Moving...

Some of you may have noticed a decline in the amount of blogging I've been doing the past day or so, I'm in the process of moving.

Until I get back into the old "Lisa" swing of things, I'd recommend visiting those on my blogroll as well as my favorite blogs. Ohio guy is on a temporary break and moving to new online digs but the rest are all active and up to date.

A bright spot I'm looking forward to since the new place is alot cheaper? Getting dsl or cable back again...bye bye dial up!

:-)

Drooling over disasters

It's part of human nature, however at times I think the media brings out the gawker side of us. I've been following the coverage of Hurricane Katrina, because I know people there and New Orleans is one of my favorite cities.

Thankfully I don't have cable, else I'd see on most of the news channels various reporters and those from the Weather Channel in places they really shouldn't be just so we can get our fix of what it is"really" like.

Yesterday the focus was on the total destruction of New Orleans, the whole "Atlantis" scenario. On the right side of the blogosphere they were slamming the Governor and the Mayor. On the left side of the blogosphere they were blaming Bush. Realistically only a small amount of blame is on either side. Anyone who doesn't realize that New Orleans is below sea level and the very levies built to protect the city also damaged millions of acres of wetlands that would have helped to diminish some of the possible damage hasn't been paying attention. This is nothing new. Those who are saying had it not been for the war in Iraq there would have been money spent to better prepare New Orleans are obviously living in a different country than I do. New Orleans has known as most coastal cities know it's not a matter of if but when. Other than moving the entire city there is not much that can be done to stop Mother Nature to prevent things like this. You can try to diminish the effects and have a sound evacuation plan but there is no magic cure to prevent hurricanes.

We've been told stories of graves opening up, "toxic gumbo" if the city floods then some stories trying to imply the roof was going to blow off of the Superdome dooming all of those inside. When the reports first started coming in that it looked like New Orleans was not facing the total destruction of a Category 5 Hurricane first predicted, it seemed like some of these reporters were almost disappointed. They were quick to add that there could still be "widespread damage".

I hope the Big Easy gets thru this, and that the loss of life is minimal. If there is one thing I do know about New Orleans, no matter what happens? They will rebuild.

Yes, I have changed....

Quite a few people who have known me have told me I've changed. Some view this is a positive, some a negative. For some reason this song snuck into my head earlier when I was pondering an email I got from an old friend about my "changing".

Rows and flows of angel hair,
And ice cream castles in the air,
And feather canyons everywhere,
I've looked at clouds that way.
But now they only block the Sun,
They rain and snow on everyone.
So many things I would have done,
But clouds got in my way.

I've looked at clouds from both sides now,
From up and down, and still somehow,
It's cloud illusions I recall,
I really don't know clouds, at all.

Moons and Junes and ferris wheels,
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real.
I've looked at love that way.

But now it's just another show,
You leave 'em laughing when you go.
And if you care, don't let them know.
Don't give yourself away.

I've looked at love from both sides now,
From give and take, and still somehow,
It's love's illusions I recall.
I really don't know love, at all.

Tears and fears and feeling proud,
To say I love you right out loud.
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds,
I've looked at life that way.

But now old friends are acting strange.
They shake their heads; they say I've changed.
Well something's lost but something's gained,
In living every day.

I've looked at life from both sides now,
From win and lose and still somehow,
It's life's illusions I recall.
I really don't know life, at all.

I've looked at life from both sides now,
From up and down and still somehow,
It's life's illusions I recall.
I really don't know life, at all.

Thank you Joni Mitchell.....

Bob Franz has entered the blogosphere....

While I don't listen to him anymore on WSPD, I hope he enjoys the blogosphere. I see from visiting him he's already learned how to use the delete button.

Not to be nit picky, but to share some humor with you, Bob writes about being accused of posting anonymousily on Frank Szollosi's Blog:

Quick question for Frank and his line-up of Kool Aid drinkers:

With my voice booming these very same views out every day to tens of thousands of people in NW Ohio...when have I EVER been anonymous? Hilarious!
PS.I have my own blog site...no need to post on anyone else's.
Clear enough, Frank?

Maybe Bob changed his mind on this now that he has a blog, but I remembered reading a comment from an "anonymous" that claimed to be Bob Franz on Frank's Blog, so I took a few moments and went back and found the comment (Tuesday, June 21, 2005)

Anonymous said...

Ram--Sorry about the posting as "anonymous" but I'm not a registered blogger on this site...Frank has an open invitation to join me on the air any time he likes, as he will readily admit. I've asked him numerous times to do an interview specifically on this blog site, but he has politely declined.Hopefully we can work something out in the near future that is accomodating to his schedule, especially as he gets closer to his run for reelection to council.Just wanted to set the record straight.--Bob Frantz

So while I'm not ready to drink the koolaid? I'm also not totally buying the rantz....
But I do find it Hilarious!

French fries cause cancer?

Well that's it for me, peanut butter, diet pop, apple juice, smoking, etc., yet now? California wants fast food makers to put a warning label on french fries.

Seems there is still some debate on which study to believe as to it and the Feds have not weighed in on the controversy....

I wonder though, if ketchup has lycopine which is supposed to fight cancer if you generously douse your fries with ketchup have you countered it? Hmmmm have to wait for that study that I'm sure someone at McDonald's or Burger King will sponsor.

While I know all about which behaviors increase the risk, at times I wonder....

Muscle Cars make comeback.....

Interesting article at CNN linked above. While yes, the horsepower is more than my old 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner (Hint bring it back guys and not that wannabe version)

Makes me remember the days when I too listened to Ballroom Blitz....






Not mine but pretty darn nice....

Armando asks, am I a troll or am I stupid?

I forgot my place, I forgot you are not supposed to disagree with the mighty Armando.

Okay I'm being extremely snarky but I thought it was funny. Here was my reply to his question:

The stupidity is

Bothering to try to have a rational discussion without insults and name calling.

The never ending saga of if you don't agree with me you must be either stupid or a troll?
How about neither? That I happen to realize when you allow a Republican President to be elected that having a Conservative nominated for the Supreme Court is pretty much a no brainer.

There are many names that were mentioned that I would believe a fight is necessary over. Rogers-Brown as one example.

If you separate emotion from this, John Roberts does at least have some very positive attributes even for a Conservative Judge.

It's become obvious that Kos is not much different from Excite, between the drama soap opera stuff I try to avoid and the never ending "How dare you not agree with me".

Another black mark against my liberalism I'm sure. Eventually I might have to change to Formerly Liberal Common Sense....

:-)

Reason number two million and one why I'm not a democrat

I don't play games well. I've been following the latest attempt to create a mountain out of a molehill on the John Roberts nomination on Kos and other parts of the blogosphere.

For those of you who missed the latest?

Here

So since none of other issues could be made into huge issues this is the one of the moment, the claim that John Roberts is unethical because he had a meeting concerning a possible appointment for a possible opening and did not recuse himself.

Let's see, he should have said, hey I can't hear this case because at sometime in the future I might actually be considered to be a Supreme Court Judge.....which would mean if that is the scope some of these Democrats are heading towards no Judge who even dreamed about being a Supreme Court Justice should hear any federal cases.

The backlash that is going to happen if and when Democrats gain control of the Whitehouse and are presenting their own candidates is not going to be pretty. And worse yet? They will have no one to blame but themselves.

The newest group heading out to Crawford

The facilities at the Crawford Ranch Camp Casey are excellent: good food, shade, tents, water, toilets, parking, and all basic necessities are there in ample supply. Most supplies are free. All you need to bring is yourself, a good shade hat, and a long-sleeved shirt.

Sounds like another anti-war group rustling up support for Cindy doesn't it? But WAIT there's more.....

Our purpose in journeying to the Crawford protest against Bush's Neocon War for Israel is to:

Let The World Know That White Patriots Were First & Loudest To Protest This War For Israel

We don't want leftist Johnny-come-latelys who are misleadingly protesting this war as if the war is about oil (not true), or as if it's right-wing patriots who launched this war (not true) to hijack the issue from us.

We want to challenge these leftists with the fact that their leftist leaders, like Hillary Clinton, are on the same War for Israel team as the cowardly Republicans who have been bought and paid for in the Senate, House, White House, and Media by the Jewish Neocon political machine.

Anybody want to guess who? Don Black's Stormfronters who are supporters of none other than David Duke.

Somehow I don't think I'd be worrying about the "You don't speak for me Cindy" Moms heading out there this weekend....

Questioning priorities.....

This has been bothering me for a while but I avoided making it a rant. After I read the dairy at Kos linked above I decided I wasn't going to shut up.

I'm going to assume the diary writer is being honest, so here we have a person that is trying to help someone. We have people that have donated well over $150,000 for the Peace House at Crawford to help Cindy protest outside of the Presidents home, yet verbally spit on this person.

Who should be more important? Trying to help a family keep their home or keeping Cindy protesting at Crawford? I stop and think about how many homeless families or families that are about to be homeless could be helped with $150,000. I then stop and think about how much money is raised here locally for campaigns, Jack Ford has raised over $500,000 if I remember my numbers correctly. That's just him not any of the others.

We have families right here in our area that I know of that are in extremely bad situations, and there is no help available. The working poor are struggling and falling farther behind. I've never been in a situation where I could donate thousands of dollars to anything, but I highly doubt I would choose political bullshit over helping real people.

You've got to be kidding me Lucas County Democrats!

Started reading the above linked Toledo Blade article, first thing that gets my attention is:

Lucas County Democratic Party leaders want to replace a county elections official with a longtime political operative accused in the past of destroying opponents' campaign signs.

That's not typically to me a behavior you'd want on the Board of Elections, but WAIT there's more....

If the move succeeds, Lucas County's new deputy elections director would be Domenic Montalto, 76, a party mainstay who is about to lose his job in the county treasurer's office when a member of a rival Democratic faction takes it over next month.

Mr. Montalto says he has worked 60 years in politics. He managed Jimmy Carter's campaign in northwest Ohio, served in former Mayor Carty Finkbeiner's administration, and ran unsuccessfully for elections board and local party chairman. He has worked for the county since 1980 as a tax collector, a property appraiser, and a deputy treasurer.

He and two others were charged in 1984 with destroying a campaign sign for a Republican candidate for sheriff. Mr. Montalto worked for the Democratic candidate, James Telb, and the Republican, Marion Fitch, dropped the charges after losing the race.

A Republican running for county commission accused Mr. Montalto of tearing down his signs in 1996.

Yes, I admit I supported Carter when he was trying to be re-elected (my first Presidential election). However the jaw dropping moment to me was this man is 76 years old! I am not knocking the elderly here, but are there no young Democrats who are eligible for this job?

Surely out of all of the up and coming politically active Democrats we have in Lucas County there might be someone......

Freepers don't always report anti-lib stuff...

I read FreeRepublic I even have a user name though I haven't ever commented, however when I saw this article I thought it was worth posting because sometimes what seems something small to us? Is really appreciated by the troops.

KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Donations of freezer pops from family and friends throughout the Midwest recently helped a noncommissioned officers’ organization here give security forces Airmen a refreshing break during their duty day.

The organization, comprising E-5s and E-6s, wanted to do something special for security forces specialists guarding Kirkuk. Originally they considered handing out slushies or popsicles as a gesture of thanks to Kirkuk’s “frontline” troops.

They eventually decided freezer pops would best survive the desert heat, but that presented a problem. The frozen treat seemed ideal because it is purchased in a liquid form packaged at room temperature inside a sealed plastic container. But where to find them?

“Actually getting the freezer pops was a little difficult because they don’t stock them here,” said Tech. Sgt. Dan Moss, of the NCO organization. “We had to get them from the states. We asked family and friends to send them.”

The organization’s family and friends responded enthusiastically. One of those friends was Carol Tschida from Idaho. When she heard about the club’s cool idea, she and her son promptly bought 1,000 of the treats.

“We wanted, no needed, to do something to bring a bit of joy to our troops who faced so many dangers,” Ms. Tschida said. “I will do what I can to make the lives of our servicemen and women a little better. Who would have thought a freezer pop would make so much difference in a person's day. It makes me feel good, and proud that I can take a part in this war on the home front. Even though I'm not at risk of life or limb, I helped a little. There's no better feeling than that.”

The local and long-distance gesture was appreciated by security forces Airmen as a welcomed break from 13-hour days.

“I think that is awesome, because I think it’s cool everyone back home still supports us,” said Senior Airman Chris Banks, of the 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron who received a visit from the popsicle patrol.

Karma or

the God never gives you more than you can handle theory.....

I often console myself with the karma theory that eventually everything equals out, especially when you see people that are pretty downright mean or hateful that seem to glide thru life. Whether thru some twist of fate or maybe some failure on my own part, my life seems to go from chaos to crisis and back again. Granted, it's never boring, but when I hear my grandmother in the back of my mind saying

"Lisa, God never gives you more than he thinks you can handle"....I can't help saying, "umm excuse me, God? Could you ease up a bit here? Glad you have confidence in me but, I really have had enough. A little less faith in my abilities would be reallllyyyyy appreciated about now".

Given that my family has survived most of this with me we can laugh at some of the things that could only happen to us, me especially. A more serious person would feel as if God had painted a bullseye on my back. I prefer to think of it as I create havoc with the whole system of odds.

An old one rather than whine about the present, I was told I probably was not going to be able to have children, that if I were to conceive at all, it would probably take years of attempts. Most certainly I was going to need fertility treatments. My first husband and I decided we might as well start trying, figuring it would take some time and talked about the different fertility options available at the time. First month of trying? I got pregnant. Yeah okay that was just a fluke, a miracle if you will. Never even talked about trying again, then voila a year later? I'm pregnant again. Needless to say since I've have five children now and lost twins? I don't think it was that impossible for me to get pregnant. Nor did I have the thrill of actually "trying" cept the first time - lol.

So, I've decided the whole "God moves in mysterious ways" really means? God has a totally twisted sense of humor.

:-)

Aljazeera reports some good news in Iraq

There's more at the above link but since we don't often hear good things from Iraq, especially reported by Aljazeera thought I'd point it out:

Iraq's ancient marshlands drained by Saddam Hussein are nearly half-restored, giving hope of saving traditional habitats for both people and animals.

A Japanese-funded UN project launched a year ago has used the internet and eco-friendly technology to restore the Middle East's main wetland area, which is believed to be the basis for the biblical Garden of Eden.

Shia fighters hid in the labyrinth of waterways and floating reeds after Saddam's Sunni-dominated regime crushed a Shia insurrection after the 1991 Gulf War.

In retaliation, Saddam diverted waterways and burned down the reedbeds, reducing the 9000 square km of permanent wetlands in the 1970s to just 760 square km when his government was toppled in 2003.

Who's your daddy to an extreme?

I'll be the first one to admit I do watch some of the reality shows and enjoy them. However in the never ending quest to do what hasn't been done....a new show planned thankfully not in this country but if it's a hit? Who knows...

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands (Reuters) -- Billionaire television producer John de Mol, behind the pioneer show Big Brother, will test the limits of reality TV with a program in which a woman searches for a potential sperm donor to conceive a child.

His new TV station Talpa, launched earlier this month, confirmed it will air a program called "I want your child ... and nothing else!" but gave no further details about the show due at 1830 GMT on Wednesday.

"The plan is that we visit potential donors and -- of course on camera -- decide which man is most suitable," the 30-year old woman who will feature in the program said in an interview with De Telegraaf newspaper.

The ocean's tipping point

Interesting article in today's Washington Post linked above about extinction of fish and marine animals. I learned some things I didn't know, so check it out, you might too.

Like this:

In the past 300 years, researchers have documented the global extinction of just 21 marine species -- and 16 have occurred since 1972.

Since the 1700s, another 112 species have died out in particular regions, and that trend, too, has accelerated since the mid-1960s: Nearly two dozen shark species are close to disappearing, according to the World Conservation Union, an international coalition of government and advocacy groups.

Another sigh....

This just keeps on going and going and it gets deeper and deeper.....

Cindy Sheehan in her daily dairy at Kos her response to Bush's statements today:

This is the biggest smokescreen from him yet. I didn't ask him to withdraw the troops, I asked him what Noble Cause did Casey die for. I am still waiting for one of the press corps to ask him that.

It appears her statement has been taken off the front page of Gold Star Families but it's still out there. This is what she initially demanded as she announced she was going to Crawford:

1) We want our loved ones' sacrifices to be honored by bringing our nation's sons and daughters home from the travesty that is Iraq IMMEDIATELY, since this war is based on horrendous lies and deceptions. Just because our children are dead, why would we want any more families to suffer the same pain and devastation that we are?

2) We would like for him to explain this "noble cause" to us and ask him why Jenna and Barbara are not in harm's way, if the cause is so noble.

3) If George is not ready to send the twins, then he should bring our troops home immediately. We will demand a speedy withdrawal.

I realize she's trying to get back on the the "noble cause" issue, but she made these demands on August 05, 2005, so trying to now say "I never said that" is so old. Worse yet? No one at Kos is going to call her on it, it's all rah rah Cindy....

Could someone be honest for once or is that too much to expect anymore?

Sigh...now I've defended Santorum

I read this diary at Kos and it bugged me at how low people will go to slam anyone.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/22/23949/6434#1

The tile of this diary is: Santorum brings dead fetus home

You always thought Santorum was a nutcase, but you may be more shocked to read this http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61804-2005Apr17.html

The post article describes how he and his wife reacted to the loss of their son at 20 weeks into the pregnancy. I know what that kind of pain feels like, granted I was a bit farther along when I lost my twins but it was not an easy task to get a funeral for them.

Really people is it necessary to be that low in this? If you have to do that to make a point then where have we sunk to?

Want to help me eliminate the blog spammers?

If you see a spam comment I'm going to leave them up for the next few days. What I'd like you to do is to visit that blog that the spam came from since most of them have a blog they are using to sell whatever it is they are spamming about. Those that don't have a blog I'll delete. Up in the right hand corner while visiting their blog you'll see something that says "Flag" this sends a message to blogspot that this blog is "objectionable" since I think we can all agree spam is pretty objectionable.

If enough complaints are sent in on a blog someone looks at it. Then in cases like this where it is obvious it can be traced it is spam? Bye Bye spam blog.

While I normally defend free speech, spam does not meet my characteristic of that.

I can of course take the next step with the word verification thing necessary before a comment can be posted, but I dont' feel I should have to do that to keep a spam free blog.

:-)

Pharmacists refusing to dispense prescriptions

All Illinois pharmacies that carry contraceptives must fill prescriptions for the morning-after pill after legislators Tuesday backed making permanent a temporary order by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The governor in April filed an emergency rule requiring Illinois pharmacies to dispense all such prescriptions promptly after reports that pharmacists around the nation were refusing to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception based on moral objections.

Legislators on a state committee that oversees such rules chose on Tuesday not to override the rule, clearing the way for it to become permanent. The rule does not officially become permanent until it is filed with the secretary of state's office, which is expected to take place within the next week.

Any pharmacist or pharmacy in the state that sells contraceptives approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration must fill all contraceptives, including the so-called morning after pill, under the rule. The rule also states that if the contraceptive is not in stock, the pharmacy must provide an alternative drug, order the drug or transfer the prescription to another local pharmacy.

I support this, if a doctor prescribes the medication it should be filled. The only time a pharmacist should prevent the filling of a prescription is if he or she believes there was an error in the prescription or there is some other medication that the patient is on would cause complications.

Especially in rural areas where there is not another pharmacy just around the corner this is a huge issue. I often wonder if some of these same pharmacists who are refusing to fill a script for a morning after pill would feel about a Viagra script for a man who was using it for sexual relations outside of marriage. Are they grilling those who present these scripts?

If a pharmacist feels it is against his or her moral or religious beliefs to fill a prescription it is up to the owner of the pharmacy to provide that service for a patient or they do have the right to decide not to carry any prescription birth control at all.

I realize the the ACLJ which is the source link listed above for this Tribune article doesn't agree with me. However if you are interested in finding out more about what they would like to do to prevent patients from having legal prescriptions filled? It's a good place to read about it.

Top ranked technorati story

I wasn't surprised to see it was about Cindy Sheehan, but after I read it I have to say I agree with some of the points made, especially this:

They're not children in Iraq; they're grown-ups who made their own decision to join the military. That seems to be difficult for the left to grasp. Ever since America's all-adult, all-volunteer army went into Iraq, the anti-war crowd have made a sustained effort to characterize them as "children." If a 13-year-old wants to have an abortion, that's her decision and her parents shouldn't get a look-in. If a 21-year-old wants to drop to the broadloom in Bill Clinton's Oval Office, she's a grown woman and free to do what she wants. But, if a 22- or 25- or 37-year-old is serving his country overseas, he's a wee "child" who isn't really old enough to know what he's doing.

I know most of you that comment here whether you agree with the war or are against the war have made similar comments that our soldiers are not children.

I think the article goes a bit to far in some of the personal comments made about Cindy Sheehan, but there are some good points made.

In the Technorati Search: 1,082 posts on Qualls vs 24,827 posts on Sheehan.

Before I forget

Congrats to those who come here who are Steeler Fans.

Sigh...I'm glad the game wasn't on tv as it sounds like it was ugly....

Gus Frerotte had two of seven lost fumbles by the Dolphins, who looked terrible in a 17-3 exhibition loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

When it gets to the point where SI says they looked terrible?

I'm trying to convince myself they are getting their losses out of the way pre-season....

:-)

The story of Gary Qualls

He knows first hand how Cindy Sheehan feels....

"I walked up to the front door and all I could do was look through the glass and stand there and look at them and I knew what was going on and I said "No... Not my baby!"Gary said he dropped to his knees, and that nothing could compare to what he felt at that moment.Gary, a retired marine, says even when he, himself, was close to death on the battlefield in Bosnia-- even when he lost friends in battle-- nothing, hurt more than knowing his son was gone."Apparently, they tried to get him back, but he didn't make. He gave all he could and he can give no more."

The difference is he supports the war and the President and Cindy does not. What made Gary Qualls protest was seeing his son's name used on one of the crosses used at Camp Casey. Why his simple request to not use his son's name could not have been followed I don't understand. Gary has had to do this more than once at Camp Casey. Had the anti-war protestors had the decency to understand this parent did not want his son's name connected to this Gary Qualls would have never started this counter protest.

The irony is it was President Bush's statement on the noble cause that made Cindy Sheehan decide to protest, and her groups actions have made Gary Qualls feel he had to act as well.

Grieving parent against grieving parent. Neither group will solve anything. The media will focus on which one has more people in "their" camp.

While I don't agree with the MSNBC title to their article "Patriotic camp springs up to counter peace mom's anti-war demonstration near president's ranch"; since it implys that the Camp Casey bunch is not patriotic. This one paragraph bothered me more than what MSNBC chose as their title.

Bill Johnson, a local gift shop owner who created ''Fort Qualls,'' said he wanted to offer a larger, more convenient place for Bush supporters to gather. He and others at ''Fort Qualls'' have asked for a debate with those at the Crawford Peace House, which is helping Sheehan. '

'We're asking for a meeting with the president, period,'' said Michelle DeFord, whose 37-year-old son, Sgt. David W. Johnson, was in the Army National Guard from Oregon when he was killed in Iraq last fall. ''We don't want to debate with people who don't understand our point of view.''

An expanded article on this story

Teaching hatred

I've written before here on parents who teach their children hate. Not only here in the US by taking children to anti-war protests or counter protesting the anti-war efforts but in Israel and Palestine as well. Anti-disengagement protestors in both Israel and the US have made young children the focus to grab more media attention. For some reason these types of people feel their children being taught hatred is acceptable. Rather than realize that some issues are not appropriate for children to be dragged into some of these children are being used.

As I read the above linked article in today's Haaretz I wondered, what kind of adults will some of these children grow up to be? From the article:

They had come to warn the journalists not to enter the settlement, explaining that it was private property. "And what will happen if we come in and ask to speak with your parents?" asked one reporter. The children looked at one another, went off to the side for a brief consultation, and then the oldest member of the gang announced: "It would end very badly, there could even be bloodshed." At which his friends nodded their heads in agreement.

The children of the Yehezkel family, who were led from their homes to buses that waited to evacuate them, will not soon forget how their grandfather Eitan instructed them to walk out with their hands raised and with orange patches on their shirts. The eldest grandson will not be able to erase the sound of his own voice shouting: "This is how they expelled us from Germany; now we are being expelled from here."

As is their wont, the children tried to provoke the adults. They repeatedly came over to warn the journalists and to request, like their parents, not to photograph them. They hid from the camera lens under the tallit of the leader of the gang, and then peeked out at the photographers. But from mischievousness, rage and wickedness burst forth, as well. After the residents refused to allow the entry of an army truck with containers for them to pack up their belongings, and repeatedly forced it to reverse, one of the children shouted at the driver: "Run them over, run them over," as he pointed at the journalists. When the latter asked the children if they could ask their parents to enable a few reporters to enter the settlement and use the restroom, one boy, who looked to be about nine years old, replied: "Do it in the sand, like animals. You are animals.?To which his young friend added: "You're garbage."

A mother who came over to urge the children to go home was asked about their harsh statements and the education they receive. "When you become religious, come back to us. Until then, get out of here," she said. And in order to dispel any doubt, she reiterated the sentiment in the vernacular. "Ruhi," (Go, in Arabic), she told one reporter standing next to her.

Cross posting info

For those of you interested in my theory of why the war in Iraq was necessary I have written both on Watch Blog and on the Distance.

Both are the same so it's your choice which one you'd prefer to read or comment on.

:-)

A good piece on John Roberts

Goody Two Shoes
John Roberts is too nice to be crazy.
By Dahlia Lithwick

In with the humor some good points are made, one paragraph that I felt especially noteworthy:

And that's why John Roberts doesn't alarm me much. The same conservatism that leads him to decry judicial overreaching in the privacy and civil rights contexts is part and parcel of a larger conservatism that distrusts reckless grandiosity. The same quality, in short, that kept Roberts from sneaking off into the woods to smoke may be the same quality that keeps him from torching Roe v. Wade. The Clarence Thomases of this world—men unafraid of tearing down centuries of constitutional scaffolding in order to impose their own theories of constitutional construction—are far scarier to me. Those are the guys who probably did barf off the clock towers in college; guys with the hubris and drive to change the world without going through the confirmation process first. Scalia doesn't care what anyone thinks of him, and Thomas is happiest when he's provoking outrage. Roberts cares a lot about looking temperate, and that isn't a bad thing in a judge.

The Toledo Eleven Mayoral Poll

No real major surprises,

If the election was held today, who would get your vote?

Carty Finkbeiner: 39%
Jack Ford: 17%
Keith Wilkowski: 9%
Rob Ludeman: 8%
Undecided: 27%

However, I do have to give credit to both Keith Wilkowski and Rob Ludeman for the way they handled their comments on the results. Both were professional and upbeat about still having a chance in the race. Rob came across better than before as far as his energy in wanting to be one of the top two. Rob made a good point that the number of undecided was high and even got a cute dig in about Carty's possible behavior being an issue.

Again? Jack Ford did not choose to comment on the poll results, instead releasing a statement. While I understand that and the fact that the new "theme" is this whole "quiet effective leadership", it's obvious given the numbers related to his performance? He might want to start talking.

Is the city better off?
Better: 12%
The same: 32%
Worse: 52%

Do you approve of Jack Ford's job as mayor?
Approve: 25%
Disapprove: 52%
Undecided: 23%

While the political pundits are saying numbers that low do not equal a re-election I'm not counting Ford out. He's got a lot of money to spend between now and the primary.

Dave Schulz takes on Karyn McConnell Hancock

Yes, Dave Schulz is running as a Republican for one of the at large city council seats, however at times he reminds me more of an Independent. I haven't heard how he feels about Noe or Taft, but he has made it a point to make an issue out of Karyn McConnell Hancock and Bob McCloskey's questionable behavior. In the article of the Toledo Blade linked above he points out the possibility of further ethics questions related to Ms. McConnell Hancock's representing clients infront of Toledo Municipal Court judges.

Nice way of getting the story back in the news again because voters do forget.

He also supports the idea of elminating the at large seats and reducing the number of Toledo City Council persons. I can understand his reasoning, especially since the majority of at larges we current have live in the same area of Toledo. I also understand the reasoning behind having the at larges, so I'm not convinced yet of his plan, but I am interested. He also is the main force behind a group called COBRA, Citizens Organized to Bring Reform and Accountability.

His website is well done though I would like to see it updated (hint).

So, for what a Lisa endorsement is worth? I would add Dave Schulz to my list, because I believe he does care about ethics and has the background to do a good job on City Council.

(For those keeping track, the Lisa "endorsed" list is Frank Szollosi, Mitch Balonek and now Dave Schulz; other candidates I haven't written about yet but think have some strong points, Bob Vasquez and Karen Shanahan. Phil Copeland I haven't heard much about yet to decide on. I do not support nor can see supporting either Karyn McConnell Hancock or Bob McCloskey. I know there are other candidates but haven't heard enough from them to be fair on my opinion. As soon as I do? You will of course be the first to know.)

Sin City

My oldest daughter said it was a movie worth seeing, so since we usually have the same like/dislike of movies rented it tonight. I'm not sure if I liked it or not - lol. I did find the black and white tones interlaced with only certain colors interesting, and the plot was somewhat unpredictable at some spots.

Glad I didn't spend the prices to see it at the top run theatre but for a rental not bad, though not advised for kids.

It was easier to follow than Alexander the Great though, man that movie skipped from the future to the past you almost needed a score card.

thus ends? Lisa's movie rental review....

:-)

An Ohioan speaks out on Taft

Paul Miller, who also is the founder of Northwest Ohio Net, has written an excellent article on our Governor Bob Taft.

While Paul and I differ on some of our political views, he makes some very valid points as well as providing alot of background material. His frustration with the way things are being done in Columbus is one many of us share.

So for all you Ohioans or those interested in Taft? I highly recommend visiting Paul as linked above or here:

Color me surprised....

I expected Gov. Taft to plead not guilty and drag this out until close to the end of his term. However, he pleaded No Contest to the four charges.

As expected no jail time, but a thousand dollar fine for each count, so $4,000.00 and an apology to the residents of Ohio.

"Honor me in this way"

WEST CHESTER, Ohio (AP) -- The mother of a Marine killed in Iraq urged mourners Wednesday not to let their anger and sadness turn them against the U.S. fight in Iraq.

"Honor me in this way," Kathy Dyer said during a memorial service for Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Dyer, 19, of the Cincinnati suburb of Evendale.

At the funeral at Tri-County Baptist Church, Kathy Dyer delivered what she believed would have been her son's own message: "It has been with the greatest pride I have served ... fighting to preserve freedom."

She said he would want mourners to continue supporting the troops in the war against terrorism.

That's one thing we can thank the media and Cindy Sheehan for, it's now become the battle of the grieving parent. It's not as if things were bad enough for those who had lost a loved one, now they are immediately expected to pick a "side" so that the political games on both sides can be played.

While it's really nice for Crawford Peace House that they've raised over $100,000 (probably more as of today) since Cindy went to Crawford and they can pay off their mortgage and have over $50,000 left, there are military families and other families struggling right now. The government doesn't do much to help them and the media and politicians ignore their pleas for help. I know what it's like to struggle and I also know the lack of resources out there.

So, just like it bothers me when I read about mayoral candidates raising with ease over $500,000 when the majority of Social Services organizations in this area can't help people because they don't have enough funds? Finding out that Cindy has become a profit maker for the Peace House doesn't sit well with me either.

Creating those "koolaid" moments

Alas, I am doomed because while I may have the hamsters? I don't have the passion of the Koolaid moments....





From Kathy at "Creating Passionate Users"

You don't really have passionate users until someone starts accusing them of "drinking the koolaid." You might have happy users, even loyal users, but it's the truly passionate that piss off others enough to motivate them to say something. Where there is passion, there is always anti-passion... or rather passion in the hate dimension.

If you create passionate users, you have to expect passionate detractors. You should welcome their appearance in blogs, forums, and user groups. It means you've arrived. Forget the tipping point--if you want to measure passion, look for the koolaid point.

:-)

Another attempt to cause riots in Israel

The headline for Haaretz reads:

Israeli terrorist kills three Palestinians in West Bank

Jerusalem Post:

Jewish settler guns down three Palestinians near Shilo

CNN:

Gaza evictions under way; 3 killed in West Bank

Washington Post:

Israeli Gunman Opens Fire in West Bank

New York Times:

(no headline just a blurb in a front page paragraph that doesn't even get the number killed correct)

Also, an Israeli killed two Palestinians in the West Bank

What does this show you? Well besides making the point that it's better to trust newspapers from that area if you really want facts; it's obvious that this was another attempt to cause riots by Arabs.

Hopefully just like the last time, this will not work. When even Hamas states they'll get revenge but later because they don't want to disrupt the disengagement maybe it's time to realize that it's over and the disengagement is not going to stop.

A moment for Subcomandante Bob

Sometimes I attempt humor and actually make some of you laugh, rather than laugh at me. My satire skills are much far below the person I am writing about here, Subcomandante Bob.

He has two sites, both are based on the Toledo area but think most of you would enjoy them if you'd like to wander over and visit. Not for the kiddies though because he does use adult language (Yes, Aubrey this means you!)

His first site is Codependent Collegian,

His second site is Toledo Tales,

Bob is also to be honored for his taste in who he links, yes, that would be me.

:-)

So when I've depressed some of you too much with the dark side of the world news? Remember Bob.

I'd also like to mention Daniel has returned from leave for those of you who have become fans of his blog "All the King's Horses".

In the apparent theme of the day, stupidity

Some days it seems the news is all depressing and others like today? Most of what I'm reading is pointing out how stupid some of the people are we share this planet with.

From the CNN article linked above:

A rush to purchase $50 used laptops turned into a violent stampede Tuesday, with people getting thrown to the pavement, beaten with a folding chair and nearly driven over. One woman went so far to wet herself rather than surrender her place in line

People threw themselves forward, screaming and pushing each other. A little girl's stroller was crushed in the stampede. Witnesses said an elderly man was thrown to the pavement, and someone in a car tried to drive his way through the crowd.

And the award would go to?

Jesse Sandler said he was one of the people pushing forward, using a folding chair he had brought with him to beat back people who tried to cut in front of him.

"I took my chair here and I threw it over my shoulder and I went, 'Bam,"' the 20-year-old said nonchalantly, his eyes glued to the screen of his new iBook, as he tapped away on the keyboard at a testing station.

"They were getting in front of me and I was there a lot earlier than them, so I thought that it was just," he said.

Thankfully no one was seriously hurt, though I don't think it would have mattered to those like Jesse Sandler. Yes, this may be even snarkier than my other post but anyone else hoping the laptop he ended up fries out?

:-)

You asked for violence? You get it

The extremists who oppose the disengagement have been encouraging especially the youth to become violent. Slashing tires, burning tires, making threats, so is it any wonder that they turned on a rabbi as well? Some are shocked, but really if you encourage these kids to break the law why should this come as a shock? From today's haaretz linked above.

Suddenly the concern was real that the extremists in the large knitted skullcaps would take their wrath out not on the soldiers trapped in their tire-punctured vehicle, but on the adults who tried to gain control over what was happening. It was Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, one of the religious public's most prominent figures, who tried to persuade a handful of hotheads to unblock the road, and found himself in the eye of the storm. There ensued a shoving match with the rabbi, and even after the fight broke up, someone sought revenge, and tried to get to Aviner "to let him have it." Several yeshiva boys stopped the guy, while others stood by shouting at Aviner: "You're not a rabbi, you're a dog."

The settlers allowed these people to come in that do not even live in the settlements to protest this, so they are ultimately responsible. You can pretend you are non-violent, however if you allow those who have been encouraged to violence? Becareful what you ask for.

Even more disturbing was this article in the Jerusalem Post

Lord of the Flies has arrived in Shirat Hayam.

The group of several hundred youths that have gathered here over the past month some of the as many as 8,000 that have snuck into the Gaza Strip, making their way into Gush Katif, to help bolster settlers against disengagement. They come from all over the country and, parentless, they fend for themselves, rolling out their sleeping bags on lawns and beaches and eating whatever comes their way. It is summer camp with no counselors and yeshiva with no rabbis – the rules are what they make them.

In Shirat Hayam, a 20-something figure they call "Melech" (king) leads the group into action. His eyes dart quickly underneath the mop of dark brown curls that reaches down his neck. He scans the crowd, finding a few boys who are exchanging words with the journalists and quickly darts over.

"Remember, we are not talking to them. That is the position, we don't say anything," he says.
Most of the boys quickly follow their guide, turning their backs on reporters and refusing to say another word.

For many, talking with reporters is impossible. Melech tells them that Hebrew is a "holy language" and that they should speak it to people who are capable of appreciating it.

They also have agreed not to use violence, although puncturing tires and setting them on fire "are okay." "We were told we could make a mess somehow, create a little chaos," she says. "This won't be quiet."

There are, however, a few in Shirat Hayam who plan to take the mess a step further and engage in real violence, she whispers.

Among those is a 16-year-old who sits in a seaside shack, several hundred meters away from the gaze of the media, with the one source he says he will talk with – an automatic rifle. He will not say where he got it or how he plans to use it. But he proudly holds it up before slipping it beneath the red flannel blanket covering his bag.

Talk about a lack of common sense.

Okay I know I am not normally snarky, but reading this comment at kos?

My wife and I saw Cindy on Anderson Cooper tonight, and we were both really impressed with her. I've been following events here on Kos too.

We live in Austin and would both like to come up to show our support this coming weekend. The thing is this: we have a 20 month old, and we want to keep her reasonably safe. What do the rest of you think? My wife and I would like to show our support.

Are you NUTS was the first thought that crossed my mind. The second one was what kind of a responsible parent would even think of this let alone post it on a blog to get "advice on". 'Gee honey should we take the baby to the protest by the side of the road? I don't know honey, why don't you ask some of the Kossacks? They'll know what to do.'

I almost responded but can't without asking this "parent" if they are NUTS!!!!!

Sorry all but had to make comments no longer anonymous

For some reason I've been slammed by spammers today so you will have to register to be able to post comments, I realize most who comment here already have done this, so it won't affect most of you. I apologize for this being necessary and hope that those of you who have posted anonymousily in the past will continue to contribute by taking the few seconds to register.

It's stupid that a few yahoos that don't have anything better to do feel this is the way to sell whatever they are pushing.

If you don't have a blog and need to create a user name here is the link to make it as easy as possible for you:

Get registered user name

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....

Or it used to be for Larry Mattlage, who seems to just want his peace and quiet back. Can't say anyone should blame him though some on the blogs haven't been quite so understanding.

While I don't think firing his shotgun in the air was especially intelligent, it must be frustrating to have that many protestors and their porta potties across the road from you. However, according to Cindy Sheehan?

"If the neighbor is tired of having us here, he should talk to his other neighbor, George Bush, and ask George Bush to come out and meet with me, and then we'll leave," she said.

What is ironic is he was originally sympathetic to her protest, now he feels, "I just want them to pack the damn tents and go where they came from," Mattlage said. "They made their point and everybody understands it."

UPDATE: Newsday is reporting several of the neighbors have had enough and are going to court to place limits on the protesters. Here

Israeli Gov Official accuses US of discrimination

Mk Yosef Lapid, who heads the Shinui Party and is leader of the Knesset opposition wrote the above linked article in today's Jerusalem Post.

In Washington, the "anti" circles go about their business and the Jews prefer to let sleeping dogs lie.We have never had a friendlier president in the White House than George W. Bush, except perhaps Bill Clinton. There has never been as friendly a vice president as Dick Cheney since Hubert Humphrey. And since George Schultz there has never been as friendly a secretary of state as Condoleezza Rice.

It is not the leadership that is calling the shots here, but the middle-level bureaucracy: senior State Department officials, some generals in the Pentagon and FBI security types. They are not anti-Semites of the classical model, but they are uncomfortable with the economic power, media presence, academic importance and political clout of American Jews. And they believe the Jewish neoconservatives – who bear-hug the Bush administration – are pushing America into a bloody conflict with the Muslim world for the benefit of Israel, among other reasons. Dual loyalty, you see.

He goes on to give two examples he feels demonstrates this, one relatates to the recent attempt to sell upgraded parts for drones to China. The second one is the investigation of Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, commenting:

To appreciate the degree of malice in this FBI "sting" one must ask why the FBI fabricated a temptation no Jew could resist: warning Israel that Muslim terrorists were about to murder its envoys. There was also a substantial amount of stupidity involved. After all, it is beyond doubt that, had such a report been true, the Pentagon would have anyway provided it to Israel through official channels.

A tale of two extremes....

Today's Washington Post has an article about the Whitehouse naming is first female chef.

Today's New York Times has an article on immigrant women and how they are struggling to find work.

What both stories have in common is women who have not given up. While the goal for some of those written about in the New York Times piece is to just get a job for the day to make enough money for food and possibly to send to their children; the goal of those who urged the First Lady to select a woman for the chef position was to acknowledge how many women are involved in food service.

Easiest way to declare a victory?

Lower the definitions

In a suprisingly honest move, it has been admitted:

"What we expected to achieve was never realistic given the timetable or what unfolded on the ground," said a senior official involved in policy since the 2003 invasion. "We are in a process of absorbing the factors of the situation we're in and shedding the unreality that dominated at the beginning."

The United States no longer expects to see a model new democracy, a self-supporting oil industry or a society in which the majority of people are free from serious security or economic challenges, U.S. officials say.

"We set out to establish a democracy, but we're slowly realizing we will have some form of Islamic republic," said another U.S. official familiar with policymaking from the beginning, who like some others interviewed would speak candidly only on the condition of anonymity. "That process is being repeated all over."

"We've said we won't leave a day before it's necessary. But necessary is the key word -- necessary for them or for us? When we finally depart, it will probably be for us," a U.S. official said.

Those are some selected paragraphs from the Washington Post article linked above. I for one am glad some of these realizations are being made. Some of it is what alot of us have been saying for quite some time, especially in trying to make Iraq our idea of what a democracy is.

My only fear is that the expectations will be lowered to the point that will necessitate us to have to keep returning to Iraq. If some of the experts like Pape are correct once the US leaves the suicide bombings will decrease, then Iraq might stand a chance on it's own.

Reach out and touch someone....

Things start to heat up and of course given some of the settlers who are being disengaged are former US residents, and the past huge financial support that came from private US citizens to the settlers some feel it necessary to act.

How? Private home phone numbers of Israel Police officers were somehow obtained and passed on to people here in the US who have been calling them at home to try to encourage them to not participate in the disengagement.

It's not working, so I'd say the answer to the other known phone jingle "Can you hear me now?" might be, No.

A walk down the memory path

It's been over twenty-two years since my step-son died, however from time to time I think of him. Those of you who have read my book will know this next passage, those that haven't? A bit more insight into me and my past.

My stepson, Robbie is buried at Forest Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in the City of Toledo. He died at age five from a grand-mal seizure in his sleep. I went to wake him up the next morning and discovered he was dead. I could write volumes about Robbie, while he was only in my life for a little over two years; he gave me my first experiences with motherhood. When my first four were young I would take them with me to visit Robbie’s grave, I would clean up any grass, etc, clean off his stone and of course talk to him. One day as we got in the car to go to the cemetery I heard my daughter, say to her siblings “she’s going to go talk to the Robbie stone again”. That’s obviously when my children first started thinking their mother was not normal. We went back into the house and I showed them photographs of Robbie, and had our first in depth discussion about souls, etc. I assumed since they knew about death in general terms they understood the rest. After than when we would go to the cemeteries they would not only help me but took it upon themselves to clean up some of the graves of people that obviously had not been visited in some time.

I’ll never forget the one time the four of them, ages 9, 7, 5 and 3 decided that a large stone ball that had been broken off of one of the monuments had to be put back on. Of course they couldn’t lift it, I couldn’t even lift it, at first they were upset but I told them that the person who the monument was for could see what they had tried to do and that was good enough. In one of those poetic moments, the clouds then parted and rays of sun shone down on the cemetery.

Wingnuts versus Moonbats

Frankly I've had enough of both. If there was ever one topic on the blogosphere that has created such a never ending tit for tat extreme behavior on both parts it's this whole Cindy Sheehan story.

Try to talk on a more "moonbat friendly site" and you are accused of being a Bush supporter and somehow trying to discredit poor Cindy if you dare to point out that making this be about the Bush twins isn't a reasonable goal.

Have some points to make on a "wingnut friendly site" and you are accused of being one of those limp wristed sort that supports terrorists if you dare to point out she has the same right to protest that anyone does.

The wingnuts care about what Cindy's family has to say, the moonbats don't think they matter. Both sides demonstrate they don't care about anyone else's point of view except the one they agree with.

So, my message for both sides? Knock it off, Cindy Sheehan is not Rosa Morgan, nor is she an anti-American Traitor.

John Roberts Day on Liberal Common Sense

No, not really, but the transcript from a series of interviews with John Roberts is a highly recommended read for those of you interested in learning some more about him.

In it he explains some of the basis he used to make decisions, including the one that was at the source of the now dropped NARAL ad.

NARAL drops Roberts Ad

In the interest of fairness since the dropping of the ad will probably not get as much media coverage as deciding to play the ad. From todays Washington Post linked above:

In a response to Specter, NARAL President Nancy Keenan reiterated the group's opposition to Roberts's confirmation and said she regretted that the ad had been misconstrued. "Unfortunately, the debate over that advertisement has become a distraction from the serious discussion we hoped to have with the American public," she said.

Thank you, while I don't think the ad should have been played in the first place? At least it was pulled.

Look to the skies...

UPDATE: Thanks to aaron, I learned this is a hoax, sigh....Lesson learned actually a funny one considering I've snoped so many other people. I did not check this one since, I wrongly assumed Jill discovered this via a relative who is in involved in this type of thing rather than her passing on an email forward. Moral here? Never assume, lmao -- The real story?
Mars


My friend, Jill wrote me this email the other day which I promised to pass on. The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.





By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history.

Also the Perseids (meteor shower) are expected to reach their maximum on August 12. Peak activity is unfortunately predicted for the daylight hours across North America. Sky watchers are encouraged to watch during the predawn hours of Friday, August 12 and again during the early morning hours of Saturday. (see the above CNN link if you want more info)

The kids and I have spent a few late night/early morning adventures when the Perseids come, best viewing was when we lived in Swanton, which was farther away from the city lights.

This has been your look to the skies update.

:-)

Bush surrenders to the pork

There was a time not long ago when President Bush felt that pork was not a good thing. Before bacon lovers all over America unite to protest this past behavior, this is congressional pork. The fat that only congress seems to love.

This latest transportation bill was one of the largest pork producers I've seen in recent times. I wonder if there was anyone that voted for it that didn't get something out of it. So what did our former anti-pork President do? Signed it, allowing all of that fat to clog the arteries of our government with the end result if this continues the same as the human body. Eventually the heart will give out unable to carry that extra fat streaming about.

Some examples from the above linked Washington Post article:

....hundreds of millions of dollars will be channeled to programs that critics say have nothing to do with improving congestion or efficiency: $2.3 million for the beautification of the Ronald Reagan Freeway in California; $6 million for graffiti elimination in New York; nearly $4 million on the National Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio, and the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich.; $2.4 million on a Red River National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Louisiana; and $1.2 million to install lighting and steps and to equip an interpretative facility at the Blue Ridge Music Center, to name a few.

"There are nearly 6,500 member-requested projects worth more than $24 billion, nearly nine percent of the total spending," executives from six taxpayer and conservative groups complained in a letter to Bush urging that he use his veto pen for the first time. They noted that Reagan vetoed a transportation bill in 1987 because there were 152 such special requests, known in the parlance of congressional budgeting as "earmarks."

In the years since the 2003 budget was introduced, pork-barrel spending has climbed from $20.1 billion to $27.3 billion, with the number of earmarked projects rising from 8,341 to 13,999, according to Schatz's group.

Bush's signature "encourages members of Congress to engage in pork-barrel spending on a massive scale, because there's no restraint on the part of the leadership or the White House," Schatz concluded. "I don't know how else to say it."

I don't know how else you could say it either, or if any of them are bothering to listen.

Fugitives caught...CNN gives us....

A picture of "the" room. Yes, because all of you wondered exactly what the room looked like that they were hiding in. Man what a bunch of messy fugitives from justice.





Of course I am happy they were caught, here in my own home state no less, but at times I shake my head at what the media provides us.

Now this shot, wow. Look how artfully it has been doctored to not show a product name, after all we wouldn't want it thought that Pepsi or Coke was the choice of fugitives everywhere. I'm surprised they didn't interview housekeeping to hear complaints about the condition the room was left in. The phone was off the hook? Yes, she was told to lay the phone down after police gave them the courtesy wake up call.

IDF soldier arrested for wanting to make curse come true

Luckily for Sharon, this soldier doesn't appear to be too bright.

IDF troops and policemen at the checkpoint said the soldier had approached them and asked them where he could find Sycamore Ranch, the Sharon family's farm. "I want to shoot the prime minister," he added.

The logic of Suicide Terrorism

Yes, this comes from an unlikely source, The American Conservative Magazine. However, I recommend reading it. It's an interview with Associate Professor Robert Pape of the University of Chicago, who wrote a book on this subject called Dying to Win.

What the article contains might surprise you, such as this:

The central fact is that overwhelmingly suicide-terrorist attacks are not driven by religion as much as they are by a clear strategic objective: to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland. From Lebanon to Sri Lanka to Chechnya to Kashmir to the West Bank, every major suicide-terrorist campaign—over 95 percent of all the incidents—has had as its central objective to compel a democratic state to withdraw.

We can top NARAL for stupidity! Watch!

With a curtsey to Brew at Robot-Invasion, Public Advocate President EugeneDelgaudio will be announce on Wednesday morning, August 10, 2005 at 11:00 AM in front of the Supreme Court that Public Advocate of the United States, a Virginia based national pro-family group is withdrawing its support for Judge John Roberts' nomination to the Supreme Court.

Why?

The move comes as a result of Roberts' support for the radical homosexual lobby in the 1996 Supreme Court case Romer v. Evans, which overturned a pro-family law passed by the citizens of Colorado in an appalling act of judicial activism. (Their words not mine)

All I can say is? When is this going too end....

From one soldier's view

Yes, the article is about one soldier, Terry Rodgers, and the story about him, how he was injured and his feelings is important. I'd suggest reading it. However as I read it, comments that he made about some of what happened prior to his being wounded made me think.

I've included them below.

"I didn't have a political view," he says. "I'm not into politics."

Most days, Rodgers's platoon would patrol the town in Humvees, then set up a TCP -- traffic control point -- where they'd stop cars and search them for weapons. Or they'd do "house calls": "We'd pick random houses and just go in and search 'em." Sometimes they'd do a "dismounted patrol," which meant they wandered through the streets on foot.

"We didn't have any incidents when we were out walking. The biggest incident we'd have on foot patrol is we'd be mobbed by little kids asking us for candy.

"We did hit the wrong house quite often," he says. "We had these overhead maps, satellite maps, and when you're on the street in the middle of the night, it's hard to find the right house. In those instances, we'd say, 'Sorry,' and give 'em a card with a phone number to call the Army and we'd pay for the damages."

"We started looking for a building that would be suitable for a patrol base," he says. "And we took this building over. There was a family living there and we had to kick 'em out. . . . They weren't too happy about it, but there was nothing they could do."

I realize we are at war over there, yet it's obvious this type of treatment is not out of the ordinary. Nor do I bet most Iraqis said after having their home raided in the night by mistake, "Hey no problem, stop and have some coffee". I haven't had much luck in finding a dollar figure for the amount of damages we've paid but I haven't given up on that yet.

Now that he's back home, this soldier who wasn't into politics, joined because he was bored and enjoyed playing the bad guys in laser tag practice missions in the Mojave desert refused to see President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Condi Rice when they visited the hospital he was in. Why?

"I don't want anything to do with him," he explains. "My belief is that his ego is getting people killed and mutilated for no reason -- just his ego and his reputation. If we really wanted to, we could pull out of Iraq. Maybe not completely but enough that we wouldn't be losing people -- at least not at this rate. So I think he himself is responsible for quite a few American deaths."

Is this democracy in action?

Armed men entered Baghdad's municipal building during a blinding dust storm on Monday, deposed the city's mayor and installed a member of Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia.

"This is the new Iraq," said Mr. Tamimi, a secular engineer with no party affiliation. "They use force to achieve their goal."

The group that ousted him insisted that it had the authority to assume control of Iraq's capital city and that Mr. Tamimi was in no danger. The man the group installed, Hussein al-Tahaan, is a member of the Badr Organization, the armed militia of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, known as Sciri.

The militia has been credited with keeping the peace in heavily Shiite areas in southern Iraq but also accused of abuses like forcing women to wear the veils demanded by conservative Shiite religious law.

"If we wanted to do something bad to him, we would have done that," said Mazen A. Makkia, the elected city council chief who led the ouster on Monday and who had been in a lengthy and unresolved legal feud with Mr. Tamimi.

Baghdad is the only city in Iraq that is its own province, and the city council had previously appointed Mr. Tahaan as governor of Baghdad province, with some responsibilities parallel to Mr. Tamimi's. But the mayor's office was clearly the more powerful office, a fact that proved to be a painful thorn in the side of Mr. Makkia, who believed that the council, which he controls, should hold sway in Baghdad.




There's more at the above link involved with this Washington Post article, but you would think the Prime Minister would be commenting or doing something about this. After all, removal by force isn't the way it's typically done. Baghdad is already experiencing alot of problems, the last thing needed was this type of a shake up.

Did Goliath really exist?

I was reading today's haaretz and came across an article (linked above) about some recent finds at the archeological site of Gat. Gat is considered the city of Goliath. No, this is not a piece written to make you believe in the Bible if you don't. I think we all can agree no matter your opinion on the Bible that some true historical events are written there.

There are some controversies as to was Goliath really as tall as some biblical writings insist, six cubits, or 9 ½ feet, some state he was over 7 feet tall. Some doubt the story of David killing him, there are some inconsistencies in parts of the Bible concerning that.

However, the town of Gat did exist. There are other historical writings that refer to the Refaim which is the race that Goliath is listed as coming from.





The picture above is of the Gilgal Refaim (The Circle Of The Refaim) in Israel. It is said to have been built by those same people that Goliath descended from. In the late 1980’s a group of British archaeologists may have uncovered skeletal evidence for giants in Jordan. At the site of Tel es-Sa’idiyeh, archaeologist Jonathan Tubb and a team from the British Museum unearthed the remains of some extremely tall people.

A mound near Toledo, Ohio, held 20 skeletons, seated and facing east with jaws and teeth "twice as large as those of present day people," and besides each was a large bowl with "curiously wrought hieroglyphic figures." (Chicago Record, Oct. 24, 1895; cited by Ron G. Dobbins, NEARA Journal, v13, fall 1978).

All of us have heard of men like Andre the Giant, and others in history that have been much taller and larger than the average person. In the end? It is very possible there was a Goliath, the more we learn? The more questions that come to mind.

:-)

some of the places I went to search for this article if you are curious....

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NARAL using swiftboat style techniques

Okay I'm calling a major, FOUL on this one. The ad against John Roberts states:

"Supreme Court nominee John Roberts filed court briefs supporting violent fringe groups and a convicted clinic bomber," the ad states. The ad concludes by saying, "America can't afford a justice whose ideology leads him to excuse violence against other Americans."

Then, NARAL President Nancy Keenan defended the ad but said, "We're not suggesting that Mr. Roberts condones clinic violence."

Let's repeat this one more time...."Supreme Court nominee John Roberts filed court briefs supporting violent fringe groups and a convicted clinic bomber," the ad states. The ad concludes by saying, "America can't afford a justice whose ideology leads him to excuse violence against other Americans."

Talk about bullshit. Read it for yourself, here is the case.

He did what his job was supposed to be, interpet the law, he's not supposed to say "oh gee these people really suck so I won't argue the point of law for them". Law is all about making sure everything is the same as possible for EVERYONE. Come on NARAL who do you really want as a Supreme Court Justice? One that is going to argue on the basis of does that meet the requirements of the law or one that is going to on a whim decide based on emotion?

Yes, he's a conservative, but I do not agree with this type of tatic that is really dishonest in trying to create an impression that is wrong. It's a purposeful attempt to mislead and your group doing so puts you on the same level as the swiftboaters.

I realize this is not going to probably be popular since most of the more liberal sites are out there making a huge deal about this, but I'd suggest they actually read the case before they assume.

The College Textbook Scam...

After successfully finding several copies of the 4th Edition of Thermodynamics : An Engineering Approach for alot cheaper than the UT bookstore offered, for Emily, the Professor being some twisted soul decided to switch to the new 5th edition which of course has no used copies, or paperback either.

I did find some cheaper sources than UT, however it's a given if she sells the book after this class the best she can hope for is getting half of it back unless she tries to sell it directly. All the rest of the poor souls that have the 4th edition better hurry and sell theirs because as soon as everyone switches to the 5th edition theirs will be dollar bargin bin only.

Granted this is not the most expensive text book she has had to buy, however incase you Professors didn't notice, tuition went up again at UT, as well as some of the fees. Thank you for continuing to make earning a college degree much more of a challenge than it needs to be.

Thank you, this parental unit ranting has now ended.

:-)

What type of blogger are you quiz...

With a courtsey to Jami (and ending up with the same exact category as she got) In what is the largest selection of quizzes I've seen anyone take...Mucho quizes

You Are a Pundit Blogger!

Your blog is smart, insightful, and always a quality read. Truly appreciated by many, surpassed by only a few.

What kind of blogger are you?

Sometimes it's hard to be a Miami Dolphins fan

Granted it's pre-season but OMFG I am not impressed with the decision with 56 seconds to try to go for the win rather than the tie. Intercepted? ARGGGGG...

It's going to be a long season.....

:-)

Palestinan Muslims do something right.

A senior Palestinian religious leader has issued an edict banning shooting attacks against Israeli security forces and settlements, out of concern they might lead to a postponement of the pullout from the Gaza Strip and part of northern Samaria.

"Anyone who causes the delay of the withdrawal of the occupation, or prolongs its existence on Islamic soil, is committing a crime according to Islamic law," Sheikh Jamal al-Bawatna, the mufti of the Ramallah district, says in a fatwa issued in the past few days.

Al-Bawatna addresses the groups directly and says, "The nationalist and Islamic factions must cooperate in joint responsibility under these very trying circumstances. There is no forgiveness for anyone who ... goes against the [PA] regime or tries to exploits the circumstances to serve the interests of his faction."

The sheikh also reminds the population that "Mahmoud Abbas is the elected president ... and there is a religious obligation to obey his orders. Disobeying is an attempt to weaken his authority, which is considered a severe sin according to all the parameters of Islamic law."

This is a very positive step. Hopefully the US media will give this some coverage.

Here's a novel suggestion...

It appears two Michael Jackson jurors have "changed" their mind. Of course the fact that both of them have book deals and an upcoming movie has nothing to do with their attempts to grab some media attention.

Explaining the turnaround by Cook and Hultman, consultant Larry Garrison, who is working with both on their separate books and a combined television movie, said all the jurors "had an agreement [to be united] and then basically when they went on 'Larry King Live,' both Eleanor and Ray couldn't tolerate what was going on anymore. They said, 'Enough is enough."'

Juries aren't supposed to be united, if you really felt he wasn't innocent? You should have not voted with them. I hope your book deals flop and the movie stinks, because people like you that rush to get the book and movie deals on what is supposed to be part of the duty of being an american makes me say "Enough is enough, the greed of people like you make me sick."

"They can be as angry as they want to. They ought to be ashamed. They're the ones that let a pedophile go," responded Cook, 79.

Slight correction there Mrs Cook. you let him go too.

Trespassing and buying votes....

Seems neither of the three Democratic mayoral candidates follow the "no trespassing" type signs that some residents have in their yards or on their doors.

What's the going rate to buy support? Well Carty discovered for the 8 year old set it's promising a milkshake. Our current Mayor Jack Ford? Showing up and agreeing to have a sidewalk repaired that had been ignored for several years.

From the above Blade article:

One of the men who criticized the mayor in the morning requested a Ford lawn sign after the visit, Ms. Vahey said.

"That's what we're up against," Mr. Thurston said at one point, after attempting to sway a woman on her front porch with a list of Ford accomplishments. "We're up against the perception that the mayor hasn't done anything."

Got a tree that needs trimming? Street or sidewalk repair that you've been waiting to have done? Quick call down to the campaign office and tell them you'll take a Jack Ford sign if he comes out and promises to take care of it.

Better yet, call all four candidates and see what they'll offer for your vote. You might even get a milkshake out of the deal.

Best comment in the article has to be this one though:

Mr. Ford ignored a "No Trespassing" sign in the Point Place neighborhood last week, on a drive with a reporter, to pose for a photograph. He knocked on a nearby door to ask permission first, but no one answered.

He walked past the sign anyway.

"What are they going to do," Mr. Ford asked, "arrest me?"

Speaking of brew....

This one from cnn as linked above was interesting:

In April, Anheuser-Busch Co. -- based in St. Louis, Missouri -- wrote a $5,000 check intended for the state Republican Party.

Instead, the envelope was addressed to the state Democratic Party, which promptly deposited the money.

Now, state GOP leaders say the South Carolina Democratic Party needs to return the beer money they are owed.

Democrats say the check is in the mail.

Katja Zastrow, Anheuser-Busch's regional director of governmental affairs in Washington, said in an e-mail statement that the check went astray "through a series of administrative oversights."

She said the company is working with both parties to resolve the situation.

Democrats say they have sent a refund check back to Anheuser-Busch: "Nobody should expect us to write a check to the Republican Party," said Lachlan McIntosh, the Democratic Party's executive director.

The GOP said the refund was sent only after it threatened a lawsuit.

Obviously it's a plot by some democrat who misaddressed the envelope, lol. Though I wonder why if the check was made out to the Republican party the dems cashed it in the first place.

Is the new look or just me?

I remember how long it took me to get to the cherished 5,000 page views. It seems like it took forever. While alot of you don't comment, the visits to this site have grown amazingly recently. Today I'll pass the 8,000 page view mark, and within a day or two break 6,000 visitors.

That's pretty remarkable for a site that didn't really get going until March. Why is that? Because of you. Those of you who comment here make this blog an even better place, where I hope those who agree and disagree continue to participate. Thanks to you, I was accepted at Watch Blog and the Distance as well as DemocratVoice to write.

My web store with Liberal Common Sense items has done better than I ever expected, I created it mainly for my book (thank you to those who have bought it). However, the t-shirt with a cartoon picture a friend drew of me on a bar napkin that I scanned has been the top seller. Sooner or later I know I will run into someone with me on a t-shirt. Chris, I'm sure you had no idea at the time that one drawing that I harrassed you into doing of me at the bar that night would become that popular. Everytime I see it I am reminded of my old Convergys buddies and the fun we had. Though I woefully still suck at darts.

http://www.cafepress.com/psy777.18661393

(for those of you curious as to how Chris drew me and yes he is an awesome artist, even on a bar napkin)

Thanks to you I was inspired to learn CSS to take the blog to a different direction so it didn't look the same as the other blogs out there. Thanks to the blog I've met so many awesome people that have inspired me, encouraged me and challenged me.

So thanks to all of my old friends and my new ones, especially Brew because he was the first blogger to support me and had it not been for him? I wouldn't be at the Distance or probably where I am today.

Call me a geek, but this is cool

NEW YORK, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientists, doctors and computer experts in Silicon Valley teamed up to generate the most detailed, high definition 3D models ever created from scanning an ancient mummy. Examining a two-thousand- year-old child mummy from San Jose's Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium, scientists were able to generate 35 times more information than the recent King Tut mummy scans. These super high resolution images allowed researchers to "virtually unwrap" and remodel the child mummy without disturbing its delicately preserved form.

This rare footage shows how researchers scanned and analyzed several areas of the mummy child -- hands, teeth, feet, skull, groin, spine and chest plate -- and found answers to many scientific questions: how old was the child when it died? Did the child die from a disease? And what kind of family was she born into?

This video shows specialists from Stanford University School of Medicine and the Stanford-NASA National Biocomputation Center using new visualization computer technologies to examine the mummified remains in unprecedented high resolution 3D models that look almost real.

http://www.multivu.com/

Click on the view more multimedia news

The video is dated August 4th. It's amazing what this technology has allowed them to learn.

Another battle over burial

Earlier in the week we discussed did a convicted murderer have the right to a military funeral with full honors here in the US.

In Israel, the burial of Eden Natan-Zada, who has been considered a Jewish terrorist for his recent killing of four Israeli Arabs and the wounding of over a dozen created an even larger controversy. He was killed by the mob that gathered after his shooting spree on a bus.

From the above linked article:

Defense officials had intended to bury him in a modified military ceremony, bereft of the honor guard salute and in a coffin without the Israeli flag.Furious bereaved families announced they would petition the High Court of Justice to prevent such a disgrace. They also asked Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to intervene. Mofaz consented, ruling the murderer "unfit to be buried alongside the fallen of Israel's wars."

Right-wing extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived at the house and took an active interest in the burial discussion yesterday. Ben-Gvir proposed burying Natan-Zada in Kiryat Arba, beside the grave of Baruch Goldstein, who massacred 29 Arabs at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in 1994.

The body was refused burial at several cemeteries. After the Prime Ministers office stepped into the debate his body was buried in the civilian section of the Rishon Letzion cemetery.

Benjamin Netanyahu getting ready to campaign

It was pretty obvious either he was going to resign or Sharon was going to fire him. He waited until today to make his grandstand moment and left no doubt he has his eyes on Sharon's job. Let's hope his position on the disengagement that goes against what the majority of Israelis want is enough to keep that dream of his from happening. While I am not a fan of Sharon? Netanyahu would be worse. Everything that has been achieved would be undone.

"At moments of truth a leader must ask himself what he stands for and what he is working towards?" Netanyahu added. "And I cannot be a part of this disengagement."

An Evening with Emily

For those of you new to the blog, Emily is my oldest daughter who is currently attending college for Mechanical Engineering. She has not only won awards for her writing but was the Salutatorian for her school. Before she decided Mechanical Engineering was her field she considered becoming a Journalist. Sure I published a book, but her experience in writing and her creativity has inspired me. Many of the things I write here or on other sites like Watch Blog my first thought to myself is, "how would Emily write this".

Politically she is more liberal than I am, and she does not share my Catholic faith or my belief in God though she has attended church with me more out of love and respect for me than a belief in a higher power. She comments here from time to time but her opinion of what I write is important to me. We don't get to spend as much time together as we used to because she is working this summer on her internship necessary for her degree and has a relationship and life away from my household. We still have dinner together a few times a week but tonight her boyfriend had to work and she came over and spent several hours here watching movies with me. First though she read what I had written at Watch Blog since she hadn't had a chance to read it yet or get caught up on what I had blogged about the past few days. She doesn't always agree with me, yes I raised my children to disagree with me politically hence my oldest, my only son being a Republican. However I was struck tonight by the realization that what I have done is create children that some are now adults that think for themselves. They do their own research, come to their own conclusions and are not afraid to either agree or disagree with me. They feel secure in the knowledge that even when we disagree we will still love and respect each other. If they agree with me it is because they have come to discover that on their own and not because they have been told to feel a certain way.

I grew up being the ultimate rebel the problem child that gave my parents hell. My children never did that, they were always honor roll students who expressed themselves but were alot more yuppyish than I ever was. I used to bemoan the fact that how could I have yuppy brainy children. Yet as they grow, I have discovered that perhaps the best gift I did give them was the belief that no matter what path they chose I would support them and that the ability to think for themselves even if I disagreed has made them what they are today.

It may sound silly but when Emily tells me she agrees with me when I write articles like I did at Watch Blog about Christianity and Islam it means more to me than I can describe. Tonight she told me that reading Daniel's blog from Iraq affects her, at times reading his site makes her sad, I didn't know she was reading his site, until tonight. For my own daughter to feel as she has expanded her own horizons because of this blog is beyond description. I realize that while at times real life really is a challenge? I am very blessed. So Emily? Thank you.

Stop using Cindy Sheehan

If ever I needed a reminder of why I have problems with some in the Democratic Party how Cindy Sheehan is being used is it. I received an email from democrats.com urging me to help Cindy get answers and to sign a petition.

We would not be in Iraq right now had it not been for Democrats who voted with Republicans to allow it. Yes, of course, the never ending they were misled. That's total bs. They agreed that we are somehow a higher power than the UN. They have continued to fund this war and very few of them have done anything to try to demand action. Those few Democrats who have? They haven't supported. Publicly they make a huge deal about it but the reality is the majority of Democrats in Congress have done nothing. Not only did they agree to it, continue to fund it but they pretend they have no responsibility in it.

Every single Democrat that voted to allow Bush to send troops to Iraq is responsible for the death of Cindy Sheehan's son. They question Bush on everything, fight him on judicial candidates, yet now magically it wasn't their fault that they had "misinformation"?

Cindy deserves answers, and not just from President Bush but from Congress as well. Wake up Congress and take responsibility for your own actions, if you truly believe this is wrong then do something. You have the power to stop the government in it's tracks if you believe this is wrong. Else stop playing games with a mother who has lost her son. You want us to believe you really care about our children? Then act like it. President Bush could have never gone to war without your votes.

Step right up buy your Gitmo Tour tickets here....

It appears I have once again seriously over-estimated the intelligence of those in Congress. After reading the above linked Washington Post article concerning the Tours of Gitmo, several thoughts immediately come to mind. You think if anything wrong was happening it would occur during one of these scheduled tours? None of the Congress members who go come into any contact with the prisoners directly. They have not been allowed to speak to any of them. How in the blue hell Rep. Jon Porter of Nevada got the impression, " "Many of them are happy to be there." I can't explain.

Attorneys who have had direct access and communication with some of the prisoners are calling these tours Disneyfied. I tend to agree. I'd also like to know how much these flights with catered meals are costing us as tax payers as Congress seems to want to not be the only one who hasn't visited Gitmo.

Thomas B. Wilner, a lawyer who has visited Guantanamo six times since the beginning of the year, said: "They're doing the tours for the same reason that Potemkin had his villages. The amazing thing to me is that these congressmen buy it."

I agree Thomas, that is amazing.

My God, what have we done...

"As the bomb exploded, we saw the entire city disappear," said Commander Robert Lewis. "I wrote in my log, 'My God, what have we done?"

Sixty years ago the division on was bombing Hiroshima necessary existed, that continues even today. President Truman believed the bombings actually saved lives; President Dwight Eisenhower disagreed feeling that the Japanese were close to surrender.

While we of course try to prevent countries like North Korea or Iran from having nuclear weapons, the list of countries that have this horrible ability has grown since Hiroshima. It has become something to bargain with, or something to gain respect with because if you have nuclear weapons others will not be so quick to use military force against you since you hold the power to kill hundreds of thousands of people with just one bomb. Israel has nuclear weapons, Pakistan, India, because if one has them then it is something the other one needs to "defend" themselves.

That is one of the reasons Saddam tried to create the belief that Iraq was farther along in creating nuclear weapons than they were. If he truly had that ability then he would have been treated differently. The fear of him using a nuclear weapon would have insured a different response.

$27 bn is spent each year by the US on nuclear weapons and related programs.

11, 000 active, deliverable nuclear weapons in the world.
The US has 6,390, Russia 3,242 and Britain 200

150 estimated number of nuclear weapons possessed by India
75 estimated number of nuclear weapons possessed by Pakistan

40 states with technical ability to make nuclear weapons, including Egypt and South Korea

"This chain of hatred and revenge is what creates wars. It may be impossible to erase such feelings. But we should at least try." Atsushi Hayama, a Japanese Student.

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