Stupid Begets Stupid

Politico has the results of a poll (OMG! the rampant stupidity from the respondents is mindboggling) commissioned by the Kos group, a blog to which I neither read nor link to. The results didn't really surprise me considering how many people consider Fox News to be "fair and balanced", but one of the comments did. Someone called "beisbolfan" sounded relatively reasonable and informed until you get to the third paragraph.

For Republicans to even think about the word "impeachment" is absolutely nuts. Didn't these idiots learn anything from the Clinton episode? People don't like the opposition trying to overturn democratic elections in the courts.

I don't believe he is a socialist, but he does want a strong "social safety net", and very intrusive government regulation of private business. That is basically how western Europe is governed, and I don't have much problem with it. My main goal as a conservative is to preserve traditional America as much as possible.

That means stopping mass immigration. I want my nation to remain majority white for as long as possible. And I don't care who doesn't like hearing that or reading that. Why should white people, whose ancestors founded this country, volunteer to become a racial minority, by accepting unlimited immigration?

Most people want to live in residential neighborhoods where the majority of their neighbors are people of their own race, language, religion, culture. That's the truth, and everybody knows it. Whites don't move into nonwhite neighborhoods. If their neighborhood becomes majority nonwhite, they typically move out, if they can.

I also believe firmly in capitalism, as free and unfettered as possible, albeit with sensible regulations. The prior 8 years are enough evidence that the financial system needs policing.

So, don't call Obama a socialist. George Will, a pretty even-keel conservative, wrote "nobody wants to live in a country without a welfare system"

He was right.

White people founded this country?  I'm sure this is a major surprise to the Indians who lived here for hundreds of years before the Puritans invaded and brought their restricted views on life to the new world.  And since history isn't taught in school anymore and teabaggers believe that only whites were willing to die for freedom, Crispus Attucks has been deliberately relegated to the dustbin of history.

So what am I?  Dad married mom, a German citizen at the time.  She got her citizenshipin 1959 and proudly called it the best day of her life.  There isn't one inch of me that identifies with my so called African heritage.  The only African heritage I have is my skin color.  Period.  I don't dance because I hate that frog in a blender look.  I definitely don't rap and singing is relegated to places where people can't hear me, like my car.

My preferred music is classic rock, though I have tunes from Glenn Miller to Pink Floyd, Dusty Springfield to Michael Jackson and Beck to MC Hammer in addition to Amy Winehouse, Golden Earring, the Scorpions, Grover Washington, Jr.and Led Zeppelin on my iPod.

Black citizens in Britain are called British, black citizens in France are called French.  I'm an American.  Not a black American, nor am I a German American.  I'm an American who was willing to die for her country so the above bumpkin could make stupid remarks with complete freedom.  It does make me wonder why I was so eager to fight for a country that hates me so much.

With attitudes like these, it's no wonder that there are still women in th USA who don't know they're pregnant until they give birth.  There even was a television series on TLC called I didn't know I was pregnant.  Innocence was not lost, information was imparted at at an age where girls need to know before the parents think they need to learn it. Raging hormones are better helped by the truth than they are by a promise ring. And if parents think ten year old boys aren't looking at Playboy, or National Geographic like when I was a kid, they are not living on the same planet as the rest of us.  On the other hand, these people are from Texas.  The state that ranks fifth in teen pregnancies and third in teen births.  The mythical theory that abstinence and religion prevent pregnancy is wrong, it's correct information and contraception that do.

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Thank You Netflix Streaming

The chin.  Those lips.  The eyes.  The smile.  OMG, I'm in love with Captain Jack.  That would be Harkness, not Sparrow.  Whenever he's on screen I spend most of my time thinking about how good looking he is, how he resembles Mark Harmon in some interesting ways and what I'd like him to do to me.  Whether it's the seductive looks he gives Gwen that his body can't cash, the passionate kisses with Ianto and Captain John Hart (James Marsters from Buffy), or slow dancing with the man who inspired his name, Jack has stolen my heart.

I know it is a passion that will never be returned since he is committed to a civil partnership, but John Barrowman has replaced Nathan Fillion as the sexiest (vote for John as the gay man of the decade. Yes, I know the decade isn't over yet and Neil Patrick Harris is a good guy, but not nearly as good looking) science fiction captain.  Besides, Torchwood has more episodes than Firefly to drool over.  And I'm definitely drooling.  Whoever thinks that the British are uptight, hasn't been watching BBC television.  They have more sex than an R rated movie, it's tastefully done and treated as a fact of life.  That some American viewers are disturbed by the allusions to homosexual sex while heterosexual sex is shown, only demonstrates how far the stick is up our ass about sex.  Everybody does it, otherwise the human race would have died out long ago.  And a lot of people do it just for fun, which goes a long way to explaining why more babies are born in July, August and September.  There's not much else to do when one is snowed in.

Torchwood's first season was a little slow, but still fascinating.  The second season rounds out the characters with well placed humor and hints of independence.  Ianto has blossomed from an uptight fixer to a dry and witty character in his own right.  Plus, he gets to kiss Captain Jack.  Often.  Gwen, Owen and Toshiko make an interesting crew and the storylines are different than the normal crap shown here in the US.  Why in the world did I read the Torchwood Wiki? Now I know what happens to the characters.  I do hope there is a Season 4.

Oh well, at least I have a few more episodes left to indulge my fantasies.

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Of Men And Dogs

I've tried to resist writing about George Sodini because just like the man who shot John Lennon (and yes I know his name but refuse to use it) he shouldn't be glorified and he shouldn't receive in death what he couldn't achieve in life.  I feel no sympathy for the man or his dating issues and it most certainly isn't my fault or any other woman on the planet that he didn't have dates or get laid.  Because one has outdoor plumbing doesn't automatically entitle one to be a success with the opposite sex and it certainly doesn't mean women are emasculating, dominating or contemptuous if they aren't interested in you (beware, the link belongs to an angry wackjob site that hates women, which is obvious by the language they use to describe us).  It could mean that you are a little weird and women feel uncomfortable around you.  Which is more your problem than theirs.  And hating women because you feel rejected is not likely to increase your chances of dating success.

In my own life I learned many years ago that men were interested in me for mainly one reason and it was located south of their belt buckle.  A girl can get tired of that sort of thing, which I did, and take herself off the market.  Which I also did.  I wasn't put here to make men happy just as men weren't put here to make me happy but that doesn't give me the right to blame the opposite sex for their lack of interest in me as a person.  And it most certainly doesn't give me the right to take someone else's life out of frustration.

Speaking of dogs, they might not be as smart as a fifth grader but they can be pretty darn smart when they need to be.  When Shai was a puppy she knew all her toys by name and would bring the proper one when asked.  She also has emotions that are easily recognizable, the two most prominent being happiness and disgust. She's really good at letting me know when I don't live up to her expectations or aren't reading her mind correctly.  What I want to know is how my dogs know I've decided to take them to the park while I'm typing at the computer.  Without moving or stopping my typing they all of a sudden start running back and forth, barking at their leash, looking at the doggie bags and pawing at the front door.  Very strange.

And in the interest of being fair, since I picked on cats last week, here is how to take a puppy picture.

1. Remove film from box and load camera.
2. Remove film box from puppy's mouth and throw in trash.
3. Remove puppy from trash and brush coffee grounds from muzzle.
4. Choose a suitable background for photo.
5. Mount camera on tripod and focus.
6. Find puppy and take dirty sock from mouth.
7. Place puppy in pre-focused spot and return to camera.
8. Forget about spot and crawl after puppy on knees.
9. Focus with one hand and fend off puppy with other hand.
10. Get tissue and clean nose print from lens.
11. Take flash cube from puppy's mouth and throw in trash.
12. Put cat outside and put peroxide on the scratch on puppy's nose.
13. Put magazines back on coffee table.
14. Try to get puppy's attention by squeaking toy over your head.
15. Replace your glasses and check camera for damage.
16. Jump up in time to grab puppy by scruff of neck and say, "No, outside! No, outside!"
17. Clean up mess.
18. Fix a drink.
19. Sit back in Lazy Boy with drink and resolve to teach puppy "sit" and "stay" the first thing in the morning.

My dogs don't present with these issues, they are hams of the first order and as soon as they see a camera they stop doing whatever cute thing it was that made me find the camera and start posing.

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People Are Weird

How do I get a job working for a company that will secretly pay me an early million dollar bonus for helping them lose money all year long?  Merrill Lynch had to be taken over by Bank of America and the executives were duly rewarded at the American taxpayer's expense.  Must have been nice to know that you can screw up, get rewarded handsomely and still have a job when your company has to be sold due to fiscal mismanagement.

Yes, their image is offensive.  As is their behavior and attitude of entitlement.  No amount of regulation at this point is going to change the fact that they took what they wanted and now that their house of cards has fallen down, they want to be chief architect on the next one.  Probably so that they can make sure to build a jacuzzi on the ground floor.  And a train ride will not make you look like a common man.  Even if it does take eight hours.  We know you have private and corporate jets available, you just don't want to be pilloried for flaunting the wealth.  As soon as the hearings are over, the bankers will return to their indulgences.

Oh yeah, that southern route looks safe.  Not.

For some reason I thought I was fairly liberal, open minded and tolerant.  Then I heard about a paraphilia that involves cannibalism and that put an end to my open mindedness.  And zoophilia?  I'm pretty sure that Lady Heather wouldn't approve.  Leave those animals alone.

"You slice off a piece of somebody and together you fry it and cook it and eat it," she said. "There's a Web site for almost anything."

In 2003, a computer technician advertised on the Internet for a well-built male prepared to be slaughtered and then consumed. His willing victim agreed to have his penis cut off, which was flambéed and served up to eat together before the victim died, according to the BBC. The courts debated whether the act constituted murder, because the victim had solicited the act.

That was more than I needed to know. Living frugally should not include cleaning your plate.  If your are full, you are full and eating what's left will only make you fat.  Either try cooking less or cook extra and put it away before you make your plate and you can save money and lose weight at the same time.

Better late than never.  And for the people of Washington, DC, it's about flipping time.  They've been the poster child for taxation without representation for far too long.

Should a woman be on the Stimulus Conference Committee?  Well, let's see.  Women are 51% of the population, the are not getting laid off as quickly as the men (the bright side of earning 77% of what a man did), increasingly the head of household, two women were responsible for amending the senate version of the stimulus package...hmm, I don't know. I guess all those old guys who haven't had to look for a job in years might think about provisions that protect women and children, but I doubt it.

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Hubris Usually Precedes A Fall Unless IOKIYAR

So much for  constituents having a say in who represents them.  And you thought the Daley years were bad.  At least the Longs of Louisiana had interesting accents, but Blagojevich wins the award for political stupidity this year and probably the decade.  I never thought anyone would top Bush's "heckuva job, Brownie," but I was wrong." 

It's amazing how fast some politicians end up in jail and how quickly legislators in some states try to remove them from office while politicians who have been convicted on seven counts are still out wandering around, pandering and receiving sympathy.   Of course he's not Don Siegelman  or a black guy with a fake pistol robbing a 7/11 so he's still likely to get off.

Maybe if his stance had been a little less wide somebody might have believed him.  On the other hand, Larry Craig isn't Mark Foley.

While three Illinois Governors have gone to the Big House (just not the one they were elected for) did you know that three out of four (Madeline Albright, Condeleeza Rice and more than likely Hilary Clinton) of the last Secretary's of State have been women?  I guess one could draw their own conclusion on how important the position is any more.)  And so far they have all  managed to stay out of jail even though Colin Powell (the token guy in the group who has manged to avoid most of the mudslinging about his false testimony on those WMDs that were hidden so well that the Road Runner couldn't find them.)  No matter how hard Ken Starr tried to ruin the Clintons, she's still standing.

I have a friend that lives in the area and I haven't heard from her.  I'm worried because as unlucky as I am, she has the unfortunate luck to be in the wrong place most of the time.  I really hope she's all right.

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Sunday Morning Musings

When is your last request subject to change?  When you happen to be a Catholic Cardinal who is one step away from "Sainthood".    It seems that Cardinal John Henry Newman had requested that he be laid to rest next to his long time friend Ambrose St.John and that's where he's been since he died in 1890.  Now that he's one step away, the Vatican wants to move his remains to a special sarcophagus in another town.  The Vatican's excuse?  So the remains will be more accessible for venerating faithful.  Hmm, sounds more like trying to remove any inference that he might be gay.  It almost cracks me up because it is so hypocritical.   Through the years Popes have had mistresses and even children, but that some people might think that one of the saints was a homosexual is something that must be covered up.   Religious tolerance is rarely tolerant or religious.

The first mention of Obama and his speechfound in my Google Reader News was at spot 26, Sarah Palin was the number two article.  The press has found a new darling and she's photogenic.  For a Republican.  I wonder how long it's going to take the Demowienies to learn how to play politics?  After so many years of doing the same old thing and getting the same old bad results you would think they could get a clue.  But time after time the Republicans manage to steal the stage and make the news world revolve around themselves.   The only way the Dumocrats are going to be able to steal the political stage back would be if Obama decided to either not run or appoints Hillary as his new Veep pick.  And we all know that isn't going to happen.  The Republicans got just what they wanted, which was to run against Obama and not Hillary and the American citizenry are going to get four more years of McSame. Oh joy.

There is one other thing that pissed me off about John Edwards and his "liason" with what's her name, and it's something I haven't seen mentioned in the news.  Has the man never heard of protection?  The all weather raincoat should always be used when liaising with anyone other than your spouse.  With an HIV infection rate of one American every nine and a half minutes, the odds are not on your side if you ride bareback.  Personal raincoats also reduce the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy, but I guess condoms might be hard to hide from your wife and buying them yourself or asking an aide to do it would have been a dead giveaway that you were having an affair.  You set more than a bad example of behavior by having sex after taking marriage vows and your wife having more on her plate than she should have to deal with in one lifetime, you have given the impression that unprotected sex is okay.  It isn't and many more children will be born with a disease that could have been prevented by a little forethought.  Something you didn't think was important.  That's why I'm pissed.  In that one, or however many it took, act, you showed a lack of leadership and glorified irresponsibility.

The list of noshows at the Republican Convention is quite impressive.  And it can't be blamed on Gustav.  Or the California budget crisis.  No matter how hard they try.  Minneapolis is nowhere near where Gustav is expected to make landfall.  And they can't really think that we would believe that they want to be available to help those who can't afford to leave their homes.  And that budget thing?  Total BS since the Republicans are the ones who are holding everything up by insisting that the poor make up the difference in the budget instead of those who can afford to pay taxes.

I was never a Warren Zevon fan until it was too late, but here is a video that Billy Bob Thornton made with Warren and John Waite and a few others before Warren's last appearance on the Letterman show.  It isn't the whole song, but you can tell everyone knew it was going to be the last time.  Knockin' On Heaven's Door. It's enough to bring tears to your eyes. He had some great friends.


And because I'm really pensive this morning, Johnny Cash and his rendition of Hurt by the Nine Inch Nails..


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Dear John

What is it with politicians and their inability to keep their zippers closed?  After Gary Hart, how could you be so dumb?   I guess now we know why you dropped out of the presidential race so early.  Unless you are a Republican like McCain or Gingrich, being outed will derail a campaign.   You were probably hoping that the press wouldn't find out since they had proved incapable of researching the lies that led us into a war that you have admitted was wrong..  Surprise!  If you could admit you made a mistake about a vote that cost people their lives, why not admit you had messed up before it became a campaign issue?  For another candidate.

Along with most other people on the planet, let me express my disgust and displeasure at your actions and the sorrow it is causing the innocent members of your family.  As I'm sure you are well aware by now, you should be ashamed of yourself.   Did you think you were a Republican and could get away with it?

I know that Mark Foley's inappropriate behavior with male pages was glossed over and forgotten, that David Vitter's predilection for prostitutes and diapers has been forgiven and forgotten, and that Larry Craig's wide stance is considered more humorous than sexual, but you of all people should have known better.  The media loves nothing more than to run with a sex story, especially one that involves a candidate with expensive haircuts.  It saves them the hassle of reporting on stories that affect the country such as the Saddam forgery letter.  Or how bad the economy really is.

You were my preferred candidate, I thought the rest were pale imitations of a man with principles.  I hate when I'm proved wrong.  So, in the words of my friend L, don't let the doorknob hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.

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Jaw Dropping Crap

Asking if  Congress deserves a vacation is like waking up and smoking a joint to decide if you want to smoke a joint.  Shouldn't they have to do some work first?  At least occasionally?  In the never ending run for the White House, how many votes have McCain and Obama missed while they were running for another office because the one they're in isn't good enough?  And please, using the example that the Demowienies don't want to cave in to the Republicans is foolish since there are more than enough examples to go around.  Fortunately 472 of them are up for reelection this year, maybe they'll get a surprise at the polls.

Things are getting better all the time.  Pretty soon the only people employed in America will be those who provide personal luxury services to our overlords.

The police are sticking with their story that the kid with the broken back and foot tried to get up and walk into traffic so that's why they had to taser him 19 times.  Do they drug test cops?  Because if they don't, they should.  On a daily basis.  Especially hallucinogens.

Hmm, I see the cojone missing stormtroopers have struck again.  What possible excuse (other than revenge) could there be for placing a compromising package (you know they did it), bursting into the mayor's home and then shooting his two Labrador Retrievers, one of whom was hunted while running away, to death?  No arrests were made.

I joined the Army in 1974 and I can honestly say that other than a few bawdy jokes (that I enjoyed because they were funny) and the occasional "accidental" brush against my tits, only one person ever harassed me and he ended up at Leavenworth doing hard time for a few years. Hhis conviction ostensibly had nothing to do with me since my First Sergeant wouldn't take me seriously, but I knew something else that caused his incarceration and had no hesitation about making sure the MPs found out about it.   Other than that, my troop mates were my friends and they treated me just like the other guys.  Now it seems that a woman serving in the military is as likely to be assaulted by the people who are supposed to be watching her back as she is to be killed or wounded by a terrorist.  I thought it was supposed to be you were more likely to be killed by a terrorist as to get married after forty?  Methinks that order in the military isn't what it used to be.

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The Thailand Edition

The lyrics are a little easier to follow on this one.

The Sky Is Falling

Alert the media. The illusion that they call pulling oneself up by the bootstrap is under attack. From politics to the weather, people have no control. The middle of the country is underwater, the west is on fire and the east's power grid is unstable. A major bridge fell into the water, New Orleans is still under nominal repair, the economy is tanking, the choice between buying food or buying gas so you can get to work before they lay you off is consuming household budgets and now the press is worried. Funny how they don't mention the destruction of the Constitution or the growing disparity between the have nots and have mores.

This probably isn't clear to those who aren't living in Iraq, but after seven years of war, their husbands and children killed arbitrarily, maybe, just maybe, they don't feel like life is worth living.

The opinion pages are busy this morning. Pointing out the obvious. Of course we need to reduce our dependence on oil instead of a stupid plan that will take years to complete and only benefits the oil companies while doing nothing to prepare us for a future without oil. Where were these guys when we were preparing to trudge off to war?

No. Really? I hadn't noticed. Does America dislike black people more than old people? Some days it's hard to tell, they treat both groups with disdain. Overrepresent the interests of African Americans. Are they serious? The only thing Obama is going to overrepresent is himself. His track record for defending the Constitution is pretty weak, so I'm not expecting him to take care of the little guy. Unless it suits his needs at the time.

This would be funny, if it wasn't so sad. Most men like to have sex with women. This means that there must be a somewhat equal supply of women in order to do that. Then they want to marry a virgin, so now women are opting for surgical intervention in an effort to fulfill a male fantasy and to keep from being a spinster or being killed. Totally missing the obvious in that once you have experience, it's pretty hard to hide it. And what is wrong with women having sex? I thought we settled that question in the sixties.

Good grief! How many drugs do you have to do to get emphysema at 24? Heck, I have asthma and still have more lung function. My mom has smoked since she was eleven and still hasn't been officially diagnosed with emphysema, they're calling it COPD instead. Amy Winehouse is going to die like my friend Jill. Neither one of them was able to give up their bad habits and opted to party until the end. And that's just plain sad.

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Wednesday Wanderings

I quit reading MoDo almost two years ago. I used to really like her, but her schtick never changes. For years she has hated the Clintons, now she has decided to go after Michelle Obama. A woman I do not like, but in no way does she deserve violence. Real or implied. When I clicked on the link, Mincing up Michelle, I was hoping it was going to be about Malkin. Instead it turned out to be a hatchet job on Michelle Obama. Turns out I wasn't the only one disgusted with the title, or the author. Unlike some other brave souls, I wasn't tempted to read it. She used to be funny, now she's just the wicked witch of the east. Where's Dorothy when you need her? Since MoDo can't resist painful strategies.

When I was married we lived in a tiny town called Reutti, which was a little southeast of Neu-Ulm in Germany. It was really cool. Out our living room window we could see a castle in the distance and in the fourteen months we lived there, there was only one light we could ever see, the rest of the castle was always dark. Across a field was a farm with real animals. So cool. The fact that the grocery store was on the other side never bothered me. It had killer cold cuts, wonderful breads and cheeses and lettuce that never got crisp. Even when frozen. And the Gasthaus made some of the best spaetzle and Jagerschnitzel I've ever had. More people should visit the country.

Of course it is. And at the rate the oil companies are making obscene profits and not having to account for their actions, it will cost over $5 a gallon by the end of the summer, if not more. It already costs me $4.52. But I'm getting a bus pass and will use it as often as possible. Or until the VTA runs out of money.

I feel sorry for gay and lesbian people and not because they have a different sexual preference than mine. It's because they are always being used as pawns instead of as people who deserve the same respect as anyone else on the planet. The only time they get decent notice is just before an election and then once the candidates they support have been elected, they're ignored until the next time they're needed.

Do you know your Walkscore? It lets you know about restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, etc. that are within walking distance of your address. Too bad there are only 7-Elevens and Starbuck's (3!) within walking distance. Fresh vegetables and meat are out of the question, they're nine miles away.

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McCain, Starring Roles He Would Rather Forget

Courtesy of YouTube, more Repubican macaca moments. While I won't vote for Obama, I will never vote for this bigoted, sexist idiot who after all these years in politics, can't tell the difference between Iraq and Iran. Sort of like push and pull, they start with the same letters, maybe that's why he's so confused.



And how does he feel about women's reproductive rights?


And his meal ticket, I mean wife.


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Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Fundamentalists are the same the world over. Nuttier than fruitcakes and more than willing to molest children. Specifically (unless it's in the Catholic church), young girls. From the FLDS compound in Texas to the moral Haredim in Israel to murdering daughters and mothers as an "honor" killing in Iraq, women are treated as something less than a man. Something to be used, abused, hidden and then thrown out with the trash because she is no longer pure. All under the guise of religion. god must be so proud. If most abusers learn from their parents, does that mean that God abuses us?

Not quite as good as three fifths. Bush, Cheney and McCain are so disappointed that they won't have to pull an October surprise in order to maintain control of the country, the Democrats are going to give it to them as a gift. ON the bright side, innocent U.S. citizens won't have to die in a convenient terrorist attack. Hopefully.

Abstinence education is doomed to failure. By biology. Teens are going to have sex, whether adults like it or not. Get over it. It would be infinitely preferable if they knew how to do it safely, that they do it with people in their own age group and at their own discretion rather than have it forced on them by an adult that they trusted. Correct information is valuable so they know how their bodies work and where babies really come from. Along with communicable diseases if they aren't careful. Parents tend to forget that teenagers won't be teenagers all their lives and sooner or later they need to know the truth. When it comes to sex, sooner is better. And more effective. For a country that uses sex to sell everything, we certainly are repressed in real life.

He could leave the country and I wouldn't care. Pastors come and go but the congregation usually stays. What makes him think that the members of his church are going to vote for him now that he's decided they aren't good enough to pray with? Quick answer? There aren't enough of them to matter. He's definitely a politician, anything to get elected. And everybody is falling for it.

Greek mythology told us that. Hera, Artemis and Aphrodite were not gods that people messed with. Zeus and Apollo may have gotten all the attention for their sexual conquests but the women were not second class citizens of Olympus. Or Greece.

Just A Little Disgusted

For some odd reason I thought that paying taxes and being a veteran entitled me to vote or not vote for the candidate of my choice. I was told differently. I was told that my opinions (not even actions yet) were stupid. I ws told that I was foolish. I was told I was completely wrong and that everything was done in a fair manner. Now I see why less and less people vote. I'm so glad that I (Ft. Lewis, 9th Infantry ), my father (USAF 26 years) and my brother (Lt. USN) were all willing to die to defend the country so people can have their opinions and feel free to express them. As opinionated as I am, I never told anyone who voted for Nader that they were stupid, but that the only way their vote was ever going to count was by screwing over a worthier candidate. People are more concerned with who wins than who is actually qualified to run the country into something other than the ground. Whatever, this is the last time I am going to make that mistake. And if my earlier post didn't make it clear, I am not going to vote for Obama. Period. Change is just another word for "elect me".

Now on to more interesting things. The Republican wagons are circling (Newt, do you mean Bush "allowed" 9/11?) and people are trying to defend their actions or lack thereof. Press included. Lil Scotty is now saying that the press didn't do its job by asking the hard questions (no surprise there) and that the Plame leak was the turning point for him. Great words now, but they would have been so much more helpful while Libby was on trial or when Fitzgerald was originally investigating the crime and the cover-up.

However, McClellan said that it wasn't until he realized that he may have been led to deliver false information to the media about two senior administration officials’ roles in outing Valerie Plame as a CIA operative that he knew he would someday have to tell his story.

Disgruntled, I do not think that word means what the White House thinks it means. Lil Scotty isn't in a bad mood, he is publicly displaying the crisis of conscience that the rest of them should be having. If logic, fair play and compassion had been in their rule book. It's in the Bible, but it's obvious they have as much respect for its principles as they did for the Constitution.

Find the billions that were lost to fraud, then China or the EU might bail Iraq out of the mess that the US put you in. We can't do it, we don't have any money of our own. Anymore.

It's a male dominated world in which only the way women look and act subservient is important. Get a little older or show a few brains and it's war. And if a guy attacks and rapes you, it's up to the woman to prove she didn't do anything wrong. Even if she was asleep in her own home, she must have had provocative bed covers and the perpetrator may have been affected by a "sleep disorder" that made him act the way he did. And if she was only ten or fifteen, she must have been asking for it in some way that doesn't seem to qualify the perpetrator as a child molester. The man is never responsible for keeping his zipper zipped. Unless he's Clinton and a 24 year old innocent intern was involved. Then the fate of the US is affected. Double standards indeed.

I'm sure it has a lot to do with the light and dark sections of D.C. The rich don't seem to have as much trouble getting to the hospital with a pulse when they have a heart attack.

Suggestible and can't resist a dare. Just what we need in another president. A McCain tour of Iraq is like driving through the ghetto in an armored limo with tinted windows. How unprepared do you think the terrorists are going to be this time?

3Bs

A Kinder, Gentler America

Exists in our imagination, not in reality. In reality, we treat people who need help as a disgusting drain on the system. No matter what the circumstances or how innocent they may be. And if they aren't from this country, we won't and don't give them the care and consideration that an American would expect to receive in a foreign country under the same circumstances. And we call ourselves civilized. There is going to come a time, most likely in the near future, when we will need the type of help that China or Burma currently need and the world will turn its back on us. And we will complain mightily, totally forgetting all of the cruel, insensitive and depraved actions we have taken against those who we have determined are less than human. White American humans that is.

And then there are the Israelis. The usual bullets against stones, with the normal result. I know my position isn't popular, Ireland has been one of the safest places in the world recently and who would have predicted that back in the 70s?

While I empathize with Damien Cave, imagine being an Iraqi veteran and trying to readjust to society in an America that doesn't care. Without the job, the money, or the contacts.

No, they didn't. The trauma and drama is something that will affect ALL those kids for many years to come. While there is something definitely wrong with the way the elders practice their lifestyle, the kids did not deserve to have their lives totally destroyed. 400 kids, forcibly separated from the only love they had ever known. You bet it was wrong. But then, this is the state that also contains Waco. And Crawford.

Do you like oral sex? How about some velvet handcuffs, feathers and a major tickle session before getting down to those three minutes that are supposed to satisfy? Do you like the lights on? Do you prefer to physically be with someone of your own sex? Do you like to do it in the shower? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you might be a deviant. At least according to the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders that is currently being worked on. By appointees of the current Bush administration. The definition of normal sex (according to the American Psychiatric Association, that bastion of people who determine what is normal and what isn't) is being worked on once again. I think they discovered that some people don't even do it under the covers. Oh, the horror.

Okay, enough funning around, back to the world we live in now. Only in America can one lose one's home for a $68 dental bill. My potted tomatoes (if the wind doesn't blow them away today) are worth more than that bill. In what world do you take someone's place of residence in lieu of smaller items? There are people who have larger outstanding phone or cable bills and they are still living in their homes, but with satellite and cell phones instead. Can indentured servitude for parking tickets be far behind?

3Bsand IIRTZ.

Five For Friday

Just when you think that our Justice (since when?) Department can't go any lower, they do. The D.C Madam trial is a joke and a cruel one at that. To release their names and force the women to testify and not the men, shows that sexism is rampant in this country. There have been many sex scandals in the last seven years and for some odd reason only these women are paying the price. Senators asking for sex in the bathroom from a man is okay. Representatives trolling young pages for sex is okay. A woman providing diaper service to a Senator is not. She, and all her compatriots, must be shamed and punished. And the men who require these deviant acts go scott free. Because it is only the men who deserve pleasure and women are supposed to provide it. At any price, then they must be publicly humiliated. Only in America.

Which is why it's so surprising that it wasn't an American who purchased the nude photos of France's latest First Lady.

I hate to fly. I did it a lot when I was younger but my last few plane flights (fifteen years ago) were scarier than any amusement ride. There is something about smelling the rubber and seeing the smoke from the brakes invade the cabin because the pilot missed part of the runway. Even the stewardess was terrified. How anyone would want to fly on planes that hadn't been inspected bewilders me. Exactly where were these cracks? In the skin? Isn't that what brought the Hawaiian flight down a few years ago? The fact that we haven't had any planes fall out of the sky is just luck and in the grand scheme of things wouldn't you rather have your flight canceled for inspection than crashed for lack of maintenance?

If the Army is reading my blog then they know how much I despise the way the troops are treated. A tour of duty should not be a death sentence due to the incompetence of the leaders and the injured shouldn't be hidden behind closed doors so they can be ignored. It's been a long time since one of the crew without a clue blithely quipped that you go to war with the army you have, even with no plan and equipment that was stolen from the National Guard.

Not content with polluting the earth, it seems we even litter in space.


BBB

Thursday Morning Ramblings

How far is too far? Some areas should be fragrance free, such as the doctors office, hospital and certain workplaces, but getting one's nose bent out of joint because someone is wearing body butter is overkill. Sheesh, some people really do think they are the only one in the world with rights and that everyone should accommodate their wishes or failings. My asthma is usually triggered by a certain perfume when it is really cold outside but I have no idea what it is since I'm more concerned with breathing and getting away than I am with trying to determine what other people do with their bodies. When my lungs are weak (before or after) an attack, I also can't walk down the soap aisle in the grocery store without wheezing. So, I avoid that aisle. I used to have a client who was a fanatic about scent, what a pain she was. My clothes had to have no fabric softener and I couldn't use a scented soap or lotion. I rarely wear fragrance because I find them too overpowering and I don't enjoy smelling like a fruit but I don't make the people around me dance to my tune, I just find somewhere else to go.

Remember, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't watching you. What the article doesn't bring up are the amount of cameras and other devices that are omnipresent in our society might be triggering low levels of anxiety in everyone, so as a result most of society is suspicious of one another.


Pandering to the male ego. A few minutes is best. Three minutes of intercourse aren't worth taking your clothes off, let alone running around bragging about satisfying a woman in bed. It isn't about lasting forever but some effort should be made to match a woman's rhythm. Thirteen minutes is closer to the mark, but if it makes men feel better to think that three minutes will get the job done...

Oh good grief! The idea of school is to learn and be exposed to different ideas and ways of thinking. A federal lawsuit because a teacher says something that goes against your world view is just someone trying to make money that they haven't earned. I had a cop tell me that most of the sexual deviants were Catholic and I'm pretty sure he has more experience in this area than I do. Maybe the teacher has more experience than the student?

Please, no. Next thing you know, Vanilla Ice will be back touring. With Rick Astley.

3Bs

Attack Of The Stupids

Hazardous to their character, because being exposed to people with differing viewpoints or things known as facts might cause them to question your perception of reality? Ah yes, by all means let the stupid and uneducated homeschool their children. Please, let us continue to become more fractured and clueless as a society. One that practices even more intolerance and shortsighted thinking without an ounce of logic or the ability to recognize (a run on sentence) that with over six billion people on the planet maybe exposure to different cultures and thinking as opposed to bigotry might help us get ahead in the future. Instead of returning to our puritanical past, the one of scarlet letters and people were burned at the stake as witches.

"The parent-child relationship existed long before any government and makes it the responsibility of the parent to educate the child," he said. That responsibility includes protecting one's children from "things hazardous to the child, emotionally as well as physically," he said.

Long, 54, said he specifically objected to his children being taught in school about evolution and homosexuality.

"I want to keep and protect them until I feel they're mature enough to deal with these issues," he said. "I believe the creator wants us to protect our children from things we believe are hazardous to their character."

I believe that being exposed to stupidity on a daily basis is hazardous to their character and wonder what his opinion of incest is. A game the whole family can play? After a little research I found that the whole case started because one of eight of Mr. Long's homeschooled children complained that it was being mistreated and the juvenile court judge found that the children were poorly educated. What a surprise that isn't.

Yes, there have been children who have excelled by being homeschooled, but that was because they were too smart for a one size fits all education system and their parents had the ability to inspire their children to achieve, as opposed to being taught bigotry, racism and hatred of those who don't share your religious beliefs or just aren't like you.

Meanwhile, the Governator babbles on about every child deserves a quality education and then cuts funding through the bone to the marrow. In a few years not only will we have lost our status as major world economy, but we'll also have the distinction of having some of the world's most undereducated populace. It's absolutely fascinating how much like a third world country we are becoming. Now all we need are the floods, storms and being ignored by the federal government and we can be just like New Orleans or Tennessee.

Was the cost factored in to the economic stimulus plan? $42 million to let the taxpayers know their rebate is coming. Isn't that what the "news" used presidential speeches used to be for?

I didn't weigh in on the Charlotte Allen article since I was too stupid to understand what she was saying since I spent most of my life admiring Marie Curie and her Nobels chemistry and physics instead of reading romance novels that have no possibility of coming true (unlike science fiction, which has) or swooning over a candidate who doesn't have any concrete plans (at least not revealed to those of us little people) to go with his promise of "change". Why, even little Debbie didn't think it was funny and it's been a long time since I thought she was good at her job.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the stupidest President of them all? That would be Mr. Waterboard himself. Don't we wish. Guy can't even swallow a pretzel correctly.

Finally, a good reason for homeschooling. Because we just haven't had enough school shootings, now some states are allowing hunting education classes. As if people actually depended on that skill for their daily meal.

BBB

STFU Edition

First up, Bill O'Reilly. Comparing Arianna Huffington to Nazis and the KKK is beyond the pale. My mom grew up in Germany under the Hitler regime and she finds that the right wing's behavior is more like her childhood memories than a group that has America's best interests at heart. Captain Falafel has quite a bit of chutzpah to run around accusing people on the left as hate mongers.

After the bottom fell out here in Silicon Valley, the number of BMWs and Mercedes dropped tremendously and the number of Hondas and Nissans increased. Maybe people start spending their money more wisely when they have less of it to waste.

Today's leap of the Grand Canyon, spanking kids leads to sexual deviancy. Because anything besides the missionary position is considered...odd.

Bush speaks and reveals his stupidity. But I repeat myself.

And we end with the conservative (as in keeping the rich, richer) members of the Supreme Court. Exxon can more than afford to pay its fine, and more importantly, should. Nineteen years after causing an environmental catastrophe of disturbing proportions, Exxon is relying on having stalled long enough that they won't be held accountable. Sort of like the plot of the new John Grisham novel. I think he knows something.

Big Brass Blog

Saturday Morning Musings

For a country that is as breast obsessed as America, we sure have a funny way of dealing with them. While America drools over the frontal fat appendages of Pamela Sue Anderson and the late Anna Nicole Smith, once those breasts aren't perfect all bets are off. Get breast cancer, have your health insurance canceled, as if $9 million (like they 're going to pay it!) will every make up for the pain, suffering and absolute terror that woman went through. Or, if you have the money and are willing to take the chance, you can try using a drug that has very little proven efficacy in doing anything but slowing the growth of a tumor but powerful backers within the FDA probably think that's okay since it keeps the boobs looking normal.

My baby brother has had a policy for years not to eat what he calls "co-mingled" meat. It sounded like a good policy, so I also adopted it. I still like sausage (bad girl!), but when it comes to ground beef, all I use is organic (usually Niman Ranch) or I drive to In-N-Out Burger. Too bad the rest of the country don't get these options.

Hmm, more boob stuff and you thought it was just the Puritans who didn't want anyone to have fun. Why is it that religious fanatics just don't understand that opposites attract and that legislation, arrest or even hanging won't change that? Men will be men, boys will be boys and the majority of them like to interact with members of the opposite sex. And most of us girls like it that way.

I am not a traitor to my race. First of all, which one would that be? The German mom with blond hair and grey eyes that I have spent most of my life with or the black American father who I adored until the day he died and still think is the most wonderful man I ever met? I am an American female and I will vote however I choose. Just the way I spend my money. When I have it.

I've resigned myself to the fact that if we do have the 2008 Presidential election, we will end up with another Republican president. My objections to Obama are many, not the least of which are his lack of experience, who he's sold his soul to to get this far, the absence of cohesive plans to solve the problems of this country and what really irritates me are the platitudes. Change? Who is he kidding? Thanks to people like that guy with the blog with the hideous orange theme, they have ensured that instead of us having a choice, the Dumocrats will once again have the poor choice they give us. Like Kerry wasn't bad enough. Then, if the election occurs the rest of the country is going to say "change? I don't think so." If McCain picks a running mate that is even remotely viable, democracy as we used to know it, is toast.

It's been a hard two weeks. My knee pain has been at a consistent 9 for the last week and between the emergency room visit for asthma and the subsequent $1,588.74 ambulance ride to get there, trying to make my new place livable (30 years of nicotine, mold and mildew) has been difficult. What little work I had, has turned into a nightmare and mom has completely lost her mind. It isn't just me that notices it. Our 88 year old landlady (who may be deaf but has all of her marbles) believes it's the early stages of Alzheimer's in addition to the vascular dementia. But mom still figured out the remote control so she can watch Jeopardy every night. Go figure.

Big Brass Blog