very funny piece

by john mcdonald in the op ed news

Cindy Sheehan and the Cab Ride From Hell
There was that voice, the nasally sneer of that rat bastard drug fiend Rush Limbaugh wafting over the front seat, opening the phone lines from hell and inviting his listeners to join him in a conversation about that disloyal bitch/whore of an American, Cindy Sheehan.

.........I wasn’t going to write about the Cindy Sheehan thing – I figured the drivel of ninety million blogger’s was enough – but then there was the cab ride from hell.It wasn’t a long ride, just a jaunt from our hotel in Vegas to the airport. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and finish the last of the little bottle of scotch my wife had pilfered from the hotel mini-bar. I was hoping it might soothe the raging hangover I had, the result of a three-day roll thru Nevada’s sin city. I had taken the new Vegas tagline “ what goes on here stays here” to heart and done my best to leave a couple of thousand brain cells, not to mention virtually all of my cash behind in a binge that would have made Hunter S. Thompson proud. Having finished the scotch, I was desperately scrounging through my wife’s purse looking for a Valium.And then it started. There was that voice, the nasally sneer of that rat bastard drug fiend Rush Limbaugh wafting over the front seat, opening the phone lines from hell and inviting his listeners to join him in a conversation about that disloyal bitch/whore of an American, Cindy Sheehan. The floodgates were open and the little Bush shrubs were spouting their National Republican Party talking points, proudly bashing the mother of a American soldier who had died in Iraq. All the calls were the same, hate filled tirades along the lines of “I think that she is a radical, liberal, flag burning commie whore, a traitor to America, insulting to the president and a dishonor to the memory of her son and the other soldiers, what do you think about that Rush? And then that drug-addled bastard would wind up and hit that fat pitch out of the park. By the time he was done I think Cindy Sheehan had been blamed for the War in Iraq, the failure to catch Osama, the national debt and the fact that Americans have no health insurance. It may have been the drugs, but I got the distinct impression she had slept with Bill Clinton, was performing oral sex on all of the male visitors to her outpost outside of the presidents ranch in Crawford, Texas, and was the mother of John McCain’s colored love child in South Carolina...............

well worth the read, lol. if the mcdonalds are ever in my neck of the woods, i'd love to buy them the beverage of their choice(s)

sweet home alabama

By Nancy Goldstein RAW STORY COLUMNIST


If you are a poor person of color accused of a capital crime in Alabama, what stands between you and the death penalty?
Not much.
Alabama has no statewide public defender system, and your court-appointed lawyer from the local bar may not be very happy to see you. After all, defending your life will net him barely a third of what he might have made closing a real-estate transaction — assuming he ranked highly enough in the local legal food chain to be awarded these lucrative deals. Besides, being seen with you may strike him as an economic, social, and political liability in a state where professional advancement to the bench depends entirely upon the will of the electorate.
Come trial time, there’s a good chance that you’ll be the only person of color in the courtroom. All 19 of Alabama’s appellate court judges are white, as are 41 of its 42 elected District Attorneys. Odds are 1 in 3 that your jury will be all white as well.
Since Alabama’s resumption of the death penalty in 1975, courts have found that prosecutors illegally excluded black people from serving as jurors in at least 28 capital cases...........

is anyone REALLY surprised here?

is this 1805 or 2005?

Frist backs 'intelligent design' teaching

i get so very frightened every time i read about one of these good ol' boys and their beliefs. keep it in your churches (and i'm NOT knocking churches by the way) but keep it OUT of our school systems. there is a SEPARATION of church and state. teach what you want in private schools or your church schools and classes but keep the crap OUT of our public schools.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Echoing similar comments from President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said "intelligent design" should be taught in public schools alongside evolution.
Frist, R-Tenn., spoke to a Rotary Club meeting Friday and told reporters afterward that students need to be exposed to different ideas, including intelligent design.
"I think today a pluralistic society should have access to a broad range of fact, of science, including faith," Frist said................

i agree with frist in that we SHOULD expose our students to a broad range of different ideas of FACT AND SCIENCE. but here is the separation point - NOT fantasy (in a science or history class).

i think we all have a horror story

like this to tell about ourselves, a member of our family or one of our friends........

from the the new york times


Sick and Scared, and Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

Freddie Odlum spent two terrible days waiting by the phone for her doctor to call. She had had a CT scan to investigate a suspicious mass in her lungs and Ms. Odlum, a Los Angeles breast cancer patient, was all too aware that if the cancer had spread, her prognosis would not be good.
Her doctor, she said, informed her that he was going on vacation in two days and "that we needed to 'wrap this up' before he left for a few weeks." "All those clichés when someone is facing a terminal diagnosis are used because they are true," she said. "Racing pulse, dry mouth, total self-preoccupation with what-ifs to the point that real life doesn't exist, willing the phone to ring."
But her doctor did not call.
The next day, the day he was leaving, she left phone messages at his office and sent an e-mail message saying, "Don't leave without calling me with the results."
"That night I waited," she said, "jumping at every noise, not letting anyone use the phone, imagining every scenario."
Her doctor left for his vacation. He never called, not even when he returned.
The scan did not show cancer, but she could not forgive her doctor.
"This internist had been my family doctor for years," Ms. Odlum said. "This physician's wife had breast cancer and was treated by the same oncologist as me."
How could someone whose wife had breast cancer not realize the impact of being left hanging, she asked, adding, "I never spoke to him again."

and it is all in the name of GOD

As leaders drafting a constitution reached tentative agreement on some issues, Shiites protested in Baghdad after Friday Prayer at the Kazemiya Mosque, in background, against creating a federal political structure.

3 Sunni Election Workers Seized and Killed in Mosul

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 19 - Three Sunni election workers were kidnapped while tacking up voting posters in the northern city of Mosul and then killed in front of a crowded mosque on Friday, the latest in a series of violent incidents exposing the rift that has opened up among Iraq's Sunnis over whether to take part in the coming elections. The attack was the second in as many days against Sunnis trying to join in the country's democratic process. That is supposed to culminate in a nationwide referendum on a constitution in October and elections in December.
On Thursday, gunmen stormed the Great Mosque in Ramadi, a largely Sunni city about 80 miles from Baghdad, where local leaders were discussing the constitution. The gunmen opened fire and wounded three men................

ellen mcilwaine

Alberta Scene Festival 2005
photo: Fred Cattroll

one of my all time FAVORITE musicians. if you ever get a chance to see or hear her, please do so. i had the pleasure MANY times, but it has been MANY years. she will be on martha's vineyard in october and i am planning on attending. she lived in the storrs ct area years ago and played in and around the hartford area. she now lives way up in the great white north, alberta canada and doesn't get to new england often. the woman can play the woman can sing the woman has soul.

the following was in my mail inbox the other day (i am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited)


October 21, Friday
Katherine Cornell Theatre, Vineyard Haven, Martha's Vineyard Massachusettes Ellen is solo acoustic, new material, smoke-free environment, two sets. Doors open 7:00. For ticket info call (508)696-8392 or Tickets Hear Ellen on WMVY
October 28, Friday
Colony Cafe, 22 Rock City Road, Woodstock New York Ellen is solo acoustic, new material, smoke-free environment, two sets Tickets $12. For info call (845)679-5342 or check their website at Cafe Listen to Ellen on WDST
...ELLEN McILWAINE...
...ACCOUSTIC GUITAR - VOCALS...

Ellen McIlwaine was born in Tennessee and moved with adopted missionary parents to Japan when she was only two. Exposed to everything from Japanese Folk and Classical Music, Rhythm and Blues greats like Ray Charles, Fats Domino and Professor Longhair on Japanese radio, as well as the Grand Ole Opry on American Armed Forces Radio, growing up in an International Community of families from India, Pakistan, the Middle East, Eastern and Western Europe, etc. etc. she was playing World Music before it was called by that name!
2005 makes forty years as a professional musician! After starting out on Accoustic Guitar in Atlanta Georgia, moving to Greenwich Village in 1966, getting to know such greats as Odetta, Richie Havens, Mississippi John Hurt and Jimi Hendrix, gaining cult status through her Polydor albums and years on the road, she began to venture into the realm of lead guitarist in 1980. Soon thereafter she moved to Canada, less restrictive of female band leaders, and began playing in a Power Trio format, touring across Canada and Europe. In 2002 she toured Japan solo Electric in dance clubs and recorded in with local DJs. In 2003 she again took up her battered Accoustic Guitar to tour New Zealand and Australia on the bill with chanteuse extrordinaire Magret RoadKnight. With ten albums under her belt, one featuring the great bassist and singer Jack Bruce and the latest featuring world renowned Taj Mahal, she hopes to record a new album by the end of this year with the great Tabla Player Cassius Khan. With plans also in the works for a Slide Guitar Teaching DVD she hopes to have time to start her autobiography! For information and booking click Ellen's website at Ellen


To listen (MP3 30 second clips)Click Can't Find My Way Home Click Sidu/Egyptian Blues
http://www.ellenmcilwaine.com/"in a time of universal deceit, telling the truthis a revolutionary act!" george orwell

as if we NEED ANOTHER slap in the face

Judge Roberts's Slap at Women The accusation that someone is “on the wrong side of history” is tossed around too freely in Washington debate, but it is relevant in assessing John G. Roberts Jr.’s disdain for women’s rights and thus his fitness to become a key swing vote on the U.S. Supreme Court.............. ..................Which brings us to two little-noticed memos penned by Roberts when he was a young lawyer helping to shape legal policy in Ronald Reagan’s White House from 1982 to 1986. One of the women’s rights issues at the time was whether women should get equal pay for comparable work, and a Washington state “equal worth” case was winding its way through the federal courts.
Three Republican women in the House of Representatives – Olympia Snowe of Maine, Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island and Nancy Johnson of Connecticut – implored the Reagan administration to accept a U.S. District Court ruling in favor of the principle. They wrote that “support for pay equity … is not a partisan issue.”
As the issue heated up in early 1984, Roberts wrote two tartly worded memos, which showed which side he was on.
The first – to his boss, Fred Fielding, on Feb. 3, 1984 – denounced the notion of equal pay for comparable worth, saying “It is difficult to exaggerate the perniciousness of the ‘comparable worth’ theory. It mandates nothing less than central planning of the economy by judges.”
Roberts returned to the issue in a second memo on Feb. 20, 1984, again using language that compared an approach toward rectifying wage discrimination against women to Soviet-style policies, the ultimate insult in the Reagan administration.
Roberts expressed annoyance that three Republican members of Congress would favor what he called “a radical redistributive concept.” He also cited possible justifications for paying women less than men for comparable work, such as the female tendency to lose seniority by leaving the work force for extended periods, presumably for child-rearing..................

another man to love

keith olbermann from media matters Olbermann: Limbaugh "worst person in the world" for "Cindy Sheehan is just Bill Burkett" quote On August 17, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann named nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh "today's worst person in the world" for saying on his August 15 radio show that "Cindy Sheehan is just Bill Burkett. Her story is nothing more than forged documents. There's nothing about it that's real." Commenting on Limbaugh's remarks -- which Media Matters noted on August 16 -- Olbermann said, "I guess she made up that dead-son-in-Iraq business! He [Limbaugh] also referred to her supporters as 'dope-smoking FM types.' I guess the painkillers wipe out your memory along with your ethics. Rush Limbaugh, today's worst person in the world!"....................

who knew?

as if it isn't a pain in the azz already..... M.R.I. Scanners' Strong Magnets Are Cited in a Rash of Accidents The pictures and stories are the stuff of slapstick: wheelchairs, gurneys and even floor polishers jammed deep inside M.R.I. scanners whose powerful magnets grabbed them from the hands of careless hospital workers. The police officer whose pistol flew out of his holster and shot a wall as it hit the magnet. The sprinkler repairman whose acetylene tank was yanked inside, breaking its valve and starting a fire that razed the building.
But the bigger picture is anything but funny, medical safety experts say. As the number of magnetic resonance imaging scanners in the country has soared from a handful in 1980 to about 10,000 today, and as magnets have quadrupled in power, careless accidents have become more frequent. Some have caused serious injuries and even death.

VERY funny man

The 'Office' Manager's New Career

I'VE always been fascinated with actors who have to be heroes,
whereas I shy away from that," Ricky Gervais, the British comedian who will star
in a new HBO series, "Extras," this fall, was saying the other day. "I'm a
flawed character. I'm good at that." He uses a Yiddish word for loser. If you
want that sort, Mr. Gervais says, then "I'm your man. If you want John Wayne,
forget it." Oh? And why does he think he brings such verisimilitude to
portraying losers?
There's a long and evasive answer from Mr. Gervais: in
comedy one must take the work but not yourself seriously; there's no place for
machismo in comedy; audiences don't want to see someone who is perfect.
So
to a more pressing matter: how does this fellow from Reading, Britain, whose
father was a French Canadian, even know this bit of Yiddish?
............

the office is THE funniest thing i've seen in YEARS. rent it on dvd or better yet, BUY it. wonderful

i HATE them

i live in the burbs (grew up here. why they allowed my family in is BEYOND me) and this place is lousy with suvs AND hummers. unless you have SIX OR MORE people in your family you should NOT be allowed to have one (an suv only that is. NO ONE but our military personnel should be allowed a hummer. A FULLY ARMORED HUMMER AT THAT). i equate the size of a male's genitalia with having a hummer. what size they lack there, they make up in their vehicles. (i am sure some women own them, but every single one i have seen has been driven by a male).

i cannot go to my town center without seeing a white person reeking of some expensive perfume with some expensive dog on a leash getting in or out of some vehicle that takes a minimum of $80.00 to fill up. they eat at sidewalk cafes while talking on their cell phones. i want to bitch slap every one of them and yell get the EFF OUT OF MY TOWN. and don't get me started on blue back....................

i HATE flying

but i am seriously thinking of flying to crawford texas

cindy sheehan had to leave. her mother had a stroke............my thoughts and prayers are with her

'Peace Mom' Leaves Camp, Her Mother Ill

The grieving woman who started an anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch nearly two weeks ago left the camp Thursday after learning her mother had had a stroke, but she told supporters the protest would go on................

(this is on salon and you'll have to watch an ad in order to read the rest of the article.)


and from usa today (no crappy ads) Sheehan leaves Crawford to care for mother after stroke ..........CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) — The grieving woman who started an anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch nearly two weeks ago left the camp Thursday after learning her mother had had a stroke, but she told supporters the protest would go on. .............


cindy, i am with you

we are still and always second hand citizens in the world

Niger's women and children starve as men hoard food

Noura Abdurrahi's four children were crying from hunger, and she knew there was food in the house. But her husband, Musa, had locked it away, out of her reach, when he had left to search for work the previous week.
What happened to Noura at a village near Zinder is replicated through much of the stricken communities of Niger. In the midst of starvation and disease, many men in rural areas are determined to control the meagre supplies, seemingly oblivious to the suffering of their families.
So acute is the problem that Unicef and international charities have launched urgent projects focusing exclusively on women. It is, they say, a far more certain way of ensuring the children and the elderly - the most vulnerable - get at least the very minimum needed for survival.
This extraordinary situation appears to be peculiar to Niger. Neighbouring countries caught up in the crisis caused by droughts and plagues of locusts - Mali, Mauritania and Burkina - are also predominantly Muslim with patriarchal cultures. Yet there, aid workers say, women are not sidelined to anything like the same degree...........

bought day um time!

raw story


Dems to file request for immediate investigation of former US Attorney General

Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) and Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) will
be issuing a formal request for an immediate investigation with the US Inspector
General's office into John Ashcroft - former US Attorney General, Raw Story has
learned.
The request - released to Raw Story - cites conflict of interest on
the part of Ashcroft in his failure to promptly recuse himself during the
initial investigation into the outing of CIA agent Valerie Wilson. Ashcroft was
US Attorney General at the time.
The CIA filed charges with the FBI and
Justice after columnist Robert Novak made Wilson's identity public in July of
2003. It has since been learned, as part of a case currently in front of a grand
jury, that Karl Rove - Senior Advisor to President Bush, was the source for
several reporters on the Wilson story...........

their kids are dying TOO

Friends and relatives mourn over the coffin of Iraqi civil defense police officer Alaa Abdul Satta who was killed in Sadr City on Wednesday.
In Iraq, Carnage, Anger and Grief
After Bombs Kill 43 in Baghdad, Broadcasters Air Citizens' Frustration

........BAGHDAD, Aug. 17 -- In the hours after a triple car bombing in the
Iraqi capital Wednesday, state television broadcast a montage of faces of random
children -- some appearing solemn, some smiling, some slyly glancing up at the
camera. In the background, mournful music swelled, and the faces gave way to the
bright flash of a car bomb, shown in slow motion.
"They were young but were
turned to pieces of flesh," the singers lamented, as the network then broadcast
footage of previous attacks showing limp children, wailing men and distraught
women dressed in black abayas pushing through crowds. "Oh, oh Iraq, the land of
bloodshed."...............

worms worms and more worms and not a robin in sight

my work pc was hit by this virus. i hope they find who is responsible and kick the chit out of them (figuratively of course). what a giant pain in the neck.

'NYT,' AP Among Those Hit By Computer Worm

NEW YORK The New York Times and The Associated Press were among several
media companies affected by a computer worm Tuesday that targeted corporate
networks with the Windows 2000 operating system, company officials said.Times
spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said the paper "experienced difficulties with our
computer systems," but added that "it was very hit and miss...and did not affect
the production of the paper." Mathis noted [in an interview with E&P] that
newsroom computers at the Times' Manhattan offices were affected, but said other
company systems such as those at the Times-owned Boston Globe or the company's
computer service center were not. "Our IT people administered patches and the
problem was rectified."Along with the Times and AP, the problem also struck ABC
and CNN. ABC News producers had to use electric typewriters Tuesday to prepare
copy for their "World News Tonight" broadcast, according to spokesman Jeffrey
Schneider.The worm is causing the most problems at companies with large,
networked computer systems, rather than among individual computer users, David
Perry, a security analyst at Trend Micro Inc., a computer security company, said
Tuesday.Microsoft Corp. released a "critical" patch Aug. 9 for the
vulnerability, which is most severe on Windows 2000 systems. Those computers can
be accessed remotely through the operating system's "Plug and Play" hardware
detection feature. Protective patches, plus instructions for remedying infected
systems, are posted on Microsoft's Web site....................

uh oh

After Months of Press Probes, Ohio Governor to Face Charges

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Gov. Bob Taft, who pushed for high ethical standards in his office, will face four criminal misdemeanor charges for not reporting golf outings and other events paid for by others. The charges are the latest development in a growing scandal -- spurred in part by newspaper reports -- that has rocked Ohio's Republican Party.Taft, a member of a distinguished U.S. political family, would be the first governor in Ohio history to be charged with a crime. If convicted, he could be fined $1,000 and sentenced to six months in jail on each count, though time behind bars was considered unlikely.Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said the charges relate to annual financial disclosure statements Taft filed from 2002 to 2005. Prosecutors said they had met with Taft's lawyer and expected the governor to appear in court Thursday..........

speaking of the half door

(lauren, cathy & drew)

the lovely and talented drew carey was there on tuesday night. i normally wouldn't publish such things BUT.........

he picked up the tab of EVERYONE in the joint from the time he came in until he left (about 11 ish pm to 12:30 ish am). he didn't announce it either. he told the bartender so no one knew until they went to pay their bills. THEN they found out (that to me is kinda classy) AND he gave the bartender, waitress AND the barback one hell of an ENORMOUS OUTRAGEOUS EXORBITANT tip (that to me is kinda cool).

i meant to post this yesterday

but i really haven't had too much free time the past couple of days. this story is SO outreagous it is hard to believe.

a new york couple had dinner at a restaurant and paid by credit card. when they got their tab, they noticed it said, 'jew couple' on it instead of a table number or whatever........(the the half door puts my alias on my tab (hey i have my OWN christmas stocking there!). any way, they confronted the waitress and she didn't see anything wrong with it. then they talked to management and MANAGEMENT DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT (unbelievable, huh). when they got their credit card bill the words 'jew couple' even appeared on THAT. anyway according to the new york post the attorney general is now going to get involved.

August 18, 2005 -- Amid spreading outrage, New Jersey's attorney general yesterday opened a probe of a posh eatery that referred to a pair of diners as "Jew Couple" on their check.
"It's extremely troubling," Attorney General Peter Harvey told The Post. "I have two investigators from the Division on Civil Rights in my office right now. We are taking this very seriously.
"It stands to reason if the [restaurant] is labeling someone by religion, they are also labeling someone by race."
On July 8, diner Elliot Stein of Brooklyn went to Parkhill's Waterfront Grill in Loch Arbour with his girlfriend, Jennifer Cassin. When the waitress handed them the bill, "Jew Couple" was printed in large letters.
"I would like to know how they describe other couples," Stein said. "How do they identify gay people, black couples? It could be anything.
"I think they have it programmed on their register. I don't want to hear it was a mistake. All I got was a 'no comment.' If this was in New York, these people would be penalized," he said yesterday. He added, "I would like to know how they knew I was a Jew." ....................

hey, i'd like to know as well.

bye vassar

NASHVILLE, Aug. 16 (AP) - Vassar Clements, a fiddle virtuoso and A-list studio
musician who played with Paul McCartney and an array of others, died on Tuesday
at his home in Goodlettsville, Tenn. He was
77....... ............ Over his career, he
was recorded on more than 2,000 albums, joining artists as varied as McCartney,
Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, the Grateful Dead, Bruce Hornsby, Hank Williams Jr.,
the Byrds, Woody Herman and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He also made more than
two dozen albums of his own and appeared in Robert Altman's 1975 film
"Nashville."...........

he played on one of my favorite albums. the nitty gritty dirt band's will the circle be unbroken

roy buchanan - musician of the day

he is my favorite guitarist. he far outplayed anyone i have heard live or on vinyl or disc. (to this day i wonder why clapton is as famous as he is. oh he's ok, but he is NOT great by ANY means). roy committed suicide. he was in jail (NOT prison, JAIL) for drunk and disorderly. he hung himself. my favorite song by him is the messiah will come again. he plays notes in that song that simply don't exist in real life. every time i hear him, my spirit is uplifted. rest in peace roy. oh, i almost forgot to add this, when brian jones 'died' (murdered is more like it), the rolling stones asked roy to join them. he politely turned them down. he had to spend the time with his family

it's not only OUR women and men

dead and wounded............ An Iraqi doctor's story .........The BBC News website is examining life for soldiers and doctors in Iraq who have faced the trauma of war and are now coping with its aftermath.
We spoke to an Iraqi doctor based in the southern city of Basra about his experiences during the 2003 conflict, the effects of the invasion on the soldiers and civilians he treated, and how he and other medical staff coped.
His name has been changed to "Youssef" to protect his safety................ ..........Youssef, who has worked in Basra for more than 15 years, says a doctor's duty to separate his or her emotions from impartial medical judgement became almost impossible during the constant bombardment and the steady stream of casualties.
But he says that for the demoralised and outgunned Iraqi soldiers who served in the city, which was encircled and rapidly captured by British forces in late March of 2003, it was far worse. ..................

and from buzzflash........

we have the jersey girls (or as i would say the joisey grrrls)......... (oh by the way i'm NOT allowed in joisey, my hair isn't big enough) .........via wings of justice ....................................Like Cindy Sheehan, the "Jersey Girls" are pursuing a precious and rarely seen commodity in the Bush Administration: the truth. Kristen Breitweiser, Mindy Kleinberg, Lorie Van Auken and Patty Casazza have dogged the White House since 9/11, wanting to know the truth about what government errors led to the loss of their husbands in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
When they began their journey, what they didn't know was that the administration that ran its 2000 election on a platform of transparency in government had shut -- tighter than a safe at Fort Knox -- the doors on truth. Of course, when a president and national security adviser receive a briefing paper that tells them Al-Qaeda plans to hijack planes in the United States -- and they both ignore it and do absolutely nothing to prevent the action -- you might say the Jersey Girls had good reason to suspect that they weren't going to hear the full story.
But not all the relatives of the victims of 9/11 were willing to stand up to an administration, to Congress, to the 9/11 Commission and to the American press to demand accountability...............

another christian gets it wrong AGAIN

from media matters Robertson "absolutely appalled" by comments Boxer never made On the August 15 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, Christian Coalition of America founder Pat Robertson blasted Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) for comments she never made. Purporting to quote Boxer regarding the nomination of John G. Roberts Jr. to the Supreme Court, Robertson falsely stated that Boxer had said, "I've got to wait on Ralph Neas of the People for the American Way to see what he says about it [Roberts's nomination]"; and that Boxer said, "I'm going to follow the lead of [Sen. Charles] Chuck Schumer [D-NY]. I trust him." Robertson said he was "absolutely appalled at what she had to say," noting, "She's supposed to be a senator from the biggest state in America."..........

in the who gives a flyin' yoo hoo catagory

fiddy and diddy

duh!

Hollie Tubbs said gasoline prices had forced her to look for amusements for her son, Brandon Segure, that are close to home in Brooklyn.




Economy Shows Signs of Strain From Oil Prices

Inflation surged last month, the government reported yesterday, as the long rise in energy prices finally seemed to be pinching the American economy. After absorbing the burden of oil at $40 a barrel, then at $50 and beyond, consumers have started to react as prices have risen above $60 in recent weeks.....Wal-Mart blamed high oil prices yesterday as it reported that in the recent quarter its profits rose at their slowest rate in four years. The chief executive, H. Lee Scott Jr., told investors that expensive oil was worrying him because it seemed to be erasing recent income gains for many customers. ..............

geeze i wonder how much it has hurt h. lee scott jr that it now costs ME and most everyone else a week's worth of grocery money to fill up our cars.............

doesn't it seem

like only yesterday when george harrison sang about bangladesh?

Bangladesh Rocked by Bomb Attacks

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) -- Dozens of small bombs blasts targeting mainly government offices and court buildings exploded in cities across Bangladesh on Wednesday, wounding at least 17 people, police said.
Authorities said the extent of the damage wasn't immediately known. The bombs appeared to be homemade and capable of causing only limited damage, they said.
''It's an organized attack,'' senior Home Ministry official Lufuzzaman Babar told ATN Bangla television station. ''It's not a simple incident.''
Police in the capital, Dhaka, were deployed to major intersections after the explosions and were checking vehicles and pedestrians for bombs.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, which hurt at least 17 people, but leaflets from a banned Islamic group, the Jumatul Mujahedin, were found at the scene of explosions in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and Mymensingh, the Bangladeshi media reported.........


again, I DON'T GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! why do people think THEIR god(s) want them to kill?

why would anyone

An Iraqi soldier walking past vehicles destroyed by a car bomb outside the Nadha bus terminal

want to be a cop in baghdad? suicide bomber after suicide bomber............after suicide bomber. the target is most always police officers. i know they can't be paid much......

why am i hungry???

i couldn't post any news this morning. i HAD to get right to work; a big project due (i'm sure you know how that is). i'm in between conference calls now so i thought i'd post a recipe.

balsamic syrup

slowly boil some balsamic vinegar (oh lets say a cup) with a tablespoon or two of sugar (raw) until it reduces by half. try to use a non metal saucepan if possible. you may also do this in the microwave. however, put a dish UNDER the bowl you're using to hold the balsamic. the stove method should take approximately 15 minutes, the microwave should take about 6 or 7 (it WILL boil over in the microwave so be vigilant). WARNING: your house WILL smell like vinegar. make sure to leave a window or two open and don't wear too much eye makeup because you're eyes WILL water. store in a non metal container in the fridge. it will keep for a while.

you may use it over fruit (the eye-talian way) such as strawberries and watermelon (drizzle a TINY bit over the fruit and let it sit a few minutes before partaking)

or you can use it to make my favorite BIG SANDWICH

get a big old loaf of CRUSTY eye-talian bread (or french). cut it in half. drizzle olive oil (the GOOD stuff not the crap) and balsamic syrup over both halves. you may tear up some fresh basil leaves and sprinkle on one of the halves. now load it up; roasted red peppers, sliced marinated mushrooms, sliced onions, cheese (i use vegan but i know not everyone is like me), pressed tofu sliced thinly (or if you must cold cuts of your choice), sliced GOOD olives, egg slices if you eat them, breaded fried eggplant, bean sprouts, bacon (i use morningstar farms non-meat - MICROWAVED. it comes out crispy. it won't in the oven or on top of the stove. ONLY in the microwave), sliced tomatoes,sliced pickles, hot peppers sliced and whatever else your little heart desires. place the other half on top of your newly created masterpiece. wrap in plastic wrap or tin foil. place in fridge with a WEIGHT on top of the entire length of the sandwich for at least 3 hours. ENJOY!

this makes me want to PUKE

'I'm So Sorry'

In emotional private meetings with the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush offers solace—and seeks some of his own

Aug. 22, 2005 issue - The grieving room was arranged like a doctor's
office. The families and loved ones of 33 soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan
were summoned to a large waiting area at Fort Bragg, N.C. For
three hours, they were rotated through five private rooms, where they met with
President George W. Bush, accompanied by two Secret Service men and a photographer. Because the walls were thin, the families
awaiting their turn could hear the crying inside. President Bush was
wearing "a huge smile," but his eyes were red and he looked drained by the time
he got to the last widow, Crystal Owen, a third-grade schoolteacher who had lost
her husband in Iraq. "Tell me about Mike," he said immediately. "I don't want my
husband's death to be in vain," she told him. The president apologized
repeatedly for her husband's death. When Owen began to cry, Bush
grabbed her hands. "Don't worry, don't worry," he said, though his choking voice
suggested that he had worries of his own. The president and the widow hugged.
"It felt like he could have been my dad," Owen recalled to NEWSWEEK. "It was
like we were old friends. It almost makes me sad. In a way, I wish he weren't
the president, just so I could talk to him all the time."

...........Bush likes to play the resolute War Leader,
and he has never been known for admitting mistakes or regret.
But that does not mean that he is free of doubt. For the past three years, Bush
has been living in two worlds—unwavering and confident in public, but sometimes
stricken in private. Bush's meetings with widows like Crystal Owen offer a rare
look inside that inner, private world

.

bring our women and men home, you won't have to pretend to cry any longer

that tom delay

is everywhere like scheist

‘Justice Sunday II’ rally targets judicial activism

Conservative rally aims to educate evangelical Christians about
high court

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - America’s judicial system is “unelected, unaccountable
and arrogant,” Focus on the Family founder James Dobson told the thousands of
people who packed a Nashville church for “Justice Sunday II,” a rally televised
for broadcast to churches across the country.
The goal of the rally was to
educate evangelical Christians about the U.S. Supreme Court and get them talking
to friends and elected officials about what they want from their justices, said
organizer Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council........

........Rita Nakashima Brock, founder of Faith Voices for the Common Good,
said “Justice Sunday II” was calling for a theocracy instead of
democracy.
“Those people meeting with Tom DeLay, Chuck Colson and Jim Dobson
think they own the Bible and that God speaks only to them,” Brock
said............

a misconception?

i think NOT. is it a misconception to preach using a condom (even if one is married and has hiv) is a sin? you tell ME

Pope desires 'new wave of faith'

Pope Benedict XVI has said he hopes his forthcoming trip to his homeland Germany will give "new impulse" to the Roman Catholic Church in Europe.
He said the idea that Christianity is a burden with its many rules and prohibitions was a misconception. ..............

a crackpot?????????????

or a simple mother who lost her son to a cause NO ONE can truly figure out......... The Sliming Of Iraq Mom Cindy Sheehan...

........The right-wing media is working overtime to discredit Iraq mom Cindy
Sheehan, who is protesting outside President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Tex.
On Thursday, Fred Barnes, executive editor of the Weekly Standard, called
Sheehan a “crackpot” on
Fox News.
John Podhoretz called her protest “political
theater” National Review’s blog, The Corner.
This morning, the Drudge Report posted a banner
headline, “BUSH PROTESTING MOM CALLS FOR 'ISRAEL OUT OF PALESTINE'; VOWS NOT TO
PAY TAXES.”
And conservative columnist and blogger Michelle Malkin put up an
“unconfirmed report”
that Sheehan’s husband, Patrick, had filed for a divorce.
Sheehan’s son
Casey was killed April 4, 2004, while fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Cindy Sheehan has refused to leave the president’s ranch until he meets with
her. ..........

it's a hoax BUT

i'd vote for him.................. Christopher Walken for president?Actor running low-key campaign, says 'official website' ...........Is this a scary thought?
President Christopher Walken........... NO SCARIER THAN THE CURRENT PRESIDENT

we should get these folks

to investigate the rove-novak (et al) leak case. seems THEY did THEIR job right quick (i disagree with their findings but hey..........) Abdul cleared in 'Idol' probe LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- A probe by the Fox television network has found no evidence to support claims by a former contestant on the hit television talent show "American Idol," that he had had a sexual affair with judge Paula Abdul.
The investigation also found that Abdul had not given Corey Clark any special help with his songs, wardrobe or any related matters, Fox said in a statement.
Abdul, a former pop star with hits like "Straight Up" in the late 1980s, has denied she had a sexual relationship with Clark or aided the singer on the show.
In a statement released late Friday, Abdul said she was "grateful this ordeal is over."...................

the australians weren't the only ones

we did it too, pulled children from their homes to raise them in a 'christian' environment (i.e. WHITE)

HAMILTON, N.Y. - The pastel, titled "Down to Drink," depicts a terrain of enchantment - tangerine-colored hills, a moon in a dark blue sky, a tangle of trees, kangaroos converging on a flowing stream. Created half a century ago by a boy in an Australian internment camp, it is part of a trove of 113 artworks that emerged recently from a dusty Colgate University storage space.
A bit of writing by the young artist, Parnell Dempster, survives as well. "Now I am 14 years old," he said. "I would like to be something good. I don't like camp life."
The artworks, five of which are on display here at the Picker Art Gallery at Colgate, present both an exciting opportunity and a poignant story. All were created in the late 1940's and early 50's by Aboriginal children who had been forcibly taken from their families in what the government described as an assimilation program....... there is a WONDERFUL movie out there called rabbit proof fence . it was taken from the novel follow the rabbit proof fence by doris pilkington garimara . i've not read the book (yet) but i have seen the movie.

lions and tigers and bears OH MY

or is that sunnis, shiites and kurds OH MY

............BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 14 - Iraqi leaders remained deadlocked
Sunday over major issues in the country's new constitution, raising the
possibility they would fail to meet the Monday deadline and push the country
toward a political crisis.With several questions unresolved, Shiite leaders said
Sunday that they were considering asking the National Assembly to approve the
document without the agreement of the country's Sunni leaders. Such a move would
probably provoke the Sunnis, whose participation in the political process is
seen as crucial in the effort to marginalize the Sunni-dominated guerrilla
insurgency.
Shiite and Kurdish leaders said they were also considering giving
themselves more time to reach a deal, though it was by no means certain that
they could without amending the interim constitution, the law currently in
force. That would require a three-fourths majority of the 275-member National
Assembly.....................

hey we're saving money HERE!

Half-price Colombian fighters offered for Iraq

A US company operating out of Ecuador says it has signed up about 1,000
Colombian police and military staff to work as hired guns in Iraq, for less than
half of their US counterparts' salaries.
Colombians "have been fighting
terrorists for the past 41 years and are experts in their respective areas" such
as explosives and guerrilla warfare, Epi Security and Investigation says on its
website, iraqijobcenter.com.
The company based in the Ecuadoran city of
Manta is run by American Jeffrey Shippy, who is in Baghdad, according to his
Ecuadoran wife.
He works out of his home not far from the Manta air base
Washington rented from the Ecuadoran Air Force to relocate some of the troops
and planes it used to have in Panama.
The Colombian daily El Tiempo reported
Friday that the Colombians would be paid $US2,500 to $US5,000 a month, roughly
half what their US and British counterparts earn.

and now for something COMPLETELY different

Japan speed-eater in dumpling win

A Japanese speed-eating champion has claimed the title in a Hong Kong dumpling-eating contest.
Takeru Kobayashi polished off 83 of the steamed vegetarian dumplings in eight minutes, easily beating Hong Kong's Johnny Wu into second place with 76. ..................

From: Flavors of Korea: Delicious Vegetarian Cuisine

Notes Vegetable Dumplings can be prepared in advance and frozen for later use. Freeze them after assembling and before cooking.

Servings: 48 dumplings or 8 servings Ingredients: DUMPLING DOUGH 3 cups all-purpose white flour 1 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt FILLING 1/2 tablespoon sesame tempura oil or vegetable oil plus 3 drops sesame oil 1 carrot, grated 1 cup chopped fresh button mushrooms 4 green onions, green and white parts, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root 1 cup fresh soybean or mung bean sprouts, parboiled, drained, and squeezed 2 cups shredded cabbage, steamed until soft 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 eggs, beaten separately SEASONED BROTH 8 cups water 1 teaspoon garlic salt 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon Korean red pepper powder or 1/8 teaspoon cayenne Egg Squares, for garnish1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds, for garnish Instructions: To make the dumpling dough, mix together the flour, water, and salt in a bowl. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 to 10 minutes. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Divide the dough in half, and roll each half into a very thin sheet, about 1/16 inch thick. Lightly sprinkle the dough and/or rolling pin with flour to keep the dough from sticking. Using a 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out circles for each dumpling. To make the filling, heat the oil in a wok or large skillet. Fry the carrot, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and ginger or 1 minute. Remove from the heat and set aside. In a large bowl, mix the sprouts, cabbage, salt, and pepper. Add the carrot mixture and 1 beaten egg. Stir to mix thoroughly. Transfer to a wire colander to keep the mixture drained as you assemble the dumplings. Lay a circle of dough on a flat surface. Moisten the edges with a little beaten egg. Place 1/2 tablespoon of carrot mixture in the middle of each circle of dough. Fold the top of the circle over the filling, and press the edges together to form a tight seal. Press the edges of the dumplings up so that the dumpling is round instead of a half-moon shape. (Each dumpling should resemble a plump sailor's hat with upturned brim.) Repeat until all the filling and/or dough has been used. Add the broth ingredients to a large pan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Gently drop the dumplings into the boiling broth. They will rise to the surface as they cook. Cook until the dumpling skins look transparent, about 3 minutes. To serve, place the dumplings in individual serving bowls, and cover with broth. Garnish with Egg Squares and the sesame seeds.204 calories;

Someone Tell the President the War Is Over

great op-ed piece by frank rich


LIKE the Japanese soldier marooned on an island for years after V-J Day, President Bush may be the last person in the country to learn that for Americans, if not Iraqis, the war in Iraq is over. "We will stay the course," he insistently tells us from his Texas ranch. What do you mean we, white man? ...........

,........A president can't stay the course when his own citizens (let alone his own allies) won't stay with him. The approval rate for Mr. Bush's handling of Iraq plunged to 34 percent in last weekend's Newsweek poll - a match for the 32 percent that approved L.B.J.'s handling of Vietnam in early March 1968. (The two presidents' overall approval ratings have also converged: 41 percent for Johnson then, 42 percent for Bush now.) On March 31, 1968, as L.B.J.'s ratings plummeted further, he announced he wouldn't seek re-election, commencing our long extrication from that quagmire.
But our current Texas president has even outdone his predecessor; Mr. Bush has lost not only the country but also his army. Neither bonuses nor fudged standards nor the faking of high school diplomas has solved the recruitment shortfall. Now Jake Tapper of ABC News reports that the armed forces are so eager for bodies they will flout "don't ask, don't tell" and hang on to gay soldiers who tell, even if they tell the press...........

........Thus the president's claim on Thursday that "no decision has been made yet" about withdrawing troops from Iraq can be taken exactly as seriously as the vice president's preceding fantasy that the insurgency is in its "last throes." The country has already made the decision for Mr. Bush. We're outta there. Now comes the hard task of identifying the leaders who can pick up the pieces of the fiasco that has made us more vulnerable, not less, to the terrorists who struck us four years ago next month............

yet MORE miscalculations

otis air force base. cape cod ma. i went to my ex-boss' funeral at this base.

Many on Base-Closings Panel Question Estimate of Savings

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 - A majority of the members of the independent commission assessing the Pentagon's proposed list of domestic base closings say that the Defense Department probably overstated the nearly $50 billion in savings projected over 20 years, perhaps by nearly 50 percent. In interviews this week, eight of the nine members expressed varying degrees of concern about the accuracy of the Pentagon figures, and said they had directed the commission's staff to conduct a separate savings analysis before the commission's final votes on the military's recommendations later this month.
After scores of base visits and public hearings, most of the commission members interviewed said they now agreed with a report issued this summer by federal investigators that concluded that nearly half of the Pentagon's projected savings came from cuts in military jobs that, in many cases, would simply be reassigned to other installations........

we all knew this BEFORE the panel. how did it take THEM so long?

if they are there, let's at least PROTECT THEM

(Workers assembled body armor made of ceramic plates at ArmorWorks in Tempe, Ariz. Specially treated plates give troops extra protection. )

U.S. Struggling to Get Soldiers Updated Armor


For the second time since the Iraq war began, the Pentagon is struggling to replace body armor that is failing to protect American troops from the most lethal attacks by insurgents. The ceramic plates in vests worn by most personnel cannot withstand certain munitions the insurgents use. But more than a year after military officials initiated an effort to replace the armor with thicker, more resistant plates, tens of thousands of soldiers are still without the stronger protection because of a string of delays in the Pentagon's procurement system...............
..........Upgrading the plates for American troops in Iraq will cost at least $160 million, according to industry estimates..........

this is simply sickening. they (the powers that be), appear to have KNOWN we were going to war long before we did. why the hell didn't they prepare proper PROTECTION for our troops?