soooooooooooooo

This undated photo provided by the Cheyenne County Sheriff Dept. shows the booking shot of 5-foot, 1-inch tall Richard W. Thompson, who was sentenced on Tuesday, May 23, 2006, to 10 years probation on two felony sexual assault charges. Cheyenne County District Judge Kristine Cecava told Thompson his offenses warranted a long prison sentence, but she said that he was too small to survive very long in a state prison. He could have been sentenced to 10 years behind bars.(AP Photo/Cheyenne County Sheriff Dept.)

short people don't have a chance in prison huh? it's ok for ANY short person then to HAVE SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A TWELVE YEAR OLD? that's good thinkin' on YOUR part judge KRISTINE CECAVA.

i don't think fat people should go to prison either. they wouldn't have a fair chance of running away if attacked. so it's ALSO ACCEPTABLE FOR FAT PEOPLE TO HAVE SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A TWELVE YEAR OLD

i don't think deaf people should go to prison either. they can't hear people sneakin' up on them. so it's ALSO ACCEPTABLE FOR DEAF PEOPLE TO HAVE SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A TWELVE YEAR OLD

i don't think blind people should go to prison either. they can't SEE if someone is going to hurt them. so it's ALSO ACCEPTABLE FOR BLIND PEOPLE TO HAVE SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A TWELVE YEAR OLD

i don't think people with leg problems or amputations should go to prison either. they cannot easily get away from an attack. so it's ALSO ACCEPTABLE FOR PEOPLE WITH LEG PROBLEMS TO HAVE SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A TWELVE YEAR OLD.

i don't think people with carpal tunnel should go to prison either. they wouldn't be able to slap a shank out of someone's hand if being attacked. so it's ALSO ACCEPTABLE FOR PEOPLE WITH CARPAL TUNNEL TO HAVE SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A TWELVE YEAR OLD.

i can go on and on about the disadvantaged criminals out there but i won't because i'm wellin' up here and i don't have enough kleenex. it's safe to say though, that if kristine cecava was right here right now, i sure would love to give her a pat on the back!

and wtf is up with mr mongano who AGREES with JUDGE KRISTINE CECAVA? he thinks she did the right thing because of course short people WOULD HAVE A HARD TIME IN PRISON. i have a question for you mr mongano? WHO THE FUCK IS LOOKING OUT FOR THE TWELVE YEAR OLD GIRL?

Probation sentence for short sex offender sparks debate; attorney general plans appeal

SCOTT BAUER Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. — A judge's decision to sentence a 5-foot-1 man to probation instead of prison for sexually assaulting a child has angered crime victim advocates who say the punishment sends the wrong message.
But supporters of short people say it's about time someone recognizes the unique challenges they face.
Cheyenne County District Judge Kristine Cecava issued the sentence Tuesday. She told Richard W. Thompson that his crimes deserved a long prison sentence but that he was too small to survive in a state prison.
Though he could have been sentenced to 10 years behind bars, he ended up with 10 years of probation instead. On Thursday, the state's attorney general, Jon Bruning, promised to appeal within two weeks, calling the sentence far too lenient.
"I'm concerned about the message this sends to victims and perpetrators," said Marla Sohl with the Nebraska Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Coalition, adding that it shows more concern is being placed on the criminal and his safety in prison than the victim........

.....But Joe Mangano, secretary of the National Organization of Short Statured Adults, agreed with the judge's assessment that Thompson would face dangers while in prison because of his height.
"I'm assuming a short inmate would have a much more difficult time than a large inmate," said Mangano, who is 5 feet 4 inches tall. "It's good to see somebody looking out for someone who is a short person."...........

kristine r cecava

Kristine R. Cecava was Governor Orr's first
female judicial appointee and the first
female judge outside the metropolitan areas
of Lincoln and Omaha. She took office on
the County Court of the 11th Judicial District
on September 29, 1987. Judge Cecava graduated
from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
with an undergraduate degree in business
administration and received her J.D. degree
from the University of Nebraska College of
Law. She initially went into private practice.
Prior to her appointment to the County
Court, she served as county attorney for both
Keith and Arthur Counties.27
Governor Orr appointed Toni G. Thorson

and now i find this in the state of connecticut

Manchester man sentenced in child sex assault

a man gets FIVE YEARS for sexually abusing a child from the time she was EIGHT until she was FOURTEEN???? he has a PRIOR conviction from the 70s too. he was caught with a WEAPON in jail but FIVE YEARS IS ALL HE'S GOING TO ACTUALLY DO. WTF is wrong with THAT picture?

draw ya brakes brodda

i think everyone's (well everyone in the us that is) first taste of ska/reggae was desmond dekker. i know mine was

Reggae legend Desmond Dekker dies

Reggae legend Desmond Dekker has died suddenly from a heart attack, his manager has announced.
The 64-year-old Jamaican, best known for his 1969 hit Israelites, collapsed at his Surrey home.
Manager Delroy Williams said the performer had seemed fine when they met a day earlier.
"It is such a shock. I don't think I will ever get over this," he said, adding that Dekker led the way for reggae stars such as Bob Marley.
"Desmond was the first legend, believe it or not. When he released Israelites nobody had heard of Bob Marley - he paved the way for all of them."
The star was divorced with a son and daughter. ......

desmond dekker

he had a few songs on the the harder they come soundtrack GREAT movie, GREAT soundtrack!

(picture: www.bbc.co.uk)

whew, i'm glad mr graham ain't MY daddy!

just how can mr graham say ms brimhall is promoting SEX? she's talking about forming a DISCUSSION GROUP AND about a VACCINATION to prevent a disease??????? i'm also glad i don't live in utah (where i KNOW it's beautiful but i CANNOT accept some of their asinine and archaic and just downright STUPID laws). 'family values' indeed! they wouldn't know REAL family values if it stomped up and bit 'em on the ass

Family-Values Group Protests School Newspaper Articles Published:
May 25, 2006 12:20 PM ET
PROVO, Utah A family-values organization claims articles dealing with sex that were published in the school newspaper at Highland's Lone Peak High School violated state law.One of the articles ran alongside an opposing article written by the daughter of Stephen Graham, president of the Standard of Liberty Foundation.Graham has asked the state Office of Education and the attorney general to look into three articles in The Lone Peak Crusader.On Nov. 17, an opinion piece by Sarah Brimhall advocated formation of a Gay Straight Alliance at the school. It appeared alongside an opposing view written by Graham's daughter, Elise.On May 15, a news article and an opinion piece, both written by Brimhall, addressed a vaccination for human papilloma virus, which can be spread by sexual contact. In the opinion piece, Brimhall wrote that teaching abstinence is not enough to prevent the spread of HPV."The promotion of abstinence is placed above the prevention of a disease that claims thousands of lives each year," she wrote...........

if he brings his shotgun

DO NOT call him to the witness stand. these guys are ALL guilty and not much if anything is going to happen to them, so it really doesn't matter at all. novak is still running around with no worries and HE RELASED THE NAME OF A COVERT CIA OPERATIVE. if i did that what do you think would happen to me? this is all good news though. we ARE headed one way or another into a police state. congress and the senate didn't give a hoot about OUR rights being violated UNTIL it started happening to them. now slowly, THEIR eyes are being opened. i hope it's not too late

Cheney May Not Be Able to Avoid Testifying in Plame Case

Published: May 25, 2006 10:34 PM ET
WASHINGTON If a prosecutor calls him as a witness, Vice President Dick Cheney probably can't avoid testifying in his former chief of staff's perjury trial, legal experts said Thursday."There may be significant issues of executive privilege and significant issues of classified information. But there are obviously significant factual issues that bear on the charges the prosecutor has brought" in the CIA leak investigation, said former federal prosecutor E. Lawrence Barcella Jr."So there is a far better than average chance that you are going to see the vice president sitting in the witness chair" if he is summoned, Barcella said.In a court filing late Wednesday, Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald suggested Cheney would be a logical prosecution witness because he could authenticate notes he jotted on a copy of a New York Times opinion column by a critic of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.Fitzgerald said Cheney's state of mind at the time he jotted those notes is "directly relevant" to the perjury and obstruction of justice charges against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the vice president's former top aide.........


Bush seeks to defuse conflict with House over seized documents

hey how about putting up a big stink about US being spied upon WITHOUT WARRANTS? huy? how about it?

speechless once again

although i will say i am beet red and fuming

Judge rules sex offender is too short for prison
5-foot-1 man gets 10 years probation for sexual assault of a child

The Associated Press
Updated: 8:14 a.m. ET May 25, 2006


SIDNEY, Neb. - A judge said a 5-foot-1 man convicted of sexually assaulting a child was too small to survive in prison, and gave him 10 years of probation instead.
His crimes deserved a long sentence, District Judge Kristine Cecava said, but she worried that Richard W. Thompson, 50, would be especially imperiled by prison dangers.
"You are a sex offender, and you did it to a child," she said.
But, she said, "That doesn't make you a hunter. You do not fit in that category.".........

i guess i have a theme going today (unintentional)

it IS different being a woman. the criticism IS different in many cases. we are NOT treated the same. we are NOT thought of the same. by same I mean equally. of course men and women are different. semantics here.
ms schnakenberg makes many good points. she's talking about women that write op-ed. however, what she says applies to far more than just women who write.

and i have noticed from time to time, even the most 'liberal' appearing people tend to treat women from time to time as second class citizens.

i am one of the lucky ones. i never believed i was second class. i never allowed myself to be treated as such. i don't confront everyone though. sometimes i do just walk away. i have one hell of a temper and sometimes it's just for the best that i beat feet.

i have a question for you to think about.
do you know ANY woman in america that is happy with her body?

why do you think that is?


Hating the Hate Mail
By Heidi Schnakenberg, Women's eNewsPosted on May 25, 2006, Printed on May 25, 2006http://www.alternet.org/story/36650/
As a young woman, I stepped out into the treacherous waters of opinion journalism, and was amazed by the lack of civil discourse and the intensity of personal attacks that I received via e-mail, letters to the editor and on Web postings.
Subjects such as women's issues, racism, anti-war politics, environmental matters and virtually any topic deemed "liberal" inspired some vitriolic comments from readers that I will mention here. I was called everything from "bitch" to "whore" and was often addressed as "sweetie" or "honey" before a launch of expletives. Most attackers took the position that I was just a cute, dumb, college student (even though I was in my late 20s) in an effort to discredit me and I was most reliably attacked by a collection of right-wing Web sites and right-wing men who sent me letters............

and this horrid instance:

..........Rekha Basu is the civil liberties voice at the Des Moines Register in Iowa, and she is a woman, liberal and Indian. She's been called a Hindu-worshipping slut, an Arab terrorist, a whore, a lesbian, a cunt, a skanky Muslim. Most insults are via e-mail and on Web sites, where attackers can remain relatively anonymous.
She's been stalked and followed on the highway and told readers can't wait to read her obituary in the newspaper. But nothing hurt like the time a reader said they hoped her husband, who has Lou Gehrig's disease, would hurry up and die so she would leave the country...............Do Men Get the Same?
Do men get the same? I asked David Yepsen, who is white, male, centrist and also a columnist at the Register. He says he is called an asshole from time to time and received a death threat once, but Yepsen felt readers had paid their quarter and were entitled to an opinion. "I've heard Rekha was called a Hindu-worshipping slut and things like that. I've never gotten anything on par with that," he said........................

i personally would NOT have cried

over what this asswipe said. i would have grabbed the mic and given my OWN speech. when the asswipe is capable of giving birth THEN and only THEN can he say women are selfish for wanting birth control. when he is discriminated against simply for the fact he doesn't have a penis (i'm guessing the ONE he DOES have is less than an inch) THEN and only THEN can he say women are selfish.

A Commencement Turns Ugly
When people cry at graduation, it’s supposed to be the happy kind of tears.
That wasn’t the case Saturday at the University of St. Thomas, when the student speaker at the Saint Paul, Minn., institution’s graduation ceremony used his address to denounce as “selfish” those women who use the birth control pill. St. Thomas has been divided this semester by a debate over whether the Roman Catholic institution was correct to ban unmarried employees traveling together with students from sharing a room, so issues of sexual morality have been front and center at the institution. The student speaker also denounced as selfish those unmarried couples covered by the policy who had wanted to share a room with a partner.
Students and family members were shocked by the speech — and some left their own graduation in tears. Others booed or shouted. Still others are angry that the university administrator who followed the student speaker appeared to many to endorse his views. The university denies that, and the St. Thomas president and the student speaker have apologized. While St. Thomas officials said that they hope the apologies will put the matter to rest, many students and faculty members doubt that can happen............

.............speaker is Ben Kessler, who was elected by students and faculty members as “Tommie of the Year,” earning the right to address his fellow graduates. Kessler was a 4.0 student and a star on the football team. He is moving to Rome to study for the priesthood...........
(if i had any extra money laying around, i'd buy him a first class ticket and put him on the plane myself)

i didn't know this happened in turkey

i had always heard turkey was a very modern country. very liberal and very accepting. i guess i heard wrong. i could go on and on about 'honor' killings but it's pointless. i would imagine you can guess how i feel

UN investigates 'forced suicides' in Turkey
By Daniel Howden
Published: 25 May 2006

A United Nations envoy has arrived in Turkey to investigate a reported surge in the number of young women committing suicide.
Yakin Erturk, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women, travelled yesterday to the eastern Turkish city of Batman to follow up on reports in local media that up to 36 women had killed themselves since the start of the year. This figure is already much higher than the number for the whole of last year.
Many of the women who have died were allegedly the victims of "forced suicides", where husbands or relatives pushed them into killing themselves to cleanse a perceived offence against family honour.
The family remains paramount across Turkish society and adultery or sex before marriage can be seen as crimes by more socially conservative elements.
The practice of honour killings in Turkey has received widespread attention, and some observers fear that changes to the penal code passed last year have had the unintended consequence of channelling domestic violence into less direct forms.
Women's groups have claimed that in some instances women have been locked in a room with a knife and a gun and told by relatives to end their lives...........

one of my favorite bloggers

skippy has a KICK ASS PIECE OUT THERE

stop by and give it a read

he is SO right on!

i wasn't going to talk about any da vinci stuff on my blog

but after reading this i sure did have to post it. now THIS is what catholicism (or christianity or judaism or ANY religion in general) is ALL about. offering 25,000 to kill someone OVER A WORK OF FICTION. how the eff nuts IS this? IT'S AN EFFING PIECE OF FICTION you stupid asswipes (all over the world, not just in india. this goes out to ALL of the protesters)

Some Indians want 'Da Vinci' banned, one offers bounty for author

Anto Akkara New Delhi (ENI). Some Indian Christians are so incensed with the fictional blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code" they want the government to ban it and one Roman Catholic has offered a bounty of US$25 000 on the head of author Dan Brown, leaving other members of the faithful embarrassed by the reaction.
The Mumbai Catholic Council has threatened to stop the screening of the movie if the government fails to ban the recently released movie of the book. Another group called the Catholic Social Forum has said if the shows go ahead it will launch a death fast from 12 May. .....................

Da Vinci Code film’s release may be delayed as protests mount

MUMBAI: The Indian government indicated yesterday that the release of The Da Vinci Code may be delayed despite censors clearing it for opening without cuts, as protests against the film mounted.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said the film would not be screened until he himself watched it, even if it meant a delay in the film’s scheduled release on Friday.
"Since I received so many representations (against the film), I will see it for myself," Dasmunsi told the NDTV network in New Delhi.........

(Catholic activist Joseph Dias offers prayers with others at a protest rally at Azad Maidan in Mumbai yesterday in a bid to ban the screening of the film Da Vinci Code)

i secretly said 'it's about time' to myself

(all three pictures from ksat.com)

i do NOT advocate violence and it appears there really wasn't any HARD violence, just some egg tossing and the like (well the article says some stones were tossed too) and no one was injured. the 'reverend' fred phelps MUST be stopped. there has to be some LEGAL way we can deport him. if we can't do that, we have to find someone to convince him to leave on his own (and take his family with him). we can tell the most 'reverened' phelps iraq requested him to cure their homosexuals and they need him there RIGHT AWAY. i say GOOD FOR YOU to whomever beaned (well in my mind the 'reverend' got beaned) phelpy with a rotten egg

Group Attacks Anti-Gay Protesters At Marine's Funeral
POSTED: 8:59 am CDT May 23, 2006
SEAFORD, Del. -- Five people in Delaware face criminal charges after clashing with members of a Topeka church protesting the weekend funeral of a Marine killed in Iraq.
Police stood between the protesters and counter-demonstrators, some of whom tossed eggs, stones and water bottles at the picketers from Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church. The church believes U.S. casualties in Iraq are God's retribution for America's support of homosexuality...........

i can see it now

a whole cadre of moto-cross racers and dirt bikers and oh of course x-treme skateboarders. like hey dude, cooooooooooooooooool


Military recruiters lure extreme sports thrill seekers
Updated 5/23/2006 11:06 PM ET
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
LAS VEGAS — The Air Force is turning toward extreme sports enthusiasts to fill a shortage of special operations troops.
The Air Force needs combat air traffic controllers to go behind enemy lines to set up airfields and call in airstrikes and trauma specialists to skydive into hostile territory to rescue wounded troops.
To be fully staffed, the Air Force needs 426 combat controllers. It has 350. A full complement of pararescuers is 123; there are 90.
TOUGH TRAINING: Only 1 in 3 make it
That's one reason why recruiters visited a motocross race here to find athletic adrenaline junkies willing to serve.
Dozens of dirt bikes whine and speed and spray dirt as they soar over jumps. The crowd is young..............

passage of a GOOD bill in the house

but who the hell are the 24 who voted AGAINST this bill i wonder?

By Jim Abrams, Associated Press Writer May 22, 2006


A television shot of a little boy losing his dog during Katrina rescue operations was the catalyst for House passage Monday of legislation requiring pets to be considered in future emergency preparedness plans.
"The dog was taken away from this little boy, and to watch his face was a singularly revealing and tragic experience," said Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., sponsor of the Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act. "This legislation was born at that moment."
The bill, which passed 349-24, requires that state and local preparedness offices take into account pet owners, household pets and service animals when drawing up evacuation plans. Offices that fail to do so would not qualify for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., with Lantos a co-chair of the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus, said estimates are that some 600,000 animals either died or were left without shelter as a result of Hurricane Katrina. He added that the lack of pet rescue plans also put many pet owners in danger.
"When asked to choose between abandoning their pets or their personal safety, many pet owners chose to risk their lives," he said.
The Humane Society of the United States cited a recent Zogby International poll that found that 49 percent of adults say they would refuse to evacuate if they couldn't take their pets with them......

picture: idausa.org/hurr_nov_23.html

i'm not a fan of most country music

except of course willie, patsy, dwight, johnny, dolly (yes, i DO like dolly) and a song or two here and there by a few others BUT..........

the dixie chicks were on letterman last night and the song they sang gave me the chills. it was called 'not ready to make nice'.

"Not Ready to Make Nice"
Click here to listen to the song!
Forgive, sounds good Forget, I’m not sure I could They say time heals everything But I’m still waiting
I’m through with doubt There’s nothing left for me to figure out I’ve paid a price And I’ll keep paying
I’m not ready to make nice I’m not ready to back down I’m still mad as hell and I don’t have time to go round and round and round It’s too late to make it right I probably wouldn’t if I could ‘Cause I’m mad as hell Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should
I know you said Can’t you just get over it It turned my whole world around And I kind of like it
I made my bed and I sleep like a baby With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’ It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger And how in the world can the words that I said Send somebody so over the edge That they’d write me a letter Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing Or my life will be over
I’m not ready to make nice I’m not ready to back down I’m still mad as hell and I don’t have time to go round and round and round It’s too late to make it right I probably wouldn’t if I could ‘Cause I’m mad as hell Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should
I’m not ready to make nice I’m not ready to back down I’m still mad as hell and I don’t have time to go round and round and round It’s too late to make it right I probably wouldn’t if I could ‘Cause I’m mad as hell Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should
Forgive, sounds good Forget, I’m not sure I could They say time heals everything But I’m still waiting

YOU GO GRRRLS!!!

amendment to original posting: i just found this totally opposite view of mine and i wanted to post IT for all to see. of course he's WRONG

i don't give a yoo hoo about their marriage

she's an ASS and i will NEVER NEVER NEVER vote for her

Times plans page one story on Clinton's marriage

When the subject of Bill and Hillary Clinton comes up for many prominent Democrats these days, Topic A is their marriage, and how their relationship might affect Sen. Clinton's possible bid for the White House in 2008," the New York Times' Patrick Healy will report on page ones Tuesday, RAW STORY has learned.

The story is slated as the offlead story above the fold on the front page.
"Democrats say it is inevitable that, in a campaign that could return the former president to the White House, some voters would be concerned about Bill Clinton's political role and his potential for the kind of episodes that led the House to vote for his impeachment in 1998..........

another christian MIRACLE

it's miraculous the reverend dozier 'SAW' crist becomming the next florida governor. i don't believe he said anything PRIOR to meeting crist (whom he claims he met TWO MONTHS AFTER the dream). i say, if crist is good enough for the lord, HE'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR FLORIDA

Pastor: Lord Revealed Next Fla. Governor

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON, AP Political Writer
Mon May 22, 5:25 PM ET



A reverend who introduced Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist during a breakfast with other pastors Monday said the Lord came to him in a dream two years ago and told him Crist would be the state's next governor.

The Rev. O'Neal Dozier said that before the dream he did not know Crist, nor had Crist made known his plans to run for governor.

"The Lord Jesus spoke to me and he said 'There's something I want you to know,'" said Dozier, pastor of the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach. "'Charlie Crist will be the next governor of the state of Florida.'"

Since then, Dozier has spent time with Crist and talked with him at length about policy. He told the group that Crist would be uncompromising in his Christian faith.

"I introduce to you, as the Lord Jesus has said, the next governor of the state of Florida, Charlie Crist," Dozier said.

Crist's first words were, "Well, as they say, the praise doesn't get any higher."

Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, who is opposing Crist in the primary, wouldn't comment on the remarks after the event.

Afterward, Dozier said he met Crist two months after the dream at a conference of Republican leaders from around the South. He told Crist about the dream, and Crist replied that he would run.....

not faith based? my big fat butt NOT faith based!!!

the damn NAME of the organization is faith initiatives of wyoming for HEAVEN'S sake! damn

AP Finds Wyo. DFS Gives Money to Churches


By BEN NEARY, Associated Press Writer Mon May 22, 5:08 PM ET
The Wyoming Department of Family Services has funneled tens of thousands of dollars to a grant program administered by a private religious corporation that has funded churches, ministries and religiously oriented anti-abortion centers, an Associated Press investigation has found.
Family Services Director Rodger McDaniel says the state payments to the company, Faith Initiatives of Wyoming, are entirely proper, despite arguments by some that the arrangement appears to violate the state constitution.
"What we're buying is not religious services but social services," McDaniel said.
The company's contract with the state, which was approved by the state attorney general's office, calls for it to assist existing faith-based and community organizations provide community services in such areas as "strengthening families" and "at-risk youth."
Although the Bush Administration has encouraged the use of federal funds to pay for "faith-based" social services, a section of the Wyoming State Constitution reads: "No money of the state shall ever be given or appropriated to any sectarian or religious society or institution."......

frogs caused it, NOT humankind you silly goose!

the king is just living in another universe NOT on planet earth. denial denial denial. then again it really DOESN'T matter WHO or WHAT did it. the RAPTURE is coming soon and i personally CANNOT WAIT

Bush Snubs Gore Film on Global Warming
By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent Mon May 22, 6:34 PM ET
Is President Bush likely to see Al Gore's documentary about global warming? "Doubt it," Bush said coolly Monday. But Bush should watch it, Gore shot back. In fact, the former Democratic vice president offered to come to the White House any time, any day to show Bush either his documentary or a slide show on global warming that he's shown more than 1,000 times around the world.
"The entire global scientific community has a consensus on the question that human beings are responsible for global warming and he has today again expressed personal doubt that that is true," Gore said in an Associated Press interview from France where he attended the Cannes Film Festival.
Bush and Gore have had bitter disagreements about the environment and other issues. Bush defeated Gore in a disputed presidential election that was finally settled by the Supreme Court in 2000.
Gore's documentary chronicles his efforts to bring greater attention to the dangers of climate change.
"New technologies will change how we live and how we drive our cars, which all will have the beneficial effect of improving the environment," Bush said. "And in my judgment we need to set aside whether or not greenhouse gases have been caused by mankind or because of natural effects and focus on the technologies that will enable us to live better lives and at the same time protect the environment."
Gore said the causes of global warming should not be ignored..............

i wanted to turn everyone on to the 'magical loaf generator'!!!

from vegan lunchbox

here it is; the magical loaf studio

it's cool, try it out

(oh i tried jennifer's coconut cream pie receipe too. it was WONDERFUL and wicked easy! made with keebler ready graham mini pie crusts )


while looking for a picture of a vegetarian loaf, i found THIS RECIPE FOR HAZELNUT LOAF which sounds devine too! it calls for eggs, but you could easily make it vegan by substituting a binder of your choice

my new car has been ordered!!!

from guerrillas

i get the FIRST one off of the assembly line. the paint job i chose reflects a subject near and dear to my heart; THE DEFENESTRATION OF PRAGUE

i must thank guerrillas for not only designing the gas saving shockidoo but for saving our planet single-handedly

condolloosseerr'ss bc pre-speech

Rice lauds BC critics' right to speak
Defends Iraq policy on eve of address
By Catherine Elton, Globe Correspondent May 22, 2006

On the eve of her controversial commencement speech at Boston College, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice celebrated her critics' right to object to her presence. But she defended the Bush administration's actions in Iraq and challenged her critics' assertions that the Iraq war clashed with Catholic morals.
''Christians are of course on both sides of the argument about the use of force -- when it is indeed just to use force and when it is not," she said at a news conference yesterday.
''We have overthrown a dictator who brutalized his population (NO, we haven't, king george is STILL on the throne). . . . Sometimes you have to get rid of really, really bad regimes," (yeah, WE KNOW WE KNOW, but he JUST WON'T GO AWAY) she said.
Boston College's announcement on May 1 that Rice would speak at graduation today and would receive an honorary law degree has divided the Jesuit college, and has underscored deep divisions between liberal and conservative Catholics.
Over the past weeks, people on both sides of the debate have written public letters, have started petitions and countering petitions, and have accused one another of selectively invoking Catholic doctrine. One adjunct professor of English, Steve Almond, quit over the invitation......

i have always liked oreos

i guess this video has been around for a couple of years, but it's the first time i am seeing it! it was pretty cool and eye opening indeed.

from true majority

and this is where i found the above link

Mr. Ice Cream Sticks It to the Pentagon

Ben Cohen has built a grassroots organization of half a million to fight the obscene size of the U.S. military budget -- and he uses Oreo cookies to make the case
Ben Cohen has an ax to grind with the Pentagon. Or an Oreo to grind, as it were. The man who co-founded Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream thinks there's a better way to spend $60 billion of the country's money than on Cold War weapons systems, and he has the numbers to prove it. Over a million people have downloaded the Oreo Cookie Budget animation that demonstrates the reorganizing of that cash, with each cookie representing $10 billion. Since it's launch two years ago, legislation with 28 co-sponsors establishing the rearranged Oreo budget has been introduced to Congress. Not bad for a guy who started out trying to see if business could be used to promote progressive values.
Since departing from Ben & Jerry's after selling the company to Unilever in 2000, the ice cream magnate has spent his days building out True Majority, a nationwide grassroots coalition with over 500,000 members calling for everything from a sensible national budget to withdrawal from Iraq. He also founded a resource organization for business owners who are socially conscious called Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities. Together, they comprise the Priorities! Campaign............

i don't know how i feel about this

at first i was appalled, now i'm not quite sure. i am not a doctor and the doctors in this report don't seem to have issues with this. i somehow am not really buying that. it cannot be healthy for a woman's body to surpress her period for years and years. what happens at a later date if she decides to bear a child? how easy is that going to be? long term effects have NOT been studied.

Menstruation Is Fast Becoming Optional

By LINDA A. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
Sun May 21, 6:45 PM ET



TRENTON, N.J. - For young women with a world of choices, even that monthly curse, the menstrual period, is optional.
Thanks to birth control pills and other hormonal contraceptives, a growing number of women are taking the path chosen by 22-year-old Stephanie Sardinha.

She hasn't had a period since she was 17.

"It's really one of the best things I've ever done," she says.

A college student and retail worker in Lisbon Falls, Maine, Sardinha uses Nuvaring, a vaginal contraceptive ring. After the hormones run out in three weeks, she replaces the ring right away instead of following instructions to leave the ring out for a week to allow bleeding. She says it has been great for her marriage, preventing monthly crankiness and improving her sex life.

"I would never go back," said Sardinha, who got the idea from her aunt, a nurse practitioner.

Using the pill or other contraceptives to block periods is becoming more popular, particularly among young women and those entering menopause, doctors say.

"I have a ton of young girls in college who are doing this," says Dr. Mindy Wiser-Estin, a gynecologist in Little Silver, N.J., who did it herself for years. "There's no reason you need a period."

Such medical jury-rigging soon will be unnecessary. Already, the Seasonale birth control pill limits periods to four a year. The first continuous-use birth control pill, Lybrel, likely will soon be on the U.S. market and drug companies are lining up other ways to limit or eliminate the period.............

............The period is "way over-romanticized," says Linda Gordon, a New York University professor specializing in women's history and the history of sexuality. (OVER ROMANTICEZED? by whom? certainly NOT by ME or any OTHER woman i know. shite, i don't know who ms gordon has been hanging with. every woman i know has always COMPLAINED about cramps and discomfort and on and on and on.)
"It doesn't take long for women to go from being excited about having a period to feeling it's a pain in the neck," said Gordon, author of "The Moral Property of Women: A History of Birth Control Politics in America."

She says caution is needed because there's not enough data on long-term consequences of using hormones continuously. Gordon notes menopausal women for years were told that hormone drugs would keep them young — until research uncovered unexpected risks.

"People should proceed very cautiously," she says.

Today's birth control pills contain far less estrogen and progestin than those two generations ago, but still increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and blood clots. The pill should not be used by women who have had those conditions, unexplained vaginal bleeding or certain cancers, or if they are smokers over 35..........

i'm an otherkin

thanks to crazie queen for the link (via humanyms)

You scored as Otherkin. You are Otherkin. You identify with otherworldy beings and feel you are truly something other than human. You are only biding your time here until you can return to where you truly belong. You seek others who share your yearnings and spend your time commiserating with those you like and mocking the ones you don't. Otherkin 80% Spiritualist 80% White Lighter 70% True Alternative 55% Mystic 55% Aimless Eclectic 50% Discordian 50% Magician 45% What Subversive Alternative Paradigm Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's a secret

Hussein Ali, KRT
Four tower cranes loom over the Iraqi capital as construction continues on a 104-acre embassy complex that dwarfs all other U.S. embassy construction projects. While no one will talk about the $592 million construction for security reasons, the cranes dominate the capital's skyline

one that costs over 500 MILLION dollars too! (wonder if it's going better than the big dig is?)

No one in Baghdad wants to talk about U.S. Embassy project
By Leila Fadel Knight Ridder Newspapers
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Don't ask about the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. It's a secret - security reasons.
But it's hard keeping a 104-acre complex rising on the banks of the Tigris River hidden. Anyone who cares to know can easily see four giant construction cranes towering over the river at the largest such project ever undertaken by the United States - a symbol of American presence that will last well into the future.
When the complex is completed by June 2007 - this one apparently is on schedule, unlike most construction projects here - it will be an American oasis in the heavily fortified Green Zone, away from the fear and lack of services that permeate the rest of Baghdad. Among the 21 buildings will be a recreation center to rival any in the United States with, among other amenities, a pool, gym, food court, beauty salon and, of course, a recreational area that will be called the American Club.
Baghdad may have little potable water and only a few hours of electricity a day, but the embassy complex will have its own water treatment facilities and electricity generator.
First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting, a subcontractor of Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown and Root, was granted the $592 million construction contract. By December it had already been paid about $483 million.
The company is a relative novice when it comes to embassy building and has been criticized for its treatment of Asian workers, who critics claim are imported for their low wages and work under hard conditions. About 900 laborers live on site as they build the complex, according to a report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which has congressional oversight responsibility for the project.
But little else can be gleaned about the expansive complex, which will sit on some of central Baghdad's most desirable real estate and will, when finished, dominate the view of anyone standing on the other side of the river...................

are we as a nation FINALLY seeing the light?

i sure hope so. it's been WAY WAY WAY too long in coming. he thinks he is a king. he thinks he is NOT accountable to us, the citizens of his kingdom. he thinks he can lie to us and send our women and men into an unjust war. he thinks he can invade ANY country he wants at will for ANY reason (or for NO reason). he thinks he can tell countries WHAT TO DO, what to believe in, what NOT to do.
Americans don't like President Bush personally much anymore, either
By Steven Thomma Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - It's not just the way he's doing his job. Americans apparently don't like President Bush personally much anymore, either.
A drop in his personal popularity, as measured by several public polls, has shadowed the decline in Bush's job-approval ratings and weakened his political armor when he and his party need it most.
Losing that political protection - dubbed "Teflon" when Ronald Reagan had it - is costing Bush what the late political scientist Richard Neustadt called the "leeway" to survive hard times and maintain his grip on the nation's agenda. Without it, Bush is a more tempting target for political enemies. And members of his party in Congress are less inclined to stand with him.
"When he loses likeability, the president loses the benefit of the doubt," said Dennis Goldford, a political scientist at Drake University in Iowa. "That makes it much harder for him to steer."
Aides in the president's circle say Bush still has it. They suggest that his likeability will serve as a get-out-of-trouble card no matter how mad people get about the war in Iraq or other woes.
"The American people like this president," White House political guru Karl Rove said last week. "People like him. They respect him. He's somebody they feel a connection with. But they're just sour right now on the war. And that's the way it's going to be. And we will fight our way through."
Rove said he based his confidence on a private poll done for the Republican National Committee that showed Bush's personal approval rating higher than 60 percent, far above his job approval. "The polls I believe are the polls that get run through the RNC," Rove said. "I look at the polls all the time." ...............

cartoons NOT drawn by a dane and NOT featuring mohammed

and of course o'reilly has an opinion on this. my opinion on this is the same as what's on television or the radio or in books or works of art. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T WATCH IT, DON'T LISTEN TO IT, DON'T READ IT AND DON'T EFFING LOOK AT IT

Anti-Christian Cartoons Rile Students, O'Reilly

Published: May 20, 2006 11:15 AM ET
EUGENE Anti-Christian cartoons in a University of Oregon student newspaper, The Insurgent, has riled students, local Catholic organizations and now involves national cable TV commentator Bill O'Reilly.Many say the cartoons in the March issue overstep the First Amendment and want U of O President Dave Frohnmayer to step in.The conservative O'Reilly says Frohnmayer is a coward who should be fired and that the issue is one of hate, not free speech.On Thursday Frohnmayer noted that he denounced the cartoons when they appeared and generally opposes student publications he sees as offensive.But he said U.S. Supreme Court rulings say funding for such publications cannot be content-based. The Insurgent receives fees paid by all students, but no tax dollars.Frohnmayer dismissed O'Reilly's comments, saying, "Being called names by him is like being called ugly by a frog," and said O'Reilly is an entertainer, not a serious journalist..........

some good news about veteran's benefits

THEY NOT ONLY DIDN'T CUT THEM, THEY INCREASED THEM! we MUST take care of our veterans. there is no question about this.

House OK's 12% increase on veteran health benefits
By Brian Faler, Bloomberg May 20, 2006
WASHINGTON -- The US House of Representatives voted to increase spending on veterans' healthcare benefits by 12 percent the next fiscal year, one of the few government programs expected to see a double-digit increase.
The chamber voted, 396 to 0, for a broader spending bill that would boost program funding by $2.9 billion to $25.4 billion for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. That includes $600 million more for mental health programs to help soldiers cope with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The increase is partly because lawmakers last year did not provide enough money to cover the cost of caring for military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress was forced to make up the difference later in an emergency spending bill.
''It is a huge turnaround," said Representative Chet Edwards, a Democrat from Texas. ''The increase is significant, it is real and it's important.".........

mr holland is correct, we are one step closer to a police state

yet we continue to allow these absurd (and illegal in lots of cases) activities to occur. why? i don't understand. i don't understand why the bush regime is still in power. they lied, they are DIRECTLY responsible for the deaths of more than 2,400 of our men and women. they tap our phones and read our emails and our letters. our king has an imaginary little friend named jesus (NOT a mexican immigrant i might add) who tells him what to do. we should ALL be very afraid. VERY

One Step Closer to a Police State
By Joshua Holland, AlterNet Posted on May 18, 2006, Printed on May 21, 2006http://www.alternet.org/story/36428/
President Bush's plan to deploy 6,000 National Guard troops to the Mexican border, widely seen as a political gambit, is coming under fire from both left and right.
It's likely that the move is a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, a law established after the Civil War that prohibits the use of U.S. troops for domestic law enforcement. Passed in 1878 to prohibit federal troops from running elections in the former confederate states, it is considered a bulwark against the development of a police state.
A central issue of Bush's plan is that the troops would be under federal authority. One of the exceptions built into the Posse Comitatus Act is that troops may be deployed to support law enforcement agencies, but with the exception of insurrections and riots, nuclear attack or interdiction of drug smuggling (when working directly with law enforcement agencies), they must be under the authority of a state governor.
The ACLU sent a letter to the administration warning that turning immigration "into another military operation is not the answer," adding that it "violates the spirit of the Posse Comitatus Act." The libertarian Cato Institute agreed, writing that "the same training that makes U.S. soldiers outstanding warriors makes them extremely dangerous as cops." Larry Korb, an assistant secretary of defense under Ronald Reagan, said that the military "is trained to vaporize, not Mirandize."
In 1997, a Marine corporal deployed in the border area shot and killed Esequiel Hernandez, an 18-year-old goat herder. The incident led to a congressional review that criticized the Justice Department's handling of the case and ended the Marines' involvement in policing the border.
But while some conservatives are joining civil liberties groups in expressing concern over the deployment, the Republican leadership is reportedly pursuing another course: rolling back the protections of Posse Comitatus once and for all............