And now, the end is near...

And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and ev'ry highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way

i'm in a strange place right now. in one week i retire after 37 years of doing something i truly, truly love - working with kids. i know it is the right decision. my friends have told me over and over how it is the right decision for me, but it is really very scary.

i have gone through all of the stages of grief, at least i thought i had, since i made the decision, but you never can be certain of anything, really.

i always had a special place in my heart and life for the song my way. i think that i know why better now than at any other time in the past.

i really like this version by robbie williams. there is a spot towards the end where you look at his face and he is ready to cry. i feel that way right now. it is the first time i felt like crying, maybe because it is one-week my life completely changes.

the one thing that i can say is that the most important thing in living my life is having done it my way. i never compromised on that, and i had parents that allowed me to do it. i am very fortunate...

more than anyone can know

i've also posted this on my main site - no matter what

monday morning mayhem...

1. be careful what you say...

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3.

The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.

Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.

"If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,

'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'

Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,

"Ryan, you be Jesus!"

or

A wife invited some people to dinner.

At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said,

"Would you like to say the blessing?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied.

"Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered.

The daughter bowed her head and said,

"Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

2. Lipstick in School -- Priceless!

According to a news report, a certain private school in Washington recently was faced with a unique problem.

A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night the maintenance man would remove them and the next day the girls would put them back.

Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night.

To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

3. sex... now that I have your attention:

"Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is."
- Barbara Bush (Former US First Lady -- and you didn't think Barbara had a sense of humor)

"There's a new medical crisis. Doctors are reporting that many men are having allergic reactions to latex condoms. They say they cause severe swelling. So what's the problem?"
- Dustin Hoffman

"See, the problem is that God gives men a brain and a penis, and only enough blood to run one at a time."
- Robin Williams

"Sex at age 90 is like trying to shoot pool with a rope."
- George Burns

"Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand."
- Woody Allen

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

can someone explain...

72-year old Gay bashing victim dies from injuries

Earlier this week, Andy at Towleroad made us aware of the brutal and senseless gay bashing of a 72 year old resident of Detroit. Today, the victim, Andrew Anthos, died from his injuries....

Don't tell us hate crimes don't matter. Don't tell us we don't need protections. Don't tell us we need to move on. Don't tell us that while members of our community are still being bashed. And, don't be mistaken: We're still not safe in America.

And a quick note: The religious right is lying to you. They say they oppose hate crimes legislation. No they don't. There already is a federal hate crimes law, and it covers the religious right (race, color, religion or national origin). What we're proposing is that the current federal law be broadened to include everyone (gender, disability and sexual orientation). The religious right is crowing about how this will make it a crime to criticize gay people. News flash, I criticize the religious right - they're a bunch of hateful loons - every day on this blog, and I'm obviously not going to jail. They're liars. If we're going to have a hate crimes law, it should cover everyone. Fair is fair. Joe Sudbay over at Americablog

What was the man doing that set the killer off? He was singing! On the bus. The attacker asked him if he was gay. The killer followed him when he left the bus and hit him in the back of the head with a metal pipe. What was the guy doing on a bus with a metal pipe? I agree with Sudbay. Fair is fair. Everyone no matter who they are is supposed to be protected. Even convicts and prisoners seem to have more protection than the elderly, women, the disabled and gays. What is it going to take to make these wingnut christians understand that they aren't very christian? just asking...

Ex-pastor defends acts

The attorney for a former Baptist church leader who had spoken out against homosexuality said Thursday that the minister has a constitutional right to solicit sex from an undercover policeman.

Authorities allege that Latham asked the undercover policeman to come up to his hotel for oral sex.

Latham’s attorney, Mack Martin, filed a motion to have the misdemeanor lewdness charge thrown out, saying the Supreme Court ruled in the 2003 decision Lawrence v. Texas that it was not illegal for consenting adults to engage in private homosexual acts.

“Now, my client’s being prosecuted basically for having offered to engage in such an act, which basically makes it a crime to ask someone to do something that’s legal,” Martin said.

Let's get this straight. [pardon the pun] This man is opposed to gays. He worked against anything that supports gay rights. He wanted gays to reject their “sinful, destructive lifestyle.” He meets an undercover policeman in a bar. He asks him to come up to his room for gay sex.There is no request for money. The pastor is arrested for lewdness. He then says that what he did was okay because Lawrence v. Texas gives him the right to engage in private consensual homosexual sex. There seems to be two problems here. One, the pastor is using a court case with which we have to assume he was totally opposed in his own defense. Two, the Kansas City Police & prosecutor are saying that they have a right to arrest and prosecute anyone for wanting/having gay sex. How is that following the dictates of Lawrence v. Texas and isn't the pastor calling the kettle burnt? just asking...

'Secretive' Christian conservative club 'dismayed at the absence of a champion to carry their banner in the next election'

"A group of influential Christian conservatives and their allies emerged from a private meeting at a Florida resort this month dissatisfied with the Republican presidential field and uncertain where to turn," David D. Kirkpatrick writes. "The event was a meeting of the Council for National Policy, a secretive club whose few hundred members include Dr. James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family, the Rev. Jerry Falwell of Liberty University and Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. Although little known outside the conservative movement, the council has become a pivotal stop for Republican presidential primary hopefuls, including then-Gov. George W. Bush on the eve of his 1999 primary campaign."

Kirkpatrick adds, "But in a stark shift from the group’s influence under President Bush, the group risks relegation to the margins. Many of the conservatives who attended the event, held at the beginning of the month at the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island, Fla., said they were dismayed at the absence of a champion to carry their banner in the next election."

Okay. Let's see what's more surprising. That there is a Secretive Christian Conservative Club? Nahhhh... That there isn't a dufus they can choose to pander to them? Posssssibly... That there isn't anyone dumb enough to believe that he/she needs them? Probbbbably... That there isn't a conservative that meets all of their qualifications for conservative? Defffffinitely... That King George W won't be able to kiss their collective asses after January 20, 2009? Absssssolutely... That they may loose any influence to make more money for their pulpits? Aye, there's the rub...

U.S. can't afford another war: Iran - Chicago Sun-Times
Pentagon drafting plans to bomb Iran - Americablog.com

Iran's foreign minister said Saturday the United States was in no position for another war, and maintained that negotiations -- not threats -- were the only way to resolve the standoff over its nuclear activities.
Manouchehr Mottaki was responding to Vice President Dick Cheney, who renewed Washington's warning to Iran earlier Saturday that "all options" were on the table if Tehran continues to defy U.N. demands to halt uranium enrichment.

Mottaki said the United States could not afford to settle its differences with Iran by launching a third war after Afghanistan and Iraq. - Chicago Sun-Times

and

What the hell. We can't win two wars, so let's have three! These people are seriously nuts. Oh, but the plans are to "just" bomb Iran's ability to help the insurgents in Iraq. Uh, ok. And what do we do when the Iranians decide to flood across the boarder and hit us back? Of course, this is exactly what Bush wants to have happen - he wants all out war with Iran. The problem is the Iranians know that we don't have the ability anymore to fight a third war against them. So what the hell is Bush doing? We have an idiot as president. - Americablog.com

We have an idiot for a president. I don't think it could be said any better. Oh, wait...

Impeach the bastard!

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. - Oscar Wilde

Sources: Americablog, Kansas City Star, The Raw Story, Americablog & Chicago Sun-Times

fey...

I'm not really a fan of Boston Legal but I have watched it a little. It's actually on at the same time when something else that I watch is. This video from a recent segment is not just excellent but really funny to boot. Watch James Spader closely. He's giving a double perfomance, maybe even a triple...



Spader gives an entirely brilliant performance of fey. [Yes, I know. My British grandparents are showing using this word.] Not just that but his argument is incredible also. It can be taken to so many different levels and so many different postures. It's actually something that I've always thought to be close to impossible - cynically sarcastic. Check out William Shatner when Spader talks about the sleep problem.

i would only accept the blender if it was kitchenaid. what brand would you like?

just asking...

thanks to towelroad for the heads up.

monday morning mayhem...

1. BEAN SOUP…

Mrs. O'Malley arrived in Boston from Ireland ... and in no time at all her bean soup made her the talk of New England society.

At a party celebrating the sale of her recipe to a fancy Charles Street restaurant, an old matron approached Mrs. O'Malley and said, "My dear girl, what is the secret of your soup?"

Mrs. O'Malley said, "The secret o' me soup is that I use but two-hundred thirty-nine beans to make it."

The woman said, "Why only two-hundred thirty-nine?"

Mrs. O'Malley said, "Because one more would make it too farty."

2. be careful where you s(h)it...




3. neologisms...

(that sounds dirty)

-- Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

-- flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

-- abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

-- esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

-- willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

-- negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

-- lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

-- gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.

-- flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

-- balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

-- testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

-- rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

-- pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.

-- oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

-- frisbeetarianism (n.), the belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

-- circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

4. children will listen

A teacher was doing a study testing the senses of first graders using a bowl of Lifesavers.

As they tasted each the children began to say:

"Red............cherry,"
"Yellow.........lemon,"
"Green..........lime,"
"Orange.........orange,"

Finally the teacher gave them all honey Lifesavers.

After eating them, none of the children could identify the taste.

"Well," he said, "I'll give you all a clue; It's what your mother may
sometimes call your father."

One little girl looked up in horror, spit her Lifesaver out and yelled,
"Oh My God! They're !#*holes!"

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

can someone explain...

Furor on Rush to Require Cervical Cancer Vaccine

Racing to embrace a new vaccine, at least 20 states are considering mandatory inoculation of young girls against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

But a roaring backlash has some health experts worried that the proponents, including the vaccine’s maker, Merck, have pushed too far too fast, potentially undermining eventual prospects for the broadest possible immunization.

Groups wary of drug industry motives find themselves on the same side of the anti-vaccination debate with unexpected political allies: religious and cultural conservatives who oppose mandatory use of the vaccine because they say it would encourage sexual activity by young girls.

The backlash from the point of view that it is happening too fast has an excellent point. Couple that with the fact that the immunization costs around $400 right now and there is grounds to question the expediency of the effort by the drug manufacturer. A little price gouging perhaps? The stand by the religious and cultural conservatives is a little questionnable. What is their real motive? Could it be continued subjugation and control of women? I have yet to find anyone needing encouragement when it comes to the flesh. As far as the religious and cultural conservatives aren't they the group with the highest divorce rate because they had to get married at a young age because they couldn't keep their collective pants on? just asking...

Exta, Extra, Inventor of the Remote Dies - Turn Your TV On and Off 21 Times as a Salute

Robert Adler died this week at 93 years old. He invented the wireless tv remote a little over 50 years ago, finally giving men an important responsibility around the house

There are just too many places to take this story - and so many jokes - but the fact is that Robert Adler probably had an impact on life equal to the invention of the light bulb. I'm serious. There's just no other comment that I can make. Well, before you do the 21-click salute, make sure the batteries in your remote are not almost out of juice. I wonder if he died with a remote in his hand?

2 Baghdad Car Bombs Kill 56, Injure Scores

Two car bombs exploded in an outdoor market in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 56 people and injuring scores in the deadliest attack since U.S. and Iraqi forces began a major security push around the capital last week.

Of course, just yesterday the MSM and Washington was reporting how the last two days had been so quiet in Baghdad that it was a sign that the surge was starting to work. Is there supposed to be some sort of timetable that the insurgents use in planning their attacks? Can you hear the planning sessions now, "Oh, let's not bomb for two days. That way the infidels will think that their surge is working. Then we'll blow up a huge bomb and kill lots of people when they let down their guard." Yeah, right. It's probably more like, "Bomb the f*^@ers as soon as the new shipment of explosives arrives. Inventory is kind of low right at the moment.

Flier bill of rights in works

Malkin: “I’m skeptical of anything that has ‘Bill of Rights’ tacked on to it”

Lawmakers in the House and the Senate are drafting bills that would create a new "airline passenger bill of rights" that, among other things, would require planes delayed on the ground more than three hours to allow passengers to get off, compel airlines to provide passengers with frequent updates about delays and mandate disclosure of information about chronically delayed or canceled flights....

If the suggested legislation takes off ...

Provisions in a proposed passenger bill of rights include:

- Give passengers the right to deplane after a flight has been held on the ground for three hours.

- Require airlines to frequently update passengers at the airport and aboard aircraft on the cause and timing of delays.

- Require airlines to disclose information on chronically delayed or canceled flights at the time of ticket purchase.

- Require airlines to make every effort to return checked bags to passengers within 24 hours.

- Require airlines to draft and prominently display a Passenger Bill of Rights, which either meets or exceeds the standards in this bill.

There should be no problem with this concept. From a marketing and business standpoint it is something that the airlines should want to happen. They should be doing it right now. I once had an experience like the passengers on jetBlue last week. This was a flight from Paris to Chicago via New York. We took off late from Paris because TWA didn't want to pay for hotel rooms for passengers on a connecting flight from Cairo via Frankfort. We made up time and got to JFK only 30 minutes late. However, since we were late, JFK wouldn't let the plane go to the gate. We had to park on the tarmac and disembark using a bus. No problem except that they only used one bus and the plane was a fully loaded 747! It took more than an hour. We missed our connecting flight by 10 minutes. TWA made arrangements for another flight but... it was at LaGuardia! They gave us $20 for a taxi but didn't bother to tell Pan American that they put us on the flight to Chicago.

Thanks for a very understanding ticket agent, we got on the flight and pulled away from the gate immediately. As soon as we did the pilot came on the P.A. system and said, "I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that they are going to let us take off even with the approaching weather front. The bad news is we're #34 in the queu. I'm instructing the flight attendants to break out the Jack Daniels!" We got to Chicago 18+ hours after leaving Paris in what is normally a 9 hour 15 minute flight. Most of the time we were on a plane. TWA sent me a $50 voucher for my next flight with them. Quess what? There was no next flight with TWA. There is no such thing as TWA anymore either. It's what happens when you have shitty business practices.

As far as the second headline and its connection to the story on Passenger Bill of Rights, Michelle Malkin interviewed Kate Hanni, the woman who is behind the passenger movement, and it was her openning response to Ms. Hanni. Wouldn't you question anyone who has a problem with the concept of a Bill of Rights? If there were not a Bill of Rights, Ms. Malkin wouldn't be able to spew the evils she spits out. I also do with her as I did with TWA: I don't watch or read her s*^@! The companion to freedom of speech is freedom to not listen...


Sources: New York Times, LAist.com, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Crooks & Liars

look closely...

very, very closely...



amazing, simply amazing...

gives an entire new meaning to finger painting. don't you think?

Galileo Galilei got house arrest...

and it took 359 years for his sentence to be commuted. er, reversed:

VATICAN CITY -- It's official: The Earth revolves around the sun, even for the Vatican. The Roman Catholic Church has admitted erring these past 359 years in formally condemning Galileo Galilei for entertaining scientific truths it long denounced as anti-scriptural heresy.

Pope John Paul II himself turned up Saturday for a meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences to help set the record straight on behalf of the 17th century Italian mathematician, astronomer and physicist who was the first man to use a telescope and who is remembered as one of history's greatest scientists.

"The underlying problems of this case concern both the nature of science and the message of faith," the pope said. "One day we may find ourselves in a similar situation, which will require both sides to have an informed awareness of the field and of the limits of their own competencies."

Thirteen years after he appointed it, a commission of historic, scientific and theological inquiry brought the pope a "not guilty" finding for Galileo, who, at age 69 in 1633, was forced by the Roman Inquisition to repent and spent the last eight years of his life under house arrest.
Vatican admits Galileo correct, Los Angeles Times, October 31, 1992

What was the biblical reference all those years? There are a few. Here are some: #1) "The world also is stablished that it cannot be moved." Psalm 93:1. #2) "He...hangeth the Earth upon nothing." Job 26:7. #3) “He has fixed the earth firm, immovable.” 1 Chronicles 16:30. #4) “He has fixed the earth firm, immovable ...” Psalm 96:10. #5) “Thou didst fix the earth on its foundation so that it never can be shaken.” Psalm 104:5. #6) “...who made the earth and fashioned it, and himself fixed it fast...” Isaiah 45:18.

The problem with these arguments is that they were first used to prove that the earth was flat, and the number one purveyor of that theory was the Book of Enoch. He says:

I went to the extreme ends of the earth and saw there huge beasts, each different from the other and different birds (also) differing from one another in appearance, beauty, and voice. And to the east of those beasts, I saw the ultimate ends of the earth which rests on the heaven. And the gates of heaven were open, and I saw how the stars of heaven come out...(1 Enoch 33:1-2).

Okay. Houston, we have a problem. There is no way that anyone can deny that the earth is round and has no ends with photos from the Space Shuttle. Well, actually, they can deny it, but what would most people think? Hittin' the sauce, maybe? Wouldn't that seem to be the end of the argument.

Well, it ain't over yet, folks!

Seems that there is a letter/email going around, endorsed by Georgia legislator Ben Bridges (R) and Texas House of Representatives member Warren Chisum (R), that proves not only that the Copernican theory of the earth spinning on its axis is false but that eveything in the heavens revolves around the earth AND it is a Jewish Kabbalah conspirancy AND it will hold water in the courts now because it meets the court standard of being a religious belief rather than scientific fact!

What?

Yes, since the courts held that creationism is a religious and not a scientific belief, it can not be taught in the schools. Now that these people have proven beyond a shadow of doubt that evolution and that the earth is the center of the universe, they are pushing their agenda that evolution is also a religious belief foisted on the world by the Jews and, therefore, the courts can not but ban its teaching in the schools as they have creationism. Of course, then it also means that if they don't ban it then creationism has to be taught side-by-side. It's a win-win situation as they see it. [Oh, by the way, Georgia HB 179 is already written as a model for not only Georgia but also other state legislatures - To replace the amended new Code section designated as Code Section _________concerning the teaching of evolution in tax supported education in the State of _____________..]

Don't believe it? Check it out at Sadly, No!.com. He has a copy of the original memo posted with a link to the original website - The Earth Is Not Moving. I kid you not.

Here's a money quote from the web page:

The Earth is not rotating...nor is it going around the sun.

and it not only attacks Copernican theory but evolution. BIG TIME.

so, if galileo got house arrest, what should these guys get? immunity? insanity pleas? extra Thorazine®? a knock up side the head? or a swift kick? do you think it would do any good?

just asking...

hatred...

Former Miami Heat basketball player has added more fuel to bigotry and homophobia in a recent radio interview where he announced quite frankly that "I hate gay people."

That's nothing new. He made his comments in reaction to John Amaechi, a former NBA player who recently came out.

Hardaway, speaking by telephone from Las vegas, talked with Berry at length about his believe (sic) that homosexuality is wrong, explaining that he would not like to play with a gay player, and said his comments were not really that controversial.

Hardaway told Berry that many players believe as he does, but don't say so out of political correctness.

Berry asked if Hardaway would feel the same way about a member of his family, if he should discover that person was gay, Hardaway answered with an abrupt 'Yes.'
cbs4.com

Of course, now Hardaway has apologized

``Yes, I regret it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said I hate gay people or anything like that,'' he said. ``That was my mistake.
365gay.com

Of course he's apologized. His people got to him and said something like: You want to loose income? Saying something like that will cost you endorsement money! You see it really always comes down to money. He hasn't changed his belief, neither has Isaiah Washington after his rehab.

The sad thing is that Hardaway really does believe what he says. Have no doubt. And so does the vast majority of the rest of the world. His comments are about gays. In the interview the reporter asked him about the KKK and their hatred of blacks in a connection to his hatred being based on the same thing. Hardaway didn't really respond. He skirted the connection, coming very close to saying that it wasn't the same thing. Hatred of any kind is always the same thing.

In Northern Ireland it's hatred against catholics. In Bosnia it's hatred against Serbs. In Japan it's hatred against Koreans. The Arabs hate Jews. The Jews hate Arabs. The Muslims hate Christians. It goes on and on and on.

Gays are the one group that can bring all of the diverse hatred together. You see, the Bosnians hate gays. The Serbs hate gays. The catholics hate gays. The protestants hate gays. The Japanese hate gays. The Koreans hate gays. The Arabs hate gays. The Jews hate gays. The Muslims hate gays. Everybody hates gays. There is no end in sight. We hate what we fear the most.

The question is What is it that we really fear?

and as far as Mr. Hardaway, sorry sir - apology not accepted...

monday morning mayhem...

1. a little tax humor...

A little boy wanted $100.00 very badly and prayed for weeks, but nothing happened. Then he decided to write God a letter requesting the $100.00.

When the postal authorities received the letter to God, USA, they decided to send it to the President. The president was so amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5.00 bill. The president thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy.

The little boy was delighted with the $5.00 bill and sat down to write a thank-you note to God, which read:

Dear God: Thank you very much for sending the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you sent it through
Washington, DC., and those assholes deducted $95.00 in taxes.

2. eye exam...


if you can't decipher the above illusion, pull your eyes so that they are slanted, like an oriental's. i can't explain why this works. it's actually weirder than the illusion itself...

3. signage...

Sign over a Gynecologist's Office:
Dr. Jones, at your cervix

*************************************

In a Podiatrist's office:
Time wounds all heels.

**************************

On a Septic Tank Truck in Oregon:
Yesterday's Meals on Wheels

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a Septic Tank Truck:
We're #1 in the #2 business.

**************************

At a Proctologist's door:
To expedite your visit please back in

**************************

On a Plumber's truck:
We repair what your husband fixed.

**************************

On a Plumber's truck:
Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber.

**************************

Pizza Shop Slogan:
7 days without pizza makes one weak.

**************************

At a Tire Shop in Milwaukee:
Invite us to your next blowout.

**************************

On a Plastic Surgeon's Office door:
Hello. Can we pick your nose?

**************************

At a Towing company:
We don't charge an arm and a leg. We want tows.

**************************

On an Electrician's truck:
Let us remove your shorts.

**************************

In a Nonsmoking Area:
If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.

**************************

On a Maternity Room door:
Push. Push. Push.

**************************

At an Optometrist's Office:
If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place.

**************************

On a Taxidermist's window:
We really know our stuff.

**************************

At a Car Dealership:
The best way to get back on your feet - miss a car payment.

**************************

Outside a Muffler Shop:
No appointment necessary. We hear you coming.

**************************

In a Veterinarian's waiting room:
Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!

**************************

At the Electric Company:
We would be delighted if you send in your payment.
However, if you don't, you will be.

**************************

In a Restaurant window:
Don't stand there and be hungry, Come on in and get fed up.

**************************

In the front yard of a Funeral Home:
Drive carefully. We'll wait.

**************************

At a Propane Filling Station:
Thank heaven for little grills.

**************************

Sign at a Chicago Radiator Shop:
Best place in town to take a leak.

4. payback...



i don't know what's worse. drivers using cell phones or women putting on make-up while driving. yes, i do - cell phones...

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

can someone explain...

Putin Says U.S. Is Undermining Global Stability

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia accused the United States on Saturday of provoking a new nuclear arms race by developing ballistic missile defenses, undermining international institutions and making the Middle East more unstable through its clumsy handling of the Iraq war....

The world, he said, is now unipolar: “One single center of power. One single center of force. One single center of decision making. This is the world of one master, one sovereign....”

“They bring us to the abyss of one conflict after another,” he said. “Political solutions are becoming impossible....”

Of course the Americans in attendance were quick and vociferous in their denials and cry of Putin trying to restart the Cold War, but what they fail to realize is that this is the way he, and quite probably most of the rest of the world, see it. One of the things that the Bush administration can easily be accused of is tunnel vision and viewing the world with blinkers on their heads. They tout global economics and policies but only in the way that they want it to be. F*^# the rest of the world. We know best. We are the ultimate democracy. We are the example the rest of the world should use. We should tell everyone else how to live. We must control the world's resources (or at least set the policy.) So, what happened to diplomacy? Good neighbors? Leadership by good example? Sharing? a democratic world? if the US wants to spread democracy of any kind, shouldn't the US be doing it democratically? just asking...

Gay question is 'not central to faith' says Tanzanian bishop

THE Bishop of Central Tanganyika, the Rt Revd Godfrey Mdimi Mhogolo, has dissociated his diocese from the statement issued in December by the House of Bishops of Tanzania, the province where the Primates Meeting is to be held this month....

Bishop Mdimi goes on: "We live in our cultural context where gays and lesbians are regarded as criminals, punishable by long-term imprisonments. We also live in a country where gays and lesbians are violently persecuted, mistreated, hated, and ostracised. . . We as Black Africans know the hurts and permanent damage caused by our past experiences, which still linger on to the present. . . We have gone through that, and we don't want to go that way again."

If the day ever comes when Jesus comes down from heaven to oversee the final judgment, I would love to be there when the self-righteous wingnuts with the sweep of JC's hand they are sent to damnation for lacking christian charity and tolerance, for not keeping the commandment of love thy neighbor, and for using god's name to foster their own self-deluding agendas. I would just love to see their faces. They will be the true whores of Babylon at that moment. can you just see it?

'Air Pelosi': Payback for 5-Day Week?

One of the lesser-known aspects of the "Air Pelosi" controversy is the degree to which the fuss is payback for the House speaker's decision to hold legislators to a five-day workweek instead of the three- or four-day schedule adopted by the Republicans in the past....

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow has sided with Pelosi. But GOP insiders say the issue has a lot to do with Pelosi's work-week requirements, which many legislators consider a PR stunt that imposes a real burden on them getting home to be with their families and constituents.

My job is literally considered a 24/7, 364 day position. Literally. I am on call all the time. Over the years I have been at the school at 2, 3, 4 o'clock in the morning either with the police or waiting for the canine unit because the alarm has gone off or someone actually did break in. Most all of you probably have 9 - 5 jobs that exact a 5-day week schedule. In what would seem to me to be one of the most important jobs in our country, legislator, I should think that there would be more in terms of dedication and skill than a lot of other jobs. So, the Republicans are bemoaning the fact that they are being asked to earn their salary along with the myriad of perks that goes along with being a legislator? I mean, when the Morning Agenda starts at 2:00 pm some days, what do you expect from us? Empathy? I have only one thing to say to these legislators:

It's the job, stupid!

US accuses Iran over Iraq bombs

The US military has accused the "highest levels" of Iran's government of supplying increasingly sophisticated roadside bombs to Iraq's insurgents.

They said US intelligence analysts believed the bombs were manufactured in Iran and secretly sent into Iraq on the orders of senior officials in Tehran.

The US has claimed in the past that Iranian weapons were being used in Iraq, but have never before accused Iranian government officials of being directly involved....

Now, is this a bargaining chip in the nuclear negotations going on between the US and Iran? Or is it just plain stupid? What would be the purpose behind the Bush administration pursuing another conflagration in the Middle East? Oil? Supremacy? Cowardice? Stupidity? (There was enough stupidity in the previous post, sorry.) Oh, wait. Oil? If I were to choose one of these possible reasons, or any other one for that matter, I would probably opt for...

Stupidity!

"Who will rid me of this meddlesome president?" a la Henry II

Preacher Appeals To Supreme Court To Erect Homophobic Billboard

In 2003 New York billboard company PNE removed the sign bought by Okwedy after then-Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari wrote a letter of protest to the company.

Okwedy paid PNE Media about $2,500 to design billboard signs that quoted a passage from Leviticus: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is abomination."

In his letter to PNE's president Molinari, a Republican, said "I want to inform you that this message conveys an atmosphere of intolerance which is not welcome in our borough." He went on to remind the company made a lot of money from billboard signs in Staten Island.

Yes, I agree that the billboard is homophobic. Yes, I agree that Mr. Molinari, the Republican, may have come close to issuing a threat, but no, I do not like what this is all about. It definitely smacks of a denial of freedom of speech. It butts up against separation of church and state in reverse: the state saying a religion can't believe/espouse something. It, also, puts the community in a struggle that we are trying to combat of using tactics that are pernicious and hateful - mainly, silencing our opponents. The right wingnuts, in their ostentatious, sefl-righteousness (twice in one blog entry) employ tactics to subvert free speech and freedom of religion, rather than freedom from religion, to push their agenda of denial, hatred, and discrimination and to destroy a segment of the populace. Even if I find these tactcs obnoxious and anti-democratic, more important, though...

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. Evelyn Beatrice Hall in The Friends of Voltaire, 1906.

can i be assuaged? just asking...

Sources: New York Times, Sunday, February 11, 2007, Virtue Online: , USNews.com, bbc,com, TEXT, 365gay.com

troglodyte resigns...

Defense official resigns over Guantanamo

Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said Charles "Cully" Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, told him on Friday that he had made his own decision to resign and was not asked to leave by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

In his earlier apology he also said that he didn't believe in what he said. huh?

resignation isn't enough...

send him to Gitmo?

it would be just, wouldn't it?

"beware the american fascists..."

The Chicago Sun-Times had an op-ed with that title by Chris Hedges in their Sunday Controversy section, but you can't find it there. You have to go to truthdig.com to read the original entitled Christianists on the March.

With either title, the import of the article is telling. The moneyquote:

Dr. James Luther Adams, my ethics professor at Harvard Divinity School, told his students that when we were his age—he was then close to 80—we would all be fighting the “Christian fascists.”

As he goes on to say, that was 25 years ago!

Dr. Adams knew of what he was speaking. He was in Germany 1935-36 when the Nazi's were coming to full power. The corollaries between that time in Germany and today in the US are remarkable.

Adams saw in the Christian right, long before we did, disturbing similarities with the German Christian Church and the Nazi Party, similarities that he said would, in the event of prolonged social instability or a national crisis, see American fascists rise under the guise of religion to dismantle the open society. He despaired of U.S. liberals, who, he said, as in Nazi Germany, mouthed silly platitudes about dialogue and inclusiveness that made them ineffectual and impotent. Liberals, he said, did not understand the power and allure of evil or the cold reality of how the world worked. The current hand-wringing by Democrats, with many asking how they can reach out to a movement whose leaders brand them “demonic” and “satanic,” would not have surprised Adams. Like Bonhoeffer, he did not believe that those who would fight effectively in coming times of turmoil, a fight that for him was an integral part of the biblical message, would come from the church or the liberal, secular elite.

Hedges brings the comparison to the present day - 25 years later:

Two decades later, even in the face of the growing reach of the Christian right, his prediction seems apocalyptic. And yet the powerbrokers in the Christian right have moved from the fringes of society to the floor of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Forty-five senators and 186 members of the House before the last elections earned approval ratings of 80 to 100 percent from the three most influential Christian right advocacy groups—the Christian Coalition, Eagle Forum, and Family Resource Council. President Bush has handed hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid to these groups and dismantled federal programs in science, reproductive rights and AIDS research to pay homage to the pseudo-science and quackery of the Christian right.

Hedges has a more complete profile of his views with his book American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America. He is trying to guard us from becoming a closed society based on one extreme view that wants to encamp minority groups and rights to fit their own worldview. [Sounds a lot like the islamists, doesn't it?]

One last quote from his op-ed:

This movement—the most dangerous mass movement in American history—will not be blunted until the growing social and economic inequities that blight this nation are addressed, until tens of millions of Americans, now locked in hermetic systems of indoctrination through Christian television and radio, as well as Christian schools, are reincorporated into American society and given a future, one with hope, adequate wages, job security and generous federal and state assistance. The unchecked rape of America, which continues with the blessing of both political parties, heralds not only the empowerment of this American oligarchy but the eventual death of the democratic state and birth of American fascism.

Am I frightened? You bet. I see examples of this in the news, on blogs, with television, and by people's actions. Our liberties have slowly been eroding with signing statements and patriot laws, abstinence versus responsibility and autocracy against democracy. The stakes are very high.

The Handmaid's Tale is not too many steps away. will we take them? detour? or return to the course we were?

just asking...

if they want it bad enough...

a friend who was a police officer told me once that no amount of security will prevent your car being stolen. if they want it bad enough, they'll get it.

here's something to help the thieves and it's relatively inexpensive.

[oh, this is not another blond joke...]


Blondie Unlocks Car - video powered by Metacafe

so... now that you're in, how do you start it? there's not supposed to be anything that you can do to jump start a car with the radio keys. or is there?

just asking...

Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast,

To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.
- William Congreve, 1670-1729

music is one of the most essential things in my life. it should be in everyone's life. it reflects moods, gives surprises, indicates significance, excites, reveres, and mollifies. kinda like sex.

music is probably the most important thing in our lives, at least in mine. i wake each morning with a song playing in my head. i connect songs to things that happen, people i meet, and events that occur. a song can bring back a memory - good or bad. i connect music to every part of my life.

that's how i subtitle my new weblog that focuses on music - macarthur park

macarthur park? yeah. my favorite song.

sweet, green icing flowing down...? left the cake out in the rain...? never have that recipe again...? huh?

don't get it? i certainly can understand. it's existential. it was one of those things that struck me up the side of the head the second i heard it. there is a rather long autobiographical explanation. it revolves around, you guessed it, sex.

suffice it to say that when i came up with the idea for a music blog, there was no other title to choose.

macarthur park check it out...

Savage, er, sage advice...

If you're not familiar with Dan Savage's sex advice column, Savage Love, in the Stranger: Seattle's Only Newspaper, you're missing a treat, great advice and splendid entertainment. He deals on straight forward & uncensored sex topics with wild abandon, explicit commentary and humor.

It's not for the timid by any means. He recently finished an entire series of question-answering and advice on cuckolding and people who love to watch their spouse/partner having sex with other people.

Here's an example of the kind of off-the-cuff sensible advice he gives:

What's the biggest difference between a gay and a straight marriage?

Straight Boy Wants To Know

The only significant difference is the likelihood of any given husband hearing these 11 magic words: "Honey, it's been way too long since we had a three-way."

in olden days a glimpse of stocking
was looked on as something shocking,
now heaven knows, anything goes...

maybe, we know too much?

what happened to mystery? to discovery? to naivete and innocence?
have we been depraved on account of we're deprived?

just asking...