The US House (Especially Republicans) want you to lose your tv

The US Senate demonstrated some common sense when they voted unanimously to delay the digital switch over until June 12th. However, the US House got caught up in their never ending gamesmanship and created a scenario where a procedural situation caused the vote to fail.

Although "yes" votes outnumbered "no" votes by 258 to 168, the vote was held under a set of procedural rules that required a two-thirds majority to pass. Despite the current cuddly non-partisan nicey-nice in Washington, the vote was largely on party lines: 155 Republicans voted against (22 for) and 236 Democrats 236 voted for (13 against).

First I'm against the whole digital thing as everyone I know who has gotten one of these adapters has had problems, and it appears it is really designed to force people to have to pay for service through either a cable or a satellite company. I don't think we should have to pay to get basic television service to be able to access the news and especially to access public broadcasting channels.

Secondly the whole "coupon" program is a farce. My husband, lord only knows why, requested the alloted two coupons quite some time ago, we of course didn't need them yet and the few times he went to "collect" the coupon none of the stores had the adapter. So they expired. You'd think it would be no big deal, since there is verification that the coupons were never used, it would just be a matter of getting new coupons. It doesn't work that way, whether you use them or not, no one for your address can get new coupons. Which is really stupid because let's say for the sake of an example, I kick him out of the house and he had gotten his two adapters. I'd not be able to get my own.

This creates an almost "black market" coupon deal where people who have experienced this then ask people that they know who have cable or satellite to request coupons on their behalf. Which means those who do this, should they ever want to rid themselves of cable, will never be able to get adapters of their own.

Customer service for these adapters is horrid. A friend who has the Acess brand states it makes her tv's hum, she has to call the company then wait for someone to call her back, if you are not home at the time they call back? You have to call in and start the process all over again.

Worse yet, even if the House does get their act together and the mainly Republican problem makers agree to the longer time period, television stations can go digital anyway. Which most of them probably will with the way they've harped on the countdown without cessation.

I'm not buying a box that doesn't work to receive a television signal that tax dollars has gone to create. Which means most likely after February 17th my family will be televisionless along with possibly millions of others who even if they wanted to get the coupons, the program has run out of money for. There's no reason why we should have to replace our television sets that are still working, for something that was pretty pointless to begin with.

The economy and moving companies...

I started wondering the other day as to the impact of the economy on moving companies, where they making more or were they making less? In reading quite a few articles from around the nation, it appears in many areas the first problem was the rising fuel costs which some addressed by adding a fuel surcharge on to their rates. The next issue was even though larger numbers of people were moving, there was less spending done on moving companies. Meaning those that were lower rate or considered "economy movers" seemed to fair well in addition to moving companies that specialized in out of state moves.

Do it yourself moving type rental operators also seem to have fared better than some of their counterparts. In parts of the nation moving companies have seen some of their competition go out of business, meaning those that did manage to stay in business ended up with increased sales.

Fired Fannie Mae employee accused of planting virus

A friend sent me this, I'll search out more details later but wanted to share it:

Feds allege fired Fannie Mae worker planted virus to destroy mortgage company's computer data

URBANA, Md. (AP) -- The Justice Department says it foiled a plot by a fired Fannie Mae contract worker in Maryland to destroy all the data on the mortgage giant's 4,000 computer servers nationwide.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says 35-year-old Rajendrasinh Makwana, of Glen Allen, Va., is scheduled for arraignment Friday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on one count of computer intrusion.

U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein says Makwana was fired Oct. 24.

Rosenstein says that on that day, Makwana programmed a computer with a malicious code that was set to spread throughout the Fannie Mae network and destroy all data this Saturday.

Makwana's federal public defender did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Washington-based Fannie Mae is the largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

Israel opens Gaza crossings

Some good news for once coming out of the Gaza, Following UN demands, Israel suddenly reopens Gaza crossings:

Gaza – Ma’an – Israel reopened commercial crossings into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning, without conditions, the Palestinian Authority told Ma’an.

The crossings had been closed in response to a deadly attack on an Israeli patrol near Gaza on Tuesday morning. One officer was killed in the attack and three others were injured, one seriously.

According to Ra’ed Fatouh, a Crossings Authority official, Israel informed the PA “that they reopened the borders in the Strip for dozens of trucks at 7:00am this morning.”

More from Haaretz on the bombing still continuing from both sides.

The story of the juicer diet...

I love my husband (well most times) and I love my children (most times) but at times the interesting side dramas and how it creates more work for me can be either the source of frustration or I can decide it can be a source of humor. The juicer diet is one of those stories where the choice is up to me and I've opted to laugh rather than to throw things at them.

My fourth oldest daughter decided she wanted to go on this juicer diet and she was going to go on it with my husband. This is after several different types of diets and a diet pill or two. This of course first required that a juicer must be purchased, because how could one juice without a juicer? Of course someone else might wonder if there were not other alternatives that did not require a over $50.00 juicer but that person would be scorned as "a person of no faith in the power of juicing."

The previously mentioned person of no faith in the power of juicing (PONFITPOJ) (you can guess who that is) noticed that the daughter dropped out of the juicing diet rather quickly, in addition to discovering how much fruit and vegetables were required to make a small amount of juice. Not to mention how messy the whole juicer process was and despite the claims that the left over pulp could be used for breads and muffins...As the PONFITPOJ pointed out, the two dieters couldn't eat that stuff anyway as it was not on the juicer diet plan.

Now of course the juicer has sat there for 7 days without being used, though it is a pretty countertop decoration. The daughter has dropped the diet and the husband is trying to stick to a diet but is not using the juicer, he is instead actually eating the fruits and veggies which appears to not only be more filling but makes less of a mess for the PONFITPOJ to clean up.

This of course leads us to the moral of the story, the actual adventure was juicer than their diet...

And in Gaza...

No big surprise, Israel is being accused of violating the ceasefire:

Israel’s continued truce violations are provocative and should be halted immediately, said a statement from the National Resistance Brigades (NRB), the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) Friday.

Israel’s violations include the serious injury of two fishermen Thursday, repeated invasions from the border areas and artillery fire resulting in the death of three civilians since the Israeli ceasefire was called.

“These violations” said the NRB, “are provocative to the Palestinian resistance and if continued will force a response to the Israeli occupation.” The statement added that Israel is looking for a justification for re-launching its attacks on Gaza.

Also as no big surprise, Israeli officers accused of crimes in Gaza can expect to have legal representation.

Also no huge shocker, Hamas and Fatah are still at it. With Israel being blamed for not destroying Hamas...

Wow, he really didn't like the speech...

I've heard mixed reviews from people on the speech that President Obama gave during the inauguration. Some felt it was a shining moment where they felt inspired to do great things, others felt it was okay and some? Well, some like Robert Tracinski, really didn't like the speech at all, No Idea what he's doing but as Robert pointed out, we already have the answer as to why those like Robert would take issue...From our President himself:

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them--that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works--whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified....

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control--and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

What do I think? I think that Ed Kilgore has the answer:

Whatever you think of this or that speech, Barack Obama is clearly a master of values-based messaging. And the inaugural address did not simply embrace broadly shared values beyond those usually emphasized by progressives; he went out of his way to argue that values often placed in opposition to each other are both reconcilable and essential (e.g., liberty and security, and public-sector activism and "free" markets). This may sound dangerously like Third Wayism to many progressives, but if reflects the fact that big majorities of the American people do in fact embrace such "contradictory" values, and do not want to see them vanquished or ignored.

This is probably why the public gave very positive ratings to the inaugural address and the accompanying events, even as most pundits panned it. And more generally, it is why Obama's speechifying--so often criticized as "vague" or "abstract" by the punditocracy-- resonates well with the public. There's a time for ten-point platforms in political communications, but it's essential to open the door to listeners by convincing them you live in the same "vague" and "abstract" moral universe that they inhabit.

I call bullshit on Beenie Baby makers

How stupid do they think people are? Michelle Obama disapproves of dolls' likeness to daughters and the company has the nerve to state that they are not naming the two dolls, “Sweet Sasha” and “Marvelous Malia” after the Obamas children and that it's just some strange coincidence that not only did they pick the same names but they made the dolls have dark skin.

Ty released the 12-inch dolls as part of the company’s “TyGirlz Collection.” The Sasha doll has pigtails and wears a white and pink dress with hearts. The Malia doll has a side ponytail and a long-sleeve shirt with capri pants.

The Oak Brook-based company chose the names because “they are beautiful names,” not because of any resemblance to Malia and Sasha Obama, said spokeswoman Tania Lundeen.

“There’s nothing on the dolls that refers to the Obama girls,” Lundeen said. “It would not be fair to say they are exact replications of these girls. They are not.”

I not only agree with the statement released from Michelle Obama, that it was “inappropriate to use young, private citizens for marketing purposes” but I think anyone who buys one or both of these dolls is creepy and is demonstrating they have no respect for their right to exist without being used as some type of a cheap marketing gimmick to get people to buy a product.

It should be up to the Obama family if they want their children's likeness and their names used in that type of a fashion and I hope they have their lawyers step in, before we are hit with the wave of Malia and Sasha products...

The Ty company earns a place in the "asshat" category over this one...

Most blacks say MLK's vision fulfilled?

I hate polls, well hate is a strong word, I strongly dislike polls and the way responses from a small number of people is deemed to speak for "all" of any group. The morning headline at CNN is the title of this thread, Most blacks say MLK's vision fulfilled. CNN does not provide any of the real polling data or even what the exact questions were. All we do know is they polled 332 blacks:

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted January 12-15. Pollsters questioned 1,245 adult Americans, including 798 whites and 332 blacks, by telephone. The survey's sampling error is 3 percentage points for the overall sample and 4.5 percentage points for the breakdowns by race.

They compare percentages to last year, but last year the ratio of black to white responses was higher than this year and the number of polled was larger:

The survey, which includes interviews with 1,393 adult Americans, including 743 whites and 513 blacks, was conducted by telephone January 14-17 and has a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5

This is what was reported today:

The poll found 69 percent of blacks said King's vision has been fulfilled in the more than 45 years since his 1963 "I have a dream" speech -- roughly double the 34 percent who agreed with that assessment in a similar poll taken last March.

But whites remain less optimistic, the survey found.

"Whites don't feel the same way -- a majority of them say that the country has not yet fulfilled King's vision," CNN polling director Keating Holland said. However, the number of whites saying the dream has been fulfilled has also gone up since March, from 35 percent to 46 percent.

In November, a majority of blacks for the first time believed that the U.S. would eventually find a solution to its racial problems; now a majority of blacks believe that race relations will always be a problem in this country.

This is what was reported a year ago:

Roughly four in 10 individuals in both groups say that the country has fulfilled all, or at least a great deal, of King's dream. However, they have different views on whether King's dream will ever be fully realized in the United States. When asked whether race relations will always pose a problem in the United States, about half of black Americans, 52 percent, said yes -- and just 43 percent of whites shared that view. When posed the same question in 1993, 55 percent of blacks and 53 percent of whites thought race relations would always be a problem for the United States.

What does it really mean? That despite seeing the first black president be elected, people still believe that race relations will always be a problem in our nation. Which then creates a question not answered by the headline selected by CNN, if that is true and a majority of blacks and whites polled feel that way, then how can it be said that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision has been fulfilled?

It also means that CNN continues to be selective in what it wants to report and selective as far as providing details for any of us to see what the real questions and numbers were. If they provided real facts and figures, it'd be easier to determine what is valid and what is hype...

Obama a "blue dog Democrat"?

Interesting piece when you take the below one about Pelosi and Obama disagreeing that I recommend reading is Blue Dogs Have Their Day, with a curtsy to American Heartland Bar and Grill. One part I found especially interesting:

Indeed, the way the Blue Dogs flex their muscle may become one of the defining issues of the Obama administration's opening months. If they are inclined to wrangle with Nancy Pelosi and the more liberal contingent in the Democratic Party, they will drive policy, especially as a check on spending. "Ideally the White House will see things our way, so they will present legislation on the Hill that we find acceptable," Mr. Cooper says. "If they stray too much from that or if a certain part of Congress strays too much from that, then we may have to object."

So far, however, the Blue Dogs seem to believe that Barack Obama is one of them, a fiscal reformer, and their last best hope for true change on entitlement spending and economic responsibility. Mr. Obama has announced he will convene a fiscal responsibility summit in February to bring together Blue Dogs and other folks to discuss the long-term problems of the economy, including entitlement spending. "We've kicked this can down the road and now we are at the end of the road," the president-elect told the Washington Post this week.

The WSJ piece seems to contradict what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, has made clear that she expects the White House to work directly with her office on big initiatives rather than cut side deals with fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats or Republicans, as President Bill Clinton did during his presidency. D-San Francisco, has made clear that she expects the White House to work directly with her office on big initiatives rather than cut side deals with fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats or Republicans, as President Bill Clinton did during his presidency.

Is Obama leaning toward becoming a Blue Dog, was he a Blue Dog incognito, is he playing the Blue Dogs as some suggested?

List of who they are and here in Ohio we have one, Zack Space...

Media helps spread Pelosi statement that's been questioned

Even CNN is slightly guilty on this one though they at least mention that a Republican has claimed the information Pelosi is sharing is not true:

"We had campaigned in saying what the Republican Congressional Budget Office told us: Nothing contributed more to the budget deficit than the tax cuts for the wealthiest people in America," Pelosi said in the interview.

A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called Pelosi's statement "false," and cited a recent fact check from the St. Petersburg Times disputing the House Speaker's claim tax cuts for the wealthy is the biggest contributor to the budget deficit.

Here's the PolitiFact page that states Pelosi's statement is false.

Here's a sample of a few media sources who state Pelolsi's statement but don't bother to report that it has been declared false, by anyone...

Yahoo News citing part of the Associated Press piece but leaving off the part where her statement is questioned.

Kansas City Star same as Yahoo. Miami Herald as well.

Palestinian factions in Gaza agree to ceasefire with conditions

This is what is being reported by Maan News Agency, Hamas, Islamic Jihad set terms for mutual ceasefire, demand Israeli withdrawal from Gaza:

In a joint statement declared “We the Palestinian resistant factions, announce a ceasefire from our side in Gaza Strip. We confirm our stance and our demand for Israeli troops to withdraw from Gaza in a week, that Israel opens the borders, and crossing points for humanitarian aid convoys.”

The statement highlighted the factions’ readiness to respond to the Egyptian, Turkish, Syrian, and Qatari plans to for a permanent lifting of the siege, and opening of Gaza’s borders.

Hamas spokesperson Ayman Taha spoke out in favor of the decision, saying the party supported the initiative and also the decision to implement a boycott of Israel reached in the Doha Summit.

For Islamic Jihad spokesperson Daoud Shehab said the decision was based on consideration for the “common national interest” of the parties involved in the war, and to allow humanitarian aid convoys to enter Gaza.

Shehab told Ma’an, “The resistance won on the ground and now we will go onto the political battle.”

He explained that the decision is a natural extension of the role of resistance factions, and sought to establish the rights of Palestinians through the withdrawal of troops and the opening of borders.

When asked what will happen if Israel does not evacuate the Strip by Sunday 25 January, Shehab replied, “Then all options are open and no one would dare talk or hold us accountable because our decision isn’t out of weakness but out of common interest.”

The sole holdout in the truce agreement is reportedly the secular leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which rejected a ceasefire had even begun.

In an interview with Qatar’s Al-Jazeera, PFLP Politburo member Maher At-Taher insisted that “the Israeli attack is continuing.”

This is a bit different than is being reported in the US Media, CNN as an example is giving the impression that all of the factions have agreed, which it is clear one has not:

The agreement appears to cover all Palestinian armed factions, not only Hamas.

"We in the Palestinian resistance movements announce a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip," Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official in Syria, said on Syrian TV. "And we demand that Israeli forces withdraw in one week and that they open all the border crossings to permit the entry of humanitarian aid and basic goods for our people in Gaza."

There is no mutual agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians -- each side has made its own unilateral declaration of a cease-fire.

I think that's important to point out since any action taken by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) could be blamed on Hamas or others.

Just like the Super Bowl! It's Inauguration Bowl!

The irony is the last name of the person who sent this...

Hello Lisa,

With the Inauguration just around the corner, we wanted to let you and your readers know about an online program in line with America’s desire for change. It’s called “Dear Mr. President” where people can upload a video message to President-Elect Obama at Pepsi’s new site RefreshEverything.com. Pepsi is open to hearing from everyone- republican, green or democrat— share your opinion, get your voice heard! The submissions will eventually be compiled and edited in the form of an open letter to Obama to be delivered to the President. Videos have already been uploaded, some celeb ones too (Lady Gaga, Eva Longoria, Jeff Gordon and will.i.am), so do take a look.

In other inauguration news, Pepsi-Cola will sponsor a symposium at Howard University on the 19th, titled “Refresh the World,” which will feature participants like Spike Lee, Queen Latifah, Arianna Huffington and the Rev. Al Sharpton. There is also a panel called Refresh Gender – that one and all the panels will be streamed online though.

Every generation refreshes the world.

Best,

Kathleen Bush

For those of the "Pepsi Generation" this little musical flashback:

Something a bit lighter, what happens when...

A good part of our nation is in a cold spell, a really cold spell, which means from whether you are sitting right now at a Maine auto insurance company office or sitting here in Toledo at your computer, chances are? It's cold, it's cold enough that any of us from a huge number of locations could go to our microwaves, heat up a cup of water so that it is very, very hot and walk out our doors to discover we can make instant snow. Videos are popping up all over YouTube of people brave enough to do this. Which means, we can watch it, and not have to venture out there ourselves to do it...




One does have to wonder though, if this is global warming, why can't we have the warm part?

:-)

How do you justify bombing a hospital, a UN relief headquarters and a media compound?

It amazes me that people can even try to defend this type of action:

In Tel Al-Hawa, Al-Quds Hospital went up in flames after it came under Israeli shelling. Workers at the Palestine Red Crescent facility said they fear the fire could cause an explosion due to the fuel stored in the hospital's warehouse.

Dr Bashar Murad, the head of emergency services at Al-Quds Hospital, told Ma’an that three Israeli missiles hit the hospital, two of them containing white phosphorus. Shrapnel from the bombs was scattered in the hospital but no one was injured. Fire has engulfed the hospital’s administration building, a storehouse, and a pharmacy.

Murad said that up to 600 people had fled Tel Al-Hawa and areas around the hospital.

Meanwhile, UN's relief agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, says Israeli shells struck their headquarters in Gaza City, injuring three workers. The compound includes the UNRWA offices, warehouses and a school. As many as 700 Palestinians had taken refuge in the compound, which is still on fire.

The United Nations is claiming that shells were laced with the controversial chemical weapon, white phosphorus.

Separately, Israeli forces attacked a media compound home to the Reuters news agency, NBC, and a number of Arab networks in Gaza City late on Thursday morning. Two journalists working for Abu Dhabi television were injured when at least one Israeli shell struck the building.

All three of these scenarios has been reported on by the mainstream media so it can't be said this is inaccurate reporting by Maan.

The death toll from the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip reached 1,033 on Wednesday evening, said Dr Mu’awiyah Hassanain, the director of Ambulance and Emergency Services in the Health Ministry in Gaza. Nearly a third of the dead are children. Over three hundred children...

Then there is this:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said Monday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had been forced to abstain from a United Nations resolution on Gaza that she helped draft, after Mr. Olmert placed a phone call to President Bush.

I said, ‘Get me President Bush on the phone,’ ‘ Mr. Olmert said in a speech in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, according to The Associated Press. ‘They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn’t care: ‘I need to talk to him now,’ ‘ Mr. Olmert continued. ‘He got off the podium and spoke to me.’

From what the News Writer shares, Mr. Olmert may be exaggerating his own power and importance, at our expense...

I don't think this defines "honesty" by a long shot...

I was sent this cartoon yesterday, it was named "Honesty" and came with the message:

Here's a political cartoon you're not likely to see in the world media. Yet, it sure 'hits the nail on the head.'

I don't know what definition of the word honesty they are using, but this is a real example of "honesty" in Gaza from Reuters:



These children were not killed by Hamas, they were killed by Israel. The whole mantra of Hamas is hiding within civilian populations on purpose is hard to argue from a point of logic for anyone that knows how small Gaza is and how many people are crowded within it. Trapped, unable to go anywhere and not even being safe in a UN marked school. I find it impossible to justify the murder of innocents based on Hamas rocket fire, it's over-kill. To borrow a line from The News Writer, "it’s not like shooting fish in barrel. It’s like dropping depth charges into the barrel."

Since December 27th, at least 940 Palestinians have been killed and over 4,400 have been wounded, countless others have had their homes totally destroyed with their only crime being they are trapped in Gaza. Some of those deaths and those wounded were babies, young children, Israel was not protecting them, they were murdering them. That's just counting this latest military operation, the number of dead children in the Gaza killed by Israel and who died because they were denied access to medical care is higher than those who died since December.

What else should be known about this cartoon if you are a parent in Northwestern Ohio is that those associated with the teaching profession, including Toledo Public Schools sent the cartoon out as a forward...

The additional message was to take this cartoon and "Spread it" - which I have just done.

William Jelani Cobb - the race card still exists after Obama

I often read what William Jelani Cobb writes, because he shares an interesting perspective, I'll never forget an article he wrote in January of 2008, As Obama Rises, Old Guard Civil Rights Leaders Scowl where he talked about the lack of support for Obama from what he called the "black boy network" which is a version of the "old boys network" for blacks. Of course things have changed since January 2008 and Barack Obama won the Presidency. It's too early to tell if Cobb's prediction made in that January article will come true:

A successful Obama candidacy would simultaneously represent a huge leap forward for black America and the death knell for the reign of the civil rights-era leadership -- or at least the illusion of their influence.

Especially if you consider the article written by Cobb today, In the Age of Obama, Still Playing the Race Card. It seems as if that "black boys network" still has some power or at least the ability to make whites respond:

The irony, of course, is that after decades of white politicians using racial division to whip up their constituents, it has morphed into a card for black politicians to play as well. Last year, in the midst of the sex scandal that eventually drove him from office, former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick wailed that he had been the victim of numerous N-word assaults. (This may have been the case, but racism -- in a majority-black city -- did not compel him to have sex with a staffer and lie about it under oath.) Kilpatrick was forced to resign anyway, but he did succeed in momentarily knocking his political enemies back on their heels.

The Burris fiasco is no exception to the race card's ability to fluster. Following Rush's preemptive strike with "plantation politics," Reid appeared on "Meet the Press" and tried to argue that the Senate's opposition had nothing to do with race. But he ended up resembling one of those white liberals who mistakes a black CEO for a secretary and then launches into the story about how he founded the campus NAACP chapter in college.

Even more interesting is that Jesse Jackson is one of those considered to be in the "black boy network" and it's reportedly his son, Jesse Jackson, Jr., who turned in Blagojevich, who then nominated Burris...From an outside view this appears to be another battle in the "old" versus "new" power struggle...

Women and children are dying but a lobster is free...

PETA is declaring victory in freeing a lobster that they claim is 140 years old, some say closer to 80. Either way it's become something that's happened often enough that PETA has what they call "lobster libbers" and there is an actual website set up focusing on Lobster Liberation.

Of course for those of us who don't live by an ocean, the chances of freeing a lobster would be a bit difficult. They also have a way for you to have the taste of lobster without killing one. You'll be disappointed if you head over to VegieWorld looking for fake lobster, they don't seem to carry them anymore but they do have the shrimp. I wonder though, would eating fake shrimp still be in violation of Leviticus?

Though it seems as if any animal food comes from killing animals, the focus on lobsters is of course because they are kept live until moments before ending up on a dinner plate. Though it can be debated would a lobster that is that large and that old taste good anyway, experts state those over 5 pounds typically taste stringy...

The more it snows, the more some think of sand

It's January and some are probably tired of snow and cold weather by now, I know we've been lucky when it comes to snow but yesterday and today's snow storm does make the idea of an jamaica all inclusive resort vacation seem appealing. Since I know that if a miracle happened and we did plan such a getaway at least several of my children would insist on being included, any idea related to romantic vacations would be zero possibility.

The other night when we were watching 27 Dresses when they had the caribbean weddings theme at the end, two of my daughters turned to me and said it had been a very long time since we went south, far south. The last time was a trip to Florida and the time before that was the Bahamas. Then the snow came, which could mean either it's time for a vacation, it snows in Ohio in the winter or they cursed us...

:-)

Apparently eating in public makes you like Jesus...

First, the CNN headline is designed to get you to head over thinking that Obama is smoking, Obama spends his Saturday 'half-smoking'. Once you get past that and you read that it's about the President-elect going to a place to eat in Washington DC, that specializes in chili dogs, "half smokes" then you get to the commentary.

One caught my attention with how it started...

This beautiful man is just like Jesus hanging with common people.

Which begs the question...would Jesus eat sausage dogs?

The varying opinons on Hamas

It's clear here on the blog that people differ in their opinions when it comes to Israel and Hamas. It's also clear at times that different reporters/opinion writers don't agree when it comes to this issue as well. Here are a few examples, some of which you get a pretty good idea from the headline which position they are going to take:

Liberate The Palestinians From Hamas

Israel is committing War Crimes.

The Dangerous Lives Of Doves in Israel

Will there be peace in Gaza

Is Israel winning the "media war" over Gaza

Why do they hate the West so much, we will ask

Where have our friends gone?

New games equal need for more computer memory...

I cringe inwardly when one of my bunch finds a new computer game they want to try, because I know chances are my computer is going to be the "only" one that this game will play well on since I have the newer computer. Now that I have a laptop it's not as bad as it was before to have to attempt to kick my youngest daughter off of my computer to be able to finish work. Though, I'd much rather work on my pc than the laptop.

Unfortunately her older computer, can't be upgraded anymore without going into buying a new video card and other upgrades. In other cases though, sometimes you can buy computer memory and that will create the ability to play some of the newer games out there. The opposite can also happen, as in the case of some of their older games that are favorites, they can only play them on the computer that still has XP, the ones that have Vista don't cooperate with the game no matter how many "fixes" are attempted.

I always recommend doing some research on what the basic computer requirements are to play a game before you purchase it. If whatever computer is going to be used is the minimum? Chances are you will have a less than satisfactory game experience, the more above the minimum requirements you have, the better the game play.

Newsweek wonders if Obama's machine will drive...

First I have to state I'm not one of those gushing over the idea of Sanjay Gupta as the Surgeon General, frankly that bothers me since the role of the Surgeon General shouldn't be determined as to how "drool worthy" some think he is. Beyond that though, Eleanor Clift seems to ignore the concern expressed by womens groups about Summers and almost has a verbal orgasm in describing Obama's picks before she gets to William Galston's points. Some of which are:

Galston cautions that Obama doesn't have the depth of support FDR enjoyed. "FDR didn't have to sell anything. Congress and the people came to him, begging him. If he'd wanted to be appointed dictator, all he had to do was ask." Obama faces a far more skeptical audience. The TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) pushed through by the Bush administration was badly executed and public support for the auto bailout fell well short of a majority. People are beginning to focus on how much more deeply in hock we're putting the country in order to get out of the downward spiral gripping the nation. The first rule, if you're in a hole, is you should stop digging. But digging deeper is not so paradoxical if you study history, and Obama is citing a consensus among economists, liberal and conservative, that a massive stimulus package is needed.

Obama brushed aside a question from a reporter about the crisis in the Middle East distracting from his economic agenda, saying a president has to be able to do more than one thing at a time. Yet conflicts are inevitable and Galston predicts they will erupt over the sequencing of major initiatives like health-care reform, a 21st century energy policy and a regulatory overhaul of the financial sector. Obama seems to think that Congress—with 435 members of the House and 100 senators, and all those committees and staff—can multi-task like everybody else and do parallel work on policies and programs. That was Jimmy Carter's position, and he was a one-term president, dismissed for trying to do too much and accomplishing too little.

I think some are in for an adjustment in their unrealistic expectations, many of Obama's promises were made before the Wall Street and Big Three bailouts and the realization of how some parts of our nation were struggling economically. No matter who was president, that was going to happen.

Plastine News Agency reports on attacks on media...

Some of you will question Maan News Agency as a source, but I think what is being reported there considering the deaths and injuries that have happened to those who are journalists and working for media still in Gaza, be pointed out. Journalists see pattern in attacks on Gaza reporters makes some claims that if true, should be addressed:

In addition to an Israeli ban on international journalists entering Gaza in effect since November, there has been a rash of attacks on media in Gaza in the last 24 hours.

Late on Friday afternoon, an Israeli drone fired a missile at the roof of the Jawwhara media tower, where journalists were broadcasting live. Two people were injured in the attack. Witnesses in and near the building said the missile crashed through the roof of the building, into a stairwell, missing the camera crews by a few meters.

Journalist Ala Mortaji died Friday evening from wounds he sustained earlier in the day when Israeli tank shells hit his home in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City. Mortaji was a reporter for a local radio station, Alwan.

The home of another reporter, Samir Khalifah in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City, was badly damaged. The family said they narrowly escaped death, having moved to the lower floor of the home only a few hours before the Israeli attack and were thus able to flee the fire that broke out in the home when it was hit by Israeli bombs. Khalifa is employed by Sudan TV.

One Gazan journalist, Akrma As-Satari, an employee of the Iranian Al-Alam TV, one of the outfits in the Jawwhara building, sees a pattern in these attacks, connecting them with attacks on journalists in the field.

“The Israelis know for sure that there are media teams, and that there are rescue workers, who go to where there are injured people. They target an area once, then wait, then target it once more,” when journalists and ambulance crews arrive, he told Ma’an.

“I think they might be trying to eliminate eyewitnesses,” he said.

The bombing of the Jawwhara building raises further questions, since the roof of the building is clearly labeled “Press” and “TV.”

Israel is claiming they did not bomb the Jawwhara Building but as the article points out, no one else has that type of air capability, so if the reports that the building was bombed are true? It's hard to see who else could be responsible.

Things you might not think about when one of yours moves back home...

Since our house at times feels like a revolving door of which one of my older girls has moved home and which one is now living outside of our home, I have become quite adept at organizing living arrangements. Though, my husband has lost his "man cave" I had tried to warn him not to get too attached, that chances are, one of of the girls would be returning to dispose him of his little basement hideaway.

As I sit here, he is currently moving his things back to the main floor so one of my daughter's things can be moved from it's current location of boxes and bags in my living room, to the basement. Something you may not think about in the whole, "OMG where am I going to put this" survival mode is insurance. Especially if you have renters insurance the addition of another family members electronic gadgets, gizmos and clothing might exceed your current limits. It might be a good time to check, and get an insurance quote while you are at it. Depending on how your coverage is set up, you may be able to get an additional discount with an extra vehicle and you should also remind your "back homer" to make sure they let their insurance agent know they moved, it can also affect their rates and might create some savings for them as well if they have a separate policy.

Ralph Nader letter to George Bush on Gaza crisis

Dear George W. Bush—

Cong. Barney Frank said recently that Barack Obama's declaration that "there is only one president at a time" over-estimated the number. He was referring to the economic crisis. But where are you on the Gaza crisis where the civilian population of Gaza, its civil servants and public facilities are being massacred and destroyed respectively by U.S built F-16s and U.S. built helicopter gunships.

The deliberate suspension of your power to stop this terrorizing of 1.5 million people, mostly refugees, blockaded for months by air, sea and land in their tiny slice of land, is in cowardly contrast to the position taken by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956. That year he single handedly stopped the British, French and Israeli aircraft attack against Egypt during the Suez Canal dispute.

Fatalities in Gaza are already over 400 and injuries close to 2000 so far as is known. Total Palestinian civilian casualties are 400 times greater then the casualties incurred by Israelis. But why should anyone be surprised at your blanket support for Israel's attack given what you have done to a far greater number of civilians in Iraq and now in Afghanistan?

Confirmed visual reports show that Israeli warplanes and warships have destroyed or severely damaged police stations, homes, hospitals, pharmacies, mosques, fishing boats, and a range of public facilities providing electricity and other necessities.

Why should this trouble you at all? It violates international law, including the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter. You too have repeatedly violated international law and committed serious constitutional transgressions.

Then there is the matter of the Israeli government blocking imports of critical medicines, equipment such as dialysis machines, fuel, food, water, spare parts and electricity at varying intensities for almost two years. The depleted UN aid mission there has called this illegal blockade a humanitarian crisis especially devastating to children, the aged and the infirm. Chronic malnutrition among children is rising rapidly. UN rations support eighty percent of this impoverished population.

How do these incontrovertible facts affect you? Do you have any empathy or what you have called Christian charity?

What would a vastly shrunken Texas turned in an encircled Gulag do up against the 4th most powerful military in the world? Would these embattled Texans be spending their time chopping wood?

Gideon Levy, the veteran Israeli columnist for Ha'aretz, called the Israeli attack a "brutal and violent operation" far beyond what was needed for protecting the people in its south. He added: "The diplomatic efforts were just in the beginning, and I believe we could have got to a new truce without this bloodshed…..to send dozens of jets to bomb a total helpless civilian society with hundreds of bombs-just today, they were burying five sisters. I mean, this is unheard of. This cannot go on like this. And this has nothing to do with self-defense or with retaliation even. It went out of proportion, exactly like two-and-a-half years ago in Lebanon."

Apparently, thousands of Israelis, including some army reservists, who have demonstrated against this destruction of Gaza agree with Mr. Levy. However, their courageous stands have not reached the mass media in the U.S. whose own reporters cannot even get into Gaza due to Israeli prohibitions on the international press.

Your spokespeople are making much ado about the breaking of the six month truce. Who is the occupier? Who is the most powerful military force? Who controls and blocks the necessities of life? Who has sent raiding missions across the border most often? Who has sent artillery shells and missiles at close range into populated areas? Who has refused the repeated comprehensive peace offerings of the Arab countries issued in 2002 if Israel would agree to return to the 1967 borders and agree to the creation of a small independent Palestinian state possessing just twenty two percent of the original Palestine?

The "wildly inaccurate rockets", as reporters describe them, coming from Hamas and other groups cannot compare with the modern precision armaments and human damage generated from the Israeli side.

There are no rockets coming from the West Bank into Israel. Yet the Israeli government is still sending raiders into that essentially occupied territory, still further entrenching its colonial outposts, still taking water and land and increasing the checkpoints This is going on despite a most amenable West Bank leader, Mahmoud Abbas, whom you have met with at the White House and praised repeatedly. Is it all vague words and no real initiatives with you and your emissary Condoleezza Rice?

Peace was possible, but you provided no leadership, preferring instead to comply with all wishes and demands by the Israeli government-even resupplying it with the still active cluster bombs in south Lebanon during the invasion of that country in 2006.

The arguments about who started the latest hostilities go on and on with Israel always blaming the Palestinians to justify all kinds of violence and harsh treatment against innocent civilians.

From the Palestinian standpoint, you would do well to remember the origins of this conflict which was the dispossession of their lands. To afford you some empathy, recall the oft-quoted comment by the founder of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, who told the Zionist leader, Nahum Goldmann:

"There has been anti-Semitism the Nazis Hitler Auschwitz but was that their [the Palestinians] fault? They only see one thing: We have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?"
Alfred North Whitehead once said: "Duty arises out of the power to alter the course of events." By that standard, you have shirked mightily your duty over the past eight years to bring peace to both Palestinians and Israelis and more security to a good part of the world.

The least you can do in your remaining days at the White House is adopt a modest profile in courage, and vigorously demand and secure a ceasefire and a solidly based truce. Then your successor, President-elect Obama can inherit something more than the usual self-censoring Washington puppet show that eschews a proper focus on the national interests of the United States.

Courtesy of Sabbah Blog.

UN school buildings that are clearly marked are bombed...

I didn't blog anything here or earlier today because it's getting harder and harder to cover what is happening in the Gaza and not wonder when is the responsibility going to be directed at Israel from our government and other governments? While CNN is pointing out that UN School buildings have been bombed they are also stating that Blair is stating that Hamas must stop smuggling weapons.

In other words, Blair wants them to stop arming themselves so that it's even easier for Israel to control them. That's not realistic as an expectation. Part of the problem is the continual lack of expecting any where close to an equal responsibility factor, Israel, the much more well armed and financed country is allowed to kill people without limit apparently, even including bombing buildings set up as shelters for people to flee too, that are clearly marked and nothing is done.

Hamas isn't stopping, if anything they are increasing, which means all that is happening is more and more innocent people, including children are going to be killed. I don't agree with all of this most recent article from Al Jazeera, Another round of bloodletting especially when it comes to the use of the word "neocon" since there are many who are not conservative who support Israel's position and blame Hamas solely, that's not just something that can be attributed to that one political group in the US. I do however agree with the feeling that more and more are realizing this is not just about Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas faces even more loss of support.

CNN has updated their story with the claim from Israel that there was shots fired from these UN Schools, since they are not allowing any journalists into the area, it's very difficult to be able to get an unbiased report. Israel has been very stringent in trying to make sure that their side of this war is the one that receives the most credibility. It's hard to argue with photos of dead children, though our media for the most part does not show that.

CNN has just reported that Gaza hospital crowded with civilians, doctors say:

Israeli government officials claim Hamas is hiding fighters and weapons at the hospital, but the images from Shifa's emergency ward show families.

"We were hit with a rocket," a boy in the hospital said as his brother wandered in a daze, nursing an injury to his ear. Another child cried nearby, moaning for her mother as doctors tried to treat her injured limbs.

A nurse trying to set up an IV in another room said the hospital is treating five people from one family. Another woman wept for her 6-month-old child, who she said died after four days without food or water.

Maan News Agency has a breaking news headline that Israel will respond to US calls for a cease-fire within 24 hours, but CNN has nothing on the US ceasefire request. It's also being reported that Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations Ambassador Riyad Mansour has written a letter to the UN Security Council that claims excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by Israel.

Maan has also reported that Venezuela has expelled the Israeli ambassador over the Gaza assault.

There are also unconfirmed reports of at least one Palestinian suicide bomber, Maan is reporting he blew himself up in an Israel tank, the Israelis are reporting that they identified the suicide bomber and killed him with no fatality to Israeli soldiers only a "light wounding," I'm frankly surprised with the ground invasion that this has not happened more frequently, it's been a known threat by Hamas that they had suicide bombers if an ground invasion took place.

Bottom line, it's a depressing situation to continue to cover, women and children dead, thousands wounded, families destroyed, homes destroyed and it's hard to see how either Israel or Hamas will come out as winners when this finally ends. Either way the ultimate victims are those who are stuck in the Gaza who can not even seek safe refuge in a marked UN building.

Stuart Littlewood makes a valid point, there are no bombs in the West Bank...

This piece by Stuart Littlewood raises some interesting points to consider, This is not about rockets which is important since it keeps being said if Hamas would stop and get the various fringe groups to stop shooting rockets into Israel that all of this would stop. Some of the recommended article:

There are no rockets coming out of the West Bank. Yet the illegal Israeli occupation there continues and so does the ethnic cleansing, the land theft, the illegal settlements, the colonization, the demolition of Palestinian homes, the throttling of the economy, the abduction and 'administrative detention' of civilians and the massive interference with freedom of movement. Nothing has changed for West Bank Palestinians who DO NOT fire rockets. There is no sign of an end to their misery.

The bloody assault on Gaza therefore has much more to do with Israel's ambition to expand racial dominance in the Holy Land than crude and erratic rocket-fire. Hamas and the Palestinians holed up in Gaza are simply in the way of the Grand Plan and have to be removed or totally subdued.

There are quite a few bloggers that are covering this story in depth, one is Sabbah's blog though I warn you, the pictures and video shown there at times can be graphic. You can also go directly to one source of news from Palestine, Maan News.

Obama Must Get Tough With Israel to Achieve Peace

The title of this post was a bit of a surprise when I saw it as the teaser headline for an article in Newsweek, If Obama Is Serious: He should get tough with Israel. Most of the United States media has followed the previous mantra of the Bush administration that it is all the fault of Hamas and if Hamas would just accept the living conditions Israel has inflicted on them and stop bombing, things would get better.

While the article points out that the United States will most likely always give Israel preferential treatment (yesterday's UN session comes to mind)the jist of the article is that President Obama is not expected to be quite as blind as past presidents to the Middle East:

The issue at hand is to find the right balance in America's ties with Israel. Driven by shared values and based on America's 60-year commitment to Israel's security and well-being, the special relationship is rock solid. But for the past 16 years, the United States has allowed that special bond to become exclusive in ways that undermine America's, and Israel's, national interests.

If Obama is serious about peacemaking he'll have to adjust that balance in two ways. First, whatever the transgressions of the Palestinians (and there are many, including terror, violence and incitement), he'll also have to deal with Israel's behavior on the ground. The Gaza crisis is a case in point. Israel has every reason to defend itself against Hamas. But does it make sense for America to support its policy of punishing Hamas by making life unbearable for 1.5 million Gazans by denying aid and economic development? The answer is no.

I think part of the reason for the shift in media/editorial response is the growing numbers of Palestinian dead and the move from "strategic bombing" to the ground invasion.

The Jerusalem Post is still reliably entrenched in their editorial opinion, when you read this piece a sorrowful Israel regrets what the evil Hamas has forced it to do:

No matter the suffering its insistent attacks on Israel had caused the Palestinian people it has sought to govern, Hamas had kept firing those rockets for eight days, deeper and deeper into Israel, bringing 800,000 Israeli civilians into range.

Haartez continues it's position, which has always been a bit less "hawkish" than the Jerusalem Post, one example, Abbas calls IDF Gaza offensive 'brutal aggression' which is being echoed in other Middle Eastern nations:

Egypt condemned Israel's ground offensive and called for an end to Israel's "savage aggression" against the Palestinians.

In a statement from the Egyptian presidency seen on Sunday, Egypt said it "places the onus on Israel for the innocent civilians martyred and wounded."

In the "not really a smart thing to say" department, Hezbollah urges Hamas to 'kill as many Israeli soldiers as they can' during Gaza op . It is fairly well known that Hamas has prepared for the possibility of a ground invasion, some of targeted bombing by Israel was an effort to take out locations that would have been used.

That's one of the ironies about the relationship between Israel, Fatah and Hamas, members of Fatah have infilitrated Hamas and are giving information to Israel to help Israel kill their own people. It's one facet of the demonstration that while Hamas is often stated to be the one responsible for the deaths, that there is a much larger political game being played here, one in which none of the three, Fatah, Hamas or Israel places the lives of innocents in the Gaza in regard.

Another one bites the dust...Richardson pulls name from consideration for Commerce

I guess it could be said with the recent questions concerning Bill Richardson and a financial group that it's probably a good thing that he was not selected as Secretary of State though I'm not positive as to the final outcome of what has happened. All that is clear at this point is that Richardson has pulled his name out of the running for Commerce Secretary.

It is also because of that sense of urgency about the work of the Commerce Department that I have asked the President-elect not to move forward with my nomination at this time. I do so with great sorrow. But a pending investigation of a company that has done business with New Mexico state government promises to extend for several weeks or, perhaps, even months.

Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact. But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process.Given the gravity of the economic situation the nation is facing, I could not in good conscience ask the President-elect and his Administration to delay for one day the important work that needs to be done.

So, for now, I will remain in the job I love, Governor of New Mexico, and will continue to work every day, with Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, to make a positive difference in the lives of New Mexicans. I believe she will be a terrific governor in the future.

The google search on this issue turns up posts on sites such as Michelle Malkin that stated:

Corrupt Bill Richardson says adios to being Commerce Secretary

I always hesitate when it comes to making such accusations, the pay to play problem is a huge one, one that coming from Ohio, the land of the Noe saga, I know better than anyone. Richardson has not been found guilty of any wrong doing at this point, it's to me rather hypocritical to be labeling Richardson as corrupt by some of those who felt Sarah Palin should not be judged in "troopergate" until that investigation was complete...

Then again, part of the political game of tit for tat always seems to forget about the golden rule of life many of us strive for.

Jill and Maggie get a moment of applause....

As a former finalist back in 2005 for a category in the Weblog Awards, I have to say it totally soured me on the experience and it's one I never wanted to repeat and have not repeated since. Though I did meet some cool bloggers as a result so it wasn't a total loss. That said, I still am happy for Maggie Thurber that she was nominated by another Ohio blogger, Tom Blumer of BizzyBlog and I hope that Maggie has a much more enjoyable experience than I did, and that she wins, it'd be cool to have not only a blogger from Ohio but a female blogger win.

Another female blogger from Ohio, Jill over at Writes Like She Talks was picked as the most influential person in her small town by a local newspaper. Though I do have to point out that this blogger has been known to stay in her pajamas all day, well not pajamas, but today I stayed in my robe and fuzzy socks all day. I wasn't in the basement though, cept to do laundry...

I'm happy for both Jill and Maggie that they are receiving recognition, from their peers whether it be blogging peers or community peers. Kudos to you both and I'll stop typing long enough to give you a round of applause.

:-)

I talked about where the safest place to sit was and I didn't get kicked off the plane...

Seriously, anyone who actually believes that the 9 muslims who were kicked off of the plane were not treated unfairly, I'd love to meet.

9 Muslim passengers kicked off flight after remark

What was the remark? The same conversation I've had with people on planes and recently had on a flight from San Francisco to Detroit, where is the safest place to sit in an airplane:

One of the Muslim passengers, Kashif Irfan, told The Washington Post the confusion began when his brother was talking about the safest place to sit on an airplane.

“My brother and his wife were discussing some aspect of airport security,” Irfan said. “The only thing my brother said was, ’Wow, the jets are right next to my window.” ’

One of my daughters is dating a young man who is attending school here in the US who is originally from an Arab country, the way he is treated when he's screened at the airport is different than how I am treated at the exact same airport. Not long ago he almost missed his flight because he was detained for "extra screening." Why? Because he was flying alone to visit his brother who lives in Florida and because he's an Arab...Their friends experience the same thing, but as some of you will remember, it's easy to fly a dog from here to the AE, they don't bother to follow the proper regulations for that...Until the day someone starts suspecting dogs as a possible terrorist plot...

Hello...you have 30 minutes to leave your house or we'll kill you...

Some in the media are reporting the killing of Nizar Rayan as some type of a aggressive move by Israel that demonstrates they are serious about eradicating Hamas. What's interesting though is that the IDF called Rayan and told him that they were going to bomb his home in 30 minutes. He stayed, and apparently some of his children and wives stayed as well, at least four of his children and two of his wives were also killed, it's stated 18 people were killed with him.

What would have happened had Rayan left? Would the IDF have bombed him in his car anyway? What's the point in calling someone and saying, "hello, you have 30 minutes to leave your house or we'll kill you" which is basically what happened. If the person doesn't leave, does that mean they basically committed suicide? If they leave then what's the point in claiming that the goal is to kill senior Hamas leaders? Why go into hiding if you are going to get a courtesy call that the bombs are on the way? Where are those in Gaza expected to go? It's not as if they can go very far.

CNN doesn't even mention this phone call, neither does Fox News or the Associated Press which is where most of the news organizations, including Fox are getting their stories from. For the details you have to turn to the foreign media, news sites like the Independent.

Both sides seem bent on creating martyrs, neither side seems to care when children are killed or wounded. Both sides blame the other, neither side seems to want to take any responsibility for their part. Both sides call each other terrorists which is realistically true, terror is being created by both. It's being done on purpose by both...

If you aren't up on your history of how this all began, Juan Cole is a recommended read...