me, part i

i know i look unusual (i prefer to use the word exotic when describing myself). however, i am NOT hideous nor am i an ogre. i am a realist; i will never blend in with a crowd and i know my looks startle some. if they take the time to talk to me, they soon find out i am NOT burning babies in my basement. i am fairly intelligent (well i can read past the sixth grade level), have a big heart, have what i think (modest ain’t i?) is a great sense of humor AND (i saved the best for last) i can dance! i’m a chronic insomniac and a hard worker. i love animals (in most cases more than people), black strong coffee and good vodka. i’m addicted to movies and music and literature. i have taken up knitting and crocheting again after a VERY long absence. i love to hand craft gifts even though they are never perfect. i help people of diminutive stature take things down from the higher up grocery shelves. i am shy but no one ever believes that because i have a damn good defense mechanism (which is simply me looking fierce. oh, don’t get me wrong, if someone needs defending you bet i am the first one there. i have the backs of ALL of my friends and family). i am vegan but i don’t preach. what you want to eat and wear is YOUR choice NOT mine. just don’t come after me with YOUR views because i’ll come right back at you with mine. i was raised roman catholic but left that far behind long ago. i don’t like the idea of women not being allowed any power. i also don’t like priests not being able to marry. what i feel the strongest about though, is the judeo-christian concept of fear; you either do this or that or don’t do this or that or god will get you and on top of that you’ll never get to heaven. wars in the name of your god(s). i just don’t get it. (there is a wonderful song by dar williams called the christians and the pagans. i love it! it’s one of my all time favorite holiday songs. it’s about a woman and her friend (or lover, i’m not quite sure) who visit her uncle and his family at christmas time. the young son has many questions for the pagan guests and mom and dad get rather anxious. in the end everyone realizes they are all family and they are together and that is what matters the most).

a little story about my looks (appropriate at this time i must say). a year or two ago i was leaving the loo at work and a young woman was entering. it was the month of october. she looked at me and said, ‘i LOVE your halloween costume’. i smiled a bit and looked her back in the eye and said, ‘oh, i’m NOT in costume, this is how i look EVERY day’. she cocked her head a bit and said, “no it’s not!”. well what could i say after that. i smiled a bit and went on my way.
as a rule many people do NOT say hello to me at work. it is their loss. as i stated above, all they have to do is take the time to get to know me. i’m a sensitive caring human being. i laugh, i cry and cut me and i bleed just like anyone else. well, ice water, but i bleed none the less or all

i didn't know about griswold vs connecticut

very interesting (link to the actual case in the article below from media matters )

Hume falsely claimed that "no one" had been prosecuted under Connecticut anti-contraceptive law in Griswold case; law prof Kmiec agreedOn the October 24 edition of Fox News' Special Report, host Brit Hume falsely claimed that "no one was prosecuting" those who violated a Connecticut law that prohibited the use or provision of contraceptives, which was overturned in the U.S. Supreme Court's 1965 decision in Griswold v. Connecticut -- the case that established the constitutional right to privacy. In fact, the case involved the operators of a New Haven, Connecticut, birth control clinic who had been arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and fined under the state law. Douglas W. Kmiec, a constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University, concurred with Hume's false assertion, responding, "That's right."
Kmiec also agreed with Hume's misleading assertion that "some critics" of Griswold believed the Connecticut law could not be enforced "without invading people's bedrooms, which hadn't happened." However, Kmiec added that the law was "a criminal statute, and they [the clinic's operators] could have been subject to fine and imprisonment." Without noting that the appellants had, in fact, been fined $100 for their role as "accessories" in helping a married couple violate the contraception ban, Kmiec went on to insist that the law "was largely a statute that went unenforced, and it was largely unenforceable." Kmiec then said:
KMIEC: The court could have taken a very judicially restrained posture and simply said that this is one of those statutes that is arbitrary, and unenforceable, and beyond the scope of the law. But instead, Justice William O. Douglas, writing for the majority of the court, created a phrase, "penumbras, formed by emanations" from the text of other provisions of the Constitution.
But while it is true that Connecticut's law went largely unenforced with regard to individual contraceptive use and distribution by private doctors, as a result of police shutting down a clinic in 1939, under authority of the contraception law, some Connecticut residents had to go out of state in order to obtain contraception. Citing a 1990 Iowa Law Review article by Mary Dudziak, then a professor at the University of Iowa, University of Southern California law professor David B. Cruz noted in a Summer 2000 article in the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review that the law had been used to prosecute a birth control clinic's operators in 1939. According to a June 7, 1985, Associated Press article, from the time the police shut down the clinic in 1939 until the 1965 Griswold ruling, "Planned Parenthood supporters would arrange for carloads of women to go to out-of-state clinics."
According to a June 12, 1995, Connecticut Law Review article, over the next two decades, Planned Parenthood repeatedly attempted to have the Connecticut law repealed by the state legislature or overturned by the courts. In 1961, Estelle Griswold, then the executive director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, and C. Lee Buxton, a doctor at Yale Medical School, were arrested shortly after opening a birth control clinic in New Haven. City University of New York law professor William C. Heffernan noted in a Fall 1995 Suffolk University Law Review article that Griswold and Buxton "welcomed the prosecution" as a chance to overturn the law:
Indeed, Griswold and Buxton actively sought such a prosecution to secure judicial review of the statute's constitutionality. In November 1961, Griswold held a New Haven news conference announcing that Planned Parenthood would engage in activities that the statute was designed to prohibit. She announced that her organization would open a clinic that would dispense birth control devices to married couples. When police officers raided the clinic shortly after its opening, Griswold actually offered to help find former patients who would testify against her in court.
One of those patients, the Rev. Joan Forsberg, was quoted in the June 7, 1985, AP article as saying: "If I went to a private physician with high fees, I could have gotten birth control, but I was a married woman of low income, and I couldn't afford that."...........

fair warning

(Police prepare for a long and spooky night)

(Chertoff discusses possible perpetrators of Halloween mischief.)


Trick-Or-Treaters To Be Subject To Random Bag Searches
October 26, 2005 Issue 41•43
WASHINGTON, DC—Responding to "a possible threat of terror and fright," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced Monday that trick-or-treaters will be subject to random bag searches this Halloween season. "Individuals concealing their identities through clever disguise, and under cover of night, may attempt to use the unspecified threat of 'tricks' to extort 'treats' from unsuspecting victims," Chertoff said. "Such scare tactics may have been tolerated in the past, but they will not be allowed to continue this Halloween."
While he would not elaborate on the specific threat, Chertoff said his office had "heard a couple spooky tales," and indicated that there was good reason to believe that Americans face "a very ghoulish scenario" this October.
"We have done and will continue to do everything we can to protect citizens from those who would play on our fears," a haunted Chertoff said. "Nevertheless, Americans are advised to be in a state of readiness."
National Guard troops and local police are being stationed at checkpoints in residential neighborhoods to seize the contents of any paper bags, pillowcases, plastic pumpkins, or other receptacles. Additionally, candy-sniffing dogs will be posted at regular intervals to locate and devour suspicious items.
Local, county, and state officials have been placed on orange alert, with strict orders to confiscate and investigate bags containing Bit-O-Honey, Snickers, Baby Ruth, Twix, Butterfingers, Mr. Goodbar, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, gum, and any and all forms of taffy............

who would have seen THIS coming?

(who knew the aliens had punkin' heads in honor of halloween)

the MOST shocking news i have ever heard in my whole life (NOT)!!! hey georgie, you didn't really have to come OUT of the closet, you were never IN it to begin with. we ALL knew......

c'mon everyone - the sulu dance.......the sulu dance........

George Takei Discloses His Homosexuality


Thu Oct 27,11:07 PM ET
LOS ANGELES -
George Takei, who as helmsman Sulu steered the Starship Enterprise through three television seasons and six movies, has come out as a homosexual in the current issue of Frontiers, a biweekly Los Angeles magazine covering the gay and lesbian community. Takei told The Associated Press on Thursday that his new onstage role as psychologist Martin Dysart in "Equus," helped inspire him to publicly discuss his sexuality.
Takei described the character as a "very contained but turbulently frustrated man." The play opened Wednesday at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Los Angeles, the same day that Frontiers magazine featured a story on Takei's coming out.
The current social and political climate also motivated Takei's disclosure, he said.
"The world has changed from when I was a young teen feeling ashamed for being gay," he said. "The issue of gay marriage is now a political issue. That would have been unthinkable when I was young."
The 68-year-old actor said he and his partner, Brad Altman, have been together for 18 years.
Takei, a Japanese-American who lived in a U.S. internment camp from age 4 to 8, said he grew up feeling ashamed of his ethnicity and sexuality. He likened prejudice against gays to racial segregation.
"It's against basic decency and what American values stand for," he said...........

why?

download the full size mike luckovich cartoon with the names of 2000 of our dead service people here

why?

(i do think mr luckovich has GOT IT)

unreal-reality

Pioneer Press copy editor Tim Mahoney was suspended for three days without pay for attending a peace march
Image by Michael Dvorak


No peace at the Pioneer Press
Casualty of War
by Paul Demko October 26, 2005
On the last Saturday of September, Tim Mahoney, a part-time copy editor with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, attended a peace rally in Washington, D.C. He traveled on one of three buses organized by St. Joan of Arc Church, a Catholic parish in Minneapolis where he is an active member. The demonstration, which attracted upward of 100,000 people to the nation's capitol, was one of the largest such gatherings since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
"On our part it was a silent march," recalls Mahoney, who has worked at the Pioneer Press for five years, following similar stints at the San Francisco Chronicle and the Capitol Times in Madison, Wisconsin. "We just marched around the White House, period."
While Mahoney was on the bus trip, a Pioneer Press editor called his home to find out if he was available to work that weekend. Hurricane Rita had just touched down on the Texas-Louisiana border and extra bodies were needed on the copy desk.
Upon learning that Mahoney had participated in the Washington peace march, some unnamed editor in the Pi Press chain of command launched an internal investigation to determine whether such activities constituted a breach of the paper's ethics policy. Mahoney was interviewed about the trip by his immediate supervisor. "It was kind of a friendly interview, so I thought they would drop it," he says. "It didn't seem like much of a case to me."
Last week, however, Mahoney learned the outcome of the investigation: He was suspended from work for three days without pay. In addition, Mahoney was informed that he would no longer be allowed to edit any stories about the invasion and occupation of Iraq. It was also made clear, in a letter written by senior editor Mike Bulger, that participation in any similar political activities would result in his termination.
The decision has left Mahoney and many of his Pioneer Press colleagues flummoxed. "There is an issue of conscience, of religion," he says. "I'm not trying to put myself forth as any kind of pious person at all. I'm not. But it's a matter of personal belief. It seemed to me--and still does--completely harmless to the interests of the Pioneer Press." ..........

another DUH!!!!!!!!!

Possible fraud seen in Iraq contracts -
U.S. report
Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:22 PM ET
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - U.S. officials and members of Iraq's provisional government bungled the management of $24 million in reconstruction grants in early 2004, and some cases may have involved fraud, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The U.S. Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, said his office had referred several cases of potential fraud in reconstruction grants for the South-Central region for further investigation.
Those investigations were still ongoing, according to Bowen's report -- the latest in a series of detailed audits of over $30 billion in U.S. funds for Iraq reconstruction.
Bowen's spokeswoman Kristine Belisle said the Justice Department was looking at possible indictments linked to Iraqi reconstruction. She gave no details and declined to confirm if they were linked to cases in southern Iraq.
The report said personnel working for the Coalition Provisional Authority for the South-Central Region, which includes the cities of cities of Najaf and Karbala, could not account for $20.5 million in funds.
The money was provided for a program to help Iraqis or assist in reconstruction after the March 2003 U.S. invasion.
The offices disbursed almost $23.5 million through 74 grants from February to June 2004. They handed out $2.6 million more than the value of the grants awarded, for projects ranging from media work to road repair to women's rights issues.
The report recommended the U.S. ambassador Iraq initiate action to seek reimbursement for the overpaid grant amounts..........

to those that gave their lives

Servicewomen and men and civilians with Connecticut ties who died since March 2002 in Iraq and Afghanistan:


Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, 36, March 4, 2002, Afghanistan
Marine Staff Sgt. Phillip Jordan, 42, March 23, 2003, Iraq
Marine Cpl. Kemaphoom Chanawongse, 22, March 23, 2003, Iraq
Army Pfc. Wilfredo Perez Jr., 24, July 26, 2003, Iraq
Army Staff Sgt. Richard S. Eaton Jr., 37, Aug. 12, 2003, Iraq
Army Sgt. David Travis Friedrich, 26, Sept. 20, 2003, Iraq
Army Pfc. Anthony D'Agostino, 20, Nov. 2, 2003, Iraq
Army Sgt. Maj. Philip Albert, 41, Nov. 23, 2003, Afghanistan
Army Pfc. Jeffrey Braun, 19, Dec. 12, 2003, Iraq
Army Capt. Eric Paliwoda, 28, Jan. 2, 2004, Iraq
Army Sgt. Benjamin Gilman, 28, Jan. 29, 2004, Afghanistan
Army Spc. Tyanna Avery-Felder, 22, April 7, 2004, Iraq
Army (National Guard) Sgt. Felix Del Greco, 22, April 9, 2004, Iraq
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal, 24, April 24, 2004, Iraq
Army Spc. Jacob David Martir, 21, Aug. 18, 2004, Iraq
Eric Miner, 44, employee of U.S. security firm DynCorp, Oct. 14, 2004, Iraq
Army Chief Warrant Officer William Brennan, Oct. 15, 2004, Iraq
Marine Cpl. Kevin Dempsey, 23, Nov. 13, 2004, Iraq
Army Sgt. Joseph Michael Nolan, 27, Nov. 18, 2004, Iraq
Army Lt. Col. Michael J. McMahon, 41, Nov. 27, 2004, Afghanistan.
Army (National Guard) Staff Sgt. Henry E. Irizarry, 38, Dec. 3, 2004, Iraq
Army (National Guard) Spc. Robert Hoyt, 21, Dec. 11, 2004, Iraq
Army Staff Sgt. Thomas E. Vitagliano, 33, Jan. 17, 2005, Iraq
Barbara Heald, 60, civilian employee of the Army, Jan. 29, 2005, Iraq
Marine Lance Corporal Lawrence Philippon, 22, May 8, 2005, Iraq
Lance Cpl. John T. Schmidt III, 21, May 11, 2005, Iraq
Army Spec. Christopher Hoskins, 21, June 21, 2005, Iraq
Army Maj. Steve Reich, 34, June 28, 2005, Afghanistan
Marine Sgt. David Coullard, 32, Aug. 1, 2005, Iraq

horror story

people playing god. deciding what is moral and what isn't moral . this woman wasn't raped ONCE, but TWICE. once by her perpatrator, next by 'THE MAN'

Rape victim: 'Morning after' pill denied
By Carla McClain
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Although it is safe, effective and legal, emergency contraception - the "morning after" pill - can be hard to find in Tucson.
After a sexual assault one recent weekend, a young Tucson woman spent three frantic days trying to obtain the drug to prevent a pregnancy, knowing that each passing day lowered the chance the drug would work.
While calling dozens of Tucson pharmacies trying to fill a prescription for emergency contraception, she found that most did not stock the drug.
When she finally did find a pharmacy with it, she said she was told the pharmacist on duty would not dispense it because of religious and moral objections.
"I was so shocked," said the 20-year-old woman, who, as a victim of sexual assault, is not being named by the Star. "I just did not understand how they could legally refuse to do this." ...........

great essay on the vigil tonight

Why I'm Getting Arrested at the White House Today
October 26, 2005
by David Swanson
http://www.opednews.com/
The first reason I'm going to lie down, refuse to move, and wait to be arrested outside the White House today is my belief that massive civil disobedience is needed if we are going to end the war and forestall the next war. The power of nonviolent sacrifice has been tried and tested. It may not work this time, but nothing else seems remotely likely to do the job, not even my most extravagant hopes for indictments. I'm being as practical as I know how to be. Public opinion is widely against the war in this country, in Iraq, and around the world. Talk is cheap. Our democracy is a shell. Something more is needed.But there are other reasons for my action. A few of them are…* Solidarity – I've been encouraging civil disobedience and reporting on it, but have not been engaging in it. If I miss another useful opportunity to engage in it, I become a hypocrite and a bad example. And were I to miss it, I would miss the bonds of solidarity that are formed in such actions. If you think I am right, what do you think about what you, yourself, are doing? Or not doing?* Admiration – I plan to get arrested together with Cindy Sheehan and other leaders of the movement for peace, including veterans of the war and family members of the dead. I greatly admire these people and consider it an honor to act with them.* Honor – I want to honor and remember the people whose lives have been most directly destroyed by this war, including those who have fought in it on both sides, and those – the vast majority of the dead -- who have died in this war without ever picking up a gun. These people have been brutally attacked from behind a desk in an oval-shaped office. Children have lost limbs and minds by the tens of thousands for the greed and power of a small number of cruel people............

go to a vigil in your area at 6 tonight

Vigil for 2000 Killed in Iraq (just fill in your zip and it will show you the nearest vigils. over 1,000 scheduled!)

Vigil for 2000 Killed in Iraq
by MoveOn.org
http://www.opednews.com/
Today marks the day that 2,000 brave servicemen and women have sacrificed their lives for the war in Iraq. Most of us cannot imagine what it must be like for their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. But as a nation, we can take a moment to send our gratitude and support to those families. Democracy for America is joining with MoveOn and TrueMajority to host candlelight vigils across the country and offer our condolences to the families and friends of the American servicemen and women who have given their lives. The vigils will take place at 6:30 PM tomorrow night, Wednesday, October 26. To find a vigil in your community or to host a vigil, visit this MoveOn.org Political Action page. These vigils aren't rallies or places to give long-winded speeches. They are moments to solemnly come together and mark the sacrifice of those who have died and their families.If you can't join a vigil in your community, then please join the "Honor the Fallen" campaign and write a letter to the editor to your local newspaper asking them to place all casualty reports on the front page. With this one small action, we can continue to honor the fallen and remind the public of the dangers that our troops face everyday: Click here.

they need radar o'reilly i think

U.S. blows $1 million on 7 lemon cars in Iraq
By SETH BORENSTEIN Knight Ridder Newspapers10/25/2005
WASHINGTON - When the Pentagon went shopping for seven armored cars for senior Iraqi policemen, U.S. officials turned to an Iraqi supplier to provide them some hardened Mercedes-Benzes.
After spending nearly $1 million, here's what they got: six vehicles with bad armor and run-down mechanics. They also were a little more than slightly used: The newest model was a 1996; the oldest, a 1994.
According to the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, the seventh auto is missing.
In a report released Monday, the inspector general said the Pentagon couldn't get its money back because it did such a bad job negotiating the no-bid deal.
In June, the Pentagon's Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq bought the seven Mercedes-Benzes for $135,000 each. They were supposed to include high-quality armor that could withstand high-velocity rifle shots.
The sheet plates provided were something less.
"The armoring of the vehicles appears to be of low standard and provides only limited safety to the occupants of the vehicle," the military command unit's own mechanics wrote, according to the inspector general's report.
In addition, Pentagon mechanics found "inadequate suspensions, low-quality tires, low-quality brakes and unarmored electrical systems," the report said. The mechanics concluded that "the vehicles were not worth the money paid and to bring them up to required standards would have required an investment exceeding the value of the vehicles." ...............

we've hit the landmark

well ONE was a landmark in reality. it's NOT a good thing either. now tell me, how is OUR presence in iraq the defense of OUR freedom? they were NOT the ones who were responsible for 9-11.

U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000
Iraqi election officials say voters approved new constitution


Tuesday, October 25, 2005; Posted: 9:12 p.m. EDT (01:12 GMT) BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military death toll in Iraq reached 2,000 Tuesday with the reports of three new deaths, and President Bush prepared the nation for more casualties, saying the "defense of freedom is worth our sacrifice."
"We've lost some of our nation's finest men and women in the war on terror," Bush said in a speech to military spouses at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington.
"Each loss of life is heartbreaking. And the best way to honor the sacrifice of our fallen troops is to complete the mission and lay the foundation of peace by spreading freedom."
The U.S. military milestone came as Iraqi election officials announced that the country's draft constitution won approval in a nationwide referendum.
The passage, regarded as a key step toward the establishment of Iraqi democracy, paves the way for an election for a new parliament in December. (Full story).....

eff the aclu on this one

this woman does NOT deserve to have this child or any other child while still married and/or in contact with HER CONVICTED CHILD RAPIST HUSBAND. i read an article a little while ago, BEFORE she had this present baby. she and THE CONVICTED CHILD RAPIST HUSBAND of hers WERE together. any woman who would marry a CONVICTED CHILD RAPIST doesn't deserve any rights. NONE

Authorities seize sex offender's baby
Family fighting to get child out of foster care and back in custody


STORY
MSNBC
Updated: 4:41 p.m. ET Oct. 24, 2005

The question of how to keep convicted sex offenders away from children is not easy.
One court has granted an emergency order barring a woman from taking her newborn baby home because her husband is a convicted child sex offender. Though, the mother maintains she does not live with her husband.
The emergency court authorized Children and Youth Services of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, to take the child from the mother 24 hours after delivery. County officials contended that the child would be unsafe because his father, DaiShin WolfHawk, is a convicted sex offender. The 53-year-old man was convicted of rape and sodomy in 1973, the victims two teenaged girls.

In a hearing Friday, that emergency court order was extended by Schuylkill County common pleas Judge Charles Miller for 10 days. The baby has been placed in a foster home. The mother, Melissa WolfHawk, has visitation rights and also she has an ACLU lawyer.
Though the original court order was presumably based on the father‘s past crimes, the county had also produced two other documents damaging to both parents. Doctors report that Melissa WolfHawk had acknowledged using cocaine and methamphetamine, and had once worked as a prostitute. A New York parole document indicated that Mr. WolfHawk had sexually abused his daughter.
Wendy Murphy, a former prosecutor that specialized in child abuse and sex crimes, joined MSNBC-TV's Keith Olbermann to discuss this issue. .................

i LOVE what ms murphy has to say (please click the link above and read the whole article). she is MY kind o' babe. oh, by the way THE ASSWIPE, 'daishin wolfhawk' is really John Joseph Lentini.

prior article
Sex Offender's Wife in Child Custody Fight

DaiShin WolfHawk, 53, was known as John Joseph Lentini when he pleaded guilty in New York in 1983 to rape, attempted rape, sodomy and attempted sodomy.......

............Schuylkill County Children and Youth Services believes this child's physical and emotional health is in danger because of the abuse perpetrated by the natural father against other minor children," wrote agency attorney Karen E. Rismiller.
Rismiller said confidentiality rules prohibit her from commenting further.............

NOT something i'd teach my 8 year old

i'd teach her to respect and value the earth and the life upon it. i'd not give her a gun and teach her to kill. hey, that's just me.


Girl, 8, Credited With Year's 1st Bear Kill
2 Rounds Did In the 211-Pound Animal, Third-Grader From Western Md. Says
By Nelson HernandezWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, October 25, 2005; Page B03
MOUNT NEBO, Md., Oct. 24 -- There's a new hunting legend in the mountains of Western Maryland. Born to the woods, she's 4 1/2 feet tall and 8 years old, with a shock of light brown hair and a steady trigger finger that put two bullets into a black bear's chest cavity Monday, according to her and her father and granduncle, who were hunting with her. State officials backed the claim by Sierra Stiles and credited her with the first kill of Maryland's second bear season since hunting the animals resumed after a half-century ban. Maryland Department of Natural Resources officials, waiting to take measurements and tissue samples from the bears at a wildlife management center here, shook their heads in amazement at the news that the first hunter to bag a bear was a third-grade girl from Kitzmiller, on Maryland's border with West Virginia.
Sierra recounted here how she shot the 211-pound bear from 50 yards away with her .243-caliber rifle. "I was scared," she said, then paused for dramatic emphasis. "Because bears will eat anything!"

ANOTHER one NOT from the onion

Community grieves for dead chicken

A community mourning the death of a mystery "baby" was told today: "Stop grieving, it's only a chicken."
A makeshift shrine of flowers and cards sprang up after a member of the public discovered the remains of a foetus in a back alley in Anfield, Liverpool.
Merseyside Police cordoned off the scene to investigate, but tests soon revealed that it was only a chicken foetus. The truth was reported in a local newspaper, but a rumour had already swept the area that a dead baby had been found.
More than a dozen bunches of flowers were laid at the scene by well-wishers, along with teddy bears and cards.
One card read: "RIP Little Baby. Safe in the arms of Jesus. From someone who is a loving mother xxxx." A spokeswoman for Merseyside Police stressed today that the remains were not human. .................

this is NOT from the onion

it's REAL

(by the way, i insisted my mother be buried with her bingo bag. let me tell you those bingo playin' babes [and dudes] would NEVER let a terrorist infiltrate their turf)


Kentucky lands grant to protect bingo halls from terrorists

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky has been awarded a federal Homeland Security grant aimed at keeping terrorists from using charitable gaming to raise money.
The state Office of Charitable Gaming won the $36,300 grant and will use it to provide five investigators with laptop computers and access to a commercially operated law-enforcement data base, said John Holiday, enforcement director at the Office of Charitable Gaming.
The idea is to keep terrorists from playing bingo or running a charitable game to raise large amounts of cash, Holiday said.
But to some, the idea of protecting bingo halls from terrorists is nonsensical.
"It's almost ludicrous," said Rick Bentley, a Henry Clay High School sports booster as he volunteered last Thursday at a noisy, smoke-filled Lexington bingo parlor. "The thought would never even enter my mind."........

NO sense of humor

White House Orders Satirical Paper 'The Onion' to Stop Using Presidential Seal
By E&P Staff Published: October 24, 2005 2:25 PM ET
NEW YORK
Despite White House spokesman Trent Duffy's admission to New York Times reporter Katharine Q. Seelye that "more than one Bush staffer reads The Onion and enjoys it thoroughly," the White House is seeking to stop the satirical paper from using the presidential seal on its Web site. Seelye's seal scoop, printed in Monday's paper, reveals that associate counsel to the president Grant M. Dixton sent a letter to the Onion on Sept. 28 stating that the seal "is not to be used in connection with commercial ventures or products in any way that suggests presidential support or endorsement."The newspaper parodies President Bush's weekly radio address on its Web site, accompanied by a picture of President Bush and the official insignia.The Onion's lawyer, Rochelle H. Klaskin, countered the government's letter by saying, "It is inconceivable that anyone would think that, by using the seal, The Onion intends to 'convey... sponsorship or approval' by the president."Klaskin also asked that the Onion be considered fro an official exception to the rule, which is allowable by law...............

the onion

why the hell didn't the STATE (or city) step in?

didn't they come for home checks? didn't they see the children's sleeping quarters? the couple tells a nice story about protecting the kids but i don't buy it for an instant. IF they cared, the children wouldn't have slept in cages and YES they ARE cages. if they couldn't handle 11 kids and watch out for them as individuals, THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO HAVE ELEVEN KIDS.

Father says confining children was necessary
Reporter allowed into home


Monday, October 24, 2005;
Posted: 11:25 a.m. EDT (15:25 GMT)
CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- The father suspected of keeping some of 11 special-needs adopted children in cages says he confined them only to keep them safe and showed off damage to his home he says they caused.
"I felt terrible about it," Michael Gravelle told a reporter and photographer for The Plain Dealer during a tour of his home Sunday. "But it's necessary."
The children were removed from the home last month and sent to foster homes while the adoptions are investigated. The parents have not been charged, and custody hearings are scheduled in the widely publicized case.
The couple previously has not let reporters into their home, about 60 miles southwest of Cleveland near Wakeman. Michael Gravelle said he was tired of his wife, Sharen, being labeled "world's most evil mother."
The Gravelles say they were adopting children nobody else wanted, who had problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome, autism, HIV and pica, an eating disorder that causes children to eat dirt and rocks...............

rosa

Civil rights icon Rosa Parks dies at 92
Rosa Parks, who helped trigger the civil rights movement in the 1950s, died Monday, her longtime friends told CNN. She was 92. Parks inspired the movement when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, in December 1955. "As the mother of the new civil rights movement, [she] has left an impact not just on the nation, but on the world," said U.S. Rep. John Conyers, who met Parks during the early days of the civil rights struggle..............

he's talkin' the talk

now let's make sure he's (and the REST of us are) walkin' the walk!

Sunday, October 23, 2005
Dean calls for end to 'culture of corruption'

By JOSIE HUANG, Portland Press Herald Writer


LEWISTON — The Bush White House is the most corrupt administration in U.S. history since President Warren G. Harding's, said Howard Dean during his first visit to Maine as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Dean's comments Saturday came as top White House advisers are being investigated for their roles in the outing of a CIA operative and Tom DeLay, the former second-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, faces conspiracy and money-laundering charges.
"The first thing we're going to do is we're going to have ethics come back to Washington again," said Dean, the keynote speaker at Saturday night's annual fundraising dinner for the Maine Democratic Party at the Lewiston Armory............

why is it i hear clicks when i answer my phone?

i'm not a member of any militant organizations (well there was a time i was a peta member but since my attitudes and thoughts differ so much from their beliefs, i could not, in good conscious remain a member. oh also, years ago i was a member of clowns of america, but i dropped out of that as well - you had to sign a pledge saying you wouldn't drink alcoholic beverages while in makeup), i pay my taxes, i work, i don't support fidel or any tyrant (i'm smiling at this one), i DO support our men and women in our armed forces (but not this war we are in) and i do believe those responsible for 9-11 (and like actions) should be brought to justice

FBI Papers Indicate Intelligence Violations Secret Surveillance Lacked Oversight
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, October 24, 2005; A01
The FBI has conducted clandestine surveillance on some U.S. residents for as long as 18 months at a time without proper paperwork or oversight, according to previously classified documents to be released today.
Records turned over as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit also indicate that the FBI has investigated hundreds of potential violations related to its use of secret surveillance operations, which have been stepped up dramatically since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks but are largely hidden from public view.
In one case, FBI agents kept an unidentified target under surveillance for at least five years -- including more than 15 months without notifying Justice Department lawyers after the subject had moved from New York to Detroit. An FBI investigation concluded that the delay was a violation of Justice guidelines and prevented the department "from exercising its responsibility for oversight and approval of an ongoing foreign counterintelligence investigation of a U.S. person."
In other cases, agents obtained e-mails after a warrant expired, seized bank records without proper authority and conducted an improper "unconsented physical search," according to the documents.
Although heavily censored, the documents provide a rare glimpse into the world of domestic spying, which is governed by a secret court and overseen by a presidential board that does not publicize its deliberations. The records are also emerging as the House and Senate battle over whether to put new restrictions on the controversial USA Patriot Act, which made it easier for the government to conduct secret searches and surveillance but has come under attack from civil liberties groups.
The records were provided to The Washington Post by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy group that has sued the Justice Department for records relating to the Patriot Act.
David Sobel, EPIC's general counsel, said the new documents raise questions about the extent of possible misconduct in counterintelligence investigations and underscore the need for greater congressional oversight of clandestine surveillance within the United States.
"We're seeing what might be the tip of the iceberg at the FBI and across the intelligence community," Sobel said. "It indicates that the existing mechanisms do not appear adequate to prevent abuses or to ensure the public that abuses that are identified are treated seriously and remedied."
FBI officials disagreed, saying that none of the cases have involved major violations and most amount to administrative errors. The officials also said that any information obtained from improper searches or eavesdropping is quarantined and eventually destroyed........

from the immoral minority..........

Director of "March of the Penguins" says that Creationists don't get the film


The director hit back at the commentators he believes have wilfully misread his film. “If you want an example of monogamy, penguins are not a good choice,” Luc Jacquet told The Times. “The divorce rate in emperor penguins is 80 to 90 per cent each year,” he said. “After they see the chick is OK, most of them divorce. They change every year.”In fact the rate is substantially worse than the American divorce rate, which is about 50 per cent. Mr Jacquet, who has never made a film for the cinema before, is concerned that his documentary has been hijacked. “It does annoy me to a certain degree,” he said. “For me there is no doubt about evolution. I am a scientist. The intelligent design theory is a step back to the thinking of 300 years ago. My film is not supposed to be interpreted in this way. Some scientists I know find the film interesting because it can be a good argument against intelligent design. People should not jump on these bandwagons.”..............

i shudder at the thought!

i know i have nothing to worry about. the party to which she belongs would NEVER support someone of color much less a WOMAN for president. still, the thought is very distasteful indeed!

Diplomacy or campaign trail for Rice?
By Jonathan Beale BBC News,
Birmingham, Alabama
It took a small girl at Condoleezza Rice's old elementary school in Birmingham, Alabama, to ask the question most of us reporters had been thinking.
She wanted to know whether the US Secretary of State thought the US would ever have a woman president.
There was no real doubt as to what she was thinking: could she be looking at a future contender for the White House?
Ms Rice replied yes, she thought it would happen, before adding - her now well rehearsed denial - that she herself was not interested in running for office.
Maybe, but everything about this trip to her home state of Alabama - Republican to the core - had the feel of a campaign tour.
That speculation followed Ms Rice everywhere she went.
There were the middle aged white women who queued to hear her give a speech at the University of Alabama.
They were already wearing badges that advertised "Condi for President".
Or the football fans who awaited her arrival at the Tuscaloosa stadium to see Alabama take on Tennessee.
Nearly all of the fans I spoke to thought this was all about Ms Rice's political future............

from doug ireland

October 21, 2005
Urgent!
NEW REPUBLICAN GAG RULE ON NON-PROFITS
The group OMB Watch has issued an urgent appeal about a new Republican gag rule restricting the ability of non-profit organizations to do voter registration or lobbying and advocacy for their constituencies . The bill is likely to be voted on by the House of Representatives next Wednesday, October 26. And a coalition of 60 national organizatons has sent a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert opposing the Gag Rule.
A provision to be introduced as a manager’s amendment to the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) in the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (H.R. 1461) would dramatically restrict nonprofit advocacy. While it applies only to nonprofits seeking grants under a new Affordable Housing Fund (AHF), the provision sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the speech and association rights of all nonprofits.
Even non partisan activities are restricted under this Nonprofit Gag Provision, like voter registration, voter identification, and get-out-the vote activities. Also forbidden are: anything that “promotes,” “supports,” “attacks,” or “opposes” a candidate for federal office, which could be interpreted to include criticism of elected officials who may be seeking reelection; broadcast of any ads – public service announcements, grassroots issue advocacy, anything – that refer to federal candidates within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary; or lobbying, except if the group is a 501(c)(3) organization it may lobby within permissible limits. Affiliation with any entity dthdat engagges in any of the above activities during the same time period -- 12 months before applying for a grant or during the grant period -- will also disqualify the group from receiving money from the AHF........

movie of the day

vera drake a mike leigh film staring imelda staunton. actually the entire cast was amazing from the daughter ethel, to the son sid, to the husband, his brother and sister in law and the neighbor reg. again, NO car chases or julias or angelinas or brads or toms or jennifers in it. no smarmy crap. a REAL story with REAL (appearing of course) characters. people you actually cared about. it takes place in 1950 britain, christmas time. vera is a caretaker; of her family, her neighbors, the world. she is also a cleaning woman for wealthy women who sit home and apply lipstick. unbenownst to her family, she helps women have miscarriages if they cannot care for a (or another) child. she does this with NO remuneration and no qualms - she KNOWS she is doing the right thing. these women cannot afford to have an abortion by a doctor (by contrast that procedure is also played out by the daughter of one of the wealthy women who's home vera cleans). i highly recommend this film. it is NOT a happy one though. be aware of that.

i've visited ithaca and cornell

nice city, nice people, wicked cool stores. Cornell President Condemns Teaching Intelligent Design as Science style="font-size:130%;"> A national movement to have intelligent design taught in science classrooms is "very dangerous," Cornell University's interim president, Hunter R. Rawlings III, said after taking up the issue Friday in a speech. But Mr. Rawlings charged that colleges were not engaging enough in the debate. Mr. Rawlings spoke to hundreds of faculty members and trustees during his state of the university address, which typically focuses on the college's accomplishments and business. His staff said he chose to take up the topic, in part, because he is serving only temporarily as president. He was president from 1995 to 2003, and returned after Jeffrey Lehman resigned in June, citing differences with the university's trustees.
Intelligent design is a theory that says the universe is too complex to be the result of evolution and natural selection, proposing that a higher power is responsible. Proponents say that alternatives to evolution should be taught in classrooms. But Mr. Rawlings denounced intelligent design as a "religious belief masquerading as a secular idea."
Mr. Rawlings added, "Right now, this issue is playing out in school districts, cities, counties and states across the country."
In citing a recent report by the Pew Research Center in Washington, Mr. Rawlings said 42 percent of Americans believe that creationism should be taught instead of evolution. "This is above all a cultural issue, not a scientific one," Mr. Rawlings said................

men like this

have ABSOLUTELY NO idea what it is like to #1) be a woman, a second class citizen no matter WHAT anyone tells you - we are STILL NOT equal #2) a mother and #3) a working woman or even more importantly a working mother. i do believe more women stay home with sick children because more men than women cannot deal with a sick child as well as a woman (that is slowly changing i am happy to say). we also don't have adequate day care for our working mothers AND fathers. Ad Guru Leaves Job Over Remarks on Women
By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Writer Sat Oct 22, 7:59 PM ET
LONDON - One of the world's most flamboyant advertising gurus has left his job after reportedly telling an audience that women made poor executives because motherhood made them "wimp out." Marketing giant WPP Group PLC said Friday it had accepted the resignation of Neil French — a one-time debt collector, trainee matador and rock-band agent who served as the group's worldwide creative director.
The firm, which is based in London and New York, told Britain's Press Association news agency that French had offered his resignation, and it had been accepted. WPP could not immediately be reached for comment by The Associated Press.
French made the contentious remarks during an industry discussion in Toronto on Oct. 6. According to a report in the city's Globe and Mail newspaper, French said women did not make it to the top because "they're crap."
Nancy Vonk, a Toronto-based creative director at WPP subsidiary Ogilvy & Mather who attended the event, said French described women as "a group that will inevitably wimp out and go 'suckle something.'"
The comments sparked outrage among many women in the advertising industry.
Vonk wrote on the advertising industry Web site http://www.ihaveanidea.org — sponsor of the Oct. 6 event — that "my jaded jaw hit the floor" at French's comments.
"If our greatest leaders are busy quietly persuading girls they're just not cut out for this gig, how far is this group going to get — the brave ones who soldier on in spite of the discouragement?" she wrote.
British-born French, 61, known for his ever-present cigar, worked as a debt collector, trained as a matador and was agent to the heavy metal band Judas Priest before going into advertising.
He was among a generation of innovative admen — including future film director Ridley Scott and brothers Maurice and Charles Saatchi — who made a mark on British advertising in the 1970s and 80s.
Many of French's print ads are considered classics. One of the most famous shows a bottle of Chivas Regal whisky without a label, and the tag line, "If you don't recognize it, you're probably not ready for it."
Singapore-based French — who during the Toronto event was served drinks onstage by a woman in a French maid's uniform — was unrepentant.
In an interview with the Globe and Mail published Friday, French said there were few female creative directors "because you can't commit yourself to the job."
"You can't be a great creative director and have a baby and keep spending time off every time your kids are ill," he was quoted as saying..............

we're off to see the wizard

(or not) Bush motorcade leaves other folks fuming By Dana Bartholomew, Staff Writer LA Daily News One hundred Brentwood kindergartners, many dressed in costumes, were all set to go see "The Wizard of Oz" on Friday when their first-ever field trip was blocked by the nation's 43rd president.
They never got to see the wizard.
President George W. Bush, his Marine One helicopter grounded by fog, brought morning rush hour to a standstill while his motorcade proceeded from West Los Angeles through the San Fernando Valley to Simi Valley for the dedication of the Air Force One Pavilion.
"We had buses all loaded up - but by the time they got to school it was too late," said Julie Fahn, a volunteer mom at Kenter Canyon Elementary in Brentwood, where girls had dressed as Dorothy to see the play performed in Malibu.
"My poor children - they were so disappointed. They're all so sad. They were inconvenienced by a silly motorcade down Sunset (Boulevard)."
Bush's traffic jams - Westside to San Fernando Valley commutes Thursday night took up to three hours when traffic was rerouted because of a presidential fundraiser - added to the lore of a city notorious for its gridlock.
On Friday, police were alerted just before Bush began his commute. With only a few minutes' notice from the U.S. Secret Service, LAPD and city Department of Transportation cops shut down Sunset Boulevard west of the San Diego Freeway from 8:15 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Thousands of commuters, unable to cross the legendary L.A. strip except for intermittent breaks in traffic, were trapped with engines idling in miles-long jams.
John Brooks, a news reporter for radio station KFWB-AM (980), was unable to move for more than an hour as gridlocked motorists as far south as Wilshire Boulevard screamed at traffic cops barring their commutes.
"They were saying, 'I gotta take my kid to school - what's going on here?"' he recalled, adding that some had also grumbled, "Presidents always come to this side of town because there's big money here."
One glamorous Westsider suggested an alternate route for the president. Another wielded a sign that said simply, "Impeach Bush."
At a Starbucks on San Vicente Boulevard, motorists drank lattes in resignation. "A lot of people were stuck," barista Denise Johnson said. "Traffic wasn't moving. It literally wasn't moving. I heard a few horns honking."
As the presidential motorcade turned from Sunset onto the northbound 405 for a dignified crawl on a freeway cleared of other cars, the CHP closed freeway entrances and exits along the entire motorcade route.
Opposing traffic, unable to ignore the president, braked to a crawl.
"Southbound was wall-to-wall, creeping, except for the car-pool lane," said Dan Page of Simi Valley, who saw the deadlock from his Toyota Prius as he threaded the jam in the HOV lane heading for his job at the UCLA Health Center.
Like many from a region that overwhelmingly cast votes against Bush in 2004, Page was critical of the president's decision to disrupt the nation's busiest freeway commute.
"If he can sneak in and out of Baghdad without anybody knowing it, it seems like he could slip in and out of L.A. without disrupting rush hour - twice." ..............

the patriot act - revisited

A Constitutional Disaster
Chip Pitts While natural disasters in the Gulf Coast and the man-made disaster in Iraq continue to grab the public's attention, a constitutional disaster quietly threatens the nation.
The USA Patriot Act's renewal is now almost a fait accompli--accepted by all but the most steadfast civil libertarians in Congress. The House and Senate have separately voted to approve the law with only minor changes, and the final conference committee action and vote is expected within the next week or so. None of the provisions of the law that were slated to sunset now appear likely to do so.
This law, enacted during a "state of emergency" declared by President Bush and intended to be revisited in calmer times, is now effectively being made permanent. California Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher has strongly objected to the reauthorization on this ground. The Patriot Act has been and will continue to be used mainly against ordinary Americans accused of crimes unrelated to terrorism, or those who disagree with government policies or happen to be immigrants or of the Muslim faith.
The result is likely to be an enduring shift of power from the legislative and judicial branches to the executive branch--and less privacy and liberty for all.
New Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is unlikely to offer much relief; he has supported the Administration's so-called "war on terror" policies. Unlike retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who wrote last year that the President did not have a "blank check" even in times of war, her proposed replacement, Harriet Miers, if confirmed would likely be more accommodating on these issues. Granting the President such broad new powers, especially given today's surveillance technologies, would change the very foundations of the American body politic..............