June 30, 2005
WOW A BUSY DAY
MY FIELD OF DREAMS
Well as can be seen from the pictures I took of my flower bed yesterday the long hours and hard work that I put into this project is now in full bloom.
I think Sweet thinks this is really her garden and that's ok with me. To be honest I really didn't have much to do with the garden, I OUT SOURCED it to God.
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FROM MY INBOX
The next time you hear a politician casually use the word "billion", think about whether you want that politician spending your tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but recently one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into perspective:
- A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
- A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
- A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
- A billion days ago no living being on the earth walked on two feet.
- A billion dollars lasts only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate the US government spends it.
YOU WIN SOME AND YOU LOSE SOME
No Vote necessary. That's what a state appellate court has affirmed. What am I talking about. . . well it's something I've been following and writing letters to the editor about for the last 3-4 years. The Bremerton version of the Boston Big Dig. The Bremerton Golden TUNNEL.
This Tunnel is FREE and it's about 850 feet long. It goes under downtown Bremerton. It is used to off-load the cars from the State Ferries when they dock at Bremerton. It's FREE. It will be used about 14 times a day to do this off-loading, roughly once every hour. It's FREE.
Did I mention that it was FREE. . . well not really but that's how they promoted the funding. They said that if we didn't used this money someone else would, besides it's coming from Washington DC. Hence it's FREE.
Anyway it just goes to show what you can do with the pen when you go up against city hall.
HOWARD DEAN TALKS
The American war in Iraq is a BLUNDER. . . Howard Dean
- 1. To move clumsily or blindly.
- 2. To make a usually serious mistake.
- 3. To make a stupid, usually serious error in; botch.
- 4. To utter (something) stupidly or thoughtlessly.
My dictionary gave the above definition for BLUNDER. I can't argue with any of them, in fact I kind of liked BOTCH myself.
Just so you know this ONLY applies to the White House WAR TEAM.
The American war in Iraq is a BLUNDER. . . Howard Dean. Click here to see the video.DEMOCRACY BONDS
Thousands of you have gotten your 'Democracy Bonds' and you've invited thousands more. So many have made a monthly commitment to reform the way political parties are financed, build the Party in every state, and win elections at every level. If you haven't yet, get yours today!
Howard Dean talks about Democracy Bonds. Click here to see the video.
Visit the new democrat site by clicking here.
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
June 29, 2005
DID HE MAKE THE CASE
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED TONIGHT
The president talked for about 30 minutes tonight and used 9/11 about 5 or 6 times. I can't honestly say I heard anything new tonight, to be honest I'm not sure what he could have said to make me feel we now have a plan. If he had one I didn't hear it.
I had hoped he might have said something about the cost and what he planned to do to address that issue. We are spending over ONE BILLION dollars a week right now, and as I have said before we are not sacrificing a darn thing.
One major issue was the need to train the Iraqi security forces. For some reason I didn't hear the number in the various groups that are needed it was just one large number he said:
It sounds good but doesn't tell you anything. How many soldiers are in that group? The truth is that number should be the minimum needed before we start removing our troops. When I say this is looking more and more like Viet Nam I really believe that and the PRIMARY reason I feel that way is because I don't feel we are being told the full truth. It was the lies that turned America off on that war and it will do that here as well. I know we are doing many things right over there and you can't over look that, but at the same time a car bomb that kills 15-20 people is news while being able to turn on the lights in a 3 block area for the first time in years just doesn't cut it with most people. Bottom line I don't think the president made his case last night.
I watched HardBall before and after the presidents speech. He was at Two Rivers Baptist Church in Tennessee. I don't know about you but I get the feeling we out here in the west are being ignored. I mean if they wanted to have a cross section of the country why don't they come out this way? Seems the only people of faith live in the south someplace. I don't agree I think we just don't wear it on our sleeve as much. Chris posed a pretty good question about support for the war with the pastor of the host church. He asked would they support the war if Clinton was in office or a democrat. At first the pastor had to qualify it a bit but Chris made him answer the question and he said yes but I still felt his heart wasn't in it. I got the feeling that his support was based more on the fact that Bush is a Christian like him. The show ended with three people from the audience asking a question or making a statement. The second question was from a woman from the National Organization for Women (NOW). She slammed the president across the board. Then the final speaker whose husband is in the military thanked America for buying and using those metallic bumper stickers that say Support The Troops. I have a different take on those stickers I'd like to see people give the $5 to $10 dollars that they cost directly to an organization that takes care of the returning troops that are wounded or hurt in some way. To me that would truly show their support. President Bush is on TV tonight to try to make his case on the status of the war in Iraq. It's going to be a tough sell looking at the above chart. Many say that the president will use the 9/11 banner tonight, but it seems clear to me that "that is a road to well traveled." People looking at this with all that has been going on since we started with the "SHOCK and AWE" attacks all those months and lives ago will be very skeptical because they know there was no connection than and there isn't one now. It's like WMD's they didn't exist, period. He has a row to hoe, that's for sure. More tomorrow. He has folks that haven't made his job easy as you can see by these clips from Jon Stewart. I happened to switch to CNN around 8:40 am yesterday. They were showing the hearing on the BTK Killer. He had plead guilty to 10 counts of murder. He was describing how he had killed each of his victims. He was talking to the judge but a number of members of his victims families where there. I can't imagine how they were feeling. It was an awful presentation. He was talking to the judge in a tone of voice and a manner that was unbelievable and chilling. It was as though you and I might talk about mowing the lawn, very casual, very unemotional. I've never seen anything like it. He calls them PROJECTS and went through his murders one by one. This stuff happened some 30 years ago yet he talked about them as though it was just yesterday. He showed no guilt, no sorrow. Frankly I wanted to shoot the man right then. He's cold like Scott Peters, both are sub-human. Once again we come back to revisit the Terri Schiavo case but this time we find how Scum attracts Scum. Enter Mark Fuhram of O.J. fame. He was called by. . . are you ready for this??? He was called by Sean Hannity , yes that Hannity. He wanted Mark to investigate (that's code for write a book) on how Terri came to be in the state she was back in 1990. Hannity was going on what the Schindler were pushing in that Michael must have done it, and good old Mark see's money errr justice and is willing to investigate (write a book). This Schindler family is a piece of work and now joining up with a piece of crap they make a great coupling. Check the timeline below and notice that Michael and the Schindlers lived together for almost 2 years. Now why would you do that if you thought your son in law had killed your daughter. This is a pretty old stat but I serious doubt that anything has changed in the past 5-6 years. Pretty sad huh! According to a CDC study from 1998, there were 19 gun deaths in Japan, 54 in England and Wales, 151 in Canada. As compared to 11,789 in the good old US of A. If you don't think that the republicans all sing from the same book and the same page in that book you just need to listen to them defend the Rove 9/11 remarks and you'll change your mind. Here is Rummy on Meet The Press. He has his book out and turned to the right page just as Dan Bartlett did last week on CNN. Since Rove opened his month last week the spin has been that he was really only talking about "MoveOn.Org, Michael Moore and Howard Dean" . But I say since when have we started reading from the bottom up in this country. If you look at Rove's 6 page transcript you'll see that he makes his point about liberals and 9/11 TWO paragraphs before he ever mentions Moore, MoveOn or Dean. But if you listen to the SPIN he was talking about only them all alone. Now Rove is a smart man and I think he said what he said in the way that he said it to make a point. Here are the paragraphs in question, in full context. But perhaps the most important difference between conservatives and liberals can be found in the area of national security. Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers. In the wake of 9/11, conservatives believed it was time to unleash the might and power of the United States military against the Taliban; in the wake of 9/11, liberals believed it was time to submit a petition. I am not joking. Submitting a petition is precisely what Moveon.org did. It was a petition imploring the powers that be" to "use moderation and restraint in responding to the terrorist attacks against the United States." I don't know about you, but moderation and restraint is not what I felt as I watched the Twin Towers crumble to the earth; a side of the Pentagon destroyed; and almost 3,000 of our fellow citizens perish in flames and rubble. Moderation and restraint is not what I felt - and moderation and restraint is not what was called for. It was a moment to summon our national will - and to brandish steel. MoveOn.Org, Michael Moore and Howard Dean may not have agreed with this, but the American people did. Yesterday CNN aired the last episode of The Capital Gang. The show ran for almost 20 years. To me it was one of the best political talk shows on TV. Watch the closing few minutes of the last show, it's pretty good. Remember the old Nancy Sinatra song "These Boots Are Made for Walking", well Jessica Simpson has released her version of the song with a bit of the Carl's Jr. commercial like Paris Hilton thrown in.
I'm watching Meet the Press right now. And what the hell are they talking about is "UP-ARMOR " for HumVee. Wasn't it about a YEAR AGO that a solider had asked that very same question and Rumsfeld dismissed his question with this answer: "As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time."
Today is 6/26/5 and we are still trying to get this Armor. . .Everything is Beautiful!!! By the way. . . this was a war of CHOICE so why wouldn't you work on getting that Army you want before you make that choice to go to war? Dear Red States We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon,Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California. To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get Elliot Spitzer. You get Ken Lay. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share. Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms. Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire. With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT. With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia. We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you. Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties. By the way, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico. Sincerely, Author Unknown in New California. You may have noticed the "Decline to sign Initiative 912" picture on my Blog. It's there because I support the gas tax increase to fix and build new roads and bridges. But there is a group that is lead by two right wing radio talk show hosts that have started this 912 Initiative which if successful will roll back the proposed 9.5 cent gas tax increase. They offer no solution to fixing the roads, building new roads or bridges they just do not want this gas tax. It's a little like saying I don't use them so why should I fund them. Today these folks seem to only be interested in ME, MYSELF and I. I remember how big a fight was put up over the World 's Fair and the Seattle Center back in the early 60's. Look at all the good that has come from that effort all these years later. It's called Vision and a little pride in your state. What's the deal with Tom Cruise. If he isn't jumping up and down on a couch, he's on some tower getting engaged and kissing the little chick every time he turns around. Watch the clip and see Tom Cruise go off on Matt Lauer of the Today Show. I personally think it's all part of that Sientology crap, just like that Kabbalah stuff I talked about on the 6/18/5.
I don't get these folks. They have all the money in the world and many of them seem to get involved in these the lunatic fringe groups. What's the deal. Speaking of TOM...good old Karl Rove is trying every which way to yank his foot out of his mouth. So he goes to the GO-TO MAN Tom Delay for that big push he needs at this time. Bush's chief political adviser, Rove said in a speech Wednesday that "liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." Conservatives, he told the New York state Conservative Party just a few miles north of Ground Zero, "saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war." They keep singing their new hit tune for Iraq called "Everything is Beautiful" while more of our troops die. Karl Rove, can take his apology (if he has guts to offer it) and shove it. And I have a suggestion on exactly where to shove it. He and the republicans don't OWN 9/11 and for that matter GOD or this COUNTRY. I do not Hate America First. I served 8 years in the military and received an Honorable discharge. I worked for the U.S. Navy as a civilian for over 35 years till I retired. How much time did Karl put in? I support our troops in Iraq and all around the world, even after you all screwed that up too. I cried as I watched those planes fly into the World Trade Center buildings on that September morning. I did not know one person in those buildings yet I felt my heart break. For him to say anything about what I felt then or now makes me sick. Well he has been replaced by Dick Cheney and his sidekicks Karl Rove and Rummy. "I've never been able to understand his appeal. Maybe his mother loved him, but I've never met anybody who does. He's never won anything, as best I can tell." ...Dick Cheney The Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes," ...Dick Cheney You see Karl's little dig above. As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time...Donald Rumsfeld I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that...Donald Rumsfeld I don't do quagmires...Donald Rumsfeld It seems like FOXNEWS has moved to Aruba to cover the Natalee Holloway disappearance. It seems to me I heard the talk about over exposure after the Michael Jackson trial by the cable networks and here we are going all the way to Aruba. Go figure. Joe Scarborough said on his show tonight, "When Dick Durbin, their leader, their number two person in the United States Senate compared our Soldiers and marines to Nazis, to Soviets communist who ran gulags who killed 20 to 30 of their own people and to the Khmer Rouge. None of those people came out telling Dick Durbin to retract his statements." We'll Joe there is a problem here. I think you are trying way to hard to overtake O'Reilly with his creative editing and interpreting what was actually said. For the record here is exactly what he said: If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime -- Pol Pot or others -- that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners. Now that was 78 words out of a 3,036 word speech. And as you can see he did not compare our troops to any one or thing. ...he was reading from an FBI report. The democrates need to stop apologizing for telling the truth. There is a lot of discussion on the state of the situation we find ourselves in IRAQ. Two words that I've heard used are shown below, both of which the administration dispute. Here is what my dictionary says.ou tell me if they apply. quag·mire ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kwgmr, kwg-)
n.
Land with a soft muddy surface.
A difficult or precarious situation; a predicament. staleomate P Pronunciation Key (st l m t )
n.
1. A situation in which further action is blocked; a deadlock.
2. A drawing position in chess in which the king, although not in check, can move only into check and no other piece can move.
tr.v. staleomatoed, staleomatoing, staleomates
To bring into a stalemate. We report, you decide. Q: Why are blonde jokes so short? A: So men can remember them. I find it laughable when the republicans charge the democrats with encouraging the enemy every time they challenge the war in Iraq, be it the way we got into the war or how we are conducting the war. It's the "They Hate America First", "They Hate the Military" kind of thing. You can't be a good American if you don't just go along with what ever the president says. That's why it's so important that Howard Dean be given the support of all democrats. He has the courage to fight back. Craig Crawford told Imus. "You can't criticize anything about this war without being accused of not supporting the troops." How many democrats have said an apology for one thing or another and yet you haven't heard one republican apologize for anything. No WMD's, no Iraq al Qaeda connection, can't find Ben Laden, 1700 plus troops dead. Thank God for Howard Dean he is the only democrat that will stand toe to toe with the republicans. If more of these guys in DC got some balls and said "Hell no I don't apologize for telling the truth." The democrats would be a lot more significant. Randall Terry the crazy spokesman for the parents of Terri Schivo announced today that he is running for the Florida State senate as a republican. Oh great... that's all Florida needs is another disaster. I see that they want to put up a new bond issue to do maintenance on the Tacoma Dome. Why isn't a small portion of every ticket sold and every rental fee charged put into a maintenance fund that can not be used for anything else but maintenance by State law. That way it's a pay as you go kind of deal and it is paid for by the users as they use the Dome. The fees could be adjusted as needed and they could still use the bond issue if it is needed. "If there's an asset up for sale anywhere in the world, people are looking to
China." Where the hell does China get it's money, besides all this time I thought America was the wealthiest country in the world. Me thinks we should start to worry. An 11-year-old Cub Scout was found alive Wednesday after being lost for four days in the rugged terrain of northeastern Utah. Shortly after Brennan Hawkins was found Tuesday by a searcher driving an all-terrain vehicle, he was wheeled on a gurney into Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City. He waved to reporters, then frowned and rubbed his eyes. Brennan's mother, Jody Hawkins, thanked searchers who helped look for her son, and then shook with emotion as she read a statement for reporters. "People say that the heavens are closed, and God no longer answers prayers," she said. "We are here to unequivocally tell you that the heavens are not closed. Prayers are answered and children come home." Now that's what faith is all about. ASIDE NOTE I don't know why this is so important to these guys but it's always a big deal for them. As you can see there is a total of 7 minutes between them and who the hell cares anyway. CNN was the first to report that 11-year-old boy scout Brennan Hawkins had been found alive. CNN correspondent Ted Rowlands was live on the scene in Summit County, Utah. TIME THE BREAKING NEWS WAS ON THE AIR. Forty-one years to the day after three civil rights workers were ambushed and killed by a Ku Klux Klan mob, a jury found former Klansman Edgar Ray Killen guilty on three counts of manslaughter Tuesday. The guilty verdict brings out opposite views in the town of Philadelphia, Mississippi. "It's about time" from a supporter of the verdict while "free the man" was written on the back window of a car as it drove by. What is wished for with the end of this trial is a desire for this all to end. But as can be seen by the comments above there are still two sides of this issue. When will it end maybe another generation will do it. I don't know why it takes as long as it does to move on when something that is so clearly wrong is pointed out. Today on IMUS he talked about the response he got back after he had invited the CDC and the pharmaceutical companies to come in and sit down and talk about the problems with Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic. Crawford, Texas - (AP) - A tragic fire this morning destroyed the personal library of President George W. Bush. The fire began in the presidential bathroom, where both of the books were kept. Both books were lost. A spokesman said the president was devastated, as he had almost finished coloring the second one. Isn't it interesting that while Bill O'Reilly claims he won't promote the so called new book about Hillary Clinton. He says he doesn't want to promote sleazy attacks books. Well he said that a few days ago and again tonight but then he has two segments (not with the author) on the book. Isn't that the same thing as promoting the book? Kinda like coming in the back door I'd say. Bill O'Reilly needs to take his own advise...JUST SHUT UP!!! To all the people that are willing to sign the initiative to stop the 9.5 cent gas tax, you all must think that the roads, bridges and tunnels came with the opening of the west by Lewis and Clark. I read in the local paper just yesterday that if you drive about 12,000 miles a year and gets 17 miles per gallon it'll cost you 41 cents a week, that's about $22 per year. Drive your car over a pot hole and you might find your repair bill to be around $200 - $300 or more. What I would like to see happen if you all get your way is that the state just stop repairing and building any roads, bridge or tunnels. Let the damn things go to hell until it takes $200 billion to fix them and see what you guys say then. God forbid that it never happens, but if that Alaskan Way viaduct collapsed from an earthquake every one that signed that initiative should hang their heads in shame. I'm sure you would find some way to blame someone, anyone else but yourself. HOW MANY DOGS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB? The Cat's Answer: Dogs do not change light bulbs. People change light bulbs. So, the real question is:
How long will it be before I can expect some light, some dinner, and a massage?"
ALL OF WHICH PROVES, ONCE AGAIN, THAT WHILE DOGS HAVE MASTERS, CATS HAVE STAFF! Today IMUS had Robert F Kennedy Jr. on his show today to talk about the problem of Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic. No one in the main stream media will talk about it. Kennedy and David Kirby the author of Evidence of Harm are either canceled or can't get on the various Talk Shows like Good Morning America, The Today Show and so on. Evidence chronicles the journey of the parents who began the crusade to prove a causal relationship between thimerosal and autism. On their quest they encounter countless beasts and obstacles, all of which serve to heighten their suspicion of conspiracy: unfazed pediatricians, deaf politicians, defensive drug makers, even a rider added surreptitiously to the Homeland Security Bill that would provide indemnity to pharmaceutical companies and the FDA against vaccine-related suits. In light of those factors alone, who wouldn't worry there was something to hide? Now Robert F Kennedy Jr. has joined in, below is his interview with IMUS today. I bought a Hummingbird feeder last year and after the little birds stopped drinking from it (I thing they migrated down to Olimpia or Portland) I took it down. The other day I made some syrup (add 1 cup sugar to 4 cups of boiling water. Stir til desolved, let stand until cool). Within half a day the birds were back. I've see two so far and this is a photo I was able to take through my kitchen window. Over the past few days it was learned that a credit card processing company whose computer system was penetrated by data thieves, exposing 40 million cardholders to a risk of fraud, acknowledged yesterday that the company should not have been retaining those records. The CardSystems company provides services and is supposed to pass that information on to the banks and not keep it. The security breach was first reported Friday when MasterCard International said a lapse at CardSystems had allowed the installation of a rogue computer program that could extract data from the system, potentially compromising 40 million accounts of various credit cards. It seems to me some smart programmer should be able to write some code that would tag all these hacked credit card numbers and require that positive ID be required at the point of purchase of any charge made on these cards. Sure it would cause some inconvenient to the shopper but the alternative is much worse. I find Ron Sims outrage and response to the a survey of King County elections workers - under scrutiny for months as Washington state scrambled to resolve its close governor's race - shows they consider themselves under trained, overworked, poor communication and say morale is low, pathetic. "I'm not surprised by this survey; it simply quantifies what we already knew," said County Executive Ron Sims. "Make no mistake, changes are in the works." Begs the question "IF YOU ALREADY KNEW IT, WHY DIDN'T YOU FIX IT, YOU'RE THE EXECUTIVE." He is not willing to say "Hold on, maybe just maybe, these folks are right there is a problem." Part of that problem is that they have no one or place to turn to for help with that problem. Don't believe me just listen to Sims talk with Dave Ross on the radio Friday (6/17/5) below. Who in their right mind wants to face that when you have a problem and need help. What is Sims answer? "If you don't like it here go some place else." Now that's one sure way to win friends and influence people. In my earlier life I was a programmer and as I developed a process I always went to the operators to test and ask for their advise on ways to make the process better. They very often had more insight on how to improve the process and make it run better which in turn make my programs and process better. What Sims needs to do is TAKE A DEEP BREATH, SWALLOW SOME PRIDE and call together all these employees and randomly select 10 to 15 of them to form an EMPLOYEE committee to address the problems pointed out on the survey. Don't use management!! An outside INDEPENDENT expert to help coordinate the process might be useful to keep things on track, but not to be the voice of Sims and management. NOTE: The Sims interview last about 11 minutes. The callers lasts about 11 minutes too. Sims needs to tone it down. They Hate America first, they Hate the Military. That's what some talk shows hosts and many on the right wing love to say about journalist, democrats and others that don't agree with them. Especially when it comes to the war in Iraq. I say, Skepticism is not a synonym for Hate. Back on Aug 24, 2003 that's a '2003' I said in my old Blog: "Is Iraq turning into another Vietnam? I said that based on what I thought were lies that we were being told about this war. Remember we had Shock and Awe and the war, let's call it the "First Half" was over rather fast. We had the "Mission Accomplished" thing on the carrier. We didn't find WMD's. Saddam didn't have anything to do with 9/11. And on and on. Today almost two years later we find that support for this war is dropping with each passing day. It might be true that not as many of our troops are dying but the target now seems to be on the Iraqis. I sure don't have the answer and the folks in DC don't either. They need to shut up, sit down and talk and maybe even pray for some guidance. I still say they should reinstate the draft. I think that would make it a lot harder to go to war. Oil prices set a new record of $58.60 a barrel on Friday (6/17/5). Meanwhile the Senate yesterday defeated a proposal by Sen. Maria Cantwell to put the nation on the path toward reducing its dependence on foreign oil supplies by 40 percent over the next 20 years. The measure, which Cantwell wanted to attach to the energy bill, was defeated 53-47 on a mostly party-line vote. Cantwell, D-Wash., expressed disappointment with the outcome, noting that Democrats, Republicans and President Bush have all agreed that the nation should move to lessen its dependence on foreign supplies. The United States currently imports 58 percent of the 21 million barrels of oil it consumes every day. "Unfortunately, the concern we've been hearing from the president and Republican leaders about America's dependence on foreign oil is just empty rhetoric," Cantwell said. "They had a chance to throw a strike for the economic and national security of our nation, and they balked." Critics said Cantwell's goal of 40 percent was too ambitious and would disrupt the auto industry and other parts of the economy. TOO AMBITIOUS? Did America say that some 40 years ago when President Kennedy said he wanted to put a man on the moon in ten years. I think we did it too. These guys are not interested in America, they are interested in lining their pockets. Last night on 20/20 they did a thing on a spiritual movement called Kabbalah. It has something to do with a parade of stars -- from Madonna to Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher to Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton -- wearing red strings on their wrists. Kabbalah has become a multimillion-dollar empire with more than 40 branches all over the world. But is the Kabbalah of the stars the same Kabbalah that Jewish men in Israel have been quietly studying for centuries? The quick answer is not only no, but hell no. In 1971, with virtually no money, Karen Berg and her husband, Philip Berg -- the spiritual leader known to followers as the Rav -- opened their first Kabbalah Centre. The Bergs have brought this ancient wisdom out of the dark ages and mass-marketed it, hawking must-have accessories like red strings and Kabbalah water, which the Centre aggressively sells and claims will protect followers from "negative energy." At services and classes, they teach that Kabbalah is not a religion but a "technology for the soul" that plugs anyone into what they call the "Light" or God -- a God that has 72 names, which if meditated on, can make your dreams come true. You don't have to know anything about it. If you can't read, you can see, if you can't see you can touch. Don Ellis, a former FBI agent who now practices law and runs a bodyguard service, was raised a Southern Baptist in Texas. He says Kabbalah gave him the spiritual answers he'd been searching for. Ellis has spent thousands of dollars buying complete sets of the Zohar for his home, office and family. He admits he doesn't know what the ancient Hebrew and Aramaic text he's reading means. "I have no idea what it says. But anyway, that doesn't matter. This is powerful stuff," he said. This is nonsense. "The notion that you can mumble a couple of words or find the right mantra, or by focusing on letters with your fingers, is the antithesis of what Kabbalah is," Their truly is a sucker born every minute. One word BULLSHIT. IMUS has been talking about this problem for weeks now. On his show yesterday he talked about the fact that Robert Kennedy Jr. was going to be on these various shows to talk about it and said good for him. But that was before the dirt-bags at ABC cancelled his appearance. They are more interested in money than having a good honest discussion on the problem. I found this on the web and unfortunately I don't remember where, but it tells the whole story. If you still think you have a voice in almost anything in your POLITICAL LIFE you need to get off whatever your smoking...it just isn't true. It's all about the money. Listen to this video I got off IMUS this morning. He is talking to David Kirby, Author of Evidence of Harm. It's a good discussion. We all had hoped that with the release of the Terri Schiavo autopsy results this case would be closed and we could all move on. Jon Stewart had Sen. Bill Frist nailed. Just view the video. These people are Catholics but they are NOT Christ-like. They are people that I believe are in this for the money. They will not face facts medical or legal. They want to use this case for all it's worth and they will. And why the hell is Governor Bush sticking his nose into this again. As I've said before these guys just don't give up. See them here. What worthless people they are. I think you can see by these hearings what power can do. This Rep James Sensenbrenner is a real but face. During the earthquake in California there was a hose race going on. Watch and listen how smooth the guy calling the race is. Terri Schiavo died March 31 after a prolonged legal battle between her husband and parents. Schiavo's brain was damaged in 1990 after she collapsed and suffered heart failure. A seven-year legal battle between Schiavo's husband and parents culminated in a national controversy and prompted action by Congress and the White House. The autopsy of Terri Schiavo found no evidence that the severely brain-damaged woman was strangled or abused and that no amount of therapy would have reversed her condition, a medical examiner said Wednesday. When everything is said and done, the medical examiner's report substantiates that the court system did its job well in handling Terri's case. For most Americans this puts to rest all the nonsense, lies and false claims and charges that were made by Terri's family and their supporters. Sadly her family will never let this rest. What fools these people are to continue to not face facts. I think it's one more case of "FOLLOW THE MONEY". Just as an aside I just saw Sen Bill Frist on Good Morning America denying that he ever made a diagnoses after viewing the video tape. Can anyone that saw his statement on the senate floor (it is on video) agree with him. SPIN, SPIN, SPIN. PS: I used the earlier picture of Terri because unlike her family I still have some respect for her memory. For a video game, Pac-Man is getting downright old. The ghost-wary hero with an insatiable appetite for dots turns 25 this month. From the early 1980s "Pac-Mania" to today's endless sequels and rip-offs, the original master of maze management remains a bright yellow circle on the cultural radar. But there was more to Pac-Man's broad appeal than eating dots and dodging on-screen archrivals Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. "This was the first time a player took on a persona in the game. Instead of controlling inanimate objects like tanks, paddles and missile bases, players now controlled a 'living' creature," says Leonard Herman, author of "Phoenix: The Rise and Fall of Videogames." "It was something that people could identify, like a hero." Associate Attorney General Robert D. McCallum ordered, over objections of career lawyers running the government's tobacco racketeering trial, to reduce the penalties sought at the close of the nine-month trial by $120 billion, internal documents and interviews show. That's a reduction from $130 billion to $10 billion. The trial team argued that the move would be seen as politically motivated and legally groundless. Duh! What's more important is "a risk if we make adjustments in our remedies presentation that are not based on evidence," the two top lawyers for the trial team wrote in a memorandum. The decision generated protests from health advocates and Democratic lawmakers, who accused the Bush administration of political motives, and it prompted an internal departmental inquiry. But details of the behind-the-scenes debate over the issue had remained a mystery. A spokesman for the department, Kevin Madden, said political considerations were never factored into the decision to reduce the penalty. Can you say OH BULLSHIT. Back on May 24, 2005 I did a thing on this FAITH BASED PROGRAM that has a 12% success rate. Now the Heritage Foundation want us to believe another of their SCREWBALL stats. I've said it before and say it now the republicans believe that if you say something enough times it eventually becomes true. Studies Rebut Earlier Report on Pledges of Virginity. Challenging earlier findings, two studies from the Heritage Foundation reported yesterday that young people who took virginity pledges had lower rates of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases and engaged in fewer risky sexual behaviors. The new findings were based on the same national survey used by earlier studies and conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services. But the authors of the new study used different methods of statistical analysis from those in an earlier one that was widely publicized, making direct comparisons difficult. Independent experts called the new findings provocative, but criticized the Heritage team's analysis as flawed and lacking the statistical evidence to back its conclusions. The new findings have not been submitted to a journal for publication, an author said. The independent experts who reviewed the study said the findings were unlikely to be published in their present form. We in Washington State have some experience with these damn republican statisticians and their FUZZY MATH, remember it was just a week or so ago that Judge Bridges rule against the Rossi election challenge to the governor election using their FUZZY MATH and STUPID LOGIC. Is the Trust Fund
Fake? It contains $1.7
trillion saved for our retirement from our paychecks (FICA) and by our
employers. The White House says "There is no Trust Fund, just IOUs."
It's just paper. But those papers are Treasury bonds. What gives? Who could
steal this much hard earned money? Only the ... I came across the following that was posted as a comment on onegoodmove.org regarding Moyers interview On Hardball. I asked the author for permission to post his reply here and he said I could. In the past on this BLOG I've talked about what's wrong with the democrates and will continue to do so in the future but this post kinda covers it all very well indeed. From FDR right up to Howard Dean. As the guest author points out the democrates have lost their way and need to come together before it's to late. Thanks for the use of your post Flint. My mother's side of the family have been staunch Democrats for as long as I can remember and with good reason. During the depression they had a small farm in Maryland and when more and more people began to suffer... they took them in. They had about seven families put up in cabins that they used to rent to fishermen who came to fish on a lake on their property. They didn't have much money, but they had a working farm and enough to eat, which they gladly shared. But as the depression deepened so did their financial woes and eventually the bank began foreclosure proceedings on the farm. My Grandmother was the type that never said much but when she did people listened. She wrote a letter to FDR and he stopped the foreclosure by executive order of the Presidency. Now this President considers the bankruptcy bill that just passed to be one of his "achievements", despite the fact that it favors the corporations and makes it impossible for people in trouble to ever get out from under their debt. This of course comes as no surprise... but what is, as Moyers pointed out is that 50 democrats went right with him and supported the measure. Moyers talked at length about the disconnect with the average working family, the 80 million Americans who are having trouble meeting their bills every month. The reasons he cited is that the DNC has become focused on the big money contributors inside the beltway. Is it any surprise then that Howard Dean who is out there talking to average Americans all over the country, raising record amounts of cash, and building local networks and putting a national organization in place... would meet with oppositions from the beltway crowd of his own party? While the Democrats are jubilant about Bush's poll numbers and the national reaction to his agenda, have they asked themselves honestly why their approval ratings aren't soaring? If the Dems want to win... they will have to find that grassroots voice they had and lost. They need Howard Dean more than they know or are willing to admit. They need a clear statement of what they are for and it can't come from the beltway crowd. It has to come from the average American families. Flint
"Finally, we have continued our efforts to equip and train Iraqi security forces. We have made gains in both the number and quality of those forces. Today Iraq has more than 160,000 security forces trained and equipped for a variety of missions."
WHY DO THEY DO THAT
Watch the video and see what you think.
David Letterman did a funny bit on Rummy. Check the video here.
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
June 28, 2005
BIG DAY TODAY
MUCH TO TALK ABOUT TONIGHT
LOST VISION
Jon Stewart find out what is really at the bottom of the Bush lost vision. Click here to see the video.
WHY THE HARD SELL
Here Jon Stewart helps president Bush figure out why he's having a hard time making the sell on Iraq. Click here to see the video.
THE BTK KILLER
SCUM MEETS SCUM
A BRIFE TIMELINE
PRETTY SAD JOKE
June 27, 2005
HOW FAST CAN YOU SPIN
FACTS FROM THE WEB
THEY SING FROM THE SAME BOOK AND PAGE
NEW WAY TO READ IN AMERICA
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
June 26, 2005
IT'S THAT KIND OF SUNDAY
FINAL SHOW
MOVE OVER PARIS. . . HERE'S COMES JESSICA
Click here to see the video.
ALL TALK, NO ACTION
OPEN LETTER TO THE RED STATE GUYS
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
June 25, 2005
CRUZZZZIN
WE NEED THE TAX
SOME OF THE THINGS I THINK ABOUT
THE TROUBLE WITH TOM
WHAT IS IT WITH THE NAME OF TOM
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
June 24, 2005
DON'T MAKE ME STOP THIS BLOG
EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL
REMEMBER THIS GUY?
Bagdad Bob:
TALK ABOUT OVER KILL
IN A RACE TO THE BOTTOM
Read the complete speech here.
WAR OF THE WORDS
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
June 23, 2005
WHAT ARE THURSDAYS FOR
IT IS LAUGHABLE
THIS IS A JOKE RIGHT
I WONDER WHY
JUST A QUESTION
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
June 22, 2005
A GOOD NEWS KIND OF DAY
SOMETIMES A LITTLE GOOD NEWS HELPS
MISSISSIPPI ENDING
ONE LAST RANT ON EVIDENCE OF HARM
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
June 21, 2005
HELP IS ON THE WAY
WITH THIS KIND OF HELP
ROAD TAX INITIATIVE
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
June 20, 2005
FOLLOWUP TO FRIDAYS RANT
RFK Jr ON IMUS
Short overview into by IMUS. Runs about 3 minutes.
The complete interview between IMUS and RFK. Runs about 20 minutes.
LIFE OUT MY KITCHEN WINDOW
GOT CREDIT CARDS, WILL TRAVEL?
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
June 19, 2005
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY 2005
MORALE LOW IN KING CO. ELECTIONS OFFICE
RANDOM THOUGHTS:
THIS IS NO JOKE
June 18, 2005
IT'S A WACKY WORLD WE LIVE IN
REMEMBER SHOCK AND AWE
ENERGY PLAN SHOT DOWN
KABBALAH - KA-BOOM
PRETTY SAD JOKE
June 17, 2005
VIDEO FRIDAY
DO YOU THINK MONEY TALKS
THE LAST WORD ON THE SCHIAVO CASE - ALMOST
DR/SEN FRIST:
THE SCHINDLER FAMILY:
HOW TO CONDUCT A HEARING
WHAT A RACE
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
June 16, 2005
I CAN TELL YOU NOW
IT'LL NEVER END
PAC-MAN TURNS 25
WHY WOULD THEY DO IT
FAKE MATH AT IT'S BEST
NO JOKE HERE
June 15, 2005
FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW
KNOW THE FACTS. GET THE SOURCE. (From: zFacts.com)
Are Private Accounts a Bonanza?
Nope, as explained by a leading member of the President's commission, who is pro-private accounts. Moving money out of Social Security
and into the stock market increases risk and works against the principle of
diversification.
Is There a Crisis? Is Social
Security really in trouble? From whom? The Trust Fund
may run out in 2041 ... or 2025 with Private Accounts.
Who Started this Anyway?: In 1982 Heritage held a strategy conference and in
the Fall of 1983 the Cato Journal published a "Leninist Strategy" to
"construct a coalition" for a "private Social Security
system." The coalition was to include "the banks, insurance companies, ... that will gain from providing such plans to
the public."
Honest Social Security Reform.
With some minor tax increases and benefit cuts, Social Security can
continue pretty much as it is today. But then the government would have to hand
back the surplus.
Why Social Security Matters.
Social Security is insurance that protects Americans when they are most
vulnerable—in old age, and when disabled and protects children who lose a parent.
It is 100% paid for by workers and employers—not income tax.
What is Bush's Private-Accounts Plan?
Peter Wehner, President Bush's director of strategic
initiatives, says "For the first time in six decades, the Social Security
battle is one we can win." And what did we have 60 years ago? No Social
Security.
In Depth.
Intergenerational transfers, etc.
Ethically Bankrupt Democrats
PRETTY GOOD JOKE
