Why aren't all those compassionate conservatives, freaking out about the him even mentioning abortion? I thought it was immoral. Oh, I get it. Abortion is only offensive if people want it, blacks aren't people. I mean you spay your dogs don't you? Same difference. They probably look at the death penalty as euthanasia that should be more broadly applied to people of color. Don't want to have to many strays around. He and Tom Coburn must have some really interesting cocktail stories when they are behind closed doors.
CNN.com - Bennett under fire for remarks on blacks, crime - Sep 30, 2005: "Bennett, who held prominent posts in the administrations of former presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, told a caller to his syndicated radio talk show Wednesday: 'If you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down."
Friday, September 30, 2005
These are family values
Everybody seems to be pretty upset at the obvious racism in the comment below.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Got Nurse?
I have several issues with this story. Even though I have a pottymouth in person I promised myself that I would try and restrain myself in print. That being said. WTF are people thinking? In high school one of my classmates died of some brain problem. At school. In the nurses office. We were freaked out for weeks. In grade school I fell and ripped open my knee, the school nurse helped me out.
Only people who have never had problems breathing would require that asthma medication be locked up. An inhaler is an emergency medication, that means the sooner used the better. Breathing is one of those things that you must do successfully on a rather regular basis in order to avoid pushing up daisies. I have adult onset asthma and the first couple of episodes almost killed me. I have been admitted to a cardiac unit twice because the attacks were so extreme. Being an acupuncturist I look for other signs of impending distress and have not had an attack in two years. I still keep my inhaler handy. It should never be locked up. Even five year olds can be trained to use their inhaler successfully. When I was in practice I used to train my younger patients to breathe out so they wouldn't hyperventilate, but immediate inhaler use can reduce panic and promote deeper breathing. The longer you suffer with shortness of breath the harder is to think and be calm. And I have to tell you that it freaks people out when they see someone struggling for air.
I have a Masters degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine and when I was licensed I still was unable to administer medications or injections. As an acupuncturist I have a rather intimate knowledge of needles and I'm not considered qualified, but the school secretary is. I'm so glad I went back to school at 38, incurred this huge debt, and now discover that if I had been a secretary at a school instead of Universal Studios, I could be practicing medicine instead of trying to start a new business 12 years later.
What is it going to take for Americans to realize that the children are the future of the world? They need to be nurtured, not regulated or regimented. They are medicated for being different, scheduled to the point of ridiculousness, coddled as if they were royalty, insulated from responsibility, and a good proportion of them are devoid of any initiative that doesn't involve recreation. They don't deserve to be abandoned.
In some states these same kids that aren't trusted with lifesaving medication are serving time as adults for crimes, some were even scheduled to be put to death. We require that today's youth meet this arbitrary standard of behavior but we neither give them the tools or seem able to lead by example (I was looking for a positive example and couldn't find one, now that's sad as well as proving my point).
So many of today's children live either below the poverty line or so close to it that there isn't much difference. They start out behind and it never gets better for most of them. Life begins with a lethal cocktail of bad nutrition, overworked or absent parents, failing school systems that teach by rote instead of encouraging brain activity, cartoons, video games and ADHD medications to keep them quiet instead of running, playing outside and interacting with their peers in an unstructured environment, and elimination of options for those who are artiscally inclined. Then we expect them to graduate from schools that have been underfunded and overcrowded so they can serve those people who have a little more money and can afford to eat at your chain restaurants.
But you say, all they have to do is buckle down, study hard and they can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Rags(?) to riches stories are great aren't they? You know why? Because they happen so rarely that it even warms the cockles of a Rethugs heart. I have the same reaction to that reasoning that I do to people who think that everyone can be number one. Statistically impossible.
Recent history has shown us that we have fallen into what I like to refer to as the Pinto reasoning. We keep avoiding the problems, refusing to fix them because we think it might cost too much, hoping nothing will happen. Then it does and it is always worse than the people who didn't want to pay for it in the beginning expected. What's up with that? No wonder today's youth is so confused.
As they teach you in driving snow country, be careful follwing tracks in the snow, you could go over a cliff. We are asking these kids to follow us, but the signals we send them say; we don't care about you, we don't trust you and by the way, you are responsible for every bad thing that happens to you and/or behaviors we that are determined to be bad in the future. It's like the older the baby boomers get, the more they are determined to prevent the younger generation from enjoying the same benefits.
There is no way that this can turn out well. Unless our policies change quickly we are going to lose this generation and it isn't going to be pretty.
Salon.com News | No school nurses left behind: "The likelihood that school nurses are often unavailable is particularly alarming because of the sheer number of children taking regular medication. Nine million students, about 13 percent of children between kindergarten and 12th grade, take medication regularly for at least three months during the year, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The types of medication can run the gamut from several kinds of inhalers and inhalation therapy by machine for asthma, to insulin pumps, glucagon or insulin injections for children with diabetes, to suppositories for children with seizure disorders and epinephrine for children with food allergies. Some schools allow children to medicate themselves. Because of budget constraints, the immediate health needs of schoolchildren are often put in the hands of school secretaries, minimally trained health clerks, teacher's aides, teachers and other school staff who lack medical training. If caught in a bind, they try to page a school nurse, who may be miles away."
Only people who have never had problems breathing would require that asthma medication be locked up. An inhaler is an emergency medication, that means the sooner used the better. Breathing is one of those things that you must do successfully on a rather regular basis in order to avoid pushing up daisies. I have adult onset asthma and the first couple of episodes almost killed me. I have been admitted to a cardiac unit twice because the attacks were so extreme. Being an acupuncturist I look for other signs of impending distress and have not had an attack in two years. I still keep my inhaler handy. It should never be locked up. Even five year olds can be trained to use their inhaler successfully. When I was in practice I used to train my younger patients to breathe out so they wouldn't hyperventilate, but immediate inhaler use can reduce panic and promote deeper breathing. The longer you suffer with shortness of breath the harder is to think and be calm. And I have to tell you that it freaks people out when they see someone struggling for air.
I have a Masters degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine and when I was licensed I still was unable to administer medications or injections. As an acupuncturist I have a rather intimate knowledge of needles and I'm not considered qualified, but the school secretary is. I'm so glad I went back to school at 38, incurred this huge debt, and now discover that if I had been a secretary at a school instead of Universal Studios, I could be practicing medicine instead of trying to start a new business 12 years later.
What is it going to take for Americans to realize that the children are the future of the world? They need to be nurtured, not regulated or regimented. They are medicated for being different, scheduled to the point of ridiculousness, coddled as if they were royalty, insulated from responsibility, and a good proportion of them are devoid of any initiative that doesn't involve recreation. They don't deserve to be abandoned.
In some states these same kids that aren't trusted with lifesaving medication are serving time as adults for crimes, some were even scheduled to be put to death. We require that today's youth meet this arbitrary standard of behavior but we neither give them the tools or seem able to lead by example (I was looking for a positive example and couldn't find one, now that's sad as well as proving my point).
So many of today's children live either below the poverty line or so close to it that there isn't much difference. They start out behind and it never gets better for most of them. Life begins with a lethal cocktail of bad nutrition, overworked or absent parents, failing school systems that teach by rote instead of encouraging brain activity, cartoons, video games and ADHD medications to keep them quiet instead of running, playing outside and interacting with their peers in an unstructured environment, and elimination of options for those who are artiscally inclined. Then we expect them to graduate from schools that have been underfunded and overcrowded so they can serve those people who have a little more money and can afford to eat at your chain restaurants.
But you say, all they have to do is buckle down, study hard and they can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Rags(?) to riches stories are great aren't they? You know why? Because they happen so rarely that it even warms the cockles of a Rethugs heart. I have the same reaction to that reasoning that I do to people who think that everyone can be number one. Statistically impossible.
Recent history has shown us that we have fallen into what I like to refer to as the Pinto reasoning. We keep avoiding the problems, refusing to fix them because we think it might cost too much, hoping nothing will happen. Then it does and it is always worse than the people who didn't want to pay for it in the beginning expected. What's up with that? No wonder today's youth is so confused.
As they teach you in driving snow country, be careful follwing tracks in the snow, you could go over a cliff. We are asking these kids to follow us, but the signals we send them say; we don't care about you, we don't trust you and by the way, you are responsible for every bad thing that happens to you and/or behaviors we that are determined to be bad in the future. It's like the older the baby boomers get, the more they are determined to prevent the younger generation from enjoying the same benefits.
There is no way that this can turn out well. Unless our policies change quickly we are going to lose this generation and it isn't going to be pretty.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Woohoo!
Alcohol has been used in restorative tinctures for hundreds of years. Chinese medicine believes it is a liver qi mover, it eases stagnation and stress, while enhancing the effect of the other herbs. In moderation only.
Makes sense to me given the control cycle. I can also see why abuse would cause the very problems you are trying to avoid.
A Healthy Toast - Health For Life - MSNBC.com: "The major benefit of alcohol seems to come from its ability to boost levels of HDL, the good cholesterol that helps keep arteries clear of plaque. Ethanol does that by signaling the liver to make more of a substance called apo A1, the major protein in HDL. The effects can be striking. 'Depending on the individual, you can get increases of 10 to 30 percent in HDL in a week,' says Harvard epidemiologist Eric Rimm. 'Nothing else in the diet can have such a dramatic impact on HDL in such a short time.' That's not all. Alcohol in measured doses makes blood less sticky, and less likely to form the unwanted clots that cause heart attacks and strokes. It also appears to have mild anti-inflammatory effects. And it enhances insulin sensitivity—which may explain why moderate alcohol consumption correlates with a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes."
Makes sense to me given the control cycle. I can also see why abuse would cause the very problems you are trying to avoid.
Really?
USATODAY.com - NASA administrator says space shuttle was a mistake: "Asked Tuesday whether the shuttle had been a mistake, Griffin said, 'My opinion is that it was. ... It was a design which was extremely aggressive and just barely possible.' Asked whether the space station had been a mistake, he said, 'Had the decision been mine, we would not have built the space station we're building in the orbit we're building it in.'
"
Maybe this is what happens when you take the lowest bidder and build by committee.
Now That's Funked Up
In 1975 I was stationed at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. I arrived there on August 9, 1974 and left around June 20, 1975. My commanding officer was Capt. Whaley. Redstone had a few nicknames, Redstone Resthome being one of them. The Sergeant Major had been on base for a long time. Many (19) years and should have been transferred many times but he obviously knew someone in Personnel. Don't remember his name, but he did not like women in his military and he did not help my authority issues.
Redstone was an advanced training facility and I was studying how to repair the guidance system on four missiles at the time. Lance, Tow, Dragon and Shilleagh. What a weird name. Anyway, I got promoted early because of my high grades in class. I was 18 and extremely bored, so I partied. Heavily. One afternoon I come back from lunch in an altered state and they march us off to a class on the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I don't remember much because Capt. Whaley droned on and on, but I do remember this. RESPECT.
Respect for yourself (sunburn can be punished for damaging government property), the uniform and some segment on how to treat prisoners of war. Pretty specific about the treatment we should give and receive. The Vietnam War wasn't officially over and we were missing people. Respect. Don't sink to subhuman levels. Everyone has a mother, father, sister, brother or child. They have feelings just like us.
And then there was the example my generation had to go by. I loved that show. They must have brought up the Geneva Convention every week. It's pretty sad that a comedy set in a stalag during one of the darkest times the world had ever known had better ethics, morals and principles than the people who are currently serving in "defense" of this nation.
I realize that I have authority issues, but what I find hard to believe is how widespread this is and how few have spoken out in protest. Unless, this is what happens when you speak out.
Shock the Monkey.
Redstone was an advanced training facility and I was studying how to repair the guidance system on four missiles at the time. Lance, Tow, Dragon and Shilleagh. What a weird name. Anyway, I got promoted early because of my high grades in class. I was 18 and extremely bored, so I partied. Heavily. One afternoon I come back from lunch in an altered state and they march us off to a class on the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I don't remember much because Capt. Whaley droned on and on, but I do remember this. RESPECT.
Salon.com - War Room: "s the New York Times reports this morning, the Army investigation comes amid complaints from the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Army spokesman Paul Boyce tells the Times that soldiers who posted images of dead Iraqis at Now That's Fucked Up may be guilty of violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which prohibits conduct unbecoming an officer or enlisted soldier. Another Pentagon official told the Times that posting photos to the site could be viewed as a violation of the Geneva Conventions, which provide that 'the remains of persons who have died for reasons related to occupation ... shall be respected.' "
Respect for yourself (sunburn can be punished for damaging government property), the uniform and some segment on how to treat prisoners of war. Pretty specific about the treatment we should give and receive. The Vietnam War wasn't officially over and we were missing people. Respect. Don't sink to subhuman levels. Everyone has a mother, father, sister, brother or child. They have feelings just like us.
And then there was the example my generation had to go by. I loved that show. They must have brought up the Geneva Convention every week. It's pretty sad that a comedy set in a stalag during one of the darkest times the world had ever known had better ethics, morals and principles than the people who are currently serving in "defense" of this nation.
I realize that I have authority issues, but what I find hard to believe is how widespread this is and how few have spoken out in protest. Unless, this is what happens when you speak out.
Shock the Monkey.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
I'm a DINO
For just these reasons. All I know is that I'm not today's version of a Republican.
We need another party. One that listens and is interested in what the people, not the corporations, want and need. This country is "spinning" out of control and the ones who are going to pay are the ones who can least afford it. This doesn't just apply to poor people. My definition of poor is if you make less than $18k a year in this country. Their definition of poor is if you didn't donate $20k to the cause. This is proving to be something of a surprise to middle America, who were under a totally different impression.
It is time for our Heartland to actually become the Heart of this great Nation and return to a time when we accomplish things instead of destroy, limit and judge. We do need a uniter, someone who can see both sides of the issue and communicate that while they agree and disagree, that they are not for sale, and whose only intention is to work for four straight years until we return to some semblance of reality.
It is time that the people elected actually work, instead of working to get reelected. Their job is to represent all of us, not just the people and corporations who gave money to their campaign. Or bought their house or flew the all over the world.
We're AMERICANS we can do anything if we set our collective will. We supposedly walked on the moon within 10 years of declaring it a goal. (Now we can't get there again until 2018?) With the internet, local television and hometown newspapers, a copy machine or your local Kinko's, the two party system can be circumvented. With enough "buzz" maybe it will get picked up as a fantasy story and get more exposure. A new party has to start somewhere. The Independent party hasn't worked, the Greens are a little too vegetarian and the Libertarians, while I agree with a lot of what they say, are a little too much or little, depending on your perspective.
What to do, what to do.
JON CARROLL: "What do Democrats believe? Well, you know what Republicans believe. Well, Democrats believe the other thing. Democrats stand for a vision to be named later.
Poverty was not a secret before Hurricane Katrina hit. The plight of inner-city African Americans was not a secret before the storm hit. If Democrats had wanted an issue, that was always there. If Democrats wanted to stay on message, there was that message. It's not the only possible message, but it's a pretty good one -- and it's a message that reaches across ideological lines to the so-called 'values voters.'
Here's the first thing the Democrats should do. Stop taking the pundits seriously. Stop responding to every mini-flurry of gossip or speculation that eddies through the corridors of Washington. That is not real life. That is not what we care about out here in people-land."
We need another party. One that listens and is interested in what the people, not the corporations, want and need. This country is "spinning" out of control and the ones who are going to pay are the ones who can least afford it. This doesn't just apply to poor people. My definition of poor is if you make less than $18k a year in this country. Their definition of poor is if you didn't donate $20k to the cause. This is proving to be something of a surprise to middle America, who were under a totally different impression.
It is time for our Heartland to actually become the Heart of this great Nation and return to a time when we accomplish things instead of destroy, limit and judge. We do need a uniter, someone who can see both sides of the issue and communicate that while they agree and disagree, that they are not for sale, and whose only intention is to work for four straight years until we return to some semblance of reality.
It is time that the people elected actually work, instead of working to get reelected. Their job is to represent all of us, not just the people and corporations who gave money to their campaign. Or bought their house or flew the all over the world.
We're AMERICANS we can do anything if we set our collective will. We supposedly walked on the moon within 10 years of declaring it a goal. (Now we can't get there again until 2018?) With the internet, local television and hometown newspapers, a copy machine or your local Kinko's, the two party system can be circumvented. With enough "buzz" maybe it will get picked up as a fantasy story and get more exposure. A new party has to start somewhere. The Independent party hasn't worked, the Greens are a little too vegetarian and the Libertarians, while I agree with a lot of what they say, are a little too much or little, depending on your perspective.
What to do, what to do.
Just As Charity Begins At Home
So should conservation.
Does he have any idea how much fuel AF One burns? We have airlines filing bankruptcy (individuals won't be able to use this or anything else as an excuse) because their fuel prices have eaten into what little profits they had. Seven flights to the Gulf Coast to prop up his image and he wants the average American to give up extraneous trips? Sometimes I think the reason he wants us to get to Mars is because he's lonely and it's the only way he will ever have company.
Most cities are cutting back on public transportation because their budgets can't cover all of the other losses. In California people live farther away from their work and the suburbs do not have corner stores with the basics for emergencies. You have to drive everywhere. I was going to get a bicycle for all my short trips, but as my brother pointed out with the way people drive in the area the seven miles roundtrip for milk would be an extremely dangerous proposition. There is no bus or connecting bus to the market. When I lived in Los Angeles I used the bus system quite successfully for many years. I had a flexible schedule and was able to run across intersections for that 30 second window so I didn't have to wait 30 minutes to an hour for the next bus.
If the winter is colder and longer than usual, how many people are going to freeze because they can't afford fuel? When I lived in the lovely hamlet of Kerhonkson, NY we had to pay for our fuel before we received it. If the fuel bill doubles what kinds of choices are people on fixed incomes going to make? Last summer it cost me around $20 to fill up my gas tank, now it costs $37 and I get approximately 35 miles to the gallon. Now every second tank includes a third tank from last year. Can I absorb this rather substantial increase? No, not even remotely. How about the price of food? Headed on the way up to cover the increase in fuel. It is going to get ugly this winter.
For those who enjoy Christmas it is going to be a very lonely year.
Bush: U.S. ready to release oil from SPR - Sep. 27, 2005: "The president also announced that he had directed federal agencies to encourage employees to monitor their gasoline consumption through carpooling and limiting non-essential travel. He said he hoped that the American public would follow the federal government's lead when it comes to conservation.
'We can all pitch in by using -- by being better conservers of energy,' Bush said. 'People just need to recognize that these storms have caused disruption and that if they're able to maybe not drive on a trip that's not essential, that would be helpful.'"
Does he have any idea how much fuel AF One burns? We have airlines filing bankruptcy (individuals won't be able to use this or anything else as an excuse) because their fuel prices have eaten into what little profits they had. Seven flights to the Gulf Coast to prop up his image and he wants the average American to give up extraneous trips? Sometimes I think the reason he wants us to get to Mars is because he's lonely and it's the only way he will ever have company.
Most cities are cutting back on public transportation because their budgets can't cover all of the other losses. In California people live farther away from their work and the suburbs do not have corner stores with the basics for emergencies. You have to drive everywhere. I was going to get a bicycle for all my short trips, but as my brother pointed out with the way people drive in the area the seven miles roundtrip for milk would be an extremely dangerous proposition. There is no bus or connecting bus to the market. When I lived in Los Angeles I used the bus system quite successfully for many years. I had a flexible schedule and was able to run across intersections for that 30 second window so I didn't have to wait 30 minutes to an hour for the next bus.
If the winter is colder and longer than usual, how many people are going to freeze because they can't afford fuel? When I lived in the lovely hamlet of Kerhonkson, NY we had to pay for our fuel before we received it. If the fuel bill doubles what kinds of choices are people on fixed incomes going to make? Last summer it cost me around $20 to fill up my gas tank, now it costs $37 and I get approximately 35 miles to the gallon. Now every second tank includes a third tank from last year. Can I absorb this rather substantial increase? No, not even remotely. How about the price of food? Headed on the way up to cover the increase in fuel. It is going to get ugly this winter.
For those who enjoy Christmas it is going to be a very lonely year.
Tell Me They Are Joking
What are they thinking?
For all kinds of reasons this is sooo wrong.
On Sept. 15, I posted this photo on my stumble page, it was from the Dateline Hollywood link. Satire, humor with the razors edge of truth.
Great, just great. Now the rebuilding of America is a reality show. One that has been sued more than once. Shoddy work, suicide. What's next? Survivor? How long can you live without true government help when you are poor and homeless? The Amazing Race? Ten teams race around the Gulf Coast trying to accomplish good deeds? Martha? How to cover all that ugly water damage? The Apprentice? Well, somebody needs to be fired.
Jimmy Carter has spent the many years since his retirement (lol) working with Habitat for Humanity. Why not ask him?
Can't these people go back on vacation? I'm seeing way too much of them and it isn't helping.
For all kinds of reasons this is sooo wrong.
The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Laura Bush to appear on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition": "Laura Bush will travel to storm-damaged Biloxi, Miss., to film a spot on the feel-good, wish-granting hit 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.' Mrs. Bush sought to be on the program because she shares the 'same principles' that the producers hold, her press secretary said.
"
On Sept. 15, I posted this photo on my stumble page, it was from the Dateline Hollywood link. Satire, humor with the razors edge of truth.
Great, just great. Now the rebuilding of America is a reality show. One that has been sued more than once. Shoddy work, suicide. What's next? Survivor? How long can you live without true government help when you are poor and homeless? The Amazing Race? Ten teams race around the Gulf Coast trying to accomplish good deeds? Martha? How to cover all that ugly water damage? The Apprentice? Well, somebody needs to be fired.
Jimmy Carter has spent the many years since his retirement (lol) working with Habitat for Humanity. Why not ask him?
Can't these people go back on vacation? I'm seeing way too much of them and it isn't helping.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Just a thought
For a party that believes government should be small enough to drown in a bathtub, ala Andrea Yates, why did they hire so many friends?
From Time:
But then came Michael Brown. When President Bush's former point man on disasters was discovered to have more expertise about the rules of Arabian horse competition than about the management of a catastrophe, it was a reminder that the competence of government officials who are not household names can have a life or death impact. The Brown debacle has raised pointed questions about whether political connections, not qualifications, have helped an unusually high number of Bush appointees land vitally important jobs in the Federal Government.
Ok, so why are Jenna and notJenna still unemployed?
What Great Britain has learned from us
Who says nothing crosses the pond. The Bush Noministration has successfully exported the "shoot first, we'll worry about guilt later" philosophy.
And even more importantly, prosecute the people who release the truth. They must be punished before anything else is done. Unless you are Karl Rove, where you have to be convicted before you lose your job. As if he will ever go to trial.
Maybe once the mothers of distraction, (Cindy, Katrina and Rita) get done smacking the country around and pointing out the glaring inconsistencies we can get back to business. You remember that guy, Osama Bin Forgotten, don't you? Or maybe we could have a War on Global Warming using the money we save by getting the heck out of Iraq, or take the money from the failed wars on drugs and poverty and try to improve the lives of ordinary Americans. The ones that make less than $100,000 and are the actual worker bees of this country. Providing the food, transportation and entertainment for the undeclared royalty of America.
Yeah, right.
The Observer | UK News | Woman held in probe into Tube shooting leak: "Blair initially claimed that police had shouted a warning before approaching Menezes, but the documents said this was not the case. They also contradicted early reports that the Brazilian was wearing a bulky jacket that could have hidden explosives and that he jumped the ticket barrier at the stations. The police did not admit these reports were misleading until after the leak.
The details of the documents, which were broadcast on ITV News on 16 August, showed that Menezes was wearing a light denim jacket and jeans, that he used his Oyster card to pass through the ticket barrier and that no warning was issued before he was shot.
The Leicestershire force confirmed that the woman was arrested at one of several London addresses searched on Wednesday. It is not known if she is an employee of the IPCC or ITV News. Neither organisation would comment last night.
Shami Chakrabati, director of civil rights campaigners Liberty said: 'We must hope that the investigation into the shooting itself is being pursued with at least as much rigour as these leak inquiries.'
"
And even more importantly, prosecute the people who release the truth. They must be punished before anything else is done. Unless you are Karl Rove, where you have to be convicted before you lose your job. As if he will ever go to trial.
Maybe once the mothers of distraction, (Cindy, Katrina and Rita) get done smacking the country around and pointing out the glaring inconsistencies we can get back to business. You remember that guy, Osama Bin Forgotten, don't you? Or maybe we could have a War on Global Warming using the money we save by getting the heck out of Iraq, or take the money from the failed wars on drugs and poverty and try to improve the lives of ordinary Americans. The ones that make less than $100,000 and are the actual worker bees of this country. Providing the food, transportation and entertainment for the undeclared royalty of America.
Yeah, right.
Debsweb 23:5
Via Lawyers, Guns and Money
The title of my 23 post was No Wonder They Hate Us and the fifth sentence was:
Some things just won't go away. Like war crimes. Which historically have been determined by the victor, but this time the whole world knows. How do these people sleep at night?
I would send it on, but I'm not linked to anyone and I wouldn't want to provoke a rant unintentionally.
The title of my 23 post was No Wonder They Hate Us and the fifth sentence was:
Prison photos, shooting innocent civilians, this is getting out of hand.
Some things just won't go away. Like war crimes. Which historically have been determined by the victor, but this time the whole world knows. How do these people sleep at night?
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
I would send it on, but I'm not linked to anyone and I wouldn't want to provoke a rant unintentionally.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
When will they
Get off this man's back?
He wasn't going to play this year, but he did. Then he proceeded to hit homeruns, something very few other people accused of steroid use have been able to do. Doesn't seem to have affected his hand eye coordination. So what if he doesn't want to play every game in a season that can't be saved. Bonds has about as much chance of getting respect from certain sportswriters than I do of becoming President.
He wasn't going to play this year, but he did. Then he proceeded to hit homeruns, something very few other people accused of steroid use have been able to do. Doesn't seem to have affected his hand eye coordination. So what if he doesn't want to play every game in a season that can't be saved. Bonds has about as much chance of getting respect from certain sportswriters than I do of becoming President.
Whatever. Sounds like some kind of envy to me.
Disgraceful Bonds needs to look in mirror: "Bonds' latest disgrace came Tuesday before an inquisitive gathering in D.C., site of the congressional hearings (on steroids) that seemed to include everyone but him. Bonds has not been convicted, but he's a prime suspect, and as tired as the subject may be, people have their questions.
Bonds, naturally, turned the blame on everyone else. He said Congress should address 'issues that are more important. Right now, people are losing lives (in the wake of Hurricane Katrina), they don't have homes. I think that's a little more serious.' Then he looked sternly into the audience and said to the writers, 'Ask yourselves how much money you all personally donated, and have helped.'
This was beyond pathetic. Granted, nothing measures up to the hurricane relief effort in terms of federal attention. It is a time for introspection. We just don't need to hear that from Bonds, when the issue is the legitimacy of his home-run records. I'm sure his comments went over well with the mothers and fathers who have lost kids to steroid abuse or found a teenage son in the garage, pondering a hangman's noose. Steroids represent an epidemic in this country, and they kill, and whether Bonds likes it or not, he remains the No. 1 target of baseball suspicion. But wait a minute, we need to look in the mirror?
Here's the thing, Barry: It's only going to get worse. Unless you are somehow absolved of any steroid-related guilt, the questions will come faster, and harder, as you close in on Aaron. You say you're going to come back 'skinny' next year? That won't fool the skeptics. Most athletes fail to be accountable when their integrity comes under scrutiny, so we don't expect you to be special. But at least address the issues as they are presented. The BALCO case, your grand-jury testimony, the comments from your alleged mistress, the long and dubious absence -- that's nobody's fault but your own.
And up in the stands, as another Bonds homer disappears into the night, Magowan and Baer vigorously applaud.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
New definition of incompetence
Just the price of gas would have made me not drive my truck to Maine. When are people going to say "This is so stupid I'm not going to do it?" Common sense would have made me drive to some small town on the Gulf Coast and dropped my ice off where it was needed.
Lemmings, that's all America is now. Lemmings. We all know FEMA is incompetent, we know people are desperate for help. Show some initiative. Help the people in front of you and build the circle outward. So something to help besides follow stupid orders.
Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, FEMA, My Lai. Everyone is just following orders. Doesn't matter if they are right or stupid. Just do what your'e told.
Will we ever learn? This nation was founded by people who were willing to strike out for the unknown. Try new things, go new places. What happened? Where is my country?
Where?
KSDK NewsChannel 5 - Where The News Comes First - FEMA Sends Trucks Full Of Ice For Katrina Victims To Maine
Lemmings, that's all America is now. Lemmings. We all know FEMA is incompetent, we know people are desperate for help. Show some initiative. Help the people in front of you and build the circle outward. So something to help besides follow stupid orders.
Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, FEMA, My Lai. Everyone is just following orders. Doesn't matter if they are right or stupid. Just do what your'e told.
Will we ever learn? This nation was founded by people who were willing to strike out for the unknown. Try new things, go new places. What happened? Where is my country?
Where?
I wrote about this earlier
Salon.com Comics | The K Chronicles
So much for the blogger photo option. It is not working and neither is Blogroll. Very frustrating.
Monday, September 19, 2005
I'm not the only one
Email from a friend:
I second that reaction, but I will keep logging on in case they actually find news that's fit to print.
Sir:
I am writing in opposition to the "Times Select" nuclear option taken by the New York Times.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area (with its extraordinary cost of living) on a fixed income. I subscribe to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, my local paper and not the New York Times, because the NYTimes does not provide local coverage for my area.
There is no way that I have an extra $50.00 laying around that I can use for the privilege of reading the NYT Op/Ed pages. Due to economic realities, that money has to be used for food for my body, not food for my brain. I refuse to eat cat food in order to satisfy your corporate bottom line.
I am very disappointed in the NYTimes staff decision to exclude poor people from getting all the news that's fit to print..
I am very disappointed in the NYTimes staff decision to discriminate against those facing economic hardship (such as myself) by depriving me of information directly affecting my ability to be an informed American.
I'll be thinking of the NYTimes when I think of censorship. I'll be thinking of the NYTimes when I think of corporate America's greed.
I'll be thinking of the NYTimes as she once was, not what she has been turned into..
I will no longer log onto the NYTimes web pages. I will not click on any links that link to any NYTimes article.
The NYTimes does not care about poor people getting information. This poor person has chosen to no longer care about the alleged news provided by the NYTimes. Since the NYTimes has sold its soul, there is no reassurance that the news printed is news and not articles being printed for financial benefits for the NYTimes.
In disgust
I second that reaction, but I will keep logging on in case they actually find news that's fit to print.
More reality based budgeting?
I think not. If history is any indicator of past performance, this idea just won't fly.
2018 and this is the most forward thinking design? What drugs are these people on? Maybe they should try some, give them a little imagination. Did they ever read science fiction. Star Wars, Trek, Babylon 5 or Battlestar Galactica?
When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, I just knew I would be able to vacation on either it or Mars in 2000. Who would have thought we would be just as far back as when Robert Goddard built his rocket.
NASA estimates $104 billion for return to moon - Space News - MSNBC.com: "CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA estimated Monday it will cost $104 billion to return astronauts to the moon by 2018 using a shuttlelike rocket, Apollo-style capsule and lander capable of carrying four people to the surface."
2018 and this is the most forward thinking design? What drugs are these people on? Maybe they should try some, give them a little imagination. Did they ever read science fiction. Star Wars, Trek, Babylon 5 or Battlestar Galactica?
When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, I just knew I would be able to vacation on either it or Mars in 2000. Who would have thought we would be just as far back as when Robert Goddard built his rocket.
Voting Panel Will Propose New Calendar for Primaries - New York Times
Still not acceptable. I want a national primary, followed by 30 days of campaigning, we vote, whoever gets the most wins.
End of story. Otherwise money and family connections determine the electoral outcome.
No wonder people don't want to vote. I live in California and by the time we have our primary all we get are the dregs, the ones who have money. We NEVER get a crack at determining national votes. I don't even know why we bother to vote since our electoral votes don't mean squat. We aren't a "swing" state so we don't matter. We just pay taxes, provide a great place to vacation, provide entertainment, grow food, have a really important world economy. But we don't matter when it comes to choosing the leader of this country.
What's up with that?
I wasn't going to link to the Times in protest over their new editorial policy, but I guess I will keep reading the news until they give up. The only reason I paid for Salon is that I couldn't watch the commercials with all my filters on Firefox. Plus, they are snarky.
End of story. Otherwise money and family connections determine the electoral outcome.
Voting Panel Will Propose New Calendar for Primaries - New York Times: "¶In presidential election years, after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries, the other states should hold regional primaries and caucuses at monthly intervals in March, April, May and June, with the order rotated.
No wonder people don't want to vote. I live in California and by the time we have our primary all we get are the dregs, the ones who have money. We NEVER get a crack at determining national votes. I don't even know why we bother to vote since our electoral votes don't mean squat. We aren't a "swing" state so we don't matter. We just pay taxes, provide a great place to vacation, provide entertainment, grow food, have a really important world economy. But we don't matter when it comes to choosing the leader of this country.
What's up with that?
I wasn't going to link to the Times in protest over their new editorial policy, but I guess I will keep reading the news until they give up. The only reason I paid for Salon is that I couldn't watch the commercials with all my filters on Firefox. Plus, they are snarky.
One of my favorite series
I've read most of them.
"
My other favorites were The Adventures of Tom Swift Jr and Cherry Ames, and Trixie Belden. These were discovered in my alphabetical quest to discover a book that was being read to us in school, but we moved and I didn't know the name of the book. So until I found Meg, Charles Wallace, Mrs Who, Mrs What and Mrs Which I kept reading. The base library kept me going and during the summer of 1968 and throughout the school year I read the young adult section at the Vandenberg AFB library. Every single book that starred a girl or had science fiction, teenage sleuthing or a sense of adventure. Anything that wasn't normal (boring). I finally found my intrepid heroes in the L section, A Wrinkle In Time, one of my all time favorites.
And I wonder where my authority issues and independent streak come from. More reading and less television might lead one to critcal thinking, independent judgement and the ability to see the world in the future, not someone else's special effects.
Imagination is a wonderful and precious thing.
Salon.com Books | Who made Nancy Drew?: "As Benson -- the first woman to earn a master's degree in journalism from the University of Iowa -- testified during a highly publicized 1980 court trial to determine copyright status and ownership of Nancy Drew, 'I was probably a rough and tumble newspaper person who had to earn a living, and I was out in the world. That was my type of Nancy. Nancy was making her way in life.' (Benson worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 50 years and, after being widowed a second time, took to piloting planes to Central America for solo archaeological explorations.) Adams was every bit as progressive. A woman running a company was practically unheard of then, and she managed to stand up for herself in the male-dominated world of publishing while raising a family -- long before there were many resources for working mothers.
Adams spent more than 40 years feverishly keeping up appearances that Keene was a real person, and Benson spent almost as long modestly avoiding the limelight. Today, of course, hardly anyone remembers the court drama and media speculation over the true author behind the girl detective series. The Stratemeyer Syndicate is gone; Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams are dead. Nancy, however, lives on. (The 1959 version of 'The Secret of the Old Clock' sold around 150,000 copies in 2002, making it one of the top 50 bestselling children's books.)
"
My other favorites were The Adventures of Tom Swift Jr and Cherry Ames, and Trixie Belden. These were discovered in my alphabetical quest to discover a book that was being read to us in school, but we moved and I didn't know the name of the book. So until I found Meg, Charles Wallace, Mrs Who, Mrs What and Mrs Which I kept reading. The base library kept me going and during the summer of 1968 and throughout the school year I read the young adult section at the Vandenberg AFB library. Every single book that starred a girl or had science fiction, teenage sleuthing or a sense of adventure. Anything that wasn't normal (boring). I finally found my intrepid heroes in the L section, A Wrinkle In Time, one of my all time favorites.
And I wonder where my authority issues and independent streak come from. More reading and less television might lead one to critcal thinking, independent judgement and the ability to see the world in the future, not someone else's special effects.
Imagination is a wonderful and precious thing.
It does what?
I love how they save the best for last.
That's putting it mildly. Of course all they have to do is stifle the information, a tactic that has been used many times in the last five years. I didn't see this anywhere, not even on some of the subscription medical sites. Considering the prescription drugs that have been deemed safe and weren't, it might be a good idea to refocus the war on drugs. Such as making sure that people can afford the prescription their doctor gives them and the side effects aren't fatal.
Salon.com News | The return of reefer madness: "But that reasoning was called into question in late June, when Dr. Donald Tashkin of the UCLA School of Medicine presented a large, case-control study -- of the kind that have linked tobacco use with increases in lung cancer -- at an annual scientific meeting of the International Cannabinoid Research Society in Clearwater, Fla. Tashkin is no hippie-dippy marijuana advocate: His earlier work has been cited by the drug czar's office itself, because his research showed that marijuana can cause lung damage. The new study, however, found no connection between pot smoking -- even by heavy users -- and lung cancer. In fact, among the more than 1,200 people studied, those who had smoked marijuana, but not cigarettes, appeared to have a lower risk for lung cancer than even those who had smoked neither.
The new research has not yet been peer reviewed, but it appears congruent with earlier studies that found no link between marijuana and increased cancer risk. If the data holds up to further scrutiny and testing, one can only speculate what new ad campaign the drug czar's office might cook up. Marijuana may not make most people crazy, but this latest discovery could really drive the old drug warriors bonkers.
"
That's putting it mildly. Of course all they have to do is stifle the information, a tactic that has been used many times in the last five years. I didn't see this anywhere, not even on some of the subscription medical sites. Considering the prescription drugs that have been deemed safe and weren't, it might be a good idea to refocus the war on drugs. Such as making sure that people can afford the prescription their doctor gives them and the side effects aren't fatal.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Can we say?
Desperate?
I am almost speechless. People are still fighting to live, find their children, pets, relatives or friends.
Yes, this is very important. Due to an accident of birth, these people really think they are special. If they spent as much time working as they did trying to "enrich" their lives, FEMA might actually be able to do its job.
Every time I think they can't disgust me anymore, they find a way. Unfortunately.
I am almost speechless. People are still fighting to live, find their children, pets, relatives or friends.
TIME.com: Looking for a Corpse to Make a Case -- Page 1: "Federal troops aren't the only ones looking for bodies on the Gulf Coast. On Sept. 9, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions called his old law professor Harold Apolinsky, co-author of Sessions' legislation repealing the federal estate tax, which was encountering sudden resistance on the Hill. Sessions had an idea to revitalize their cause, which he left on Apolinsky's voice mail: '[Arizona Sen.] Jon Kyl and I were talking about the estate tax. If we knew anybody that owned a business that lost life in the storm, that would be something we could push back with.'
If legislative ambulance chasing looks like a desperate measure, for the backers of repealing the estate tax, these are desperate times. Just three weeks ago, their long-sought goal of repeal seemed within reach, but Katrina dashed their hopes when Republican leaders put off an expected vote. After hearing from Sessions, Apolinsky, an estate tax lawyer who says his firm includes three multi-billionaires among its clients, mobilized the American Family Business Institute, a Washington-based group devoted to estate tax repeal. They reached out to members along the Gulf Coast to hunt for the dead."
Yes, this is very important. Due to an accident of birth, these people really think they are special. If they spent as much time working as they did trying to "enrich" their lives, FEMA might actually be able to do its job.
Every time I think they can't disgust me anymore, they find a way. Unfortunately.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Bush Family Body Functions
What is it with this family? Leader of the free world and he's asking permission to go to the bathroom? Oh well, at least he asked. His dad just leaned over and puked in the Japanese Prime Minister's lap, so I guess it is some measure of progress that the son has learned how to relieve water on the brain and not let it dribble out and embarass himself.
bushnote1.jpg (JPEG Image, 379x217 pixels)
His mom must be so proud.
bushnote1.jpg (JPEG Image, 379x217 pixels)
His mom must be so proud.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Cold
Downright cold. Probably true though.
Gee, I can hardly wait for the rest of the jokes.
TheAgitator.com: Finding the Funny: Comments: "Q: What's Bush's position on Roe v. Wade?
A: He doesn't care how people get out of New Orleans."
Gee, I can hardly wait for the rest of the jokes.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Chinese Medicine and His Nibs
I had actually been planning to write about how Chinese Medicine sees America since it was the subject of intense discussion while I was in Acupuncture school. Then my friend Suzanne sent me this link and I thought maybe I should do something right now.
Chinese Medicine incorporates many different systems to classify or explain an object or phenomenon. At the core is Yin and Yang, the simplest yet most complicated. Then you branch out into the Three Jiaos, the Four Levels, the Five Elements, the Six Divisions and the Seven Emotions. We like to mix and match as we see fit, depending on the person and circumstance being viewed. From outside it doesn't look very scientific on a grand scale, but individually you can nail a personality and predict with pretty good accuracy how they will respond under stress.
I wish it was that simple. The emotions of the:
I put them in the order known as the Generating Cycle. One becomes the other. The simplest, most basic and the way it normally works. Where it gets interesting is the Control Cycle.
If the positive emotions are in control, most things work pretty well. When the negative gets out of balance you get a hungry monster that knows no limits. Yes, alcohol does have an effect on the liver, but it is first and foremost a drug, and as such it affects the Kidney. His nibs has had reported cocaine use which definitely destroys the Kidney.
I personally practice from the school of Spleen/Stomach, but the Kidney rules everything. Even though it is related to water, it is the fire that runs the body. It rules your bones, teeth and ears, it is responsible for making all your hormones. But most importantly, it rules the Brain. Otherwise known as an Extraordinary organ. You are born with a finite amount of Kidney energy, it is never in excess. How you live your life determines how quickly you burn it. Overindulging in anything can have consquences. Bill Clinton's big love affair is with food. His sex life may have embarrassed him, but Mickey D's darn near killed him.
The Heart is the emperor. His job is to be in the right place at the right time, grand and benevolent, ceremonial. In ancient times Heart points were never needled, you treated the Pericardium, the protector. The emperor appeared when needed and then returned to his life. The Heart is how you see the world with the eyes being the windows to the soul. His are glassy and usually focused slightly off center.
His nibs cocaine use took a heavy toll on his brain. Multitasking is not his strong suit, neither is focus. I see a major imbalance between the Kidney and Heart. He operates from fear and fright which prevents him from seeing the world clearly. You are either with us or against us screams fear and paranoia.
He does not see the world the way most people do. His reactions are either slow and sluggish, as if his words were wading through jello before surfacing, or fiery like someone had recently added habaneros to his kool aid. We call this Phlegm Misting the Orifices. His reactions are determined by whether phlegm or fire is predominant. His aides don't want to approach him anymore than you want to approach that homeless guy talking to himself at the bus stop.
You think he is a dry drunk, I think he has access to something, the swings are becoming more pronounced.
Chinese Medicine incorporates many different systems to classify or explain an object or phenomenon. At the core is Yin and Yang, the simplest yet most complicated. Then you branch out into the Three Jiaos, the Four Levels, the Five Elements, the Six Divisions and the Seven Emotions. We like to mix and match as we see fit, depending on the person and circumstance being viewed. From outside it doesn't look very scientific on a grand scale, but individually you can nail a personality and predict with pretty good accuracy how they will respond under stress.
firedoglake: 09/11/2005 - 09/17/2005: "Dry drunks are choking on rage, usually barely able to constrain it, and given to flashes of incredible temper -- as George Bush reputedly is. One of those reasons may be purely physical, in that people who abuse drugs and alcohol for long periods of time usually thrash their livers, which Chinese medicine believes to be the seat of anger."
I wish it was that simple. The emotions of the:
- Liver are Anger/Patience, the season is Spring, the time of life would be infant, the element is Wood
- Heart is Joy/Sadness/Hate, the season is Summer, the time of life would be teenager, the element is Fire
- Spleen is Empathy/Anxiety, the season is Indian Summer, the time of life would be adult, the element is Earth
- Lung is Grief/Courage, the season is Fall, the time of life is elderly, the element is Metal
- Kidney is Fear/Fright/Calmness, the season is Winter, the time of life is death, the element is Water
I put them in the order known as the Generating Cycle. One becomes the other. The simplest, most basic and the way it normally works. Where it gets interesting is the Control Cycle.
- Liver controls Spleen
- Spleen controls Kidney
- Kidney controls Heart
- Heart controls Lung
- Lung controls Liver
If the positive emotions are in control, most things work pretty well. When the negative gets out of balance you get a hungry monster that knows no limits. Yes, alcohol does have an effect on the liver, but it is first and foremost a drug, and as such it affects the Kidney. His nibs has had reported cocaine use which definitely destroys the Kidney.
I personally practice from the school of Spleen/Stomach, but the Kidney rules everything. Even though it is related to water, it is the fire that runs the body. It rules your bones, teeth and ears, it is responsible for making all your hormones. But most importantly, it rules the Brain. Otherwise known as an Extraordinary organ. You are born with a finite amount of Kidney energy, it is never in excess. How you live your life determines how quickly you burn it. Overindulging in anything can have consquences. Bill Clinton's big love affair is with food. His sex life may have embarrassed him, but Mickey D's darn near killed him.
The Heart is the emperor. His job is to be in the right place at the right time, grand and benevolent, ceremonial. In ancient times Heart points were never needled, you treated the Pericardium, the protector. The emperor appeared when needed and then returned to his life. The Heart is how you see the world with the eyes being the windows to the soul. His are glassy and usually focused slightly off center.
His nibs cocaine use took a heavy toll on his brain. Multitasking is not his strong suit, neither is focus. I see a major imbalance between the Kidney and Heart. He operates from fear and fright which prevents him from seeing the world clearly. You are either with us or against us screams fear and paranoia.
He does not see the world the way most people do. His reactions are either slow and sluggish, as if his words were wading through jello before surfacing, or fiery like someone had recently added habaneros to his kool aid. We call this Phlegm Misting the Orifices. His reactions are determined by whether phlegm or fire is predominant. His aides don't want to approach him anymore than you want to approach that homeless guy talking to himself at the bus stop.
You think he is a dry drunk, I think he has access to something, the swings are becoming more pronounced.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
If history runs true to form
This guy's reputation should be under attack in hours and he will be unemployed by the end of the week.
"
Like this will save him:
Independent Online Edition > Americas : app2: "In an exclusive interview, Hugh Kaufman, an expert on toxic waste and responses to environmental disasters at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said the way the polluted water was being pumped out was increasing the danger to health.
"
Like this will save him:
"Few people are better qualified to judge the extent of the problem. Mr Kaufman, who has been with the EPA since it was founded 35 years ago, helped to set up its hazardous waste programme. After serving as chief investigator to the EPA's ombudsman, he is now senior policy analyst in its Office of Solid Wastes and Emergency Response. He said the clean-up needed to be "the most massive public works exercise ever done", adding: "It will take 10 years to get everything up and running and safe."
Friday, September 09, 2005
And the excuse is?
What kind of excuse could there be? They practiced for virtually the same scenario just a year ago, a FEMA representative was there and thought it was helpful, so why the poor response? Why the surprise at the damage? Every day that goes by makes it harder to believe that this is just incompetence. I am sure that there is quite a bit of that, but the extended delay and the type of response might lead one to believe that they saw the opportunity to take advantage and implement some new theories on how to remake America in their image.
HARD TIMES IN BIG EASY / EFFORTS INTENSIFY TO EVACUATE LIVING, RECOVER DEAD / THE SCIENCE / Thousands dead, 1 million evacuated. Katrina? No, a simulation run last year.: "Government officials gathered in Baton Rouge a year ago to deal with a powerful hurricane bearing down on New Orleans.
They faced a nightmare scenario. A flooded city, 1 million evacuees, 60,000 dead -- all the work of Hurricane Pam.
The storm was not real. Staged with the help of a San Francisco company, Pam was a simulation designed to force government agencies to examine -- and possibly rethink -- their disaster plans."
Well, this will help someone
Just not the people who need it. Cool, pay people even less money, that will help them get back on their feet. Then they will try and spread this idea around the country. For the good of the nation since we will all be affected by the results of this catastrophe come this winter. Just like the movie Oil Storm this winter is going to be brutal.
People will be freezing in their homes. Here in San Jose the news reported that PG&E customers can expect to pay up to 40% more than last year. My mom hasn't had a raise in several years, minimum wage has caught up with her and she couldn't afford to earn less. It is easy to make pronouncements about what will help the economy (and he has such a great track record) when you have a job, regular food and a warm and dry home.
I just wish he was on the same planet as the rest of the world.
Bush allows Katrina contractors to pay below prevailing wage - Sep. 8, 2005: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush issued an executive order Thursday allowing federal contractors rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to pay below the prevailing wage."
People will be freezing in their homes. Here in San Jose the news reported that PG&E customers can expect to pay up to 40% more than last year. My mom hasn't had a raise in several years, minimum wage has caught up with her and she couldn't afford to earn less. It is easy to make pronouncements about what will help the economy (and he has such a great track record) when you have a job, regular food and a warm and dry home.
I just wish he was on the same planet as the rest of the world.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
I got linked to!
By a gentleman in Barcelona, Spain. I don't know why I have to add Spain, people should know where Spain is, but the results of that little quiz were interesting.
I didn't have a problem with Spain or the coastal countries, but interior countries can be a little more difficult. Play the game, have fun.
I didn't have a problem with Spain or the coastal countries, but interior countries can be a little more difficult. Play the game, have fun.
A Joke
Sent to me by a friend. New version of an old joke.
Unfortunately, the tag line makes more sense now. It's still not all that funny to me.
cargoweasel: A Joke:
So this guy walks into a talent agency and says to the agent, 'Have I got an act for you! It's a family act, you'll love it.'
The agent says 'Alright, lay it on me.'
Unfortunately, the tag line makes more sense now. It's still not all that funny to me.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Remember when this was a joke?
Who would have thought that this joke would come true? And with such disastrously fatal results.
This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done
And then there is this song to bring back memories:
The City of New Orleans
by Steve Goodman
Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passin' trains that have no names,
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.
CHORUS:
Good morning America how are you?
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
Dealin' card games with the old men in the club car.
Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor.
And the sons of pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel.
Mothers with their babes asleep,
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.
CHORUS
Nighttime on The City of New Orleans,
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
Half way home, we'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rolling down to the sea.
And all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news.
The conductor sings his song again,
The passengers will please refrain
This train's got the disappearing railroad blues.
Good night, America, how are you?
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
©1970, 1971 EMI U Catalogue, Inc and Turnpike Tom Music (ASCAP)He just didn't know it was going to be underwater.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Does this sound familiar?
Pack them up, ship them off, don't tell them where they are going, make it difficult for families to reconnect, sort of like a couple hundred years ago, except this time there are no overt chains. Yet.
Great, just great. For those people watching it is easy to say they should be grateful to be alive, but now will come the emotional toll. How will people find each other? Is the government going to pay to reunite families? Somehow in this kindler, gentler, compassionately conservative country...I don't think so. How do you prove who you are? How do you prove someone is dead? I mean, it's not like their taxes went towards improving their qualtiy of life, why not just make it impossible to collect any life insurance in a timely manner? This way there is a ready made underclass that will have no choice but to live on farms and reservations. A good portion of them will be educated, but that can be overlooked and you won't have to worry about the next generation having any of those uppity airs. What school system can absorb an influx of destitute students? And if they can, will they want to? Once again, I doubt it.
The fight for life will now become the fight to live in a country where the current government has demonstrated a complete and criminal indifference to their wellbeing. In Lucifer's Hammer, in the first chapter after the comet hits, there is something to the effect "the lucky ones died immediately". This has the potential to get really nasty and divisive.
What happened to my country?
Update: I hate Starbuck's coffee, but they seem to be nice employers. I still see some potential for fraud on both sides. While private enterprise is stepping up, though how they are going to convice people to pay a mortgage on a house that isn't there with a job they don't have, the government is achingly slow.
While New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast were drowning in water, FEMA and other assorted governmental officials were drowning in political quicksand. They at least get to go home and kiss the wife and kick the dog.
MySA.com: "At least one volunteer at Camp Williams says the scattershot rescue will make reconnecting families tougher, and reinforces their feelings of helplessness, said Christine Hurst, a certified crisis counselor.
Hurst said one young evacuee on Saturday told a family member in Texas that she was en route to Houston only to wind up in Utah."
Great, just great. For those people watching it is easy to say they should be grateful to be alive, but now will come the emotional toll. How will people find each other? Is the government going to pay to reunite families? Somehow in this kindler, gentler, compassionately conservative country...I don't think so. How do you prove who you are? How do you prove someone is dead? I mean, it's not like their taxes went towards improving their qualtiy of life, why not just make it impossible to collect any life insurance in a timely manner? This way there is a ready made underclass that will have no choice but to live on farms and reservations. A good portion of them will be educated, but that can be overlooked and you won't have to worry about the next generation having any of those uppity airs. What school system can absorb an influx of destitute students? And if they can, will they want to? Once again, I doubt it.
The fight for life will now become the fight to live in a country where the current government has demonstrated a complete and criminal indifference to their wellbeing. In Lucifer's Hammer, in the first chapter after the comet hits, there is something to the effect "the lucky ones died immediately". This has the potential to get really nasty and divisive.
What happened to my country?
Update: I hate Starbuck's coffee, but they seem to be nice employers. I still see some potential for fraud on both sides. While private enterprise is stepping up, though how they are going to convice people to pay a mortgage on a house that isn't there with a job they don't have, the government is achingly slow.
While New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast were drowning in water, FEMA and other assorted governmental officials were drowning in political quicksand. They at least get to go home and kiss the wife and kick the dog.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Cracked me up
Thanks for the laugh. I can't decide if I'm laughing because it is well written, or so close to the truth that you laugh nervously. Heh, heh.
Shakespeare's Sister: "“I appreciate your questions, and I understand the devastationalism. The response was unacceptable, but Brownie did a heckuva job. It’s hard work, and we’re making progress. Heh heh. Now is not the time to point fingers. We’ve got to stay the course and project strength. Let me finish. We won’t negotiate with Mother Nature, and I hear she might be sending more hurricanes our way—bring ’em on. We must not forget 9/11. We're in for a long struggle, and I think Louisianianesians understand that…and so do Americans. Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream. American families are a hardworking people, and they’re working hard to rebuild the rubbles."
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Alternate Reality or Deliberate Plan?
I am 49 years old and up until this point I have never been accused of having a chip on my shoulder about being a person of color. I actually have always thought I was pretty lucky because I am the shade that blondes like to waste hours of their lives on the beach, by the pool, or under a lamp, to become a precancerous aged leathery version of what I have naturally. I have never thought it was a conspiracy that even with a Master's degree, a great sense of humor, the ability to cook up a storm, no children, and no drug or alcohol abuse, I haven't been able to secure my financial present or future.
Until now. I thought racism was dying out, but between the Darfur situation and what I truly believe is a calculated debacle on the Gulf Coast, I need to reconsider my fairy tale view of the US and realize that unless you entertain the people in power or provide a service they don't feel like doing, you are expendable and just using resources that can go to their friends or unemployed offspring.
Things are going great if it's your intent to reduce the black and poor population of the United States. Things are going swimmingly. Unlike her husband, this woman is not known for verbal gaffes. I can't believe that they are this clueless. Behind closed doors they're laughing at how dumb the public is to believe that this is because they were incompetent when really it's their version of the "Final Solution".
They probably order up popcorn to eat while watching Volcano and wishing it really would take out Los Angeles, at least the section with all those brown and black people.
Until now. I thought racism was dying out, but between the Darfur situation and what I truly believe is a calculated debacle on the Gulf Coast, I need to reconsider my fairy tale view of the US and realize that unless you entertain the people in power or provide a service they don't feel like doing, you are expendable and just using resources that can go to their friends or unemployed offspring.
First lady visits Louisiana center, says it's not like what you're seeing on T-V: "Mrs. Bush has visited an evacuation center inside the Cajundome in Lafayette. She told reporters the center 'doesn't really look like what we're seeing on television.' The first lady says 'some things are working really, really well in Louisiana.'
Things are going great if it's your intent to reduce the black and poor population of the United States. Things are going swimmingly. Unlike her husband, this woman is not known for verbal gaffes. I can't believe that they are this clueless. Behind closed doors they're laughing at how dumb the public is to believe that this is because they were incompetent when really it's their version of the "Final Solution".
They probably order up popcorn to eat while watching Volcano and wishing it really would take out Los Angeles, at least the section with all those brown and black people.
Evolution and New Orleans
I believe the reason why the majority of Americans believe in Intelligent Design or Creationism and refuse to believe in Evolution can be summed up in one simple observation.
To believe in Evolution, you have to accept that man started from little black people in Africa. What a frightening thought. No way, don't you know they aren't civilized. Black people descended from apes, God made white man in his own image. Seriously. No, really.
My father forced me to attend Sunday school and church every Sunday morning starting from age 6 until I left home at 18. I started with the Southern Baptists in Spokane, WA. I remember standing on our corner waiting for some strange people to pick me up, sitting on the front pew with my little legs sticking straight out, and having the preacher yell and scream about sin, fire and brimstone. He would rage, turn people, say we were going to hell and he always pointed at me. The little pigtailed, eyeglass wearing and only black person in the congregation. Every week.
I have studied with black congregations, Lutheran, Epispocpalians, Jehovah's Witness, Mormons, and any other church my dad could find that was on or near the base we were stationed. I belonged to youth groups, bible studies, etc. I've read the Bible cover to cover.
At the same time, I was attending normal school in the 60's and early 70's. Reading, writing, arithmetic (different from mathematics), and those pesky word problems. You know, the ones you had to think through, not memorize answers? Anyway, two concurrent paths leading to one individual with an attitude problem. They taught me to think critically and I quickly came to the conclusion that I didn't want to be black and I didn't want to be female.
Well guess what? I am a short, well endowed, black female with what I am told is an extremely high IQ. Bred for success. If I could sing, dance, act or play tennis I would have it made. My talents don't lie in that direction. I am an observer, a thinker who likes the big picture as well as the little details.
America doesn't like me or people like me. Until I was 12, the only black people I ever saw were my dad and brothers. Mom is a grey eyed blond German he married in 1954 and loved until the day he died, July 4, 1991. As a young adult I had a heated discussion with a black couple on whether Americans discriminated against me because I was black and I maintained it was because I was female.
I apologize. Twenty-five years have passed and I admit that you were right and I was wrong. Really wrong. Painfully wrong.
For a supposedly smart person it sure took me a long time to see the light.
Thank God I don't live in New Orleans or Mississippi where the only light their seeing is the one as you take your last breath.
God bless America, where we can respond to an uexpected 8.6 earthquake on the other side of the world, but we can't (I think it's won't) help our own citizens from a disaster with advance warning. Shameful.
The world is laughing at us.
To believe in Evolution, you have to accept that man started from little black people in Africa. What a frightening thought. No way, don't you know they aren't civilized. Black people descended from apes, God made white man in his own image. Seriously. No, really.
My father forced me to attend Sunday school and church every Sunday morning starting from age 6 until I left home at 18. I started with the Southern Baptists in Spokane, WA. I remember standing on our corner waiting for some strange people to pick me up, sitting on the front pew with my little legs sticking straight out, and having the preacher yell and scream about sin, fire and brimstone. He would rage, turn people, say we were going to hell and he always pointed at me. The little pigtailed, eyeglass wearing and only black person in the congregation. Every week.
I have studied with black congregations, Lutheran, Epispocpalians, Jehovah's Witness, Mormons, and any other church my dad could find that was on or near the base we were stationed. I belonged to youth groups, bible studies, etc. I've read the Bible cover to cover.
At the same time, I was attending normal school in the 60's and early 70's. Reading, writing, arithmetic (different from mathematics), and those pesky word problems. You know, the ones you had to think through, not memorize answers? Anyway, two concurrent paths leading to one individual with an attitude problem. They taught me to think critically and I quickly came to the conclusion that I didn't want to be black and I didn't want to be female.
Well guess what? I am a short, well endowed, black female with what I am told is an extremely high IQ. Bred for success. If I could sing, dance, act or play tennis I would have it made. My talents don't lie in that direction. I am an observer, a thinker who likes the big picture as well as the little details.
America doesn't like me or people like me. Until I was 12, the only black people I ever saw were my dad and brothers. Mom is a grey eyed blond German he married in 1954 and loved until the day he died, July 4, 1991. As a young adult I had a heated discussion with a black couple on whether Americans discriminated against me because I was black and I maintained it was because I was female.
I apologize. Twenty-five years have passed and I admit that you were right and I was wrong. Really wrong. Painfully wrong.
For a supposedly smart person it sure took me a long time to see the light.
Thank God I don't live in New Orleans or Mississippi where the only light their seeing is the one as you take your last breath.
God bless America, where we can respond to an uexpected 8.6 earthquake on the other side of the world, but we can't (I think it's won't) help our own citizens from a disaster with advance warning. Shameful.
The world is laughing at us.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Neanderthal or Lucy?
I can't believe this excuse for a human being gets heard, much less paid to spout this bull. She is depriving some worthy person of oxygen and other valuable resources.
Coulter: New York Firefighters aren't really Ne ... [Media Matters]: "On The Radio Factor, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter opined that New York firefighters are 'Americans' not New Yorkers and that citing them as an example of New Yorkers helping out victims of
Hurricane Katrina is like 'citing the Christian Club at Harvard.' In making the claim, Coulter was defending claims she made earlier on the show to guest host Al Rantel that 'I'm waiting to see if New Yorkers will run to support the suffering victims of Katrina,' and that she had doubts because 'New Yorkers don't consider themselves a part of the rest of America.'"
She finds my last nerve and sets it on fire. One of the reasons for not continuing my Time subscription was the article they did on the Wicked Witch of Washington.
And you thought that title was owned by Hillary.
Coulter: New York Firefighters aren't really Ne ... [Media Matters]: "On The Radio Factor, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter opined that New York firefighters are 'Americans' not New Yorkers and that citing them as an example of New Yorkers helping out victims of
Hurricane Katrina is like 'citing the Christian Club at Harvard.' In making the claim, Coulter was defending claims she made earlier on the show to guest host Al Rantel that 'I'm waiting to see if New Yorkers will run to support the suffering victims of Katrina,' and that she had doubts because 'New Yorkers don't consider themselves a part of the rest of America.'"
She finds my last nerve and sets it on fire. One of the reasons for not continuing my Time subscription was the article they did on the Wicked Witch of Washington.
And you thought that title was owned by Hillary.
Collections from the Internets
An extremely well written post. Also one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs..
Whiskey Bar: When the Levee Breaks
This is not looking good, to put it mildly.
Then there are the other points of view, there's the ostrich, let's make a profit, football rules, fear induced mob mentality, the Nero philosophy, and just outright rascist, homophobic stupidity and last but certainly not least is the absolute incompetence of clueless leader.
My heart is breaking.
Whiskey Bar: When the Levee Breaks
This is not looking good, to put it mildly.
Then there are the other points of view, there's the ostrich, let's make a profit, football rules, fear induced mob mentality, the Nero philosophy, and just outright rascist, homophobic stupidity and last but certainly not least is the absolute incompetence of clueless leader.
My heart is breaking.
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