27 February 2009

weekender...

a few things to ponder if you find you have time on your hands this weekend...


How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Does pressing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?


as an after thought...


The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

26 February 2009

Limbaugh and his wish for Obama's failure...

i'd like to hear how

...big ole Rush would react if someone made a statement like: "We want Rush to die!"

it really is not a very nice thing to say but it's one solution to dealing with a problem; it's on the same wave length as his liking Obama to fail; and it would have the same effect on the American people.

no, wait! it wouldn't.

the American people would be much better off by not being subjected to constant belittling because they are not in the right class or have the correct beliefs. the beliefs that Rush and his minions want to foist against all of the hopes and works of the men and women who created this nation, who fought to protect this country, and who sought to increase the freedoms promised by the "Declaration of Independence" and the Constitution.

i've often found it amazing that there is always a group in this country who has had to fight for the rights and freedoms that they already have because of the two documents.

African-Americans weren't fighting for new rights as history of bigotry has portrayed their struggle; they already have it.

Women weren't fighting for new rights to vote or equality in the workplace; they already had it according to the documents.

LGBTQ are not fighting for a new right to form unions equal to other groups; they already have it according to the documents.

talk about obfuscation...

at the basis of all Limbaugh's statements [and not verbally spoken] is always one thought: if they get what we already have, we won't have as much power and wealth.

sad.


[note: i posted this as a comment over on Pam's House Blend in an article Pam wrote - Rush: The 'Hell We Don't' Want Obama To Fail!' i decided i wanted to post it here also. Limbaugh is a great obfuscation from head to toe.
thanks, Pam!]

23 February 2009

monday morning mayhem...

economic stimulus?

Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with that expensive double-pane energy efficient kind .

Today, I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I still hadn't paid for them.

Hellooooo . . . just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am
automatically stupid.

So, I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told me last year,
that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves!

Helllooooo? It's been a year! I told him.

There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung
up. He never called back. I bet he felt like an idiot.




someone tell Congress...


fairy tailes will never be the same...


A teacher was reading the story of the Three Little Pigs to her class.

She Came to the part of the story where first pig was trying to gather the building Materials for his home. She read, '...and so the pig went up to the man with the wheelbarrow full of straw and said: 'Pardon me sir, but may I have some of that Straw to build my house?'

The teacher paused then asked the class: 'And what do you think the man said?'

One little boy raised his hand and said very matter-of-factly ...

'I think the Man would have said - 'Well, I'll be damned!! A talking pig!'

The teacher had to leave the room.




well, what can i say?


i'd love to see the manuscript...





new cardiologist's diet...


- If it tastes good, spit it out.


ain't that the truth...

20 February 2009

weekender

an old solution to the economics problem...


We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress.
- Will Rogers




too bad it didn't work this time...


i think we all need an extra glass of gin this weekend. i watched the DOW go down 115 points in the first 4 minutes of trading just now.

maybe two extra glasses of gin...

18 February 2009

unbelievable...

my mouth was WIDE OPEN when i first saw this...





in Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Outliers: The Story of Success, he shows that it takes a minimum of 10,000 hours of practice to be the best at anything. this kid is on the road to showing pool sharks a thing or two...




and i can't recommend Gladwell's book enough. it is making me challenge everything i've believed about education in my 37+ years in the profession - especially in Gifted Education.

16 February 2009

monday morning mayhem...

mostly visual, little thought required...


OMG.gif


Slinky Saying.jpg


Light travels.jpg


Frisbee saying.jpg


and then there's stupid -


Civil War Planes.jpg


and to help you through the week...


Thought for the day.jpg



heeheeeheeee...

15 February 2009

one day after - include your voice...

Freedom to Marry Week ended yesterday - on Valentine's Day.

As an awareness campaign there might not be any way to measure it's success. The polls, surveys and other subjective instruments show that there is growing support for equality in marriage. The most promising population is the young - those under 30 mainly. It has become more of a non-issue to them because they all know someone lgbtq and they measure people under different rules than there parents and older family members, for the most part.

There are many sites on the web who repeatedly say that it is only a matter of time before full equality in all areas, not just marriage, happens; and not just to lgbtq but other minorities who may have equality on the books but not in action and/or belief.

The catch phrase is "It will happen."

One of the things that is most important is to put faces to the imaginary assaults that the right-wingnuttery christianists use as their battle cries.

The Courage Campaign is an organization that is leading the charge in California because of the fiasco of Prop 8. It is also important that the message be spread to all parts of the country. Below is one of the videos they produced to make the point that there is more to the issue than sex. Actually, sex is probably least important to the main issue. People's lives are what are most important.



"Fidelity": Don't Divorce...
from Courage Campaign
on Vimeo.


add your name to their letter being sent to the California Supreme Court and help them give Ken Starr, who is taking the proverbial reins to the pro-Prop 8 people another setback in his nefarious career.

or go HERE to sign...

13 February 2009

weekender

well, you made it through the week. be thankful...

especially if you didn't receive a notice like the one below from your boss -


NOTICE

Dear Employee:

As a result of the reduction of money budgeted for all department areas, we are forced to cut down on our number of personnel. Under this plan, older employees will be asked to take early retirement, thus permitting the retention of younger people who represent our future.

Therefore, a program to phase out older personnel by the end of the next fiscal year, via retirement, will be placed into effect immediately.

This program will be known as S.L.A.P. (Severance of Late-Aged Personnel).

Employees who are SLAPPED will be given the opportunity to look for jobs outside the company.

SLAPPED employees can request a review of their employment records before actual retirement takes place. This review phase of the program will be called S.C.R.E.W. (Survey of Capabilities of Retired Elderly Workers).

All employees who have been SLAPPED and SCREWED may file an appeal with upper management.

This appeal is called S.H.A.F.T. (Study by Higher Authority Following Termination).

Under the terms of the new policy, an employee may be SLAPPED once, SCREWED twice, but may be SHAFTED as many times as the company deems appropriate.

If an employee follows the above procedure, he/she will be entitled to get: H.E.R.P.E.S. (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel's Early Severance) or CLAP (Combined Lump sum Assistance Payment).

As H.E.R.P.E.S. and C.L.A.P. are considered benefit plans, any employee who has received H.E.R.P.E.S. or C.L.A.P. will no longer be SLAPPED or SCREWED by the company.

Management wishes to assure the younger employees who remain on board that the company will continue its policy of training employees through our: Special High Intensity Training (S.H.I.T.)

We take pride in the amount of S.H.I.T. our employees receive. We have given our employees more S.H.I.T. than any company in this area. If any employee feels they do not receive enough S.H.I.T. on the job, see your immediate supervisor. Your supervisor is specially trained to make sure you receive all the S.H.I.T. you can stand.

And, once again, thanks for all your years of loyal service with us!

The Management


well, since you didn't get this notice, you're in the clear - for now.

let's hope that the only thing that happens this weekend is you get screwed...


did I say that? shame on me.

heeheeeheeee...

12 February 2009

February 12th...

has long held a special place in the hearts and minds of not just the United States but most of the world. We celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, probably the greatest president and leader the world has ever had.


Abraham Lincoln Memorial.jpg


He was, to all available knowledge and research, a humble, intelligent and special person. He was a risk taker and made tough decisions even if they were not what he would consider part of his psyche or ethic. He made them based on what was best; not what was politically correct or catering to small minded people.

Today is the 200th anniversary of his birth, a special occasion. In Illinois it is always a holiday for government and schools.

In spite of the checkered political history of the state, it was his home and maybe that is unconsciously why people are reacting to the recent embarrassments and shenanigans. I don't really know.


-----------------------


It is also a personally important day. Today would have been my mother's 89th birthday. She was born on the same date as Abraham Lincoln. She died 12 years ago, but you never really stop feeling a hole when you loose someone, especially a parent. One of the things that I do, and it is not something I broadcast, is visit the cemetery. Not just on her birthday but also the anniversary of her death. Actually, I do it for all of my close relatives. This habit is something she ingrained in me and I accept it. I would have to take her to the cemetery for all of these occasions.

One more thing - my grandparents didn't get to name her. Since she was born on February 12th, the doctor named her. Her first name was Lincoln.

It's a pretty name for a lady. I have also met men who have it as a first name.

I remember one story she told me when I was younger. She said, "Thank God I wasn't born a boy! I'm afraid the doctor would have named me Abraham!"

Of course that really wasn't the end of it. When she was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church, they wouldn't use the name Lincoln because it wasn't a saint's name. When the priest got to the part where he had to say her name, he said, "Catherine". My grandparents were furious; he never mentioned it to them before hand.

I can just hear my grandmother. She spoke very little English but swore in Italian like an old truck driver and added the English curse words at every chance. [she knew those!] They had to remind her often when I was around because I understood everything. I didn't totally speak English until I was four.

yes..., i did inherit her mouth, but i'm cautious most of the time, since i worked with kids for 37 years. though they taught me a few words my grandmother didn't know...

10 February 2009

i was going to give him/them a chance...

i decided that i cannot.

there is just too much at stake. the battle for change is slow and tedious. though it is necessary to work in this way for continued and permanent change, we cannot afford the comfort. Obama has to do some change in his own thinking and behaviour. in order to do away with the way things were always done in Washington, he need not compromise; he needs to destroy it.

until the ruling members of Congress are out, there will be no difference. there will be no progress. the work of the netroots movement is already being stymied by their blind faith. the roadshow in Elkhart and Fort Meyers was just that - a roadshow. now there needs to be substance.

the first two people that i believe need to go? Pelosi and Reid. they are just going to perpetuate the normal way things have been done.

the next is the Republicans - the entire party. they have been obstructionists ever since Reagan and Gingrich and they hold a new theory behind their behaviour. one that smacks of a reworking of the Divine Right of Kings. privilege is undemocratic and unfair, and they are the epitome of both.



as a reminder: i am not nor was i an Obama supporter after he announced running for the presidency. he reneged on a promise he made to the people of Illinois and he always took the no-road in his decision making. it doesn't work in Washington, and he needs to learn that fast. so if what i write seems harsh, it is. as i said above, there is too much at stake. and if i sound bitter, it's the taste in my mouth because, "I told you so."

no comment... continued...

in listening to the spinmeisters that Olbermann and Maddow had on tonight regarding the state secrets stance mentioned in an early post from the Ninth Circuit Court, they are saying that the new administration can't move too quickly and has to maintain some sense of continuity until it can make the case for change.

my no comment regarding this?

B***S***!

Freedom to Marry Week...

Freedom to Marry Logo.jpg
February 8-14, 2009.




join the conversation on Freedom to Marry

just havin' some fun...

and needing a silly break...

yesterday was the 100th anniversary of Carmen Miranda's birthday. this is my favorite song for some obvious, and some not so obvious, reasons. enjoy...


Happy Birthday, Carmen Miranda.

she would have been 100 today. she's a hoot and always will be. this is my favorite of all the extant footage of her. yes... it's so gay!



The Lady In The Tutti Frutti Hat


Sung by Carmen Miranda
Written for: The Gang's All Here (1943)

Lyric: Leo Robin

Music: Harry Warren





I wonder why does ev'rybody look at me

And then begin to talk about a Christmas tree?

I hope that means that ev'ryone is glad to see

The lady in the tutti-frutti hat.

The gentlemen, they want to make me say, "Si, si,
"
But I don't tell them that, I tell them,
"Yes, sir-ee!"
And maybe that is why they come for dates to me,

The lady in the tutti-frutti hat.

Some people say I dress too gay,

But ev'ry day, I feel so gay;

And when I'm gay, I dress that way,

Is something wrong with that?

Americanos tell me that my hat is high,

Because I will not take it off to kiss a guy;

But if I ever start to take it off, ay, ay!

I do that once for Johnny Smith

And he is very happy with

The lady in the tutti-frutti hat.





You hear a lot of people shouting, "There she goes!
"
You see a señorita dressed in flashy clothes,

In Rio de Janeiro, ev'rybody knows

The lady in the tutti-frutti hat.

When she begins to sing a song in Portuguese,

The temp'rature goes up a hundred more degrees;

Although they're freezing prices, they would never freeze

The lady in the tutti-frutti hat.

It isn't any wonder that
She likes her native habitat,

'Cause when she has to pick a hat,

She picks it off the trees.

She always has a half a dozen Romeos,

And when they come to sing a serenade, she throws

A lemon or banana like you throw a rose,

But Casanovas still prefer
That hep and happy character,

The lady in the tutti-frutti hat.



they were really dirty lyrics back then...
not to mention the bananas...
i wonder what they were really thinking???

silly me...


Some people say I dress too gay,

But ev'ry day, I feel so gay;

And when I'm gay, I dress that way,

Is something wrong with that?

no comment...

the HELL i won't comment...

Obama Backs Off a Reversal on Secrets (New York Times, February 9, 2009)

in response to a case before the Ninth Circuit Court
...Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian native, and four other detainees filed suit against a subsidiary of Boeing for arranging flights for the Bush administration’s “extraordinary rendition” program, in which terrorism suspects were secretly taken to other countries, where they say they were tortured.
The new administration, who criticized the Bush administration for its handling of terrorism cases, invoked the exact same stance concerning states-secrets

When asked by the justices,
...a government lawyer, Douglas N. Letter, made the same state-secrets argument on Monday, startling several judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

“Is there anything material that has happened” that might have caused the Justice Department to shift its views, asked Judge Mary M. Schroeder, an appointee of President Jimmy Carter, coyly referring to the recent election.

“No, your honor,” Mr. Letter replied.

Judge Schroeder asked, “The change in administration has no bearing?”

Once more, he said, “No, Your Honor.” The position he was taking in court on behalf of the government had been “thoroughly vetted with the appropriate officials within the new administration,” and “these are the authorized positions,” he said.

The court was surprised and inquired again. The reponse:
“No, your honor,” he said once more. The position he was taking in court on behalf of the government had been “thoroughly vetted with the appropriate officials within the new administration,” and “these are the authorized positions,” he said.

That produced an angry response from Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the plaintiffs in the case.

“This is not change,” he said in a statement. “This is definitely more of the same. Candidate Obama ran on a platform that would reform the abuse of state secrets, but President Obama’s Justice Department has disappointingly reneged on that important civil liberties issue. If this is a harbinger of things to come, it will be a long and arduous road to give us back an America we can be proud of again.”

so, here is the first of what i fear will be a litany of my making this statement:

I TOLD YOU SO!


there will be no change, real change that is. Obama is first and foremost a politician. Nothing more; nothing less.

as another example, Obama has already indicated he is going to take more time to consider revoking DADT. As one blogger, and the New York Times, have already asked, "How many more studies do we have to have when all the research and surveys show this to no longer be a big issue with the brass even asking the same question.

again i say

I TOLD YOU SO!

09 February 2009

monday morning mayhem...

cancel your credit card before you die..........

Now some people are really stupid!!!! and others are, well, keep reading. you'll understand.

Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die.

This is so priceless, and so, so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today.

A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00 when she died, but now somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to Citibank.

Here is the exchange :

Family Member: 'I am calling to tell you she died back in January.'

Citibank: 'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member: 'Maybe, you should turn it over to collections.'

Citibank: 'Since it is two months past due, it already has been.'

Family Mem ber: So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?'

Citibank: 'Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!'

Family Member: 'Do you think God will be mad at her?'

Citibank: 'Excuse me?'
< /B>
Family Member: 'Did you just get what I was telling you - the part about her being dead?'

Citibank: 'Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor.'


Supervisor gets on the phone:

Family Member: 'I'm calling to tell you, she died back in January with a $0 b alance.'

Citibank: 'The account was never closed and late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member: 'You mean you want to collect from her estate?'

Citibank: (Stammer) 'Are you her lawyer?'

Family Member: 'No, I'm her great nephew.' (Lawyer info was given)

Citibank: 'Could you fax us a certificate of death?'

Family Member: ' Sure.' (Fax number was given )


After they get the fax :

Citibank: 'Our system just isn't setup for death. I don't know what more I can do to help.'

Family Member: 'Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. She won't care.'

Citibank: 'Well, the late fees and charges will still apply.'

(What is wrong with these people?!?)

Family Member: 'Would you like her new billing address?'

Citibank: 'That might help...'

Family Member: ' Odessa Memorial Cemetery , Highway 129, Plot Number 69.'

Citibank: 'Sir, that's a cemetery!'

Family Member: 'And what do you do with dead people on your planet???'



(Priceless!! hilarious! and ooh, so true...)

And you wondered why Citi is going broke and need the feds to bail them out!!



looking for my wallet...




my CRS has been terminal for years...


haven't had an Ole and Sven for a while...

Ole, who is quite elderly at this point in his life, is resting peacefully on the front porch of a nursing home in the country, when he sees a cloud of dust up the road. He watches a farmer approaching, with a wagon.

"Good afternoon!" hollers out Ole.

"Afternoon," says Sven.

"Vhere you headed?" asks Ole.

"Home to my farm."

"Vhat do you have in da vagon?" Ole continued.

"Manure," said Sven.

"Manure, eh? Vhat do you do vit it?"

"I spread it over my strawberries," Sven says matter-of-factly.

"Vell," says Ole, "Yu should come over here for lunch someday. Ve use
whipped cream."



hope you week is topped with whipped cream and not..., well, you know.

08 February 2009

papal obfuscated audacity...

I know this doesn't come directly from the Panzerpapa but he is the one who started this entire brouhaha by re-communicating [can that be a real word?] the bishop in England who denies the wholesale slaughter of Jews in WWII - Williamson - and is now trying to rehabilitate him.

Pope's Holocaust denier agrees to investigate whether Holocaust actually happened - rejects visit to Auschwitz Americablog, February 7, 2009.
"Since I see that there are many honest and intelligent people who think differently, I must look again at the historical evidence," the British bishop was quoted as saying.

He's going to revisit the historical evidence? What universe is this man living in? Why is he refusing to go to Auschwitz? What is he afraid of? The truth?

When I visited Dachau near Munich, I cannot describe the sense of overwhelming dread, sadness and shame I felt for humanity, or should I say lack of it. This man is the epitome of what caused this to happen.

For the church to even consider recognizing him would be a sin in their catechism and dogma. Hell, he should be drummed out of the human race not just the RC church.

07 February 2009

Paul Krugman's take on the obfuscated "stimulus bill"...

in very brief words -
The real question now is whether Obama will be able to come back for more once it’s clear that the plan is way inadequate. My guess is no. This is really, really bad. [emphasis added]

we will be living with the Tsar's mess for many, many years to come...


from the New York Times, February 7, 2009 - What the centrists have wrought. The entire article is very short - six paragraphs. You should read the entire thing.

06 February 2009

weekender...

I Have a Question.gif


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea...
does that mean that one out of five enjoys it?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Why do croutons come in airtight packages?
Aren't they just stale bread to begin with?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
If people from Poland are called Poles,
then why aren't people from Holland called Holes?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
If it's true that we are here to help others,
then what exactly are the others here for?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge,
would they call it Fed UP? ?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I thought about how mothers feed their babies
with tiny little spoons and forks,
so I wondered what do Chinese mothers use. Toothpicks?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office?
What are we supposed to do, write to them?
Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps
so the mailmen can look for them while they deliver the mail?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Is it true that you never really learn to swear until you learn to drive?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As income tax time approaches, did you ever notice:
When you put the two words 'The' and 'IRS' together, it spells

'THEIRS'?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


YOU...
make it a great weekend!

04 February 2009

no one could make this stuff up...




i can't say anything else about this. if it were a t.v. show it would have won numerous Emmy awards. it would have been turned into a movie by Jack Black or Adam Sandler, but they too could never have written this stuff.

the Tsar certainly does give a new and definitive definition of the word clown.

no to mention the word obfuscation...

02 February 2009

DADT: justice and equality..

Andy Towle at Towleroad has a post up today entitled OBAMA: MORE ANALYSIS NEEDED BEFORE 'DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL' REPEAL

While Obama's press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a Change.gov video that "Yes," the President would lift the ban on gays in the military, Obama is signaling that it will be months if not years before enough canvassing of military officials and congressional leadership can be done for him to be comfortable in moving forward....

it basically discusses how much research and looking into do we have to have.

there is a discussion after the post in the comments that seems to have a slant of hopelessness. i had to add to the discussion, and below is the comment i left:
i met two guys last week who are in the service and are together. talking with them was fascinating. they were really great guys. despite the fact that they are ingrained with the military command structure as part of their lives (they had the aura of military personnel) they were open about their history and relationship because where we were was a totally accepting and open environment at the time and they had nothing to fear. everyone else was lgbtq or friends there. [i realize i'm being a little evasive here, but i don't want to take any chance of compromising their jobs in any way.]

i was very proud to meet these two men. they are doing something they truly believe in by being in the military, yet the sense of how careful they knew they had to be and hiding who they really are has to be so much hard work, and they talked about the impact it has on their lives, both together and individually.

i felt a sense of sadness, and i told them this, because no matter what we've all gone through, they have to deal with something that has to be so constraining it has to be stifling at times.

i also feel safer because of them; they are helping to protect me and the country. their sense of dedication and duty was so obvious. they wouldn't want to be doing anything else. i applaud them wholeheartedly.

i don't see an end to DADT in the near future; i see Obama doing exactly what he did when he was here in Illinois as a state senator - placating everyone. i see him working for one thing and one thing only - reelection in four years!

anyone who was hoping he would make the changes he talked about is a dreamer. take for example his repeated statements during the campaigh that he was "not in favor of" same-sex marriage. for those of you who may not have heard, Chicago's "Windy City Times" has a taped interview with him when he was running for state office when he "explicitly" stated that he supports total marriage equality.

what do you think changed his mind...?

i also feel a sense of helplessness for the two guys i mention above. i don't know what i can do. i support Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) monetarily and spreading the word on doing away with DADT, but i don't feel it to be enough.

no one should be forced to live in fear of being who they are. if you're older, as i am, i have to tell you that we have only felt a tiny amount of the fear of being outed compared to them. if you are younger, i want to tell you how lucky you are because it has been so much easier for you. i also thank the gods, fate or whatever you believe or don't believe in that it is going to become easier - just not as fast as we want or it should.

i'm a dreamer. i live in a world inside my head that wants everyone to be treated equally.

i want the adage focused in Leviticus, by JC, and with the "Golden Rule" to be a reality.

i'm a child of the 60's, the Age of Aquarius.

i have a strong sense in the Hopi Native-American principle of When hope is gone life is over.

i refuse to give up that hope, but it gets harder every day when i see and hear the new ways man extends his inhumanity to others...

monday morning mayhem...

got back last night from a great time on an Atlantis Events Caribbean cruise, probably the most fun i've ever had on one. met lots of fantastic guys from all over the world. i didn't want to come back - especially to the 27° weather here in Chicago. it was only 68° in Miami when we docked and the Floridians were complaining of how cold it was! that in itself is a monday morning mayhem...

but here's a regular mayhem that was waiting for me when i got back -


it pays to mind your own business...


I was walking past the mental hospital the other day, and all the patients were shouting,

"13!....13!....13!"

The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a little gap in the planks and looked through to see what was going on.

Some bastard poked me in the eye with a stick.

Then they all started shouting,

"14!....14!....14!"





though i don't miss him...



i do miss his eloquence -


'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.'
- George W. Bush


'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.'
- George W. Bush


'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.'
- George W. Bush



'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.'
- George W. Bush


'The future will be better tomorrow.'
- George W. Bush


'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.'
- George W. Bush


'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'
- George W Bush


'We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe . We are a part of Europe '
- George W. Bush


'Public speaking is very easy.'
- George W. Bush

'A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.'
- George W. Bush

'I have opinions of my own --strong opinions-- but I don't always agree with them.'
- George Bush


'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
- George W. Bush


'For NASA, space is still a high priority.'
- George W. Bush


'Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.'
- George W. Bush


'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.'
- George W. Bush


think he was looking through the same hole in the fence?


have a great week.