In the famous quote attributed to Mae West, "Baby, I'm more man than you'll ever be and more woman than you'll ever get!"

This is what I would call a situation when someone "assumes" (makes an ass out of you and me) when they cull a mailing list name from dubious sources.

I'm sorry folks, Vogue may be a significant magazine in our popular culture, but I certainly don't go around being "that kind of guy"!!

On her radio show recently, Dr. Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative.

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Law and how to follow them.


1. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. The passage clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two differentcrops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan,
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D.
Professor Emeritus"

It's nothing like the fall colors on trees one might see in the Northeast, but here in San Diego it actually happens on a much smaller scale...and it is still beautiful!

It really is bothering me these days watching different minority group in the United States working so hard to marginalize and Balkanize themselves from the rest of American society. This country was built on the sweat and brow of peoples from all around the world who decided to "get along" because they had to for a common economic good. Now, you have a small group of blacks continually screaming "racism, racism, racism" at every tip of the hat, which has now encouraged Muslims -- and now even Jews -- to force themselves on to what I call "professional victimization" in their quest to get their 15 minutes of fame.

Recent cases in point:

* The 6 Muslim clerics who tried to board a US Airways jetliner bound for Minneapolis who started acting up like would-be terrorists ready to commandeer the airliner. When the authorities took control of the situation, they immediately screamed "rational profiling." (Let's face it, Muslims these days don't exactly have a glowing reputation since 911.)

* A Muslim woman in Michigan who went to her gym and in the middle of the facility started doing Muslim prayers -- and when someone complained that doing Muslim chants and prayers next to the freeweights and Lifecycle -- she immediately trotted out a cadre of attorneys claiming "religious intolerance."

* All 15 Christmas trees inside the terminal at Sea-Tac have been removed in response to a complaint by a Seattle rabbi wanted to install an 8-foot menorah and have a public lighting ceremony. He threatened to sue if the menorah wasn’t put up, and gave a two-day deadline to remove the trees which had been a ten year long tradition at the international airport. All that this resulted in all of the holiday trees being removed.

She said that since this is their busiest time of year and they don't have time to add a fair representation of all cultures, her department decided to take down all of the decorations, review their policies, and decide if they need to make a change for next year. A spokesman for the Sea-Tac airport said in a KING-TV5 report, "Our focus is on customer service, getting our passengers through the airport, and we thought if we could take the trees down and avoid litigation because we don't want to litigate with this individual, we want to reach some kind of solution."

My solution for all of the naysayers and professional victims:

SHUT UP and SHOW SOME TOLERANCE FOR OTHERS, JUST AS YOU WOULD WANT PEOPLE TO TOLERATE YOU.

CAPICE?

My water broke.

Details and film at 11....

Nigger.

OK...I said it. I didn't say the "'n' word." Comedian and actor Michael Richards made remarks that were bigoted, shocking, repellent, and deeply offensive. I'm offended by that word and tirade, but why is the Caucasian public-at-large trembling in its boots at the so-called "n-word," when blacks can openly use the word in their public speech and so-called hip-hop culture? When did black Americans get a license they been given a license to use the word? Perhaps while I have had my back turned?

Michael Richards hired a damage control publicist and he met with "leaders of the black community" to make nice. But as Jay Leno asked the other day on his show, what "leaders of the White community" do we have when black people say offensive things about whites?

Despite all of the contrition and the obligatory trip to "rehabilition," the most irrelevant Reverend Jesse Jackson is now calling for a boycott of the Seinfeld box set involving Michael Richards who played "Kramer." I say, let's call on the media and general public to boycott Jesse Jackson, who often exploits these situations to shake down celebrities and major corporations for his own needs and coffers. And then you have the goofy Rev. Al Sharpton -- the same Reverend who associated himself in making false claims about white bigotry in the famous case of Tawana Brawley -- going around making his own tirades in an effort to get his own 15 seconds.

How about asking comedian (in his mind and marketed) Dave Chappelle and his tirades to stop his use of the word and offensive racial references? I know it will never happen, because the situation is different. "Different" at least in the mind of the most irrelevant Jesse Jackson.

"Sometimes with all I have gone through in my life leaves me wondering if this life is truly worth all the pain which is contained within it."

A friend of mine said that to me....and I couldn't agree more.

It is interesting how one gets left behind after everybody tells you how much they are sorry for your loss.... Everybody got all gushy "let me know if you need anything" yet I haven't received one invitation to join anyone for Thanksgiving dinner.... After all of that no wonder I have gotten so cynical about people and relationships.

Thank God for Denny's.

I will never forget one time a friend of my mom's told her about the Dr. Phil Show and how she would drop everything and watch the show religiously. So one day, mom asked me if I knew about the show and it happened to be on. After about 10-15 minutes I looked over to my mom who had a look of disgust on her face. She nodded her head and in her usual laser straight-to-the-point attitude referred to the show as "emotional masturbation." She then took the TV remote and changed the channel.

The same thought when I had the (mis)fortune of turning on ABC-TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" with Ty Pennington. The show is nothing but emotional masturbation with the recipients of the home makeover talking looking off camera and balling and sobbing on cue. Then you have Ty Pennington's crew doing the same. Then by the end of the show everybody is miserable and sobbing uncontrollably on cue while Ty Pennington slips in a plug to all of the show's sponsors as he shows the made over house to the miserable family. The only people this show can appeal to are those who are devoid of personal emotion from within and have a need externalize their expression of emotions.

One thing I didn't know about Ty Pennington is that he is a victim of ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and is a spokesman/spokesmodel for Adderall which is used to chemically treat the disease.

There really are a few dumbshits walking around. They have NEVER experienced what a person goes through when they lose someone who has been a part of their history, their life.

Earlier this evening, paraphrasing what was said to me about the extreme grief I've been going through in the past couple of weeks in anticipation of the holiday season, I had someone tell me with such exuberance -- mind you that this individual has his sisters, a close relationship with his mother, God only knows how many relatives...

"I know you are grieving. But you are letting it consume you...grieve and let it go...keep your mother's memory a happy one and close in your heart, but don't let your grief destroy your ability to be part of this world...if you sit and wollow in that big house alone, you will not be a person anyone will want in their life. Bitterness and sorrow will not bring your mother back, let it go."

I had kind of an upset today which came out of something that initially made me happy. Mom's Christmas cactus started blooming and I brought it into the kitchen so I could enjoy it when I would be sitting at my laptop which seems to have found a semi-permanent home on my kitchen table.

"What an interesting time for it to bloom," I thought to myself. Then I realized that in a month it is going to be Christmas. :-(

It was a real blow. I don't know how much more I can take before I fold.

SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT ELECTION DAY 2006...

All of the political ads have been broadcast a million times on radio and television and the voters have supposedly spoken -- vox populi vox dei (the voice of the people is the voice of God). For at least a week now we will be subject to a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking by the television political commentators and the radio talk show hosts. It is interesting though how I hear from liberal friends and acquaintances that their nemesis President George Bush "got a whacking" and how a new political day will be rising....the Republican dark ages are finally over! Happy days are here again! While the Democrats have taken over both houses of congress, the reality is that really nothing has changed, nor will their supposed work in Washington DC will change. The Congressmen and Senators elected to office this round are the same people who have merely exchanged their ties with one another.

The Kool Aid-Cindy Sheehan liberals are the ones who are really deluding themselves as they dance to "Happy Days Are Here Again." They have convinced themselves that just because a new shop sign has been installed in front of the U.S. Capitol Building, their newly elected coalitions are sure follow an anti-war pull out the troops from Iraq strategy. It ain't gonna happen. The Democrats have two years to prove they can improve the situation, and must do so following a centrist position if they are to be kept in office beyond 2008 simply because the Democrat majorities elected this time around does not constitute a mandate. Democrats have 229 seats in the House, 11 more than the number necessary to hold the barest of majorities in the 435-member chamber...last session the Republicans held a similar majority. In the Senate, they hold only 51 seats, with Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman -- now an independent -- with the ability to go either way. And seeing how his fellow Democrats loudly took a political gamble by abandoning him during his run as an independent against bagillionaire Ned Lamont, chances are that Lieberman can very well use a trump card on many issues and is no longer beholden to those who abandoned him. (The best thing for these former Lieberman allies would have been for them to simply not get involved and stay neutral during the Lamont/Lieberman campaign in case Lieberman won.)

Lieberman's win was due in part to Republican support in Connecticut, but also reflects normal thinking centrist Democrats who have not bought into the Kool Aid-Anti War politics of whackjob Cindy Shehaan funded by Gagillionaire-cum-philanthropist Hungarian leftist American politics meddler George Soros.

The only mandate which may have been communicated by the American electorate is this: While the United States clearly accomplished its goal of toppling the modern day Hitler Saddam Hussein who repeatedly violated United Nations resolutions, has established and help encourage the formation of a democratic coalition government in Iraq, the bottom line is that it must withdraw its troops and allow the Iraqis to defend their newly found democracy as soon as possible and grow it. The only role is for United States and NATO to continue to try to keep the peace between the fighting Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish factions.

(Image of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division of the Minnesota National Guard stolen from The Drudge Report)

I really think the Republican party should thank bagillionaire Sen. John Kerry (D-Taxachusetts) for his utterance in Los Angeles on Monday that if a person doesn't get a good education "you'll be stuck in Iraq." (Thing is this, as a political party fence sitter I am issue oriented and who I feel will follow through on my beliefs in Washington DC will be the person I ultimately cast my vote for. I'm no friend of President Bush, yet how I see the Democrats scrambling in every direction just to influence a popular vote and advance the party makes me sick. Republicans do it to, but lately one sees how the Democrats are panicing in that they have now lost several elections.)

Sen. Kerry claims he misspoke, botched a joke. Just to complete the usual ways how politics works in this country, he will probably now claim he's addicted to alcohol or drugs and will go into rehab. And then pledge after that he will go help build houses poverty stricken people in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.

The best part of this whole mess is watching all of the Democrats cancelling their upcoming campaign appearances with Sen. Kerry and Hillary saying "no wonder we lost in 2004" and referring to the comments as "downright stupid." It was Pres. Reagan who always reminded his Republicans when things didn't go right to follow what he called the "11th Commandment": Thou Shalt Not Eat They Fellow Republicans. Just when you thought the Democrats may have their house in order with absolute unity, you realize that they are just as fragmented as the Republicans, which only lends credence to new non-partisan political groups as "UNITY 08" who are representing millions and millions of Americans such as myself who are SICK of the partisan infighting/lack of leadership which is so pervasive now in Washington.

The following article just proves my point that we're leading up to a society where finally nobody will be able to say anything to anyone because of the fear of being offended, harrased, harangued, etc.

Police officers need to be fit and trim...because they are a liability in terms of health problems (note I didn't use the latest corporate pinhead numbskullspeak word, "issue."). Then there is the other question...what about the rights of the suspect not to be pummeled and have more damage inflicted on them when they are hit and pounced on by a 300 pound police officer...cruel and unusual punishment? Having a person arrested is one thing, but having a 5'6" 100 lb. suspect being thrown to the ground and have a 300 lb. police officer fall on them and being pulverized leaving innerds behind no different than a large juicy bug? Now that could be considered cruel and unusual punishment???? (Heh....Although I know at least of one person who would enjoy it!....don't ask for details as none will be given.)

I'm sure we'll see "part deux" of this story being carried and played out...strained backs and all.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Police Chief Paul Goward was tired of looking around his department and seeing blubber hanging over the belts of some of his officers. So he sent out a memo exhorting the “jelly bellies” to shape up.

In the end, the department lost 190 pounds – all of them belonging to Goward. He was forced out as chief because some of his officers took offense at the memo. The Oct. 11 memo bruised feelings on the 80-member force, drew at least one anonymous letter of complaint from officers about the chief's management style and made his department the butt of jokes about fat cops and doughnuts. “If they got their feelings hurt to the extent of 'Do something about it,' then I did what I was intending to do,” said an unapologetic Goward, a trim 6-footer who was forced to resign his $92,000-a-year post last week.

Some of the chief's defenders said his ouster was a big overreaction. “He offered tremendously good advice, yet he was sacked,” wrote Thomas Roe Oldt, a columnist for The Ledger of Lakeland. In his memo, titled “Are You a Jelly Belly,” the chief never singled anyone out, and apart from the title, didn't call anyone names.

Instead, he provided a list of 10 reasons police officers should be in shape. He said overweight police poorly represent the profession, poop out when chasing suspects and might have to resort to “a higher level of force” if a criminal got the upper hand in a fight. He said out-of-shape cops are a liability to the city and their families.

“Take a good look at yourself,” he wrote. “If you are unfit, do yourself and everyone else a favor. See a professional about a proper diet and a fitness training program, quit smoking, limit alcohol intake and start thinking self-pride, confidence and respectability. And stop making excuses for delaying what you know you should have been doing years ago. We didn't hire you unfit and we don't want you working unfit. Don't mean to offend, this is just straight talk. I owe it to you.”

Winter Haven cops must pass physical examinations to be hired but are not regularly tested for fitness thereafter.

Goward, 60, said he is not a fitness freak, was not “asking for a department full of Arnold Schwarzeneggers here” and did not order his officers to stay away from fast-food restaurants or doughnut shops. In fact, the 36-year police veteran, who has also worked in Kansas and South Carolina, said Winter Haven's force is no less fit than the others he has served on.

David Greene, manager of the central Florida city of 30,000, said through a spokeswoman that he was too busy for an interview, but told the local newspapers the anonymous complaint letters made it clear the police department had a morale problem because of Goward's abrasive management style during his 2½ years there. “Emotions within the police department and the relationship with the police chief became raw,” he told The Ledger. Winter Haven officers contacted by The Associated Press said they were told not to talk to reporters about Goward's departure.

One of the anonymous complaint letters described the force as “upset to say the least” about the chief and called the “Jelly Belly” memo “the icing on the cake.”
“This letter shows the type of harassment and hostile work environment we have. The chief of police is constantly 'bad talking' us in every way possible and we have had enough of his arrogance,” the letter read.

Mandy Rohrbaugh, a 40-year-old nursing student and Winter Haven resident, said Goward had the right message, but perhaps could have delivered it differently. “I think honestly our police force needs a lot of shaping up, and I think they should be fit not just when they're hired but through their time,” she said.

I'm so really done with doctors and hospitals and clinics this year, especially after an intensive emergency surgical procedure which I had to undergo this morning.

While the pain and after effects of the procedure are really affecting me tonight, I can't get over the outpouring of love and devotion from my friends N, M, C, S, and a new friend in Los Angeles, D, who was prepared to come down from Los Angeles to take care of me on a moment's notice. "I can be down there in two (hours)," this individual insisted. Of course, those were the words of the afore mentioned friends, as well. And then there was the moral support of my friend S in Reno, Nevada.

Out of my experience today, yes, it is true that what comes around, literally does go around. I took care of an individual in the same manner for five years in so many ways, and most recently, when Last May, I took care of someone who has meant the total world to me. This individual who was a part of my active life was very sick...severe chills, stuff coming out of every conceivable orifice to the point of scaring the bejesus out of me, which had me rousting the individual's doctors with the thought that the individual who have to be taken to the hospital to be rehydrated and have tests done, etc., etc. It was only one instance of all the things I did for the individual to make them happy. Yet this individual, with no regard to my extreme sorrow over the passing of my mother and the constant 7/24 caring I gave to for seven months, made a conscious decision to consciously kick me emotionally in the stomach, so they could pursue their own agenda of trying to find their nirvana paved with the psychobabble so tolerated these days by society. Not only have I had to endure my own extreme grief, but the emotional strain of this Judas-like act by this individual.

But you know, I find solace and satisfaction that with their pursuit of Nirvana, ultimately what they have metted out, will "come around" for them. Karma keeps very accurate books.

Woohoo!

I have joined the growing legions of DirecTV satellite whores!

Tired of being monkeyed around by Cox Cable (an evil company, in my opinion), I took advantage of DirecTV's superduper offer of all Showtime channels + Sundance and The Movie Channel and all Starz channel for $59 a month in perpetuity. THere were some problems with completing my order online necessitating me to call in, so they bonused me all the HBO channels and a DVR unit for $4.99. It is fun to record and watch all the movies I've always wanted to see! In the midst of it I get IFC and the Fox Movie Channel which also show movies uninteruppted.

Woohoo!

Barbra Streisand doesn't have a bad voice....but I hate her politics...and her lack of class. During her fourth final farewell concert she confronted a heckler in the audience by saying "Shut The Fuck Up." Well now a New York DJ has come up with a new dance song based on her tirade.... It DEFINITELY is very creative and good and shows Badaboom Babs at her "best." Click here to go to the song link Warning: You will have to expend mouse clicking energy by having to click on the media player on the page.

Here's the original article about Badaboom Babs:

ashington, Oct 27: Barbra Streisand is best known for her love ballads such as ‘The way we were’ and themes from movies such as ‘Hello Dolly’, but now she is set to conquer the music charts with a song that samples her four-letter-word abuse she made at a recent concert .

A few weeks back, the 64-year-old ardent Democrat, used the opportunity of her first U.S. tour in 12 years to take a dig at President Bush, by employing a Bush impersonator to sing a duet with her while blasting his policies.

Not all members of her audience appreciated her performance, and one concertgoer yelled out asking if the concert was a fundraiser.

After first imploring to the heckler to be polite and be quiet, Barbara reportedly lost her temper and yelled out; "Why don't you shut the f**k up! If you can't take a joke, why don't you leave and get your money back."

Now, Lucian Piane, a New York songwriter/producer, has turned Barbara’s four-letter-word tirade into a thumping club track entitled, "STFU."

The track is currently doing the rounds on the Internet and, is expected to be quite a hit considering Streisand’s loyal following.

"It portrays her in a positive light, making her into a champion," TMZ quoted Lucian as saying.

And if she doesn't like the track, Lucian jokingly adds he would tell her, "Shut up if you can't take a joke!" (ANI)

I saw a great bumper sticker today:

THE WORLD IS GOING TO HELL
I'M DRIVING THE BUS

It reminded me of what a friend said to me several months ago when I admonished him that something he had just said to me was going to cause him to "go to hell." "Ivars," he said, "I'm in training to be a supervisor in hell."

I really doubt that this person is going to go to hell...a real friend in comparison to the Judas' that have had roles and places in my life in the past year.

It is interesting to watch liberals spin what they can in order to make the Iraq war as ugly as possible when they put out a controversial new study contends nearly 655,000 Iraqis have died because of the war, suggesting a far higher death toll than other estimates. In a dispatch released by the Associated Press, the timing of the survey's release, just a few weeks before the U.S. congressional elections, led one expert to call it "politics." I couldn't agree more.

In the new study, researchers attempted to calculate how many more Iraqis have died since March 2003 than one would expect without the war. Their conclusion, based on interviews of households and not a body count, is that about 600,000 died from violence, mostly gunfire. They also found a small increase in deaths from other causes like heart disease and cancer.

But of course, we ignore the fact that World War II ultimately killed more people, involved more nations, and cost more money than any other war in history. Altogether, 70 million people served in the armed forces during the war and 17 million combatants died. Civilian deaths were ever greater. At least 19 million Soviet civilians, 10 million Chinese, and 6 million European Jews lost their lives during the war.

World War II was truly a global war. Some 70 nations took part in the conflict, and fighting took place on the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as on the high seas. Entire societies participated, as soldiers, war workers, or victims of occupation and mass murder.

Of course, the way liberals love to argue they will simply dismiss facts such as these and repeat their diatribe.

I made an interesting observation today....and think I finally understand why America so appealed to my father. It came about after chatting with my 36-year old cousin in Latvia, and a chat friend in London...as well as others along the way. My father was a very outgoing/outward looking man who appreciated that potential of things. On the other hand, you have a real European mentality of people who are willing to accept their poorer lot in life. When I asked my cousin in Latvia if he would be interested in coming to the U.S., he said to me, "I'm too old to adapt to change of a new place," while my acquaintance in England would love to visit the U.S. and live here, "but it is so difficult to get a landed immmigrant visa and be able be able to work."

My dad always said, where there is a will, there is a way....and that's what made my dad so different from the old world view of so many in Europe.

What bunch of lunatic scum -- both Republicans and Democrats -- are we sending to Washington DC to the point that we need to protect the House pages...and establish a 1-800 abuse hotline for them????

The time has come to dissolve both houses of congress and start again...no more Hasterts, no more Kennedys, Foleys, Murthas, Pelosies....

WASHINGTON Rep. Dennis Hastert, the man in charge of the House of Representatives, is defending his office's handling of questions raised about Rep. Mark Foley last year, saying the parents of a male former page were bothered by an e-mail Foley sent their son but did not want the matter pursued.

Hastert said neither he nor other Republican leaders were aware until last Friday of far more lurid computer exchanges two years earlier between the Florida Republican and another page.

I rarely agree with HBO satirist Bill Maher, but he would have made a lot of sense if CBS-TV would have allowed him to truly express his opinion on Katie Couric's CBS Evening News. CBS-TV would not air his opinion... He recently appeared on The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox Snooze Channel where he got to say what he thinks about organized religion....and their followers...

O'REILLY: Yes, I'm shocked. I'm going to give you a chance now to tell millions of people all over the world what you wanted to say about religion on CBS, but you only have about 30 seconds. Go.

MAHER: Well, I probably would have said that I'm only the last in a long line of people to speak out against organized religion and to say that it's dangerous and a mass psychosis. And all you have to do is look around the world from story to story to story to understand that.

I mean, why is Iraq falling apart? Why couldn't we get anything done in Iraq? It's because there are two religious sects who are basically at each other's throats because of a succession from the prophet in the Seventh Century.

O'REILLY: I got it. OK, that's pretty interesting. So Mother Teresa is a psychotic?

MAHER: That's right, Bill. Load the issue with Mother Teresa.

O'REILLY: I believe she was a religious person.

MAHER: Yes, OK.

O'REILLY: I believe that Catholic charities are in every country in the world, healing the sick and working with the poor.

MAHER: Can I answer your question?

O'REILLY: Sure.

MAHER: Can I?

O'REILLY: Absolutely.

MAHER: OK. There's nothing Mother Teresa or charities are doing that they couldn't do without the silliness of religion attached to it.

O'REILLY: But they do it because Christianity says love your brother, help the poor. This is a philosophy.

MAHER: And that's...

O'REILLY: Isn't that great? Isn't that good? Go ahead.

MAHER: And that's a wonderful sentiment. Jesus as a philosopher is wonderful. There's no greater role model, in my view, than Jesus Christ. It's just a shame that most of the people who follow him and call themselves Christians act nothing like him.

O'REILLY: Most of them? Most Christians are bad?

MAHER: In this country. Well, most Christians don't act Christ-like.

O'REILLY: Most?

MAHER: If they would call themselves Christ-likes instead of Christians, maybe it would remind them to act like Jesus.

O'REILLY: OK, so the 65 million Catholics in this country, 85 percent of the population is Christian, 300 million of us, and most of them aren't doing a good job in their Christianity. Is that what you're saying?

MAHER: Well, most people who are religious in this country are like the cafeteria Catholics. They pick and choose from the religious parts that they want to follow.

The ones that make the headlines, the evangelical Christians, are usually the ones who are behind everything that represents intolerance and bigotry. I notice, for example, that they're very often the ones who are hardest on drug use.

It's very hard for me to imagine Jesus Christ going up to a medical marijuana sufferer and taking the joint out of his mouth and saying, "Good luck with your bone marrow disease, but that's a very bad method..."

O'REILLY: Jesus would never do that. You know why? He'd just cure the guy.

I couldn't say it any better.

I knew it! And mark my words, this will be the last season of "Desperate Housewives."

I'm a big fan of the ABC-TV series "Desperate Housewives." The first season was great...last season was a major letdown...and apparently the season premiere on Sunday night turned out to be a ratings elephant....and if the storylines are so boring as they were last night, I'm not so sure that the series will have a fourth season next year.

THe Associated Press reports that while the buxom ladies of Wisteria Lane helped give ABC the nightly ratings victory on Sunday, "Desperate Housewives" was down significantly from its monster Season 2 premiere last fall. Says AP, ""Desperate Housewives" was the night's top show in viewership and adults 18-49 with 23.8 million viewers and a 9.5 rating/21 share, according to preliminary estimates released Monday by Nielsen Media Research. But the soap was down sharply from its premiere last year (28.4 million, 12.3/26)."

The problem, in my not so humble opinion, is that the ladies of the show have become bigger stars outside of the series and they seem to know it. The show just does not have the "snap" it once had. Also, the long commercial periods between each segment has killed what continuity the show as tried to have in the past.

In a time of crisis you find out who your friends are, and those who love to "talk the talk." I've found out there are WAY more of them who love to "talk the talk."

Several months ago I lost a family member who was more than the moon and sun and stars to me. As I deal with the horrible loss, I've figured out to categorize people who have offered their support to me in two groups: those who actually are there when I need them, and those who love to "talk the talk." The one group is there for me without any doubt or question. Then there are those who give me the empty words, "I support you," "Call me if you need anything," "I'm there for you." What fucking bullshit. Interestingly those with a higher bullshit quotient have been the super right-wing whacked out Bible thumpers...and if you've read my blog for any length of time you know how I feel about them. This is in sharp contrast to those who are truly spiritual in their thoughts and hearts and "do" what is right. Some may go around disputing the concept of "karma" -- but they can't deny the ultimate truth of the saying "what goes around, comes around."

OI VEY!

[Verse 1]
I'm bringing sexy back
Them other boys don't know how to act
I think your special whats behind your back
So turn around and ill pick up the slack.

Take em' to the bridge

[Bridge]
Dirty babe
You see these shackles
Baby I'm your slave
I'll let you whip me if I misbehave
It's just that no one makes me feel this way

Take em' to the chorus

[Chorus]
Come here girl
Go ahead, be gone with it
Come to the back
Go ahead, be gone with it
VIP
Go ahead, be gone with it
Drinks on me
Go ahead, be gone with it
Let me see what you're working with
Go ahead, be gone with it
Look at those hips
Go ahead, be gone with it
You make me smile
Go ahead, be gone with it
Go ahead child
Go ahead, be gone with it
And get your sexy on
Go ahead, be gone with it

Get your sexy on
Go ahead, be gone with it
[X6]

Get your sexy on

[Verse 2]
I'm bringing sexy back
Them other fuckers don't know how to act
Come let me make up for the things you lack
Cause your burning up I gotta get it fast

Take em' to the bridge

[Bridge]

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
I'm bringing sexy back
Them other fuckers wait till I attack
If that's your girl you better watch your back
Cause she'll burn it up for me and that's a fact

Take em' to the chorus

[Chorus]

Twice today I heard Justin Timberlake's song "Sexyback" -- one of those times as blood was being drawn from me. I know more about Brahms and Beethoven or Mahler, but that is one danceable song (not that I dance). What is also cool is that Justin Timberlake always comes off as a super nice guy in the interviews that I have seen him in. He's not a goody-two shoes Brady Bunch guy, but has this aura about him that he appreciates all of the success that he has had.

Of course, the song is a FAR cry from Rosemary Clooney's hit "Come On To My House"!

Come on-a my house my house, I'm gonna give you candy
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give a you
Apple a plum and apricot-a too eh
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house I'm gonna give a you
Figs and dates and grapes and cakes eh
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you candy
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you everything

Come on-a my house my house, I'm gonna give you Christmas tree
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you
Marriage ring and a pomegranate too ah
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house I'm gonna give a you
Peach and pear and I love your hair ah
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house a come on
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you Easta-egg
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you
Everything - everything - everything

SPOKEN: Come on-a my house-a!

I FINALLY found what is often talked about in popular culture as the "Cowboy Code." You really need nothing else in order to make it all right in this life....of course assuming you count "please," "thank you," "I'm sorry," and "excuse" as part of the mix.

Gene Autry's Cowboy Code

1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.

2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.

3. He must always tell the truth.

4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.

5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.

6. He must help people in distress.

7. He must be a good worker.

8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.

9. He must respect women, parents, and his nations laws.

10. The Cowboy is a patriot.

I think some of the whacked-out so-called "born again" Bible bangers I have know should take a read and live by those thoughts....nah...most of them are too busy showing and proving to other "born again" whacked out Bible bangers how good they are and are going straight to Heaven. Or maybe not.

San Diego is a great town....the fifth biggest city in the United States that still has a big small town feel. Today the city and a private recycling firm sponsored a recycling drive in the parking lot of the Qualcomm (Jack Murphy) Stadium...the home of the San Diego Charger football team...where they picked up excess electronics, monitors, microwave ovens and TV sets, and stereo sets all to be disposed of appropriately. It was amazing!

I don't care for actress/comedienne Rosie O'Donnell. She's loud. She's obnoxious. She's so...so...in your face about everything including her sexuality. Yet, she's getting a really bum rap for her recent statement on ABC-TV on September 13, 2006 that "Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have separation of church and state."

And she's damn right...the problem is these whackos can't stand the truth (just like any other minority group which likes to portray itself as victims)!!

You have so many wacked out Christian sects who are attempting to impose themselves and their moralistic views. While the Bible teaches that a Christian must go out and teach and promote the belief system, those who proselytize Christiandom often pepper it with their own flavor and interpretation in order to exert CONTROL over others. Some sects go out and want to burn gay people, while others treat women as chattel. Some sects go out and bomb women's clinics and/or those who wish to use their services WHICH IS ALLOWED BY U.S. LAW. Just as there are those radical Muslims who use the words of Mohammed to justify their violence against gentiles.

So what have I done in the past week?

1. Primed walls for painting
2. Painted walls (looks great although I will need to do some touchup).
3. Fixed and repaired floor moldings, cut and installed new floor moldings
4. Moved two cable TV outlets (they work, too!)
5. Replaced cable TV splitter on roof
6. Totally gutted and repaired one of two toilets.
7. Replaced toilet intake hoses.
8. Built two IKEA pieces of furniture (one with the help of a friend).
9. Damaged one piece of IKEA furniture during its move.
10. Fixed (invisibly) one piece of damaged IKEA furniture (damaged by Ivars)
11. In the process of fixing/repairing damaged drywall.

Yet to do:

1. Stain and install in two new shelves.
2. Prime and paint basement.
3. Install new vertical blinds in basement.
4. Prime and paint bathroom.


HGTV, here I come!

I watched parts of the controversial docudrama "Path to 9/11" on ABC-TV (I taped most of it as I was involved with a rather extensive project and couldn't give it my full attention), and can see why President Clinton would get his tampon all misaligned. I watched the show (part I only as part II was being locally pre-empted by a incredibly stupid San Diego Chargers/Oakland Raiders football game -- who gives a shit) parking my political ideologies and beliefs in a parking spot as far as I could from the proverbial exit door. My conclusion: it is the over-and-over failed foreign policies of the U.S. which have been pursued by both Presidents Clinton and Bush during their tenure.

While the Muslim maniacs (no different from the right wing Bible-banging maniacs we have here in the United States) have declared a full-blown war -- or jihad -- we have been pursuing these terrorist threats starting with the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center with both arms and legs tied up while our head is turned the other way. There are those who will argue that freedom and constitutional democracy as we know it is being threatened by new surveillance technologies and policies. There are those who argue that we need to do peace conferences and negotiations; these people say that by engaging in retaliatory warfare that we are only inflaming the Muslim fanatic guerillas. The truth is this, folks: peace and freedom are items which cannot be negotiated. You can only negotiate with people who are negotiable and have the same core values. We are dealing with fanatics who have no problem on bearing children for the sole purpose of being suicide bombers all "for the greater glory of Allah." It comes down to the fact that the Muslims have a right to their beliefs, but we in the western world also have a right to our beliefs. Muslims treat women like shit, while we embrace a philosophy of equality between the sexes.

Warfare by itself sickens me. I end up being a puddle of tears when I see the names and ages of military people killed in action being broadcast on the nightly 10 o'clock news. By the same token I end up being a puddle of tears when I see and think about the three thousand Americans who innocently went to work 1,825 days ago whose families can only relive their being in scorched memories.

I don't care whether there was or wasn't any purported direct link between Al-Queda and Saddam Hussein. While a Chamberlainesque "it's so nice to be nice" Europe struts around with pretty white gloved hands eating cucumber sandwiches and sipping tea, the U.S. and participating allies are doing the dirty work of trying to vanquish the forces of evil which want to change our way of living through terrorism, not much different from Hitler's forces of evil. It was comedian/political humorist Dennis who aptly put it that when Osama Bin Ladin/the radical Muslim world bombed the World Trade Center it was a bit like a game of chess, when the Muslims said "check" -- the western world said "mate."

A bit too often you see cars and people with imbecilic bumper stickers that say "Impeach Bush" based on the latest hegemony spouted by the political opportunists of the left -- do these people really want Dick Cheney as President? My armchair criticism of President Bush is that he has not allowed the military to go after the fanatic Muslims with full fire power. The West has toys WAY bigger with incredible firepower, than their put-put makeshift IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) or booby traps and should be allowed to use them as they see fit. It is no secret that we brought World War II to a screeching halt when we bombed the shit out of Japan with our big toys...and we brought Nazi Germany to its knees and crushed that evil empire with our firepower.

Saddam Hussein and the rest of his Muslim were enslaving of the Middle East. Just as Eastern Europe was able to throw off the chains of the enslaving Communist Russians so they have been able to experience freedoms (and experienced the unintended consequences of a democracy), the Iraqi people deserve the opportunity to experience democracy. Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq denied the will of the people and in so doing demonstrated to the world how their military power could also be used to intimidate.

In the words of President Reagan, "If history teaches anything, it teaches self-delusion in the face of unpleasant facts is folly. We see around us today the marks of our terrible dilemma--predictions of doomsday, antinuclear demonstrations, an arms race in which the West must, for its own protection, be an unwilling participant. At the same time we see totalitarian forces in the world who seek subversion and conflict around the globe to further their barbarous assault on the human spirit. What, then, is our course? Must civilization perish in a hail of fiery atoms? Must freedom wither in a quiet, deadening accommodation with totalitarian evil? While we must be cautious about forcing the pace of change, we must not hesitate to declare our ultimate objectives and to take concrete actions to move toward them. We must be staunch in our conviction that freedom is not the sole prerogative of a lucky few but the inalienable and universal right of all human beings. So states the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, among other things, guarantees free elections. The objective I propose is quite simple to state: to foster the infrastructure of democracy, the system of a free press, unions, political parties, universities, which allows a people to choose their own way to develop their own culture, to reconcile their own differences through peaceful means."

Is there anything wrong with that?

It's up to us, in our time, to choose and choose wisely between the hard but necessary task of preserving peace and freedom and the temptation to ignore our duty and blindly hope for the best while the enemies of freedom grow stronger day by day. - President Ronald Reagan, March 23, 1983 address to the nation.

It is funny to watch former President Clinton flounder around like a fish pulled out of water as it relates to the controversy surrounding an ABC-TV movie on the 9-11 tragedy depicting what allegedly went on behind the scenes at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The only reason he is complaining is that it totally screws up the image of a respectable President he has been trying to build in the public's eye ever since Monica Lewinsky affair "stained" the Oval Office. It is no secret that President Clinton has had an obsession about a positive image and legacy since he has left office. This movie, albeit a bit fictionalized, threatens that image. I'm not one of those Republicans who goes around lynching President Clinton. He wasn't a bad president...albeit while I don't give a rat's ass about his affair with Monica, the bottom line is that he tried to cover it up much like President Nixon covered up his involvement in the Watergate scandal in the 1970s. We obviously are not breaking new ground here. It is all coming down to what the Democrats want the world to think of them.

Personally I wasn't planning on watching the docudrama, but in that it is causing the Clintonistas to panic like a disturbed ant's nest, it has only peaked my interest. In my opinion the whole thing could have been a non-issue and passed away in the ether of bad televisiondom, but now the public's interest has been aroused (no pun intended) with President Clinton's whines.

A letter from President Clinton's attorney to ABC-TV

Despite press reports that ABC/Disney has made changes in the content and marketing of "The Path to 9/11," we remain concerned about the false impression that airing the show will leave on the public. Labelng the show as "fiction" does not meet your responsibility to the victims of the September 11th attacks, their families, the hard work of the 9/11 Commission, or to the American people as a whole.

At a moment when we should be debating how to make the nation safer by implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, "The Path to 9/11" calls into question the accuracy of the Commission's report and whether fabricated scenes are, in fact, an accurate portrayal of history. Indeed, the millions spent on the production of this fictional drama would have been better spent informing the public about the Commission's actual findings and the many recommendations that have yet to be acted upon. Unlike this film, that would have been a tremendous service to the public.

Although our request for an advance copy of the film has been repeatedly denied, it is all too clear that our objections to "The Path to 9/11" are valid and corroborated by those familiar with the film and intimately involved in its production....

Ivars, The Teenage Witch?
Bezdechi, The Vampire Slayer?

Grousing about having to buy a new digital camera to replace the one which was stolen the other day, thoughts turned wishing the thief/thieves who perpetrated their evil a very bad car accident or some horrible stroke of bad karma as they had my camera probably to pawn it off to buy their crack cocaine to snort up (what ever is done with it) or shoot it up their veins.

Well, suddenly this evening I had a visit from the local police at my house. Following up on the police report, they had apparently retrieved my camera and XM satellite receiver in the course of investigation some thugs who apparently had perpetrated a similar modus operandi, chased them....and they got into a very serious car wreck...both of them are on life support tonight.

It is uncanny...my father often told me about the "Bezdechi Hex"...anyone who did us ill would face inevitable bad karma.... Well, it has apparently happened again....

Ivars and his electronic gadgets are back home again....all happy.

A super duper line from "The Jeffersons" this weekend...

Friend: Florence, are you afraid of guns?
Florence: I'm not afraid of guns...I'm just afraid of the bullets you put in it!

I really make it a point not to whine. I'm a "suck 'em up" when life gives you lemons kinda guy....but I have to say the last five days really have blown big time. Notwithstanding that I'm still grieving over the passing several months of my mom after relatively short but horrible illness -- the sun and moon of my life -- this past weekend was the first birthday I went through without having either parent.

My commercial shoot last Thursday didn't go bad, but it was not all what it was cracked up to be. It was really hot and sultry last Thursday and I ended up having to stand up alone in a small makeshift studio with very hot and sultry studio lights with absolutely no air in a full suit. The heat really affected my performance in my considered opinion. Anyway I got through it and everybody seemed OK with my acting. It was kind of hard doing my lines imagining myself being "hit" with electric meters which are to be digitally added in during post production.

On Friday I finally got my blood pressure meds at Costco in the late afternoon, to get back to my car some half-an-hour later to find my windshield broken and my new digital camera and XM satellite receiver (both hidden under the seat) stolen. The thief/thieves were so brazen to have done it in the middle of the day in a busy parking lot....and obviously everybody who could have seen it happening just looked the other way. After filing a police report (the good that was going to do), I was able to go to an authorized Century 21 Insurance body shop who ordered a new windshield. Being that it was a holiday weekend I was surprised they were able to get a new windshield installed on Saturday. I spent the rest of the Saturday -- my birthday -- totally ignored by the world -- painting my bedroom until late.

Meanwhile I was having some strange new side effects from the med....profuse sweating...and was drinking 48 oz. of liquid in one sitting to try to quench an insatiable thirst. Sunday I woke up with a bad sinus headache...did more painting....and kept on having to drink water by a large mugful...feeling worse and worse. I actually got to bed at a decent hour after talking to a good friend in Latvia (still have to keep exercising my language skills). By the time late Monday morning rolled around I was up every two hours drinking more liquid. I couldn't get a hold of my doctor, but finally reached a nurse friend of mine who is out of state who was concerned that I was feeling rather weak...and suggested that I needed to get myself to a hospital emergency room to get myself checked out. It was like I was not sick enough to call an ambulance but had no one to call to take me there, as I was too woozy to be driving safely. I have a call into the doc for Tuesday morning and perhaps he will be able to direct me to get myself back in gear....and finally be able to finish painting my bedroom.....sheesh....

I've never been so weary of life as I have these past five days.

OK...I'll shut up now and suck it up.

I was reminded of something today....especially as thoughts turn to someone who I think about constantly and who has been the sun and moon of my life...but of late has been in an dark eclipse in so many ways...

Have a GREAT day and enjoy life to the fullest. Treat your friends, family and loved ones that today will be the last day you will see them. You never know when for someone unknown reason they are not longer around physically on earth. Don't have any regrets "if I had only done this" or "if I had only said this". Let them know today how you feel and what you want from them. Time is a cherished moment.

Twelve Rules For Life
By Henry W. Mengoli

1) You always have a choice
2) Your life is gift. Treat it as an adventure
3) Experience something new everyday
4) Learn something new everyday
5) Fear is something you create
6) The line between where you are and where you want to be is a thought away
7) You create chaos to look busy, feel important and avoid your emotions
8) Remember to thank your deity and to say thank you to everyone for everything that comes your way
9) Truth only exists in the moment
10) Leadership is given, never taken
11) Throw something out everyday until all that exists is you
12) Let it go. It was never yours to begin with

I am getting so ass tired of people with immature political views who go around yankerin' and yammerin' "the country is going down the drain because of the Republicans," "the country is going down the drain because of the George Bush," etc. etc. These people are the lemmings of American society who have allowed them to be influenced by one point of view. I'm no fan of Shrub, but I have seen the country go down the drain since the second presidency of Slick Willy Clinton. Clinton was not a bad president, but he is the one who made not being accountable in style... "What is "is"?" etc., etc., coming up with totally whacked out implausible conspiracy theories about this and that. My favorite one is that Pres. Bush ordered the levies protecting that wetland swamp where New Orleans is situated blown up because he hates black people (Spike Lee came up with that gem)...just like the gem brought up one congressman several years ago said that the sharks which make their home in the Atlantic Ocean still instinctively know the ship routes where the black slaves were transported from Africa as the blood of blacks was spilled along the way.

Did Jessica Simpson EVER have a voice? Or talent, for that matter?

NEW YORK - (AP) Talk about bad timing. At the start of a media blitz to support her new album, "A Public Affair," Jessica Simpson is on vocal rest. "It is true that she has indeed lost her voice," Simpson's publicist, Rob Shuter, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "She's been ordered to rest. ... She can talk, she can croak out a few sentences. She sounds a little off, but, you know, she can't sing."

Simpson, 26, fell ill Friday and has "a strain, a bruise on her vocal cord," Shuter told the AP. She canceled a planned appearance on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" this week but was to appear on MTV's "Total Request Live" on Tuesday afternoon to promote the album — but not sing, Shuter said. Simpson hopes her condition improves by Friday, when she is scheduled to perform on NBC's "Today" show, he said. "She's trying," Shuter said. "Everybody is hoping and keeping their fingers crossed."

Now I'm really going to come off as a heartless dweeb with no sense of propriety:

Remember the old "Dr. Pepper" jingle? ("I'm a Pepper. He's a pepper. She's a pepper. We're a pepper. Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too? Dr. Pepper") Being subject to all of the one year memorials for Hurricane Katrina it occurred to me that we could be done with it all if everyone would just sing at the top of their voices, "I'm a victim. He's a victim. She's a victim. We're a victim. Wouldn't you like to be a victim too?"

These days EVERYONE loves to be a victim. A victim of racial or sexual discrimination. A victim of this and a victim of that. What happened to the America that just sucked it up? Huh? You never hear those of the Depression/World War II era bitchin' and moanin' how bad they had it. They dealt with their misery and just went on living productive lives no matter what crap life had thrown at them. It comes down to these people just need to get their shit together and rebuild than spending all of the time and energy complaining how bad they had it. Other parts of the country have had their disasters (granted, not with the magnitude of Katrina).

NEW ORLEANS - Bells tolled in this shattered city Tuesday morning, marking the moment one year earlier when New Orleans' levees buckled and unleashed a torrent of water that ripped homes from their foundations and sent tens of thousands of residents into an uncertain exile.

I have always argued that Xanax (a widely prescribed tranquilizer) needs to be added to the water supply in addition to a copious amount of Prozac (a widely prescribed antidepressant). In one day how there could be so many airplane passenger incidents in this terrible new world is beyond me (from the Associated Press):

_A college student's checked luggage on a Continental Airlines flight from Argentina contained dynamite, authorities said, in one of six security incidents Friday that caused U.S. flights to be diverted, evacuated or searched. Federal authorities were investigating why the student, who got off the Continental plane in Houston before it continued to Newark, N.J., had the explosive residue, FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said. She said the student did not appear to be connected to terrorism. Houston Fire Department Assistant Chief Omero Longoria said the man told authorities he works in mining and often handles explosives. Longoria said federal officials were investigating whether the explanation was true. In Houston, the dynamite was found during a luggage search in a federal inspection station at Bush Intercontinental Airport shortly after Flight 52 landed at about 6 a.m. Marlene McClinton, spokeswoman for the Houston Airport System, said a bomb-sniffing dog "had a hit" on explosive residue during a further search.

In other incidents:

_An American Airlines flight from England to Chicago was forced to land in Bangor, Maine, in response to an unspecified threat, authorities said. Passengers deplaned and were led to a holding area, said airport manager Rebecca Hupp. The jetliner was on the tarmac with its engines shut off.

_A US Airways jet was diverted to Oklahoma City after a federal air marshal subdued a disruptive passenger who had pushed a flight attendant, the FBI said.

_A Continental Airlines flight from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Bakersfield, Calif., was held in El Paso, one of its scheduled stops, after the crew discovered a missing panel in the lavatory, authorities said.

_A utility knife was found on a vacant passenger seat of a US Airways flight traveling from Philadelphia to Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, state police said.

_An Aer Lingus flight from New York to Dublin was evacuated Friday morning during a scheduled stopover in western Ireland following a bomb threat that turned out to be unfounded, officials said.

Pilots and flight attendants are now trained to view passengers who appear to be crazy as potential terrorists, Breslin said. But even if a disruptive passenger isn't a terrorist, "who knows what kind of havoc he could wreak on a closed pressurized tube at 39,000 feet?" he said.

In Oklahoma City, the passenger who pushed the flight attendant on the US Airways flight was taken into custody after the plane landed at Will Rogers World Airport, FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said. He was undergoing a mental evaluation, and authorities had yet to determine what criminal charges he might face. The twin-engine jet returned to flight three hours later on its trip from Phoenix to Charlotte, N.C.

Back in Texas, the crew of Continental Airlines Flight 2258 discovered a missing panel in the lavatory, and passengers were being screened and interviewed upon landing in El Paso, the TSA's Amy von Walter said.

Genuine listening means
suspending memory,
desire, and judgement
for a few moments at least,
and existing for the other person.

Michael P. Nichols

I actually saw someone on television with a worse name than mine!

Suwat Thamronsrisakul

He's the chief of police with the Thailand Immigration Service and was featured in a news conference with Thai authorities regarding the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey.

In light of the terrorist plot to blow up airliners in Great Britain, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff was on Bill O'Reilly's show tonight. What rubbish that Americans have now to be put through more security screenings when our territorial borders are being compromised by millions upon millions of illegal Mexicans citizens.
I submitted the following note to the show:

Watching Homeland Secretary Chertoff spin out of control was downright frightening. All of the reverse engineering of homemade terrorist bombs and heightened airport security screenings don't mean a hill of beans until the borders with Mexico (and Canada) are sealed air tight. Chertoff's empty words are nothing but window dressing on the Bush administration's failure to uphold U.S. laws and protect its citizens since our rude wakeup call of September 11th. Mr. Chertoff, you can fool some of the people some of the time, not all of the people all of the time.

Ivars Bezdechi
San Diego, CA

A web site called SustainLane.com each year puts America's 50 largest cities into a natural disaster index with its Sustainable U.S. City Ranking.

At the top of the list are cities relatively immune to the brunt of nature. Near the bottom are those in the cross hairs of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis or some other force to be reckoned with. Note my commentaries after the city names.

This year's list (*=tie):

1. Mesa, AZ* / Never mind that you can FRY
1. Milwaukee, WI* / Never mind that you can FREEZE TO DEATH
3. Cleveland, OH* / Never mind that you can be SHOT TO DEATH
3. El Paso, TX* / Never mind that you can FRY
3. Phoenix, AZ* / Never mind that you can FRY
3. Tucson, AZ* / Never mind that you can FRY
7. Colorado Springs, CO
8. Detroit, MI / Never mind that you can be robbed and killed by gangs
8. Fresno, CA
8. Minneapolis, MN / Never mind that you can FREEZE TO DEATH
8. Philadelphia, PA / Never mind that you can FREEZE TO DEATH
12. Chicago, IL / Never mind that you can FREEZE TO DEATH
13. Denver, CO
14. Albuquerque, NM / Never mind that you can FRY
15. Las Vegas, NV / Never mind that you can FRY
16. San Antonio, TX / Never mind that you can FRY
17. Nashville, TN
18. Atlanta, GA
19. Omaha, NE
20. Austin, TX
21. Kansas City, MO
22. Arlington, TX
22. Dallas, TX
22. Fort Worth, TX
25. Indianapolis, IN
26. Louisville, KY
27. Washington, DC / Never mind that you can be robbed and killed by gangs
28. Baltimore, MD / Never mind that you can be robbed and killed by gangs
29. Charlotte, NC
30. Portland, OR / Never mind that you are taxed to death and have moss grow on you
31. San Diego, CA / Perfection!
32. Boston, MA*
32. Jacksonville, FL*
32. New York, NY*
35. Memphis, TN*
35. Seattle, WA*
35. Virginia Beach, VA* / You are in the same city as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson
38. Sacramento, CA
39. Columbus, OH*
39. Oklahoma City, OK*
39. Tulsa, OK*
42. Long Beach, CA
43. Houston, TX*
43. Los Angeles, CA* / Never mind that you can be robbed and killed by gangs
45. San Jose, CA
46. Honolulu, HI
47. San Francisco, CA
48. Oakland, CA
49. New Orleans, LA
50. Miami, FL

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright sent President Vaira Vike-Freiberga a letter in which she expresses concern over plans to ban the sale of Coca-Cola in Latvia’s schools. Vike-Freiberga’s spokeswoman, Aiva Rozenberga, said the letter has been passed on to the Latvian Health Ministry with a request to provide an opinion. In her letter, Albright criticizes the decision for singling out a single producer – the U.S. company Coca-Cola. The draft provisions, announced at a meeting of state secretaries, would prohibit selling schoolchildren drinks containing unnatural coloring, sweeteners, preservatives, caffeine and amino acids.

Gosh, could Madeleine Quarterbright now that she is out of office be in the pocketbook of Coca-Cola Corporation? Nahhhhhh.... All Democrats are upstanding individuals who NEVER EVER compromise themselves to major corporate interests when they are out of office...or even in office. Democrats are ALWAYS for the common man and NEVER compromise their ethics....only Republicans would sell out themselves.

At least so many of my far left Democrat lemming friends would try to convince me....

This is truly an effective use of e-mail spam which I received tonight:

Светка, привет!
Как ты там в Москве?
Бросай все и лети отдыхать:
Я не жалею, что сорвалась. Настроение и самочувствие резко изменились.
Проблем как не бывало:Вообщем, все супер: Мои тоже не жалуются: погода-
класс. Зайди посмотри мои фотки http://natalym-24.narod.ru/photoalbum.html

Когда соберешься в Турцию, не забудь купить сим-карту. Мне Сашка
посоветовал. Спасибо ему. Не пожалела. За 400 рублей купила комплект с
сим-картой и 25 минут разговоров с Россией. Даже в Турции таких цен нет.
Обязательно купи, они доставляют бесплатно, тел. 85014791675.
Желаю хорошего настроения.
Вперед на отдых.
Целую, Наташа.

Tonight I prepared to turn in my phone to Sprint to get a replacement and purchase at a highly reduced rate a super duper phone with a lot of high tech features (camera phone, videocamera, etc.). So I decided to clean out my phone number list which has phone numbers of persons who have wanted regular communication with me and otherwise...which led me figure from which states telephone contacts were deleted from.

ALASKA (1)

CALIFORNIA
San Diego (5)
Orange County/Los Angeles (3)
Palm Springs (2)
San Francisco (1)

COLORADO
Denver (1)

GEORGIA
Atlanta (1)

PENNSYLVANIA (2)

A good friend sent this from his camera phone taken at the Cleveland airport.

President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that he thinks Israel is pursuing wider goals in its military campaign against Lebanon than the return of its captured soldiers.

"However complicated the questions are, maximum efforts must be applied to resolve the situation in a peaceful way and I think all efforts have not been exhausted," Putin said. "However, it is our impression that aside from seeking to return the abducted soldiers, Israel is pursuing wider goals."

Why doesn't someone just tell this little nymph to shut up? It is as though that Russia hasn't pursued "wider goals" itself? Some people.

Being realistic is one thing.
Being fatalistic is another.

What if you invited a whole bunch a people to a party and no body came? That is the impression that I'm getting now that anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and the rest of the Hollywood lefties such as Susan Sarandon, her hubby Tim Robbins, and nutritiion guru Dick Gregory are now participating in a fast in Washington DC to bring about an American troop pullout from Iraq. Except for a bit of coverage in the national media before it started, it would seem that the antics of North Korea shooting missiles and them fizzling everytime is stealing the media spotlight. Just as it is fun watching the Democrats saying they are about to claim victory in the November mid-term elections, they are sniping at each other like never before. And this is the alternative leadership that they want to give us? Thanks, but no thanks.

What has me also snickering is watching the city council of Berkeley, CA wanting to hand over a referendum to the voters in November to impeach President Bush. Like a lot of the maniacs who want this, they don't even give thought that if President Bush is impeached, then Vice-President Cheney becomes President, and then Congress Majority Leader Dennis Hastert becomes Vice-President. This is the typical shortsightedness of the whacked out left that is anti-war and anti-Israel. Just let the Palestinians (who are in constant chaos themeselves) push the Jews into the Black Sea....that's right...what about the rights of Jews to their homeland?

I don't think so...and that is someone who is slightly right of center who never votes a candidate on party affiliation, but uses the anti-moron standard of picking the candidate who will do the least harm and potentially the least mess.

My letter to Fox News' Bill O'Reilly on his interview with Sen. John Kerry:

Dear Bill,

I very much enjoyed your thoughtful "no spin" interview with Sen. John Kerry. Despite all of the bleach and whiteners you added in order to get him to answer questions in a straightforward manner, he still came off as "permanent press."

Ivars Bezdechi
El Cajon, CA

An online friend tonight confided in me about his ongoing conflict between his religious upbringing and his sexual orientation. It led me to do quite a bit of thinking about that concept and how the masses can be led into a certain believing certain things, and when it is repeated enough times it becomes "the truth." We are all children of God. He made white, red, black, yellow, thin, fat, short, and tall people in his image. It is man and his man-made structures -- physical and emotional -- which hold us down. God loves us all no matter as we are. It is dogma in order to corral the less intelligent that is artificial and is truly in conflict with God's word and his power.

Catholics believe God is a Catholic, Baptists believe God is a Baptist. The TRUTH is that God is God...his words is the Bible...and those who have come and preach in His name are interpreting those words.

God wants us to live our lives the best we can...and does not expect us to be perfect. The only people who are going to hell -- are the people who scream and yell threatening other people who are going to go to hell. It is THEIR judgement...and the only one who can validly make judgement on us is God Himself. God gets pissed off when someone gets in His way.

THE MOST STUPID PHRASES IN THE AMERICAN VERNACULAR

OK...The time has come for me to spout on about some of the most stupid phrases people use these days in their speech to pretend they are saying something meaningful which they can easily conveniently duck out of but still sound good and come off as a being "kinder and gentler" human being. In short, all of these phrases mean really nothing, but sound good as they don't require true commitment on the part of the speaker.

Are my views cynical? The answer is a loud "yes" -- but it is all true.


1. "LET'S DO LUNCH SOMETIME"

In my 25 years of active life (out of 43 -- or 185 in dog years) I have NEVER had anyone who said this to me ever follow through with this statement, and when you followup with them they are nowhere to be found, supposedly never got your message, or are just leaving on a business trip to Antartica where their dying aunt next door neighbor lives.

2. "I FEEL YOUR PAIN"

President Clinton made this one famous...sounds good...but did he say this when he romped (schtupped) with Monica Lewinsky in the White House with his warm cigar? He also made famous "I didn't inhale" but he still smoked marijuana. This is what Pres. Clinton will be remembered for in 50 years.

3. "I SUPPORT YOU"

It sounds like someone is ready to do a personal blood letting on your behalf when you're going through hard times, but does not need commitment. Most conveniently the speaker can say this and disappear after he or she has left the impression that "they care."

4. "IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, DON'T HESITATE TO ASK."

After going through a devastating personal tragedy recently, I heard this so many times that I could have slapped the utterer of the phrase silly. Everytime that I really needed something, they always had a "reason" that they couldn't fulfill your need at the moment. With one bright exception, the worst offenders were acquaintances two or more time zones away.

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.

A good acquaintance of mine sent me this poignant letter:

Dear President Bush:

I'm about to plan a little trip with my family and extended family, and I would like to ask you to assist me. I'm going to walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico, and I need to make a few arrangements. I know you can help with this.

I plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws. I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here.

So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Vicente Fox, that I'm on my way over Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:

1. Free medical care for my entire family.

2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.

3. All government forms need to be printed in English.

4. I want my kids to be taught by English-speaking teachers.

5. Schools need to include classes on American culture and history.

6. I want my kids to see the American flag flying on the top of the flag pole at their school with the Mexican flag flying lower down.

7. Please plan to feed my kids at school for both breakfast and lunch.

8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.

9. I do not plan to have any car insurance, and I won't make any effort to learn local traffic laws.

10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from President Fox to leave me alone, please be sure that all police officers speak English.

11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.

12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, and don't enforce any labor laws or tax laws.

13. Please tell all the people in the country to be extremely nice and never say a critical word about me, or about the strain I might place on the economy.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all the people who come to the U.S. from Mexico. I am sure that President Fox won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.

However, if he gives you any trouble, just invite him to go quail hunting with your V.P.

Thank you so much for your kind help.

Sincerely,

NAFTA lover

"Serve God and join not any partners with Him, and do good to your parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near, neighbours who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer, and what your right hands possess, For God loveth not the arrogant, the vainglorious."
Quran 4.36

So how does Islam differ from Christianity?

....the cruel cold and viciousness and malice of Father Time.

I lost my momma four weeks ago.

She doesn't hear the first song of the mockingbirds,
the green smells of early spring,
the warmth of a young sun...

You really know that Latvia and the other Baltic States have become members of the world community when they are actually considering bans on public cigarette smoking.

Smoking kills, should be banned in public: Latvian health minister

Fri Mar 17, 11:47 AM ET

Smoking is a major killer in Latvia and must be stubbed out, Health Minister Gundars Berzins said as he proposed a ban on smoking in public places. "I believe we have to introduce a total smoking ban in public places as of next year," Berzins told AFP. "This is an urgent matter: heart disease and lung cancer are widespread in Latvia, and it's mainly because of smoking," he said Friday. "Since 2004, we have specially designated smoking areas in cafes, but I believe this does not protect non-smokers and staff from smoke.

"Everybody knows that smoke harms children and pregnant women, even if they're in a non-smoking area. And I'm also totally against smoking at any sports events," Berzins said. Around 47 percent of men and 18 percent of women in Latvia smoke, according the National Health agency. Recent polls have shown a ban on smoking in public would be supported by some 70 percent of the population.

Berzins' ministry planned to submit amendments to the law governing smoking to the government in one or two months, the health minister said. "Personally, I think smoking should only be allowed in basements," Berzins concluded.

The Democrats are so going to lose the upcoming mid-term elections. The Democratic party has gone schizoid...they consistently lose their bowels over everything, are anti-Israel, and have totally forgot about the 3000 people who perished in the World Trade Center attack. As a political fence sitter, when I see has-been Hollywood actors like Jane Fonda, Alec Baldwin, Barbra Streisand and Richard Dreyfuss spout out their venom, all it does is want me to stay with the political status quo.

War is hell. In the words of Senator McCain, I would rather wars be fought across the Atlantic, not here a home.

What is the Iraq war about?

It IS about oil so both the Republican and Democrat lawmakers can continue to fill their pockets and so you can have 18-year Britney Spears wannabees with naval rings and too much makeup running around in their wasteful Hummers.

It IS about keeping the price of gasoline low so it doesn't go up to $8 a gallon and bankrupt the working class of this country.

It IS about going after a Islamo-fascist Hitler-like despot tyrant who has killed thousands and thousands of people who disagreed with dared to disagree with him. What benefit was it for the United States to liberate the Nazi death camps in World War II?

I was chatting with a friend online today when he offered up the following wonderful thought:

Any idiot can take something crucial and make it complicated. It takes genious to simplify the complex without losing essential detail in the process. The trick is figuring out what to keep and what to disregard.

I couldn't say it any better.

It pains me to see one of the world's greatest belief systems being maltreated and perverted by fascists within in the religion.

Religion is about TOLERANCE, folks...

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor

PARIS (Reuters) - After backing calls by Muslims for respect for their religion in the Mohammad cartoons row, the Vatican is now urging Islamic countries to reciprocate by showing more tolerance toward their Christian minorities. Roman Catholic leaders at first said Muslims were right to be outraged when Western newspapers reprinted Danish caricatures of the Prophet, including one with a bomb in his turban. Most Muslims consider any images of Mohammad to be blasphemous. After criticizing both the cartoons and the violent protests in Muslim countries that followed, the Vatican this week linked the issue to its long-standing concern that the rights of other faiths are limited, sometimes severely, in Muslim countries.

Vatican prelates have been concerned by recent killings of two Catholic priests in Turkey and Nigeria. Turkish media linked the death there to the cartoons row. At least 146 Christians and Muslims have died in five days of religious riots in Nigeria. "If we tell our people they have no right to offend, we have to tell the others they have no right to destroy us," Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State (prime minister), told journalists in Rome. "We must always stress our demand for reciprocity in political contacts with authorities in Islamic countries and, even more, in cultural contacts," Foreign Minister Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo told the daily Corriere della Sera.

Reciprocity -- allowing Christian minorities the same rights as Muslims generally have in Western countries, such as building houses of worship or practicing religion freely -- is at the heart of Vatican diplomacy toward Muslim states. Vatican diplomats argue that limits on Christians in some Islamic countries are far harsher than restrictions in the West that Muslims decry, such as France's ban on headscarves in state schools. Saudi Arabia bans all public expression of any non-Muslim religion and sometimes arrests Christians even for worshipping privately. Pakistan allows churches to operate but its Islamic laws effectively deprive Christians of many rights. Both countries are often criticized at the United Nations Human Rights Commission for violating religious freedoms.

"ENOUGH TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK"

Pope Benedict signaled his concern on Monday when he told the new Moroccan ambassador to the Vatican that peace can only be assured by "respect for the religious convictions and practices of others, in a reciprocal way in all societies." He mentioned no countries by name. Morocco is tolerant of other religions, but like all Muslim countries frowns on conversion from Islam to another faith.

Iraqi Christians say they were well treated under Saddam Hussein's secular policies, but believers have been killed, churches burned and women forced to wear Muslim garb since Islamic groups gained sway after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Christians make up only a tiny fraction of the population in most Muslim countries. War and political pressure in recent decades have forced many to emigrate from Middle Eastern communities dating back to just after the time of Jesus.

As often happens at the Vatican, lower-level officials have been more outspoken than the Pope and his main aides. "Enough now with this turning the other cheek! It's our duty to protect ourselves," Monsignor Velasio De Paolis, secretary of the Vatican's supreme court, thundered in the daily La Stampa. Jesus told his followers to "turn the other cheek" when struck. "The West has had relations with the Arab countries for half a century, mostly for oil, and has not been able to get the slightest concession on human rights," he said.

Bishop Rino Fisichella, head of one of the Roman universities that train young priests from around the world, told Corriere della Sera the Vatican should speak out more. "Let's drop this diplomatic silence," said the rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. "We should put pressure on international organizations to make the societies and states in majority Muslim countries face up to their responsibilities."

Yes, right now the president is going through a momentarily lapse of insanity (not to mention those when it comes to dealing with the U.S./Mexico border.

It would seem that he has TOTALLY forgotten about the 3000 Americans who lost their lives at the New York World Trade Center, and that the hijackers/terrorists came through Dubai.

Bush Says Ports Deal Will Stand

By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer

Lawmakers determined to capsize the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates said President Bush's surprise veto threat won't deter them.

Bush on Tuesday brushed aside objections by leaders in the Senate and House that the $6.8 billion sale could raise risks of terrorism at American ports. In a forceful defense of his administration's earlier approval of the deal, he pledged to veto any bill Congress might approve to block the agreement.

The sale's harshest critics were not appeased.

"I will fight harder than ever for this legislation, and if it is vetoed I will fight as hard as I can to override it," said Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. King and Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record) of New York said they will introduce emergency legislation to suspend the ports deal.

Another Democrat, Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, urged his colleagues to force Bush to wield his veto, which Bush — in his sixth year in office — has never done. "We should really test the resolve of the president on this one because what we're really doing is securing the safety of our people."

The White House and supporters planned a renewed campaign this week to reassure the public the sale was safe. Senior officials were expected to explain at a press conference Wednesday what persuaded them to approve the deal, the first-ever sale involving U.S. port operations to a foreign, state-owned company.

The sale — set to be completed in early March — would put Dubai Ports in charge of major shipping operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. "If there was any chance that this transaction would jeopardize the security of the United States, it would not go forward," Bush said.

Defending his decision, Bush responded to a chorus of objections this week in Congress over potential security concerns in the sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

Bush's veto threat sought to quiet a political storm that has united Republican governors and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee with liberal Democrats, including New York Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Schumer.

This is not what liberalism is not supposed to be about....about being downright rude. From Richard Dreyfus to Alec Baldwin and even Former President Carter who saw fit to launch into a political screed against President Bush at Coretta Scott King's recent funeral. Now Chief Justice Scalia is at the other end of liberal rudeness:

(AP) Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia grew tired of a persistent heckler Tuesday and asked organizers of a legal seminar to do something about the outbursts _ gently.
"Don't use force," Scalia told American Enterprise Institute workers as they grabbed the young man's arm and nudged him toward the door. The workers then let go and the man walked out. It was unclear what Aaron Yule, 23, of Boston, was asking when Scalia turned to organizers and said, "Can you, somebody ..." Earlier, a microphone had been snatched from the man's hand when he tried to engage the justice in debate. Scalia had asked him whether he had a question, "apart from insults."

After the man left, Scalia answered questions for about 15 minutes but repeatedly declined to engage anyone who asked questions, even of an apparently friendly nature, that he felt were not related to his topic _ the use of foreign law by U.S. courts. "I feel really bad about it," said Veronique Rodman, an AEI spokeswoman. "There's no excuse for rudeness."

Topics raised by questioners ranged from U.S. policy in the Middle East to Vice President Dick Cheney's recent hunting expedition during which he shot at a quail but wounded a companion. Scalia and Cheney have hunted together. Scalia generally bars television cameras and sometimes other press from his events. Allowing the talk to be televised live on C-SPAN was a rare move for one of the court's most conservative justices.