/loss analysis of private business could also change things by leaving; this is much different from how government would react to a citizen leaving). The fact that the second alternative gives other options shows that you don’t have to leave. The fast food restaurant has a capability to change, and in its own interest it should.

"The above situation is a small inconvenience. Let’s take it up a notch. Suppose a fraternity buys the house next to me. The noise level is horrendous, and I can’t sleep at night. According to the "love it or leave it" people, I should sell my house and move. Why not choose other avenues and alternatives like attempting to negotiate with the owners, call the police, or try to get new noise regulations in your neighborhood? Because the local government does not have adequate noise regulations, you should accordingly leave the entire city instead of attempting to change the law.
Our founding fathers were not "love it or leave it" people. Thomas Jefferson did not tell everyone in the colonies with the Declaration of Independence to leave the oppressive tax regime of England and move to the unsettled and ungoverned far west. In fact, Thomas Jefferson went one step further by saying in the declaration:

"...Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

"Jefferson did not simply wish you to stay and change the laws of your government. If necessary, the people should "abolish it, and [to] institute new Government." I can express this idea in a similar sentence. The government should respect the wishes of its people or leave.

"Another argument made by "love it or leave it" people is that this country is better than other countries and those against the current regime should stop complaining. I agree. The US is one of the best countries in the world. However, being the best does not justify all actions.

"Suppose that if you live in Mexico a citizen is stabbed five times and in the US you are only beaten. Surely, any reasonable person would agree that the US is better than Mexico. Being better does not justify violence and coercion toward citizens. Actions of both countries are inappropriate even though Mexico’s are more violent.

"Isn’t there a separation of loving your country without loving the government? I can love New Orleans without loving all rules, taxes, and regulations involved. Another example is parents. Most of us love our parents, but we didn’t enjoy being punished as kids. Therefore, any kid who does not like their parents’ rules should become a street rat according to "love it or leave it." The child loves his parent despite the rules. Together, the kids and parents may negotiate new rules.

"This philosophy is utterly incompatible with real life. "Love it or leave it" is best left to those who cannot defend justifications of state power and laws through logical argumentation." May 18, 2006

To All BlondeSensers in the Northwest -- RUN!

Because apparently there is a tsunami coming your way. Pat Robertson heard it from the Big Guy himself!

Senate Committee Pushes Forward Discriminatory Amendment

Just came in Email

Senate Committee Pushes Forward Discriminatory Amendment

“This shameful election-year ploy puts the Senate one step closer to a vote that threatens to write discrimination into the U.S. Constitution,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.

WASHINGTON – Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese made the following statement as the Federal Marriage Amendment (S.J. Res. 1) was marked up today by the Senate Judiciary Committee:

“This shameful election-year ploy puts the Senate one step closer to a vote that threatens to write discrimination into the U.S. Constitution,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “Today’s vote served only to divide Americans, not help us with our collective challenges. As this amendment nears a vote on the Senate floor, it’s critical that fair-minded Americans speak up and speak out against discrimination in the Constitution.”

With less than 24 hours notice, the Senate Judiciary Committee moved the mark up from a public hearing room to a restricted-access room in the Capitol. The President’s Room is not open to the public and does not even have enough chairs for every Senator on the committee to sit.

Solmonese continued, “Using the Constitutional amendment process as a political tool is bad enough, but doing it behind closed doors is appalling. The U.S. Senate shouldn’t be playing fast and loose with our most fundamental freedoms.”

In 2004, the Senate and House both fell far short of the two-thirds vote necessary to send the amendment to the states for ratification. In the Senate, the vote against cloture was 50 to 48, with six Republicans voting no. The Republicans who opposed cloture were Senators Campbell, Chafee, Collins, McCain, Snowe and Sununu. In the House, the vote was 227 to 186.

Many prominent Republicans and conservatives expressed opposition to the amendment in 2004, including Vice President Cheney, Arlen Specter, Rudy Guiliani, Chuck Hagel, David Dreier, George Pataki, Bob Barr, Alan Simpson, George Will and David Brooks. This year, those numbers increased to former Senator Danforth who called the amendment, “silly” and “contrary to basic Republican principles.” First Lady Laura Bush was recently quoted as saying, “I don’t think it should be used as a campaign tool, obviously.” Sen. John McCain has repeatedly reaffirmed his opposition to the amendment. And today George Will again restated his opposition by lauding Sen. John Sununu’s vote against the amendment was a vote against the “federal usurpation of the traditional state responsibility for marriage law” and that it “affirmed the value of cultural federalism.”

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political organization with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that LGBT Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

This is appalling. Phone call time.

A little off topic for the blog

Ok a lot off topic, but ya know, if Paul McCartney had married me in the first place, he would have still been on wife #1, he wouldn't have had to turn off the mike on my background vocals and I would have encouraged him to write less wussy lyrics. I guess he just couldn't wait until I reached puberty.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"People—middle-class people, even—are borrowing to eat. They're borrowing to have a place to live. They're borrowing to pay for the healthcare industry's false promises of life without misery. They're borrowing to provide themselves with mind-numbing entertainment to keep them from seeing what has happened to America over the past three decades. They're borrowing on the belief that, somehow, what they're doing is for the best." -- from the "comments" at "Inflation Surges, Stock Markets Plunge" by The Dark Wraith

Yes, The FBI Is Spying on Reporters

While phone companies like Bell South and Verizon are vehemently claiming that they didn't turn over phone records to the NSA, the FBI says that indeed they were investigating leaks about the secret prisons and the NSA wiretaps. The FBI IS checking reporters' contacts.

This article in the CS Monitor exposes the great lengths the government goes to in order to squash stories. It's pretty alarming. This is only the tip of the iceberg. It's no wonder that many reporters simply write what the government tells them to write.

According the article, William Arkin of the Washington Post says that the only "innocent" people in the US today are "mostly white, mostly Christian Americans who accept that the government knows best and that the national security state is only after the bad guys and would never apply its new found capacities in any illegitimate way." Everyone else is suspect, particularly those with brown skin and foreign origins.

"In an interview with news site Salon.com, NSA historian Matthew Aid said he believes it is only a matter of time before we discover that cellphone and Internet companies also helped the government spy on Americans.

"We should be terrified that Congress has not been doing its job and because all of the checks and balances put in place to prevent this have been deliberately obviated. In order to get this done, the NSA and White House went around all of the checks and balances. I'm convinced that 20 years from now we, as historians, will be looking back at this as one of the darkest eras in American history. And we're just beginning to sort of peel back the first layers of the onion. We're hoping against hope that it's not as bad as I suspect it will be, but reality sets in every time a new article is published and the first thing the Bush administration tries to do is quash the story. It's like the lawsuit brought by [the Electronic Frontier Foundation] against AT&T – the government's first reaction was to try to quash the lawsuit. That ought to be a warning sign that they're on to something."

"Mr. Aid said he feels certain that when the complete story of the warrantless wiretapping and the collection of phone records becomes public, it will show that "key oversight functions – those functions that were put in place to protect the rights of Americans – were deliberately circumvented.""

See also NSA rejected system that sifted phone data legally in today's Baltimore Sun. I wonder if anyone will ask Gen. Hayden about this at his hearing today?

tar baby

My liberal credentials are pretty solid. I know racism when I see it. I grew up in the South and have seen the street signs that warned blacks about being in town after sun down. I saw separate movie theater entrances. I heard stories of my great uncle in the Klan. I heard the stories of my father firing shotguns loaded with salt at blacks coming out of church.

Having said this, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow's use of the term "tar baby" to describe a difficult situation is not racist.

The term comes from Bri'er Rabbit stories. In many, many stories I heard as a child, characters made babies out of tar. Bri'er Rabbit made a baby out of tar to trap Bri'er Fox. My mother told me about a rubber doll she was given and the doll melted and stuck to her face when she napped with the new doll. Sticky children, sticky dolls, and sticky tar babies.
The truth of the stories is that the trickster Bri'er Rabbit, thought to be a black character, triumphs over the allegedly smarter, white character Bri'er Fox.

Are brier patches inherently racist, too. What about cotton patches?

This reminds me of the misunderstandings people have had over the word "niggardly." It means stingy and ironically, illiberal.

Real racism is so common in our language that we think nothing of the "paddy" wagon, to "Jew" someone down, or to "gyp" someone as in "gypsy."

Think Progress is making much of a public official in the Houston area being fired over his use of "tar baby." That is simply a misunderstanding of the word. We have also had public officials use the word "niggardly" and been reprimanded for it. Neither word is offensive unless people are unaware of the use and meaning of the word.

Random House says that the term is a derogatory one for blacks. Not once in my life have I ever heard anyone use the term that way and I have heard every ugly term for every person any Southerner could conjure. When people in the South want to use a derogatory term for blacks, they use "nigger."

Get a dictionary. And a copy of the Bri'er Rabbit stories. Not everything in Southern folk lore is racist. But this isn't the first time ignorance has cast an eye in that direction.

Four names to be added to Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The additions of a soldier and three Marines bring the number of names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to 58,253.
The new names are:
• Army Spc. 4 Bobby Gene Barbre of Carmi, Ill.
• Marine Lance Cpl. George Bryant Givens Jr. of Robards, Ken.
• Marine Pfc. Hans Jorg Rudolph Lorenz of Midland, Ontario, Canada.
• Marine Capt. Patrick Rumley Jr. of Medford, Mass.

Complete article in the Army Times.

It's About Time

NY Times: F.B.I. Is Seeking to Interview Jailed Activists

As part of a continuing criminal civil rights investigation of the New York Police Department, the F.B.I. is seeking to interview protesters who were arrested in 2004 during the Republican National Convention and then had the charges against them dismissed. Investigators are specifically seeking one protester whose case prompted the federal inquiry.

~snip~

"We are attempting to determine if any police officers' conduct violated federal civil rights statutes," said the two-page letter, dated May 11, which was sent by agents from the New York field office of the F.B.I.

Duh.

The Spies Who Shag Us - Greg Palast

I forgot about ChoicePoint...
So many players - who can keep them straight!
Buzzflash

The Right-to-Petition Lawsuit

Check out what the WTP Foundation is doing......

"Although the We The People Foundation has been quietly shepherding these cases through the lower rungs of the federal court system over several years, the fruits of this historic litigation are soon to be realized. The issues have been clarified, the arguments refined, and the lower courts have spoken.
The constitutional showdown for the First Amendment Right to Petition has now reached our nation’s highest courts.

I wonder if we will hear anything about this in the coming weeks.....

Do you think this is an important enough lawsuit that it will get news coverage?
Just wondering what our legal ladies out there may know about the Right to Petition....

Treating Nearly All Women as Pre-Pregnant

Have you read this story?

Forever Pregnant
Guidelines: Treat Nearly All Women as Pre-Pregnant
By January W. Payne
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 16, 2006; HE01

New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon.

Among other things, this means all women between first menstrual period and menopause should take folic acid supplements, refrain from smoking, maintain a healthy weight and keep chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes under control.

Oh goodie. We're (well not me anymore) considered pre-conceptive. When will "not healthy enough" women be charged with pre-murder? Is it just me or does this whole article make you nervous? And no, there is no talk of universal health care or anything silly like that.



Comments?

Venezuela Weighs Selling U.S. Jets to Iran

Venezuela's military is considering selling its fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to another country, possibly Iran, in response to a U.S. ban on arms sales to President Hugo Chavez's government, an official said Tuesday.

Entire article in Forbes.

And if the U.S. attacks Iran...consider the grotesque ironies involved.

I'm reminded of something radio announcer Gabriel Heater said about a similar situation during the Korean War back in the '50s: "We might be digging American bullets out of American G.I.s".

a bird, a plane, or what?

(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that Department of Defense released a videotape to Judicial Watch at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon that shows American Airlines Flight 77 striking the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The Department of Defense released the videotape in response to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act request and related laws....

Anyway, the video is meant to put to rest all the conspiracy theories on the internet claiming that a plane did, in fact, hit the Pentagon. So I watched it. I can't tell that it's a plane. I don't think this video will put conspiracies to sleep.

oh puhleeeeeeese

Rove says that people like bush. They really like him. They just don't like the war.
I like what Buzzflash says about it, "Everybody Likes the Village Idiot, But They Don't Elect Him the Mayor of the Town."

In my neck of the woods, we'd say, "He couldn't be elected dog catcher."

Police State Caught on Tape

Just a post or two down, I left info about a 14yo girl, who by the judge and prosecutions own admission innocent of any crime is still being held in prison.

Add to that this video of what the police did during a Peace Protest in Portland the lame excuse of 'someone threw a bottle' becomes even more hollow when you see the police PLANNING to use force long before the protest began. Looks like the NaXis (National Xtian Party) is alive an well, and looking for fresh blood to feed their lust. Lucky effing us.

This is the text of the 2006 commencement address for the Department of English at the University of California at Berkeley

Wow - what a great read! All of the wonderful writers in the blogosphere will enjoy this...

Here is the text from tomdispatch - you might want to save it - it's long and worthy of reading when you have some extra time:

I first read this over at Mother Jones
(great article up there about Gold Mining in Alaska - basically about Gold vs Food)

What More Can I Add To This

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- A 14-year-old Ohio girl has been jailed nearly a week after failing to testify against a man accused of molesting her.

Court records show the girl has requested a lawyer. But jail officials say she isn't permitted contact with anyone unless prosecutors approve.

Prosecutors say the teen is a material witness and they want her jailed for her safety. A judge has ordered that she be held indefinitely.

The girl failed to show earlier this month at the trial of a 20-year-old man, who's accused of having unlawful sexual conduct with her. He is free on bond.

The man's attorneys say the girl denied that sexual contact occurred, and would not write a statement for police. Defense lawyers say the state has "effectively kidnapped" the girl. They're asking that the case be dropped.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.

This was on the front page of CNN just a few moments ago. What can I say? I don't know the details, but if this were my daughter I'd want her home where 'I' could 'protect' her, not placing her in prison, you know, where the confirmed CRIMINALS are.

Will the major media finally cover the electronic election fraud issue?

By Harvey Wasserman and Bob Fitrakis
Please PASS THIS ALONG:

Thanks

Waddaya think?

Maybe I'm being a little conspiratorial here, but suppose that all the NSA wiretapping and its tremendous database is in place so that the government can keep track of who the news media are contacting. The "leaks" that were reported are evidence that the administration is functioning on the wrong side of the law. The government doesn't want you to know these things, so in the name of catching terrorists, they are investigating reporters to find out who the leakers are in various agencies. Check out this story and read the comments. Federal Source to ABC News: We Know Who You're Calling

I Know How The Republicans Are Going To Maintain Control Of Congress

They're going to take the train.

First, there's this story "Ted Kennedy's Plane Struck By Lightning"
BOSTON-- A plane carrying Sen. Edward Kennedy from a commencement speech in western Massachusetts to his Cape Cod home was struck by lightning Saturday.
A Kennedy spokesman said the plane lost all electrical power and had to be diverted to New Haven, Conn.

Then, there's this story Tampering With the Zapruder Film?
The legions of conspiracy theorists will be buzzing anew this week when a group of assassination pros call for a broader probe into the Nov. 22,1963, slaying of President John F. Kennedy. Among the new concerns to be documented in a presentation near the White House Monday: possible hanky-panky with the famous Zapruder film--maybe to disguise another shooter--and suggestions that a second brain was used in an autopsy coverup.

Then there's these stories "Scalar Wars results in Control of the Weather" as well as "Scalar Wars The Brave New World of Scalar Electromagnetics" by Bill Morgan at Weather Wars.

I put it all together and started thinking about "Was Wellstone assassinated? Skeptics, conspiracy buffs wonder if Minnesota Democrat targeted for murder". You can find that article at WorldNetDaily.


Finally, there's over 12,000 hits on "JFK Jr. assassinated" at Googlesearch.


UPDATE: Here's a link I should have included: Background: US Politicians Killed In Plane Crashes. Check it out. There's a bunch of them.

Code Pink Mother's Day protest makes the NEWS!!! -- in China....

Here it is.

Here's the only story I could find locally in the US (Houston Chronicle)

Oh well, my heart was with them this past weekend. THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS. I hope they can unite with other growing movements -- strength in numbers!!

Some good stories over at Stop The Lie....

Check out the Scarborough Video - Whoa JOE!

Check out Verizon 50billion lawsuit

CHECK OUT EDITORIAL ABOUT 911 MEDIA BLACKOUT:
(Follow-up to my post on 5/10 - Get the Word Out)

"As a Watergate-era graduate of the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism, I was taught that exposing government lies and corruption is the supreme duty of the Fourth Estate. I simply cannot fathom the current situation. I do not understand the 9/11 truth blackout. I wish someone would explain it to me.

It is time to break the 9/11 truth blackout. Please put pressure on your local media through letters to the editor, call-ins to talk radio, and phone calls to local and national journalists.
And come see Peter Phillips, director of the media watchdog group Project Censored, who will lead a strategy session on breaking the blackout at the upcoming international 9/11 truth conference in Chicago: 9/11: Revealing the Truth, Reclaiming Our Future, to be held June 2-4 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Chicago-O'Hare Rosemont. Go to http://911revealingthetruth.org for more information.

The event will feature presentations from dozens of 9/11 truth luminaries, from scientists like Steven Jones to intelligence agency whistle-blowers like David Shayler, and promises to be a historic, watershed event. Be there, or resign yourself to a future of endless war, lost liberty, and a craven media that cannot bring itself to breathe a single word of truth. "

Let's hope they get some coverage in Chicago June 2nd!!

I actually heard a radio program on WWUH radio station (University of Hartford) over the weekend about the cover ups. David Ray Griffin (The New Pearl Harbor) spoke about this locally -- I never heard or read about it.

At least they're playing it on the radio now. Looks like the local media is waking up. Now we just need Stewart and Colbert to really hit it home.

Corporate Takeover of the Net- A Twist

Progressive bloggers won't bend to suit their advertisers, at least I hope not, but when a blog participates with BlogAds, they have no say in what ads appear in their sidebars. There are very misleading ads that pretend to support internet democracy, when in fact they are funded by the very companies who want to control it. Read: Buzzflash Editorial- Pro-Internet Democracy Blogs Run Ads for Corporate Takeover of Net

Boo Hoo

Conservative christians who claim to have put this evil regime in office are now whining that their demands were not kept by the House Republicans, ie: deal with gay marriage, obscenity and abortion according to this morning's NY Times. Silly Jesofascists, what part of lipservice don't you understand? What, do you think you are defense contractors or something?

Crackpot, James Dobson is furious that his ilk can be charged with hate crimes when they attack gay people. That was not on his list of demands. He is threatening Republicans that he will withdraw his flock's support of the regime if they don't "get on the ball." Seems that the war and the threat of more wars with nukes don't bother these so called "christians". This seems to be something to keep our eyes on.

-------

Speaking of conservatives who are out of touch with the mainstream...

Despite all this "abstinence only" junk that somehow passes for sex ed, American women are enjoying sex. Think Progress reports:

-- 88 percent of Catholic women currently use birth control, roughly the same rate as other Americans.
-- 70 percent of evangelical women are sexually active and don’t wish to become pregnant. 90 percent of these women use birth control. [2002 National Survey of Family Growth]

Are You Prepared? Are You Sure

And no, I'm not trying to get anyone to panic, but it is a cold, rainy morning and things are oddly quiet at the hospital this morning, so we're reading the local papers and finding some interesting articles far from the front page.

One in particular caught my eye, especially after Liz told us that her insurance policy had been cancelled and she is having trouble finding a new underwriter:

''The only way for municipalities to qualify for any hazard mitigation project is if they have a hazard mitigation plan that's approved by FEMA,'' said Geoff Reese, assistant executive director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.And working together provides an even greater benefit.

''Certainly in the statewide competitions they'll have somewhat of an upper hand in that we're getting a lot of bang with a buck dealing with two fairly urbanized counties with a sizable population base. They'll receive some advantage,'' said Killins.

Any leg up helps in the fierce competition for increasingly limited state and federal funding for the prevention and reduction of destruction from natural disasters.The state's most recent allotment for hazard mitigation was $350,000. At the federal level, funding has dropped from $250 million two years ago to $50 million in the most current budget, according to PEMA.

Yep, you read that right. All those tax cuts for the top 5% and guess where that money (or at least some of it) is coming from. Not that I'm surprised, this has actually been going on for quite a while. Here in NE PA, we got hit with a horrible, destructive ice storm in Jan of 2005, we were declared a disaster area; roads were impassable, many homes were without electric and heat for a week or more and we had loss of life. No one stepped in to help us either, and up here its basically white, middle to upper class, of West European descent. So no, the race card had nothing to do with it, the Feds just don't care.

Luckily, like most residents of the colder regions, many residents are well supplied for the winter months with pantries full of non-perishibles, propane tanks for the grill for cooking, many have wood/pellet/corn stoves for secondary heat/cooking source and quite a few have generators 'just in case' and many of us tend to be neighbourly and took in other families that didn't have what they needed to survive. But then we also don't have the population density that NOLA does (did) or the populations and ethnic/cultural divides that big cities, like New York, Philly, etc have.

But this does bring me to the next logical step. STATES are being asked to draw up detailed disaster preparedness plans that need to be submitted to FEMA for approval and funding. FEMA does not HAVE the funding necessary to implement a majority of these plans. Homeowners are losing their insurance policies (possibly based on these reports?) and cannot find new plans or cannot afford new plans. So where, exactly does this leave us? The Middle Class Home Owner... the last few keepers of what used to be the American Dream?

What does this administration have to gain by destroying the Middle Class? And I'm not just speaking economically, in this case we are talking of physical destruction; the loss of life, limb and property. I noticed the uproar over NOLA has died down to a soft growling roar, which still surprises me, I honestly expected citizens to take to the streets over that clusterfuck, but of course a new boogie man / distraction came up.

But think about this: We KNOW (via observation and scientific methods) that severe weather patterns are growning - storms are becoming far more intense and destructive, more frequent and MANY blue states grew up along coasts and rivers as the country grew and expanded. What will happen if another storm like Katrina winds its way northward? Hits the Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania area? The concentration of population is extremely high, we have a lot of technology here, also a lot of toxic sites that will poison the area for decades if it overflows its retainers. And where will those populations (at least those that survive) be 're-located'?

Not doomsaying or anything, just thinking out loud.....

President Al Gore

Was on SNL last night. If you missed it or want to watch it again. It's here.

I'm Reluctantly Sitting At The Grownup's Table Now

Once she called me in a panic.
"I need cigarettes."
"How many do you have left, Mom?" I was calculating how much time I had before the critical moment.
"Only one carton."
"Are you going to smoke a whole carton by tomorrow?"
Pause.
"Don't forget to buy cigarettes tomorrow."
"Ok. Tomorrow. G'night mom."

Mom would be 86 had she not died peacefully in her sleep back in June 2001. Well, if she didn't die that day, she surely would have keeled over a few months later on September 11th. On the morning of 9/11, with mom's death not completely sunken in yet, I picked up the phone to call her and tell her, "I told you so!" (I always told her American foreign policy would bite us on the ass one day. She thought America could do no wrong.)

My last conversation with her was about that poor women, Andrea Yates, who killed her kids. Her husband just kept knocking her up and expecting her to home school the children. My mom and I were discussing how that would drive any woman completely mad. I think I was even crying about it when I said goodbye on the day I would see her alive for the last time. I have this thing about men who make their wives crazy.

I told her I'd pick her up in the morning for her hair appointment. I went to pick her up as planned, but she was sleeping so soundly that she wouldn't wake up. She was like a princess laying there. A perfect lady even in death. (Although don't tell her I said this, but this perfect lady used to say things spontaneously and in a hushed tone like, "Sometimes, Lizzy, you just have to call a fuck a fuck." "Don't you mean a spade, mom?" "A fuck," she'd whisper under her breath.)

Mom was an avid worrier and CNN watcher in the years before she died. My dad had alzheimers and cancer and couldn't walk very well and my mom was his main caregiver which literally sucked the life out of her. I was the backup until my mom's vision got so bad that I had to call in hospice home care for dad and I would take care of her needs. I still had to run over there in the middle of the night to pick dad off the floor.

Family Circle Magazine featured me in a story about the "sandwich generation" in 2000. They made me sound bitter. I don't think I was bitter so much as exhausted. I was 45 and I thought mom was going to outlive me. MSNBC then called me about being in a feature about the sandwich generation, but they wanted me to talk about how it destroyed my sex life. Huh? Oh yeah, I want to find someone to stay with mom while I go on national teevee and discuss my sex life. I'm sure my husband and son would be so proud. Not.

Mom would tell me what she saw/heard on the news and then we'd argue about it over breakfast or lunch in the Grapevine Cafe where I took her almost every morning before we ran errands together and amassed even more stuff that I would eventually have to get rid of. Shopping was her therapy. She was legally blind due to macular degeneration and she was pissed off that she couldn't drive more than anything in the world. I wished she could drive herself around too. I was constantly worried that I'd find her at the bottom of the stairs one day but she refused to have anyone stay with her.

She never did lose her spunk and I could kid her about the "binoculars" she wore to watch television. She really didn't know what she had in the house so she bought more when I'd take her shopping.

She would look at me with her 'mother expression' if I said anything about what she was buying in the supermarket, "Elizabeth. Don't start with me."

"I just don't understand how you can go through a whole bottle of suppositories in one week," she couldn't see me rolling my eyes.

After she died and I had 3 floors of house to empty, I think there were about 50 blistex tubes and hundreds of emery boards (which I still haven't used up in 5 years) when I was sorting through things. We bought them every week too. She had a giant freezer and it was always filled. She still shopped as if she were feeding and outfitting a whole family. That's a career mother for you.

Mother's Day

(originally posted on May 6, 2005)

This morning I simply sat under the sycamore tree in the backyard of the home I grew up in for two hours with my grandson. I thought of my mother. That's life. I know it. And I know something more: that on those long days when we in the sandwich generation feel squeezed and spent and are tempted to grouse about being either mother or daughter, we should be fall-on-our-knees grateful to be both.

Because the truth is simple. Our time is fleeting and dear. One day our mother who is buying us the doll we begged for; the next, or so it seems, we find ourselves taking a baby doll as a gift to a mother in the nursing home. It has always struck me that women in nursing home beds have baby dolls in their rooms. I suspect it is because they remind them of the happiest time of their lives. I know it is mine.

One day, in a hospital room somewhere, you will hold a hand that you can't even recongize anymore. It may be thin and dry and tiny, the rings way too big even with the guards you bought for her at the jewelry store.

Look closer and you'll recongnize the hand that pushed you in the swing, the one that felt your burning forehead when you were sick, the one that stroked your hair the first time you had your heart broken and cried for a solid three hours.

For all of you mothers, for all of you who want to be mothers, for all of you "other mothers" who nurture children not your own, may you have a lifetime of Mother's Days filled with your own brand of macaroni magic. I plan to.

Happy Mother's Day

This appeared in seattlepi.com

Friday, May 12, 2006
Original Mother's Day a war protest
JESSE PUTNAM
GUEST COLUMNIST -

Three years ago several people gathered on the side of a Pittsburgh road to express support for the war in Iraq. Draped in U.S. flags, the pro-war assembly sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" as a way to demonstrate unity and patriotism. They likely did not realize they were singing words written by one of the country's most influential anti-war activists, Julia Ward Howe, the founder of Mother's Day for Peace.

Just as those pro-war protesters did not realize they were singing a pacifist's song, most Americans do not realize that Mother's Day began as an activist's response to war. Though the holiday has become a warm family tradition it began not as a feel-good national event but as an urgent call for women and mothers worldwide to unite against war.

"Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters, to prevent the waste of human life of which they alone know and bear the cost?" Julia Ward Howe wrote in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian war and just a few years after the Civil War ended.

Shortly after, she published her Mother's Day Proclamation, which was a call for peace and disarmament, and staked out a day to organize around. Howe's vision of a peace movement led by mothers gained support and the first Mothers' Peace Day festival was held in Boston on June 2, 1873.

Mother's Day for Peace was celebrated in at least 18 U.S. cities that first year and the tradition continued in Boston for the next 10 years. Though Howe's movement was not wide and the Peace Day tradition eventually faltered, her efforts nevertheless marked the beginning of two U.S. traditions: a peace movement and Mother's Day. In the beginning, these two pillars of Americana were one.

Four decades later, the idea of a day for mothers was revived by Anna Jarvis, whose own mother had previously tried to establish Mother's Friendship Days as a way to heal the divisions caused by the Civil War. Though it did not wholly share Howe's original intention and peace ideal, Jarvis' renewed effort took hold and in 1914 Mother's Day was proclaimed a national holiday by President Wilson.

A century later, Jarvis is largely forgotten, Howe's fame remains most connected to her work as author of the "Battle Hymn" and Mother's Day is a cozy albeit commercialized holiday.

Yet the roots of Mother's Day are rich with purpose and profound idealism. In her diary, Howe regarded her mother's day peace work as the most meaningful of her life. "I am 52 years old ... and must regard this year as in some sense the best of my life," she wrote in 1871. "The great joy of the Peace Idea has unfolded itself to me."

On this Mother's Day, as we honor our mothers and the lives they have given and nurtured, may the great peace idea find a home in all of us.

Jesse Putnam is the great-great-great-grandson of Julia Ward Howe. A freelance writer, he lives in Seattle.

__________________________

We have all read Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation:

Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or of fears!
Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
"Our husbands shall not come to us reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
"Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience.
"We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the bosom of the devasted earth a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Disarm!"
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice! Blood does not wipe out dishonor nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them then solemnly take counsel with each other as the means whereby the great human family can live in peace,
And each bearing after her own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, but of God.

The following from Julia Ward Howe, REMINISCENCES, 1819-1899, (Boston, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1899); pp 327-329.; is offered as some of the background for the Proclaimation:

CHAPTER XV A WOMAN'S PEACE CRUSADE
I had felt a great opposition to Louis Napoleon from the period of the infamous act of treachery and violence which made him emperor. The Franco-Prussian war was little understood by the world at large. To us in America its objects were entirely unknown. On general principles of good-will and sympathy we were as much grieved as surprised at the continual defeats sustained by the French. For so brave and soldierly a nation to go through such a war without a single victory seemed a strange travesty of history. When to the immense war indemnity the conquerors added the spoliation of two important provinces, indignation added itself to regret. The suspicion at once suggested itself that Germany had very willingly given a pretext for the war, having known enough of the demoralized condition of France to be sure of an easy victory, and intending to make the opportunity serve for the forcible annexation of provinces long coveted.

As I was revolving these matters in my mind, while the war was still in progress, I was visited by a sudden feeling of the cruel and unnecessary character of the contest. It seemed to me a return to barbarism, the issue having been one which might easily have been settled without bloodshed. The question forced itself upon me, "Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters, to prevent the waste of that human life of which they alone bear and know the cost?" I had never thought of this before. The august dignity of motherhood and its terrible responsibilities now appeared to me in a new aspect, and I could think of no better way of expressing my sense of these than that of sending forth an appeal to womanhood throughout the world, which I then and there composed. I did not dare to make this public without the advice of some wise counselor, and sought such an one in the person of Rev. Charles T. Brooks of Newport, a beloved friend and esteemed pastor.

The little document which I drew up in the heat of my enthusiasms implored woman, all the world over, to awake to the knowledge of the sacred right vested in them as mothers to protect the human life which costs them so many pangs. I did not doubt but that my appeal would find a ready response in the hearts of great numbers of women throughout the limits of civilization. I invited these imagined helpers to assist me in calling and holding a congress of women in London, and at once began a wide task of correspondence for the realization of this plan. My first act was to have my appeal translated into various languages, to wit: French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Swedish, and to distribute copies of it as widely as possible. I devoted the next two years almost entirely to correspondence with leading women in various countries. I also had two important meetings in New York, at which the cause of peace and the ability of women to promote it were earnestly presented. At the first of these, which took place in the late autumn of 1870, Mr. [William Cullen] Bryant gave me his venerable presence and valuable words. At the second, in the spring following, David Dudley Field, an eminent member of the New York bar, and a lifelong advocate of international arbitration, made a very eloquent and convincing address.

In the spring of the year 1872 I visited England, hoping by my personal presence to affect the holding of a Woman's Peace Congress in the great metropolis of the civilized world.
[after several pages about the problems of women finding a public platform in those days, Howe writes of the end of her plans on page 341:] The ladies who spoke in public in those days mostly confined their labors to the advocacy of woman suffrage, and were not much interested in my scheme of a world-wide portest of women against the cruelties of war.

__________________________

IT TOOK A FEW MORE YEARS, BUT WOMEN EVENTUALLY GOT THE RIGHT TO VOTE.......

SO, WHO BRINGS JULIA WARD HOWE'S PROCLAMATION TO WASHINGTON THIS WEEKEND IN A PEACEFUL PROTEST AGAINST WAR?
THE CODE PINK LADIES.

I brought this up a few weeks ago and nobody commented on this group.

I googled Mother's Day Protests this morning and not much came up. There was more about the grannies protesting. Very little about Code Pink. I was interested in getting behind them because I felt very strongly about this proclamation, and the need for women to unite with this message. Why don't we hear about Code Pink? Then I came upon this:
(courtesy of David Horowitz and friends): -- written 3 years ago: Titled: Code Pinko

I had no idea the Code Pink Ladies were Marxists (according to Horowitz's blog)

What about Horowitz? -- (written 4 years ago)

Alot to discuss here. But it is Mother's Day, so maybe not today...maybe tomorrow -- whenever you feel like it. Let's discuss it though. Soon.

____________________

ENJOY YOUR DAY

McCain's Speech at Liberty University

If anyone is interested, God may speak to w, however, he has given McCain the 'light'....... In his speech he says THIS in support of the war:

"If an American feels the decision was unwise, then they should state their opposition and argue for another course — it is your right and obligation," Mr. McCain said, adding, "But I ask that you consider the possibility that I, too, am trying to meet my responsibilities, to follow my conscience, to do my duty as best as I can, as God has given me light to see that duty."


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/washington/14mccain.html?hp&ex=1147579200&amp;en=73148f86cdf51cbf&ei=5094&partner=homepage


http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=060513&cat=frontpage&st=frontpagetapper_mccain_060513&src=abc

Another good cause

Well, I'm sure that all of y'all remember my whining & bitching & blogwhoring for a toof (and y'all came through like GANGBUSTERS!!!), but now I'm begging for a whole other reason.

Blackdog, one of our most faithful, loyal, and passionate commenters, is in a hellaciously tough spot. No, not THIS one, and not THIS one, either... I'm talking about the one and only Blackdog of Arkansas, who, as you may remember, was royally fucked out of his job by the republicunt, crookeder-than-Jimmy-Swaggart-At-A-Thrift-Store hillbilly cocksuckers of the City of Lonoke. NOW, the assholes are refusing to pay his unemployment benefits, 'cause they're saying (and LYING) that he "QUIT"!!!!!! Boy, the lengths to which some douchebags will go...

At any rate, here's what I'm asking of y'all --- Blackdog is down to his last $200, and he & his blackdogs need a little help, if y'all can spare it. Now, keep in mind, neither Blackdog nor I want anybody who's down to their last TWO bucks to chip in, please only give what you can actually AFFORD, 'cause driving OTHER people into the poorhouse is not the goal here, nor would it help our cause. So, if you've got a buck to spare, please do help him out --- and if we can help him get the fuck out of Arkansas, THEN we'd be makin' some PROGRESS!

But since our BlondeSense friends have always proven themselves (back to Katrina and before) to be such kindhearted, generous folks who'd give the shirt off of their backs to help a fellow human being, I figured that it couldn't hurt to ask. I try not to make these televangelist moments a regular feature of the blog here, as it embarrasses the hell outta me and probably gives Liz the shakes, but when a good soul has been thoroughly fucked-over by the powers-that-be, I try to do what I can to help. In my current state, I'm not much use to ANYbody, but this, I figured, might actually help.

So I'd like to thank y'all all again, for all of your kindness, good spirits, generosity, and sick, twisted humor, that have saved my life a few dozen times. And I'm sure that Blackdog will wag his ass off and lick the faces of any contributors who might enjoy that.

Here's his PayPal account: bturner (at ) futura.net

Bless your hearts and pass the catfish!

Walking Eagle

Raffles, Rene's dad, sent this, and I just HAD to share!!!

Invited to address a major gathering of the American Indian Nation last weekend in Arizona, President Bush spoke for almost an hour of his future plans for increasing every Native American's present standard of living.

Though vague on the details of his plan, he appeared enthusiastic about his ideas for helping his "red brothers."

At the conclusion of his speech, the Tribes presented the President with a plaque inscribed with his new Indian name -- 'Walking Eagle'.

As the President departed waving to the crowd in his motorcade, a news reporter asked the group of chiefs how they came to select the new name given to the President.

They explained that Walking Eagle is the name given to a bird so full of shit it can no longer fly.

Let's (Third) Party

Since our discussions of late have AGAIN resulted in our general feeling that we need a third party, I figured I would google 'Third Party' to see how many 'Green-type Parties' were out there because it's time we all just unite. WE THE SHEEPLE -- It's time to get together folks. WE the ones (MAJORITY) who earn UNDER $100,000 PER YEAR:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/may2006/taxc-m13.shtml
(read the last paragraph)

Anyway, Google led me to the Let's (Third) Party article by Tom Friedman.
Did anyone bring this article up last week? - possibly I missed it...anyway, here is the story: http://www.radicalleft.net/blog/_archives/2006/5/4/1929680.html
(check out fu** story on upper left while your over there - great read!!)


here's some opinion on Friedman - so we don't really have to bother commenting on him -- http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/29539
(I thought the texas comments were too much!)
It's not the issue here - Fact is the 'Third Party' is very necessary -- it has to happen and IT WILL HAPPEN. At this point, I need to be optimistic in order to keep my sanity.

Now, if only we could get someone like Stephen Colbert to be our Chairman -- we might have a chance to recruit someone...hmm...


UPDATE (on this Mother's Day Eve):
Ponder these two articles
http://www.radicalleft.net/blog/_archives/2006/5/7/1927846.html
(workacholic consumerism) and
http://www.radicalleft.net/blog/_archives/2006/5/7/1933202.html
(why women don't relax)

Maybe the women could take some 'leisure' time and start this third party. I KNOW! ....let's take it to the Malls - it's a start anyway.

Trouble Is, The Ones That Are Still Out There Might Last A Long, Long Time

End of the road for the hulking Hummer H1

"The Hummer H1 -- the biggest, toughest sport utility vehicle on the road -- has run out of gas.

"Cheering just about every other driver on the road, General Motors Corp. said Friday that it is ditching the H1 by June.

"The vehicle, which delivered a shot of in-your-face masculinity, has a price tag of $140,000, weighs 5 tons and gets less than 10 miles to the gallon.

"But sales have slowed to a trickle. GM has sold fewer than 100 this year.

Rest of article at SFGate.

". . . perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators. . ."

Truthout.org is reporting that Karl Rove told the President that Rove will be indicted.

Countdown to 666

Yep, things are going to get even more bizarro as the uber-xtians bang their drums waiting for the antichrist to step up to the plate on June 6, 2006.

Hate to rain on their parade, but accourding to the experts he's already here (George (six letters) Walker (six letters) Bush Jr (six letters), the president whose name adds up to 666) Of course I have people who will argue the fact with me. Rachel seems to thing the antichrist is not a person, but an organization (F is the sixth letter of the alphabet, O is the 15th letter (1+5=6) and X is the 24th letter (2+4=6) ) I countered that with the correct spelling Faux, but she wasn't buying the arguement.

And then there is the mild panic griping women due in early June, seems someone with fecal matter for brains has suggested that the antichrist will be BORN on June 6th. Sending a few hormonally, bloated and otherwise stressed pregnant women into a state and a half worrying about giving birth to the OMEN


However, at least a few marketing geniuses are making the most of it. in America the marketing of the apocalypse is well under way. Slayer, one of America’s most popular heavy metal rock groups, will start its Unholy Alliance tour, subtitled Preaching to the Perverted….


I'm willing to bet some end-timer xtian will somehow manage to blame the Da Vinci Code and claim either Tom Hanks or Ron Howard as either the anti-christ or the 'summoner' (or whatever they would call it) for the antichrist. Wonder what the 'rapture index' will be for that day?

What about you? Have any predictions to banter about? Personally I'm trying to think up a good prank to play that day and make the fundies wet their trousers....wasn't there something about helium filled blow up dolls getting loose from a pick up truck and floatin skyward, making some yutz think the rapture had come? Think we could manage that in a few cities across the country?

2008 - Just shoot me now

"Case in point: On Saturday morning, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who during the 2000 campaign called the Rev. Jerry Falwell an "agent of intolerance," will deliver the commencement address at Falwell's Liberty University. "

and

"Fox News Channel chieftain Rupert Murdoch -- will host a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser for Clinton, saying she's been effective for New York. "


http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=060512&cat=frontpage&st=frontpagebedfellows_060512&src=abc


Anything is better than our current state of affairs -- right? But, I am not feeling very hopeful for '08. Is anyone hopeful for the next presidential election?

I think campaign finance reform is our only hope of possibly electing someone we can trust. I don't see this gaining too much ground though.

Does anyone have any positive "feelings" they would like to share -- anything that might give us a glimmer of real hope?
(Maybe McCain will pull a Colbert? - yeh right...)

The Decider

A new animation by Mark Fiore

This is a great read for rainy Friday

Horseshit! Bush and the Christian Cowboy
By Jonathan Hutson

Hutson does a fantastic job of busting the Bush myth of the Christian Cowboy... as usual, it's all a pack of lies and misconceptions.

More on NSA Acquisition of Phone Records

So, now we know that AT&T, Verizon and Bellsouth coughed up our private phone records like a smoker in the morning hacking up phlegm. Apparently they did it without giving it a second thought. Now we also hear that one telephone company refused the NSA's request -- Qwest. According to the article, The Qwest CEO at the time, Joseph Nacchio, agreed with the company's lawyers that the NSA request was "wrong".

Here's an interesting little factoid, though. Shortly after refusing to turn the records over to NSA, Nacchio was charged with all manner of insider trading and other securities violations in connection with Qwest's financial restatements. I find this passage of the article illuminating:

According to USA Today, the NSA told Qwest that not sharing the phone records could compromise national security and affect its chances at landing classified contracts with the government — two issues that play a role in Nacchio's legal woes.

Nacchio's own attorneys have said they were unable to question him for months about classified information he may have, apparently a result of Qwest's government contracts.

Nacchio has argued that when he sold his stock, he believed Qwest was about to get a boost from secret government contracts.

Now I don't know enough about the financial issues that lead Qwest ultimately to restate its financials for a couple of years right around this time to say with any certainty that there was a cause-and-effect relationship here, but once again it strikes me as awfully coincidental that the one guy who stands up and says "no, I'm not going to do this" ultimately finds himself on the hot seat. It would be interesting to find out whether Qwest was denied government contracts at around this time and the rationale for the denial. If it was, then I'd be willing to bet that there was some connection to Nacchio's defiance.

He's In the 20s Now

The latest Harris Poll has bush sinking to a 29% approval rating... and mind you that poll was conducted before yesterday's news about Big Brother. His ratings have plummeted 6% in the last month overall.

Meanwhile Gallup polling recorded a 13% drop in bush support just from conservatives in the past few weeks.

Let's see how low he can go.

HALLE-FUCKIN'-FALLUJAH!!!!!!

Okay, so I'm probably horribly insensitive and cretinous for yelping for joy at this, but Blonde Niece ISN'T GOING TO AFGHANISTAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And yes, I feel like a heel that she's not going, after 2,000+++ American kids have been MURDERED in these completely clusterfucked and illegal/immoral wars. She volunteered for the National Guard, we've been over all of that shit.

Simple fact is, it's thanks to Katrina and Dumbya's callous and Caligula-esque response to 1,100+ people being MURDERED by his intentional neglect and profiteering rape of the Corps of Engineers, not to mention his circle-jerking-while-Rome-burned bullshit for THREE FUCKING DAYS --- but she did not get transferred to the MP unit that she wanted to join, that WOULD have sent her to Afghanistan in September, because somebody finally figured out that WE NEED THE FUCKING NATIONAL GUARD AT HOME, like, during, oh, HURRICANE SEASON?!?!!?

So I'm thanking whatever powers that be who finally realized that HURRICANES SUCK (I'm thinking General Russell Honore' was the one who finally beat some sense into somebody's head) and that we need the help here, because my great-niece will actually get to see her own mother once in a while. Not nearly as much as she SHOULD (girls, be very selective of your sperm donors, y'hear me???), but some is better than none, and Blondie not coming home in an aluminum box is a helluva lot better, period.

Sir No Sir

Watch this flash video. "Sir No Sir"
Friends don't let friends enlist. Know the story. Tell everyone.

See NotYourSoldier.org for a plan on counter recruitment.

When's the revolution?

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING

The NSA's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within the nation's borders according to a source for USA Today using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth.

Get this- "The sources would talk only under a guarantee of anonymity because the NSA program is secret."

And how will anyone stop this gross invasion of privacy?

Beats me because the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers the necessary security clearance to probe the matter.


UPDATE: 9PM
Just cancelled Verizon. Apparently I'm not the only one.

This Week's Episode of Boo Fucking Hoo

Mary Cheney has a lot to learn.

In her new memoir she whines that she almost packed up her bags and left her job campaigning for her father because of the proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage that bush was pushing. Well she didn't pack up and leave. She sent a message to the world that she was okay with the anti-gay rights movement by staying the course and keeping silent. If I were Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter, I either would have gone into hiding or would have called a press conference lambasting the bush administration for their bowing to the religious right for political reasons.

In her book she calls John Kerry a "son of a bitch" for mentioning her gayness during the debate and "using her for political gain". He was asked if he thought being homosexual was a choice. He mentioned poor Mary Cheney in his answer. Excuse me, but aren't the debates used for political gain? This is politics, Mary dear. What did you expect or were you not paying attention? Anti-gay rights was a campaign issue for HER side. I thought it quite prudent for Mr. Kerry to infer, and he did it tastefully and respectfully, that his opposition was composed of a bunch of hypocrites who were only anti-gay for political gain. I wouldn't have been so kind.

She also says in her book that she mouthed "Go fuck yourself" to John Edwards from the audience when he debated her father. Way to go. Did it give her empowerment to use an expression from her daddy's play book when one can't think of a better argument?

It really doesn't matter what she has to say now. She aided and abetted the fascists for a second term and her opinion means nothing.

See Cheney's daughter provokes mixed reaction on gay issues


UPDATE: Kerry strikes back at poor Mary.

“Seems like a suspicious lecture from a political operative who flacked for the most anti-gay administration in history and allowed Karl Rove to divide America for political gain," Kerry Spokesman David Wade said. "She’d be more credible if she pushed dad’s administration to support hate crimes legislation and equal rights for gay Americans.”

How Bad Is It? How Bad Is It Going To Get?

From the comments at The Dark Wraith Forums:

"This country is in such trouble." -- Eric

"More than most people could imagine, Eric.
The Dark Wraith is becoming concerned beyond what he would care to be." -- DW

"You're making it sound like you can see the way to a wholesale implosion of the dollar, as well as the cycle of government debt and repayment that keeps everything going. That of course would lead to a worldwide depression."
-- oddjob

"Well, yes, OddJob, but only if you look at the more optimistic scenarios.
The Dark Wraith is being a very dark wraith, of course." -- DW

Absinthe - anyone?

Just curious if anyone has ever tried this. I was thinking about ordering some, and wondered if anyone had any thoughts or comments.

http://www.absinthe.bz/

In This Week's Episode of Fuck the Poor

UPDATE: Senators giggle with glee Thursday as they approved the $70 Billion Tax Cut Bill. Struggling families with above average income can breathe a sigh of relief.

-------------------

House Passes Tax Cut Bill

More tax cuts for the Have and Have Mores. Less assistance for the working poor.

They really have no shame, do they?

bitching about bitches

Some jerk named Pudhurts or something like that wrote a stupid book and was on Hannity last night declaring that Hillary would be the first woman president and it's because she is a bitch and unfeminine... and that's what it takes to be a female leader in his eyes. He also called her "flat" and unwomanly, but then goes on to say that all his nasty commentary is a tribute to her. I mean come on, Pudjerks, get a clue. I'm a fucking bitch and I would make a terrible president because I would build a prison worse than Gitmo and throw Pudfucks and his ilk in it along with the oil barons and all the terrorists so that they can mate. And what about Condi, the shoe buying (during the hurricane) bitch?


ah... I feel much better.
PS. I am not defending Hillary. We still haven't gotten to the bottom of why the WH told the EPA to keep quiet about the asbestos in the air after 9/11 and also this tidbit.

Does Birth Order Determine Success?

I can't decide whether this is valid research, or some new pop psychology thing, but this article asks and tries to answer this question. According to the article, a child's ability to "succeed" (and I don't necessarily agree with the criteria the authors may be using to define "success") depends on where s/he falls in birth order. To wit:

First Borns:
More conscientious, ambitious and aggressive than their younger siblings, first borns are over-represented at Harvard and Yale as well as disciplines requiring higher education such as medicine, engineering or law. Every astronaut to go into space has been either the oldest child in his or her family or the eldest boy. And throughout history -- even when large families were the norm -- more than half of all Nobel Prize winners and U.S. presidents have been first born. Famous eldest children include: Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Richard Branson, J.K. Rowling and Winston Churchill. And macho movie stars are First Born, too, including Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and all the actors who have played James Bond.

Middles:
Middle children are more easy going and peer-oriented. Since they can get lost in the shuffle of their own families, they learn to build bridges to other sources of support and therefore tend to have excellent people skills. Middle children often take on the role of mediator and peacemaker. Famous middle children include: Bill Gates, J.F.K., Madonna and Princess Diana.

Youngest:
The youngest child tends to be the most creative and can be very charming -- even manipulative. Because they often identify with the underdog, they tend to champion egalitarian causes. (Youngest siblings were the earliest backers of the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment.) Successful in journalism, advertising, sales and the arts, famous youngest children include Cameron Diaz, Jim Carrey, Drew Carey, Rosie O'Donnell, Eddie Murphy and Billy Crystal.

Only Children:
Only children have similar characteristics to first borns and are frequently burdened with high parental expectations. Research shows they are more confident, articulate and likely to use their imagination than other children. They also expect a lot from others, hate criticism, can be inflexible and are likely to be perfectionists. Well-known only children include Rudy Guiliani, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Alan Greenspan, Tiger Woods, tennis' teen queen Maria Sharapova and Leonardo Da Vinci.

Twins:
Because they hold equal status and are treated so similarly, twins turn out similarly in most cases. Consider advice columnists "Dear Abby" and "Ann Landers" (Abigail and Esther Friedman), and Harold and Bernard Shapiro, who became presidents of Princeton University and Canada's McGill University respectively.

I can tell you that this matrix didn't necessarily hold true in my family, at least under the cited criteria. I am the youngest child and have had far more material success than my older brother. On the other hand, he has a pretty successful marriage, something I was unable to sustain. I always thought he had more raw brain power between the two of us, yet he never finished college, while I became a lawyer. On the other hand, he and his wife run a successful painting business. So who is to say which one of us has been more successful? And while it is true that I am charming, I deny being the least bit manipulative. Heh. I do tend to root for the underdog, so maybe the authors are onto something.

Where do you fall in birth order in your family? Do you agree or disagree with the characteristics attributed to your birth order?

Getting the word out about the 9/11 cover up

Check out what happened in Wisconsin over the weekend:

ex-Bush Administration insider Morgan Reynolds prosecute top administration and military officials for the 9/11 inside job.
http://milwaukee.indymedia.org/en/2006/05/205461.shtml


Seems like "the 9/11 cover up" is gaining momentum. I hope people will stop calling us conspriacy theorists as more and more info gets out. Please pass this along (to those who need convincing that is).


Check out the comments and the many informative links attached to the article.
I found this one to be quite an eye opener:
http://www.wtv-zone.com/Mary/FEDERALRESERVE.HTML

All the links are excellent!

Women 'sense qualities in a man'

BBC NEWS ---Women can spot subtle signs of interest in children in a man's face, and accurately assess his level of the sex hormone testosterone, it claims.

Researcher Dr Dario Maestripieri said: "Our results show that women are surprisingly accurate in judging a man's masculinity and his interest in infants by looking at his face.

......

"Our results also show that women value masculinity as a desirable trait for short-term relationships and interest in infants as a desirable trait for more stable long-term relationships."

Dr Maestripieri said the results suggested there was more information in the face about the potential value of a man as a mating partner than previously thought.

"I don't think that evolution has given women a second sense in this area but has made them very good at using every piece of information at their disposal when making decisions about mating and relationships."

Women also rated men with the most testosterone as the most masculine and the men they are most attracted to for a fling. But in the long run, they opted for men with an affinity for children when they would select a life partner.

Hmmm. Interesting. Ladies?

And NYC gets its dire warning.

New York warned to prepare for hurricanes
Not necessarily this year, or in 5 years but maybe in 10 years--- but it's coming.

And insurance companies are bailing on their long time customers. I lost my insurance. Still trying to get a new policy.


----------
.... and speaking of insurance, check out the ridiculous GOP Health Coverage Bill that Democrats are opposing and threaten to filibuster. Letter writing time again.
Hat tip to ZenYenta

ahhhh yes

Read Michael Bérubé on Sybillity in the blogosphere.

Just for fun

Prof Myers at Pharygula posted this, and I feel the need to 'share the joy' as it were. Disturbing though it is.

Shave everywhere

Its not so much the concept as the spokesman that creeps me out.

That Damn Flu Movie

ABC will air "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America," a made for TV movie on
Tuesday evening, May 9 (8:00 pm EST). There is likely to be a heightened
response from the general public following its airing; therefore APIC has
reached out to governmental agencies in developing the following message
points as they relate to the airing of this movie.

INFORMATION ON AVIAN FLU IN RESPONSE TO ABC MOVIE
The ABC Movie "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America" is a movie, not a
documentary. According to ABC, the film deals with the current threat of the
avian flu virus (H5N1).

It is important to remember that H5N1 avian influenza is almost exclusively a
disease of birds. The H5N1 virus has not yet appeared in the U.S. While the movie serves to raise awareness about avian and pandemic flu, we hope it will inspire preparation - not panic. Individuals, families and communities can take steps to prepare by keeping a supply of food and
medicines on hand in the event you become homebound. You can practice good public health measures like frequent hand washing and staying home when sick.

The film highlights an important aspect of planning - individual and community planning and cooperation that will be so vital to sustaining communities and neighborhoods during an extended wave of an influenza pandemic. An extensive set of planning documents, including planning checklists for businesses, schools, health care providers, community organizations and states as well as an individual and family planning guide can be found at http://www.pandemicflu.gov.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Many people in the movie are seen wearing surgical masks. Will masks protect
me?
No one knows if mask use by the general public will be effective in preventing transmission. Surgical masks are recommended for health care workers who are subjected to repeated exposure to multiple patients. For health care workers performing certain medical procedures on infected patients, N95 respirators are recommended. Surgical masks are also recommended for patients who are infected to help reduce the potential for spread of virus when these people
cough or sneeze. Government agencies continue to review and update as needed public health guidance on the use of masks and respirators by health care workers and by the general public.

The movie shows the virus spreading in many ways besides coughing or sneezing,
such as handshakes, kissing, sharing drinks, etc. Is that correct?
Influenza virus is primarily spread by airborne droplets that reach the eyes, nose or mouth but can also spread by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching one's face. This highlights the importance of practicing good personal hygiene, including:
Wash hands frequently with soap and water.
Carry a waterless hand decontamination product that contains at least 60% alcohol.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Put used tissues in a waste basket.
Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve if you don't have a tissue.
Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing. Use soap and water or an alcohol-based hand cleaner.
Stay at home if you are sick.

The film indicates that there will be a shortage of Tamiflu (or other antivirals) in a pandemic. Will there be? And if so, what is the government doing to prevent that?
HHS is stockpiling enough antivirals to treat 25% of the U.S. population should a pandemic occur in the U.S. This figure is based on historical data from past pandemics indicating that roughly 25% of the population would get sick in a pandemic and would benefit from antiviral treatment if started early in the course of illness.

In the movie officials quickly find out that there is no vaccine available when the pandemic occurs nor will any be available for many months. Will we have vaccine available if a pandemic occurs? There likely will be no vaccine initially available that precisely matches the pandemic strain when a pandemic begins. Because influenza viruses continually evolve and mutate, it is not possible to develop a vaccine until after the pandemic strain actually comes into existence. Only after the strain emerges, is isolated and characterized can a vaccine be developed and manufactured. Based upon current vaccine production processes and capacities, it will take at least 6 months to begin producing pandemic vaccine once a pandemic strain occurs.

Many neighborhoods were quarantined in the film. Even the Governor of Virginia
quarantined himself, his staff and his family from the rest of the world. Will the government quarantine people in a pandemic?
The purpose of quarantine is to separate people who have been potentially exposed to a contagious disease and may be infected but are not yet ill to stop the spread of that disease.
The last large-scale quarantine measures that were imposed in this country were used in the early 20th century to contain outbreaks of plague, yellow fever, and smallpox.

Today, quarantine typically refers to confining potentially infected persons to their homes or community-based facilities, usually on a voluntary basis. Quarantine can be used for a defined group of people who may have been exposed at a public gathering, or who may have been exposed while traveling, particularly overseas.

In the case of pandemic influenza, quarantine may be one of the public health tools employed in the early days of an emerging pandemic if efforts are undertaken to contain the outbreak before it spreads too widely. Once a pandemic has begun to spread, quarantine is not likely to be effective in controlling the spread, and instead efforts may turn to "social distancing." Social distancing includes measures to increase distance between individuals, such as staying home when ill unless seeking medical care, avoiding large gatherings, telecommuting, and school closures.

Many essential services (e.g. electricity, food, water, etc.) become scarce in the film's scenario. Could that happen?
Yes. A pandemic could lead to high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Impacts can range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

A substantial percentage of the world's population will require some form of medical care. Health care facilities can be overwhelmed, creating a shortage of hospital staff, beds, ventilators and other supplies.

The film depicted many people who simply walked off their jobs. Would that
really occur?
In a severe pandemic, it is very possible that up to 40% of a business' or organization's workforce will be out sick or at home taking care of sick family members.

There is a strong likelihood that a reduction in the number of health care workers and first responders will occur as they will be at high risk of illness through exposure in the community and in health care settings.

Deciding who gets vaccine was a major question in the film. In a real pandemic, how will you decide who gets vaccine first?
As seen during the last two pandemics in 1957 and 1968 and during annual influenza, those at the greatest risk will be infants, the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions. These individuals, along with health care providers, who are critical to maintaining a health care system in a pandemic, would likely be the first individuals to receive the first supplies of vaccine. However, in the 1918 pandemic, most deaths occurred in young adults, highlighting the need to remain flexible on determining priorities for vaccination groups based on the epidemiology of an emerging pandemic.

In the movie, the Virginia governor's son dies because he cannot get diabetes medicine; other drugs are not available in pharmacies.
Essential supplies, including medicine, may become unavailable during a pandemic. As part of effective planning, individuals and families should talk to their doctor about how to maintain adequate access to prescription medications.

We ask the support of everyone in learning the facts about pandemic influenza and taking simple, common-sense steps. These include keeping a supply of food, water and prescription medications on hand, staying home when you are sick, and washing your hands frequently.

Oh My Goodness!

You must read this. A conservative talk show host in Los Angeles, Doug McIntyre, gives his take on His Heinie King George, with an apology to listeners. He evicerates the (mal)administration for its policies foreign and domestic:

"There’s nothing harder in public life than admitting you’re wrong. By the way, admitting you’re wrong can be even tougher in private life. If you don’t believe me, just ask Bill Clinton or Charlie Sheen. But when you go out on the limb in public, it’s out there where everyone can see it, or in my case, hear it.

So, I’m saying today, I was wrong to have voted for George W. Bush. In historic terms, I believe George W. Bush is the worst two-term President in the history of the country. Worse than Grant. I also believe a case can be made that he’s the worst President, period."

* * *

"After five years of carefully watching George W. Bush I’ve reached the conclusion he’s either grossly incompetent, or a hand puppet for a gaggle of detached theorists with their own private view of how the world works. Or both . . . [T]he damage this President has done is enormous. It will take decades to undo . . . "

* * *

"So, accept my apology for allowing partisanship to blind me to an obvious truth; our President is incapable of the tasks he is charged with. I almost feel sorry for him. He is clearly in over his head. Yet, he doesn’t generate the sympathy Warren Harding earned. Harding, a spectacular mediocrity, had the self-knowledge to tell any and all he shouldn’t be President. George W. Bush continues to act the part, but at this point whose buying the act?

Does this make me a waffler? A flip-flopper? Maybe, although I prefer to call it realism. And, for those of you who never supported Bush, its also fair to accuse me of kicking Bush while he’s down. After all, you were kicking him while he was up.

You were right, I was wrong."

You might quibble around the margins with some of what is in between these quotes, but much of it is right on target.

Could it be possible, just possible, that some of the thinking elements of the Republican party are waking up?

A big flip of the wig to The Fat Lady Sings for finding this gem.

When Earth's Last Picture Is Painted

When Earth's last picture is painted
And the tubes are twisted and dried
When the oldest colors have faded
And the youngest critic has died
We shall rest, and faith, we shall need it
Lie down for an aeon or two
'Till the Master of all good workmen
Shall put us to work anew
And those that were good shall be happy
They'll sit in a golden chair
They'll splash at a ten league canvas
With brushes of comet's hair
They'll find real saints to draw from
Magdalene, Peter, and Paul
They'll work for an age at a sitting
And never be tired at all.
And only the Master shall praise us.
And only the Master shall blame.
And no one will work for the money.
No one will work for the fame.
But each for the joy of the working,
And each, in his separate star,
Will draw the thing as he sees it.
For the God of things as they are!
-- Rudyard Kipling

Culture of Life, MoFu

America may be the world's superpower, but its survival rate for newborn babies ranks near the bottom among modern nations, better only than Latvia.

Among 33 industrialized nations, the United States is tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with a death rate of nearly 5 per 1,000 babies, according to a new report. Latvia's rate is 6 per 1,000.

The U.S. ranking is driven partly by racial and income health care disparities. Among U.S. blacks, there are 9 deaths per 1,000 live births, closer to rates in developing nations than to those in the industrialized world. (Big shock, right NOLA)

In the analysis of global infant mortality, Japan had the lowest newborn death rate, 1.8 per 1,000 and four countries tied for second place with 2 per 1,000 _ the Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland and Norway.

This year the United States tied for last place with the United Kingdom on indicators including mortality risks and contraception use. (Can you say TEEN pregnancy?)

Liberia had the highest newborn mortality rate closely followed by Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Pakistan and Ivory Coast — countries known for conflict and widespread violence against women.

In the developing world, Vietnam and Colombia were most highly rated, with both countries boasting high percentages of prenatal care, births assistance with a skilled attendant, and higher levels of education. The two countries tied for the lowest newborn mortality rates with 12 out of 1,000 babies dying in the first month of life.

The US rate was largely affected by deaths among minorities and poor, rural, uneducated women. Many of the deaths were linked to low birth weight and premature birth.

SEE THAT PARAGRAPH RIGHT THERE? THE ONE THAT EQUATES EDUCATION WITH SURVIVAL OF MOTHER AND CHILD….. Makes ya go hmmm.

The neo-con view of the matter: "We see a direct connection between the practice of contraception and the practice of abortion," says Judie Brown, president of the American Life League, an organization that has battled abortion for 27 years but that, like others, now has a larger mission. "The mind-set that invites a couple to use contraception is an antichild mind-set," she told me. "So when a baby is conceived accidentally, the couple already have this negative attitude toward the child. Therefore seeking an abortion is a natural outcome. We oppose all forms of contraception."

Want to know what this is going to result in? Just look to nature and

see what females are forced to do when they can’t take care of them all many species that habitually jettison a portion of their progeny live in harsh or uncertain environments, where young are easily lost and it pays to have a backup. At the same time, the harshness and uncertainty make it virtually impossible for a mother to raise multiples, so if the primary survives, the backup must go. Sometimes the mother does the dirty work herself. More often, she leaves it to her preferred young to dispatch of its understudy.

That’s right folks, culture of life, encouraging infanticide.

more bushit

Look at this Reuters headline:
Bush: Diplomacy first option on Iran

Well of course he is going to say that. Would he say that we are going to nuke Iran (in public)? We've heard this all before. The "Decider" doesn't know the meaning of diplomacy.

and in other news

Scientists pick their favorite top 10 Sci-fi flicks.

U.S. Hospital Bill for Alcohol Abuse: $2 Billion

More than half of the adolescents who sign their Virginity Pledges break it within the first year. (duh)

More and more products are appearing on the market that are supposed to help women restore that lovely flush in their cheeks that says I'm horny and I don't care who knows it. Sex, it's just a sniff away.


WFMU has sixty versions of "Stairway to Heaven" for your listening pleasure. Then you will understand why every guitar store in America has a "No Stairway" policy.

The Letter

The first AP headline story this morning regarding "The Letter" from the Iranian president referred to the US as the "The Paper Empire". I was hoping to post it because I never read too much in the headlines regarding our "Empire of Debt". Now I cannot find it. The AP story about the letter seems to be changing by the minute. Most of the stories this hour have in their headlines: "Iran's President Declares in Letter to Bush That Liberalism and Democracy Have Failed" or something similar. This is very frustrating because our "Paper Empire", I believe, is at the very core of what is happening in our world today.

Anyway, I was hoping to post that headline as a lead in to the following article written by Lew Rockwell that appeared on the American Conservative website in March: An Empire built of Paper -- which references a recent book "The Empire of Debt" by Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin (two of my favorite writers who know quite a bit about monetary policies throughout history). Their website, www.dailyreckoning.com is one of my daily reads -- smart, funny, entertaining, and spot on, in my opinion.

Here is the story: http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_03_27/review.html

Ask Your OB/GYN for a Prescription Before You Need It.

Since pharmacists think that they know more than doctors and the religious fanatics refuse to consider science even though most of them rely on scientific and medical advances to keep their sorry lives livable, American gynecologists are fed up with all the political nonsense surrounding Plan B, Emergency Contraception, which as we know, is not an abortion pill.

Solution: Ask your ob/gyn for an advance prescription.

ABC NEWS -- "The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists today announced its "Ask Me" campaign, which encourages patients to obtain an advance prescription from their ob/gyn."

Moussaoui says he lied about Sept. 11

He's pissed that he didn't get the death penalty. Life sucks, eh?

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Convicted Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui says he lied on the witness stand about being involved in the terrorist plot and wants to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial. The judge turned him down.

Moussaoui said he was "extremely surprised" that he was sentenced to life in prison instead of execution and now believes he can get a fair trial from an American jury.

Take That! Homopobes

Lesbians' brains respond differently from those of heterosexual women

WASHINGTON — Homosexuals' brains respond differently from those of straight men and women when exposed to sex hormones, but researchers now say the difference is less pronounced in lesbians than in gay men.

Lesbians' brains reacted somewhat, though not completely, like those of heterosexual men, a team of Swedish researchers said in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A year ago, the same group reported findings for gay men that showed their brain response to hormones was similar to that of heterosexual women.

In both cases the findings add weight to the idea that homosexuality has a physical basis and is not learned behavior.

Read on

This also lends credence to my claim that I am a gay man in a woman's body.

Bush Approval Rating 31% open thread

WASHINGTON — President Bush's approval rating has slumped to 31% in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, the lowest of his presidency and a warning sign for Republicans in the November elections.

Approval Rating Breakdown
52% conservatives
68% Republicans
28% Moderates
7% liberals

UPDATE: Newsday, Tues morning has an analysis of how bush's so called "Charm and Empathy" may not be enough for voters anymore. oy vay.

Playtime

In honor of spring and backyard cleanups, let's create our own virtual backyard paradise. It's fun and your hands don't get dirty.

The animated version of mine is here. Post links to yours. (Needs Flash)

thinking about acting, acting on thinking may be subversive

There were two pieces in yesterday's New York Times on sedition. Uttering statements that advocate positions that the government finds hostile or threatening can get a person arrested and prosecuted, especially during times of war and during times of Bush.

Will we look back on these times as a longer national nightmare? Will the Bush administration push the sedition issue and try reporters, as they have suggested, for revealing secret prisons and secret wiretaps? Are we hoping that Prince Gore, the once and future president, will return to his rightful place in Washington and right the wrongs against our nation?

Americans love a happy ending and hate history lessons.

"When a nation is at war," the justice wrote in the Supreme Court case against Charles Schenk, "many things that mightbe said in a time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight and that no court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right."

Mr. Schenk and his co-conspirators got 20 years in prison for advocating that Americans resist the military draft in 1917.

Of course by giving New York Times reporters and Bush administration critics prison time for speaking the truth is different than "obstructing" the draft. How the practice of lawfully drafting citizens was harmed by Mr. Schenk's actions--did the draft collapse, did the war grind to a halt, did conscripts refuse to report because they read Mr. Schenk's pamphlet--how the United States was harmed by Mr. Schenk's expression and action evidently was not the issue at the Bar.

Or was it? Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote:

It seems to be admitted that, if an actual obstruction of the recruiting service were proved, liability for words that produced that effect might be enforced. The statute of 1917, in § 4, punishes conspiracies to obstruct, as well as actual obstruction. If the act (speaking, or circulating a paper), its tendency, and the intent with which it is done are the same, we perceive no ground for saying that success alone warrants making the act a crime
Goldman v. United States, U.S. 474, 477. Indeed, that case might be said to dispose of the present contention if the precedent covers all media concludendi. But, as the right to free speech was not referred to specially, we have thought fit to add a few words.

It was not argued that a conspiracy to obstruct the draft was not within the words of the Act of 1917.

The words are "obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service," and it might be suggested that they refer only to making it hard to get volunteers. Recruiting heretofore usually having been accomplished by getting volunteers, the word is apt to call up that method only in our minds. But recruiting is gaining fresh supplies for the forces, as well by draft as otherwise. It is put as an alternative to enlistment or voluntary enrollment in this act.

In other words, Mr. Schenk was a troublemaker. We don't need no actual harm. Just the act of attempting to influence American draftees is the self evident harm. His words might have actually stopped recruiting, volunteering, as well as drafting. It didn't. No witnesses who actually said, "He influenced my thinking so I did not report or volunteer" was even necessary. Schenk simply acted and that act need not have been a successful act to be a crime against the United States.

Prosecuting Mr. Schenk could have made him a martyr. But it didn't. Mr. Schenk was a socialist, which at the time made him an "evil doer" and obviously he "hated America" or he wouldn't have tried to influence men against fighting.

Did he love it more after twenty years in prison? Did we learn to love it more since our government sent him to prison?

No one likes an inmate.

The New York Times quotes two law professors discussing

"[a] favorite Justice Department tool in terrorism prosecutions is a law that forbids providing 'material support' to certain groups. That may include donating time and advice. 'Sedition laws and the material support laws,' said David Cole, a law professor at Georgetown University, 'are all designed to serve the same purpose: to give thegovernment incredible discretion to go after people without proving they took part in any criminal or violent act.'

Peter S. Margulies, a law professor at Roger Williams University, said the government can and should disrupt international terrorism using the material support laws. 'They're constitutional,' he said, 'because they depend on something more than the mere expression of views.'

But he added that the laws must be used with care. They 'push back the window of culpability almost to the point of pure thought,' he said."

Did Stephen Colbert give aid and comfort to Bush's enemies? Is there any difference between those who "hate our way of life" and those who make fun of our fearless leader and protector of the homeland?

Was Daniel Ellsberg a hero or a traitor? The op-ed page of the Wall Street Journal carried pieces that blamed the fall of the Nixon administration and therefore the loss of the Viet Nam War on Mark Feldt, a.k.a. Deep Throat. Should Woodward and Bernstein go to jail?

Before our minds run to a Hollywood ending in these modern times of war without declaration or evidently justification, the press would not lionize a war protester's right to free speech if it jeopardized access to the White House or their glittering status. They can't even laugh at themselves or recognize how they certainly are no Ed Murrow. Will reporters, who have been warned that the United States government is threatened by the press printing the truth, and is considering prosecuting Pulitzer prize winners, fight such injustice? Will this Supreme Court, hardly stacked with justices on par with Oliver Wendoll Holmes, . . .well you get the picture.
The fact that the New York Times wrote about sedition in these times illustrates the "chilling effect." Consider yourselves warned.

American Conservatives: No Fucking Way

Over the past 2 years as a blogger, when I mentioned just how silly it was that young people aren't taught about contraception and safe sex in sex education classes because it could help lower the abortion rate and the spread of HIV, I was trolled by men (why is it always men?) who pointed out that contraception was at the root of promiscuity. B-bu-but I was addressing the abortion issue. Aren't we supposed to be collectively freaked out that so many innocent blastocyst Americans are being murdered? Wasn't our goal that abortions would become rare?

Au contraire. The root of the so called "pro-life" movement isn't anti- abortion as much as it is anti-sex and anti-contraception. So we got the picture. The active abortion foes are against sex for pleasure, even among married couples. Would they please get a grip and stay out of consenting adult's bedrooms, for gawdsake? What are they Catholic? Well it seems that they took their position from the Catholic play book.

Imagine my surprise when I read in the NY Time Magazine this article Contra-Contraception which addresses my concern that men in power want women (including married women) to be punished for their wanton acts of lust by birthing unwanted children. It's not Roe they're against, according to the article, but "Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 case that had the effect of legalizing contraception" (in the bedrooms of married couples).

So why didn't the "concerned pro-lifers" just come out against sex altogether from the get go instead of pretending they cared deeply about blastocysts? You already know the answer.

Birth control pills, Plan B emergency contraception etc "contain the hormone progestin, also has three possible means of operation: by stopping ovulation, preventing fertilization or impeding implantation" according to the article. In fact, those of you who have had babies know that it's highly unlikely that you will get pregnant when you are breast feeding. Says Dr. Trussell, the world's leading expert on contraception:

"There is evidence that there is a contraceptive effect of breast feeding after fertilization. While a woman is breast feeding, the first ovulation is characterized by a short luteal phase, or second half of the cycle. It's thought that because of that, implantation does not occur." In other words, if the emergency contraception pill causes abortions by blocking implantation, then by the same definition breast feeding may as well.

So will the morality police be checking our bedrooms to make sure we aren't having sex in between breast feedings? Will they check to see that no one is indulging during menstruation? What about us post-menopausal women? What are we supposed to do when our partners are using viagra? Bring in a surrogate? (Don't answer that.) Why don't they outlaw ovulation or fine women for wasting eggs? Will miscarriages be analyzed to be sure that the mother did everything she possibly could to avoid it or will she be thrown in jail?

In the Netherlands, they have the lowest percentage of teen pregnancies. They promote using both condoms and birth control pills. Not only that, they teach kids to be responsible.

"It's proven successful," says Margo Mulder of STI AIDS Netherlands, the Dutch health education center. "It shows that when you discuss contraception and protection with students, they actually are careful. And I know that some people in the U.S. say that when you promote contraception, you're also promoting sex, but we've found that when you educate people, they don't have sex earlier. They think about it. So you're not promoting sex, you're helping them to be rational about doing it."

The article covers current ridiculous themes by the conservative anti-sex crowd: All roads lead to abortion (even using birth control) and Abstinence education is the only way to teach about sex (even though it's been proven wrong over and over again). American conservatives see birth control as treating the symptoms of a disease. Oh now it's a disease. hmm.

"While Americans as a whole don't hold such a dark view of comprehensive sex education, many do feel there's something wrong with a strictly clinical approach. This ambivalence, according to Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, gets to the root of the problem and may explain the numbers. "One of the things I'm most often asked is why the abortion and unintended pregnancy rates are so much lower in Europe," she says. "People talk about the easy access to contraception there, but I think it's really a matter of the underlying social norms. In Europe, these things are in the open, and the only issue is to be careful. Here in the U.S., people are still arguing about whether it's O.K. to have sex.""

What century are we in, anyway?

I propose that the conservatives set up a nation in some unpopulated area and declare it a sex free zone. Then they can move there and bring all their defense contractors with them and declare a culture of life.

Yesterday Was For The Birds

At long last, Spring has finally sprung in Virginia! It was a beautiful weekend, temps in the high 60s, low 70s, no humidity, vivid blue skies, and just a few gentle clouds. I want to spend all day every day outside in my yard when its like this outside. Unfortunately, there's mortgage to pay and kids to feed and clothe (not to mention up-coming college tuition), so I find myself once again behind my desk, dreading the drudgery of the work week to come, longing to feel the dirt between my fingers or smell the fresh cut grass.

Every year in the fall, I promise myself that this year, I'll be sure to get the leaves up in the Fall so I don't have so much to do in the Spring. Suffice it to say, each year I fail to keep my promise. Last Fall was no exception, so I've spent most of the past two weekends endlessly raking, bagging, weeding. But now, I'm almost there, just a few more minor things to take care of (mostly relocating some azaleas) and I'll be able to really start enjoying the garden.

I allowed myself a couple of hours yesterday just to sit in the backyard and drink it all in. I had just put up two bird feeders and wanted to see whether the birds would find them. Man, oh man, they were found alright. It was fabulous the variety (and number) of birds that visited my yard yesterday: blue jays with their magnificent color, cardinals making their high pitched cheep, mourning doves cooing whoo-wah-hoo, hoo, killdeer warbling at the top of their lungs, a pileated woodpecker climbing up my neighbor's tree, a finch who dove through the water stream as I was watering the plants, Carolina chickadees which have taken up residence in one of the birdhouses, teeny little Eastern Phoebes chattering up a storm, robin red breasts pecking the ground, and a few more that I couldn't identify with my rather weak ornithological skills. It added up to a cacophony of sounds, a virtual bird symphony. Yes, I could still hear the cars driving past, the guy behind me mowing his lawn, the neighbor next door working in her yard, but it was all drowned out by the beautiful music of the birds.

It was a glorious day.

Best Moment of Presidency: Open Thread

Dubya done caught hisself a big'n in the ceement pond.

"You know, I've experienced many great moments and it's hard to name the best. I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound perch in my lake," Bush told the newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.
- BERLIN (Reuters)


Disclaimer: The picture on the left is not a picture of Bush's most memorable presidential moment as I could not find a picture commemorating his most life altering day catching the mutant perch. I thought it appropriate, however, that we should be reminded of the immortal words of our leader, "I know the human being and the fish can co-exist peacefully. Indeed, Mr. President. For more information on how previous presidents answered this question, read this.

The Party's Over

That's the buzz on the talk shows this morning. The administration may be over despite all the deck chair manipulation on the Titanic.

If only.

From WaPo:

"Forty-eight percent of respondents said they would like to see the Democrats back in control of Congress, while 37 percent want Republicans to remain in charge. The war looms large as a concern of voters, the poll shows, along with jobs, health care, gas prices and immigration. Combating terrorism -- long the president's strong suit -- is far less of a concern.

"Thirty percent of those surveyed said they will vote for a candidate for Congress specifically to express opposition to Bush, while 16 percent said they will vote for a candidate to express their support for the president. Half said Bush will not be a factor in their voting."

Your Local Police: Spies Among Us

Excerpt from
Spies Among Us
Despite a troubled history, police across the nation are keeping tabs on ordinary Americans
US News and World Report

"Glazed hams aren't the only items that America's local cops are protecting from dubious threats. U.S. News has identified nearly a dozen cases in which city and county police, in the name of homeland security, have surveilled or harassed animal-rights and antiwar protesters, union activists, and even library patrons surfing the Web. Unlike with Washington's warrantless domestic surveillance program, little attention has been focused on the role of state and local authorities in the war on terrorism. A U.S.News inquiry found that federal officials have funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into once discredited state and local police intelligence operations."

Sunbathing

It just makes more sense to me to enjoy the sun rather than avoid the sun. I've never trusted the chemicals in sunscreens, so I never use them. This does not prevent me from going in the sun. I am just very careful not to get burned since I am blonde, green eyed and freckled with fair to medium skin -- common sense. I am also extra careful because my mom has had a few "pre-cancerous things" removed and she is very fair skinned - all Irish and very freckled. So far, she is fine. The Sun is my God, but I know too much is not good - as it should be with any God we worship. I do go to the dermatologist yearly for reassurance that everything looks good. I am thankful each year when the doctor tells me everything is fine. (Although I do tell him I use sunscreen - my bad)

I have been reading more and more about health issues associated with lack of Vitamin D. I have read alot about the benefits of vitiman D (via sunshine) in preventing certain types of cancers.
For anyone interested in exploring the issues, here is a good start.
It was written almost 2 years ago, but the links in the article cover alot of ground. I found the link to the American Cancer Society to be very interesting: Is the ACS more interested in cancer profit than cancer?

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the subject or any good references.

Porter Goss Open Thread

It's probably true that Mr. Goss wanted to spend more time with his family. But the rumors are flying and we just love speculative rumors here at Blondesense and of course a juicy sex scandal (were any of the prostitutes at the Watergate "poker" parties not women? oh please oh please)

Porter Goss once stated that he was not qualified for the job in the CIA. And of course, he was not lying, but that doesn't stop the bushistas from filling a vacant post. I'm just sure that his wife said, "Porty honey, why don't you take some time off to be with me and the kids?"

Cowboys Ride Horses, Don't They?

In addition to advising graduating students of Oklahoma State about the potential evils of science, what great job opportunites there are, the goodness of India and China's competition while warning of the isolation of the internets, the leader of the free world also stood proud as a cowboy before the applauding hordes.

"If you read the papers, you know that when some want to criticize me, they call me a cowboy. ... This cowboy is proud to be standing amidst of a lot of other cowboys." (yahoo)

A clue to the tool in chief: It's a joke. Cowboy's ride horses.

abstinence education works. not.

Read Unplanned Pregnancy Increases among Poor

done with that

Much was in the news earlier this week on how much a woman might be compensated for all she does for her family if we paid women for the actual value of their labor.

His smugness, Brian Williams, said on the NBC Nightly "News" that there was so much women did for their families that was unpaid and women wouldn't ever be compensated enough for their contributions.

What kind of nonsense is that?

At contract negotiations, Mr. Williams knows exactly how much his contribution is worth and he doesn't do anything that isn't in his contract. Your support of the status quo via the lame attempt at Hallmark Card reality is duly noted.

Women do not rise to the top of the corporate feeding chain because they are smart enough to opt out of the bullshit. It reaches a point where women realize that there is no amount of money or education that will insulate them from the injustice of the workplace. Women are not entirely innocent; some of the worst managers and co-workers I have ever encountered were women. And women do not like other women.

Sure we tell people we are quiting to stay home and have children and that certainly is more valuable than tolerating the intolerable one more day of the nonsense that passes for management. I think that women try to challenge the work environment but realize, hopefully sooner rather than later, that it is impossible to escape the humiliation, the daily insults.

I had a job once where I was not allowed to walk down the hall carrying a Styrofoam cup from the break room. People higher on the food chain could, but I could not. I did a lot of work at the coffee ring stained Formica tables near the Coke machine.

What sort of management model is that? It was the policy simply because the head of the establishment was a dry drunk.

I worked for a man who screamed at me because the elected official we both worked for wouldn't follow the chain of command and call me directly for information, not going through my boss. My boss thought I shouldn't do what the elected official wanted me to do, but rather, my boss should decide what I should do. I told him if he ever raised his voice to me again, he would need alot of help getting his head out of his ass.

I once worked for a woman who wanted me to work in high heels and a suit while I put boxes on shelves and moved goods from a dock to a storage room. She was livid that I would come into work ten minutes late, but routinely I stayed late into the evening, which she said nothing about.

The silliness, the competitiveness, the gamesmanship, the dress codes, the parking place, the key to the executive washroom--it really is just too ridiculous. The diaper service, the play dates, the doctors' visits, the first tooth, the first step, the first word, all of those things are so much more important than living in mortal fear of another worker. The work place is beneath women, not because women aren't equal intellectually, but because the workplace is too trivial for their talents. No wonder women say to hell with it. I am going to be a stay at home mom where I can build a world that I like for myself and others.

Motherhood isn't for everyone. But it is a career and given the costs to society brought on by unattended and unsupervised children, perhaps we should pay women to stay at home if they choose. They contribute. They care for the foundation of our society. They impose order on th