i was trying to put my finger on it...

[pun intended] for the last few weeks. What is it exactly that makes K. George W (re)act the way he does when he gets caught or questioned or wronged?

Michael Currie Schaffer in an article for "The New Republic" entitled Paul Wolfowitz and Alberto Gonzales should switch jobs explains it very well.

The controversies surrounding Paul Wolfowitz and Alberto Gonzales present President Bush with a conundrum. On the one hand, the two embattled appointees are in obviously untenable positions--their attentions entirely focused on surviving rather than actually doing their jobs. Their continued presence atop the World Bank and Justice Department are dragging Bush's reputation even lower--no mean feat. On the other hand, Bush is famously loyal and particularly stubborn in the face of prodding by the Europeans, liberals, and media types who are calling for the two loyalists' scalps. In Bush's mind, the World Bank president and the attorney general may well represent walking, talking middle fingers [bold is mine] aimed directly at his snottiest critics.

It is in keeping with something he did when he was governor of Texas.



If only more people understood that this is what he may truly be like - and not really very christian...

So what's with the point of Schaffer's article?

So, what's a Decider to do? Doing nothing probably won't work, since the Bank's board could decide to give Wolfowitz the gate even without American permission, and since Congress may yet bust Gonzales on a lying charge (leading to the spectacle of the nation's chief lawman doing a perp walk). Luckily, there's an answer that could appeal to a bold president like Bush. It's a simple plan, something the chief executive may remember from the happier days when he ran the Texas Rangers: a trade. Wolfie goes to Justice, Gonzo goes to the Bank, and everyone goes home happy.

Neither one of them has been doing their job well, so they really couldn't do any worse.

or could they?

the right "not to believe..."

Parents and District Settle Dispute on Teacher’s Religious Remarks

Matthew recorded his history teacher, David Paszkiewicz, making comments in class in September, including remarks that only Christians had a place in heaven, that the Big Bang and evolution theories were not scientific and that dinosaurs were on Noah’s Ark. After the tapes became public, Matthew received a death threat and was shunned and bullied by some of his classmates, he has said.

The First Amendment has always been legally interpreted as not just establishing a religion but also fostering one. Inherent in this is also the right to not believe. Yet, that certain segment of the US population does not agree with this. They think that their way is the only way. not very christian of them...

And as far as the threats and bullying to Matthew, isn't that breaking federal law. You know, the one about hate crimes that includes religion? Shouldn't he be protected because of the religious belief that he has that he shouldn't be subjected to religious beliefs with which he doesn't believe.

man, is that all very confusing...

pardon my cynicism, puhleeze...

Eleven moderate Republican members of Congress spoke with K. George W in an unvarnished discussion concerning the Iraq situation. Who were they?

Ray LaHood (Il)
Rep. Jim Gerlach (Pa)
Tom Davis (Va.)
Charlie Dent (Pa)
Mark Kirk (Il)
Jo Ann Emerson (Mo)
Todd Platts (Pa)
Jim Ramstad (Minn)
Fred Upton (Mich)
Jim Walsh (N.Y.)

[Note: I can only find names for 10. The one other representative mentioned in news stories is John A. Boehner (Oh.) who is the Republican leader of the House. He's certainly not a moderate. If anyone can find the 11th, let me know, please.]

There are some important questions to ask about this entire meeting.

Who authorized the meeting?
Who chose the members to confront Mr. Bush?
How were the schedules of everyone in Bush's staff (e.g. Rice, Gates, Pace) cleared for attendance?
Why moderates?
How important is the timing of this meeting?

and...

Who came up with the term pivotal watershed? puhleeze...

christianist cunundrum...

Watching a program on the History International Channel last night on Cain & Abel reminded me of a question I've had for a very long time. It's a question that is quite a cunundrum for the christianists, should anyone ask, concerning literal interpretation of the Bible.

There are a couple of different versions of the reasoning behind why Cain murdered Abel, but the one most interesting is that they were fighting over the love of their sister. Okay. There's no problem with that for me. Jealousy is a very human state of mind. The problem I have is in the genealogy of the human race with a literal belief of the Bible.

There was Adam and Eve. They are the mother and father of all mankind, according to the Bible. They had two children that we know by name - Cain & Abel - both male. The book says that one of the punishments for eating the apple was that Eve would know the pain of childbirth. In order to create an entire race it also means that she had to have had may children - male and female - because it takes two to tango.

In order for the next generation to exist, if all humans come from Adam and Eve, it means that the children of Adam & Eve had to have mated or Cain and/or Abel had to mate with Eve as an alternative. Isn't that incest?

In the Book of Genesis it reads that Cain indeed married his sister and had a son named Enoch for whom he built the first city where many people could live. Doesn't that mean that Enoch then had to marry, if not his sister, then at least a niece to continue the lineage? Wouldn't all of them have to marry a brother, sister, nephew, niece, cousin...?

Ahhh... that's a lot of incest.

Exactly how do the christianists justify and ameliorate this cunundrum? Did their god make it okay and then take it away? Is there any truth to Adam having a wife before Eve, Lillith? That would mean they would have been mating with only half-brothers and half-sisters. Still incest, though.

And what does all of this do to their arguments against so many things in today's civilization? Seems very hypocritical to me.

i'm confused, so i'm just asking...

legal discrimination...

Here is an example of why ENDA needs to be the law of the land or taken away from everyone so no one has special treatment and all are treated equal:

Yesterday at work a strange thing happened. In the morning I was called into the office by the person running this company. It seems that I had blogged about this company a week or so ago, all very positive about this company and my new position there. They had done a search and found this blog. Although he was nice about it, mentioning that I had alot of very personal things on my site, he left it at that and said it made him realize that they have to establish a policy for all employees in this company, when anyone chooses to use their name in blogs and a memo had just gone out to everyone with these new policy procedures.

Later that day, they fired my ass. Hummm....guess they couldn't handle having their name being associated in any way with a gay oriented website. "Wierd Coincidence...or what," The Adventures of Ken

ENDA has to be expanded to include ALL groups and individuals. It is the only way that "freedom and the pursuit" of happiness can be achieved from the struggles for US Constitution, the Bill of Rights and The Rights of Man.

who could have thought that after all these centuries anyone would be fighting for equality around the world and in this country? just asking...

monday morning mayhem...

because, well, you know how to laugh...

1. Amish transportation safety...

An Amish woman was driving her buggy to town when a highway patrol officer stopped her.

"I'm not going to cite you," said the officer. "I just wanted to warn you that the reflector on the back of your buggy is broken and it could be dangerous."

"I thank thee," replied the Amish lady. "I shall have my husband repair it as soon as I return home."

"Also," said the officer, "I noticed one of your reins to your horse are rapped around his testicles. Some people might consider this cruelty to animals, so you should have your husband check that, too."

"Again I thank thee. I shall have my husband check both when I get home."

True to her word, when the Amish lady got home she told her husband about the broken reflector, and he said he would put a new one on it immediately.

"Also," said the Amish woman, "The policeman said there was something wrong with the emergency brake."

think the American car makers could think outside the box like this?

2. who wants to live forever...

Here is some sound logic.

Recently a guy picked a new primary care doctor. After two visits and exhaustive lab tests, the doctor said the guy was doing "fairly well" for his age.

A little concerned about that comment, he couldn't resist asking him, "Do you think I'll live to be 80?"

The doctor asked, "Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer or wine?"

"Oh no," he replied. "I'm not doing drugs, either."

Then he asked, "Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?"

The guy said, "No, my former doctor said that all red meat is very unhealthy!"

"Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?"

"No, I don't," he said.

The doctor then asked, "Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex?"

"No," he said. "I don't do any of those things."

The doctor looked at him and said, "Then, why do you care?"

3. I will never forget it you know...

Soph & Clementine...

I will never forget it you know. I met my girlfriend Clementine on the street the other day and her left breast was hanging out of her shirt. I said, "Clemintine, your left breast is hanging our of your shirt." She said, "Oh, the baby must still be on the bus!"

I will never forget it you know, my girlfriend Clementine goes on retreat once a year. She goes up north to Little Sisters of Unbearable Chastity. Once while she was up there, she discovered she had a spiritual power, a power for healing. It wasn't long before the entire retreat was over run by those seeking to be healed by Clementine. One time Clementine was in the shower naked and soapy. There was a knock at the door. A large nun walked in. "Clementine, come out of the shower girl. There's a blind man outdoors to see ya, he's come a long way, he's got something important to say to ya." "Sister!", says Clementine "Look, at me I'm naked I'm soapy I'm in the shower!! I cannot receive anyone in this condition!" "Oh Clementine be a sport, he's a blind man he's come a long way he's got something important to say to ya." "Oh very well", says Clementine "Show him in." So the door opens and the blind man walks in. He says "Nice tits where do want the blinds?"

I will never forget it you know. My girlfriend Clemintine is a filthy, vulgar ol' broad. She loves to keep me abreast of all the latest in filthy rotten jokes and filthy rotten songs. She rang me up the other day and said to me, "Soph, listen to this one. You've never heard anything like it. What do you get when you cross a donkey with an onion?" I said to her, "I have no idea what the hell do you get?" She said, "Usually you get an onion with really long ears. But occasionally when the stars are just right, you get a piece of ass that's so nice it makes you want to cry!"

I will never forget it you know. You know that Clemintine she's a rascal you know. She loves to fix me up with these exotic-type fellows. The other day she called me up and said "Soph I gotta live one for ya' this time." I said, "Send him over Clemintine." Twenty minutes later the doorbell rang and I opened the door and there was a man there with no arms and no legs. I said to him "What the hell do you think you're going to do?" He said "I rang the doorbell didn't I?"

I will never forget it you know, my girlfriend Clemintine in the height of her profession was a great great stripper, but she hated it so violently that she would have to run to confession in between shows. One day she completely forgot to put her shirt back on and she went into the church, nipples to the wind. A young priest stopped her and said, "Madam you cannot come into the House of the Lord in that fashion." "But I have a divine right," Clemintine said. "Okay, your breasts ain't bad but you better cover your head," the priest said. Well, after confessoin Clementine was walking back and she slipped on a banana peel, her dress got caught on a nail then completely unraveleed as she fell down a flight of stairs. There she lay, quite, quite naked and quite comotose. A passing motorcyclist took pity upon her plight and put his crash helmet over her exposed groin. Then the doctor came and took a long look at her and said "We'll put her in the ambulance, but first we gotta get that cop outta there!"

and when Clementine is not around to keep and eye on her...

I will never forget it you know.
I was terribly drunk the other night.
I woke up and there
was an elephant in my bed. I said,
"Lord have mercy I must've
been tight last night." "Well,"
said the elephant, "kinda."

words of the Divine Ms. M

maybe they're just not that certain...

of their own beliefs that is.

Some PBS stations are reportedly set to air a three-part BBC series entitled “A Brief History of Disbelief” which seeks to “uncover the hidden story of atheism.”

Not surprisingly, the Right doesn’t like it at all:

Janice Crouse, director of the Beverly LaHaye Institute for the conservative group Concerned Women for America, told Cybercast News Service that "airing the program gives credibility and cohesiveness to individuals who seek to undermine the beliefs and values on which democracy and the American dream are founded."

"One has to wonder why it is so important to them for everyone to understand their 'disbelief,'" she said. "The program is not a dispassionate, positive voice - as they claim. Instead, it is clearly demagogic and propagandistic."

Perhaps Crouse is not the best judge of what is or is not “dispassionate” considering that Beverly LaHaye, the namesake of the institute which Crouse heads, believes that “Christian values should dominate our government. The test of those values is the Bible. Politicians who do not use the Bible to guide their public and private lives do not belong in office.” And when it comes to demagogic, it’s hard to top this: “In recent times, Western Civilization has willingly chosen to exchange the faith and logic of a Biblical worldview for an irrational secularism based on an unthinking and cruel relativism. This foolish exchange is at the root of the glaring injustices of modern American public policy.” God Forbid, People for the American Way

If their belief is strong and true, what are they worried about? Is this just more proof that they want everyone to believe ONLY what they believe?

I can guess this means that there is one thing that they DON'T believe in - The First Amendment...

weekender...

Bike Riding.....Just 5 Miles A Day

Don't you think it's time we all became more physically active?
Beginning in 2007, a few friends started riding 5 miles every day.

If any of you would like to join the Bike Club, please let us know and we can make arrangements.

We think it would be appropriate to ride somewhere between 4:00 and 7:00 pm. We can call it... happy hour, if it will make you say yes.

The photo of the bike is below -

Grey Goose Orange Cosmos are my preferred sports drink from 4 - 7.

Hey, it beats Gatorade!

don't stop the funding...

stop the war!

Brilliant! Senator Clinton finally has done something with cajones in my book.

WASHINGTON, May 3 — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed Thursday that Congress repeal the authority it gave President Bush in 2002 to invade Iraq, injecting presidential politics into the Congressional debate over financing the war.

Mrs. Clinton’s proposal brings her full circle on Iraq — she supported the war measure five years ago — and it sharpens her own political positioning at a time when Democrats are vying to confront the White House.

“It is time to reverse the failed policies of President Bush and to end this war as soon as possible,” Mrs. Clinton said as she joined Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, in calling for a vote to end the authority as of Oct. 11, the fifth anniversary of the original vote. New York Times, May 3, 2007

Yes, it's a political ploy, but it just might be something that more politicos could get behind. There might not be so much debate of funding the military and protecting them. This would be the ultimate protection for them.

now, let's watch who get's in line behind her and just how serious she really is....

and who has the real cajones!

I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down...

I’m going to a place that has already been disgraced
I’m gonna see some folks who have already been let down
I’m so tired of America

I'm gonna make it up for all of the Sunday times
I'm gonna make it up for all of the nursery rhymes
They never really seem to want to tell the truth
I'm so tired of you, America



in light of the the two previous posts, when I came across the new Rufus Wainwright video of Going to a Town from his album, Release the Stars that will be released May 15th, I was struck with the lyric. It's filled with frustration and languid yearning for what everyone wants and deserves.

I'm not tired of America. I'm tired of the small-minded people who are destroying the American dream of freedom, equality and safety.


you can find the complete lyric here: Going to a Town

you can preorder the album on iTunes

expanded equal protection...

House Votes to Expand Hate-Crime Protection

The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to extend hate-crime protection to people who are victimized because of their sexuality. But the most immediate effect may be to set up another veto showdown between Democrats and President Bush.

By 237 to 180, the House voted to cover crimes spurred by a victim’s “gender, sexual orientation, gender identity” or disability under the hate-crime designation, which currently applies to people who are attacked because of their race, religion, color or national origin.

It's about time, but it's still limiting. There are still groups left out. Actually, it leaves many, many groups left out. The wingnuts were working in full force, totally frustrated and irritated that they were going to lose the House vote.

To prove just how irritated they were, the Republicans tried a tactic to kill the bill before the voting by adding an amendment to include the military and the elderly. The Democrats agreed wholeheartedly. The Republican response: they tripped over their lips putting the brakes on their own requested amendment.

Like I said, it's irritating the hell out of the fundies and the bushies. The fundies have redoubled their efforts and gone directly to the source - K. George W. The Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, already put out a Statement of Administration Policy on H.R. 1592. It was probably written even before the House passed the bill.

In effect, it states that senior staff is recommending to K. George that he veto the bill because they have serious doubts as to its constitutionality.

Moreover, the bill’s proposed section 249(a)(1) of title 18 of the U.S. Code raises constitutional concerns. Federalization of criminal law concerning the violence prohibited by the bill would be constitutional only if done in the implementation of a power granted to the Federal government, such as the power to protect Federal personnel, to regulate interstate commerce, or to enforce equal protection of the laws. Section 249(a)(1) is not by its terms limited to the exercise of such a power, and it is not at all clear that sufficient factual or legal grounds exist to uphold this
provision of H.R. 1592.

[Complete advisory here: Statement of Administration Policy]

...Power granted to the Federal government... to enforce equal protection of the laws...? If this is true, equal in whose eyes? And if legitimate power, then why, pray tell, is there a Federal Hate Crimes law on the books that protects special groups, eg. religious fundies, to begin with? Aren't they saying that the original bill is unconstitutional also? Has anyone taken it to court? I couldn't find any rulings. Is this a signing statement in reverse?

Either include everyone in a hate crimes bill or repeal the exitsting one so nobody has special protection; everyone would have the same equal protection. No special consideration should be given. That would be the only fair way to handle it. True “equal protection.”

Wouldn’t the religious fundies p** all over themselves, if there were a move to repeal the existing bill that basically protects them and includes race, color and national origin. [My guess is they gave this concession to the original bill in order to make sure they were included by name.] See, in this country we are all members of a race, color and national origin. We are all immigrants, don'tja know?

As the Consititution starts -

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The words "exclude" or "exclusion" appear nowhere in the document. There are no exceptions to the law explained anywhere.

4 May 1970...

The date may not be remembered by many. What happened that day is remembered. I don't know what I was doing when I heard the news. I do know that it was one of the defining moments of my life. I think that we all have these defining moments. They happen unexpectedly. They usually surprise us. They never leave us. In a freakish coincidence it popped into my head as I was driving home the other day. Weird? Scary? Spooky? ESP? I only admit to being psycho-ceramic [cracked-pot, get it?]

When I finished my training session at the gym this afternoon, I went to the locker room to change and get my eye protector and sunscreen for the tanning room. The locker room has about 15 televisions in it. Usually turned to sports stations, today they all seemed to be tuned to the Headline News Network. The words I was hearing hit me like a brick up the side of my head.

We know what happened in 13 seconds. Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on Kent State University in Ohio....

I sat in numb disbelief at the words I was hearing, especially having had Kent State in my head just a couple of days before this.

The newsperson went on to describe, over actual video of what has been identified as the Kent State Massacre, a lost audio recording with the words:

"...GET SET... POINT... FIRE... (GUN SHOTS)"

For the last 37 years it has been believed that the guardsmen panicked and fired at random. They were acquitted and the families of the slain and injured students accepted the verdict and moved on with their lives.

As I watched, I sat on the bench stunned by what I was hearing. I was transfixed on the T.V. I felt anger welling up inside me with each thing I saw and heard on the HNN video report. It was like everything was happening again.

As it finished I realized that everyone in the bank of lockers was watching me. I was shaking like a leaf. These were kids who not only hadn't been born but weren't even in the figment of their parents imaginations yet, and my immediate thought was for their safety. What I watched could happen to them. It happened to the students at Kent State and I was only 22 at the time. It could have happened to me.

At the time, in 1970, I realized that violence and the taking of a person's life was anethema to me. Though I had been opposed to the Vietnam Conflict, had friends who served and died there, and had professed to be a pacifist, Kent State affirmed and strengthened my belief. It also tore my psyche to its core.

By 1970, the majority of the American people by far were against the Vietnam disaster. The massacre at Kent State was indicative of how torn and embittered the fabric of the nation was. We were in an endless web of deceit and mistrust. The military-industrial complex, that President Eisenhower warned against, was in control of the leadership. The people had literally taken to the streets to protest and attempt to disengage the country from what seemed like an endless quagmire. The Phillip and Daniel Berrigans were being arrested for speaking up and civil disobedience. The words of Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were echoing across the country. The music echoed the frustration felt everywhere. McCarthyism was taking a last gasp for air.

And then, May 4th happened. Every nightmare that everyone had imagined came true in 13 seconds. Vietnam casualties were no longer 8,190 miles away. They were now in Ohio. The warring had literally been brought home. There were four students shot dead and others wounded. No, it really wasn't a massacre in terms of numbers; it was a massacre in the way that it affected the nation. The grief became compounded by the senseless carnage both here and 8,000 miles away. Yes, it took another five years for the US to leave Vietnam, but those five years strengthened the resolve of what had to happen and no new troops were sent after 1973. It became just a matter of time.

The country was torn apart at the seams by Vietnam. Brother was against brother, father against son, neighbor against neighbor. The economy was in ruin. The military was in disarray. The moral authority of the nation was in question. Any thread of commonality was shredded. Trust had disappeared. Rebuilding was paramount. After the Vietnam Conflict the healing process for the nation was going to be slow and exhausting.

Richard Nixon pulled the country out of Vietnam. Gerald Ford continued with a focus on domestic problems. Jimmy Carter calmed the nation with a caring and smoothing personality. [Iran screwed that all up.] Ronald Reagon turned the focus to dismantling the premises of Soviet style communism. George H.W. Bush was confonted with a new conflict that had to be solved when Kuwait was invaded. William Jefferson Clinton again made domestic policy the number one focus. All of these men either through direct or indirect planning continued the national healing that was needed by Vietnam. It was almost complete by 2000.

I'm not really going to go where this is heading. Everyone is aware to what I'm referring. I don't have to outline or cite examples but the effects are the same.

Again, I feel the frustration of the nation being not just back to Vietnam and its after effects but even worse. Men and women again are being killed. People are against one another. The rule of law is not just in question, but also under siege. Groups are being attacked for what they believe, who they are and what they say.

I also feel helpless. At least with Vietnam there were outlets for protesting and resisting. This time the powers that be have people in fear of doing what could be taken as anti-American, when the act of rebelliousness is what helped found this country. If someone does make a statement or take a stand, they are instantly demonized. Think Cindy Sheehan and Judy Shepard.

I've tried to use this weblog as a means of asking questions that hopefully may get someone thinking. I don't expect or want anyone to think the way I do. What I want is for people to think. Think for themselves. Not just to ape what someone says or does but to take in all the information they can and to make deccisions for themselves. Most important is that they take a stand in what they believe and act on it...

just like the students at Kent State...



The CNN article can be found here: Kent State tape: 'Get set! Point! Fire!'. To see the actual HNN video click on "Watch scenes from the shooting and hear the tape" in the third paragraph.

going bananas...

A friend sent me this in an email. It's really very interesting. There is a wealth of benefits from bananas. They are also one of the best sources of water for hydration of the body.



Sadly, the bananas that we now eat are under worldwide attack from a virus and it's not the first time. The Gros Michel was the most popular banana at one time and was completely wiped off the face of the earth. We now eat the Cavendish and it is in the same boat [pun intended] and in jeopardy from the same disease that destroyed the Gros Michel.

A professor at CCNY for a psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression "going bananas" is from the effects of bananas on the brain.

This is interesting. After reading this, you may never look at a banana in the same way again.

Read on:

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.



Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school (England) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.



Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronic cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking & Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS

PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time!



I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit !!!

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator! [When cold, bananas decay from the inside out and they don't ripen they turn black.] You should use a silly little thing like a banana hammock

or tree.

How do you tell if a banana is ripe? It's the brown spots on the skin - the more the riper. Also, as they ripen the skin becomes thinner and thinner.

and when all else fails...



this, all by itself, is enough to get anyone out of depression. and it has chocolate that has many of its own medicinal properties.

no wonder bananas and chocolate go so well together...

etymological lesson...

preaching to the choir:

"Preaching to the choir", "preaching to the chorus", and "preaching to the converted" all mean the same thing, that the people you are trying to convince already believe in what you are saying. Example: "I agree with you entirely; you are preaching to the choir." You are "preaching to the choir" when you talk (preach) to people to convince them of something they already believe. Example: "Don't just stand there preaching to the choir; get out and find new members!" The members of the "choir" play the music, while those in the "chorus" sing along, as the preacher preaches to change (convert) the non-believers into believers ("the converted"). People tell you that you are "preaching to the converted" to let you know they support your idea; they also might be saying you don't need so spend so much energy to make them believe what they already believe. Example: "You don't need to tell me this project is important; you're preaching to the converted."
GoEnglish.com Idioms

Both the radical right christianists and the progressive left are guilty of the same thing. They continually preach to the choir when they think that they are trying to gather new supporters or change people's minds toward their ways of thought.

I'm not sure it really works that way. The people who are really committed to one side or the other are going to be committed no matter what. The two sides are preaching to the choir because the majority, those who fall someplace between the two, are actually listening to a different tune. Or, maybe the choir isn't listening to the correct tune.

think about it...

the imperium of inconvenience in man...

This is just about the wolves. When they were removed from Yellowstone National Park all havoc broke out with the ecosystem. When reinstated the balance almost immediately came back into view.

But wolves are only one small part of what K. George W's Department of the Interior wants to do. Senators question Bush endangered wildlife plan

A Bush administration plan to change rules of the Endangered Species Act protecting American wildlife drew pointed questions on Wednesday from five U.S. senators, who called the proposed changes "troubling....."

Environmental activists raised alarms about the draft rules change last month, saying the revisions would weaken the act so much that about 80 percent of the 1,300 species now on the endangered list would lose protection.

The activists also said government documents they obtained indicate revisions were being made as recently as February.

What's behind all of this? Why would anyone really need to ask? the oil industry, the gas industry, the logging industry, the farm industry...

In short, every single lobby group for big business is behind this. It's just one more of this administration's goal of enriching their friends at the expense of not just the ecosystem but of the general population from its actions. Afterall, they'll all be dead when the devastation is at its heighth. Why should they care? They can't take it with them...

For more information on what you can do to help, check out these websites:

Save America's Wolves

Endageredspecies.com

World Wildlife Fund

The Endangered Species Program - US Fish & Wildlife Service