this is just brilliant on Mike Gravel's part...

MSNBC eliminated Mike Gravel from the debate last night because, according to them, he failed to meet even one of the three criteria they required for participation - polling, fund-raising and travel. Senator Gravel says it's because MSNBC is owned by GE and they don't really like the things he is saying. Whatever.

He brilliantly decided to hold his own debate, or someone from his campaign did, and it is pure brilliance. You can watch what he did here -



I have posted the entire scene from Network previously that is used in Mike Gravel's video above. I've personally heard Senator Gravel twice. I do like the things he says, but the problem is people don't like to hear the truth. As my father used to tell me, "Don't bother to lie. No one believes the truth anyway." I've found it to be so true. No lie.

Can you imagine a country led by Gravel and Kucinich? It would either be the second coming or it would be a total disaster because of all the flak they'd get from the powers and money that be.

it ain't gonna happen no matter what...


Thanks to Andy Towle at Towleroad for the heads-up on the video.

a Hillary slip-up at the end of the debate?

Guess I missed the moment of the debate last night by turning off the television when I did. The moment dealt with a debate question where she seemed to agree with giving illegal aliens a special drivers license as Gov. Spritzer of New York is suggesting and the immediately flip-flopping when the other candidates, Dodd especially, jumped all over her.

I've seen the video. It does appear as a flip-flop. I'm not sure she was prepared for it. But I think there is a bigger, underlying question that needs addressing and it's not about her alleged flip-flopping.

The question is the entire issue of immigration. I know, I know. It's been a major issue for most of the last year, but I'm not really sure where it actually comes from or where it is headed.

The right always needs a boogey man to insure its continued existence based on what they perceive as platform, read reason for being here. They have to have a group to sharpen their teeth and call for alarms - the commie pinkos, the queers, the Latinos. There answer for dealing with everyone who they consider to be an outsider is always, "Get rid of them. Put them in camps or kick them out."

This always reminds me of the first time I visited Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation. It is in the shadows, literally, of Notre Dame Cathedral, at the tip of Ile de la France. From this point over 200,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps during WWII.

At the memorial, you go down a narrow stair case into a cement room with quotations from very famous people dealing with humanity. There are niches around the room, but the centerpiece of the memorial is a long narrow room set off by bars that contains 200,000 lighted crystals, one for every Jew deported by the Nazis to concentration camps.



I frequently have this image because the debate on illegal immigrants appears more in line with "get rid of them" rather than coming up with a solution to integrate them.

There are only the two options - deportation or integration. To get rid of them is the one, IMO, that is not only impossible, but also un-American. [wouldn't Joe McCarthy be proud?]

Can you imagine the amount of time, manpower, and money it would take to "deport" the millions who are here illegally? A total waste. Can I mention the void it would leave in the workforce of this country.

Can you imagine the massive concentration camps with illegals waiting for deportation? The US did this during WWII with Japanese-Americans and it was shameful.

Can you imagine anything more un-American than rounding up aliens in raids similar to the Gestapo simply because they are not from here? I mean, come on, the entire nation is made up of aliens. All of us, even the original Native-American tribes, are immigrants to this land.

I, for a long time, resented the fact that my grandparents came to the US in the legal way ascribed by law and the illegals did not. I do agree that everyone should be here legally, but one has to look at the logistics and the repercussions. They are too grand to imagine let alone put into practice.

The most important thing to realize is the contribution that illegals are giving to the country. I don't believe in the argument that they are doing the jobs that White and African-Americans aren't willing to do. When my grandparents came to the US, they took the s*** jobs just like any other minority did and worked from there. Latinos, let's face it, that's really who people are referring to as illegals, are adding to the overall prosperity in the country and they are doing what everyone else in the country is doing - making a better life for themselves and their children.

So, a drivers license? I was hit by a Latino who had no no insurance let alone a drivers license. It cost me money, my deductible, and my insurance, even though I was at a complete stop and had only had one other claim in my entire life from a car theft the company dropped me. [I can never recommend Farmer's Insurance because of this.] The kid was arrested; he was released; and he disappeared. I got over it.

Maybe, if he had that immigrant drivers license things might have been different. At the very least, we would have a better idea of who and how many people are here. As far as outright amnesty and making them immediate citizens? I don't think it would be fair, but what's being done now isn't working and the recommendations being made so far are not realistic.

just someone, please, do something. we don't need boogey men. we do need a return to the dream that is America.

boo...

A man was walking home alone late one foggy night,

when behind him he hears:



BUMP...




BUMP...




BUMP...





Walking faster, he looks back and through the fog he makes out the image of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street toward him.




BUMP...





BUMP...





BUMP...






Terrified, the man begins to run toward his home, the casket bouncing quickly behind him.





FASTER...





FASTER...






BUMP...







BUMP...






BUMP...





He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes in, slams and locks the door behind him.








However, the casket crashes through his door, with the lid of the casket clapping.










clappity-BUMP...






clappity-BUMP...






clappity-BUMP...





on his heels, the terrified man runs.





Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, the man locks himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming in sobbing gasps.



With a loud CRASH the casket breaks down the door.









Bumping and clapping toward him.










The man screams and reaches for something, anything,
but all he can find is a bottle of cough syrup!









Desperate, he throws the cough syrup at the casket...



















and,

















(hopefully you're ready for this!!!)








The coffin stops.

watching the MSNBC debate...

After saying that I'm tired of watching the debates [I still think it's to early.] I'm watching it. I'm working as I watch it, so I'm probably missing specifics, but the Let's hit Hillary campaign is continuing. She is handling it well. She is answering with specifics yet not giving away the schoolhouse.

Obama, on the other hand, is answering with pie in the sky answers, IMO. Change, change, change. There has been a couple of times he seemed to be stumbling on his words. He seems nervous.

Edwards is playing the "I have nothing to loose, so I can go all out" game. He's using things like, "if you believe in Santa Claus, if you believe in..." to come back at Hillary and others.

Richardson again is putting his foot in his mouth by saying things like, "I'm the only one on this stage who engaged in foreign diplomay." to groans and "I beg to differ" from the others. Though he did say it's time to save the rhetoric for the Republicans and get off the "Hillary" attacks.

Great line from Hillary to Obama - "Change is just a word if you don't have the experience to make it happen." And Obama talks about what he did in Illinois. [Being from Illinois, I still only hear all talk from him.] He only talks about what he's going to do.

Dodd's not been saying too much but bringing out his bipartisanship history.

The big discussion, and it's an undertone more than anything else, seems to really about "Let's get on with it. We need to elect a Democrat. We need to take the country back to constitutionality. Move beyond the fear tactics of the last six years."

Biden - "there's only three words Guliani uses in a sentence - a noun, a verb, and 9/11. We need to focus on preventing him from getting in the White House.

Kucinich? Lord love a duck! He just keeps putting it on the line with nothing to loose but everything to gain by positioning himself - win or lose!

I think that there is one thing that we need, or rather do not need. We do not need another governor as president. We need someone who knows the process of government, who works the ins and outs, sides and frontals going on in Washington to fix what is broken.

I'm not going to finish watching it. I'll read about the rest in the morning. There will be amusing comments and quotes, not to mention the spinmeisters take.

Great timing. There's a commercial break.

gratuitous blond video...

you all know how i have this, this... thing for blond jokes. some people think that the video below actually started it all. it's not. it happened way before this...



it was actually because of Marilyn Monroe in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire. well, maybe it was even before then. hell, i was probly born with it...

enjoy MM here -

isn't that special?

Obama issues 3-page memo defending gay-basher spokesman, explaining that McClurkin has no problem with "happy" gays AmericaBlog.com.

Aides gave reporters a three-page memo detailing McClurkin's and Obama's views on gay rights that noted in capital letters "MCCLURKIN DOES NOT WANT TO CHANGE GAYS AND LESBIANS WHO ARE HAPPY WITH THEIR LIVES AND HAS CRITICIZED CHURCH LEADERS WHO DEMONIZE HOMOSEXUALS," with quotes detailing those statements from the singer. Washington Post

What about those who are unhappy because of what he says? Where do they fit in? And where do they fit in to what McClurkin calls the curse? Does it mean, even if they're happy, they'll go to hell? [not that it means anything to me. remember, i have a get out of hell card...]

hey, there's a lot of repercussions here. we gotta know these things. 

the biggest question is what is the Church Lady making of all this?




no one wants to p*** her off!



Seriously, though. Obama is digging himself deeper and deeper. He always has tried to have it both ways. Sooner or later it catches up with you though. He's talking out of both sides of his mouth - at the same time - when he says that he represents different kinds of constituencies and can uphold what they each stand for.

It's almost like he believes that you can fool all of the people all of the time..

word of the day: hypocrisy

hy·poc·ri·sy: \hi-ˈpä-krə-sē also hī-\; noun
a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion

First, who's in the closet?

Did you all see this by Rick Jacobs over on the Huffington Post today?

Ann Coulter: On the Gay Circuit in West Hollywood

He spotted her at one of the main eateries, LGBT owned, in West Hollywood surrounded with her own gaggle of gays.

Toward the end of dinner, one of my companions insisted that the painfully thin, emotive, long blond haired thing in a small black dress with nearly exposed bosoms was none other than Ann Coulter. I did not believe him. Why would Ann Coulter, who hates homosexuals, go to dinner at gay ground zero? Why would she spend her hard earned gay-bashing royalties to enrich Jeffrey Sanker and otherwise support gay-owned businesses?

But sure enough, he was right. I could not tell if she was dining with people she hates or just demonstrating that she's a fraud who says whatever she must to sell books so that she can live the gay urban lifestyle. Based on her behavior last night, I am sure it is the latter, although based on her table mates, it could be both.

Jacobs even tried to talk to her:

I was therefore shocked that when we tried to engage her in conversation, she became embarrassed, turned away, nestling her head inside her long, blond hair, much as would an embarrassed school girl caught stealing the answers to an exam.

He even has a picture they took with a cellphone. Check it out along with the entire story here or with the link above of the title.

umm, i tried to locate the definition of fag hag but couldn't. anyone have an idea where i might find it?

and..

Again from Huffington Post by way of CNN.com this morning...

Reverend McClurkin At Obama Event: "God Delivered Me From Homosexuality"

Rev. Donnie McClurkin, who headlined the final installment of the Obama campaign's "Embrace the Change" Gospel concert series, did not comment on the controversy until the just before the concert's finish, when he told the crowd of about 2,500 African-Americans: "I'm going to say something that's going to get me in trouble."

"They accuse me of being anti-gay and a bigot," McClurkin said. "We don't believe in discrimination. We don't believe in hatred, and if you do you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's the whole premise of God. That's the whole premise of Christ is love, love, love. But there is a side of Christ that deals in judgment, and all sin is against God."

Well, then, if that is the case, Reverend McClurkin, then what you need to do is leave it to god to determine what is a sin, or a curse, as you've referred to it, and stay out of god's politics.

The New York Times added this:

The whole controversy might have been forgotten in the swell of gospel sound except Mr. McClurkin turned the final half hour of the three-hour concert into a revival meeting about the lightning rod he has become for the Obama campaign.

He approached the subject gingerly at first. Then, just when the concert had seemed to reach its pitch and about to end, Mr. McClurkin returned to it with a full-blown plea: “Don’t call me a bigot or anti-gay when I have suffered the same feelings,” he cried.

“God delivered me from homosexuality,” he added. He then told the audience to believe the Bible over the blogs: “God is the only way.” The crowd sang and clapped along in full support.

The political implications of his performance are not clear. The concert-goers we talked with afterward were generally more focused on making allowances for Mr. McClurkin’s past homosexuality than on anything about Mr. Obama. Obama’s Gospel Concert Tour, October 29, 2007, NYT

If Obama is all inclusive and is the candidate of change, why did he open up this can of worms and refuse to reseal it? There's no change here. It's same old, same old.

i'm trying to decide who is the "sheep in wolve's clothing" here - McClurkin or Obama?



... and i have to ask one other thing: what the hell is Oprah doing introducing McClurkin to Obama? Especially, with her coterie?

oh, no...

I've been memed...

Subject: 4 things you might not know about me

A. Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. bartender
2. teacher/administrator
3. spice & coffee shop owner
4. bouncer

B. Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Hunt for Red October
2. All of the Bourne movies
3. Casablanca
4. The Creature from the Black Lagoon

C. Two places I have lived:
1. Hometown, IL
2. Chicago, IL

D. Four TV Shows that I watch:
1. Countdown with Keith Olberman
2. Torchwood
3. Anything on the History channels
4. Flash Gordon

E. Four places I have been
1. Paris
2. Canmore, Alberta
3. London
4. Aspen

F. Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
1. Floyd
2. Ed
3. Marco
4. Sharon

G. Four of my favorite foods:
1. Pizza
2. duck
3. Pesto
4. cheap, generic ketchup

H. Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Paris
2. Paris
3. Paris
4. did I mention Paris?

I. Four friends I think will respond:
1. Floyd
2. Wayne
3. Carol
4. Sharon

J. Four things I am looking forward to next year (2008):
1. Paris
2. a cruise
3. more opera
4. making a difference


You can keep the meme going, if you want. Now, here's what you're supposed to do..., please do not spoil the fun. Copy the meme, paste it into a new email, delete my answers and type in your answers. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know INCLUDING the person who sent it to you.The theory is that you will learn a lot of little known facts about those who know you. Remember to send it back to the person who sent it to you. You may just discover something about - yourself, actually.

monday morning mayhem...

mayhem is the word of the week...

the witches and monsters and vampires and werewolves and queens are out in full force to celebrate your haunting...

1. pumpkin fun...










2. loose the weight from all that candy...

Scare The Weight Off

3. so you don't feel too guilty about celebrating...

A recent study found that the average American walks about 900 miles per year.


Another study found Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of beer a year.


This means Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon.


Kind of makes you proud to be an American. don't it?

4. this, however, may be the scariest of all...

Hot date in Arkansas

A young Arkansas man goes to a drug store and says to the pharmacist: 'I got a hot date tonight, an' I need me some pertection. How much is a pack a' them rubbers gonna cost me?'

The pharmacist responds: 'A three-pack of condoms is $4.99 with tax.'

'TACKS!' the shocked redneck says. 'Gawd a' mighty, don't they stay on by themselves?'

and the week has just begun. eeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhh...

Chicago Sun-Times OpEd: Gay rights don't trump faith...

This lady pushed my buttons while I was eating breakfast at my favorite restaurant after visiting the gym on Saturdays. I think I may have reacted out loudly by saying something like "bullshit" or worse. I had the headphones on with the soundtrack from Across the Universe playing. I got a few looks whatever I said. It's a very straight suburban restaurant to say the least. Oh well.

Title, again, was Gay rights don't trump faith. Deborah Douglas is on the editorial board of the Chicago Sun-Times. She wrote this piece in response to the controversy Barack Obama has created for himself by using Donny "Homosexuality is a Curse" McClurkin at this concerts this weekend to drum up African-American and religiously conservative support in South Carolina and the South in toto.

Though I reacted to most of what she was saying, even the apologetics she presented, the line that got me was,

"To force a change in its theology to fit a contemporary social agenda is anathema to the foundational purposes of the church."

You can read my response to her in an email below. Though, when you read the letter, I was logical, consistent and polite, what I really wanted to say was...

Bullshit.

with a capitol B....

In a recent conversation, a very close friend brought up to me that I have a reaction to idiocy that is far from quiet and calm. She was concerned about some work we are doing together and how I might react when I heard some of the things that I was going to hear. I admit that she is 100% correct in her observation. I do have a very difficult time with idiocy. However, I assured her that when I'm working, and being paid, I don't act that way, only with friends when I need to dump. What I am doing in this job is "facilitating" collaboration. I certainly need to be very focused in doing this sort of thing and I know that I am cautious with how I handle things, otherwise there is no collaboration, only dictatorship. [When I worked in a restaurant we had this saying - You don't s*** where you eat. It's very true.]

Anyway, back to my reaction to the OpEd. You can read my response below. I am not calling the lady an idiot. I do not know her personally nor do I know if she is ignorant of the facts I present that I believe make her conclusions wrong, in my opinion. I hope she rethinks some of the things she wrote and, I assume, believes. Even one shred of inequality to anyone is bane of existence to me.

you can be your own judge...

Ms. Douglas:

Three words in response to your op ed in today's Sun-Times:

You are wrong.

You make the point that, "To force a change in its theology to fit a contemporary social agenda is anathema to the foundational purposes of the church."

It is exactly what Paul of Tarsus and his rabble did to the religious beliefs of others 2,000 years ago. It is what they fought against with Nero, Caligula, et alia to stop the insipid persecution of Christians. They forced a change to fit contemporary social agenda. Abolitionists and suffragettes did the exact same thing. Luther shook the Roman church to its core for a contemporary agenda. Every major shift in thinking came from the same thing.

Christians have used this over the passed 2,000 years to not only make change but to justify things like slavery, opposition to women's rights, and persecution of other religions. [Some Christian religions still use these arguments today to disenfranchise individuals and groups.] It is directly in contradiction to all the teachings of Jesus that are easily discerned in the gospels, even if one considers them not to be divine. These teachings are, at the least, human and a model guide to living every day.

Nothing should stop equality for all mankind, least of all the words of Jesus who exemplified, by the church's own admission, bringing everyone into acceptance whether it be the leper, the prostitute, the gentile, or the Greek into the same promise. Christians, themselves, have stopped equality at the front door of their sanctuaries just as the Romans did in persecuting the early church. At the very least the Romans were more equal. They equally tortured, persecuted, or killed everyone who was not a Roman, and they had very strict laws about who was or was not a Roman. 

Christians have done what every other religion, faith, belief has done for thousands of years: used the writings of the past to justify their beliefs even if the face of those writings was inherently wrong by its own teachings. Case in point, the Book of Leviticus. Leviticus (18:22) is used over and over again to defend the stance against LGBT. Yet, what is too often forgotten is that 26 lines later (Ch 19:18) the words written are ...but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

And who, allegedly, made this the message surrounding all of his other teachings? And, what exactly was his idea? To start a new religion? 

Look at the documented church history. It was Saul and Peter who fought this battle. Jesus was a Jew and, to borrow a recent phrase from Ann Coulter, wanted to "perfect" Judaism. [not in the same way, of course] As a reference, read Matthew 5:18 "...not one yodh or little horn shall pass away from the law...." The "law" of which he speaks is the only law he knew as a rabbi - Hebrew law. All else is pastiche. His goal was to bring not only the Pharisees and the Sadducees back to the basics of Judaism but all other Jews and to include other groups as well. Talk about your fundamentalist. 

To finish, if it is not the churches who take the stand and open their doors to all, who then will it be? The government? Jesus more than once said that government had to stay out of this area short of insuring that all have the same opportunities. To stretch even this point to a logical consequence of his teachings, what is the government doing legislating laws and amendments to bar equality to everyone? ENDA? Same-sex marriage? Remember, miscegenation? Christian leaders used the Curse of Ham and the story of Phinehas from the Bible in argument for banning inter-racial marriage until the laws were finally found unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in 1967. 1967! Ironically, the largest group around today that embraces everyone in every way no matter what they believe are atheists. 

You may think that I am preaching to the choir, and I am often accused of it. However, I have a problem when the choir not only is not singing the same song but is also off-pitch. I have the ability to hear perfect pitch. Fingernails on a chalkboard have a better sound to me. That is why I believe that you are wrong, no matter what. You are not eschewing obfuscation.

To use a quote from Mark Twain, - "If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be -- a Christian."

Thank you for your time,

J Michael Ireland

no matter what... eschew obfuscation

there, i feel better now. all my buttons are all back in their right places...

Leopard leaps...

As usual, I had to get Apple's newest OS X incarnation - Leopard - instantly.

I have to say it not only is the best OS I've ever used but has taken care of a number of problems I was having with my Intel MacBook. The fans no longer run constantly nor at full speed when watching video. Safari has become completely stable and no longer quits when clicking on a PDF. The physical temperature has gone down considerably and longer leaves a red spot on my lap. It's faster and clearer. It's obvious that it was developed for the Intel based machines, even though, I think, it says that it will work with the last 12 generations of Macs. Sweet. [That part I'll let you know about after I install it on my other machines. I'm especially interested in what it will do on the computer I use for music, movies, pictures, etc. That will really put it to the test. Those things are power and memory hogs.]

The new features are also, after 24 hours making my work so much easier. I'm one of those who has multiple windows, applications and utilities open at the same time. Spaces has solved the problem of finding where I'm going easier. The new Dock feature called Stacks makes finding documents in frequently used folders so easy to find without ever going to a Finder window or list and forgetting where I was or what I was doing.

Cover Flow is one of the greatest things of all. It's a view of each document in a folder that you can see at the top of the window that is similar to the iPhone and iTouchPod that allows you to determine if the document you want is in fact the one. at the top of the window, over the list of documents, is a flowing of all the folder's contents. If you think you see the one you're looking for, rather than opening up the application, you merely hit the spacebar and a full image of the document pops out at you as it looks in the application. If it's the one you're looking for, you just double-click on it. Check it out:



Brilliant!

i am sooooo happy with Leopard.

of course, it is purely for selfish reasons. not only because it solves lots of problems for me, makes working much easier, but because i have Apple stock that i bought years ago at $17. yesterday's close was $184.70!

it's more than a to'fer...

hammer king...

there is absolutely no point to this post except to share something really cool, a neat trick with a hammer. a good friend sent it to me. [thank you, Thelma!] it's in German, but you don't have to understand German to know what's going on. watch closely. it took me a couple of seconds to catch on...

Hammer King

neat, huh?

weekender...

be a good Samaritan. start the weekend with a push...

A man and his wife are awakened at 3 o'clock in the morning by a loud pounding on the door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push.

'Not a chance,' says the husband. 'It is 3 o'clock in the morning. ' He slams the door and returns to bed.

'Who was that?' asked his wife. 'Just some drunk guy asking for a push!'

'Did you help him?' she asks.

'No. I did not. It is 3 o'clock in the morning and it is pouring rain outside!'

His wife said, 'Can't you remember about three months ago when we broke down and those two guys helped us? You should be ashamed of yourself!

The man dutifully shamed, gets dressed and goes out into the pouring rain. He calls out in to the dark, 'Hello. Are you still there?'

'Yes,' comes back the answer.

'You still need a push?' calls out the husband.

'Yes! Please!' comes the reply from the darkness. 

'Where are you?' asks the husband.

'Over here on the swing!' replies the drunk

cheers...

great quote from Ezra Klein...

on Hardball with Chris Matthews he was asked during a roundtable about Mr. Cheney's role in the Plame cover-up, his actions with Iraq, and everything in Cheney's stand::

"We have always been at war with Oceania."

sad, but true...

warn your family and friends, quickly...

heads-up from Salon.com -

Cheney's got a gun, again

Our friends at Think Progress are up with an important warning for readers in New York's Hudson River Valley: Vice President Dick Cheney will be hunting there this weekend.

Tim Grieve does add a caveat though -

To be fair, Cheney has never actually shot anyone in New York -- at least as far as we know.

still, i better call Jimi and Rickie and make sure they are staying in the city this weekend. better safe than sorry...

new Republican theme song...

well, actually, it's not another one but one of the same ones. it's just a matter of semanitics...

Wonkette is reporting a very graphic detail of someone who remembers having, ummm, relations with Mr. Craig. Well, here's how Wonkette puts it:

EXCLUSIVE: "I Had Sex with Larry Craig!"

it's pretty graphic, actually yucky, so if you are feint of heart or at work, don't read the article or wait until you get home.

can't wait until this gets wider coverage. Matt Lauer is may feel violated after his interview with Craig and Suzanne.

Shakespeare Outs Hamlet...

In a rare public appearance William Shakespeare told curious questioners that Hamlet was gay for the entire play. Actually, for his entire life. He thought that it would have been obvious to anyone observing Hamlet's rejection of Ophelia and his oedipal fixation on his mother, Gertrude.

the California fires - the fight is just starting...

The little voice in the back of most people's heads is probably questioning if global warming has anything to do with it.

but...

Michelle Malkin has already said that it is the environmentalists who caused the fires.

The wildfires are being compared to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

One cable pundit is saying that the people who live there deserve it.

A more famous one had this to say: "There always has to be a global warming peg, and they bombed out on the hurricanes, so now this is being blamed on global warming."


There's a drought in Georgia; there are wildfires in California; there was a disastrous hurricane in New Orleans; the ice in the Arctic is melting so that there may finally be a "Northwest Passage."

At this point, doesn't it seem a logical idea, even if global warming eventually does turn out to be just a cause célébre, to act as if it were true, just on the chance that maybe, maybe the world is under attack by the insanity of man and we should save it from ourselves? We may learn something important.

Below is a photo from NASA's Aqua Satellite of Southern California taken late yesterday.





when you see this doesn't it make sense to take some, any, kind of action? just in case?

just asking...

table for sale on eBay...

is it being sold by a man or a woman?

look closely now...

it's really very, very easy...

give up?

it's being sold by a

man...

now, figure out how you can tell...

i want to be preznet...

so i'll do and say anything to make it happen. anything,,,

Giuliani Now For Marriage Amendment

Obama Should Repudiate and Cancel His Gay Bash Tour, and Do It Now

Romney: “I certainly don’t do what a leader of my church or any other tells me to do.

GOP Rivals Argue Who's Most Conservative

Fred Thompson: I Will Not Dance to Dr. Dobson Tune

GOP candidates try to woo ‘values voters’ at meeting

Ron Paul warns of a new Cold War, Giuliani says Iran will not be allowed to go nuclear

Embattled Hillary defends her vote on Iran

GOP Hopefuls Aim Attacks At Clinton

Edwards: Jesus Would Be 'Appalled'

Biden: GOP candidates Bush 'parrots'

McCain: "I was tied up at the time"


please note that i didn't focus only on the Republicans...

that would have been too easy.

guess who...

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

I broke more international treaties than any president in U.S. history.

... am the first president in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.

... am the first president in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.

... during the war and occupation, thousands of American troops were injured and killed. I did not have the time to attend any of the funerals for our fallen soldiers but I did have the time to attend more than 43 fund-raising events of the Republican party.

... have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.

... am the first president in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, pre-emptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. citizens, and the world community.

... have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families -- in wartime.

... created the largest bureaucracy (DHS) in the history of the United States government.

... withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.

... refused to allow inspector's access to U.S. "prisoners of war" detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.

... am the first president in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors.

... set the record for the fewest numbers of press conferences of any president since the advent of television.

... invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.

... spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.

... shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.

... set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.

... set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.

... set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market.

... saw in my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lose their jobs and that trend continues every month.

... am proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history.

... set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. president.

... am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.

... had one of my best friends preside over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. History.

... allowed my political party to use private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.

... have protected my friends at various corporation against investigation or prosecution. More time and money was spent investigating my predecessor's affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history.

... presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.

... presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.

... changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

... appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any president in U.S. history.

... set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period. After taking off the entire month of August, I presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history.

... garnered the most sympathy for the U.S. after attacks on the U.S. and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.

... lied about our reasons for attacking a sovereign country and then blamed the lies on our British friends.

... am the first president in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.

... am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a WMD.

... have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring the country's #1 enemy to justice.

... successfully completed the politicalization or the U.S. Department of Justice.


guess what...?

your first choice doesn't count...



put an X next to each item above that could be considered an impeachable offense.

and why isn't there a move for impeachment? two words...

Adolph Cheney...

monday morning mayhem...

start the week with a laugh, or two , or three... just keep laughing all week.

1. clap on... clap off...






2. got your costume yet?





3. ask for directions, please...

As a young minister, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a grave-side service for a homeless man, with no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery way back in the country, and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost; and being a typical man did not stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the crew, who was eating lunch, but the hearse was nowhere in sight.

I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and stepped to the side of the open grave, where I saw the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long, but this was the proper thing to do. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I poured out my heart and soul.

As I preached the workers began to say "Amen," "Praise the Lord," and "Glory"! I preached, and I preached, like I'd never preached before: from Genesis all the way to Revelations.

I closed the lengthy service with a prayer and walked to my car. As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "I ain't never seen anything like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

4. advertising is all in the wording...

A couple young, entrepreneurial prostitutes were riding around town with a sign on the top of their car that read: “Two Prostitutes - $50.00.” A police officer, seeing the sign, pulled the ladies over and advised that they will have to remove the sign or go to jail.

Right about that time a minivan passed by with a sign on the side of it that read: “Jesus Saves.” “How come you don’t stop them?!” asked one of the girls. “Well, that’s a little different,” the officer replied… “their sign pertains to religion.”

The two ladies of the night pouted a bit, but they took their sign down and drove off peacefully. The following day the same police officer was running radar when he noticed the same two young ladies driving around with another sign on their car. Figuring he had an easy arrest, he flipped his lights on and began to catch up when he noticed what the new sign read:

“Two Fallen Angels Seeking Peter - $50.00.”

Nietsche...

October 15th was the 163rd anniversary of the birth of Frederick Nietzsche. sorry, i missed it. here is a belated birthday greeting...

is there in truth...

What then is truth? A mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, and anthropomorphisms -- in short, a sum of human relations, which have been enhanced, transposed, and embellished poetically and rhetorically, and which after long use seem firm, canonical, and obligatory to a people: truths are illusions about which one has forgotten that is what they are; metaphors which are worn out and without sensuous power; coins which have lost their pictures and now matter only as metal, no longer as coins.

We still do not know where the urge for truth comes from; for as yet we have heard only of the obligation imposed by society that it should exist: to be truthful means using the customary metaphors - in moral terms, the obligation to lie according to fixed convention, to lie herd-like in a style obligatory for all...

'On truth and lie in an extra-moral sense,' The Viking Portable Nietzsche, p.46-7, Walter Kaufmann transl.

and

je ne pense pas...

Did you hear about Rene Descartes' visit to England? He went into a pub and the barmaid said "Can I get you something, luv?''

He said, "I think not.'' And disappeared.

...et le monde continu ou pas!

weekender...

Alma, check your batteries...

Whoopi Goldberg as Sister Mary Clarence in Sister Act

i think they have it wrong...

Most reporters, pundits, bloggers, news media, etc are now referring to George W as being a lame duck presidency.

i thing they've go it wrong.

he's not a duck...

he's just lame...

Republicans are not pro-life...

it's a lie for them to say they are.

ALL "no" votes on the S-CHIP over-ride were cast by Republicans. Not one Democrat voted no.

they hide behind the excuse that it would cost to much money, that it would be socialized medicine, that children who really don't deserve to be on the program will get free health care.

There was one very telling statement made, by Czar George himself, that the insurance companies would loose money from people who could afford to buy health insurance for their kids but would use S-CHIP.

So, that means that no child can now get adequate medical care.

this while he asks for billions more dollars to kill people in Iraq and Afghanistan...

oh, and gets us ready for World War III, if we don't stop Iran from getting nucular power...


some pro-life stand, if you ask me...

but, what do i know?

just asking...

Obama and Cheney related...

Lynne Cheney, on the circuit to sell her new book, announced to Norah O'Donnell on MSNBC that in her research for the book she discovered that her husband Rasputin, sorry, Dick and Barack Obama are eighth cousins.

Obama's response, well his spokesperson's -

A spokesman for Obama, who wants to be the first black U.S. president, offered a tongue-in-cheek response. “Every family has a black sheep,” said spokesman Bill Burton.

I can't even make a comment about this. Obama's spokesperson said it the best...

monday morning mayhem...

1. it's in the bible...

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning.

The wife said, "You should do it because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee.

The husband said, "You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."

Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee."

Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me."

So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says "HEBREWS"

wonder if Dobson, Fawell, etc, etc, etc do it? they probably all have housekeepers and maids...

2. one reason i didn't think of before i stopped playing golf...



3. Marylin Monroe eat your heart out...



4. a fad coming back into fashion...

If you sometimes get the sudden urge to run around naked,
Spray some Windex all over your body.
It will keep you from streaking.

have a great week...

impeachment arguments...

One of the main arguments against impeachment of the Bush/Cheney administration is the turmoil that it would bring to the country like the circus of the Clinton impeachment. It's an acceptable argument. The time spent on hysterics was critical for the wing-nuts (i'm sorry. social conservatives) to foment its hatred for the Clintons as well as make a name/reputation for themselves.

Another argument against impeachment is timing. There are only 463.5 days left for the Bush/Cheny administration. In other words, "Surely, we can last this short amount of time?"

Still one more argument against impeachment is the length of time it would take to actually follow the process. There are many other arguments.

BUT...

what about the precedent that is being set?

There has been an ample amount of proof that both Bush and Cheney have not upheld their end of the bargain when they swore at their inauguration to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." The lead up to the Iraq incursion was illegal. The denials of torture are found in not only statements from military but also in "leaked" internal documents. Mr. Bush's "signing statements" actually say that he, not the Federal Courts or Congress, has the right to make the law and have the final say in its constitutionally.

The Constitution creates three equal parts to the federal government - the executive, the congressional and the judicial. One of the functions each has is a check and balance on the other two. The framers of the Constitution did not want to place all of the power in one element, let alone in the hands of one man/woman. The term often used to describe the Bush/Cheney administration is "imperial presidency." Of course, they, and their supporters refer to it as the "unitary executive." Semantics.

The best argument for impeachment is the possible example it sets for future presidential administrations to use the justification that, "It's been done before, so why shouldn't we?" Bush/Cheney has used less than this to defend their actions. In effect, one of the issues of the current political race for the White House runs something like this: "Do we really want Hillary Clinton to have all that power?" Of course it is the wing-nuts, who spearheaded the current "unitary executive" theory who are crying this the loudest.

One other thing. The House of Representatives and the Senate take the same oath. Below is the first sentence/paragraph of that oath:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

If the House and Senate is aware of only the things being reported by media about the Bush/Cheney administration's actions [that is all we know, so i'm sure they actually know more], aren't they breaking their oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic... also?

just asking...

does anyone still wear a hat?

i'll drink to that...

weekender...

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?
A: Keep it in the cow.

so simple, why hasn't somebody thought of that before now?

oh, yeah. they did that on the farm before they started homogenizing it...

and what about the rest of the world?

Bill Clinton when asked what his mission would be should Hillary be elected president indicated that he would most like to help bring the rest of the world back into diplomatic parity with the U.S. It might be more accurate to say bring the U.S. back into parity with the rest of the world.

Hillary was on Countdown with Keith Olbermann tonight. She made a comment that was very important in dealing with international relations between the U.S. and the World's governments. I don't have the exact quote, but in effect she said that should she become president it would be the end of cowboy diplomacy. She actually used that term.

So what about the rest of the world? What exactly are they thinking? Do they even want to bother in dealing with the U.S.? If the headline below from the International Herald Tribune is any indication, we may be in for a long tough haul.

Supreme disgrace

The Supreme Court exerts leadership over America's justice system, not just through its rulings, but also by its choice of cases - the ones it agrees to hear and the ones it declines. On Tuesday, it led in exactly the wrong direction.

Somehow the court could not muster the four votes needed to grant review in the case of an innocent German citizen of Lebanese descent who was kidnapped, detained and tortured in a secret overseas prison as part of the Bush administration's morally, physically and legally abusive anti-terrorism program. The victim, Khaled el-Masri, was denied justice by lower federal courts, which dismissed his civil suit in a reflexive bow to a flimsy government claim that allowing the case to go forward would put national security secrets at risk.

It somewhat echoes a previous post on this site - exactly what is SCOTUS "refusing" to hear?

Years ago there was a novel and movie entitled The Ugly American. I'm going to quote directly from the Wikipedia entry because it sums it up and reflects on the fact that we still don't get it. Well, at least the people who have the power don't.

The novel describes how the United States is losing the struggle with Communism—what was later to be called the battle for hearts and minds—in Southeast Asia, because of arrogance and failure to understand the local culture.

...because of arrogance and failure to understand the local culture.

Iraq? Iran? France? Saudi Arabia? Russia? China? Darfur? and on, and on, and on...

on the home front, it also comes close to describing the problem with the authoritarian "social" conservatives in our own country with the arrogance and failure they have in understanding our own culture.

doesn't it?

just asking...

I keep bringing this up: Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. - George Santayana...

[writing things like this always makes me sad. i think of my father and uncle, along with all of the other honorable men and women who fought, some paying the ultimate price, to defend in what they believed, to preserve the freedoms in which this government was so adamant at procuring, and to make sure that there was a future for me and others. i think they would be angry. i believe they would be disgusted at what has happened. i feel they would be sad also.]

National Coming Out Day...

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Gay and Lesbian March on Washington. To some it may not be important to come out, but it is important to be who you are. When the door is closed not only don't people know who you are but they can't see you...

"ALL" of them were...

Caught Ann Coulter on MSNBC spewing some of her vitriol today. [by accident, purely, by accident.] I can't remember who the reporter was, but she said to Coulter as an introduction to a question, "Some of your books have been on the top 10 list...." Coulter instantly cut her off and emphatically said, "ALL of them have been." The reporter tried to continue as though she was non-plussed until Coulter repeated it again. Not once, but twice.

The reporter, at this point, had a look on her face that was saying, "You f***ing b****," but her response was something to the point of, "If that's what you say. [Whatever]." She just continued to the interview but it was obvious that she couldn't wait to get Coutler's face off the camera. She remained polite.

Whatever the point Coulter was trying to make was lost. I haven't the faintest idea what she was talking about. All I remember was the above exchange, and it struck me that Coulter will do anything for self-aggrandizement. She was condescending and superior in demeanor - a complete phony.

i just wish someone would ask her to take her mask off. halloween isn't for another 21 days...

boo...

exactly what is SCOTUS "refusing" to hear?

The Supreme Court refused to even consider a case involving abduction and torture by the US government in its fight on terrorism.

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Torture Appeal

Without comment, the justices let stand an appeals court ruling that the state secrets privilege, a judicially created doctrine that the Bush administration has invoked to win dismissal of lawsuits that touch on issues of national security, protected the government’s actions from court review. In refusing to take up the case, the justices declined a chance to elaborate on the privilege for the first time in more than 50 years.

The case was originally ruled against the litigant by the Federal District Court in Alexandria, Va., which dismissed the case without permitting Mr. Masri’s lawyers to take discovery. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., upheld the dismissal in March.

The attorneys were not even allowed to discover the facts of the case because of the Bush/Cheney administration's penchant for secrecy under the guise of national security.

Again, I ask, "Exactly what is SCOTUS 'refusing' to hear?

That there are issues with the operations of national security?

That the idea of transparent government is no longer an American position?

That the Bush/Cheney administration does torture?

That SCOTUS has a majority on it that rubber stamps anything the Bush/Cheney administration says?

i believe that Chief Justice John Marshall is not rolling over in his grave -- he's spinning...

the social conservative [read 'right-wingnut authoritarians'] are nearing completion of their politicalization of the federal judicial system...

abstinence makes the heart...

ummm, what?

The Bush/Cheney administration insists on abstinence only programs as the only way to prevent unwanted pregnancies, STD's, and family values. This is merely another hypocrisy.

Michael Sneed in today's Chicago Sun-Times shares this little tidbit:

Bush's beds . . .

President Bush had a simple question for daughter Jenna Bush last year when she told him she was going camping with Henry Hager:

"Do you have two tents?"

• • AmBush 'em: Hager, who is now Jenna's fiance, also gets his own room when he visits the Bush clan, according to a report in Texas Monthly.

"Dad's still the traditionalist, you know," Jenna told the mag.

separate tents? yeah, right...

i'm still trying to sell that bridge and Jenna's answer told everyone what's really what...

and Mary Cheney got pregnant by marrying the man of Czar George's dreams...

fun with Larry Craig...

the media is having a ball with Sen. Craig's failure at getting his guilty plea reversed and then declaring that he is going to stay in the Senate to clear his name. Here's one example below. [You can click on the headline to read the story connected.]

Craig flushes plan to quit Senate, Chicago Sun-Times

and now this spoof of, well watch it. You'll see...



Even Keith Olbermann showed this on Countdown tonight.

sometimes, i think that Keith should have a subtitle to his show. something like Meltdown...

what d'ya think?

black-on-black Bugatti Veyron...

I spent the day Sunday downtown at the Chicago Marathon. That's quite another story, and you've probably heard about it on the news or in the papers. Hottest October 7th on record and people were falling out left and right. A 35-year old man died from a congenital heart defect associated with the run and heat.

I was there because my nephew was running his first marathon. So, that's how this post is really coming about.

After we all parted I was walking back to the car park and passed the Bentley dealership. At the corner window was a larger than usual group of guys, at least for a Sunday [dealers are closed by law on Sundays in Illinois] gawking at the window. There, surrounded by velvet ropes was the car of anyone's dreams - especially mine. I've posted about this car before here. The Bugatti Veyron - in the flesh, or should I say metalwork. To refresh your memories:



All $1.5 million of it. The unusual thing about the car at the dealership was that it was black-on-black. They are all dual colors, but I had never heard about one that was black-on-black. I heard one of the men there talking to his son saying out loud what I was thinking about no black-on-black. He told his son that as far as he knew this one was a special order.

I tried to find a picture of a Veyron on the internet that is black-on-black and couldn't find one. He may have been right.

There was also a number of teens there who couldn't quite get enough of looking at it. When I asked them if they had an extra $1.5 million to buy one, their jaws dropped. They really didn't know what they were looking at, only that their car-pheromones were in overdrive. {Mine were also. Actually, I should say, I was moist, to say the least.]

I jokingly told the kids that they were coming out with a convertible that would be a few hundred thousand dollars more but wouldn't be as fast. One of them instantly joked, "If it's not as fast, I don't want the convertible."

After they left, I stood in front of the dreamcar for a few more minutes. My thought was that I would give anything just to sit in one, let alone ride in one.

they'd probably charge $5,000 for a sit-in. i couldn't afford that right now...

oh, well...




an interesting side-bar: lately they've been pairing up the Veyron with other cars to prove that it is not as fast as is stated - 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds! So far, it's beat everything. next up, i kid you not, they are going to put it up against a jet fighter taking off. i'm not taking any bets on this one...

revised Republican Convention logo...

I hope that Jesus' General has a Get out of Hell card like I do.

He has posted a revised Republican Convention Logo that Keith Turner sent to him. [I hope he has a card too.}

Are you ready for this?



shameful, shameful, shameful...

By the way, I read somewhere that, except being in a circus, the male elephant only rears up on his hind legs for one reason. Yep, you guessed it - mounting his mate!

hee...hee...hee...

Really!?! Senator Craig...

From Saturday Night Live



no comment is necessary after watching the sketch.

really...

monday morning mayhem...

this week's mayhem was difficult. i got so much from friends and found so much in my reading, i had to pick and chose. at least there'll be more for the future.

for those of you who may have gotten the day off for Columbus/Explorer's Day, enjoy less mayhem...


1. mad wife disease...

A guy was sitting quietly reading his paper when his wife walked up behind him and whacked him on the head with a magazine.

'What was that for?' he asked.

'That was for the piece of paper in your pants pocket with the name Laura Lou written on it,' she replied.

'Two weeks ago when I went to the races, Laura Lou was the name of one of the horses I bet on,' he explained.

'Oh honey, I'm sorry,' she said. 'I should have known there was a good explanation '

Three days later he was watching a ball game on TV when she walked up and hit him in the head again, this time with the iron skillet, which knocked him out cold.

When he came to, he asked, 'What the hell was that for?'

She replied... 'Your horse just called.'

2. aging again...







3. how happy can one be?

A woman in her forty's is at home, unclothed, happily jumping on her bed and squealing with delight.

Her husband watches her for a while and asks, "Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look? What's the matter with you?"

The woman continues to bounce on the bed and says, "I don't care what you think. I just came from having a mammogram, and the doctor says that not only am I healthy, but I have the breasts of an 18 year-old.

The husband replies, "What did he say about your 43-year old ass?"

"Your name never came up," she replied.

4. "I No Come Work Today!"...

Hung Chow calls into work and says, "Hey, I no come work today, I sick, headache, stomach ache, legs hurt, I no come work."

The boss says, "You know something, Hung Chow, I really need you today. When I feel like that, I go to my wife and tell her to give me sex. That makes everything better and I go to work. You try that."

Two hours later Hung Chow calls again. "I do what you say, I feel great. I be work soon..... you got nice house."

___o
- \ < ,
( ) ( )

Right-wing Ralphie..

Mark Fiore is brilliant in his comics and animations. If you're not familiar with him, please, check him out.

His newest animation is with Right-Wing Ralphie


[yes, Ralphie is the one on the right]

and the question is Don't know LGBT from BLT?

Well, check it out here:

Out of the Closet with Right-Wing Ralphie.

now you know the difference between a theosexual and a dominant posturesexual.

i was confused...

for awhile!

wait, i still am...

American BLANK CHECK?

...from a side bar in today's Chicago Sun-Times Controversy Section:

$10 trillion
American's external debt.

1
America's international
ranking among countries
with the highest
external debt.

$1.5 billion
Average daily amount
the debt has been increasing.

$30K
Approximate amount of
each American citizen's
share.

SOURCE: Brillig.org, World Factbook published by the CIA

The average per capita income in the United States is 

$33,050 [in 2002 it was $36,214]. That is the average (the mean).

Most statistical studies you see report the median per capita income as $46,000. It sounds better. The median, however, is the half-way point and not an average. It means that 50% of the people earn below $46K and 50% earn more than $46K. That's a big difference and it doesn't address how far below the $42K or how far above the $42K.

If a U.S. citizen's portion of the country's debt is $30, 000, that means that there is only $3,050 left to live on.

the point behind all of this?

How many of us have a bank that will let us write checks to pay bills if we are $10 trillion dollars overdrawn? Or for $5.00 for that matter.

do you think that George W has to pay the bounced check fee that banks charge?

just asking...

how stupid are these people?

...and how stupid am i for asking such a silly question?

Another GOP toilet-tapping incident is reported in the Times-Picayune.

DiFatta twice detained in lewd conduct in restrooms

The report states that DiFatta watched a man use the bathroom while peering through a hole in a bathroom stall. The man held DiFatta until police arrived, at which time he was issued the misdemeanor summons and ordered to appear in court.

First, in the bathroom again - ick!, second, more interference of privacy, third...

oh, hell. what third?

I'm going to repeat this one more time. When I was teaching, the kids would call each other ignorant. I told them that there was nothing wrong with being ignorant. It only meant that you didn't know something and you could find it out by asking questions, reading books, etc.

Stupid, on the other hand, was knowing better and doing something wrong anyway.

When a fourth grader asked what an idiot was, we came up with this definition:

An idiot is someone who is too stupid to know that they're ignorant.

So, I correct myself. These people are not stupid - They are idiots!

weekender...

i haven't done a blond joke in a long time. forgive me... [whether you're blond or you've missed blond jokes. you know - whatever blows your skirt up...]

Two sisters, one blonde and one brunette, inherit the family ranch. Unfortunately, after just a few years, they are in financial trouble. In order to keep the bank from repossessing the ranch, they need to purchase a bull so that they can breed their own stock. The brunette balances their checkbook, then takes their last $600 dollars out west to another ranch where a man has a prize bull for sale.

Upon leaving, she tells her sister, "When I get there, if I decide to buy the bull, I'll contact you to drive out after me and haul it home."

The brunette arrives at the man's ranch, inspects the bull, and decides she does want to buy it. The man tells her that he can sell it for $599, no less.

After paying him, she drives to the nearest town to send her sister a telegram to tell her the news. She walks into the telegraph office, and says, "I want to send a telegram to my sister telling her that I've bought a bull for our ranch. I need her to hitch the trailer to our pickup truck and drive out here so we can haul it home."

The telegraph operator explains that he'll be glad to help her, then adds, "It's just 99 cents a word."

Well, after paying for the bull, the brunette only has $1 left. She realizes that she'll only be able to send her sister one word.

After thinking for a few minutes, she nods, and says, "I want you to send her the word, 'comfortable.'"

The telegraph operator shakes his head. "How is she ever going to know that you want her to hitch the trailer to your pickup truck and drive out here to haul that bull back to your ranch if you send her the word, 'comfortable'?"

The brunette explains, "My sister's blonde, she'll read it very slow."

after i published this for the first time, as usual i read it on the site and realized some people may have a problem figuring it out. for those of you who might ascribe to blondness, whether you have the color or not, if you do not get the punchline, r e a d i t v e r y s l o w like the sister said...


was that another blond joke?

Senator Craig's new logo...

no, wait...

it's the Republican Party's logo for the 2008 Convention in Minneapolis.


and the joke is... all over the internet... wide stance, isn't it?

and why is the elephant's tail in his/her you know what?

just asking...


[i know. you all think i'm going to hell for this as well as some other things i've written, but i have a get out of hell card. i walked through the Jubilee Door at the Vatican in 1975. it's only opened every 25 or 50 years and any one who makes the pilgramage has all sins forgiven through a plenary indulgence. so, according to the myth, i'm safe.]