bull...

with the election next week, it's important to understand how some of the men and women running are ready for the gigantic task of making the laws of our vast country.

here's a little insight not revealed before today. [if anyone gets offended by it, remember the Divine Miss M's inimitable line...]

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand pulling a male buffalo with the other. He says to the waiter:

"Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Sure, Chief. Coming right up."

He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee. The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp, turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun, causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere and then just walks out.



The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand, pulling another male buffalo with the other.


He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter
"Want coffee."

The waiter says "Whoa, Chief!
We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday. What was all that about, anyway?"

The Indian smiles and proudly says ...

"Training for position in United States Congress:
Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, leave mess for others to clean up, disappear for rest of day.

personally, i would trust the indian. wouldn't you?

just asking...

I like the song...

even if the video is gratuitous,
i want to get up and dance...
even at 6 am!

enjoy...




eye candy for eveyone in the video!

King George III = King George W...

and you thought you were safe...

Section 1076 of the massive Authorization Act, which grants the Pentagon another $500-plus-billion for its ill-advised adventures, is entitled, "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies." Section 333, "Major public emergencies; interference with State and Federal law" states that "the President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of ("refuse" or "fail" in) maintaining public order, "in order to suppress, in any State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy."

For the current President, "enforcement of the laws to restore public order" means to commandeer guardsmen from any state, over the objections of local governmental, military and local police entities; ship them off to another state; conscript them in a law enforcement mode; and set them loose against "disorderly" citizenry - protesters, possibly, or those who object to forced vaccinations and quarantines in the event of a bio-terror event.

The law also facilitates militarized police round-ups and detention of protesters, so called "illegal aliens," "potential terrorists" and other "undesirables" for detention in facilities already contracted for and under construction by Halliburton. That's right. Under the cover of a trumped-up "immigration emergency" and the frenzied militarization of the southern border, detention camps are being constructed right under our noses, camps designed for anyone who resists the foreign and domestic agenda of the Bush administration.

Sources: Bush Moves Toward Martial Law & H.R. 5122: John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007

Buried in the bill that contains much about the defense budget, insurance for military personnel, their families and veterans lies the seemingly innocuous yet infamous SEC. 1076. From the bill itself:

SEC. 1076. USE OF THE ARMED FORCES IN MAJOR PUBLIC EMERGENCIES.
(a) USE OF THE ARMED FORCES AUTHORIZED.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--Section 333 of title 10, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
`` 333. Major public emergencies; interference with State and
Federal law
``(a) USE OF ARMED FORCES IN MAJOR PUBLIC EMERGENCIES.--
(1) The President may employ the armed forces, including the
National Guard in Federal service, to--
``(A) restore public order and enforce the laws of the United
States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or
other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or
incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the
United States, the President determines that--
``(i) domestic violence has occurred to such an extent
that the constituted authorities of the State or possession
are incapable of maintaining public order; and
``(ii) such violence results in a condition described in
paragraph (2); or
``(B) suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic
violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy if such insurrec-
tion, violation, combination, or conspiracy results in a condition
described in paragraph (2).
``(2) A condition described in this paragraph is a condition
that-- ``(A) so hinders the execution of the laws of a State or
possession, as applicable, and of the United States within that
State or possession, that any part or class of its people is
deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named
in the Constitution and secured by law, and the constituted
authorities of that State or possession are unable, fail, or refuse
to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that
protection; or
H. R. 5122--323

``(B) opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the
United States or impedes the course of justice under those
laws.
``(3) In any situation covered by paragraph (1)(B), the State
shall be considered to have denied the equal protection of the
laws secured by the Constitution.
``(b) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.--The President shall notify Congress
of the determination to exercise the authority in subsection (a)(1)(A)
as soon as practicable after the determination and every 14 days
thereafter during the duration of the exercise of that authority.''.
(2) PROCLAMATION TO DISPERSE.--Section 334 of such title
is amended by inserting ``or those obstructing the enforcement
of the laws'' after ``insurgents''.

Then there are the words that ring out from the H.R. 5122: The President may employ.... It's his discretion. That is bolstered by the following: The President shall notify Congress of the determination to exercise the authority in subsection (a)(1(A) as soon as practicable after the determination and every 14 days thereafter during the duration of the exercise of that authority.''.

as soon as practicable... leads to a lot of interpretation with lots of wiggle room. What if the president determines that the situation is so tenuous that it is not practicable for, let's say, 4 weeks because he is too busy saving the country? What if the Congress is on extended holiday recess? What if politicians are on summer hiatus? What if the president determines that informing the Congress is not praticable because he thinks that they may be involved with the emergency?

George III never had it so good.

Our forefathers fought a war to ensure the freedom of all men from the oppression of a government that is inflexible and relies on the right of might to have its will enforced at all costs - taxation without representation; billeting soldiers aka Amendment III in the Bill of Rights; Habeas Corpus aka the right to speedy trials. These are but three of George III major offenses at the time of the Revolution.

Where are checks and balances when the Congress hands this additional power to George W? Did they even know they were handing it to him? Why is this just coming out when George W signed the bill on October 17th?

just asking...

"Road to Delusion"

Niall Ferguson in today's Telegraph.co.uk:

"We're not leaving," Mr Bush told Republican congressmen seven months later, [after the 2004 election] "[even] if Laura [his wife] and Barney [his dog] are the only ones who support me."

According to Woodward, Mr Bush once complained bitterly about the difficulty of finding a reliable Iraqi to lead the new democratic government in Baghdad. "Where's George Washington?" he exclaimed to his chief of staff, Andy Card. "Where's Thomas Jefferson? Where's John Adams, for crying out loud?"

This is a question many Americans have been asking themselves about their own leadership deficit, as the debacle of Mr Bush's second term has unfolded.

and asking, and asking, and asking...

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people, under an efficient government, the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel. George Washington in his Farewell Address

Justice? Habeaus Corpus? Patriot Act? Waterboarding?

Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none. Thomas Jefferson

Honest friendship? Peace? Commerce? Iraq?

Power always sincerely, conscientiously, de très bon foi, believes itself right. Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views, beyond the comprehension of the weak. John Adams in a Letter to Thomas Jefferson on February 2, 1816

Power unchecked? Power as a source of being right? Power to right wrongs?


Washington, Jefferson and Adams would be leary of Mr. Bush. He has led the US into a quagmire and placed it near the brink of disaster. They would be aghast. James Madison would fall in apoplexy. [See the Federalist Papers.]

"Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us do our duty as we understand it." Abraham Lincoln at the time of America's bleakest moment

The current regime in Washington takes the opposite view: might makes right.

When will the US get back on the right track? When will the design of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison, backed by the courage of Lincoln to hold the country together at the cost of brother against brother, be taken to the next level of democracy in evolution?

just asking...

Source: Telegraph.co.uk with thanks for the heads up to Andrew Sullivan at Daily Dish

what's going on here (part IV)...

U.S. Jobs Shape Condoms’ Role in Foreign Aid

Alabama firms were given an almost exclusive contract to produce condoms for foreign aid. The purpose was to keep jobs in the US rather than using cheaper more cost-effective condoms from Asia. They can't keep up with the number of condoms required. The federal government begins buying the cheaper condoms. In effect, it out-sources just like many American companies. American lay-offs are to begin soon. Sen. Jeffers (R-Ala) wants a law to use only US made condoms. He'll probably get it. What's the price of millions of people in Africa and Asia dying of AIDS when we can save a couple of hundred Alabaman's jobs? just asking...



GOP at a loss? Karl Rove has an 11th-hour plan to win

be afraid... be very, very afraid. Not of the terrorists but of the promised October Surprise. [There are still three more days in October!] Rather than focusing on issues, this man focuses on power, getting it, keeping it, and abusing it. No tactic is above consideration. He consistently uses tactics that scare not only little babies but full-grown adults. Anybody counting down the number of day? Can he spill over into November if he doesn't have enough time? just asking...



Relief for Nasa as Discovery makes a textbook landing

Did anyone know that Discovery had even launched, let alone returned safely? This makes the news in the UK and you can't find it in the NYT, LA Times, Chicago Sun-Times...? Have we become so inured by space travel in the US that it is now routine? Or are we being led to only read certain things in the news? just asking...



Tearing Down The Walls

al-Jazeera in English? The station may have an idea here. Many people in the US don't have an inkling on the thinking going on in the heads of people who actually live in the Middle East. Democracy is based on free speech & dialogue. Yet, we seldom hear a word, let alone have any kind of dialogue, from the people of the Middle East. Is this part of Homeland Security? just asking...



Gay Cruises Are on the Seas and in the Mainstream

They're everywhere! They're everywhere! I hadn't gone on any cruise, let alone a gay one, until this past January. My friends kept telling me I would like it. I didn't want to believe them. I had no idea that a cruise could be so relaxing and enjoyable. I venture onto a gay cruise this coming March 10-17. [shhhh, it's a secret.] Anyone else going to be there? just asking...



Une jeune femme grièvement brûlée dans l'incendie d'un bus à Marseille

On the first anniversary, the rioting returns in France with a bus being burned, damage to property, injuries to rioters, and the death of one young lady. What have the French learned in one year? Appeasement? Ignorance? Stay the course? just asking...



Sources: New York Times, Telegraph.co.uk, Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine - Europe Edition, Le Monde

a hero...

n. a person... who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

There has been much hoopla over the last few days concerning Rush Limbaugh's comments on the Michael J Fox political video regarding stem cell research. Actually, it would be much better to say MIchael J Fox rather than putting the emphasis on the inanimate object of a political ad. It was a personal attack on Fox, calling into question his integrity, abilities, and beliefs. This is what Limbaugh does; this is what the right-wing is known to do best; this is one more example of taking the focus off issues and making it personal; and this is what political showbiz is.

There are many cliches that one can use with Limbaugh's insensitvity and blatant use of demagogaury.

those who throw stones...

people who live in glass houses...

it's amusing to make fun of the handicapped...

are the most appropriate.

Michael J Fox, on the other hand, chose a level-headed and finessed response to Limbaugh's accusations. He showed Rush what a real hero is by not attacking and legitamizing Limbaugh's nonsense.

When Katie Couric mentions in passing to Fox that she is sure he has seen Limbaugh's video physically mocking him, he responds that actually he hasn't. He gives true meaning to the Christian turn the other cheek... adage. Not something, I am sure, that Limbaugh is capable of doing.

Below is the video of the interview Katie Couric did with Michael J Fox. I kept wanting to turn it off as I watched it. I was on the verge of tears through most of it. I was inspired by the attributes of a hero that Michael exhibited. In his quiet non-assuming posture, Michael J Fox showed Mr. Limbaugh what is right and just. Sadly, Limbaugh won't get it.

If you find yourself, as I did, wanting to turn off the video, try to ignore the urge. Watch it until the end. It's well worth it. You will see a real hero.

gratuitous video...

enjoy...


Les Garçons dans les Vestiaires chanteuse: Clarika

merci, Seb & Fred

[as I tell the kids, "you can't be good all the time!"]

and you were worried about e. coli...

look closely at the picture...



What probably happened...? The water the lettuce was washed in contained polliwogs and these became fresh new frogs, right in the packages. So if you're looking for salad fixins with a little more body, then be sure and try this brand.

I'll be checking my salad more closely from now on. and will be taking a second look as I grocery shop.

of course, you could always have frog legs with your salad...

gratuitous...

humor and sex, well, kind of...

[I just can't be serious all of the time]

I never see anything like this when I go to the gym. Well, there is this one guido who will primp and prime in front of the mirror to make sure his baseball cap is on backwards the right way, his spandex black dago-t shows ripples, his black sweat pants match the shirt and his leather fannypack is just right - in the front. He never shares his secrets though.

any of you pick up any secrets at your gym?

just asking...

the eyes have it...

By now everyone is familiar with the (in)famous picture of Rep. Foley and Mr. Bush where Bush is using his hands to indicate size. There have been contests on many blogs to write captions for it. The picture below is from a fund raising event in Chicago this past Thursday. This one is priceless also.



My caption: Where's his hands? Where's his hands?

care to try?

just asking...

call it as it lays...

The French lampoon their politicians on a regular basis. They are relentless.

There is a program on Canal+ shown during primetime that is infamous - Les Guignols. It nightly self-parodies just about anything and everything French.

From time to time they turn their attention to the U.S. Needless to say, they are relentless at ALL times.

The video below is a recent addition. I'm sure that if/when the right wing-nuts see it they will go ballistic. I think it's hilarious and spot on.
[If you are offended by language, in the inimitable words of The Divine Ms. M, Fuck 'em, if they can't take a joke!]




and people wonder why Bill Maher is so popular?

just asking...


via SuperFrenchie.com and netvibes.com

i'm still searching...

for a street or road in Chicagoland that is not under construction.

Last night I went from work to a friend's house for dinner. The drive usually takes 20 minutes. It took 1½ hours!

Those of you in Chicago will understand this. We only have two seasons here - winter and road construction. With global warming, winter is becoming shorter and shorter and the road construction is happening in November - March making road construction season even longer.

Of course, it also is a double election year - governor in November and mayor in March! So a lot of thing are getting done all of a sudden. It's the legal way to buy votes. Chicago politics is a sport unlike any other. We may have the Bears but they are a fleeting phenomenon.

When I was young I really had this thing about Mayor Richard J. Daley and his brand of politics. Of course, not only was I young, I was naive and idealistic. I wanted everyone to have an equal chance. That's not how the world works.

A friend that I was working with in the 70's, whose father was a judge and good family friends of da mayor straightened everything out for me.

Da mayor ran the city as family. You took care of family first and foremost. If you weren't part of the family, you might have been considered just a neighbor. Da mayor's son, Richard M. Daley, has been da mayor for quite some time now, and the family has become much broader in scope increasing the number of mixed marriages, ethnic affiliatiions, racial affiliations, sexual affiliations, etc., etc., etc. You don't just have to be Irish any more.

In many respects, this is really a positive thing. The one really negative thing is the politics part. Anyone who doesn't feel like part of the family does everything in his/her power to cause strife.

Consequently, we have all these allegations of improper use of funding, illegal hiring practices, kickbacks.... All of the usual politic fodder used by the outsiders, who for the most part are Republican lawyers. Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. attorney of Plamegate fame, is a prime example.

He's the U.S. District Attorney for Chicago. Everyone sees him as an upstanding, honest and forthright person. In Chicago he's an interloper. He's not even from Chicago. He's just a pretty boy who keeps indicting innocent politicians on corruption allegations. So what?

It's a sport, as I mentioned above. Chicagoans take it all in stride. While the rest of the country reads about the scandals in Chicago, we basically ignore it because it's just another 4th down and 10. It's the way life is around here.

Do I approve of it? I don't really know. After awhile, you just get used to things. People say it's complanency. It's just...

taking care of family and waiting for the 3rd quarter to end.

Besides, the city glimmers. It's one of the most beautiful urban areas not only in the country but in the world.

but, in the meantime, I'll continue my search for a street, motorway, road in Chicagoland that is not under construction. I don't think I'll find it, but at least I'll enjoy the scenery.

and... I have a CD player in the car to listen to music while I'm moving at 3-4 mph.

anyone have some recommendations for some great traffic jam music?

just asking...

"I believe that the commander in chief must try all diplomatic measures before we commit our military."

Another quote same news conference: "One has a stronger hand when there's more people playing your same cards...."

George W Bush in 2001? 2002? 2003?

No.

October 11, 2006. No Apologies for Bush's North Korea Policy, Chicago Sun-Times.

A sign that he's learning from past judgments and mistakes?

An acknowlgement that he has matured as a world leader?

A lesson too late for the learning?

Or political fodder for November 7, 2006?

just asking...

i love music...

all kinds. Except for some C & W and some rap/hip-hop, I think music is one of the most important things in our lives. It captures moments in memory; it emotes joy, happiness, sadness and every other emotion in our existence; it records important personal and public events. I wake with a song in my head each day. I hear music in my head all day long. As William Congreve wrote in his play The Mourning Bride. Act i. Sc. 1

Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast,
To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.

My favorite form of music is opera. I love going to the opera. I have had a subscription to the Lyric Opera of Chicago forever. When I travel to Paris, it is usually the reason I'm going. I've met many opera stars. June Anderson, Placido Domingo. Renee Fleming. Franz Grundhaber. Mirella Freni. Rockwell Blake. The list would go on. It's the same as anyone who has an interest in rock groups, rap artists, etc. Just on a more sophisticated level to some. What I've learned in meeting them is that they are just people who are doing their job and love it.

I have friends who can't believe that I will go to see an opera over and over because they say it's the same every time. My response. "So is going to a baseball game. It's the same thing every time. Same rules. Same nine innings. Same ball. Same bat."

"Oh, no. It's different every time. Different teams. Different players...."

That's opera too. Different cast. Different singers. Different productions.... They then get it.

Here is the perfect example. A version of Nessun Dorma by the most unlikely of singers - Aretha Franklin - that gives me goosebumps. Especially, at the end with the Vincero.



beautiful...

thanks for the heads up to crooks and liars. I never knew this existed.

where has this scenario been seen before?

The absolute refusal ever to admit error. The desperate clinging to power above all else.

1789?

Paris?

Versailles?

The rest of the quote:

The efforts to cloud what are clear matters of wrongdoing with irrelevant sideshows. And the parade of dishonest and just plainly inane demonization efforts to hide and distract from their wrongdoing: hence, the pages are manipulative sex vixens; a shadowy gay cabal is to blame; the real criminals are those who exposed the conduct, not those who engaged in it; liberals created the whole scandal; George Soros funded the whole thing; a Democratic Congressman did something wrong 23 years ago; one of the pages IM'd with Foley as a "hoax", and on and on. There has been a virtual carousel -- as there always is -- of one pathetic, desperate attempt after the next to deflect blame and demonize those who are pointing out the wrongdoing. This is what they always do, on every issue. The difference here is that everyone can see it, and so nothing is working. Glenn Greenwald

"L'etat c'est Moi", anyone?


just asking...


Thanks to andrewsullivan.com always on top of it all.

the republican base [Part 2]...

In addition to Mr. Clinton being attacked by the Republican leadership as to blame for the swiftly growing Foley debacle, the base mouths - Tony Perkins, president of the right-wing Family Research Council is #1 - are repeating their strong belief that gays are the cause of sexual abuse:

On October 2, Perkins issued a statement claiming "the real issue" in the Foley scandal was a "link between homosexuality and child sexual abuse. On Oct. 3, Perkins made similar accusations on MSNBC's "“Hardball with Chris Matthews", where he likened homosexuals with “sexual deviants.” UCC leader criticizes Family Research Council's use of Foley scandal to scapegoat gays, lesbian

This is an ongoing broken record repeating itself over and over and over and over...

If you do a web search, you will find that the links are overwhelmingly to rightist websites and publications. Buried in the list are links to legitimate research, but they are overshadowed by wingnut propaganda.

The most important research cited on all of the legitimate websites is by Jenny, C., T. Roesler and K. Poyer. "Are Children at Risk for Sexual Abuse by Homosexuals?" Pediatrics. vol. 94, no. 1. It is used over and over by organizations created for survivors, professionals, and others in help settings.

Advocates for Youth is one of the better of the websites and organizations, along with MaleSurvivor. Both websites reference the research done by Jenny & Roesler.

As far as the answer to the research title question - Are Children at Risk for Sexual Abuse by Homosexuals? - here is the key finding:

In 82 percent of accusations recently studied the accused offender was a heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child's. Researchers estimate that between 96 to 100 percent of accused abusers are recognizably heterosexual.[25] Another study found that almost half of offending fathers and stepfathers also abused children outside their family. Advocates for Youth

There is one other statistic in the report that really concerns me: In up to 50 percent of reported cases, offenders are adolescents.[1,5] Abused children are abusing other children.

These are very convincing statistics. Of course, the wingnuts will not just question it but will taint it with their own research. They will also declare that the research was done by people who had questionnable credentials and who are part of the "Homosexual Agenda".

[I wish I could find a copy of the agenda. It would make the meetings so much easier to manage!]

So, Bill Clinton and the queers have caused this entire problem. Except, were we all the ones who swept it under the carpet for so many years?

Isn't the real question not about abuse of children but abuse of power ?

just asking...

the republican base...

All right, I have kept my mouth shut long enough.

I wasn't going to say anything about this. I think that the Foley brouhaha is despicable. It makes no difference if he is gay, was abused, is an alcoholic, etc., etc., etc. What he did was inappropriate even if in Washington D.C. it is not illegal with the age of consent being 16. Anyone who converses with young people in the way it is reported Foley did needs to reassess his/her life, priorities and honor.

A 16-year old is still in the process of creating an ethical system. Whether the law says they can make adult decisions at this age or not, their moral structure is still in transition. Their lives are in flux. They are still defining right/wrong, acceptable/unacceptable, good/bad for themselves and the rest of their existence.

Adults on the other hand, for example Dennis Hastert, have a moral process developed. The real question for an adult is if the process they have in place is honorable and fair. This brings me to the real issue roiling inside my brain.

What is more despicable for me is the reaction of the Republican leadership. They seem to be doing nothing more than trying to save their own asses - survival of the fittest, natural selection in the ultimate sense. [So much for creationism and intelligent design! An oxymoron?]

The lastest, as reported by the Associated Press, now has Hastert trying to shift blame to Bill Clinton!

Hastert asserted Wednesday that any Republicans urging his ouster were playing into the hands of Democrats and blamed his problems on the media and Democratic operatives, even suggesting former President Clinton might somehow be involved.

"All I know is what I hear and what I see," he said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune on the eve of the ethics meeting. "I saw Bill Clinton's adviser, Richard Morris, was saying these guys knew about this all along, If somebody had this info, when they had it, we could have dealt with it then."

In fact, Morris, who has advised both parties, offered no independent knowledge of Democrats being aware of the Foley communications before they came out. He said on Fox News that an unidentified reporter told him a Democratic leader had known about the matter.

Hastert said "people funded by George Soros," a liberal billionaire who has plowed millions into this and other election campaigns, want to see the scandal blow up. And he warned that when the GOP "base finds out who's feeding this monster, they're not going to be happy." reported on yahoo!news By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer

And he warned that when the GOP "base finds out who's feeding this monster, they're not going to be happy."


W...T...F...?


There is more than one definition for the word base. The one below seems the most fitting to me in describing what's going on with the Republican leadership:

adj. 7 a : lacking or indicating the lack of higher qualities of mind or spirit : IGNOBLE b : lacking higher values : DEGRADING

synonyms BASE, LOW, VILE mean deserving of contempt because of the absence of higher values. BASE stresses the ignoble and may suggest cruelty, treachery, greed, or grossness (base motives). LOW may connote crafty cunning, vulgarity, or immorality and regularly implies an outraging of one's sense of decency or propriety . VILE, the strongest of these words, tends to suggest disgusting depravity or filth (a vile remark). Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

do you think this might also well describe "the base'?

just asking...



p.s. when the base was after Bill Clinton and the Lewinsky episode they didn't seem to hesitate to pull every ignoble, degrading, base, low or vile punch they could.

Republican = double standard?

just asking something else...

spreading the word...

Our freedoms are becoming more and more in jeopardy. Here are two statements to support their loss. If you are offended by harsh language, watch the second one first.


fccfu


Carlos Mencia Rants About Censorship vs. Choice


If you are interested in the website and want to hear the heavy metal version, go here fccfu.com

and, please, if you agree with the stand, "spread the word" just as they ask.

i just did...

Loreena McKennitt...

I have long been a fan of Loreena McKennitt's music but never knew who she was, until recently. Her music has been in many films. Below is a video called "Bonny Swans" that is beautiful, not just in words and music but visually.

I have always preferred songs that tell stories rather than paint moments in passing. This is a mainstay of Celtic and folk music. My life-long love affair with Judy Collins and her music harkens back to college.

My favorite Loreena McKennitt is "Lady Shallot." If I ever find a video to post, I will share it. In the meantime, here is "Bonny Swans." Enjoy!



Here is the link to her website: Loreena McKennitt

You can find an abbreviated version of "Lady Shallot" under Explore the Music. It's on the album The Visit.