I came across a new veteran's organization on MSNBC and on NBC News called "Operation Truth." While their cause is noble, the way they are promoting themselves is, at best, suspect....


Dear Friends,


Like probably millions of Americans I read about Operation Truth online, and was actually considering linking it to my own website which gets a lot of hits.


But after seeing the television ad with Robert Acosta, the vet who regrettably lost his arm in combat, I'm sure that I reflect the opinions of a lot of Americans that the ad shoots your cause into the foot. While Robert's injury is horrible, I can help but think aobut the vets who don't go on television whining about their injuries. The commercial begs the question why did Robert Acosta go into the military in the first place...did he expect it to be Club Med or just an opportunity to win the right to wear a uniform (which in his case would be more like a costume). This armchair politics doesn't wear well, very honestly, and really sounds like partisan politics, which is against federal rules for a so-called non-profit/non-partisan organization. Acosta's words are more of those of a someone whining and trying gain our sympathy because of his injury to push a political agenda rather than "educat(ing) the American public about the truth of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from the perspective of the soldiers who have experienced them first-hand."


Why are you also taking advantage of the persona of former Gov. Jesse Ventura? His own military career is suspect...something the media has tried ot get the straight truth about but hasn't been able to. He is universally hated as a political figure because of the mess he created in Minnesota which he eventually ran away from...and he now appears in ads here in California denegrating our very popular Governor who has accomplished more in one year that former Gov. Ventura did during his term as governor.


Your organization has valid concerns as it involves the current war situation and a noble cause in your stated mission statement which I agree with...but as someone in public relations and marketing...I can professionally say you are shooting yourself in the foot by representing yourself in the media as you have.I will be placing a copy of this note on my personal blog so that others may see it.


Ivars Bezdechi
San Diego, CA

(AP) - Margaret Hassan, a kidnapped aid worker who spent decades bringing food and medicine to Iraqis, was believed murdered after Al-Jazeera television said Tuesday it received a video showing a hooded militant shooting a blindfolded woman in the head. Hassan's family in London said the longtime director of CARE in Iraq was likely the victim, and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said analysis of the video showed Hassan has "probably been murdered, although we cannot conclude this with complete certainty

Watching the masses of Palestinians beesech the helicopter carrying the body of PLO chief Yasser Arafat while the Palestinian henchman shoot their machine guns in the air killing several people, Palestinian children compelled to be homicide bombers in Israel, the beheadings of American, British, and Turkish contractors in Iraq, the blowing up of the ancient Buddhas in Afghanistan just shows what the world is up against in dealing with the worldwide Muslim plague.

There are good Muslims who truly practice their faith in accordance with Qu'Ran and don't endorse the tactics and behaviors of these fanatics, but my question is...WHY AREN'T THEY SPEAKING OUT and DOING SOMETHING? These Muslim terrorists are no different than the right-wing Christian fanatics who have hijacked the Christian faith in the United States and Canada, and have acted like no different by going around holding placards with pictures of aborted fetuses and practicing intolerance and hate and bombing women's health clinics.

What a definite loss to the world of music, and to the world at large....

Rapper O.D.B. Collapses, Dies in Studio

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer

NEW YORK - The rap artist O.D.B., whose utterly unique rhymes, wild lifestyle and incessant legal troubles made him one of the most vivid characters in hip-hop, collapsed and died inside a recording studio Saturday. He was 35.

AP Photo

O.D.B. had complained of chest pains before collapsing at the Manhattan studio, and was dead by the time paramedics arrived, said Gabe Tesoriero, a spokesman for O.D.B.'s record label, Roc-a-Fella.

The cause of death was not immediately clear, but O.D.B. had recently finished a prison sentence for drug possession and escaping a rehab clinic. He would have turned 36 on Monday.

O.D.B. — also known as Ol' Dirty Bastard, Dirt McGirt, Big Baby Jesus or his legal name of Russell Jones — was a founding member of the seminal rap group the Wu-Tang Clan in the early 1990s. With his unorthodox delivery — alternately slurred, hyper and nonsensical — O.D.B. stood out even in the nine-man Clan, which featured such future stars as Method Man, RZA and Ghostface Killah.

I did a lot of soul-searching today trying to figure why I ultimately supported President Bush in his reelection bid....and it FINALLY hit me why...

Make no mistake I am no major supporter of Pres. Bush. It concerns me that he is preoccupying himself with the issue of gay marriages and abortion when his main focus should be tightening up the border with Mexico and the illegal alien problem, the Iraq mess, and focusing his efforts on the so-called "war on terrorism" and not just reducing it to the level of a nuisance that Sen. Kerry proposed.

But when it came down to it, I had no idea what Kerry stood for. That was after all the hard campaigning, three successful debates, and a month of Sen. Kerry's attacks on Bush's handling of the war in Iraq. And like many, many Americans, I didn't see that it was a good time to be changing the guard at 1600 Pennsylvania in the midst of a war...nor did I see it right to turn the president out just because I didn't like him for whatever reason like so many of Sen. Kerry's supporters.

It would seem that Howard "I Have A Scream" Dean is wanting to become chairman of the Dems. He says that the Dems have to establish a identity separate from the Republicans. Continue a super left wing identity so they can lose more elections????? Nonononononononoo....

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) Former presidential candidate Howard Dean is considering a bid to become chairman of the national Democratic Party. Steve Grossman, himself a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Dean had told him he was thinking about it.
Dean was traveling today in New York and unavailable for comment. His spokeswoman, Laura Gross, said ``it was far too early to be speculating on that.''

The 240 members of the Democratic National Convention will elect a new chair early next year. Several names are already being mentioned, including former Clinton aide Harold Ickes; Donna Brazile, who ran Al Gore's presidential campaign, and Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack. Dean has been outspoken since the beginning of his presidential bid in saying that the Democratic Party must establish a separate and unique identity from Republicans. The next chairman will replace Terry McAuliffe, whose term is ending.

I love those who are on the left side of the street going around accusing President Bush of being a warmonger.... Now United Press International reports that declassified documents show that President Clinton was ready to drop nuclear weapons on North Korea if they made an incursion into South Korea. This is the same president, who, according to Newsweek magazine, was urging Sen. Kerry to openly go out and back the anti-gay marriage initiatives decided by several states last week.

Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Newly declassified documents revealed the United States planned as recently as 1998 to drop nuclear bombs on North Korea if the country attacked South Korea. As part of "scenario 5027," 24 F15-E bombers flew simulation missions at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina to drop mock nuclear bombs on a firing range between January and June 1998, the Korea Times reported Sunday. The revelation followed claims by a South Korean lawmaker that the U.S. drew up plans to launch preemptive strikes on key targets in North Korea in 1994.

The report also came amid concerns that President George Bush will take a tougher stance with North Korea during his second term.

The declassified documents also said the U.S. had kept nuclear weaponry in South Korea until at least 1998, despite officially claiming it had withdrawn all nuclear warheads in 1991.

I'm getting really sick and tired of the imbeciles who go around spouting and spitting who seem to think the world will explode into space soon as a result of President Bush being reelected. Here's the text of the e-mail someone sent me last week:

Subject: I AM TAKING THE NEXT 4 YEARS OFF.

America is surrounded by Bushites. Bush "DID NOT WIN". KERRY CONCEDED.
This makes TWICE that BUSH went into office WITHOUT being ELECTED!!!!
Now, let's all sit back and watch as each PROGRAM goes UNDER, programs designed to help those in NEED. ( all HIV/AIDS Patients will be dropping like flies, There is no money to pay for the expensive medications)
Let's watch our military dwindle in a foriegn country for one family's greed, and let's watch our forests and wildlife areas be raped for yet even more greed, and let's watch our enviroment become polluted and our people become sick as a result.
But, by god let's make sure DUBYA stays in office because he waves the flag higher and buys whatever he wants.

Very little separates Pres. Bush and Sen. Kerry. They are both Washington insiders, they are both rich men...Sen. Kerry having even more money behind him.... But let's get ourselves together....how can this individual say that Pres. Bush didn't win when he received 59,634,378 votes (53% of the electoral vote/51% of the popular vote) to Sen. Kerry's 56,084,352 votes (48.01% of the electoral vote/46.84% of the popular vote).

(From Yahoo News)




I lifted this very interesting computer generated electoral map of the US from http://uselectionatlas.org showing how the nation voted county by county.




The time has come for all Americans...no matter what political persuasion...to come together and celebrate the diversity of political views...and support our president. We are not a country of one political view....we are a country of political views. With Pres. Bush's convincing win, it behooves Democrats to simply get a better candidate who can convincingly communicate his vision, rather than participating in gutter partisanship and carping.



Tonight out of the blue I decided to go volunteer to man a phone bank at the local Republican office. It was interesting... I was given a list of 100 names to call of people who had recently registered to vote. Most of the people who had registered to vote were at home and had to listen to my spiel which went basically like, "Good evening...may I please speak to . My name is Ivars and I'm calling from La Mesa on behalf of President Bush reminding you to vote tomorrow. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Do you know where your polling place is?" More likely they would not so I would give them the address which was printed on the sheet by their name. I would then end the call by saying, "Thank you again for your support of President Bush...." Most of the people answered their phone, I left a few messages on a few people's voice mail as I was instructed. Everything went well until I got one name which some how erroneously got put on the list as a Republican. I swore the person answering had lit the fuse on their tampon and started cussing at me with ever swear word in the dictionary...and he wouldn't stop. I remained calm and wished the person a good evening.

Why are registered Democrats such blow hards? At best I identify myself a VERY liberal Republican/law and order Democrat...but sheesh...you say the word "President Bush" and they go crazy...just like my doddering 95% deaf old 90-year old neighbor who called for me to bring over his mail which I had been saving while he and his doddering 75% deaf crazy Italian wife were gone on a cruise to Mexico for 10 days. I really have avoided discussing politics with people since you don't know how they are going to react...anyway, this crusty old guy somehow engaged me into asking who I voted for...I told him...and he blew up to the point of almost making his dentures into a dangerous projectile which he would aim at my house to blow a hole in the siding.... Here, a guy who worked directly with Robert Oppenheimer to build the first atomic bomb, was disrespecting my point of view and my overall opinion.... Was my opinion worth any less than his? Sheesh...and I've had the same reaction from other so-called patriotic registered Democrats...huffing and puffing like a steam locomotive if you disagree with them.... I have no more right to criticize and pass judgements on one person's beliefs and ideology than they have the right to criticize and pass judgements on my beliefs.

Imbeciles. And you know, they can find someone else to pick up their damn mail in the future...

I've been dealing with a personal/professional debacle for a bit of time.

An individual who I run into once in a while asked me how things were going with the situation, and I answered that it would seem that I've gotten them into between a rock and a hard place, to which he answered, "If you've gotten them by the balls, twist a little. You will be amazed what can be accomplished with a little bit of pressure."

I so love some people around me, especially when they are intelligent and witty!

I like to chat a bit on the Internet...and it would seem that I've been blown off by another acquaintance/friend just because our political ideologies are different. The worst is that I avoid discussing this subject and leave it to my blog to express my beliefs? Are my opinions worth less than any other person's?

What happened to respecting each other's opinions? Don't we have that right anymore? Or are we going down to the approach that only one ideology is proper? I happened to hear Dr. Laura talking about this the other day...I don't normally listen to her but she was the most interesting thing on at the time. She actually made sense for once!

It comes down to this...I have a super duper uper wonderful friend who hates Tapioca pudding and mushrooms (not together). I like Tapioca pudding and mushrooms (not together). Should I hate this person now because he doesn't care for Tapioca pudding mushrooms???

This is just as incongruent as a friend's recent posting on his blog...

Six ways to get rid of an annoying Shrub

1. read booklet with candidates, measures and propositions (automatically mark Kerry without reading)(check)
2. Fill in my yes and no's of choice for each candidate, measure and proposition on the absentee ballot (check)
3. stuff absentee ballot in envelope (check)
4. make sure to sign back of envelope (check)
5. put stamp on envelope (check)
6. drop envelope with absentee ballot in the mail at the post office (check)



What if the first notation read as...

1. read booklet with candidates, measures and propositions (automatically mark Hitler without reading)(check)


Despite my disagreement with his approach to voting, I think he's still a super great guy who I'm proud to have as a friend.

This is why I cannot support Sen. Kerry...

Today he went out during a campaign stump speech and ripped Pres. Bush for "incredible incompetent." If Sen. Kerry, I truly hope that he doesn't have to "eat crow" for his vulgar words... Discourse and debate are good. Vulgarity such as in this case is downright wrong and doesn't nothing. And nobody is going to make all of the right decisions all of the time....I guess Sen. Kerry will make all the right decisions.

I was reading US News and World Report today about how divided our country has become over the presidential election. This rudeness from the candidates has permeated the population at large.

Somebody said to me that they really have seen a lot of positive changes in me in the past six months, seeing that I'm happier, more self-assured, etc.

My super buddy friend, L, perhaps put it best, however, "I like to think of it not so much as change, but as an awakening of those parts of ourselves that tend to suffer the trevails of times and circumstances...We are coming into our own and finding a comfort in these skins."

After being trashed by an individual on my support of President Bush's re-election, I have kind of synthesized my thoughts.

My support for President Bush is tepid at best...but I'm not going to go around screaming and yelling and being hateful and say that he "just needs to be gotten rid of." That's the talk of politically immature imbeciles.

The other day the progressive San Diego Union-Tribune endorsed President Bush. Their editorial summed up my feelings. These are the key phrases...

"In recent days Kerry told The New York Times that his goal as president would be to contain terrorism to the level of a nuisance, like prostitution. That telling comment revealed a perfunctory worldview that is strikingly different from that of Bush, as his record of the last three years dramatically attests. When Al-Queda terrorists struck the president went on the offensive in aggressive fashion. He perceived immediately that the international order had changed in profound ways, that the wide-flung tentacles of terrorism threatened the civilized world."

The editorial concludes that...

"John Kerry's record of waffling on issues large and small does not instill ocnfidence that he would provide the steady leadershp that these uncertain times demand. With George Bush, however, there never is any doubt about whee he stands. That is why he merits another four years in the White House."

I couldn't say it any better.

I'm shocked on the news of the death of professional baseball player Ken Caminiti. No...I'm not a basefall fan (I've never been to a baseball game in my life) but I had the opportunity to meet him when I played his body double for a commercial filmed in San Diego (when he was a San Diego Padre) for a Nike Baseball TV commercial. As I recall, Ken Caminiti was definitely not the sharpest crayon in the box on the set of the TV commercial. He definitely was not the sharpest crayon by his use of cocaine and steroids. Although I found him to be mentally dull, apparently he was a good baseball player who garnered the admiration of his loving fans.

According to the Associated Press, "The three-time All-Star third baseman often was in trouble the last few years. His 15-year big league career ended in 2001, five seasons after he led the Padres to a division title and was a unanimous pick for MVP." The dispatch from the AP continues to say that Caminiti hoped to get back into the game, possibly in a position that would allow him to mentor younger players about avoiding the mistakes he made. Caminiti did return to baseball this year, serving as a spring training instructor with San Diego.

So sad...






Posted by Hello

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......since when am I "for sale"??? Nobody said anything to me!
Posted by Hello

Now I've heard everything...

I have little or no respect for those in the education field. They're the ones who have fucked up generations (including myself) with their newfangled theories...to the point that when I wanted to buy 10 fifty-five cent stamps, the cashier at the post office couldn't figure out that the final bill was going to be $5.50.

This is what has me screaming to high heaven and which just proves my points that those who are engaged in teaching teachers have no concept of reality. The Boston Herald reports that teachers should no longer use red pens to mark up students papers and tests. "A mix of red and blue, the color purple embodies red's sense of authority but also blue's association with serenity, making it a less negative and more constructive color for correcting student papers, color psychologists said. Purple calls attention to itself without being too aggressive. And because the color is linked to creativity and royalty, it is also more encouraging to students."

"I do not use red," said Robin Slipakoff, who teaches second and third grades at Mirror Lake Elementary School in Plantation, Fla. "Red has a negative connotation, and we want to promote self-confidence. I like purple. I use purple a lot."

The unfortunate part is that the older generation of teachers who have been in the classroom for 30 years or so are retiring, and still have the ability to think straight. The article says, "

Red has other defenders. California high-school teacher Carol Jago, who has been working with students for more than 30 years, said she has no plans to stop using red. She said her students do not seem psychologically scarred by how she wields her pen. And if her students are mixing up "their," "there," and "they're," she wants to shock them into fixing the mistake. "We need to be honest and forthright with students," Jago said. "Red is honest, direct, and to the point. I'm sending the message, 'I care about you enough to care how you present yourself to the outside world.' "

These so called "educators" are the same people who can't think straight, and are raising generations of future citizens who need everything sugar coated.

Shakespeare said, "Kill the lawyers." I say, "Beat some sense into the namby-pamby limp-wristed educators who cover up their own incompetence by encouraging others to be incompetent."

The thought occurred to me today that right-wing Bible banging conservatives keep going around doin' their "praise the lord" theater thinking that they are going to go to by straightshot to heaven. They say as a part of their mantra that the Bible teaches us not to judge others....but aren't they judging themselves when they go around harrassing those who don't share their views....discriminate against gay people, etc. ??? They say they are convinced that they are going to be in the express lane to heaven. But how do they really know that? It just might be that they might do their dastardly things in this life on earth, but when they go to heaven that they don't find a "lane closed" sign???????

Like millions of Americans I watched the Bush/Kerry "dog and pony show" called a "debate" and I have to agree with most spin doctors that it was a draw between the two. They both spewed a lot of hyperbole and statistics and really said nothing new. Until we fix the electoral process so we can get better candidates, we will be stuck with candidates who are really cut from the same cloth. Their positions really don't differ from one another....it all comes down to personalities.

My support of President Bush continues to be tepid at best.

Tonight I met by coincidence with one of the gentle souls that I have come to know over the past couple of years. He gave me one of these buttons to hang on myself. "We have to do anything to get rid of Bush," he said. "He lied and couldn't wait to start a war." I kept silent and thinking to myself, I DON'T WANT everybody to vote because they are so vulnerable to political diatribe and propaganda. Never mind that the CIA, the British equivalent of the CIA, Russian President Putin, and the sacrosanct head of the Democratic party, Bill Clinton, all advised President Bush about the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam had in his possession at some time. It is so tiresome to me to have to hear this crap. Then we you have Sen. Kerry who has flipflopped on this issue (PROVEN!) on this issue some 15 times. OPEN YOUR MINDS, PEOPLE!
Posted by Hello

A friend of mine reminded me today.........

"It Takes A Village"

Only problem is most villages come with a resident idiot.

While it is no doubt devastating to lose a loved one in war, I'm so sick and tired of hearing how parents of our Iraqi war dead go complaining and make publc spectacles of themselves. Why in the first place did their kids join the military in the first place? War is hell. And as long as human beings engaged in hegemony and war, they will die. It is happening in 2004, it has happened since the beginning of time.

(09-16) 11:09 PDT HAMILTON, N.J. (AP) --

A woman wearing a T-shirt with the words "President Bush You Killed My Son" and a picture of a soldier killed in Iraq was detained Thursday after she interrupted a campaign speech by First lady Laura Bush.

Police escorted Sue Niederer of Hopewell, N.J., from a rally at a firehouse after she demanded to know why her son, Army 1st Lt. Seth Dvorin, 24, was killed in Iraq. Dvorin died in February while trying to disarm a bomb.

My goodness, Al Gore these days looks like a grandmother dressed up in her husband's clothes!

Posted by Hello

Can we say "paranoid"? And it is not because the Dems are all of a sudden interested in preserving the rights of black voters! They have to say "somethng" just to keep getting in the headlines.

WASHINGTON (AP) - John Kerry suggested Saturday night that Republicans may try to keep black voters from casting their ballots to help President Bush win in November. "We are not going to stand by and allow another million African American votes to go uncounted in this election," the Democratic presidential nominee told the Congressional Black Caucus.

"We are not going to stand by and allow acts of voter suppression, and we're hearing those things again in this election."

Can we collectively say "catwoman"? Or "this silver screen is too small for the both of us"?


Bacall hits out at co-star Kidman

(BBC News) "Veteran actress Lauren Bacall has labelled co-star Nicole Kidman a 'beginner' after an ITV journalist described Kidman as a 'legend'. 'She's not a legend. She's a beginner... she can't be a legend at whatever age she is,' Bacall told GMTV.

Kidman, 37, and Bacall, 79, are at the Venice Film Festival to promote their film Birth. Bacall plays Kidman's mum.
Bacall told a recent press conference she and Kidman had a 'fabulous relationship both on screen and off'. 'I love working with a young actress,' said Bacall.

The pair also appeared together in Lars von Trier's Dogville last year. "

Isn't this an oxymoron....Catholicism for Dummies? And yes, it is a real book which I saw tonight at Barnes and Noble. Perhaps there are some good chapters on how to prepare one's child to be molested by a priest. And of course, I'm sure there will be a complete guide to understanding why the Spanish Inquisition was necessary and how the "dark ages" in Europe were the golden years of the Catholic church with all of the torture and murder they perpetrated. Incredible that this book even exists at a time when the world is starting to understand the evils of the Catholic church.
Posted by Hello

I know the elitest progressives will wring their hands and huff and puff....but the following is the pure, unadulterated truth. I welcome a rebuttal....and will publish it on my blog.



Go Ahead................I Dare You!


Enter Mexico illegally.
Never mind immigration quotas, visas,
international law, or any of that nonsense.

Once there, demand that the local government provide
free medical care for you and your entire family.
Demand bilingual nurses and doctors.

Demand free bilingual local government forms, bulletins, etc. Procreate abundantly.
Deflect any
criticism of this allegedly irresponsible reproductive behavior with, "It is a cultural United States thing. You would not understand, pal."

Keep your American identity strong.
Fly Old Glory from your rooftop, or proudly display it in your
front window or on your car bumper.

Speak only English at home, and in public,
and insist that your children do likewise.

Demand classes on American culture in the Mexican school system.

Demand a local Mexican driver license. This will afford other legal rights and will go far to legitimize your unauthorized, illegal,
presence in Mexico.

Insist that local Mexican law enforcement teach English to all its officers.

Good luck! You'll be demanding for the rest of time.

Because it will never happen.

In Mexico or any other country in the world...

Except right here.

Land of the Naive.

God Bless America--She needs it.

(Author unknown)
2004

To be submitted to local newspapers' Letter to the Editor sections:

Sorrowful reports in the world press depict the tears and wails of mourning echoing through the streets of Beslan, Russia in the wake of the school hostage-taking that left more than 350 people dead — nearly half of them children. Russian President Vladimir Putin defiantly says on his country’s television sets, "what happened was a terrorist act that was inhuman and unprecedented in its cruelty.” As sad as this all may be, seemingly so conveniently forgotten to the world is the unprecedented terrorism, inhumanity and cruelty inflicted by Russia (in those days called “Soviet Russia”) on Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania for over half-a-century.

Forgotten is the time when the Russians grabbed tens of thousands of Balts – including women and children – and senselessly deported them to Siberian gulags and death camps. Forgotten and now silent are the Russian trucks which busily snatched and dragged men, women, and children off the street of the Baltic capitols, kicking, crying to certain torture and death.

Forgotten are the thousands and thousands of Balts who had to flee for their lives away from their homelands to avoid the systematic, brutal, oppressive Soviet occupation which lasted for 56 years. Forgotten are the arrests and executions of innocent citizens, massive deportations to Siberia, and a systematic effort to make the Latvians, Estonians, and Lithuanians a minority in their own country by flooding it with Russian speaking immigrants from Soviet controlled republics.

So as you try to make sense of what has happened on your tear-stained cheeks of your face, Beslan, please, please, don’t cry for me.


Ivars Bezdechi
San Diego, CA

President Bush might not be the brightest bulb in the four-pack, but I still support his re-election.
Posted by Hello

"Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar

(written by Don Raye, Hughie Prince and Eleanore Sheehy,
as recorded by The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen
& His Orchestra, August 28, 1940)

In a little honky-tonky village in Texas
There's a guy who plays the best piano by far
He can play piano any way that you like it
But the way he likes to play is eight to the bar
When he plays, it's a ball
He's the daddy of them all

The people gather around when he gets on the stand
Then when he plays, he gets a hand
The rhythm he beats puts the cats in a trance
Nobody there bothers to dance
But when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, 'Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar'

A-plink, a-plank, a-plink plank, plink plank
A-plunkin' on the keys
A-riff, a-raff, a-riff raff, riff raff
A-riffin' out with ease
And when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, 'Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar'

He plays a boogie, he plays eight to the bar
A boogie-woogie, that is the way he likes to play on his piano
And we all know
That when he plays he puts them all in a trance
The cats all holler 'Hooray'
You'll hear them say, 'Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar'"

Apparently humorist (in his opinion) Al Franken shouted down a conservative talk radio producer at the GOP Convention.

Another asswipe.

Asswipe.

"Alan Keyes, the Republican candidate for a vacant U.S. Senate seat in Illinois, said Tuesday that Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary is a 'selfish hedonist' because she is a lesbian.

His comments came during an interview with SIRIUS satellite radio.

Keyes said: 'The essence of ... family life remains procreation. If we embrace homosexuality as a proper basis for marriage, we are saying that it's possible to have a marriage state that in principal excludes procreation and is based simply on the premise of selfish hedonism.'

Asked whether that meant Mary Cheney 'is a selfish hedonist,' Keyes said: 'That goes by definition. Of course she is.'"

I'm coming to the conclusion that so called "progressives" or "liberals" need to go on a diet which includes the tranquilizer Xanax. Sheesh...hearing them huff and puff about this and that...how evil GW is, etc....how the world is going to pot....you would think that they are almost ready for cardiac intensive care how they get themselves into a tizzy.

The best thing is that when they can't think of anything else to counter with (intelligent discourse), they all automatically go into saying how everything is one conspiracy after another or some other simplistic diatribe. Then when you mention a fact of matter (i.e. Bill Clinton DID lie about his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky), then they somehow justify it...."Well, Ivars, everyone lies about something at sometime." I do not necessarily support Pres. Bush....but I don't see what the real difference is going to be when we replace one schmuck with another schmuck. At least with Pres. Bush we know that he is one pickle short of a picnic, the one 60 watt bulb mispacked in a Target 4-pack of 100 watt bulb. Despite having an evil vice-president in Dick Cheney, in my opinion, he hasn't done to bad under the circumstances. All Sen. Kerry can seemingly do is fib and flip flop whenever he is under pressure. (Maybe "this" is the injury he sustained in Viet Nam!)

The fact is that they get wrapped up into PROMISES that the opposition candidates are going to be any difference. Some of these whackos you would think would not have a problem with the Mr. Haney from the classic TV show "Green Acres" becoming Commander In Chief.

In between their palpitations they talk about how civil liberties have been abridged in the past four years.... HELLO...WE ARE AT WAR...WE WERE ATTACKED AND THREE THOUSAND PEOPLE WERE MURDERED BY WHACKED OUT EXTREMISTS...

Some of my favorite pejoratives that I hear spouted out....

"We've become the bully of the world."
They totally discount that we were bullied. The Arab Muslim world said "Check," we responded "Checkmate."

"The world hates us now."
Does America need to have an inferiority complex? What the hell do we need to care what the world thinks? Again, the only way the war on global terrorism can be CONTROLLED (never stopped) is when the snake is butchered and cut up in several pieces.

"Look at all the unemployment now after 8 years under Clinton"
The economy is cyclical. What goes up must come down, must go up, and vice versa. The global/US economy has taken a large hit since 9/11, and the ripple effects of that is still being felt."

"The deficit has gone sky high."
Freedom costs....who and how are all of the increased costs. to protect the US going to be absorbed?

"We had no right to go to Iraq"
All of the UN sanctions didn't work to topple this tyrant named Saddam. I guess we had no right to attack Japan after they attacked the U.S. in World War II....and I guess we should have not liberated 6 million Jews being tortured and murdered by Hitler. Hitler was such a humanitarian.
Saddam never gassed 100,000 kurds. And of course we all know how effective the UN has been in handling the crisis in Darfur, Ethiopia, currently the world’s most serious humanitarian disaster where thousands of displaced people have been killed and continue to die at the hands of Arab Muslim attackers. Those who have fled violent attacks — primarily women and young children — are dying from starvation and disease.

I'm happy to see the demonstrations going on in NYC and the civil disobedience. They are really going to change the minds of Middle America.

  NEW YORK, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The following are remarks by Ron Silver

as prepared for delivery at the 2004 Republican National Convention:



   I want to thank the President and the Republican Party for holding this

event in my hometown, my father's hometown, my grandfather's and great

grandfather's birthplace.

   Just over 1,000 days ago, 2,605 of my neighbors were murdered at the World

Trade Center -- men, women and children -- as they began their day on a

brilliantly clear New York autumn morning, less than four miles from where I

am now standing.

   We will never forgive.  Never forget.  Never excuse!

   At the end of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied

Commander of the South Pacific, said:

"It is my earnest hope - indeed the hope of all mankind - that from this

solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of

the past, a world found upon faith and understanding, a world dedicated to the

dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom,

tolerance and justice."

   The hope he expressed then remains relevant today.

   We are again engaged in a war that will define the future of humankind.

Responding to attacks on our soil, America has led a coalition of countries

against extremists who want to destroy our way of life and our values.

   This is a war we did not seek.

   This is a war waged against us.

   This is a war to which we had to respond.

   History shows that we are not imperialists . . .

but we are fighters for freedom and democracy.

   Even though I am a well-recognized liberal on many issues confronting our

society today, I find it ironic that many human rights advocates and outspoken

members of my own entertainment community are often on the front lines to

protest repression, for which I applaud them but they are usually the first

ones to oppose any use of force to take care of these horrors that they

catalogue repeatedly.

   Under the unwavering leadership of President Bush, the cause of freedom

and democracy is being advanced by the courageous men and women serving in our

Armed Services.

   The President is doing exactly the right thing.

   That is why we need this President at this time!

   I am grateful for the chance to speak tonight to express my support for

our Commander-in-Chief, for our brave troops, and for the vital cause which

they have undertaken.

   General Dwight Eisenhower's statement of 60 years ago is true today . . .

   "United in this determination and with unshakable faith in the cause for

which we fight, we will, with God's help, go forward to our greatest victory."

Thank you.

Did someone forget to do a spellcheck...sheesh!
Posted by Hello

Priceless.

LONDON (Reuters) - A cleaner at London's Tate Britain modern art gallery threw out a bag of garbage that was part of an artwork because it was thought to be trash, British newspapers reported Friday.

The transparent bag of garbage -- full of newspaper, cardboard and other bits of paper -- formed part of a work by German-born artist Gustav Metzger called "Recreation Of First Public Demonstration Of Auto-Destructive Art." It was on display next to a sheet of nylon that had been spattered with acid, and a metal sculpture on a table when a cleaner tossed it out with the other trash.

A Tate spokesman said the mistake was made the day before the exhibition opened at the end of June, and although the bag was later rescued, it had been damaged and Metzger had to replace it with another one. The newspapers said the spokesman would not reveal how much the bag had cost to replace. "It's now covered over at night so it can't be removed," the spokesman told the Times.

I saw this running around the Internet and it has had me snickering!
Posted by Hello

"Tu Es Foutu (You Promised Me)"

You promised me
Just me and you
You promised me
the moon and the sun,
the birds in the sky
You promised me a wonderful life,
they were only lies
You promised me
all diamonds and pearls
that I never got
You promised me
red roses and gold but soon you forgot[

Chorus]
You promised me
Just me and you
You promised me
I could be your queen
and you’d be my king
You promised me
a white wedding dress, where is the ring?
You promised me
your tender caress your kisses at night
So try to show it wasn’t in vein coz I’m wasting my time[

[Chorus]You promised me
Just me and you
Tu Es Foutu

I am now beginning to be convinced that John Kerry has lied and obfuscated about his war veteran career. That boy is making too much of it...where there is smoke there's fire...IMHO... That he is trying to block publication of the book alleging his fudging his war stories, etc. is really getting me thinking.

I'm no real supporter of Pres. Bush, but me thinks we have another fibber like Pres. Clinton..."I never knew that woman, Ms. Lewinsky."

Sen. Kerry, I want to hear about what you want to accomplish, not listen to you languishing about your alleged war record in Vietnam.

As someone who intially supported Sen. Kerry to replace Shrub, it is this type of stupid rhetoric which changed my position. Sen. Kerry very well knew what he said, and has his pretty boy go out to fix the mess. In this day and age of terrorism where 3,000 souls are snuffed out, I don't want a "sensitive" war against terrorism. I want the terrorists carpet-bombed straight to Allah, and may Allah have to start rationing out the 72 virgins to all of the whacked out Muslim extremists. Hey folks, these are the people who say they will only end their jihad against the US and its allies if they declare themselves to be Islamic states. (Of course, I will concede that the whacked out right-wing Bible bangers will probably only end their Jihad if the world converts to their fire-brand Christiandom!). I want a strong leader, not some whimped out politically correct approach that has never worked in the past. Especially if they are being expressed by some rich boy pretty face as John Edwards (who I liked in the past when he criticized Sen. Kerry in the Democratic nomination period.)


FLINT, Mich. - A day after Vice President Dick Cheney criticized John Kerry , Democratic Sen. John Edwards defended his running mate on Friday, saying he spilled "his blood for the United States" and accusing the Republican of distorting Kerry's words. Cheney told voters in Ohio Thursday that Kerry had called for a "more sensitive" war on terror and mocked that notion as something that won't impress the Sept. 11 terrorists of the Islamic militants who have beheaded U.S. citizens.

Edwards, returning to the campaign after a three-day break, took issue with Cheney's comments and his target — Democratic presidential nominee Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran. "He took that word and distorted and tried to use it to argue John Kerry will not keep the American people safe," Edwards said. "He's talking about a man who still carries shrapnel in his body. He's talking about a man who spilled his blood for the United States of America."
At a minority journalists' convention last week, Kerry said: "I believe I can fight a more effective, more thoughtful, more strategic, more proactive, more sensitive war on terror that reaches out to other nations and brings them to our side and lives up to American values in history."

Edwards' visit to Flint focused on issues polls show are even higher than security on Michigan voters' list of concerns: jobs and the economy. "What it is is an effort to distract, not to talk about the problems here in Flint, Michigan," the North Carolina senator told the audience of about 1,500, who gathered in a drizzling rain outside Mott Community College.
Prior to the rally, Edwards held a front-porch meeting with some Flint voters.

One was Susan Duffiny, who was laid off in 2002 from her factory job in Auburn Hills. The Flint woman was retrained as a computer network administrator but has yet to land a job in that field. "I'm sure there are a lot of people in trouble who don't have health care," Duffiny told Edwards. "Oh, I can tell you there are a lot of people in trouble," Edwards told her. "For us, jobs are a big issue." Twenty-seven percent of likely Michigan voters surveyed recently by Lansing-based EPIC/MRA said improving the economy and providing jobs was their biggest concern, nearly twice as many as those listing health care or terrorism, which tied for second. The state unemployment rate remains a full point above the national rate at 6.5 percent. Flint's unemployment rate was 14.5 percent in June, while the rate in surrounding Genesee County was 8.5 percent.

Remember when you ran away
And I got on my knees
And begged you not to leave
Because I'd go beserk

Well you left me anyhow
And then the days got worse and worse
And now you see I've gone
Completely out of my mind

And they're coming to take me away ha-haaa
They're coming to take me away ho ho hee hee ha haaa
To the funny farm
Where life is beautiful all the time
And I'll be happy to see those nice young men
In their clean white coats
And they're coming to take me away ha haaa

You thought it was a joke
And so you laughed
You laughed when I said
That losing you would make me flip my lid

Right? You know you laughed
I heard you laugh. You laughed
You laughed and laughed and then you left
But now you know I'm utterly mad

And they're coming to take me away ha haaa
They're coming to take me away ho ho hee hee ha haaa
To the happy home with trees and flowers and chirping birds
And basket weavers who sit and smile and twiddle their thumbs and toes
And they're coming to take me away ha haaa

I cooked your food
I cleaned your house
And this is how you pay me back
For all my kind unselfish, loving deeds
Ha! Well you just wait
They'll find you yet and when they do
They'll put you in the A.S.P.C.A.
You mangy mutt

And they're coming to take me away ha haaa
They're coming to take me away ha haaa ho ho hee hee
To the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time
And I'll be happy to see those nice young men
In their clean white coats

And they're coming to take me away
To the happy home with trees and flowers and chirping birds
And basket weavers who sit and smile and twiddle their thumbs and toes
And they're coming to take me away ha haaa

FANTASTIC THought of the Day.....

Us boys from the south don't take too kindly to people messin' with our friends. You can take our wives, and everything else; just don't mess with our beer, trucks, friends or dogs.

I still remember the old ads here in the US for Wendy's which had Clara Peller saying, "where's the beef.... I don't think there is anyone back there."

That said, seeing that Sen. Kerry apparently really didn't win the hearts and minds of America at the Democratic Presidential Convention in Philadelphia, if he wants to begin to convince voters on the other side of the church, he needs to talk about ISSUES, ISSUES, ISSUES, and must go beyond constant criticisms about the President. Cheap shots are just that.

Where's the beef, Senator Kerry?

Convince me!


MSNBC - Bush pushes comp time proposal:

"On another topic, Kerry said he would have reacted much more quickly than President Bush did on Sept. 11, 2001, when he learned of terrorist attacks.
The president spent seven minutes reading to Florida elementary school children after learning that hijacked planes had been flown into the World Trade Center in New York.
"Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whisper in my ear that America is under attack, I would have told those kids very nicely and politely that the president of the United States has something that he needs to attend to," Kerry said.

Ridiculing Bush's claimsKerry also ridiculed President Bush's claim that the nation has "turned a corner" in an era marked by terrorism and economic recession.
"Just saying that you've turned a corner doesn't make it so. Just like saying there are weapons of mass destruction (in Iraq) doesn' make it so. Just like saying you can fight a war on the cheap doesn' make it so. Just like saying "mission accomplished" doesn't make it so," Kerry said."

This will DEFINITELY sway and change my political preference? Are these (some) washed up "artists" egos so big that they think they can wield so much power? Funny thing is, the very people they are targeting are some of the least likely to go to the polls come election day.

Assholes....

NEW YORK (AP) - In an unprecedented series of concerts in nine swing states, more than 20 musical acts - including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks - will perform fund-raising concerts one month before the Nov. 2 election in an effort to unseat President Bush.

The shows, which will begin Oct. 1 in Pennsylvania, will take an unusual approach: as many as six concerts on a single day in cities across the states expected to decide the November presidential race. Other stops on the tour are North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and the key state in 2000, Florida.

"We're trying to put forward a group of progressive ideals and change the administration in the White House," Springsteen told The Associated Press in the most overtly political statements of his 30-year career. "That's the success or failure, very clear cut and very simple."

The artists of different generations and genres will tour under the name "Vote For Change," with shows Oct. 1-8. But the money generated will go to America Coming Together, which promises on its Web site to "derail the right-wing Republican agenda by defeating George W. Bush."

There was no immediate word on prices for tickets, which were going on sale for all shows Aug. 21. The shows will pair artists, such as Springsteen and REM or the Dixie Chicks and James Taylor. There will be 34 shows in 28 cities.

Other artists participating in the shows include hip-hoppers Jurassic 5, John Mellencamp, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Babyface, Bright Eyes and the Dave Matthews Band. Most have a history of social activism, from Browne's anti-nuclear concerts to Mellencamp's Farm Aid shows. Pearl Jam front man Vedder was a Ralph Nader backer in 2000.

"At some point, you can't sit still," said Vedder, a harsh critic of the Iraq war. "You can't spend your life, when people are getting killed, without asking serious questions about why."

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 - Members of Congress often call the Capitol the People's House. But the house is looking more and more like a fortress. On Tuesday, one day after the Capitol police announced a series of heightened security measures, Capitol Hill resembled a walled city. The ring of concrete barriers encircling the Capitol building since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has now expanded outward to include the adjacent House and Senate office buildings.

Tourists and lawmakers said they felt safe - or, if not safe, at least comforted. But they also lamented a way of life lost, and spoke wistfully of the days when people from Kentucky or Arkansas or Oklahoma or anywhere else in the United States could march into the symbol of American democracy and ask to see their congressman - no metal detectors, no questions asked.


This is simply because of lax immigration policy....under Republican and Democratic regimes. We are now paying the price for extreme liberalism...being a little too generous offering refuge to pieces of human excrement who passes him- and her-self for being one of the "poor, Give me your tired, your poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Or was this a joke perpetrated on the US a hundred years ago by France...and we're only now figuring out that we were the butt of the joke?
Posted by Hello

Yahoo! News - Tyson Stopped in Shocking Fourth-Round KO

FANTASTIC WRITING!

Beaten and battered, Tyson laid helplessly along the ropes, blood flowing down his face. The former baddest man on the planet stared ahead with a look of resignation on his face as his latest comeback — and perhaps his tumultuous career — collapsed along with him.

A super friend of mine made a great point today...

"They put flouride in the water for healthier teeth. If they put prozac in the water supply. The world would be a much happier place. not to mention more sane."

Definitely food for thought!

Teresa Heinz-Kerry speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention:

With John Kerry as President, global climate change and other threats to the health of our planet will begin to be reversed.

With John Kerry as President, the alliances that bind the community of nations and that truly make our country and the world a safer place, will be strengthened once more.

Will John Kerry also make water into wine?

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh PUHHHHHLEEEZE!
Posted by Hello

This is an honest to goodness picture from the America West website promoting their inflight deli while your ticket purchase is being processed.
Posted by Hello

Edwards: All Fla. Votes to Count in Nov

ORLANDO, Fla. - Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards (news - web sites) pledged from the pulpit of a black church on Sunday that the party will work hard to head off the kind of Florida ballot irregularities that Democrats assert gave the White House to George W. Bush.

I guess it doesn't count that former Democratic Presidential Candidate Al Gore's suing to prevent the military votes from being counted in that contested election doesn't count.

Folks, it is not about LEADERSHIP and addressing problem that our country faces. It is about EGO and nothing but EGO.

Anymore good news like this????

NYT: COLLAPSE OF THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD ACCELERATES
Mon Jul 12 2004 18:17:38 ET

The collapse of the earth's magnetic field, which both guards the planet and guides many of its creatures, appears to have started in earnest about 150 years ago, the NY TIMES is planning to report on Page Ones Tuesday.

Science reporter Bill Broad has filed a report, according to newsroom sources, which explores how: 'The field's strength has waned 10 percent to 15 percent so far and this deterioration has accelerated of late, increasing debate over whether it portends a reversal of the lines of magnetic force that normally envelop the earth.'

Broad explains: 'During a reversal, the main field weakens, almost vanishes, and then reappears with opposite polarity. Afterward, compass needles that normally point north would point south, and during the thousands of years of transition much in the heavens and Earth would go askew.'

Broad claims: 'A reversal could knock out power grids, hurt astronauts and satellites, widen atmospheric ozone holes, send polar auroras flashing to the equator and confuse birds, fish and migratory animals that rely on the steadiness of the magnetic field as a navigation aid.'"

This is what is going through my head tonight...

http://www.joe-ks.com/archives/Resignation.htm

Words I live by....

Promise Yourself

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can
disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness
and prosperity to every person you meet. To make all
your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make
your optimism come true. To think only of the best,
to work only for the best, and expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own. To forget the mistakes of
the past and press on to greater achievements of the
future. To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile. To
give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others. To be too
large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
- Christian D. Larson

Court: fence violates int'l law, must be dismantled

By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent

"The International Court of Justice will rule on Friday that the separation fence contravenes international law, that it must be dismantled, and that compensation must be paid to the Palestinian owners of property confiscated for its construction, according to documents obtained by Haaretz.

"The International Court of Justice will rule on Friday that the separation fence contravenes international law, that it must be dismantled, and that compensation must be paid to the Palestinian owners of property confiscated for its construction, according to documents obtained by Haaretz.

"Most of the justices believed that in building the fence, Israel violated international humanitarian law, by infringing on Palestinians' freedom of movement, freedom to seek employment, education and health. Israel violated international treaties it had signed which deal with these topics, the ruling states."

Israel has a right to exist and has the right to do whatever it has to do to protect itself from the crazy Palestinians. An integral part of the Israel/Palestinian peace process is for the Palestinians to behave themselves in accordance to world norms and go beyond throwing rocks at the Israelis....and not actively recruiting homicide bombers. Israel has done everything to employ Palestinians...and Israel is constantly having its security being threatened.

The situation is no difference in Latvia where the former Russian occupiers continue to harrangue and interfere in the affairs of the legitimate Latvian (Baltic) republics.

Isn't this called income redistribution??? Isn't this called SOCIALISM???

All this while Mrs. Kerry....eh....Maria Teresa Thierstein Simoes-Ferreira Heinz Kerry...trots out her 1 BILLION dollar fortune.

(The wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is widely reported to have assets of $500 million, but her fortune has doubled that amount since 1995 despite large living expenses and charitable contributions, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing Securities and Exchange Commission filings, financial disclosure reports and other public records. A precise valuation of Heinz Kerry's net worth was difficult because key details about her investments are not contained in the public record. The newspaper said its estimates ranged from $900 million to $3.2 billion but cited financial experts as saying $1 billion was a "fair and conservative" valuation.) (Lancaster Online, June 27, 2004).

Government always does a good job of spending the taxpayers money. The taxpayers THEMSELVES know where their dollars should be spent...



San Francisco rolls out the red carpet for the Clintons

(AP) "The leftiest big city on the Left Coast was Clinton country on Monday, with former President Clinton continuing his blockbuster book tour and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton headlining a Democratic fund-raiser where she vowed to defeat the Republicans' 'extraordinarily ruthless machine.'

Headlining an appearance with other Democratic women senators on behalf of Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is up for re-election this year, Hillary Clinton told several hundred supporters -- some of whom had ponied up as much as $10,000 to attend -- to expect to lose some of the tax cuts passed by President Bush if Democrats win the White House and control of Congress.

'Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you,' Sen. Clinton said. 'We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.' "

I find it amusing how a preachy washed up politician will do anything trying to get news headlines... So sad. Why can't he go help Jimmy Carter to build houses and do something socially progressive. He might even lose some weight in the process!

Washington, DC-- In a major Washington policy address this Thursday, former Vice President Al Gore will accuse the Bush Administration of intentionally misleading the American people by continuing to falsely claim a connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.

He will charge that Bush and Cheney have 'institutionalized dishonesty as an essential element of their policy process.' "

Lawyer says Saddam tortured

AP - A Jordanian lawyer who claims he represents Saddam Hussein said he believes the ousted Iraqi leader was subjected to torture, although a copy of a letter reportedly sent to his daughters seems to show the ex-president in good spirits.
Mohammed Rashdan said he had a copy of a January 21 report by the International Committee of the Red Cross that said the detainee's health was good but that he was 'slightly wounded.' It gave no details on the injury.
'This is blatant proof that the Iraqi president was subjected to physical and moral torture and violence,' said Rashdan, who says Saddam's wife appointed him as lawyer shortly after the ex-leader's December 13 capture."

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....poor baby...

What about the people he mutilated and killed?

What about 100,000+ gassed Kurds?

IRAQI JUSTICE NOW!

Good manners do not cost you anything to exercise, but the lack of them may cost you dearly further down the road.

One tequilla, two tequilla, three tequilla, floor.

I had my first getaway in a long time to Las Vegas with a super duper buddy from Tuesday through Thursday night.

What did I get out of the experience?

Well, this resulted in a major personal epiphany today...realizing my true self worth, realizing how much I don't appreciate myself for the person I am and my capabilities, refusing to be a victim and/or allow myself to be victimized by others, refusing to agonize over things and deal with them straight on...

The big news yesterday was that President Bush (just like Sen. John Kerry) had a spill from his bike while in Crawford, TX. Upon learning this, Sen. Kerry in front of reporters and cameras "Did the training wheels fall off?"

This type of politicking really disappoints me and shows that John Kerry is not ready for prime time. It is in bad taste, doesn't advance political debate, and shows that Sen. Kerry is a vile, petty, sniveling, politician with a big ego.

We need to find a viable and intelligent third party candidate QUICK!

Unfortunately, House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi is not too far from the truth!


WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) delivered an attack aimed at President Bush both in a Capitol Hill news conference and in an interview given to her hometown newspaper Thursday afternoon.

Pelosi's remarks stood in sharp contrast with those of the president who made a trip to Capitol Hill yesterday to deliver a message meant to rally Republican lawmakers.

"I believe that the president's leadership and the actions taken in Iraq demonstrate an incompetence in terms of knowledge, judgment, and experience," Pelosi told reporters gathered to hear her remarks.

"This president should have known ... when you decide to go to war you have to know what the consequences of your action are and how you can accomplish the mission," Pelosi said.

The House Democratic leader added, "There was plenty of intelligence to say there would be chaos in Iraq following the fall of Baghdad."

"The results of his action are what undermine his leadership, not my statements," she said. "The emperor has no clothes. When are people going to face the reality?"
In a separate interview granted to the San Francisco Chronicle, Rep. Pelosi went even further, saying, "Bush is an incompetent leader. In fact, he's not a leader. He's a person who has no judgment, no experience and no knowledge of the subjects that he has to decide upon."

"Not to get personal about it, but the president's capacity to lead has never been there," Pelosi said.

"In order to lead, you have to have judgment. In order to have judgment, you have to have knowledge and experience. He has none," she added.

Unfortunately, House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi is not too far from the truth!


WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) delivered an attack aimed at President Bush both in a Capitol Hill news conference and in an interview given to her hometown newspaper Thursday afternoon.

Pelosi's remarks stood in sharp contrast with those of the president who made a trip to Capitol Hill yesterday to deliver a message meant to rally Republican lawmakers.

"I believe that the president's leadership and the actions taken in Iraq demonstrate an incompetence in terms of knowledge, judgment, and experience," Pelosi told reporters gathered to hear her remarks.

"This president should have known ... when you decide to go to war you have to know what the consequences of your action are and how you can accomplish the mission," Pelosi said.

The House Democratic leader added, "There was plenty of intelligence to say there would be chaos in Iraq following the fall of Baghdad."

"The results of his action are what undermine his leadership, not my statements," she said. "The emperor has no clothes. When are people going to face the reality?"
In a separate interview granted to the San Francisco Chronicle, Rep. Pelosi went even further, saying, "Bush is an incompetent leader. In fact, he's not a leader. He's a person who has no judgment, no experience and no knowledge of the subjects that he has to decide upon."

"Not to get personal about it, but the president's capacity to lead has never been there," Pelosi said.

"In order to lead, you have to have judgment. In order to have judgment, you have to have knowledge and experience. He has none," she added.

Awwwwwwwwwww..........poor baby.....

I wonder how Nicholas Berg is feeling this morning...

LONDON (Reuters) - A third Briton detained at Guantanamo Bay told a newspaper he was mistreated by his U.S. captors and said guards at the camp in Cuba filmed his beatings.
Tarek Dergoul, 26, from London, was one of five Britons released from the camp in March. Four others, said by Washington to be more dangerous, remain captive.
He told The Observer newspaper Sunday he had been repeatedly assaulted by Camp Delta's punishment squad, the Extreme Reaction Force, during his 22-month imprisonment.
'They pepper-sprayed me in the face and I started vomiting,' he was quoted as saying. 'They pinned me down and attacked me, poking their fingers in my eyes, and forced my head into the toilet and flushed.
'They tied me up like a beast and then they were kneeling on me, kicking and punching.
'Finally they dragged me out of the cell in chains...and shaved my beard, my hair and my eyebrows,' he said.
'There was always this guy behind the squad, filming everything that happened,' he added.
Last week, two other British inmates wrote an open letter to President Bush, saying they were beaten and accusing U.S. military officials of deliberately misleading the public about interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo."

Please read this while humming to yourself Queen's classic song, "We Are The Champions."


Bremer says U.S. will leave Iraq if new government asks

The Associated Press
Updated: 8:36 p.m. ET May 14, 2004
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. administrator of Iraq told regional officials Friday that the United States would leave Iraq if requested to do so by the new Iraqi government although he thinks such a move is unlikely.

L. Paul Bremer told a delegation from Iraq's Diyala province that American forces would not stay where they were unwelcome.
If the provisional government asks us to leave we will leave," Bremer said, referring to an Iraqi administration due to take power June 30. "I don't think that will happen, but obviously we don't stay in countries where we're not welcome."

The United States plans to keep substantial military forces here after the June 30 handover, prompting critics to question whether Iraqis will gain genuine sovereignty."

This is so wonderful. We go in...have 700+ soldiers kill, get everyone to shoot at each other.

Way to go, Shrub!

An online acqaintance tonight said something so right about the situation in Iraq:

I'm a simple person, but it just really pisses me off when the government we elect can't fulfill it's job to protect it's citizens. I understand troops and war and the deaths that result from that. But senseless murder is just to much for me. I'm getting my life on track, feeling good about myself after 40 something years of feeling like crap and now this. I'm ready to cry.

On the other hand...what in the hell was Nicholas Berg doing in a country whose inhabitants pervert the philosophy of Islam? I wish more people would figure out that we're dealing here with whacked out fanatics who only understand strong arming and showing who is boss. So many people around the world have no comprehension about the indiscriminate, violent nature of Islamic extremism and the threat it poses to the civilized world.

As an editorial in the Dallas Morning News so accurately said, "This is who the enemy is. This is what our nation is up against.... But it is important that our readers see in as much detail as reasonably possible what the Islamists have done to an innocent American civilian. It's important because this is the fate al-Qaeda and its allies intend for every one of us in the West, and for the many Muslims who oppose their plans. (Though Arab media have generally downplayed this atrocity, it's actually more important for the world's Muslims to see what is being done in their name.) ... It is meant to bring perspective to events in Iraq, to refocus the nation's eyes on the larger picture of the war against radical Islam, and its stakes.

Nick Berg was but the latest victim in the terrorist war on civilization. Al-Qaeda doesn't intend him to be their last. To paraphrase British Prime Minister Tony Blair, al-Qaeda members killed one, but if they could have killed 100,000, they would have rejoiced in it. Look what they did to this young Pennsylvanian, and understand that this is why we Americans fight, however imperfectly, and that this is why we dare not lose faith in the justice and necessity of our cause. (Emphasis by Ivars)

I guess that Catholic priests abusing countless of children doesn't count...nor does the Spanish inquisitions. (see emphasized text).


Vatican Says Prison Abuse Said Bigger to U.S. Than 9/11

ROME - The scandal of prisoner abuses by U.S. soldiers in Iraq (news - web sites) has dealt a bigger blow to the United States than the Sept. 11 attacks, the Vatican (news - web sites) foreign minister told an Italian newspaper.

In an interview published Wednesday in the Rome daily La Repubblica, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo described the abuses as "a tragic episode in the relationship with Islam" and said the scandal would fuel hatred for the West and for Christianity. "The torture? A more serious blow to the United States than Sept. 11. Except that the blow was not inflicted by terrorists but by Americans against themselves," Lajolo was quoted as saying in La Repubblica.

Lajolo said that "intelligent people in Arab countries understand that in a democracy such episodes are not hidden and are punished ... Still the vast mass of people — under the influence of Arab media — cannot but feel aversion and hate for the West growing inside themselves." And, he added, "the West is often identified with Christianity." The remarks were not the first by Lajolo on the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. In the wake of the scandal, he had said that a democracy should punish those responsible and their direct superiors. The Vatican paper, L'Osservatore Romano, has also run some harsh comments in the past days. On Monday, it criticized what it called a Pentagon cover-up and took sharp aim at the photograph of a soldier holding a prisoner by a leash. In Wednesday's interview, Lajolo said the coalition's priority should be "putting as soon as possible at the head of the Iraqi executive an Iraqi leader who speaks to the Iraqis in Arabic and not in English."

HOLIDAY FOR STRINGS

(Refrain)
When I see you smile at me,
I hear a haunting melody,
And I surrender to the tender thrill it brings,
A holiday for strings,
Sweet music all around me,

Softly as the song begins,
I hear a host of violins,
Or can it only be my lonely heart that sings,
A holiday for strings,
Because your love has found me,

Through the night,
A love song fills the air,
I hear it everywhere,
So sweetly telling me
I’m yours completely,

Breezes sigh,
A new born rhapsody,
When you are close to me,
There’s music,
Never heard such lovely music,

When you’re gone it fades away,
But when we meet i hear it play,
As from above, a song of love comes sweet and clear,
Whenever you are near,
The angels play a holiday for strings.

Lawmakers Say New Abuse Photos Even Worse

(AP) The abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. troops went beyond the photos seen by most Americans, shaken lawmakers said Wednesday after viewing fresh pictures and video that they said depicted forced sex, brutality and dogs snarling at cowed prisoners."

Hearing some of the sexual fetishes of some people there might be some people who would love to exchange places with the prisoners who didn't appreciate it!

I agree wholeheartedly...

Hey, hey...ho, ho, Rumsfeld's gotta go!
Hey, hey...ho, ho, Rumsfeld's gotta go!

Or something like that....I'm not going to be a good future rap star.



Kerry Suggests Replacements for Rumsfeld

"WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Wednesday any number of people, including Republican Sens. John McCain and John Warner, could replace Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, rejecting concerns that a change in Pentagon leadership could hurt the war effort.

'If America has reached a point where only one person has the ability in our great democracy to manage the Pentagon and to continue or to put in place a better policy even, we're in deeper trouble than you think,' Kerry told broadcaster Don Imus. 'I don't accept that. I just don't accept that. I think that's an excuse. The fact is that we need a change in policy.' "

When will this guy just do like the rest of U.S. Presidents...serve and just fade away? Problem is his ego will not allow him to... Pres. Clinton was not bad, but still will be always overshadowed for his horrific and terribly failed "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy towards gays in the military and his shenanigans with Monica.

America needs a REAL leader....neither President Bush or Sen. Kerry have the mettle, in my opinion, to provide real leadership.


Clinton Lends Support to Anti-Bush Groups
NEW YORK - Former President Clinton lent his support Tuesday to two interest groups that have sharply criticized President Bush while raising money to help Democrat John Kerry White House bid.
Clinton, along with AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, spoke at an Apollo Theater event held by the MoveOn.org voter fund and Voices for Working Families.
Clinton criticized Bush on his economic policies, particularly his tax cuts, and said the president had reduced after-school programs and the number of police on streets.
'You have to believe that your children and grandchildren will live in an America that will be shaped by whether we ratify the course for wrong, or go back to the one that's worked for eight years.' "

I rarely agree with Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. But he has really made sense in his comments about "political meanness."

Senate minority leader sees 'startling meanness' in politics

JOHN HANNA
Associated Press

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle decried Monday what he called the 'startling meanness' of American politics.
The South Dakotan, who has been Senate Democratic leader for nine years and is seeking re-election in November, said campaigns were especially ugly in 2002 and that the ugliness continues.
'Today, enormous new challenges confront each and every one of us,' he said. 'We will not meet those challenges or seize those opportunities if we indulge in the brutal politics of division, if we attempt to silence those who have other ideas.'
Daschle spoke to about 500 people at Kansas State University as part of the Landon Lecture series. The series is named for former Kansas Gov. Alf Landon, who was the Republican presidential nominee in 1936, when Franklin D. Roosevelt won the second of his four terms.
Daschle noted that Landon's daughter, former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker, while a proud Republican, worked with Democrats in 1996 to pass health insurance legislation.
'There are things that matter more than political parties,' Daschle said. 'There are lines we should not cross regardless of the advantage we think it may give our party at times.'
He continued: 'Demonizing those with whom we disagree politically does not serve the interests of democracy. It does not resolve differences.'
As examples of the meanness in politics, Daschle noted that two Democratic senators, South Dakota's Tim Johnson and Georgia's Max Cleland, were compared in television ads during the 2002 campaign to terrorist Osama bin Laden. Cleland, a decorated veteran who lost three of his limbs in Vietnam, was defeated in his bid for re-election.

Daschle said the political left is responsible for some attacks, too. He cited a recent ad on the Web site Moveon.org that compared President Bush to Adolf Hitler.

"America has real enemies in the world," he said. "Creating false enemies among us to score political points does not make us safer, it makes us more vulnerable. And trying to bully and intimidate others into silence or compliance does not lead to progress. It leads to increased polarization and eventually paralysis."

I respect a man who stabs me in the heart with a knife, than a man who is cowardly and has to stab me in the back. I pity him.

So while everybody keeps on yelling and screaming about the oh-so-poor Iraqis who in this case were apparently in a "detained" status at the Abu Gharib Prison and refusing to cooperate with coalition authorities about the continued terrorism perpetrated onto American/Britsh and 25 other countries participating, there is no talk about...

* The execution and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan.

* The execution and murder of four American humanitarian workers in Iraq, and how their bodies were strung up on the side of a bridge as Iraqis men, women and children chanted and danced around them in glee.

The time has come for President Bush to take control of the situation and attempt to bring former General Norman Schwarzkopf back in a leadership role. And it is time for him to stop being so apologetic. to these savages. Did the Arabs/Muslims blubber on and express their contrition for these deaths, and the deaths of 700 other Americans?

I frankly am getting so sick and tired of everyone in the government and the Iraqis whining about the prison abuse at the Abu Gharib Prison in Bagdhad. Why aren't Americans talking and showing the same level of repulse for prison rape and assaults in the United States...that it has gotten so bad that the U.S. Government has had to legislate from the floor of Congress a plan to address this little spoken of travesty that has gone on for years and years and years?

The Iraqis THEMSELVES and the Arab/Muslim world have NEVER had any basic human rights in prison.

Human Rights Watch Testimony

Video documentation of the problem


If the so-called "liberals" in this country are so concerned about human compassion and human rights, why are they not addressing this problem than their oh-so-tiresome trashing of the President?

Teresa Heinz Kerry Nearly Had Abortion

"In the interview, Heinz Kerry, 65, also said she won't release her personal income tax records because she doesn't have the right to share her sons' records with the public. Some of their records are commingled with hers, she said, adding that she is working on separating the records so she can release her own tax information. "

Liberal Democrats accuse Republicans of every aggregious and nefarious plot (just short of black helicopters). I guess in this case it is "Do as I say, but don't do as I do."

I'm getting increasingly worried about the future of our country....the Republicrats are truly in country...special interests line their own pockets, but never mind about the little people who don't have their pockets lined. The way I look at it whether it George Bush or John Kerry...they are the same person (except that John Kerry has a lot more money).

Everyday now Americans are being subjected to the pictures of the alleged abuse of Iraqis at the Abu Gharib prison in Iraq. President Bush goes on Arab TV crying big elephant tears and expressing regret over the situation, as does the new Army general do his blubbering in front of TV cameras.

My question is this....when are the IRAQIS GOING TO APOLOGIZE for......1) Killing numerous American and coalition soldiers with car bombs, etc.
2) Killing and torturing four Americans on a humanitarian mission to their God-forgotten country.
3) Not speaking up and turning in the Iraqi Muslim extremists who are perpetrating the continued havoc and chaos?
4) Not starting to try to help themselves?

Wars are not won by blubbering. They are won by showing who is boss and dropping a few bombs to build future parking lots.

I frankly don't understand what the big la-dee-da over Howard Stern is... While I guess he is a ratings winner, there is really no place for his 13-year-old style potty jokes on the public airwaves....ratings or not. If he wants to be on the air, he either reworks his show or go on pay radio. Simple as that.

He has continuously pushed, pushed, pushed the envelope with his brand of entertainment, and finally he hit a road block as far as he can go.

I don't consider myself to be holier-than-thou or to be pure as the driven snow, but there is nothing bad or wrong about a little decorum. Howard Stern with his grossness is NOT excellence in broadcasting.

Iraq War Veteran Criticizes Bush on Radio

"'Despite many challenges, life for the Iraqi people is a world away from the cruelty and corruption of Saddam's regime' and 'we will finish our work,' Bush said. "

Maybe it's more like we're going to finish off Iraq?

I get very upset and frustratedwhen I hear people act on dogmatic politics and principles (left or right) and downright plain platitudes, etc. Sometimes they just repeat whatever soundbites generated in the mass media are repeated enough times till they are numb in the brain.

In reference to Shrub and Big Shrub (in reference to Sen. Kerry's big bad hair), a friend just said to me tonight...

"They're just doing what the party's are telling them, which is lie as much as you can, tell the people what they think they want to hear and big business can keep on gouging!"

There is intelligence left, by golly! Hallelujah!

Wooo--wooo----Ben Affleck...what a business heavyhitter...

Sheesh...the last person in the world who would understand the economics of a higher minimum wage going to lobby legislators in Washington? Sheesh... A fifth-rate actor who just got lucky and I want him to influence the biggest collection of dolts on God's green earth? Come-on....


Ben Affleck lobbies lawmakers to raise US minimum wage
WASHINGTON (AFP) - He is one of Hollywood's best-compensated actors, but matinee idol Ben Affleck (news) came to the US Congress Thursday to lobby for higher pay for some of America's lowest-paid workers.

Affleck, who earns millions per screen appearance, appeared alongside Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy to urge lawmakers to increase the federal minimum wage from its current five dollars and 15 cents per hour to seven dollars per hour.
A Massachusetts native, Affleck said Kennedy tapped him to appear at the news conference to bring more visibility to the cause.

'Maybe the senator saw my move 'Gigli' and assumed I would soon be working for minimum wage myself,' Affleck said, indulging in a bit of self-ridicule over the widely-panned film in which he co-starred with ex-fiancee Jennifer Lopez. "

My support of President Bush is at best, tepid. But one thing for sure is that I'm tired of hearing John Kerry continuosly bitch like an old woman about President Bush. What's the point? I want to hear candidate Kerry about HOW HE IS GOING TO SOLVE unemployment, HOW HE IS GOING TO go beyond a cyclical economy....not personal attacks. The same goes for President Bush towards John Kerry. The key to winning an election is talking about YOUR VISION, and HOW YOUR ARE GOING TO ACHIEVE that vision. John Kerry needs to stop giving publicity to President Bush and start to speak about HIMSELF.

What if the economy tanks during a Kerry administration? Will the loyal opposition be able to return the personal attacks? So far I'm hearing a lot of promises, and very little substance. We need candidates of substance, not more candidates who just blow a lot of hot air very hard.

Kerry's jabs at Bush grow more personal

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Senator John F. Kerry, whose attacks on President Bush this week have becoming increasingly personal in tone, told voters yesterday that the Iraq occupation was faltering because of Bush's own ''pride' and that the president was afraid to ''look the people in the eye who have lost their job.'"

Isn't this spatial....

Incredible....

Islamic courts get foothold in Canada

Toronto, ON, Apr. 28 (UPI) -- Muslims in the Canadian province of Ontario can soon turn to settling disputes in their own courts, known as sharia, the Washington post reported.
Muslim promoters of sharia arbitration said no cases have yet been decided but the process is set. Islamic leaders created an Islamic Court of Civil Justice last fall and it has chosen arbitrators who have undergone training in sharia and Canadian civil law.
'People can agree to resolve disputes any way acceptable,' said Brendan Crawley, a spokesman for the Ontario Attorney General's office said in an interview. He said the arbitration act has a number of safeguards, including the requirement that parties enter into arbitration only on a voluntary basis, and any decisions by arbitrators are subject to court ratification."

And this is a respected member of a party that wants to rule and considers themselves so honorable....

Give me "dumb" anyday over this!

Lautenberg calls Cheney 'lead chickenhawk' in criticizing Kerry

WASHINGTON -- Tossing a verbal egg at Dick Cheney's military record, Sen. Frank Lautenberg blasted the vice president Wednesday as the 'lead chickenhawk,' who squawks about John Kerry's Vietnam War record despite never serving himself.

'The chickenhawk has no idea what it means to have the courage to put your life at risk to defend this nation,' Lautenberg said on the Senate floor. 'But they are quick to disparage those who did sacrifice.'

In his speech, Lautenberg, D-N.J., defined chickenhawk 'as having the shriek of a hawk but the backbone of a chicken.'

'We know who the chickenhawks are,' he said. 'They talk tough on national defense and military issues and cast aspersions on others, but when it was their turn to serve, they were AWOL from courage.'

Kerry has said that President Bush and Cheney have no credibility in criticizing his military service and anti-war effort since Bush has faced questions about his National Guard attendance and Cheney had five student and marriage deferments of service during the war.

Kerry, a decorated Navy veteran who volunteered to serve in Vietnam, said he does not begrudge anyone who did not fight in the war. "

The Village Voice, a very liberal New York City newspaper ran an editorial written by one James Ridgeway about Sen. John Kerry with the headline, "John Kerry Has To Go: Note to Democrats: it's not too late to draft someone—anyone—else."

I couldn't voice my growing disgust with John Kerry any better.... (I used to support him!)

WASHINGTON, D.C.— With the air gushing out of John Kerry's balloon, it may be only a matter of time until political insiders in Washington face the dread reality that the junior senator from Massachusetts doesn't have what it takes to win and has got to go. As arrogant and out of it as the Democratic political establishment is, even these pols know the party's got to have someone to run against George Bush. They can't exactly expect the president to self-destruct into thin air.

With growing issues over his wealth (which makes fellow plutocrat Bush seem a charity case by comparison), the miasma over his medals and ribbons (or ribbons and medals), his uninspiring record in the Senate (yes war, no war), and wishy-washy efforts to mimic Bill Clinton's triangulation gimmickry (the protractor factor), Kerry sinks day by day. The pros all know that the candidate who starts each morning by having to explain himself is a goner.

What to do? Look for the Dem biggies, whoever they are these days, to sit down with the rich and arrogant presumptive nominee and try to persuade him to take a hike. Then they can return to business as usual—resurrecting John Edwards, who is still hanging around, or staging an open convention in Boston, or both.

If things proceed as they are, the dim-bulb Dem leaders are going to be very sorry they screwed Howard Dean.