I was engaged in a conversation about the whole controversy about saying "Merry Christmas" etc.
This is what I respondeded:

I'm a Jew (although not practicing)...and there are a lot of us in the world who are really tired of everything in the world getting so banal and politically correct. You can't say anything without offending anyone anymore. While the United States is a country of many diverse cultures and religions that invites everybody to "the big table," that doesn't mean that these people need to bulldoze over the prevailing Judeo-Christian culture prevalent un the United States. YOu have a right not to participate in the holiday season and be a Scrooge...but you don't have a right to say that I can't celebrate it...but there is something very beautiful when once a year the world comes together and thinks of the elusive dream of "peace on earth" -- be it with a Hanukah menorah or a yule log in the fireplace. This is not intended as a jab, but apparently you may not have had a positive experience during this time of year, or were raised in an environment of political correctness much in the way the Soviet Russians imposed "Father Frost" and tried unsuccessfully to replace the basic belief systems of millions of people and impose their "religion" of their corrupt and evil ideology.

Where have all the cowboys gone?

This evening I was chatting on line and had someone give me their philosophy of life...and it really gave me pause to think...

I have always lived by the philosophy that my "word' is to be kept. I have always believed that if your "word" is no good then how much better can the rest of you be? I try to do the right things for others that i would have them do for or to me. It isn't always fun...but I think in the long run the "good" will catch up to you.

Why is this concept so hard for some people?

Karma keeps very accurate books.

I have made changes to the way I publish my blogs so that if you wish to receive them automatically when they are published, I will put you on my specific e-mail list that will forward them to you.

"Brokeback Mountain" is a beautiful yet bittersweet study of relationships and how social mores often put a straitjacket on two hearts while still living in the world under wraps. Heath Ledger's performance as "Ennis Del Mar" and Jake Gyllenhall's performance as fellow cowboy "Jack Twist" and Michelle Williams as Ennis' wife rely on complicated interwoven subtexts as Ennis and Jack grow and bond together. "Brokeback Mountain" is not about what some may characterize as "two gay men" who happen to be rough and tough cowboys, but rather, two fragile souls which bond together in a union in the midst of an unforgiving and misunderstanding world. Ang Lee's direction and Gustavo Santaolalla's musical score is sensitive yet never gets in the way of the story. "Brokeback Mountain" has the ingredients to covet all of the awards to win big in the Golden Globes and the Oscars -- especially the hopelessly tightly wound Gordian Knot which drives Heath Ledger's character.

"Brokeback Mountain" gets four popcorn bags out of four.

Copyright © 2005 by Ivars Bezdechi.

I really don't understand why those with more liberal views than I are the first ones to prevent and or demean someone with opposing views than their own....they are always hyperventilating and are prone to heckel those who might have opinions other than their own.. They accuse people on the "right side of the aisle" of hate speech, but they end up doing it themselves by preventing others from expressing themselves. They accuse conservatives of being "intolerant," yet they are being "tolerant" when they preventing an opposing view to be expressed?

Conservative Anne Coulter, in my opinion, is rude and brash. I don't agree with all what she says and how she says it. But just as those at the University of Connecticut put out the red carpet (no pun intended) to whack job Cindy Sheehan (who I really disagree with but defend her right to express her beliefs), they were less than conciliatory to Anne Coulter. What about Anne Coulter's right to freedom of speech? What about her right to express her beliefs? Even Hillary Clinton was the victim of those on the far left who were intolerant of her views.

So many liberal people these days could be accused of being intolerant of diverse views just as they accuse others of being intolerant.... The United States was built on the premise of offering of what has been called a "marketplace of ideas." When others are prevented from expressing themselves, one could look upon this type of behavior as one group trying to have their own monopoly in this so-called "marketplace."

It all comes down to the fact is that by themselves, the Democratic or Republican parties can never win an election without those, so as myself, who are independent. Seeing how the liberals are portraying themselves these days -- I can only suggest that more people would be apt to hear to listen to their point of view if they were more tolerant of others views, not demean them, and not scream so loud.

Hecklers Cause Coulter to Cut UConn Speech

Associated Press
Dec 07 11:14 PM US/Eastern

STORRS, Conn. - Conservative columnist Ann Coulter gave up trying to finish a speech at the University of Connecticut on Wednesday night when boos and jeers from the audience became overwhelming. Coulter cut off the talk after 15 minutes and instead held a half-hour question-and-answer session. "I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am," Coulter told the 2,600 people at Jorgensen Auditorium.

Coulter's appearance prompted protests from several groups, including Students Against Hate and the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center. They criticized her for spreading a message of hate and intolerance. Nearly 100 students gathered inside the Student Union for a rally against Coulter. About a half-dozen people held protest signs outside the auditorium. After a book signing following her appearance, Coulter called the audience's reaction "typical." Coulter, originally from New Canaan, Conn., has a history of bashing Democrats in best-selling books, frequent television appearances and speeches. Harding University in Arkansas dropped her from its lecture series in September, citing her abrasive image. Last April, the president of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota denounced a speech on the campus by Coulter, calling it hateful.

In October 2004, University of Arizona police arrested two men who ran on stage and threw custard pies at Coulter; one of the pies glanced off her shoulder. In her speech at UConn, Coulter called Bill Clinton an "executive buffoon" who won the presidency only because Ross Perot took 19 percent of the vote. She called California Sen. Barbara Boxer a good candidate for the Democrats because "she is a woman and she's learning disabled."

During the question-and-answer session, someone asked Coulter if she really was against a woman's right to vote. "Not having women vote is a joke," she said, reversing comments she has previously made. Eric Knudsen, a 19-year-old sophomore journalism and social welfare major at UConn, didn't attend the speech. "We encourage diverse opinion at UConn, but this is blatant hate speech," said Knudsen, head of Students Against Hate. Kareem Mohni, a 20-year-old junior and a member of a campus Republicans group, said he was disgusted with the Jorgensen crowd. "It really appalled me that we're not able to come together as a group and listen to a different view in a respectful environment," he said.

Hillary makes sense.....again!

(This is turning out to be a disturbing trend for me.)

Hillary Clinton Defends Pro-War Vote

By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press WriterTue Nov 29,10:54 PM ET

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday defended her vote to authorize war in Iraq amid growing unease among liberal Democrats who could determine the potential 2008 presidential candidate's future.

"I take responsibility for my vote, and I, along with a majority of Americans, expect the president and his administration to take responsibility for the false assurances, faulty evidence and mismanagement of the war," the New York senator said in a lengthy letter to thousands of people who have written her about the war.

At the same time, she said the United States must "finish what it started" in Iraq.

Clinton and other hawkish Democrats have come under criticism from liberal anti-war activists, many of whom will hold sway over presidential primary contests. The former first lady, who is up for re-election in 2006, would likely be an early front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination should she decide to seek it. The debate has also put Clinton in a tight spot: generally viewed as pro-military, the former first lady is the most-watched member of a party that is increasingly turning against the war. In her letter to voters, the senator cited prewar assurances from the White House that the United States would use the United Nations to resolve the issue of Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction.

"Based on the information that we have today, Congress never would have been asked to give the president authority to use force against Iraq," she said. Clinton stopped short of saying her vote was a mistake, the political path chosen by two other potential Democratic candidates — former vice presidential candidate John Edwards and Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. "Given years of assurances that the war was nearly over and that the insurgents were in their 'last throes," this administration was either not being honest with the American people or did not know what was going on in Iraq," she wrote.

Clinton's allies billed the letter as her most comprehensive statement on the war to date.

"It is time for the president to stop serving up platitudes and present us with a plan for finishing this war with success and honor," she wrote. Clinton, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said earlier this month it would be a "big mistake" for U.S. troops to pull out immediately. She stuck with that line Tuesday. "America has a big job to do now. We must set reasonable goals to finish what we started and successfully turn over Iraqi security to Iraqis," she wrote.

Cindy Sheehan must be having puppies by now.

I think I've been hyperventilating about the impact of Cindy Sheehan on American politics. I got that feeling after seeing an Associated Press picture of her being woefully ignored by the throngs of people supposedly against the war.

I think she realizes that she has reached the 19th minute of fame afterall.

Label me whatever your heart desires, but this is why I am being a bit more "in your face" these days with those who talk about "Happy Holidays" and why I am openly boyotting stores (aren't they going to tremble!) that don't have the balls to say "Merry Christmas." As an individual with a pretty diverse background myself, as far as I'm concerned, if any Jew, Buddhist, Hindu or any other religious minority has a problem with "Christmas" and live in the United States or Canada (they know that Christians are in the majority), all I can say is that they are nutballs who obviously have serious mental problems (not the handy dandy politically correct "issues") who don't have anything better in their hollow minds to complain about. If it is such a problem, they can go pound sand, as far as I'm concerned. "Christmas" is a traditional world holiday .

Boston "holiday tree" stirs controversy
Fri Nov 25, 2005 5:53 PM ET

By Jason Szep

BOSTON (Reuters) - Boston set off a furor this week when it officially renamed a giant tree erected in a city park a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree." The move drew an angry response from Christian conservatives, including evangelist Jerry Falwell who heckled Boston officials and pressed the city to change the name back. "There's been a concerted effort to steal Christmas," Falwell told Fox Television.

The Nova Scotia logger who cut down the 48-foot (14-meter) tree was indignant and said he would not have donated the tree if he had known of the name change.
"I'd have cut it down and put it through the chipper," Donnie Hatt told a Canadian newspaper. "If they decide it should be a holiday tree, I'll tell them to send it back. If it was a holiday tree, you might as well put it up at Easter." Falwell and the conservative Liberty Counsel led a campaign that threatened to sue anyone who spreads what they see as misinformation about Christmas celebrations in public spaces.

The controversy reflects the legal vulnerability of city and state governments over taxpayer-funded displays of religious icons and concern over crossing the line in the separation between church and state.

Last year, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lit what he called a "Christmas tree" at a state ceremony. The year before, he and former California Gov. Gray Davis presided over ceremonies for the more secular "holiday trees."

In Boston, many residents voiced their dismay over the Web site that promotes a December 1 ceremony for "Boston's Official Holiday Tree Lighting."
Christmas has become too politically correct, said 64 percent of people who responded to an online poll by a CBS television affiliate in Boston.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he would keep calling the Nova Scotia spruce a "Christmas tree" regardless of what it said on the city's official Web site. "I grew up with a Christmas tree, I'm going to stay with a Christmas tree," Menino told reporters on Thursday. But the controversy cast a pall over a long-standing tradition between Boston and Canada. Nova Scotia donates a tree each year to Boston in gratitude for the city's help after an explosion killed about 1,900 people and injured 4,000 others in Halifax in 1917.

Well it would seem that the hyperventilating whack job Cindy Sheehan is sooooo trying to turn in a few chits so she would turn back the clock so she would only be at the 13 minute mark of fame....after already getting to the 17 minute mark of the usual 15 minutes of fame allowed for most amateur celebrities/amateur politicians.

Starting to re-realize that Al Queda needs to be DECIMATED so they are not allowed to continue to spread and practice their Fasci-Islamic doctrine (nothing to do with traditional Islamic beliefs -- just as some right-wing Fasci-Christians clearly pervert the belief system expounded by the Bible), I support the war in Iraq. Just as Adolf Hitler and the Nazis had to be decimated as they tried to spread their evilness, we must do the same in the Middle East. If Americans would be more environmentally conscious and not put such a pressure on oil production with their Hummers and other fuel-inefficient automobiles and unnecessary use of electricity, chances are this war would not be necessary. If the Fasci-Islamics are allowed to prevail, Americans and the western world will surely reap the result and end up paying $10 a gallon for gasoline. These Muslims will not have won the war with old gun powder methods of war, but will have won an economic war.

Cindy Sheehan and her brand of merry lemmings are political amateurs who are intoxicated with the lights, camera and action of the media. They have clearly become quite enamored with themselves and their faulty logic. They have taken a few facts, screwed them to fit their ideology, and want to make it the truth.

These whack jobs are screaming and yelling about 2,100+ soldier deaths in Iraq, but they say nothing about the 16,137 people murdered in the U.S. in 2004, 94,635 incidents of rape, and 854,911 incidents of aggravated assault, or the 16,652 people killed on U.S. Highways because of drunk drivers? Huh? Or maybe the nearly 59,000 soldiers killed in Viet Nam. War is Hell. The soldiers who have given their life in the pursuit of freedom volunteered to serve their country...just as Casey Sheehan did...voluntarily.

Sheehan Back in Texas for War Protest

By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer

Fri Nov 25, 1:41 AM ET

The fallen soldier's mother whose August vigil near President Bush's ranch reinvigorated the anti-war movement returned to Texas to resume her protest Thursday as the president celebrated Thanksgiving a few miles away. "I feel happy to be back here with all my friends ... but I'm heartbroken that we have to be here again," Cindy Sheehan said as she arrived at an airport in nearby Waco. "We will keep pressing and we won't give up until our troops are brought home."

Sheehan was largely unknown when she set up camp outside Bush's ranch during the president's August vacation. It became a 26-day vigil that drew supporters from across the country and national attention. Sheehan, who has continued encouraging anti-war demonstrations, asked protesters to return to Crawford this week during Bush's family Thanksgiving gathering. The protesters' camp is on the same 1-acre private lot that a sympathetic landowner let them use in August.

For the holiday Thursday, more than 100 war protesters ate a traditional Iraqi meal — salmon, lentils and rice with almonds — saying they wanted to call attention to the civilians killed in the war. More than 2,100 U.S. soldiers have also died since the war began in March 2003. "It's significant because the people of Iraq are suffering under our occupation, and for people in America it's business as usual stuffing themselves on fat turkeys," said Tammara Rosenleaf, whose husband is an Army soldier to be deployed in a few weeks. "We in good conscience cannot behave that way while our troops are over there."

Dear Diary,

I'm feeling very alone tonight. A sense of ennui* seem to be overwhelming me tonight. I'm glad I got out to the chiropractor this afternoon...still...I just am going through some traditional holiday blues.

It is almost as though would so love to be able to "check out" or be put in some sort of drug-induced coma for the next seven weeks while American consumerism goes on "tilt." This is the time of year when we are belted left-and-right by shallow Christmas ads with their "Merry Christmas" and the very politically correct adulations of "Happy Holidays" accompanied by worn out Christmas tunes...ooops "holiday" music.

I think part of my "Scrooge" attitude is coming about that this is the culmination of a totally crappy year. While there were a few good things (can't be totally negative here), it has been a year of lost personal friendships, lost professional opportunities, lost family relationships, and mostly the serious illness of a very very close family member whom I have been caregiving now for six months. (I guess one positive thing is that although a personal friendship blew up into a billion pieces and I still don't know why -- at least now I have out of my life a very sick and twisted individual with their untreated bi-polar illness.) It would seem that some of the links to my past keep disappearing one by one. My attitude is also because I'm feeling exhausted from six months of constant caregiving. I'm not complaining about doing the caregiving...I'm just a bit burned out with the cleaning, driving, calling docs, cooking, regular household chores, trying to run the semblence of a business and career, trying to take a little bit of time for myself from all of the above.

The whole adage of it being pointless to cry over spilled milk is so true. But I guess my whole negativity is fueled by the ominous responsibility of being a caregiver, but realizing that I'm going to be -- for all intents and purposes -- totally alone and kind of forgotten over Thanksgiving and Christmas for the very first time...kind of rekindling some childhood imagined fears. Thoughts and memories of happy holidays past resonating in my head could very well become deafeningly overwhelming.

It's not necessarily that I have a real choice (my conscience sometimes can get deafeningly loud)...but I'll have to survive...I have no choice....and at least I once again get to keep in practice of maintaining my chronic stiff upper lip as the world goes by. As usual.

"She had gone back to Tara once in fear and defeat and she had emerged from its sheltering walls strong and armed for victory..."

"With the spirit of her people who would not know defeat, even when it stared them in the face, she raised her chin..."

"I'll think of it all tomorrow, at Tara. I can stand it then. After all, tomorrow is another day."

(Liberally paraphrased from Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With The Wind.")

* ennui: a feeling of overwhelming weariness, listlessness and dissatisfaction.

This jst proves my point that there is no different if someone is an alcoholic, or is hooked on smoking a marijuana joint.........or is hooked on cigarettes.....

Smoker tried to open airliner door

Monday, November 21, 2005; Posted: 11:52 a.m. EST (16:52 GMT)

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- A French woman who is terrified of flying admitted in an Australian court Monday that she drunkenly tried to open an airplane door mid-flight to smoke a cigarette. Sadrine Helene Sellies, 34, was placed on a good behavior bond after pleading guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court to endangering the safety of an aircraft. Sellies was traveling on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to the east coast city of Brisbane on Saturday when the incident occurred at the start of a three-week Australian vacation with her husband, the court heard. She walked toward one of the aircraft's emergency exits with an unlit cigarette and a lighter in her hand and began tampering with the door, prosecutors said. But a flight attendant intervened and took Sellies back to her seat. Sellies was arrested and charged by police on arrival at Brisbane airport.

Defense lawyer Helen Shilton told the court Sellies was terrified of flying and had taken sleeping tablets with alcohol before takeoff. Shilton said Sellies has no memory of what happened on the flight and that she has a history of sleepwalking. But Magistrate Gordon Dean sternly warned the woman: "You must understand, if you are on a plane you must behave yourself."

Sellies, who did not speak in court and was aided by a translator, was placed on a 1,000 Australian dollar (US$734; euro623) bond -- meaning she will have to pay that amount if she commits another offense in the next 12 months.

QUOTE OF THE DAY!

George Bush is single handedly to blame for the condition of the world today! He is solely responsible for the worlds suffering and oppression. He is the cause of all hatred and war and not since Hitler has the world seen such a face of evil. (Saddam Hussein)

I couldn't say it any better....

WMD not only reason

By J.D. CrouchWed Nov 16, 6:44 AM ET

Some administration critics believe Operation Iraqi Freedom was strictly about weapons of mass destruction. The reality is that Saddam Hussein's WMD programs were only one reason for the liberation of Iraq. (Related: Our view)

We went to war for several reasons:

• Addressing Congress after 9/11, President Bush declared that those who harbor terrorists are as guilty as the terrorists themselves. Iraq was a state sponsor of terror and openly supported suicide bombers.

• In 2002, the U.N. Security Council unanimously found Iraq in violation of 16 prior resolutions about disarming. Iraq repeatedly fired on U.S. and coalition planes patrolling the "No Fly Zones" that protected Iraqis from Saddam. The president acted only when it became clear that the U.N. would not pass another resolution or take action to enforce previous resolutions supported by the past three U.S. presidents.

• President Bush often cited Saddam's murder of hundreds of thousands. Saddam used WMD against Iraq's Kurds and invaded Kuwait.

In February 2003, before troops set foot in Iraq, the president stated: "A liberated Iraq can show the power of freedom to transform that vital region, by bringing hope and progress into the lives of millions."

Moreover, the joint resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq - which 77 senators of both parties voted for - explicitly cited Saddam's support for terrorism, his repeated violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, his brutality against his own people, and the promotion of democracy as justifications for the use of military force.

Coalition forces did not find WMD. That in no way minimizes the threat Saddam posed. Weapons inspector David Kay testified that Iraq "certainly had the intentions at a point to resume their programs." As his successor, Charles Duelfer, later explained, Saddam was purposefully gaming the sanctions system with the intent of restarting his weapons programs when the world looked away.

The WMD intelligence was wrong, and the president has acknowledged that. But it is equally wrong to ignore the threat Saddam posed. The world is safer today because Saddam is no longer in power.

J.D. Crouch is deputy national security adviser to the president.

It just occurred to me and just bolsters my point that Republicans are no worse (or better) than Democrats. On one hand you have someone like Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens as the pork barrel meister (he got a $500,000 federal subsidy for his son who is chairman of the Alaska Fish Marketing board -- in a U.S. Homeland Security budget bill to paint the image of a fish on an Alaska Airlines jet), who, in order to bring temporary prosperity to Alaska is so intent on drilling holes in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge so Alaska looks like Swiss cheese, to Democrats like Sen. Robert Kennedy who keeps harping and bitches Republican on the subject of global warming yet drives a Lincoln Navigator.

Those in power who make righteous pronouncements need to practice what they preach.

Oh my...so nice to see when Sen. Hillary Clinton becomes a fence sitter between the Republicans and Democrats to make herself appeal to a larger possible electorate.
Haarez-Israel News reports that Sen. Clinton supports the building of a tall fence on the West Bank, and the plight of the Palestinians:

Sen. Clinton: I support W. Bank fence, PA must fight terrorism
By Lily Galili and Roni Singer, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton said Sunday that she supports the separation fence Israel is building along the edges of the West Bank, and that the onus is on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism.

"This is not against the Palestinian people," Clinton, a New York Democrat, said during a tour of a section of the barrier being built around Jerusalem.

"This is against the terrorists. The Palestinian people have to help to prevent terrorism. They have to change the attitudes about terrorism."

This is when Sen. Clinton was "First Lady" Hillary Clinton and practiced diplomacy "without a license" when she attended a dinner with Mrs. Arafat and didn't rebuke comments how the "Israeli's were practicing infanticide" against Palestinians.

Typical Democrat!

While former vice president Al Gore drives around in his beefed up Lincoln Navigator SUV (or what political satirist Bill Maher refers as a "FUV") and Sen. John Kerry's family (he I guess wouldn't never drive it) drives around in a soccer mom SUV, he makes self-righteous great pronouncements about global warming:

"What changed in the US with hurricane Katrina was a feeling that we have entered a period of consequences and that bitter cup will be offered to us again and again until we exert our moral authority and respond appropriately," he says. "I don't want to diminish the threat of terrorism at all, it is extremely serious, but on a long-term global basis, global warming is the most serious problem we are facing."

www.theage.com.au, November 14, 2005.

I find it so inconceivable that the one president who is considered by many as one of the most incompetent presidents ever -- and rousingly and ignominiously thrown out of office after four years DARES to speak up. Not only that, I think it is quite telling that he was so ignored during the worldwide fundraising effort for the South Pacific Tsunami disaster with Presidents Clinton and Bush (the elder), and the fundraising efforts by the two former presidents in the aftermaths of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

While his efforts with Habitat for Humanity project is laudable, he really should shut up. This man just wants some headlines before he kicks the bucket. Honestly it would seem that nobody has had the guts to tell Jimmy Carter that he is not inline with America and is constantly being reminded in so many ways that his time is over in the public limelight, and the HE IS, "the weakest link."

Jimmy Carter: Bush not in line with American Values

Kansas City, MO - President Jimmy Carter says President Bush's policies conflict with American values. More than a thousand people packed into Unity Temple on the Plaza for the former president to sign a copy of his new book "Our Endangered Values." Reviews call the book biting political commentary, despite the fact that there's an unwritten rule in American politics that former presidents do not criticize current ones. Carter says he wrote this book reluctantly, but did so because he just couldn't stay silent anymore. "In the last 5 years there's been a dramatic and disturbing and radical change in the values of this country," Carter said. For example, he says peace is an American value, not pre-emptive war: "we don't wait until our country is threatened," Carter said, "we publicly announced our new policy is to attack a county, invade a country, bomb a county." He says another American value is human rights. For decades the US has supported the Geneva convention saying we won't torture prisoners, but he says now "our senators are voting to keep torture. It's inconceivable this would happen in the United States of America."

I admit it...I'm addicted... Addicted to talking on my cell phone when I'm driving.

Today the car charger broke and I ended up turning on the radio, etc (not that there was anything really on). It felt so strange having both hands on the steering wheel.

I cringe everytime Christians put themselves up for ridicule when buffoons like Pat Robertson and others start to go public. It makes you want to never admit that you're a Believer.

Pat Robertson Warns Pa. Town of Disaster

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (AP) - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson warned residents of a rural Pennsylvania town Thursday that disaster may strike there because they "voted God out of your city" by ousting school board members who favored teaching intelligent design. All eight Dover, Pa., school board members up for re-election were defeated Tuesday after trying to introduce "intelligent design" — the belief that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power — as an alternative to the theory of evolution.

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club." Eight families had sued the district, claiming the policy violates the constitutional separation of church and state. The federal trial concluded days before Tuesday's election, but no ruling has been issued.

Later Thursday, Robertson issued a statement saying he was simply trying to point out that "our spiritual actions have consequences." "God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in his eye forever," Robertson said. "If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them."

Robertson made headlines this summer when he called on his daily show for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

In October 2003, he suggested that the State Department be blown up with a nuclear device. He has also said that feminism encourages women to "kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."

I'm just all skippy happy seeing how normal words are having their meanings being changed out of political correctness or out of trying to be saccharine tutti-fruity "positive."

These days, everybody is a FRIEND....but never an acquaintance...

FRIEND (noun)
1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
2. A person whom one knows
3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
4. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement: friends of the clean air movement.

ACQUAINTANCE (noun)
1. Knowledge of a person acquired by a relationship less intimate than friendship.
2. A relationship based on such knowledge: struck up an acquaintance with our new neighbor.
3. A person whom one knows.
4. Knowledge or information about something or someone: has a passing acquaintance with Chinese history.


Or everything is an "issue" -- not a "problem." A computer doesn't start or crashes -- then it is always an "issue." A person has cancer and then it becomes somehow lessened when the idiom "health issue" is used. Or maybe it should be a "health situation." Or maybe when you have flat tire things suddenly become an "issue" with the car as though getting stuck on the side of a freeway is being made somewhat more pleasant.

ISSUE (noun)
1. A point or matter of discussion, debate, or dispute: legal and moral issues.
2. A matter of public concern: debated economic issues.
3. A misgiving, objection, or complaint: had issues with the plan to change the curriculum.
4. The essential point; crux: the issue of how to provide adequate child care.
5. A culminating point leading to a decision: bring a case to an issue.

PROBLEM (noun)
1. A question to be considered, solved, or answered: math problems; the problem of how to arrange transportation.
2. A situation, matter, or person that presents perplexity or difficulty: was having problems breathing; considered the main problem to be his boss. See Usage Note at
3. A misgiving, objection, or complaint: I have a problem with his cynicism.

(adjective)
1. Difficult to deal with or control: a problem child.
2. Dealing with a moral or social problem: a problem play.


The funniest thing was when a person of "African American" descent got mad at me when I didn't refer to him as a "black" American. Or how supposedly one can't use the word "oriental" in referring to a person from Asia without getting their knickers all bloodied.

I had a somewhat interesting experience this evening going to my local VONS (Safeway) store. There was a white middle class guy who could have been 18 or 19 years old, was expanding his earlobes with some rather large earlobe plugs, wore a pair of black/white low cut Chuck Taylor basketball shoes, and a pair of Dickies shorts which he was precariously trying to keep up wearing them so one could see a potential "plumbers crack." He was also wearing a baseball cap cocked to the side. He was trying to be so ghetto. Yet I could only think here he was trying to do a so-called "hip=hop" style

All I could think was....."sheesh, he's so early 2004."

Meanwhile the Republicans go around saying that Americans have a right to drive their behemoth SUVs...or what political pundit Bill Maher aptly called, "FUVs."

Senate Backs Drilling in Alaska Refuge

By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON

Senate opponents to drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge failed Thursday to strip the measure from a massive budget package as supporters of exploration argued that the oil is needed to help break America of its import habit.

Environmentalists, who believe strongly the refuge should continue to be off limits to oil companies to protect the area's wildlife, had acknowledged that it was a long shot to get the provision killed and now are concentrating on defeating the overall
budget bill.

A vote on the budget measure, which includes a myriad of spending cuts from food stamps to welfare funds, was expected later in the day.

An amendment offered by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that would have removed drilling authority for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), was defeated 51-48. She called the drilling proposal a gimmick that will have little impact on oil or gasoline prices, or U.S. energy security.

Later the Senate in an 86-13 vote, required that none of the oil from ANWR can be exported. Otherwise "there is no assurance that even one drop of Alaskan oil will get to hurting Americans," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a drilling opponent who nevertheless sponsored the no- export provision.

It is really nice to hear when politicians "cut to the chase" on a particular issue ailing a society. Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman (a democrat) has gone on the record suggesting that grafitti "artists" should have their thumbs cut off on television. Of course some university academic got their tampon stuck in the wrong direction at this rather "cutting" suggestion by Mayor Goodman. These academics are typically people who when you ask them what time it is will tell you how to build a clock.

Mayor: Sever Thumbs of Graffiti Artists



RENO, Nev. (AP) - Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has suggested that those who deface freeways with graffiti should have their thumbs cut off on television. Goodman, appearing Wednesday on the ``Nevada Newsmakers'' television show, said, ``In the old days in France, they had beheading of people who commit heinous crimes.``You know, we have a beautiful highway landscaping redevelopment in our downtown. We have desert tortoises and beautiful paintings of flora and fauna. These punks come along and deface it. ``I'm saying maybe you put them on TV and cut off a thumb,'' the mayor added. ``That may be the right thing to do.''

Goodman also suggested that whippings or canings should be brought back for children who get into trouble. ``I also believe in a little bit of corporal punishment going back to the days of yore, where examples have to be shown,'' Goodman said. ``I'm dead serious,'' said Goodman, adding, ``Some of these (children) don't learn. You have got to teach them a lesson, and this is coming from a criminal defense lawyer.'' ``They would get a trial first,'' he added.

Another panelist on the show, Howard Rosenberg, a state university system regent, responded by saying that cutting off the thumbs of taggers won't solve the problem and Goodman should ``use his head for something other than a hat rack.''

As someone whose car veers slightly to the right of center, it is kind of fun for me to watch Cindy Sheehan bitch slap Hillary, and now rap star 50 cent bitch slap fellow rapper Kanye West. Someone has to start speaking out when stupid people make stupid comments, such as Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan saying that George Bush intentionally had the flood levees blown up so that the inhabitants of New Orleans would be killed.

50 CENT SLAMS KANYE'S 'BUSH IS RACIST' COMMENT

Rapper 50 CENT has lashed out at fellow hip-hop star KANYE WEST for accusing US President GEORGE W BUSH of racism in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The IN DA CLUB star believes human intervention could not have prevented the effects of the hurricane, which killed over a thousand people in the US gulf states in August (05), and sees no point in reprimanding the President for something which was beyond his control.

He says, "The New Orleans disaster was meant to happen. It was an act of God.

"I think people responded to it the best way they can.

"What KANYE WEST was saying, I don't know where that came from."

I guess it was a shocking experience for all!

Texas Pastor Electrocuted During Baptism

Mon Oct 31,12:42 AM ET

A pastor performing a baptism was electrocuted inside his church Sunday morning after adjusting a nearby microphone while standing in water, a church employee said.

The Rev. Kyle Lake, 33, was stepping into the baptistery as he reached out for the microphone, which produced an electric shock, said University Baptist Church community pastor Ben Dudley. Water in a baptistery usually reaches above the waist, said Byron Weathersbee, interim university chaplain at Baylor University.

Lake was pronounced dead at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center, nursing supervisor Pat Mahl said. The woman being baptized apparently had not stepped into the water and was not seriously injured. Pastors at University Baptist Church routinely use a microphone during baptisms, said Jamie Dudley, the wife of Ben Dudley and a business administrator at the church.

"He was grabbing the microphone so everyone could hear," she said. "It's the only way you can be loud enough." About 800 people attended the morning service, which was larger than normal because it was homecoming weekend at nearby Baylor University, Dudley said. Lake had been at the church for nine years, the last seven as pastor. He had a wife, Jennifer, a 5-year-old daughter and two 3-year-old sons.

At a remembrance attended by about 1,000 people Sunday night at First Baptist Church, Ben Dudley told the UBC congregation that they would move forward as a church. "I don't know how, when, why, where or what's going to happen, but we will continue as a church in the community because that is what Kyle would have wanted," he said.

America's poster child for the whacked out mental patients is at it again, so says ABC News. One can only hope that maybe Cindy Sheehan will also...

A) Allow someone to tie her mouth shut
B) Some millionaire will donate sessions for her with a psychiatrist
C) Come to the realization that while she acts up and sullies the memories of her son, that nobody really cares: she is now at the 17 minute of her 15 minutes of fame.
D) Could maybe get a job as a circus sideshow
E) All of the above

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cindy Sheehan, the military mother who made her son's death in Iraq a rallying point for the anti-war movement, plans to tie herself to the White House fence to protest the milestone of 2,000 U.S. military deaths in Iraq.

"I'm going to go to Washington, D.C. and I'm going to give a speech at the White House, and after I do, I'm going to tie myself to the fence and refuse to leave until they agree to bring our troops home," Sheehan said in a telephone interview last week as the milestone approached.

"And I'll probably get arrested, and when I get out, I'll go back and do the same thing," she said. The death toll among U.S. military forces since the March 2003 invasion stood at 1,996 on Sunday

Pres. Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment was for Republicans "not to eat thy fellow Republicans." It is fun though to see when "liberals" do it, especially in the case of the whacked-out left-wing bird brain she-bitch Cindy Sheehan when she tore into the other she-bitch Sen. Hillary Clinton in an article which appeared on the news website "WorldNet Daily."

By Joe Kovacs
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Cindy Sheehan, the so-called "peace mom" on a crusade to end U.S. involvement in the Iraq war, is publicly blasting Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., for her continued support of the ongoing conflict.

"I think she is a political animal who believes she has to be a war hawk to keep up with the big boys," Sheehan writes in an open letter. "I would love to support Hillary for president if she would come out against the travesty in Iraq. But I don't think she can speak out against the occupation, because she supports it. I will not make the mistake of supporting another pro-war Democrat for president again: As I won't support a pro-war Republican."

"I believe that the intelligent thing for Democrats to do for 2006 and 2008 would be to come out strongly and correctly against the botched, bungled, illegal, and immoral occupation of Iraq," Sheehan added.

During the noon hour I happened to turn on the TV and what to my wonder....Martha Stewart's new TV show is on. It was past ridiculous...Martha extols a new mag she is publishing called "Body+Soul." She talks about it and then says, "It's a wonderful new magazine which all of our audience members are going to receive." The crowd goes delirous...clap-clap-clap, hoot-hoot-hoot. Then she goes into how she washes her face in the evening.... "With all of my media engagements, posing for magazine and book covers, I'm under tremendous pressure on keeping myself looking great." Once again, the crowd goes delirous...clap-clap-clap, hoot-hoot-hoot. The segment ends in about five minutes and then she comes back and says, "We've assembled a gift package of the Johnson's Baby Oil, Galbol-90 from Yon-ka, and a Martha Stewart face cloth from Martha Stewart Everyday from K-Mart." Once again, the crowd goes delirous... yayyyyyyyy.....clap-clap-clap, hoot-hoot-hoot.

I hit the OFF button on my remote....not soon enough.

A true friend

Accepts you the way you are, doesn't doubt you
Won't give up on you, believes in you no matter what
Never judges you, understands you even when you make no sense
Holds you close at heart, picks you up when you are down
Wipes away your tears, offers support and calms your fears.

Is always proud of you, walks beside you with head held high
Warms your soul, values your importance and gives unconditionally
Speaks fondly of you, loves you for the person you are
BUT pulls you back into reality when needed....

I really have to get this off my chest:

By and large my whining and complaints to myself, but I'm past being mad and upset with people who go out of their way to make plans to do something with me, then back out without telling me totally inconsiderate of my plans. This has happened now two weekends in a row.

In that I'm a caregiver, I don't get a lot of opportunities to get out of the house. Getting out of the house most of the time is either being at a doctor's office, going to VONS or Walmart. For over a year I've been chatting with an individual who calls the east coast his home. About 6-7 months ago he announces that he is coming to San Diego on business and makes good and sure that I will be available to do dinner, show him around town and such, to the point that he calls me at 3:45 in the morning on the day he is supposed to show up in town to make sure that I'm available...which I have skewed everything around to follow through. First dinner gets cancelled on Thursday night. Then we work towards getting together on Friday for dinner, keeps me on tender hooks for several hours, and then cancels at the last minute again leaving me high-and-dry without dinner...so I ended up having a late dinner which usually leaves me a bit queasy.... So much for that. Then all of the one hundred and one excuses he gave me why we couldn't get together.

UPDATE ON DRAMA #1: Friendship brought to a quiet close.


Then for a week prior to last weekend I have some new friends who have just moved to San Diego who make sure that I and a friend will be available for dinner. I hear nothing to the contrary that anything would be cancelled, yet when I call to see what time we were supposed to be getting together, I am told that the person's partner is not in town (the one who made the initial arrangement) had left for Palm Springs to babysit a friend's dog....never saying anything to me....

UPDATE ON DRAMA #2: All is well....apologies exchanged, misunderstanding solved and acknowledged all is well again...and I couldn't be happier. It turns out I didn't get the whole story as they assumed I knew about the sudden situation and the ensuing miscoordination. These people are QUALITY people.


The lack of consideration by some people is just galling to me...and really incredibly irritates me....

Although.....my frustration pales compared to this poor bloke's situation:

Man getting tattoo dies after dizziness, fall through glass

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A 28-year-old man getting a tattoo at a parlor in Brooklyn died after getting dizzy, falling headfirst into a glass case and cutting his neck, police said.

Juaquin Leger was pronounced dead at a hospital Thursday afternoon, police said.

Calls to the Buzz tattoo shop that was identified by police as the shop where the man fell went unanswered Friday. Police said the death was under investigation.

Originally published on October 14, 2005

I really getting to the point that I'm sick and tired of "people of the cloth" who impose their views on others. Where did their divine intelligence come from?

I'm way more spiritual than to follow some religious dogma. I have seen how "religion" is used to control people and destroy them if they don't go by the word of one individual by what they believe is the truth, etc. Christiandom with all of its "flavors" a bit like Baskin Robbins...it all comes down to necessarily to goodness but marketing....seeing how one sect tries to lure the sheep from one to another. Just because someone puts on a dark robe with colorful scarves and perhaps sings perhaps a little less out of tune doesn't make them more Godly.

Because of "religion" so many people have to hide who they really are to so many because of the "fear" of "judgement" and reprisal from others which has been inculcated with a certain belief from others.

My relationship with God is a personal one... I live life by the Ten Commandments and my conscience...and that is fine by me.

Oh man, this is sure to get people to watch that STUPID, IDIOTIC ABC-TV new series "Commander In Chief." Again, this is a case of the Hollywood elite thinking the millions of minions who are not boozed up and drugged up really care what they think..... Ah yes, the world according to whacked out Cindy Sheehan, pigged out Barbra Streisand, and now...drugged and drunk over-the-hill actor Donald Sutherland.

'COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF' SUTHERLAND: BUSH WILL DESTROY OUR LIVES

Choking back tears, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF star Donald Sutherland warned this week: President Bush "will destroy our lives!"

The star of the new ABC drama, which follows the first woman President of the United States, lashed out at the real White House during a dramatic sit down interview with the BBC.

Sutherland ripped Bush and his administration for the war and Hurricane Katrina fallout.

"They were inept. The were inadequate to the task, and they lied," Sutherland charged.

"And they were insulting, and they were vindictive. And they were heartless. They did not care. They do not care. They do not care about Iraqi people. They do not care about the families of dead soldiers. They only care about profit."

At one point during the session, Sutherland started crying: "We stolen our children's future... We have children. We have children. How dare we take their legacy from them. How dare we. It's shameful. What we are doing to our world."

Sutherland went on rip Karl Rove's "methods and means" against people like Cindy Sheehan.

"We're back to burning books in Germany," Sutherland said of NBC's editing out of Kanye West's comment on Bush during a hurricane relief telethon.

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you'll be criticized anyway.
You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't."
---Eleanor Roosevelt

Notwithstanding that I'm soooooo Hurricane Katrina'd and Rita'd out, I'm really coming to my own conclusion that it will NEVER rise again.

The time has come that we should simply fill it in and start a new city somewhere else that doesn't take Billions of $'s to create the same mess... Not only that, I see all of the bickering between all of the politicians both Republican and Democrats...and that by itself is going to impede any progress towards a rebuild.

Your Birthdate: September 2

Your birth on the 2nd day of the month adds a degree of emotion, sensitivity, and intuition to your life. The 2 is a very social number allowing you to make friends easily and quickly. Yet you are apt to have a rather nervous air in the company of a large group. You have a warmhearted nature and emotional understanding that constantly seeks affection. You are more prone than most to become depressed and moody, as emotions can turn inward and cause anxiety and mental turmoil. It can be hard for you to bounce back to reality when depression sets in.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I really thought better of Bette Midler....and this is why I will NEVER be a Democrat... I do not want to be associated with a party that has no class or sense of modicum in expressing its dissent:

Rolling Stone Magazine website

Political chatter was kept to a minimum at both events, with performers mostly sticking to the program: championing aid for New Orleans. But a few artists angrily denounced government officials for their slow response to Katrina's devastation. "I Wish New Orleans was dry and Washington was underwater," said Tom Waits. Bette Midler had even stronger words: "I got a letter from the Republican Party the other day. I wrote back, 'Go fuck yourself.'" She then added, "George Bush is a fan of mine -- he came to see me in the Seventies. His coke dealer brought him."

Phoooey!

Gov. Schwarzenegger will not sign a measure legalizing gay marriage....and I agree with him. If he would approve of it, he would be going against Prop 22 where the people have already given their vote several years ago.

Secondly, this "marriage" would not be worth the paper it is printed on because the other states would not be recognizing it. Until questions about finances, adoption, alimony, property rights are answered when a couple divorces are answered...then we can talk about "marriage." Right now, gays and lesbians think they can have one right but not the responsibilities which are tantamount to a true "marriage."

FAME! I'm gonna live foooooh---evah!

Upfront I will say that I have not had the biggest regard for the loud breast clubbing chanteuse Celine Dion. I commend her for making a generous contribution to the Hurricane Katrina relief...but after that she should just f***** shut up and sing "My Heart Will Go On" while being dragged mid-air about the Celine Dion Theater in Las Vegas:

Dion slams US authorities over Katrina response

07/09/2005 - 08:52:09

Canadian singer Celine Dion has launched a scathing attack on US President George W Bush's Iraq policy, while criticising his country's slow response to the southern states devastated by last week's Hurricane Katrina.

Dion, who has donated $1m (€7.99m) to victims of the storm, grew visibly emotional as she told of her frustration watching tens of thousands of survivors wait days for aid on CNN's Larry King Live TV show on Saturday.

The Think Twice hitmaker fumed: "I open (sic) the television, there's people still there, waiting to be rescued, and for me it's not acceptable.

"I know there's reasons for it, I'm sorry to say, I'm being rude, but I don't want to hear those reasons."

Dion criticised authorities for arresting looters in New Orleans, Louisiana, saying they should make rescuing the stranded victims a priority.

She said: "Oh, they're stealing 20 pair of jeans or they're stealing television sets. Who cares? They're not going to go too far with it. Maybe those people are so poor, some of the people who do that they're so poor they've never touched anything in their lives. Let them touch those things for once."

Dion referred to Bush's controversial war in Iraq, saying: "How come it's so easy to send planes in another country to kill everyone in a second, to destroy lives? We need to be there right now to rescue the rest of the people."

If the horrific pictures from New Orleans aren't bad enough, you know have the politicians trying to make themselves self important. A case in point are the most irrelevant Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson grandstanding and trying to incite hatred by saying the delay in Federal help to rescue the residents of New Orleans was because President Bush hates black people, yada, yada, yada.

What about someone calling them on their THEIR racism towards white people?

Now this sounds legitimate through my Yahoo Messenger "left messages" window:

f71k (8/31/2005 12:18:23 PM): Paypal Administrator: We are upgrading out services please Check your account and see if it got problem contact us thank you http://www.geocities.com/paypal_system_reactive/login.htm

If it is printed in the Weekly World News, it must be true...

OOPS! DRUGSTORE CONFUSES SUPER GLUE WITH HEMORRHOID CREAM!
Tuesday August 30, 2005

TURNER JENSEN, a pharmacist in Skyfine, Wyo., got into a sticky spot after he confused Super Glue with hemorrhoid cream, says an E.R. physician who treated several victims.

"All over town, people were sealing their anuses shut, while school kids were crying because they couldn't make their projects stick together," says Dr. Ryan Seasee.

Delroy Montgomery, a 45-year-old rodeo rider, was one victim of the mistake.

"My 'roids were burning, and I was scheduled to ride the bucking bull," says Montgomery. "Dr. Jensen gave me the tube and I took it home and applied it liberally, hoping for that soothing relief."

When it came time for his turn at the rodeo, Montgomery mounted the bull, but quickly blacked out from anal pain. An ambulance rushed him to Our Lady Of Dripping Blood Hospital, where he joined the crowd of perplexed patients.

Mrs. Edna Dalloway was one of them. "I suffer from chronic diarrhea," says the 65-year-old librarian. "After I used the lotion Mr. Jensen gave me, I couldn't even break wind! Before I could get to the hospital my stomach blew up so big it looked like I was nine months pregnant."

Dr. Seasee examined the patients and immediately discovered the problem. He easily dissolved the glue with solvent.

The red-faced pharmacist apologized to the residents.

"I have to keep the glue behind the counter because of the kids huffing it," explains Jensen. "I'm so sorry for the mix-up."

Your Hidden Talent

Your natural talent is interpersonal relations and dealing with people. You communicate well and are able to bring disparate groups together. Your calming presence helps everything go more smoothly. People crave your praise and complements.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 8 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

I am: 43% Republican.

"Congratulations, you're a swing voter. When they say 'Soccer Mom', they mean you. Every Democratic ad on the TV set was made just for your viewing enjoyment. Don't you feel special?"

Are You A Republican?

It has been painful for me to watch the coverage about Cindy Sheehan -- the mother who is publicly grieving the death of her soldier son in Iraq. She is now publishing a blog on Ariana Huffington's left-wing gadfly website. They invited comments and I provided the following:

Cindy, it so sad to see you being castigated by the right wingers and manipulated by the leftwingers while you are grieving for the death of your son. You, nor is anyone in a position to say whether the Iraq war was justified, a lie, or whatever. History is 50 years will be the judge. You have no right to demand to meet with President Bush nor to dictate world policy "in a world according to Cindy Sheehan."

The bottom line is that your son was a patriot who heard the calling of his country not once...but twice. Would Casey be happy that you are acting as you are? I think not. In fact, I think he would be very embarrased and hurt. Rather than openly venting your grief, you need to work with a therapist and work through your obvious psychological issues.

Cindy, while you have been in the media spotlight on our TV sets for the past weeks, the fact is that you have reached the 14th minute of your 15 minutes of fame. The press is getting tired of you. The American public is getting tired of you screaming and yelling. In six months you will be an item on a CNN Year In Review program and a mere memory in the back of the public's collective mind. You need to deal with your grief. You will never get over the death of your son. A professional psychologist/psychiatrist with an emphasis in grief counseling will help you deal with your demons.

That's the way Casey would hope that you would remember him.

I'm coming to realize that there are a lot more people upset about the political correctness (read: lack of honesty) when it comes to tolerance about other cultures and their idiosyncrasies. It would almost seem that we are having to respect and kowtow to other cultures while they are allowed not to respect OUR cultures. I received this following e-mail from a friend of mine in England via Australia:

Not very PC, but . . . . . !

This is quite sensible for an Australian, don't you think? What a shame that this sort of thing isn't said in the UK too



Subject: The Right to Leave

Australia - The Right to Leave

Our Country - YOU have the right - the right to leave !

After hearing that the State of South Australia changed its opinion and let a Muslim woman have her picture on her driver's license with her face covered, this prompted an editorial written by an Australian citizen published in an Australian newspaper.

Quote:

IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the "politically correct" crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others. I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to Australia.

However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of Australia being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Australians, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, Learn the language!

"In God We Trust" is our National Motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, Because God is part of our culture.

If the Southern Cross offends you, or you don't like "A Fair Go", then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, And we really don't care how you did things where you came from.

This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our National Motto, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, "THE RIGHT TO LEAVE". If you aren't happy here then f#@* off! We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted. Pretty easy really, when you think about it. I figure if we all keep passing this to our friends (and enemies), it will also, sooner or later get back to the complainers, lets all try, please

No matter how many times you receive it... please forward it to all you know.

Asswipes.

Frist Subject of Anti-Stem Cell TV Ads

By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 30 minutes ago

An evangelical group has begun a weeklong advertising campaign in Iowa criticizing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for backing expanded embryonic stem cell research.

"We know Iowa is a way to get everybody's attention," said Gary Cass, head of the Florida-based Center for Reclaiming America. "Our hope is Senator Frist will hear from Iowans and they are kind of a bellwether state in the heartland."

Iowa is a critical state in the presidential nominating process and Frist is considered a potential candidate for the Republican nomination in 2008.

In the ad, which shows a photo of a smiling baby, an announcer says: "Senator Frist: we cannot save innocent lives by destroying them. Tell Senator Frist to stand with President Bush and oppose research that destroys human embryos."

Cass said the ads began airing Thursday on television stations in the Des Moines area and local radio stations around the state. The group is spending about $50,000 but could expand the campaign if more money is raised. It also sent e-mails to a national listing of 500,000 social conservatives.

Nick Smith, a spokesman for the Tennessee senator, said Frist "understands that there are many opinions on this issue and he respects those opinions. However, after long thought, he has made his decision based on principle and believes it holds great promise in helping many people."

Frist angered many social conservatives when he endorsed legislation that would provide federal funds for expanded stem cell research.

"Senator Frist made a tragic and grave error in endorsing public funding of research that destroys human life," Cass said.

It is news reports and seeing viscious diabtribe coming from the mouths of so-called "liberals" which give liberal-minded folks a bad name....


ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS TARGET WOUNDED AT ARMY HOSPITAL
Wed Aug 2005 24 21:20:05 ET

Anti-war protestors besieged wounded and disabled soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C, a new web report will claim!

CNSNews.com is planning to run an expose on Thursday featuring interviews with both protestors and veterans, as well as shots of protest signs with slogans like “Maimed for a Lie.”

The conservative outlet will post video evidence of the wounded veterans being taunted by protesters.

And here I thought I was the supreme ruler of Ivarstan.

Turkman president bans recorded music

Aug. 23, 2005 at 4:17PM

Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov has deemed recorded music a negative influence on society and banned it from public events, TV and weddings. Niyazov has already banned opera and ballet from the former Soviet state, saying they were unnecessary, the BBC reported.
"Unfortunately, one can see on television old voiceless singers lip-synching their old songs, Niyazov told his cabinet regarding music on TV. "Don't kill talents by using lip-synching ... create our new culture." In 2001, Niyazov, the country's president for life, banned gold tooth caps, long hair and beards on young men. He has also banned car radios, closed all hospitals except those in the capital and renamed calendar months after his relatives, the BBC said.

I saw an EXCELLENT bumper sticker yesterday on a car parked at the San Diego Airport:

MORE TREES
LESS BUSH


Thing is who do we replace him with?

HAVE A BAD DAY?

A great card from AVANTIPRESS!

President Shrub is all worried about doctor shopping, but he doesn't give a damn about upholding the laws of the United States when it comes to the border with Mexico. IMPEACH HIS ASS!

WASHINGTON - President Bush signed into law a bill to create electronic monitoring programs to prevent the abuse of prescription drugs in all 50 states.

The new law creates a grant program for states to create databases and enhance existing ones in hopes of ending the practice of "doctor shopping" by drug abusers seeking multiple prescriptions. It would authorize $60 million for the program through fiscal 2010.

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

As sung by Rosemary Clooney

I like Latino people. I respect their deep cultural ties to So. California. I respect their heritage. Yet I don't understand who these intelligent and passionate people allow themselves to be made into blithering idiots by criticizing those who don't particularly like to see the US/Mexican being violated by illegal immigrants from Mexico.

Where is the self-esteem of these hard working people to build up their own very impoverished country rather than being an uninvited relative? I don't understand why those in Eastern Europe were able to throw off the shackles of Soviet Russian Communism and build vibrant economies, yet the Mexicans tolerate dictatorial rule favoring a few elite rich families.

We as Americans are being asked to tolerate their trespassing into our country, yet, the Mexican authorities don't exactly tolerate Americans trespassing into their country and illegally utilizing taxpayer resources. As far as I'm concerned, these groups such as the "Border Angels" are leading the Latino community down a very treacherous lie...just as the Soviet Russians lied and bled to death socially and economically their own peoples for over 70 years. Meanwhile, President Shrub (Bush) puts on his most irritating silly grin and ignores what is going on here...the first throes of a civil war.

President Shrub is one bulb-short of a 4-pack at Walmart. But the sad thing is, the Democrats have not served any better candidates with much more intelligence than President Shrub. It is all about POWER and EGO on the part of Washington DC politicians with no regard to leadership.

What's wrong with this picture?

Peter Jennings, a member of the club of venerable TV journalists died of lung cancer at age 67 yesterday evening. He didn't die of lung cancer caused by eating Tic Tacs or chewing Double Mint gum. He died of lung cancer as a direct result of smoking cigarettes. Yet, millions of people around the world still smoke cigarettes. Haven't they gotten the message that smoking cigarettes will kill you? Haven't they figured out all of their hard earned money is going straight into the pockets of bagillion dollar corporations?

Yeah, there is something wrong with this picture.

It is so fun to see the Right Wing whacked out Bible Bangers squirm! (Read the original article here)

In another development that could confound Roberts' liberal critics, the Los Angeles Times has reported that he worked behind the scenes, without charge, for gay rights activists in a 1996 case that led to a Supreme Court ruling protecting homosexuals from discrimination. Roberts, who was then in private practice, was asked to join the case by a colleague at his Washington law firm.

If I had a chance to be face-to-face with President Shrub (eh...Bush), I'd tell him he's quickly screwing up on these issues:

Stem Cell research - We know he's not the brightest electric bulb in the 4-pack, but it isn't a matter of faith but about science.

Iraq War - What are we REALLY trying to acheive?

Illegal immigration - Here Shrub is clearly vying with Mexican President Vincente Fox to be co-President, and as much as I'm concerned, is violating the oath of office he took to defend the constitution of the USA by knowingly ignoring this problem. If, heaven forbid, we were to be attacked by terrorists that came from either Mexico or Canada, I'd be the first one to call for his impeachment. Then again...we'd then have Vice-President Cheney as President and that could be even worse!

Sometimes I really understand why some people get so irritated with the lunatic fringe whacked out right wingers (who often are no better than the lunatic fringe whacked out left wingers).

I see how Shrub (Pres. Bush) is trying to repackage the whole debate on the question of whether evolution should be taught by setting forth this new term called "Intelligent Design" -- whereas he says that there are things on this earth which have been created "which were obviously too complicated to have come from evolution." Seeing how he is mucking up so many things these days evolution MUST be how his brain developed through evolution! (Click here to read more about this underhanded way to "sell" the concept of creationism to the unwitting masses from the mouths of these whacked out religious zealots.)

This all goes into the debate about stem cell research. You have these right wing whacked out Bible banger Republican politicians who are questioning scientists and trying to lead the debate whether stem cell research is viable. As someone who is directly affected by a situation by someone who probably won't be helped in time by this type of research which has produced miraculous results, I'm getting very tired of their diabtribe based on scripture rather than fact. My hat is off, however, to Dr. Bill Frist, Senate Republican Majority Leader, who is standing hand-in-hand with former FIrst Lady Mrs. Nancy Reagan now promoting the overturning of Shrub's right-wing Bible banger whacked out policies towards stem cell research. As he is quoted by the Associated Press, "It isn't just a matter of faith, it's a matter of science," Frist, a heart-lung transplant surgeon, said in a Senate speech. "The president's policy should be modified."

While these people preach and pontificate about "life" and try to take control of the debate, these same whacked out right wing Bible bangers will think nothing of blowing up women's health clinics, chaining and abusing their children all in the name of Jesus.

Repeating myself: I am an independent voter who is neither a Republican or a Democrat...albeit my beliefs sway a bit to the left, a bit to the right....

But why do liberals always have to go for the dramatic...I mean between Howard Dean and Michael Moore and the rest of the unwashed masses.... Alec Baldwin and the rest of the Hollywood bagillionaire elite said they would be leaving the country if Pres. Bush was elected. NOw it would seem that UPI reporter Helen Thomas is now joining the fray. My comment: DO IT, DO IT, DO IT! You guys always accuse Republicans of speaking from both sides of the mouth...now don't you be doing the same, huh?


Veteran wire reporter Helen Thomas is vowing to 'kill herself' if Dick Cheney announces he is running for president.

The newspaper HILL first reported the startling claim on Thursday.

"The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself," she told the HILL. "All we need is one more liar."

Thomas added, "I think he'd like to run, but it would be a sad day for the country if he does."

Honestly I don't understand some people's fascination with Portland, Oregon, a place in the Pacific Northwest where I was born, raised, and lived for 28 years.

It is a dirty expensive city sometimes referred to as "Little Rock (Arkansas) on the Willamette." What you might not pay in rent you pay in VERY EXPENSIVE utilities. Then it rains, rains, rains and the air pollution is bad (since Portland sits in a bowl such as Denver). Plus you sit in traffic most of the time because the traffic infrastructure has really not been expanded in 25 years because all of the public money for such projects has been invested in a public transportation which less than 8% of the people actually use. Yet the progressive politicians there keep taking the "moon in the sky is green cheese" approach that people are going to use public transportation all the time.

When I live in Portland it was was a beautiful small city. I left in time.

Not only that, Oregon is economically on the same level as Arkansas with a VERY high unemployment rate. Portlanders and Oregonians are on the whole biggoted and small minded. I should know...I got to feel it on my own flesh.

Surely So. Cal and San Diego have their very big problems, ("it has its faults") but when you put everything together this is the BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO LIVE!

Eh....let's get real here....and stop denying the truth.

Where else do you have to be scared about the Federales (the Mexican police)?
Where else can you generally not drink water directly from the tap?
Where else is a population is being abused by their government?
Where else do you have violations of clean air and clean water?

Sure it's a shirt I'd never get caught wearing...but let's face it...New Mexico IS cleaner than the Republic of Mexico.

By DEBORAH YAO, Associated Press Writer Fri Jul 22, 3:18 PM ET

PHILADELPHIA - The Anti-Defamation League has asked retailer Urban Outfitters to stop selling a T-shirt that reads: "New Mexico, Cleaner than Regular Mexico."

"This is saying that the country of Mexico is a dirty place," said Barry Morrison, regional director of the civil rights group. "Dirty can be interpreted figuratively and literally."

The group wants the Philadelphia-based retailer to get rid of all its inventory.

Urban Outfitters did not immediately return calls for comment Friday. The retailer, which targets 18- to 30-year-olds, has run into similar controversy before.

Two years ago, it stopped selling a game called "Ghettopoly" after protests by black civil rights leaders. Last year, it halted sales of a T-shirt that read "Everyone Loves A Jewish Girl," surrounded by dollar signs, after the Anti-Defamation League objected.

A "Voting is for Old People" T-shirt angered pro-voting groups.

Urban Outfitters operates 77 stores in the United States, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. This year, first-quarter profits rose by 60 percent to $27.4 million, compared to the same period a year ago.

That's better....

(Riga) A Latvian court on Friday overturned an order from the country's Prime Minister banning a gay pride march scheduled for Saturday.

The march had been approved by the city council in the Baltic nation's capital but on Wednesday Erik Shkapars, the executive director of Riga City, withdrew his permission. (story)

Shkapars said he made the decision following criticism of the event by Latvian Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis.

Kalvitis said that holding a gay procession near the Riga Dom Cathedral - the 13th century cathedral in downtown Riga - was a sacrilege.

The Gay and Lesbian Support Group, the organizer of the pride event, went to court. A judge Friday ruled that Riga City authorities had failed to demonstrate adequate grounds for withdrawing the original permit.

The judge said that the ban would have been a blatant violation of Latvia 's human rights obligations both as a member of the European Union, and under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The full judgment will be published on August 1.

" It is encouraging that the Latvian court has upheld the rights of the LGBT community in the face of such pressure from the Prime Minister," said Deborah Lambillotte International Lesbian and Gay Association Board Member for Europe.

The march will go ahead Saturday as planned, but there are concerns for the safety of marchers. Open threats have been made to break up the march and a counter-demonstration by an extreme right-wing nationalist organization has been authorized

"Given the way in which the Latvian authorities have given in to homophobic demands, we are concerned for the safety of the marchers, and call on the government to take all measures to protect them," said ILGA Riccardo Gottardi co-chair.

The ban was the fourth attempt by authorities in East Europe this year to prevent Pride marches taking place, but the first initiated by a national government figure. The previous attempts, in Moldova , Romania and Poland , were all instigated by city mayors.

In June, the mayor of Warsaw banned gay pride from the Polish capital city. Despite the edict more than 2,500 people marched anyway

Mmmmmmmmmmm.....could it be true since they put this print?



LOUD ROCK SHOW MAKES TEEN'S HEAD EXPLODE!
Monday July 18, 2005

By CHAD LOWENBRUCK

(WEEKLY WORLD NEWS) WINTHROP, Ind. -- When Gerry Tillis, 17, attended a show by the band Dirt Weasel at the Civic Sports and Arts Arena, he had no idea it would be his last concert.
"It was completely gross," said Tiffany Bonner, 16, Gerry's girlfriend. "The music was really loud during 'In the Dark Hole' and Gerry looked a little scary. Then during the next song his head suddenly exploded." She added, "And don't say I'm, like, his 'former' girlfriend because even though Jerry's skull fell all apart and he's dead, I'll love him forever. I saved a piece of his -- what did they call it? cranieminem? Something?"

Dirt Weasel is a five-man combo known for its towers of amplifiers -- called "Marshall stacks" in the trade -- and ultra-loud delivery. Band frontman and lead guitarist Jake "Snake Eyes" Ballard said nothing like this had ever happened before at a Dirt Weasel show. "It was in the middle of the solo to 'Sit & Spin,' said Ballard, referring to one of the band's songs. "I went out into center stage like I usually do, to just, you know, blaze away. And this kid in a Goth T-shirt starting having like some sort of seizure. I thought he was just trying to start a mosh pit, right? But that's so retro and our auds are cooler than that."

"He was holding Tiffany's waist," said Gerry's friend Esteban. "We both were 'cause we, like, share her. And I thought he was having like this totally rad time when he blew up real good. The thing is, he wasn't the only one. I heard two other melons pop somewhere in the crowd." In fact, five young heads ceased to exist that night according to the Winthrop Sheriff 's Department. The local D.A. is considering manslaughter charges against the band.

Prof. Calvin Mittridge from Indiana Polytechnic Junior College theorizes that the explosions had something to do with loud noise interacting with a specific electrical frequency in Gerry Tillis' brain. "The five victims were 'heavily into' a certain wavelength, to use the vernacular," said Prof. Mittridge. "The music was on the same wavelength and amped the teens up. The result was like having your head in a microwave oven." Local religious groups had picketed the concert, claiming Dirt Weasel was the music of the Devil. They view this as a vindication of their beliefs.

"I see that no churchgoers got hurt," said Beth Norman, a local deaconess. "Only sinners would go to a thing like that, and as you can see several of them were made to reap the whirlwind." "Man, dumb lady don't know diddle," said Esteban. " 'Reap the Whirlwind' -- that's an Angel Corpse song. Anyway, we weren't singing like she said. How could we . . . we didn't even know any of the song's lyrics." Dirt Weasel has no plans to cancel any of its upcoming shows, though they may turn down the volume just a tad. "We're as concerned about the structural integrity of the arenas as we are about individual brain pans," said promoter Kris Robbie.

Tiffany Bonner said she'll attend another show by the band. "Like, just as a tribute to Gerry. And if my head explodes at least I'll be with him. I mean, death is tragic and everything, but life goes on."

Copyright © Weekly World News All rights reserved.

Is this really the best headline the Associated Press could find for this story?

I saw this card at a local department store and started choking up...

It is published by Sunrise Greetings, www.sunrisegreetings.com

It is interesting that these same people who are getting in such a lather over Karl Rove have never questioned current Kennedy family patriarch Sen. Ted Kennedy and his involvement in the murder of Mary Jo Kopechne in his youth. If there was a cover-up, than this is the real kahuna!

WASHINGTON, July 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A crowd of more than three hundred joined MoveOn.org Political Action members today in front of the White House to demand that President Bush fire his top political advisor, Karl Rove, for outing Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA operative.

"While it's nearly impossible to believe that Karl Rove didn't know he was outing an undercover CIA agent to a reporter, the fact remains he did reveal her identity as Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife who worked for the CIA," said Tom Matzzie, Washington director of MoveOn.org Political Action. "Rove either broke the law or was grossly negligent. The President should fire him as promised last year."

"Rove may be only the tip of the iceberg: What did the President and Vice-President and their top aides know about any of this, and when did they know it?" asked Matzzie.

"Was Rove a lone actor? Or was he part of a wider group that sought to discredit Wilson because his story undermined the Administration's case for the invasion of Iraq?"

MoveOn.org Political Action, formerly known as MoveOn PAC, demands the administration stay true to its word and fire those responsible for the leak.

Observations:

Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?

If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?

If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?

Why do they put Braille on drive-through bank machines?

Why do they sterilize the needles used for lethal injections?

Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

I have friends and acquaintances of different political spectrums who share with me their opinions, something which I find fascinating as I'm not interested in having my own opinions validated. Nevertheless, I'm so tired of hearing these same people repeat verbatim the rhetoric and half truths driveling from the mouth of the politicians from the left and right. I'm actually insulted by those kinds of speeches...meanwhile these politicians on the left and right pickpocket us while they try to mesmerize us by their empty words.

Heaven to murgatroy!

I hate pomegranate juice.
Pomegranate juice makes me gag and I feel the ends of my hair follicles when I drink it.
It makes me shudder and shiver.
I will not drink pomegranate juice.
Don't make me drink pomegranate juice.
Or else I will spit out out in your face and it will stain your white shirt.
Everybody will laugh at you with a red stain on your white shirt.
I warned you.
I hate pomegranate juice.
Don't make me drink pomegranate juice.
I hate pomegranate juice.

Maybe that's why I am strange.

CHICAGO (AFP) - Drinking pomegranate juice during pregnancy may help reduce the risk of brain injuries in babies.

Decreased blood flow and oxygen to an infant's developing brain during pregnancy, birth and early development is linked to premature birth and can lead to brain tissue loss, seizures and mobility impairments such as cerebral palsy.

The phenomenon, which is called hypoxia ischemia, causes brain injury in approximately two of every 1,000 full-term human births and in a very high percentage of babies born before 34 weeks of gestation.

But researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that newborn mice whose mothers drank water mixed with pomegranate concentrate lost 60 percent less brain tissue than mice whose mothers drank sugar water or other fluids.