yo yo yo search it!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

from geek craft



(store bought on right, home made on left)
shout out to craft magazine

speaking of nipples


or in this case, LACK THEREOF (could this post BE any more right on?)



Posted by Cory Doctorow

Over on the Sociological Images blog, a post entitled "The Male Gaze Does Not Allow for Boy Nipples" notes that the men in this giant wrestling billboard have all had their nipples removed. They were photoshopped out because of a law in Florida that prohibits the display of nipples. Since men's nipples are not sexualized in the same way that women's are, the authors of the law were likely thinking of women's bodies as they penned this ban. Thus, it illustrates that it is women's bodies that we think of when we think of bodies on display because of the adoption (by men and women alike in this culture) of a (heteronormative) male gaze. Link ................

and people wonder

why i don't fly! (and oh, i'm being serious here)

Airport officials forced woman to remove nipple rings
David Edwards and Muriel Kane
A woman in Texas has charged that Transportation Security Administration officers at the airport in Lubbock, TX caused her pain and humiliation when they forced her to remove her nipple rings before allowing her to board a flight.
Mandi Hamlin says she offered to show a female agent the jewelry that was setting off the metal detector, but her request was refused. She eventually had to resort to pliers to remove one of the rings and heard the officers snickering on the other side of the curtain as she struggled with it.
"My experience with TSA was a nightmare I had to endure," Hamlin
stated. "No one deserves to be treated this way."......

this is what i was talking about

in my answer to a comment on my posting about being different. an eight grader SHOT and KILLED another eighth grader. why? because he wore purple eye shadow

Gay Youth's Slaying Spurs Call for Tolerance

By Ashley Surdin Washington Post Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES -- With his school uniform, eighth-grader Lawrence "Larry" King wore purple eye shadow, nail polish and pink lipstick. In the weeks before he died, he added purple boots with three-inch heels.
Classmates at E.O. Green Junior High School in
Oxnard, Calif., mocked his makeup and slung anti-gay slurs at him in the halls. Sometimes, the words transformed the expressive teenager into a wallflower.
Still, rumor spread that King, openly gay, was trying to find the courage to ask another student, Brandon McInerney, to be his valentine. On Feb. 12, McInerney allegedly approached King in a computer lab and shot him in the head. King, 15, died two days later.
The crime -- for which McInerney, 14, has been charged as an adult -- horrified parents, educators and students in the community and across the nation. But according to gay rights groups and experts on adolescent sexuality, it is the extreme consequence of a growing but often-ignored phenomenon. .......

so a couple of days ago, when our king said things were going swimmingly

who believed him? we all know i didn't. who did? how can we CONTINUE to sit by and allow this to happen?
19 Tense Hours in Sadr City Alongside the Mahdi Army
After Calm Year, Fighting Engulfs Shiite Enclave


By Sudarsan Raghavan Washington Post Foreign Service
BAGHDAD, March 28 -- The gunfire struck like thunderclaps, building to a steady rhythm. American soldiers in a Stryker armored vehicle fired away from one end of the block. At the other end, two groups of Shiite militiamen pounded back with heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. American helicopters circled above in the blue afternoon sky. As a heavy barrage erupted outside his parents' house, Abu Mustafa al-Thahabi, a political and military adviser to the Mahdi Army of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, rushed through the purple gate and took shelter behind the thick walls. He had just spoken with a fighter by cellphone. "I told him not to use that weapon. It's not effective," he said, referring to a rocket-propelled grenade. "I told him to use the IED, the Iranian one," he added, using the shorthand for an improvised explosive device. "This is more effective."
After nearly a year of relative calm, U.S. troops and Shiite militiamen engaged in pitched battles this week, underscoring how quickly order can give way to chaos in
Iraq. On this block in Sadr City, the cleric's sprawling stronghold, men and boys came out from nearly every house to fight, using powerful IEDs and rockets. ..........

Friday, March 28, 2008

hey rick

(from cv rick) a link to TWO MORE (free) science fiction short stories (shout out to boing boing)
FREE HUGO SHORT STORIES: Ken Macleod and Greg Egan

one cool hep cat!

nora, the jazz pianist
(shout out to bifurcated rivets)

i have paint shop pro





and i really enjoy using it. i especially love the tubes feature. however, i read yesterday photoshop express is being offered free online. i signed up. i quickly did two photos of some yarn i spun (i started taking hand spinning with a drop spindle. a three week course). my spinning stinks but i am going to practice practice practice. here are my pictures i did with the photoshop express. and here is a picture i doctored with paint shop pro as well. i use it as the header on my craft blog, the reformed pirate
Worth 1,000 words: Photoshop Express now free and online
Early this morning Adobe launched a public beta of Photoshop Express, the newest member of the Photoshop "family." While Photoshop itself is the 800lb. gorilla of professional image editing, the family also includes Photoshop Lightroom for pro photographer workflows and Photoshop Elements for hobbyists. This newest member is geared toward casual, "connected-generation" users. These casual users aren't going to drop $700 for Photoshop proper, and may hesitate to spend the $100 for Elements. Photoshop Express is definitely priced right to attract new customers: absolutely free.

i just turned 55 a few days ago

i have always looked different. from the time i was a child until now - and oh, by the way, i'm NOT going to stop looking different either. i like myself. it took time, but i do. i don't want to blend. i don't want to be the grrrl next door (nothing wrong with that, it's just NOT me). i stand out. i get stared at. i'm NOT seeking that mind you (no matter what you think, i'm not). my friend philip (my best friend for years and years and years, but we no longer are in touch) and i conducted an experiment in nyc once. you figure i'd get stared at HERE but not there, right? wrong. this was years ago (i think we were about 20 give or take) but here's what we did.

in the day time, we went out. i was in a flannel shirt, jeans and construction boots (ok, they WERE silver) and little makeup. he walked away from me and observed people's reactions to me. he was in the state of disbelief. he swore to me he never noticed how many people stare at me. AND i was very low key. then we went out at night. i got all gussied up. full makeup, jewelry (well i wear my jewelry ALL of the time), clothing..... the reactions were JUST the same. neither of us had an answer.

i remember one year my old boss had a friend of his visit him at work. jim (my old boss) introduced me to his friend. at one point the friend came up to me and asked why i looked like i did since halloween had already passed (yes, this DID happen and yes it DID come from an 'adult').

not everyone is cruel and stupid. GOOD things happen to me as well. once at work this older (yup, older than me) woman came up to me and told me she looked forward to seeing me each and every day. i was a bright spot in her day - she loved seeing what i was wearing. another time in the grocery store another woman said almost the same thing, how everyone else looked alike and was rather drab. she was glad to see someone looking like me shopping in that store! and this stands out in my mind as well. i was standing in a very long line in a movie theater one day (afternoon showing). a group of young boys was in another line (it was obviously a birthday party). the birthday boy broke away and came over to me. he was calling his father and saying something like, 'dad, take a look at this lady'..........i was starting to cringe, when all of a sudden he grabbed my hand and said, 'dad, look at all the cool stuff this lady has on' (i couldn't stop smiling for DAYS afterward).

i take the bad with the good. i know i can be rather imposing. i also know if someone took the time to say hello, i wouldn't cast a spell on them, i'd say hello back!

please take the time to say hello to people who are not exactly like YOU. you may be more than pleasantly surprised!
Teenager guilty of goth murder
By Kim Pilling, PA
A 15-year-old boy was today convicted of kicking and stamping to death a young woman in a park because she was dressed as a Goth.
Brendan Harris attacked Sophie Lancaster, 20, as she begged him and four other youths to stop beating her boyfriend, art student Robert Maltby.
Preston Crown Court heard the assault was totally unprovoked and the two victims from Bacup, Lancashire, were singled out because they looked different to their attackers.
Miss Lancaster, a gap year student, died from serious head injuries two weeks after the attack in Stubbylee Park, Bacup, in the early hours of August 11 last year, while Mr Maltby, also a Goth, survived.
A jury of nine men and three women found Harris guilty of murder within hours of retiring.
After the verdict trial judge Anthony Russell QC lifted an order banning identification of Harris and Ryan Herbert, 16, who had pleaded guilty to Miss Lancaster's murder.
Harris had denied the murder charge but pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Maltby after drinking two litres of cider, a bottle of Stella Artois lager and "quite a lot of" peach schnapps. ........

are you ready for THIS?

i sure wasn't. one would think they were reading 'america's finest news source', the onion INSTEAD of the the new york times

House to investigate defense contract to firm that shipped Chinese-made ammo to Afghanistan
Nick Juliano
A lengthy investigation published Thursday reveals that the Pentagon gave an inexperienced 22-year-old a $300 million contract to provide ammunition to Afghanistan. The shady deal resulted in decades old, substandard munitions being delivered to US and Afghan troops fighting on the front lines of the war on terror.
Following publication of a lengthy New York Times article, the House Oversight Committee announced it would investigate AEY Inc., a fledgling company that thrived after 2003 as the US government began handing out billions of dollars to private defense contractors. Chairman Henry Waxman invited company officials as well as representatives of the State and Defense departments to testify at a hearing next month, according to a news release.........

and the nytimes article:
House Panel to Examine Afghan Arms Contract
WASHINGTON — The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will investigate the award of a federal contract for nearly $300 million to provide ammunition for Afghanistan army and police units, the panel’s chairman said Thursday.
The chairman, Representative
Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, said the committee would hold a hearing on April 17 to scrutinize the contract awarded to AEY Inc., a company that The New York Times reported had supplied ammunition that was often obsolete or defective.
“The hearing will examine the company’s financial history, past performance, and compliance with U.S. law and government contracting regulations as well as the federal government’s efforts to investigate allegations that AEY may have violated U.S. law and government contracting regulations,” the committee said in a statement.
Efraim E. Diveroli, the 22-year-old president of the Miami-based AEY, will be invited to appear, as will senior Defense Department officials, the committee said...........

hmmmmmmm appears senator chuck hagel

is NOT delusional (unlike the being in my previous posting). a shout out to YOU senator hagel on recognizing REALITY when you see it
Hagel: Bush Iraq speech like 'Alice in Wonderland'
Nick Langewis and David Edwards
Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) suggests to CNN's Wolf Blitzer that there is no cause for optimism towards the situation in Iraq, propagated by arrogance, with an ever-growing cost in lives and money, despite a recent speech by President Bush.
"I think this is another episode of 'Alice in Wonderland,'" the Senator says. "What's up is down, and what's down is up. What do you mean, 'stability and security?' Baghdad, for example, has been over the last year essentially ethnically divided."
"And," Hagel adds, "when you look at the casualties the United States has taken since since the so-called 'military surge,' over 900 deaths; you look at almost 30,000 wounded, and the money we've put in there.
And then, the other point of this is, too: If, in fact, the 'surge' has calmed things to a point where the President and others are saying 'Well, they've done a great service, and they've achieved some terrific things,' why, then, is the administration talking about keeping more American troops in Iraq for the remainder of this year than we had before the 'surge'?"
"This," the Senator continues, "is still a very unstable, serious, dangerous situation in Iraq.".........

remarkable headline of the week

remarkable, unbelievable, delusional, f**ked up? all the same
you know this ALL would be funny except for the fact we're talking about PEOPLE'S LIVES HERE

Despite the Fighting in Basra, Bush Emphasizes Progress

By Peter Baker Washington Post Staff Writer
DAYTON, Ohio, March 27 -- The images from Baghdad and Basra bristled with explosions, burning buildings, angry street protests, rocket smoke wafting from the Green Zone. The words from Dayton were "remarkable" and "victory" and "rebirth." ,,,,,,,,,,,

Thursday, March 27, 2008

another of my favorite songs

the lovely kate bush singing running up that hill

check your local theater schedules

for may 1st to see if this american life is coming to YOUR area. somehow i doubt very much it will be coming to the greater hartford area

This American Life live in movie theaters across the US
Posted by Mark Frauenfelder
I'm hoping to sneak away from Maker Faire preparations to watch This American Life Live in movie theaters on May 1st. On Thursday, May 1st acclaimed radio and television host Ira Glass will bring the wildly popular show This American Life to the big screen for a one-night only event. Glass debuts never-before-seen extraordinary, funny and true stories from everyday life, shows outtakes, and answers audience questions. This exclusive theatre event will be broadcast LIVE from New York via satellite to select movie theatres nationwide. This one-night event features special guests and is presented in HD and Cinema Surround Sound. Tickets go on sale beginning April 4th. Don’t miss your chance to see “This American Life - Live!” on the big screen Thursday May 1, 2008 at 8PM EDT / 7 PM CDT / 6 PM MDT and time delayed to 8PM PDT...........

talk about scummy

this is a disgusting thing wal-mart is doing. disgusting

Brain-damaged woman at center of Wal-Mart suit
By Randi Kaye CNN
JACKSON, Missouri (CNN) -- Debbie Shank breaks down in tears every time she's told that her 18-year-old son, Jeremy, was killed in Iraq. The 52-year-old mother of three attended her son's funeral, but she continues to ask how he's doing. When her family reminds her that he's dead, she weeps as if hearing the news for the first time.
Shank suffered severe brain damage after a traffic accident nearly eight years ago that robbed her of much of her short-term memory and left her in a wheelchair and living in a nursing home.
It was the beginning of a series of battles -- both personal and legal -- that loomed for Shank and her family. One of their biggest was with Wal-Mart's
health plan. Eight years ago, Shank was stocking shelves for the retail giant and signed up for Wal-Mart's health and benefits plan.
Two years after the accident, Shank and her husband, Jim, were awarded about $1 million in a lawsuit against the trucking company involved in the crash. After legal fees were paid, $417,000 was placed in a trust to pay for Debbie Shank's long-term care.
Wal-Mart had paid out about $470,000 for Shank's
medical expenses and later sued for the same amount. However, the court ruled it can only recoup what is left in the family's trust.
The Shanks didn't notice in the fine print of Wal-Mart's health plan policy that the company has the right to recoup medical expenses if an employee collects damages in a lawsuit.......

thursday humor

this dude was REPRIMANDED and ORDERED TO ATTEND ETHICS CLASSES when in reality he SHOULD HAVE HAD HIS LICENSE YANKED FOR LIFE. it is my right and the right of everyone else to get our prescriptions FILLED. if someone has a problem filling a particular prescription, then they should choose a field other than pharmacology. i wonder if noesen refused to fill viagra prescriptions?

Penalty for pharmacist's refusal upheld
By ROBERT IMRIE, Associated Press Writer
WAUSAU, Wis. - A state appeals court upheld sanctions Tuesday against a pharmacist who refused to dispense birth control pills to a woman and wouldn't transfer her prescription elsewhere.
The 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled that the punishment the state Pharmacy Examining Board handed down against pharmacist Neil Noesen did not violate his state constitutional rights, specifically his "right of conscience" to religiously oppose birth control.
"Noesen abandoned even the steps necessary to perform in a minimally competent manner under any standard of care," the three-judge panel said. The decision upheld a ruling by Barron County Circuit Judge James Babler.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin praised the ruling as important for women's access to reproductive health care. Several states have been wrestling with the issue of pharmacists who refuse on religious grounds to dispense birth control or "morning-after" pills.
Noessen's attorney Paul Linton said that he was disappointed but that no decision had been made on whether to appeal.
The ruling "can curtail the religious rights of pharmacists and perhaps other health care professionals," Linton said...........

this should make you feel all warm and cozy

and safe! a BOMB went undetected for THREE weeks. a man was arrested near the capitol with a gun. his truck was parked in a GOVERNMENT LOT for THREE WEEKS before a warrant was obtained to search it. when they did, THEY FOUND DANGEROUS EXPLOSIVES. we're worried about iraq, iran, pakistan and whoever else when we really should be worrying ABOUT OURSELVES FIRST and FOREMOST

Police: US Capitol gunman had bomb
Man Arrested With Shotgun and Sword Near US Capitol, Charged With Planning to Set Off a Bomb

Authorities revealed Tuesday that a man carrying a loaded shotgun was arrested in January near the U.S. Capitol, and explosives left in his truck nearby went undetected for three weeks. According to an indictment filed in District of Columbia Superior Court, Michael Gorbey, 38, of Rapidan, Va., faces charges of planning to set off a bomb. He also is accused of making or transporting an explosive device with the intent of using it against people or property and multiple firearms charges.
Gorbey allegedly tried to manufacture a "weapon of mass destruction, that is, an explosive device capable of causing multiple deaths or serious bodily injuries to multiple persons, or massive destruction of property," according to the indictment...........

yup let's bomb the shite out of yet ANOTHER country

first let's pour BILLIONS of dollars in bribes and goddess only knows what else, to the country, then let's kill 'em all! yeah! blood guts AND money. MY f**king money and YOUR f**king money. that's not EVEN counting the lives we're obliterating (i'm NOT advocating for the taliban or al-qaeda. i'm saying we have NO bid-nez bombing ANYONE in pakistan unless their name is osama bin laden)

U.S. Steps Up Unilateral Strikes in Pakistan
Officials Fear Support From Islamabad Will Wane


By Robin Wright and Joby Warrick Washington Post Staff Writers
The United States has escalated its unilateral strikes against al-Qaeda members and fighters operating in Pakistan's tribal areas, partly because of anxieties that the country's new leaders will insist on a scaling back of military operations in that country, according to U.S. officials. Washington is worried that pro-Western President Pervez Musharraf, who has generally supported the U.S. strikes, will almost certainly have reduced powers in the months ahead, and so it wants to inflict as much damage as it can to al-Qaeda's network now, the officials said.
Over the past two months, U.S.-controlled Predator aircraft have struck at least three sites used by al-Qaeda operatives. The attacks followed a tacit understanding with Musharraf and Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani that allows U.S. strikes on foreign fighters operating in Pakistan, but not against the Pakistani Taliban, the officials said. ........

is this the sort of thing we want our daughters learning?

no. it's that simple. i read this, couldn't believe it, but it's TRUE. i went to the website and there were 439 players currently online. that's not a whole hell of a lot, but it's 439 TOO MANY. do we want to teach our daughters the ONLY thing that's important is appearance? do we want to teach our daughters they must have plastic surgery to be accepted? do we want to teach our daughters to binge and purge? do we want to teach our daughters TO BE F**KING STUPID? (one has to register in order to 'play' the game. i did NOT register so i didn't get a good look at the site. just the welcome page which was quite enough for me)

'Miss Bimbo' Site Outrages Brits
An online game that originated in France is getting a lot of heat in Britain.
Miss Bimbo is an interactive game that allows players to create, feed, clothe and entertain a bimbo character. It is touted as a virtual fashion game with the tagline, "Become the hottest, coolest, most famous bimbo ever!"
As players seek more points, they can send text messages to the game for more currency. That virtual money can be used to purchase diet pills to help the character stay thin, cosmetic procedures to correct beauty concerns and sexy lingerie..............


miss bimbo
from the website itself:
Become the hottest, coolest most famous bimbo ever !
Welcome to Miss Bimbo. Enter the exciting world of the first ever, virtual fashion game !Become the most famous, beautiful, sought after bimbo across the globe!
Find your own cool place to live.
Find a fun job to pay for your needs and all the clothes a Bimbo could possibly want.
Shop for the latest fashions and become the trendsetting bimbo in town !
Become a socialite and skyrocket to the top of fame and popularity.
Date that famous hottie you've had your eye on and show the Bimbo world the social starlet you are !
Even resort to meds or plastic surgery. Stop at nothing to become the reigning bimbo !
Tackle your 104 tasks as quick as possible to become the rising star bimbo !!
Are you ready to become the hottest of hot Bimbos !?!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

rick

(as in cv rick), i believe vonda n. mcintyre is my favorite science fiction writer. what a coincidence you wrote about the lack of sci fi books being read AND me finding this just by chance

Classic Tale of Extraterrestrial Medicine from Vonda N. McIntyre -- Free Online

A doctor on an alien planet has only three tools in her medical kit, and they are all living snakes. Using a kind of biotechnology in her own body, she's able to synthesize tailor-made drugs from the snakes' venom after exposing them to people who are ill. Leading a nomadic life, she moves from town to town on an alien world, trying to help out people who are often as afraid of her as they are anxious for her services. Some of you may recognize this as the plot of Vonda N. McIntyre's dreamy, beautiful short story "Of Mist, Grass, and Sand," now available for free on the author's website.............

the sun was in my eyes

the dog ate my homework. i had a flat tire. i had it but it fell through the hole in my pocket. the check is in the mail. blah blah woof woof

just so you know, i AVERAGE 3 hours of sleep each day (some think that is why i'm so PLEASANT all of the time), YET I REMEMBER IF I'VE BEEN SHOT AT OR NOT

Sleep-deprived. That's the latest excuse for the Bosnia lies.

And she's going to be ready to answer a 3 a.m. call? This isn't exactly confidence inspiring. Sleep-deprived:
Clinton said she was "sleep-deprived" and "misspoke" when she said last week that she landed under sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia in 1996, when she was first lady.This is the weakest possible excuse. But, if "sleep-deprived" is the newest excuse, Clinton has been sleep deprived since December:............

a vampire/zombie in the making?


this is ONE SCARY KID. she's NOT looking at the bread, she's looking at mom's fingers
(from slash food)

what's wrong with THIS picture

our king doesn't HESITATE for one INSTANT in giving a FOREIGN COUNTRY 300,000,000. (a drop in the bucket when you consider the money we spend in iraq DAILY) when (and let's just take THIS ONE EXAMPLE) victims of hurricane katrina STILL suffer (as i said, ONE example. we're not even talking the housing crisis, the cost of heating oil and petrol for the cars or groceries or health care or education or on and on and on)
Bush waives law to give millions to Pakistan's anti-terror fight
President George W. Bush has cleared the way for giving millions of dollars to Pakistan to fight terrorism this year, the White House said Tuesday as a new government took power in Islamabad.
In a memo to the secretary of state dated Monday, Bush used his authority to exempt Pakistan from a law that restricts funding countries where the legitimate head of state was deposed by a military coup, as in Pakistan.
The waiver, which Bush has approved every year since 2003, opens the way for the United States to provide about 300 million dollars this year to key "war on terror" ally Pakistan to boost its counter-terrorism operations.
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the Bush administration still had concerns about the human rights situation in Pakistan, where President Pervez Musharraf took power by force in 1999, but stressed its major strategic role........

who needs FOREIGN terrorists

when we have our OWN kbr? (rep sally kern should be MORE concerned with organizations such as kbr INSTEAD of being homophobic and saying gay people are worse than terrorists, no?)
Halliburton managers told workers carcinogen was 'mild irritant,' workers say
Hallburton subsidiary KBR told employees at a water injection plant in Iraq a sand-like substance scattered around the plant was just a "mild irritant," workers recall.
It turns out to be sodium dichromate -- a highly toxic chemical which can lead to cancer even with limited exposure.
Now nine Americans are suing KBR, according to a report in
Tuesday's Boston Globe. They say they spent 2 1/2 months covered in the substance as they rushed to get the plant online, a key component in Iraq's oil infrastructure.
"Many of the 22 Americans and 100-plus Iraqis began to complain of nosebleeds, ulcers, and shortness of breath," the Globe's Farah Stockman writes. "Within weeks, nearly 60 percent exhibited symptoms of exposure, according to the minutes of a meeting of project managers from KBR, the Houston-based construction company in charge of the repairs.".......

it's hard to believe

but she's EVEN WORSE than we originally thought. she's one f**ked up bio-tch
Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern, openly gay church pastor face off on television
by Nick Langewis
Oklahoma House Rep. Sally Kern made an Easter Sunday appearance on KFOR-TV's "Flash Point" to face off with an openly gay pastor, elaborating on her recent leaked speech and defending her views.
A spirited theological and political debate ensued between Rep. Kern, host Kevin Ogle, panelists Burns Hargis and Mike Turpen, and Dr. Scott Jones of Oklahoma City's
Cathedral of Hope.
"I was speaking to a group of Republicans; grassroots Republicans," Kern explained of the original speech, which gained worldwide attention after posted on the Internet by the
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, "and I was talking about the homosexual agenda, and how they are out there putting forth--funding very heavily--homosexual and pro-homosexual candidates to run against, and defeat, conservatives across the nation.
"I did talk about what I believe...scientific evidence, health evidence...proves that the homosexual lifestyle is a dangerous lifestyle. And, yes, I did compare it to being more dangerous than terrorism. And my point in doing that, gentlemen, was this: Everybody knows terrorism destroys and tears down, and that was the only analogy I was making is that the homosexual agenda, this lifestyle which is so destructive to individuals, is at the heart trying to tear down what is the bedrock foundation of our society, which is the family and traditional marriage.".........




well he didn't fry for drug abuse

and lying. keep your fingers crossed he goes to the big house for this latest crap-o-la; flush limberger, piece of steamin' shite
Abrams praises investigation of Limbaugh's Dem primary 'dirty tricks'
David Edwards and Nick Juliano
This month's primaries in Ohio and Texas resurrected Hillary Clinton from the political graveyard for the umpteenth time this election season.
Conservative talker Rush Limbaugh is taking credit for Clinton's continued presence in the race after encouraging Republican voters to switch parties before those two big states voted March 4, and he has called on Pennsylvania GOPers to do the same before their state votes April 22. Limbaugh's listeners are worried about
an election fraud investigation, which could result in criminal charges for voters in at least one Ohio county.
MSNBC host Dan Abrams says the right-wing radio host's aim is "to subvert democracy and inject dirty tricks into the Democratic nomination process."
"I've said it before, I think it's un-American to encourage people to vote for a candidate they don't want to win, in order to corrupt the process," Abrams said. "But in Ohio, it may also be illegal."...........

whoops!

and it's NOT a whoops as in i forgot to take the frozen lasagna out of the freezer so we'll have to have sandwiches tonight kind of whoops. it's a whoops i really DID leave the iron on and we're halfway to bridgeport

we ARE our own worse enemy (terrorists - schmerorists)
Nuclear Parts Sent To Taiwan In Error
U.S. Just Learned Of 2006 Mix-Up


By Josh WhiteWashington Post Staff Writer
The Defense Department mistakenly shipped secret nuclear missile fuses to Taiwan more than 18 months ago and did not learn that the items were missing until late last week, Pentagon officials acknowledged yesterday, deepening concerns about the security of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Officials with the
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) sent four nose-cone fuse assemblies to Taiwan in August 2006 instead of four replacement battery packs for use in Taiwan's fleet of UH-1 Huey helicopters. The fuses help trigger nuclear warheads on Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles as they near their point of impact. It was unclear yesterday how the two very different items were mixed up at a warehouse at Hill Air Force Base in Utah and how they were shipped out of the country without notice. ...........

ANOTHER king george bud

in hot shite. man, this list in endless, ain't it? but the world keeps turning and people who have committed worse crimes than this man (allegedly did) are still committing 'em
(an editorial from yesterday's wapo)

Stonewall Jackson
The HUD secretary gives Congress the silent treatment

HOUSING AND Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson is the subject of four (yes, four) investigations into allegations that he used his position to reward those who were friends and punish those who weren't. Yet, when he appeared at two Senate oversight committee hearings this month, Mr. Jackson refused to answer questions about the matters. He used the convenient clam-up excuse that he could not comment because of ongoing investigations. That's a tried-and-true legal and political strategy. But it's troubling that the head of a taxpayer-funded federal agency would employ it to dodge legitimate questions from Congress.
Mr. Jackson wouldn't answer questions about the serious allegations leveled against him by Carl R. Greene, the head of the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA). Mr. Greene alleges that because he resisted attempts to force him to hand over a $2 million parcel of land to a friend of Mr. Jackson's, the secretary is retaliating against the PHA by threatening to withhold federal funds.
HUD denies this, but the surfacing of an e-mail exchange between HUD employees in which that possibility was bandied about -- supposedly in jest -- doesn't help its defense.............

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

wow


this is quite an unusal story (shout out to boing boing). at first i was taken aback. men don't get pregnant. then i thought to myself, our bodies, our selves. they are OUR bodies, we can choose what we do with and to them. it would not be my choice but that's me. i have very strong feelings about adoption (as in if we can love a child, why does she or he have to come from OUR loins. why can't she or he come from another's loins? as in why do people go through the torture and expense of fertility treatments. i don't mean to offend, but i never understood WHY it's so damn important a child has to have YOUR genes)



By Thomas Beatie

To our neighbors, my wife, Nancy, and I don’t appear in the least unusual. To those in the quiet Oregon community where we live, we are viewed just as we are -- a happy couple deeply in love. Our desire to work hard, buy our first home, and start a family was nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until we decided that I would carry our child.
I am transgender, legally male, and legally married to Nancy. Unlike those in same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, or civil unions, Nancy and I are afforded the more than 1,100 federal rights of marriage. Sterilization is not a requirement for sex reassignment, so I decided to have chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy but kept my reproductive rights. Wanting to have a biological child is neither a male nor female desire, but a human desire. .................


................Our situation sparks legal, political, and social unknowns. We have only begun experiencing opposition from people who are upset by our situation. Doctors have discriminated against us, turning us away due to their religious beliefs. Health care professionals have refused to call me by a male pronoun or recognize Nancy as my wife. Receptionists have laughed at us. Friends and family have been unsupportive; most of Nancy’s family doesn’t even know I’m transgender. ..............

yesterday while driving home from work

i heard some woman (wwuh the university of hartford radio station i think it was naomi wolf but i cannot be sure Does Susan Faludi's Terror Dream Oversimplify Post-9/11 America?) talking about jessica lynch. the REAL story of ms lynch and what and how the media portrayed her. most of what the speaker was saying was true. however, i did feel uneasy because i felt the speaker was USING ms lynch just like the government and msm used her.

i coincidentially came across this article and wanted to post the link
Former POW Jessica Lynch Recalls Her Captivity in Iraq
Lynch, Shoshana Johnson, and Patrick Miller talk to U.S. News about moving on

By Anna Mulrine
In the popular Bertolt Brecht play that bears its lead character's name, Galileo recants his beliefs under threat of Vatican torture. That prompts a compatriot to note, "Unhappy is a land that breeds no heroes." No, Galileo replies: Unhappy is the land that needs heroes. Five years ago, America needed heroes. Just three days into a polarizing war with Iraq, the 507th Maintenance Company, the last in a column of 600 vehicles making its way toward Baghdad, got mired in sand with jammed weapons. Over a period of 60 to 70 hours with little rest and limited communications, the company, composed in part of welders, mechanics, and cooks, was isolated and stretched to its limit. Then it got lost. As the 507th soldiers, members of a Patriot missile support group, drove through the city of Nasiriyah—the result of a navigational error—Iraqi residents appeared more stunned than hostile. When the unit made a U-turn and passed through the town again in an effort to rejoin its convoy, it ran headlong into what the U.S. Army's official report of the day describes as a "torrent of fire." Of the 33 soldiers from the 507th who were involved in the attack, 11 were killed, nine were wounded, and seven were taken captive.
The Army's official report called the event a tragedy, one that spurred early criticism among military officials that the war plan had considerably underestimated troop requirements, leaving supply lines overextended and vulnerable to attack. It was the first indication that this would not be a telegenic, first Gulf War kind of fight..........

my skin is crawling

i need to scrub myself with a wire brush and lysol


Cheney on Iraq: 'It's Important to Win'
Vice President Discusses Grim Milestone of 4,000 U.S. Dead in Five-Year Iraq War

By MARTHA RADDATZ, ELY BROWN and JENNIFER PARKER
In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Vice President Dick Cheney was asked what effect the grim milestone of at least 4,000 U.S. deaths in the five-year Iraq war might have on the nation.
Noting the burden placed on military families, the vice president said the biggest burden is carried by President George W. Bush, who made the decision to commit US troops to war, and reminded the public that U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan volunteered for duty
.

(biggest burden is on king george? WTF???????????????????????????????? and it's THEIR fault they are dead because THEY VOLUNTEERED?????????????????? WTF????????????????????????????????/)

you tell 'em walter!

now if only somone would DO SOMETHING about their illegal activities (yes, i'm talking to YOU congress and senate. you bunch of no-stones pieces of steamin' shite)
Mondale issues blistering attack on Cheney
Former Vice President Walter Mondale today accused the current vice president, Dick Cheney, of a wholesale assault on the Constitution, the balance of powers, and the system that evolved since World War II to coordinate intelligence and defense policy. "They wrecked that system," Mondale said this morning at a University of Minnesota scholarly conference on the vice presidency.........

what would scare YOUR child more

being shouted at by a catholic schoolgirl OR being blown up by an ied?
(not saying a mass or a worship service of any kind is the right place to protest. i'm not saying it's not either. i wasn't there. i'm saying i rather admire these catholic schoolgirls though!)
Protesting war, 'Catholic Schoolgirls' disrupt Easter Mass
Six Iraq war protesters disrupted an Easter Mass on Sunday, shouting and squirting fake blood on themselves and parishioners in a packed auditorium.
Three men and three women startled the crowd during Cardinal Francis George's homily, yelling "Even the Pope calls for peace" as they were removed from the Mass by security guards and ushers.
One Mass attendee, Mike Wainscott of Chicago, yelled at the anti-war protesters.
"Are you happy with yourselves?" he said. "There were kids in there. You scared little kids with your selfish act. Are you happy now?"
The group, which calls itself Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War, said in a statement after the arrests that they targeted the Holy Name Cathedral on Easter to reach a large audience, including Chicago's most prominent Catholic citizens and the press, which usually covers the services.......

i never thought i'd say this

and i most likely will NEVER say it (or think it) again. fox impressed me. yes that's right. they did.

ALL of the stations fined should have REFUSED to pay. is someone going to turn into a mass murderer because they saw janet jackson's nipple for a nanosecond? is someone going to turn into a butcher of human beings because they saw the naked ass of some nypd blue actor/actress? we have choices in television viewing. i would NEVER watch the reality shite on faux (the fine was for a show i never even heard of much less watched). i'm a reasonably intelligent human being that KNOWS MY TELEVISION SET HAS AN ON AND OFF BUTTON AND I ALSO KNOW I'M CAPABLE OF CHANGING THE CHANNEL IF I DON'T LIKE WHAT IS ON. it's NOT 1808, it's 2008. people are dying in an illegal immoral unjust war and THIS is the shite we're all fining people for? no, it's wrong

Fox Refuses To Pay 2004 FCC Indecency Fine

By Frank Ahrens Washington Post Staff Writer
In an unusually aggressive step, Fox Broadcasting yesterday refused to pay a $91,000 indecency fine levied by the Federal Communications Commission for an episode of a long-canceled reality television show, even as the network fights two other indecency fines in the Supreme Court.
In 2004, the FCC proposed fining all 169 Fox-owned and affiliate stations a total of $1.2 million for airing a 2003 episode of "Married by America," which featured digitally obscured nudity and whipped-cream-covered strippers.
Fox appealed immediately after the FCC ruling. Last month -- four years later -- the FCC changed its mind, saying it would fine only the 13 Fox stations located in cities that generated viewer complaints to the FCC about the program. The total fine was lowered to $91,000.
Despite the sharp reduction, Fox said it will not pay the fine on principle, calling it "arbitrary and capricious, inconsistent with precedent, and patently unconstitutional" in a statement released yesterday.
Typically, after the FCC determines that a broadcaster is culpable for an indecency fine, the broadcaster pays it -- by writing a check to the
U.S. Treasury -- or may attempt to negotiate a settlement, sometimes dragging the process out for years. Sometimes, a broadcaster will take a case to court. Other times, the broadcaster will pay the fine and appeal, hoping for a reversal and refund. ........

Monday, March 24, 2008

my apologies to the weather girls

but i DID have to post it

the nutmeg grater: thanks to the day#links#links

the nutmeg grater: thanks to the day#links#links

make that 4,001

and that 1 had a name, Sgt. James W. McDonald.

Mother fights Army over son's death
Wisconsin Woman Believes Son Was Victim of Iraqi War; Army Says His Death Is Undetermined

ROBERT IMRIEAP News
Joan McDonald believes her son was a casualty of the war in Iraq, but the Army says that while he did suffer a severe head wound in a bomb blast, the cause of his death is undetermined, keeping him off the casualty list. She and her family are demanding more answers in the death of Sgt. James W. McDonald.
"I don't want it to be an undetermined cause of death," said Joan McDonald. "That is ridiculous."
McDonald, 26, was injured in a roadside bomb blast in Iraq last May. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment based at Fort Hood, Texas. After treatment in Germany, McDonald returned to Fort Hood and underwent extensive facial surgery in August.
His body was found in his barracks apartment Nov. 12, a Monday. He was last seen alive the previous Friday.
The Army ruled out suicide and accidental factors, but an autopsy could not determine the exact cause of death, in part because of the decomposition of the body, said Col. Diane Battaglia, a base spokeswoman.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

we get rid of saddam

just to welcome saddam back? 4,000 of OUR troops dead. countless wounded (inside and out). that is not even counting how many INNOCENT iraqi citizens have been displaced AND MURDERED. and yet it continues
In Fallujah, Peace Through Brute Strength
Iraqi City's Fragile Security Flows From Hussein-Era Tactics


By Sudarsan Raghavan Washington Post Foreign Service

.....................Zobaie angrily turned off the video. "How can we show mercy to those people?" he asked. "Do you want me to show mercy to them if I capture them?"
Zobaie, 51, knows the nature of the men in black masks. He is a former insurgent. Now, as the police chief, he has turned against the insurgency, especially al-Qaeda in Iraq. The
U.S. military showcases Fallujah as a model city where U.S. policies are finally paying off and is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the region to promote the rule of law and a variety of nation-building efforts.
But the security that has been achieved here is fragile, the result of harsh tactics recalling the rule of
Saddam Hussein, who was overthrown five years ago. Even as they work alongside U.S. forces, Zobaie's men admit they have beaten and tortured suspects to force confessions and exact revenge. ...............

i wake up to these headlines

although ONE was too effing many
U.S. Deaths in Iraq War Reach 4,000; Green Zone Is Shelled
A.P.’s Death Toll for Iraq War Reaches 4,000
American death toll in Iraq occupation hits 4,000: Pentagon
US military Iraq toll hits 4,000
Grim milestone: 4,000 U.S. service employees dead in Iraq war
U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 4,000
Grim milestone reached when IED kills 4 U.S. soldiers in Baghdad

U.S. Death Toll In Iraq Hits 4,000
Casualty Milestones Are Arbitrary But Draw Attention To The Human Cost Of The War

(arbitrary?????????????? ARBITRARY?????????????)

Sunday, March 23, 2008

my life in six words


i got this from cv rick (who got it from others). here are the rules


Here’s how this one works:
1. Write your own six-word memoir.2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.4. Tag five more blogs with links.5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play. (This last step is optional.)
My 6 Word Memoir: it sure is fun being hep

(like rick, i'm NOT tagging anyone)





h2o

this is how much we use: (and i'm NOT proud)
You've completed the calculator, here are your results:
Your total household water use is 2,965.28 gallons per day. Your individual water use is 988.43 gallons per day
In comparison, the average American uses 1,190.5 gallons of water per day.


check out what YOUR water footprint is by using the h2o calculator
how much do YOU use

our king did these things?

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(that's humor by the way)
however, if ANY of these people had a f**king set of stones, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED
Ambassador: Bush personally bullied UN diplomats into supporting Iraq war
Heraldo Muñoz, a personal friend of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Chilean ambassador to the United Nations, details the Bush administration's persuasion tactics in the months leading up to the invasion and occupation of Iraq in his upcoming memoir, the Washington Post reports.
"
A Solitary War: A Diplomat's Chronicle of the Iraq War and Its Lessons," to be released in April 2008, outlines bullying tactics exercised by President Bush in attempts to persuade United Nations diplomats to back a 2003 resolution to authorize military force against Iraq. Mocking of unsupportive allies, threats of trade reprisals and attempts to fire U.N. envoys were among actions taken by the Bush administration against those less than cooperative, Muñoz writes.
Ultimately, he continues, America's "rough-and-tumble" strategy backfired, with Bush later reaching out to Chile and Mexico, which he'd earlier spurned for preventing the war resolution, aggressively backed by the United States and Britain, from taking hold......

PEEPS

the second annual peeps show from the wapo. click to see the WONDERFUL dioramas. here are just three


Peepator Craig's Wide Stance
Semifinalist: "I think that Senator Craig's arrest for alleged lewd conduct and 'wide stance' defense was one of the more hilarious things that happened in 2007," says media analyst Kate Bowen, 26, of Washington.
Courtesy Diorama Creator


The Trouble With Tribbles
Semifinalist: "I thought it would be very cool to make Kirk, McCoy and Spock into Peeps for posterity," landscape architect Jill Yutan, 47, says of her "Star Trek"-inspired diorama. The Arlington resident was a semifinalist last year for "Peepsamania at the National Zoo." "'To boldly go where no Peep has gone before' seemed fitting, and I chose one of the classic episodes with the Tribbles."
Courtesy Diorama Creator


Peep Julius II Questions Michelangelo's Artistic Judgment
Semifinalist: Seven members of the Kaleba family collaborated on the commissioning and evaluation of the painting of the Sistine Chapel. "It's wonderful to learn that with 12 university degrees between us, we can create true art for an appreciative audience," muses Jean Kaleba, 60, the family's chief Peep costumer.
Courtesy Diorama Creator

he (and his court) have no compunctions

about killing us. why the hell should they care about our animals?

they don't and they don't and as usual WE EFFING LET THEM. we let them order our scientists to edit their own findings so things are more rosy. i'm talking the earth here. NOT just people and animals. i'm talking the whole shebang
this is way more frightening than we think

Since '01, Guarding Species Is Harder
Endangered Listings Drop Under Bush

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
With little-noticed procedural and policy moves over several years, Bush administration officials have made it substantially more difficult to designate domestic animals and plants for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Controversies have occasionally flared over Interior Department officials who regularly overruled rank-and-file agency scientists' recommendations to list new species, but internal documents also suggest that pervasive bureaucratic obstacles were erected to limit the number of species protected under one of the nation's best-known environmental laws.
The documents show that personnel were barred from using information in agency files that might support new listings, and that senior officials repeatedly dismissed the views of scientific advisers as
President Bush's appointees either rejected putting imperiled plants and animals on the list or sought to remove this federal protection. .............

................ Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has not declared a single native species as threatened or endangered since he was appointed nearly two years ago. ............