gasoline price gouging = federal crime...

That's what Rep Bart Stupak (D-MI) wants to make it. The price of gasoline is escalating at astronomical rates. This week in Chicago I paid $3.65/gallon. Last week, I paid $3.55. The news reported this morning that Chicago is the 3rd highest price in the nation after two cities in California. San Francisco is #1.

Most people are under the impression that this constant rise in prices is because of the situation in Iraq and the Middle East. To an extent it is, but that is not the biggest reason. The price of crude oil is down $7.00/bbl from last year at this time.

The biggest reason is because the oil industry has not built a new refinery since 1976! There also has been two major refinery accidents in the recent past. Even Bill O'Reilly: Oil companies must ante up for new refineries has brought up the problem and wants Congress to get on the stick and get the oil companies to make a real move other than to up their profits. Here's a chance for everyone to help.

From MoveOn.org:

As of yesterday, gas prices are the highest in U.S. history—we just passed the 1981 record, even adjusted for inflation. Prices could reach $4.00 per gallon in parts of the country, just in time to crimp summer vacation plans. As consumers suffer, the oil industry continues to reap the windfall—breaking profit records on an almost quarterly basis. It's outrageous!

Enough is enough. Hearings start today on H.R. 1252, a House bill that would make gas price gouging a federal crime, punishable by 10 years in prison. Speaker Pelosi has said she'll move the bill to a vote this week—if there's the two-thirds majority required to fast track the bill through the process.

Oil company lobbyists are frantically trying to stop the bill. Your representative needs to hear from you today. Will you sign our petition asking Congress to pass the price-gouging bill—and then send it to your friends?

"Gasoline price gouging should be made a federal crime before the summer price increases hurt more American families."

Sign the petition MoveOn.org has started today:

Stop Price Gouging

Rep Bart Stupak (D-MI), sponsor of the House bill said this of his motivation to introduce the legislation:

"In April ... crude oil was $7 a barrel cheaper than last year (but) gas prices were almost 50 cents a gallon higher. Clearly there's more at play than simply the world crude oil market."

In April, more than two-thirds of Americans reported that their gas bills were causing financial crunches, with a full third saying it was having a "serious" impact on their families.

That same month, the top two US companies, Exxon-Mobil and Chevron-Texaco, announced a combined $14 billion in first quarter profits.

It seems like even the oil industry has gone too far this time, and it's time to balance the scales. The Senate passed a price-gouging measure out of committee last week, and the House bill now has over 100 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.

The oil industry is nervous. They've sent their lobbyists to the Hill in full force to stop—or at least weaken—these bills, and they're pulling out all the stops. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry front group of more than 400 oil and gas companies, even threatened that new laws could increase gas prices more.

Enough is enough. This summer, we can stop Big Oil from profiting at the expense of American families. Can you sign the petition to ask your representative to make gasoline a price gouging a federal crime now?

Sign the petition: Stop Price Gouging Don't forget to pass it on to your friends—this week is an historic opportunity to send Big Oil a message that we've had enough.

Thanks for all you do.

from:
–Ilyse, Natalie, Eli, Tom, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team, Tuesday, May 22, 2007

It's something each of us can do. We are a democracy and we need to let our representatives in Congress know what we want them to do - not what big oil wants them to do. Don't forget: Czar George's money is all in a blind trust based on his family's connection with the oil companies.

Click on the link Stop Price Gouging to sign the petition.

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

can someone, please, explain...

Why are more of our rights and protections being assailed by Czar George and his ministers even more?

1. Gonzales proposing new Orwellian thought crimes law

* Criminalize "attempting" to infringe copyright. Federal law currently punishes not-for-profit copyright infringement with between 1 and 10 years in prison, but there has to be actual infringement that takes place....

* Permit more wiretaps for piracy investigations. Wiretaps would be authorized for investigations of Americans who are "attempting" to infringe copyrights....

* Allow computers to be seized more readily. Specifically, property such as a PC "intended to be used in any manner" to commit a copyright crime would be subject to forfeiture, including civil asset forfeiture....

* Require Homeland Security to alert the Recording Industry Association of America. That would happen when CDs with "unauthorized fixations of the sounds, or sounds and images, of a live musical performance" are attempted to be imported.

All of this would be under the domain of The Department of Homeland Security. It would mean that even if you watch a video of a song or TV program on YouTube you could be at risk of having your computer siezed, your telephone tapped, or your thoughts on a blog be brought up for scrutiny. maybe czar was too mild on my part? is Big Brother more appropriate?

2. Bush Anoints Himself as the Insurer of Constitutional Government in Emergency

With scarcely a mention in the mainstream media, President Bush has ordered up a plan for responding to a catastrophic attack.

In a new National Security Presidential Directive, Bush lays out his plans for dealing with a “catastrophic emergency.”
Under that plan, he entrusts himself with leading the entire federal government, not just the Executive Branch. And he gives himself the responsibility “for ensuring constitutional government.”

He laid this all out in a document entitled “National Security Presidential Directive/NSPD 51” and “Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-20.”

and from the document itself:

Definitions

(b) "Catastrophic Emergency" means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions;

Implementation Actions

(6) The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government. In order to advise and assist the President in that function, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism (APHS/CT) is hereby designated as the National Continuity Coordinator. The National Continuity Coordinator, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), without exercising directive authority, shall coordinate the development and implementation of continuity policy for executive departments and agencies. The Continuity Policy Coordination Committee (CPCC), chaired by a Senior Director from the Homeland Security Council staff, designated by the National Continuity Coordinator, shall be the main day-to-day forum for such policy coordination.

If I'm not mistaken, isn't this called martial law? Isn't there absolutely no mention of it in the US Constititution? Hasn't it been understood for the last two centuries+ that only Congress can suspend habeas corpus, though it never has. Didn't President Lincoln suspend habeas corpus during the Civil War and hasn't Czar George, in effect, done it with his war on terrorism? AND didn't the Supreme Court in ex parte Milligan (71 US 2 [1866]) declare that what Mr. Lincoln did was unconstitutional? Well, yes, I think it did with these exact words:

"The statement of this proposition shows its importance, for, if true, republican government is a failure, and there is an end of liberty regulated by law. Martial law established on such a basis destroys every guarantee of the Constitution, [emphasis added] and effectually renders the "military independent of and superior to the civil power" — the attempt to do which by the King of Great Britain was deemed by our fathers such an offence that they assigned it to the world as one of the causes which impelled them to declare their independence. Civil liberty and this kind of martial law cannot endure {125} together; the antagonism is irreconcilable, and, in the conflict, one or the other must perish [Ex Parte Milligan, 71 U.S. 2 (4 Wall.), (1866)

what other damage can this man and his ministers do in the next




3. GAO Says Homeland Security is Breaking Privacy Laws

Washington - The Homeland Security Department is breaking the law by not telling the public exactly how personal information is used to screen international travelers, including Americans, congressional investigators said Wednesday.

One of the screening programs at issue is a computer-based system called the Automated Targeting System that is used by the Customs and Border Protection agency to rate the risk posed by travelers coming to and from the United States.

In its report, the Government Accountability Office said the department is not in full compliance with privacy laws that require agencies to tell the public how the government uses their personal information.

"CBP's current disclosures do not fully inform the public about all of its systems for prescreening aviation passenger information," the GAO report said. "Nor do they explain how CBP combines data in the prescreening process, as required by law."

The GAO, Congress' auditing agency, also said Customs has not publicly disclosed all the sources of data it reviews on passengers, including information obtained from commercial sources. It did not explain what those commercial sources may be and government officials declined to comment.

And what does the Czar's people have to say? "The GAO in this case is woefully uninformed and I think that Congress and the public are being poorly served by this report," Knocke said. Well of course it's uninformed! You haven't told anyone how it works and what effect it has. That's what the report says, stoopid...


Sources: 1. Americablog; 2. The Progressive & The White House: News & Policies; 3. Truthout;

monday morning mayhem...

guf•faw: /ge´fô/ noun
a loud and boisterous laugh

1. doctor's advice...

The doc told him that masturbating before sex often helped men last longer during the act. The man decided, "What the heck, I'll try it," He spent the rest of the day thinking about where to do it. He couldn't do it in his office. He thought about the restroom, but that was too open. He considered an alley, but figured that was too unsafe. Finally, he realized his solution. On his way home, he pulled his truck over on the side of the highway. He got out and crawled underneath as if he was examining the truck. Satisfied with the privacy, he undid his pants and started to masturbate. He closed his eyes and thought of his lover.

As he grew closer to orgasm, he felt a quick tug at the bottom of his pants. Not wanting to lose his mental fantasy or the orgasm, he kept his eyes shut and replied, "What?" He heard,

"This is the police. What's going on down there?"

The man replied, "I'm checking out the rear axle, it's busted."

The policeman then told him, "Well, you might as well check your brakes too while you're down there, because your truck rolled down the hill 5 minutes ago."

2. import/export...

An American is having breakfast, in Paris, one morning (coffee, croissants, bread, butter and jam) when a Frenchman, chewing bubble-gum, sits down next to him. The American ignores the Frenchman who, nevertheless, starts a conversation.
 
Frenchman: "You American folk eat the whole bread??"

American (in a bad mood): "Of course."

Frenchman: (after blowing a huge bubble) "We don't.  In France, we only eat what's inside.  The crusts we collect in a container, recycle it, transform them into croissants and sell them to the states." The Frenchman has a smirk on his face.

The American listens in silence.

The Frenchman persists: "Do you eat jelly with the bread??"

American: "Of Course."

Frenchman: (cracking his bubble-gum between his teeth and chuckling).

"We don't.  In France we eat fresh fruit for breakfast, then we put all the peels, seeds, and leftovers in containers, recycle them, transform them into jam, and sell the jam to the states."

After a moment of silence, The American then asks: "Do you have sex in France?"

Frenchman: "Why of course we do", he says with a big smirk.

American: "And what do you do with the condoms once you've used them?"

Frenchman: "We throw them away, of course."

American: "We don't.  In America, we put them in a container, recycle them, melt them down into bubble-gum, and sell them to France."

how do you know that you're god?

Simple.
When I pray to him, I find I'm talking to myself.

Jack Arnold Alexander Tancred Gurney,
The 14th Earl of Gurney*

A woman in Ohio is beside herself for reading the side of a cup from Starbucks that is contrary to her religious beliefs.

"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure."

Her exact words:

"As someone who loves God, I was so offended by that. I don't think there needs to be religious dialogue on it. I just want coffee," said Incanno, who is Catholic.

This is similar to the controversy when someone saw a quote by Armistead Maupin on a Starbucks' cup a couple of years ago. Here we go again!
Well, wouldn't she just p** herself if she saw this clip, where the initial quote of this post is heard.

The Ruling Class

Well, I got news for the lady in Ohio. I'm offended by the constant barrage of people like her who assault my right to be able to read what I want to read, believe what I want to believe, and say what I want to say without her and other small-minded, unaccepting people being affronted so that they don't want me to exercise the same rights that they have.

I could very easily scream every time I see something about god on the side of a Starbuck's cup, read a huge billboard on the side of the road with a message from their good book, or hear them constantly complain about how everyone is trying to take away their right to believe in what they want. I don't. The reason that I don't is because I very strongly believe and live my life as if they have the right to have what they consider their spiritual beliefs.

I have a caveat though. If I accept that they have the right to believe in what they believe, then they have to accept that I have the same right to subscribe to my own beliefs or lack there of. With one proviso: no one may be physically harmed.

Oh, and I'm not giving up my venti Americano with extra room for anyone, any thing, any belief, or any silliness. Period.

More on the movie The Ruling Class:

*The Ruling Class is one of my all time favorite movies starring Peter O'Toole as the 14th Earl of Gurney. It is a critically aclaimed movie that was nominated for a Palme d'Or at Cannes, Best Foreign Film Golden Globe, Best Actor nomination Oscar, & won best actor at the National Board of Review. It didn't do as well at the box office because of its dark content and the mood of the country with Vietnam.

the saga...

goes on and on and on...

I first posted about the the US Attorney mess back in January before it was really widely known. In my incessant reading I saw a little post somewhere about the "firing" of the USA's and kept seeing other brief mentions pop up here and there. Then a letter that Sen. Diane Feinstein sent to both the Senate Majority Leader Reid and Minority leader McConnell on February 26, 2007 surfaced and what looked not just interesting now had added to it more questions of what exactly was going on here. [You can read the letter at: TPMmuckraker.] All of the fired USA's had received excellent ratings and evaluations.

So, now, everyone in the country is more than aware of what this is all about. I really haven't posted much more on it because, well, to tell the truth, everyone else is.

Wednesday, the smarminess of Gonzales really caught my attention when I viewed his remarks that Deputy Attorney General McNulty had final say over the firings. In case you're not familiar with the word smarmy it means ingratiating and wheedling in a way that is perceived as insincere or excessive; eg a smarmy unctuous reply according the the Oxford American Dictionary.

Here is a video from Youtube of Keith Olbermann's reporting and comments of Gonzales' National Press Club performance that he calls the Blame Game and uses the catch phrase throw 'em under the bus. Watch carefully starting at about 1:09 of the video when Gonzales says, "At the end of the day...."

Pay particular attention to his mouth. He appears to be doing everything in his being not to smile. This is the number one indicator of smarminess. Also, watch where his eyes are looking. There is a field of study known as neurolinguistics that includes research into eye movement and recollection of thoughts/actions/memories in the brain.



And today, about the vote of no confidence that the Democrats along with some key Republicans are calling for, according to Czar George through his mouthpieces, made this claim: White House: Anti-Gonzales Vote a Stunt

The White House on Friday called the Senate's upcoming no-confidence vote over Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a "political stunt."

President Bush's support for his longtime ally and friend will not waver, said White House spokesman Tony Fratto.

Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., on Thursday became the fifth Republican senator to demand that Gonzales leave. Meanwhile, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., suggested that Bush consider ejecting Gonzales if he decides Gonzales is doing more harm than good.

In addition, with the newest charges of interference with FISA and the NSA, through trying to intervene with Ashcroft approving the warrantless attacks:

Asked twice during a news conference Thursday whether he personally ordered Gonzales to Ashcroft's hospital room, Bush refused to answer. Fratto also refused to discuss the scene, or even to confirm that it happened.

This saga is a true constititional crisis.

Low-level disputes of this nature are commonplace in everyday government operation, and the point at which such a dispute becomes a constitutional crisis is difficult to define precisely. However, a good guideline is that a crisis occurs when one or more parties to the dispute refuses to recognize the right or power of another constitutional body to resolve or arbitrate the dispute.

We are at this point in time with the executive branch repeatedly indicating that it has the final say. The Czar is so entrenched behind his minions there seems to be no leeway or wiggle room.

what we need now is a Григoрий Ефи́мович Распyтин.

oh, sorry, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin...

weekender...

and a groaner to boot.

Two brooms were hanging in the closet and after a while they got to know each other so well, they decided to get married.

One broom was, of course, the bride broom, the other the groom broom.

The bride broom looked very beautiful in her white dress. The groom broom was handsome and suave in his tuxedo. The wedding was lovely.

After the wedding, at the wedding dinner, the bride-broom leaned over and said to the groom-broom, "I think I am going to have a little whisk broom!!!"

"IMPOSSIBLE !!" said the groom broom.

[Are you ready for this?
Brace yourself; this is going to hurt.]

"WE HAVEN'T EVEN SWEPT TOGETHER!"

Oh for goodness sake...

Laugh, or at least groan. Life's too short not to enjoy... Even these silly little cute..... And clean jokes

Sounds to me like she's been "sweeping" around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




groannnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...

one dj, 25,000 people...

it always amazes me how music stands the test of time. samuel barber's adagio for strings is one of the most enduring pieces of modern classical music. it has many incarnations. even barber redid the piece for vocal as a kyrie eleison. it is absolutely beautiful.

here is a completely different version by one of the world's foremost dj's...

tiesto

unfortunate by reason of...

similarity?

Judge Rules in 'That's So Gay' Case

A judge ruled Tuesday that a high school student who sued after being disciplined and then mercilessly teased for using the phrase "That's so gay" is not entitled to monetary damages.

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Elaine Rushing said she sympathized with 18-year-old Rebekah Rice for the ridicule she experienced at Maria Carrillo High School. But, the judge said, Rice's lawyers failed to prove that school administrators had violated any state laws or singled the girl out for punishment.

The merits of the case appear pretty straightforward. The law the idiot attorney chose to use for defense of the suit didn't apply in this specific incident, according to the judge.

Sadly, the student's use of the phrase "That's so gay!" is as offensive as what happened to her from fellow students bullying her because of her personal conservative beliefs. It's also sad because, as she said, she didn't use the phrase as derogatory towards a specific group.

The case filed by Rice and her parents in 2003 brought widespread attention to a three-word phrase that some teenagers use to mean "stupid" or "uncool," but has come under attack as an insensitive insult to gay people.

I worked with kids for many years. The phrase has been used frequently over the last decade or so by middle & high school students, and they really don't mean it as being bigoted towards the LGBT community. It has become slang for "stupid" and "uncool." It's how the language evolves. Everyday usage, fads and momentary meanings change the dictionary everyday.

[The Oxford English Dictionary cannot add, delete or revises entries fast enough because changes are happening so quickly with the easy acquisition of knowledge, news and gossip due to the media and the internet.]

Besides, the younger generations have been shown to be more accepting and inclusive of the LGBT community than any other in their everyday actions and thoughts.

I don't think that the importance of the article about the lawsuit is in the use of the phrase as much as the indictment of the attorney for incompetence. The media makes it into a sensational bigotry issue. I don't particularly like the use of phrases like this. I realize that some people do find it personally offensive, and that is their right. I also think that what was done to the young lady fits into the same kind of offensiveness.

What it really smells like to me is adults getting into kid stuff that would have blown over very quickly. Kids don't realize what they're doing while they're doing it. Let alone remember what they said or did ten seconds ago!

i feel sorry for everybody in this matter...

new look...

couldn't decide on formal


or business



or casual



or dive right in



Guess I chose casual.

Been planning this for a while now, but it's always a little scary to try new things, though I'm known to take risks. My biggest fear was loosing all of the links, archives, etc., so I took it slow and made sure everything would stay the same. Actually, they didn't stay the same. They are better! It's difficult to do what you tell others, and one thing that I learned a very long time ago is that the things we worry about the most, never happen.

hope y'all like the changes and find it easier on the eyes ; ) ...

m/

only one Falwell post...

I will not post anything about the demise of Jerry Falwell except to record my response when I heard the news.

I was getting on an escalator at Carson, Pirie Scott and to the left, as I started up, was an area with a small couch and a flat screen TV on the wall with CNN showing.

There was an elderly gentleman sitting on the couch, obviously waiting for his wife while she shopped. As I saw Falwell's picture on the screen and read the chyron underneath announcing his death, I said aloud, "At least there's some good news today."

Needless to say, the elderly gentleman did not like my comment turning and giving me one of those looks. I ust smiled and was rather proud of myself for being so contained.

DownWithTyranny! was not so reticent - BIG PIG ROAST IN HADES TONIGHT!

He even got into trying to decide in what bolgia of the Eighth Circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno Falwell would be given accomodations.

go and have some fun reading his post. hee, hee, hee...

no more King George W...

He has surpassed the definition of king. He now falls into the category of

царь

Oh, sorry, those are the Russian characters for

czar.

The word czar comes directly from the Latin caesar that means emperor.

Why am I giving him a promotion? I'm not. I'm being more cynical and sarcastic than usual. [Trust me, it's hard to be cynical and sarcastic at the same time.]

Consider:

- The evidence regarding Gonzales and his cronies is becoming more and more obvious but Czar George supports him and says he will continue to do so. [To top it off, Gonzales now is blaming McNulty, who just resigned, for the entire episode for firing the USA's, saying that McNulty was in charge of them - bottom line.]

- Tony Snow, the White House mouthpiece, today said Czar George supports Wolfowitz and doesn't think that anything he did was illegal.

- Czar George has now named himself another under-czar for War to oversee the various departments dealing with war and intelligence. This is on top of others such as the drug-czar.

- Being a self-proclaimed born-again he believes that he gets his direction and decision making powers from divine right with the backing and support of his own magisterium lead by his proconsuls Cheney & Rove.

- Czar George is demanding that he be given all the money he wants to contiue his surge with no strings attached and no guidance from the Congress and the wishes of the American electorate indicated as of November 2006.

- Every law that Czar George has inked included a myriad of signing statements that in effect said, "yes, but, given that I am Czar [sorry, President] I can decide to interpret the law this way or this way because I know better than the Congress."

- Czar George has only vetoed two, count 'em, two bills. All since the Democrats won control of Congress, with bi-partisan support, and over issues that the populace of the country is in favor. In addition, he has promised to veto H.R. 1592, the ENDA hate crimes bill, thus keeping dicrimination of segments of the citizenry in effect.

One could go on and on and on with the imperious* decisions, statements and moves that Czar George had made.

In the past, history has recorded how imperious men have been dealt with. On the Ides of March 44 B.C., a group of disgusted Roman politicians took care of the problem of Gaius Julius Caesar. On July 17, 1918, a group of Bolsheviks eliminated their problems with the last real Czar Nicholas II. Thankfully, we do not live in a time or a country where these types of solutions are accepted and are frowned on deplorably. The U.S. Constitution has written into it the solution

Impeach the bastard!


* imperious: adj., assuming power or authority without justification; arrogant and domineering; compare to imperial.
Oxford American Dictionaries

let's hang on to what we've got...

and what we've got is quite a lot...

No, this post has nothing to do with Frankie Valli. At least, I don't think it does. It's just one of the silly, fun things to do that you find on the internet and can't force yourself to ignore. I don't think I've done one of these things for quite a while. thanks for the heads up to little voice

What Tarot Card Are You?

I am the Hanged Man

Self-sacrifice, Sacrifice, Devotion, Bound.

With the Hanged man there is often a sense of fatalism, waiting for something to happen. Or a fear of
loss from a situation, rather than gain.

The Hanged Man is perhaps the most fascinating card in the deck. It reflects the story of Odin who offered himself as a sacrifice in order to gain knowledge. Hanging from the world tree, wounded by a spear, given no bread or mead, he hung for nine days. On the last day, he saw on the ground runes that had fallen from the tree, understood their meaning, and, coming down, scooped them up for his own. All knowledge is to be found in these runes.

The Hanged Man, in similar fashion, is a card about suspension, not life or death. It signifies selflessness, sacrifice and prophecy. You make yourself vulnerable and in doing so, gain illumination. You see the world differently, with almost mystical insights.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

well, at first glance it was kind of a surprise. after reading it a couple of times, it's pretty positive. what card are you?

monday morning mayhem...

1. A very successful lawyer...

parked his brand new Lexus in front of the office, ready to show it off to his colleagues.

As he got out, a truck came along, too close to the curb, and completely tore off the driver's door of the Lexus.

The counselor immediately grabbed his cell phone, dialed 911, and it wasn't more than 5 minutes before a policeman pulled up.

Before the cop had a chance to ask any questions, the lawyer started screaming hysterically.

His Lexus, which he had just picked up the day before, was now completely ruined and would never be the same, no matter how the body shop tried to make it new again.

After the lawyer finally wound down from his rant, the cop shook his head in disgust and disbelief. "I can't believe how materialistic you lawyers are," he said. "You are so focused on your possessions that you neglect the most important things in life."

"How can you say such a thing?" asked the lawyer.

The cop replied, "My God, don't you even realize that your left arm is missing? It got ripped off when the truck hit you!!!"

"My God!" screamed the lawyer.

"Where's my Rolex?"

2. Little Johnny...

got on a bus and sat down next to a man. He noticed that the man had a strange kind of shirt collar, so he asked him, "Excuse me, sir, but why do you have your shirt collar on backwards?"

The man smiled kindly and answered, "I wear this collar because I am a father."

Little Johnny thought a second and responded, "Sir, I have a father, but he wears his collar the other way around. Why do you wear your collar so differently?"

The priest thought for a minute, and said, "I am the Father for many."

Little Johnny quickly answered, "My father, too, is the father of many. He has four sons, four daughters and many grandchildren. But he wears his collar like everyone else does. Why do you wear yours backwards?"

The priest, flustered, said impatiently, "I am the Father for hundreds and hundreds of people."

Little Johnny sat silently for a long time. As he got up to leave the bus, he leaned over to the priest and said, "Mister, maybe you should wear your pants backwards."

3. the power of television commercials...

Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of Tampax and proceeded to the checkout counter.

The man at the counter asked the older boy, "Son, how old are you?"

"Eight", the boy replied.

The man continued, "Do you know how these are used?"

The boy replied, "Not exactly, but they aren't for me. They are for him. He's my brother. He's four. We saw on TV that if you use these you would be able to swim and ride a bike. He can't do either one.

dialogue, did someone say dialogue...

Bush aides berate GOP members

Top Bush administration officials lashed out at a pair of House Republicans at the White House yesterday after details about a contentious meeting between President Bush and GOP legislators were leaked to the media earlier this week.

and who were #1 & #2? Rove and Cheney. Rove, of course, was the more incendiary:

White House political adviser Karl Rove, furious that Republican moderates had divulged a confrontational meeting they had on Tuesday with Bush on the war, started yesterday with an angry conversation with the meeting's organizer, Rep. Mark Steven Kirk (R-Ill.), according to several GOP lawmakers. Washington Post

so much for an unvarnished meeting...

UPDATE: firedoglake.com asking some of the same questions about the meeting on Tuesday that I brought up in a previous post [pardon my cynicism, puhleeze...] with one great last question - "Leader Boehner, if the meeting was 'very healthy,' why is Karl Rove treating your caucus members like Sheryl Crow?" i love it...

weekender...

found it...






and you thought there was no such place, huh????


now where did i put that canoe?