Welcome to ...

The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Monday, September 8, 2008

Pastor: GOP may be downplaying Palin's religious beliefs

Pastor: GOP may be downplaying Palin's religious beliefs.

Gee, you think?!

Here is how Randi Kaye a contributor to CNN's AC360 reports it:

For more than two decades, current Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a practicing Pentecostal.

She belonged to the Wasilla Assembly of God church in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. But though she attended the church from her teenage years through to 2002, she hasn't talked much about her religion since joining the Republican ticket.

Palin's former pastor, Tim McGraw, says that like many Pentecostal churches, some members speak in tongues, although he says he's never seen Palin do so. Church member Caroline Spangler told CNN, "When the spirit comes on you, you utter things that nobody else can understand ... only God can understand what is coming out of our mouths."

Some Pentecostals from Assembly of God also believe in "faith healing" and the "end times" -- a violent upheaval that they believe will deliver Jesus Christ's second coming.

"Our basic belief is that God is God and he knows where history is going and he has a purposeful plan and within the middle of that plan we live in an environment in our world where certain events would take place," says McGraw. "Sarah wasn't taught to look for one particular sign -- a cataclysmic sign. She knew as every Christian does ... that God is sovereign and he is in control."

The McCain campaign says the Governor doesn't consider herself Pentecostal.

McGraw says Palin's Pentecostal roots may be being downplayed for a reason: "I think there may be issues of belief that could be misunderstood or played upon by people that don't know."

When asked by CNN about Palin's beliefs, campaign spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton would only say the Republican vice presidential candidate has "deep religious convictions."

But how might her religious beliefs impact policy in Washington if the Republican ticket is successful?

Palin's former pastor says he has no doubt her religious beliefs will influence her decision making when it comes to government policy. Regarding her desire to build an Alaskan pipeline and explore for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, McGraw told CNN, "Sarah knows that in Genesis, God creates the world and it's very good and that we're supposed to be caretakers in terms of not destroying the environment, so there's no way that Sarah is going to exploit or damage the Alaska tundra in the name of getting gas if she doesn't have to." Palin's neighbors react to her swift rise

Six years ago, Palin left Assembly of God to join the non-denominational Wasilla Bible Church. But the Assembly of God says she still returns for special conferences and events, such as the graduation of ministry students in June. Video of a speech she gave at the church just two months before joining the Republican ticket is making the rounds on the Internet.

Speaking of the troops in Iraq, Palin says on the video, ""Pray for our military men and women who are striving do to what is right. Also for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for -- that there is a plan, and that plan is God's plan."

Her campaign says she doesn't mix her faith with government business. But Palin did ask her audience to pray for $30 billion natural gas pipeline she is on a mission to build in Alaska. In the video Palin says, "I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas pipeline built. So pray for that ... I can do my job there in developing my natural resources. But all of that doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart is not good with God."

McGraw, who was her pastor until 1998 and while she was mayor of Wasilla, says Palin attended discipleship classes to strengthen her Pentecostal faith and that he counseled her on how to become a better leader.

"Everyone has a way of viewing the world and Sarah does too and hers would be shaped by the common sense practicality of how she's been shaped by the Bible -- which is basically the world view that says God loves people, people can access him and he's given us wisdom for living," says McGraw.

He says Alaska has already seen Palin's faith play out. As governor she passed ethics reform and took on what she's referred to as a "good-ol'-boys network." However, she has said she would not seek to impose her religious views on others.

"I think one of the most obvious ways it plays out is what you've seen -- is being courageous enough to deal with deception and corruption," says McGraw.

Palin now attends the Wasilla Bible Church. She was there on August 17, just days before entering the national spotlight. David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, was a speaker. He told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God's "judgment" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity. Brickner said, "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. When a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it."

The McCain campaign says his comments do not reflect her religious views. Palin's spokeswoman says she is pro-Israel.

Pastor Ed Kalnin, the senior pastor of Palin's former Pentecostal church, has also come under fire for his comments. In 2004, he told church members if they voted for John Kerry for president, they wouldn't get into heaven. He told them, "I question your salvation."

Assembly of God issued a statement online in response which said Kalnin was "joking" when he suggested "Kerry supporters would go to hell," and statement went on to say, "We do acknowledge in hindsight that it was careless, and we do apologize for that. This statement is not written as a defense, but as a clarification."

Palin has done little while in office to advance a social conservative agenda. She told the Associated Press in an interview in 2006 that she would not allow her personal beliefs to dictate public policy.

"I've honestly answered the questions on what my personal views are on things like abortion and a lot of controversial issues," Palin told the Associated Press. "I won't hesitate to answer those questions about what my personal views are, but I am not one to be out there preaching and forcing my views on anyone else." But in the last week, her religious background and outlook has certainly spurred debate far beyond Alaska.

*****

"I won't hesitate to answer those questions about what my personal views are ...", Huh? For somebody who 'won't hesitate to answer' she's stalling an awful lot.

As of this moment ...

514 brave men and women are gone in that wasted 'trip' to Afghanistan.

Dead because they were sent with no clear mission and no support.

And the nebulous 'reason' of getting bin Laden has proven to be a lie.

And I Quote

"Please, America, elect Obama.
On behalf of the world...."

~ MTV Video Awards host Russell Brand

Water bears survive in space

The creature seen here is capable of surviving the harsh conditions of space. While it looks like an extraterrestrial, it's actually a tardigrade, a tiny eight-legged invertebrae also known as a water bear. Microbiologists from the Institute of Aerospace Medicine sent tardigrades into orbit last September and exposed them to the cosmic radiation and deep vacuum of space. They returned alive.
From Wired:
 Photos Uncategorized 2008 09 08 Tardigrade3The tardigrades had already been coaxed into an anhydrobiotic state, during which their metabolisms slow by a factor of 10,000. This allows them to survive vacuums, starvation, dessication and temperatures above 300 degrees Fahrenheit and below minus 240 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once in orbit, the tardigrade box popped open. Some were exposed to low-level cosmic radiation, and others to both cosmic and unfiltered solar radiation. All were exposed to the frigid vacuum of space...

Just how the invertebrate astronauts protected themselves "remains a mystery," wrote the researchers.

Calling a liar, a liar!



The truth will always come out!

The World of Science

There are many weird things about the giant Humboldt squid, but here’s one of the strangest: Its beak. The squid’s beak is one of the hardest organic substances in existence — such that the sharp point can slice through a fish or whale like a Ginsu knife. Yet the beak is attached to squid flesh that itself is the texture of jello. How precisely does a gelatinous animal safely wield such a razor-sharp weapon? Why doesn’t it just sort of, rip off? It’s as if you tried to carve a roast with a knife that doesn’t have a handle: It would cut into your fingers as much as the roast.

This question has haunted many a marine biologist. So recently a team of materials scientists at the University of California decided to carefully examine the physical properties of the beak. Their discovery? The beak contains a huge gradation of stiffness: The tip of the beak is 100 times more rigid than the base of the beak — so the base can blend easily with the surrounding flesh. Water is the key to the proper functioning of this gradient: If the beak is dried out, the soft base calcifies until it’s nearly as dense and rigid as the peak.

Now the scientists are trying to figure out how to artificially replicate this remarkable gradient, because it’s so radically different from the way we humans traditionally develop materials. We know how to create materials that are really stiff or really soft, but not ones that slide gradually from one to the other extreme.

Anti-Scientology YouTube videos censored by the thousands

Just in case you thought the repugicans and the right wing-nuts were the only lunatics attempting to quash the truth check these Bozos out:

A law firm called "American Rights Counsel LLC" launched a massive attack against Scientology critics on YouTube, sending out over 4,000 takedown notices, including many spurious ones:
Over a period of twelve hours, between this Thursday night and Friday morning, American Rights Counsel LLC sent out over 4000 DMCA takedown notices to YouTube, all making copyright infringement claims against videos with content critical of the Church of Scientology. Clips included footage of Australian and German news reports about Scientology, A Message to Anonymous/Scientology , and footage from a Clearwater City Commission meeting. Many accounts were suspended by YouTube in response to multiple allegations of copyright infringement.

YouTube users responded with DMCA counter-notices. At this time, many of the suspended channels have been reinstated and many of the videos are back up. Whether or not American Rights Counsel, LLC represents the notoriously litigious Church of Scientology is unclear, but this would not be the first time that the Church of Scientology has used the DMCA to silence Scientology critics. The Church of Scientology DMCA complaints shut down the YouTube channel of critic Mark Bunker in June, 2008. Bunker’s account, XenuTV, was also among the channels shut down in this latest flurry of takedown notices.

Massive Takedown of Anti-Scientology Videos on YouTube

Where do these 'less than normal' people come from? Where is the swamp and the particular rock they slither from under so we can dry up the swamp and turn the rock into sand so they will not be anymore of them?
Wishful thinking, I know. But if we all wish hard enough it might happen.

Cymraeg Ddihareb

'r gwyllt ceffylau hidla am fachlud haul.
Farchoga 'u ai alli.

I can see clearly now

McPain is talking about 'change' now but if you watch this clip from The DAILYSHOW you will find out all you need to know about what kind of change McPain is talking about.
(Hint: it all becomes clear between the 4 minute 20 second mark and the 6 minute 5 second mark)

Sunday, September 7, 2008

The Catch


Those of us of a certain age remember "The Catch" that Montana tossed to Clark in the back of the end zone and a San Francisco dynasty was born.

Well, Delhomme tossed the ball to Rosario in an eerily similar fashion in the game with San Diego.

Could it be we will have to put an asterisk by the Montana/Clark hook-up and put Delhomme/Rosario down as 'The Catch' as well.

Time will tell. The Panthers have always played beneath their talent level even when they went to the BIG GAME. This year might just prove to be the year the play at their talent level and if so their are teams in the NFL that will cringe at the prospects of the Cats across the line of scrimmage from them - unlike the critics and fans, the other teams know the Panthers are a damn good team even when they are playing like my grandmother and her blue-haired group could do a better job of it and them playing at their talent level is scary as hell for them.

This is not good news

Brady done for the year

Patriots QB Tom Brady will miss the rest of the season due to a serious knee injury, reports Adam Schefter.

While I am neither a Patriots fans nor a Tom Brady fan I do not wish any player or team this kind of misery.

I hope Tom can recover as quickly as he can.

Full story here and here.

As of this moment ...

As of this moment ...
4155 Brave men and women are gone.

Lives wasted in Iraq for the greed of the cabal!

Support our troops ... Bring them home now!

They just don't get it

Lest some think I am 'on the left' instead of center - appearances do not always reflect reality - I found this quote by Oscar Levant to illustrate how I view politics and politicians:

"I once said cynically of a politician, `He`ll double-cross that bridge when he comes to it."

At the moment the Left is sounding the voice of America in its views and opinions and that is where I reside, America not amerikkka so I am supporting the Left.
The right is completely out of touch with reality (evidenced by those on a forum who continually claim I am far left, personally, and by the total disregard for the evidence before them in general in the world at large) so I will not support them.

For your information ...

Those still insisting that McPain has a chance are in the grip of

The Last Gasp of Denial

And I Quote

Never get a mime talking. He won't stop

~ Marcel Marceau

They have got to be joking ...

They have got to be joking ...

Rick Davis, campaign manager for senator John McPain, r-Arizona, just told faux news channel's Chris Wallace that McPain running mate governor Sarah Palin won't subject herself to any tough questions from reporters "until the point in time when she'll be treated with respect and deference." - from abc

This? From the muckraking, racial slurring, lying, sniveling repugicans!
Need evidence? Look here. (not that those who need it will).

As I have said before on many forums and been called hateful names for it ... They can dish it out but they sure as hell can't take it.

And the 'liberal' media (which is anything but) has been too hard on poor Palin?

Okay, tell me another one, this has me balling my eyes out and holding my gut from the gales of laughter.

I ran the table

All right all you football tipsters who picked the Chargers to beat the Panthers.

Can you say ... Wrong!

Panthers 26 Chargers 24

With this one I have run the table of games played so far.

Not bad ... hope to keep better than 90% for the season like I did last year.

Amy Goodman: Why We Were Falsely Arrested

By Amy Goodman

“Government crackdowns on journalists are a true threat to democracy. As the Republican National Convention meets in St. Paul, Minn., this week, police are systematically targeting journalists. I was arrested with my two colleagues, “Democracy Now!” producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, while reporting on the first day of the RNC. I have been wrongly charged with a misdemeanor. My co-workers, who were simply reporting, may be charged with felony riot.

The Democratic and Republican national conventions have become very expensive and protracted acts of political theater, essentially four-day-long advertisements for the major presidential candidates. Outside the fences, they have become major gatherings for grass-roots movements—for people to come, amidst the banners, bunting, flags and confetti, to express the rights enumerated in the Constitution’s First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Behind all the patriotic hyperbole that accompanies the conventions, and the thousands of journalists and media workers who arrive to cover the staged events, there are serious violations of the basic right of freedom of the press. Here on the streets of St. Paul, the press is free to report on the official proceedings of the RNC, but not to report on the police violence and mass arrests directed at those who have come to petition their government, to protest.”

Green polar bears in Japan


Three polar bears at Nagoya zoo in central Japan turned green this summer from swimming in a pond infested with algae. The zoo staff had been changing the water less frequently to save resources, and the hot weather had induced algae overgrowth in the pond and safety moat. The same thing happened at Singapore Zoo four years ago, and at the San Diego Zoo back in 1979.

Grow-A-Brain

If you are ever interested in some unusual stuff or even just your run-of-the-mill stuff check out Grow-A-Brain
You can find it there.

Editorial

It really is a private family matter except the whore touting 'family values and abstinence only' is pimping her daughter on the international stage as an example of those 'family values and abstinence only' perversions the repugicans are always going on about.

Yeah, and tell us another one ...

Wrong Acronym

A Special repugican Family Values Edition of Around the Internet


If this is a MILF as some are calling it, they don't know what a MILF is.

(For those who do not know what the acronym MILF stands for, it is (a) Mother I'd Like (to) F -know biblically.)

The survival as a species depends on my 'knowing biblically' this - we ain't going to survive as a species.

This is not a MILF, this is a WHORE and a two-bit one at that!

(For all you who don't know what 'two-bits' are - it is a quarter)

Come to think of it she isn't worth that much.

For those concerned by the use of the acronym WHORE it stands for

Warped

Hypocritical

Obfuscating

Repugnant

Egotist

Although the meaning you most likely assumed works as well.

Quoting Palin

So Sambo beat the bitch!

This is how repugican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama’s win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

Interesting Fact:

Estimated amount of glucose used by an adult human brain each day, expressed in M&Ms: 250

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Gay War Hero Awarded Posthumous Dishonorable Discharge At White House Ceremony

WASHINGTON—In a solemn ceremony held in the White House Rose Garden Monday, recently outed Iraq War casualty Sgt. Maj. Michael Delacroix—a highly decorated career serviceman with an impeccable 22-year record—was posthumously stripped of his military honors and dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army. "For giving his life in the line of duty and selflessly serving his nation while being gay, Mr. Delacroix will be exhumed from Arlington National Cemetery and relieved of his rank and all attendant benefits," U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said during the ceremony. "We also ask that his mother return the American flag that was given to her at his funeral." A Pentagon spokesman said that Delacroix's cause of death—sniper fire while attempting to save an injured Iraqi boy—will be changed to AIDS in the official record.

*****

All right already, maybe the Onion has it a bit off.
What is scary is that it isn't all that far-fetched considering the cabal and how they do things.

And I Quote

I'm not a paranoid derranged millionaire. Goddamit, I'm a billionaire.

~ Howard Hughes.

Top 500 Songs

In a musical mood this evening - check out RollingStone's Top 500 Songs of All Time here.

Walking on the wild side

Everyone has heard Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side.
But how many of you actually know the words?


Holly came from Miami, Fla
Hitchhiked her way across the USA.
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her leg and then he was she - she said:

Hey Babe, take a walk on the wild side,
Said hey honey, take a walk on the wild side.

Candy came from out on the island,
In the backroom she was everybodys darling,
But she never lost her head
Even when she was given head - she said

Hey Babe, take a walk on the wild side,
Said hey honey, take a walk on the wild side.
And the coloured girls go, doo dodoo

Little Joe never once gave it away,
Ev'rybody had to pay and pay.
A hustle here and a hustle there
New York city is no place where they said:

Hey Babe, take a walk on the wild side,
Said hey Babe, take a walk on the wild side.

Sugar plum fairy came and hit the streets
Looking for soul food and a place to eat
Went to the Apollo, you should have seen him go go go - they said:

Hey Sugar, take a walk on the wild side,
Said hey honey, take a walk on the wild side.

Jackie is just speeding away,
Thought she was James Dean for a day
Then I guess she had to crash, Valium would have helped that bash - she said:

Hey Sugar, take a walk on the wild side,
Said hey honey, take a walk on the wild side.
And the coloured girls go, doo dodoo

This is music folks!



Bringing 'em back ... the halcyon days of Southern Rock



Some more!



And it only gets better!

Barbara Boxer knows 'the Fighter' well

Barbara Boxer knocks a few holes in McPain's memes....

"In the 16 years that we have served together in the senate, I have seen John McCain fight.

I have seen him fight against raising the federal minimum wage 14 times.

I have seen him fight against making sure that women earn equal pay for equal work.

I have seen him fight against a women's right to choose so consistently that he received a zero percent vote rating from pro-choice organizations.

I have seen him fight against helping families gain access to birth control.

I have seen him fight against social security, even going so far as to call its current funding system "an absolute disgrace."

And I saw him fight against the new gi bill of rights until it became politically untenable for him to do so.

John McCain voted with president bush 95 percent of the time in 2007 and 100 percent of the time in 2008 -- that's no maverick." - barbara boxer

Mandatory Chill

I am under the Mrs.' Mandatory Chill' orders.
I am not to do anything but chill-out and rest for the rest of the day.

Since Hanna was less than expected to put it politely I was able to begin early this morning moving more of the stuff in my library.
And it got bloody hot today so the Mrs., walked up to me and took the box from my hands and told me to go and rest and not lift a finger the rest of the evening about ten minutes ago.

So, that is what I am doing - you don't argue with the Mrs., when she give orders like that!

Second trial starting for infamous Texas KFC murders


When Darnell Hartsfield saw the inside of a Texas prison cell for the first time in 1984, it was for an aggravated robbery he committed the previous year.
But prosecutors contend the Tyler man was involved in a far more heinous crime just three days before his arrest for that September 1983 robbery.

Hartsfield, 47, goes on trial this week for his part in one of Texas' oldest unresolved mass murder cases - the slayings a quarter-century ago of five people abducted during a robbery at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in East Texas.

Prospective jurors were to gather Monday at the Brazos County Courthouse in Bryan, where Hartsfield faces trial on five capital murder charges.

Hartsfield's cousin and co-defendant, Romeo Pinkerton, took a plea deal midway through his capital murder trial last year, avoiding a possible death sentence by accepting five life prison terms.

Charlotte businessman proves he's an idiot ... again

Charlotte businessman Mark Erwin proves what an idiot he is yet again.
Saying he will back McPain.
And he wonders why he is left out of all the important events around here?!

Joni Mitchell


Both Sides Now


Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
Ive looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

Ive looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
Its cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
Ive looked at love that way

But now its just another show
You leave em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

Ive looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
Its loves illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say I love you right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
Ive looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say Ive changed
Well somethings lost, but somethings gained
In living every day

Ive looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
Its life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

Ive looked at life from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
Its life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

Surreal Poetry



The surreal poetry of Procol Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale

Nominee's ally moves to curb probe of Palin

Key Alaska allies of John McCain are trying to derail a politically charged investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of her public safety commissioner in order to prevent a so-called "October surprise" that would produce embarrassing information about the vice presidential candidate on the eve of the election.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Fake soldiers at the amerikkka gathering

The "soldiers" seen in Tuesday night's rnc video about god & country were really actors.

CBS news found that the footage of the ‘funeral’ and soldiers is what is called ‘stock’ footage. The soldiers were actors and the funeral scene was from a one-day film shoot, produced in June. No real soldiers were used during production.

The footage, sold by Stock-Film House Getty Images was produced by a commercial filmmaker in Chicago. Both Getty and the production company, Mr. Big Films, confirmed that the footage was shot on spec and sold to the republican national committee.

One of the actors, Perry Denton of Chicago, Illinois also confirmed that he was hired on a day-rate as an actor for the shoot and told CBS news he was surprised to learn the footage was shown at the convention...

After a web search of videos played at the Democratic National Convention last week, CBS news found no obvious use of stock footage.

The rnc did not respond to CBS News’ request for a comment.

And, that's a surprise, how!?

See the full story @ CBS and C&L

The lies just keep coming ... they make it so damned easy - so damned easy.

They forgot

Somebody ought to remind the repugicans ...

JESUS WAS A
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER;
PONTIUS PILATE
WAS A GOVERNOR

She's no Barracuda

Ann and Nancy Wilson tell Palin and the repugicans to 'Fuck Off'!

"Sarah Palin's views and values in no way represent us as american women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (the 'barracuda' represented the business.) While heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the rnc, there's irony in repugican strategists' choice to make use of it there."

They sent the gop a cease-and-desist notice telling them to stop playing the damn thing. of course, that didn't stop the repugicans, who played the song again after John McPain accepted his party's presidential nomination —and this decision fired up Nancy Wilson so much, she rang up entertainment weekly's Whitney Pastorek to say, "I think it's completely unfair to be so misrepresented... I feel completely fucked over."

*****
You and the rest of the world Nancy.

Thirteen Hundred


Tranquility and enlightenment.

Some just can not handle it.

Some can.

I asked the same question

Obama, the constitutional law professor

Asks Pallin and the repugicans...
"Just who are you fighting for?"




"This is very curious. They haven't talked about the fact that I was a civil rights lawyer, or taught constitutional law, my work in the state legislature, or us senate, they focused on this 3 years where I worked as a community organizer, right out of college. As if I'm make the leap from 2-3 years out of college to the presidency.

I would argue that doing work in the community, try and create jobs, bring people together, rejuvenate the communities that have fallen on hard times, setup job training programs in areas that have been hard hit where the steel plants have closed. That's relevant only in understanding where I'm coming from, who I believe in, who I'm fighting for and why I'm in this race.

The question I have for them is
Why would that kind of work be ridiculous?
Who are they fighting for?"

I asked the same question here.

And I Quote

No one has ever bet enough on a winning horse.

~ Richard Sasuly.

Pipers barred from Russia

The sound of bagpipes has fallen victim to frosty relations between the West and Russia.

British officials have banned three military bands from attending a musical parade in Moscow.

More than 40 musicians have been told they won't be taking part in the Kremlin Zoria in Red Square because of Russia's invasion of Georgia.

The Foreign Office said on Friday that it's a demonstration that it's not "business as usual" between Britain and Russia.

The ban affects army pipe bands from the 2 Scots Regiment, the Irish Guards and 1 Royal Gurkha Rifles.

Brigadier Mel Jameson, former head of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, helped found the Kremlin Zoria.
He said the action "just shows that music apparently does not cross all boundaries."

*****

Now, why bar the Pipers from Russia? If anything started it's the Pipers you want there! They're Scots you know and the Scots are the fiercest and most feared fighters in the world.
Even the Nazi's and the rest of the Germany army called them "Damen ab Hölle" (Ladies from Hell) because they wore their Kilts and kept coming regardless of what the Germans threw at them during WW2 and as the Kaiser's army did in WW1.

Tobacco Could Hold the Key to Revolutionary Gene Therapy

I do declare!
After centuries of giving humanity little more than nicotine and death, the tobacco plant may be the wellspring of a revolution in gene therapy.

Scientists are using a modified tobacco virus to deliver delicate gene therapies into the heart of diseased cells, with the potential to treat most cancers, viruses and genetic disorders.

The tobacco mosaic virus, which plagues the plant but is harmless to humans, is hollowed out and filled with “small interfering RNA” molecules, or siRNA, which some scientists consider to be the most significant development in medicine since the discovery of vaccines.

Full Story

Angry? Get Distracted

“What do you do when you are angry? What do you suggest others should do when they are angry?

Many people have suggested that a good way to dissipate anger is to aggressively attack something other than the target of your anger. This “safe” release of anger may be directed towards a pillow, a punching bag, or may a pile of books you just slammed down. Another name for this strategy is catharsis. A second recommended remedy for anger is to target your anger at a safe object while thinking about the actual target of your anger. So instead of just punching your pillow, you may envision the target of your anger on the pillow and punch away. This supposedly allows you to release anger towards the target without actually hurting the target. Thinking about the target of your anger over a period of time is known as rumination.

Opponents of the previous strategies for anger reduction suggest that aggressive thoughts and actions are connected within a person’s mind. When a person is aggressive towards a pillow this may activate other unrelated aggressive thoughts and emotions - including anger. Similarly, when thinking about the target of anger a person continues to activate those associations, which would fail to cause a decrease of the felt anger.”

Read the full story at Social Psychology Daily

The Wonders of Radio

With only a five-foot length of copper, it was possible for the farmer of 1931 to milk his cows by radio control!

THERE seems to be no end to the versatility of radio in these days of electrical and mechanical miracles—not even cows and street cars are immune to the influences of its radiations. As a curtain raiser at the annual radio show held recently in St. Louis, a street car was operated from a distance by a mere man with a radio transmitter in his hand, and a Holstein cow was made to dispense her milk by the medium of radio waves, whether she liked it or not.

The mechanism of the trolley car and the mechanism of the milking machine were hooked up to a specially constructed radio receiver using only a five-foot length of copper pipe as an antenna. At a distance stood the operator, holding a portable radio transmitter using a similar antenna, as shown in the accompanying photos. When the key was pressed at the transmitter, the distant receiver in both cases set the machines to operating.

Why does McPain hate America



See what's missing during McCain's acceptance speech?
Check out his lapel.

Getting Clean

This story from Reuters explains how an elephant was controlled by poachers using heroin-laced bananas.
After police arrested the traders and freed Xiguang a few months later, the elephant was confirmed to be suffering from withdrawal symptoms and sent to a wild animal protection center in Hainan for rehab, Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

A year of methadone injections at five times the human dosage had helped wean Xiguang off his addiction.

Democratic Convention Number. 1

The Democratic Convention was No. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 14 on cable last week.

Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Aug 25-31.

Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses:

1. Democratic National Convention coverage (Thursday, 10 p.m.), CNN, 5.80 million homes, 8.06 million viewers.

2. "The Closer" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 5.54 million homes, 7.42 million viewers.

3. Democratic National Convention coverage (Thursday, 9 p.m.), CNN, 4.25 million homes, 5.53 million viewers.

4. Democratic National Convention coverage (Wednesday, 10 p.m.), CNN, 3.93 million homes, 5.38 million viewers.

5. Auto Racing: NASCAR Sprint Cup (Sunday, 8 p.m.), ESPN, 3.77 million homes, 5.64 million viewers.

6. Democratic National Convention coverage (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), CNN, 3.71 million homes, 4.93 million viewers.

7. Democratic National Convention coverage (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), CNN, 3.67 million homes, 4.80 million viewers.

8. "Saving Grace" (Monday, 10 p.m.), TNT, 3.41 million homes, 4.27 million viewers.

9. Democratic National Convention coverage (Thursday, 11 p.m.), CNN, 3.25 million homes, 4.32 million viewers.

10. Democratic National Convention coverage (Monday, 9 p.m.), CNN, 3.24 million homes, 4.53 million viewers.

11. Democratic National Convention coverage (Monday, 10 p.m.), CNN, 3.10 million homes, 4.24 million viewers.

12. NFL exhibition game: Seahawks vs. Chargers (Monday, 8 p.m.), ESPN, 3.043 million homes, 4.01 million viewers.

13. "The O'Reilly Factor" (Friday, 8 p.m.), Fox News Channel, 3.042 million homes, 3.91 million viewers.

14. Democratic National Convention coverage (Thursday, 10 p.m.), CNN, 3.040 million homes, 4.23 million viewers.

15. "Happening Now" (Friday, 12 noon), Fox News Channel, 2.95 million homes, 3.86 million homes.

The Bursting In Box

Wow, the last three days have seen a swell in the number of messages in the inbox with the overwhelming majority positive.
Which isn't surprising since most of the negative types shy away from Carolina Naturally because they know they will be called to the carpet for the rantings and ravings.

Some of the comments are:

"Don't pull the punches."
~Jason - Knoxville, TN

No worries, Jason.

"I have read your blog and really appreciate the fact you didn't jump on the baby/grandbaby bandwagon."
~ Annette - Venice, CA

Annette, I didn't feel the need to hop on that wagon there is too many other skeletons in that closet.

"Nacktman, I love your news blurbs from around the world."
~ Robin - Greensboro, NC
It's nothing Robin, some things are interesting and some are not.

"Bello blog. Yo como su sentido de humor."
~ Lucenda - Barcelona, Spain

Gracias Lucenda. Pruebo

(For you English only readers she said "Beautiful blog. I love your sense of humor" and I responded, " Thanks, Lucenda. I try.')

"We're with you all the way."
~ Ron and Meg - Glasgow, Scotland
Glad to have you. Scots Wae Hae!

And now from the troglodyte refuse bin:

"You are going to burn in Hell"
~ anonymous - Charleston, WV

Sorry, already been there, came back.
(You know it is funny how the negative 'people' are shy about claiming their postings)

Wildly Appropriate

Checking the inbox I found a message from an old friend who said he just read this wonderful quote on the web ... with Obama's fundraising at 8 to 1 BP (before Palin) and at 10 to 1 AP (after Palin) over McPain and the repugicans still claiming their sorry excuse for a candidate is 'winning' in that and every other category ... it is wildly appropriate.

And that quote is:

"Sometimes it seems like everyone is against Obama except a majority of the American people."

Mike, you forgot one thing though you didn't say who said it so I cannot cite the author of the quote. But it is a great quote anyway.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Condemned man's hearing moved to before execution

Well, duh!

A judge on Thursday moved a hearing date for a condemned inmate so that it's no longer scheduled for after his execution, giving his lawyers the chance to argue while he's still alive that the conviction was unfair because the judge was allegedly having an affair with a prosecutor.

State District Judge Greg Brewer moved the hearing date for Charles Dean Hood to Monday, two days before Hood is set to die for the 1989 slaying of a couple in Plano, near Dallas.

The decision reverses a that of another judge, Robert Dry, who had set a similar hearing for Sept. 12, two days after Hood's execution date.

The hearing will address arguments that Brewer's murder trial was unfair because of an alleged romantic relationship between the judge presiding over the trial, Verla Sue Holland, and former Collin County District Attorney Tom O'Connell.

*****

I do not know a thing about this case. However, I think setting a hearing two days after the man was to executed was bit off. What good the hearing will do for the man is up to the court there in Texas. Please tell me the first judge just can't read a calendar and was not petty, spiteful or any such as that.

McPain: I will 'fight for your future'

And the lies continue ...

"I will fight for your future" said McPain.

And just who's future will he fight for? Thus far he has 'fought' for naught save his own and the very few of the wealthiest of the wealthiest - and done a crappy job of it in the bargain.

Before you n'er-do-wells spout off you should know I am one of those wealthiest and I loath the buffoon and he has never done a damned thing for me. I also happen to be a Marine of the same era and I was never stupid enough to get myself captured despite being 'north of the DMZ' more than south of it - so his POW 'status' means zilch to me (and to all other self respecting soldiers who served without being idiots and allowing themselves to be captured.)

The speech was nothing but a empty space, a vacuum that even the hot air he was blowing could not fill.
The same tired old dog and pony show with smoke and mirrors is what we saw tonight.
I was less impressed than I was last night and I wasn't impressed last night.

It will come as a shock to some troglodytes perverting an old forum I used to be on that I even watched the speeches, but as they are troglodytes so someone with an open mind and the Cajones to stand up to them always shocks them ... and what they never learned was that mine are platinum coated hardened steel and I have a working brain to go along with them.

As Peggy Noonan said, "It's over!"

Searching the Net

The top twenty searched items on the internet for
September 4th, 2008

Sarah Palin
Hayden Panettiere
Leighton Meester
HI-5
National Hurricane Center
NFL
Kellie Pickler
US Open
Anne Hathaway
Barak Obama
Drudge Report
NOAA
Google Chrome
Jessica Alba
Hurricane Hanna
Christine Aguilera
Jerry Reed
90210
Bristol Palin
Limewire

An Error of Comedic Proportions

Comedians just LOVE Palin ...

Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has many views. She says she's opposed to same-sex marriage. Did you know that? Yeah, Palin says everyone knows marriage isn't for gay people; it's for pregnant teenagers." --Conan O'brien

"Let me ask you a question: is it just me, or does Sarah Palin look like a model for Lenscrafters?" --David Letterman

"Earlier tonight, I don't know if you saw it, Sarah Palin gave a tremendous speech to the republicans, though some are claiming it was actually her daughter's speech." --David Letterman

"Hey, the republican convention is still going wild in scenic St. Paul, Minnesota right now. Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was the star speaker tonight. A lot of excitement. She promised a walrus in every igloo and a whale tooth in every papoose." --Jimmy Kimmel

"Governor Sarah Palin gave her speech tonight at the gop convention, and it gave people who didn't know anything about her the chance to finally meet her, you know, like John McCain." --Jay Leno

"We're learning more and more about governor Palin. Apparently her daughter's name is Juno." --Jay Leno

"The republican convention is under way. the theme for tonight's republican convention is, 'who is John McCain?' Tomorrow night's theme is, 'who forgot to check if the vice president's daughter is pregnant?'" --Conan O'brien

"And you've got to love this: Sarah Palin is an avid hunter. An avid hunter. A vice president who likes guns? Well, what could go wrong there?" --David Letterman

"Some people are saying that McCain picked Sarah Palin to appeal to women who supported Hillary Clinton. This is crazy. You can't just replace Hillary Clinton with another woman. Bill tried that, it didn't work out." --Craig Ferguson

"John McCain's vp pick is the governor of Alaska, a unknown hockey mom named Sarah Palin that no one ever heard of. The only other job she had in politics was the mayor of a small town known as Wasilla, Alaska, and now she has the opportunity to be on a ticket opposite of Barack Obama, the first black man she's ever seen." –Bill Maher

"Are you kidding me, the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska? Yeah, that's who you want in the White House during a time of crisis. When she got a phone call at 3 in the morning, it was because a moose had gotten in the garbage can." –Bill Maher

"When they were vetting her for this job, like three seconds ago, she said, quote, I'm not making this up, 'what is it exactly that the vp does every day?' Let me field that for you, Sarah. they start wars, they enrich their friends, they subvert the constitution, and they shoot people in the face. that's what the vice president does." –Bill Maher

"And McCain felt what this nation really needs now is a vice president who looks like Tina Fey." --David Letterman

Accused toll-evader rigged license plate?

The Transit Authority of New York and New Jersey accuse Orlando Payano of rigging his tractor-trailer's license plate so that it flipped up when he sped through camera-equipped toll plazas without paying. Payano, charged with toll evasion and "license plate destruction," denies the allegations.
The Port Authority said driver Orlando Payano ran a cable from the license plate to the dashboard cigarette lighter inside the cab of the vehicle.

Pulling on the lighter flipped the plate under the truck.

A Town divided: Seagrove, North Carolina

Among the endless allegations of thievery, financial subterfuge and conspiracy, there is only this certainty: North Carolinians take their pottery seriously.

And that's about all outspoken potter Don Hudson can say without throwing himself further into a deepening dispute among the noted artisans living in an area of central North Carolina rich in natural clay, where pottery has flourished for more than 250 years.

The dispute has resulted in two pottery festivals in Seagrove scheduled for the same November weekend.
One is new this year, the other has been held for the last 26.

The divide, and all the confusing reasons for a fight over pottery, can appear ridiculous to outsiders.
But it's venomous for those involved, resulting in ugly propaganda, reports of a gunshot fired at one shop and allegations of assault.
Attempts to settle it have gotten nowhere.

"It's crazy. It's doing huge damage, and they should get over it," said Charlotte Brown, author of the 2006 book, "The Remarkable Potters of Seagrove" and director of the Gregg Museum of Art & Design at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
"It's not over anything that matters. It's personal. Everybody stands to lose."

Even some customers are starting to take sides, said Michelle Kovack, an artist who paints pots thrown by her husband, Craig, and is neutral in the feud.
"They've got to realize, we're stuck in the middle of this," she said. "We're just trying to make a living."

Potters have carved out a living in the Seagrove area, about halfway between Charlotte and Raleigh, since the mid-18th century.
It was founded by seven families who embraced the abundant clay underfoot.
Seagrove artists' fans include actors Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman, and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Tokyo.
North Carolina governors have commissioned the community's pottery as gifts for world leaders.
All of which helps explain the passion that feeds a feud that has simmered for years and went public this summer.

The schism generally involves differences between potters who support the Museum of North Carolina Traditional Pottery - which is more of a welcome center with samples of local work - and artisans who have broken from it.

Some in the breakaway group also support the financially struggling North Carolina Pottery Center, which displays and promotes work from artists statewide, not just those based in Seagrove.
It also sells pottery, which critics say hurts local artists and takes business away from their shops.

The center, which doesn't support either festival, has been the target of attacks by Hudson, a museum board member and a potter in nearby Sanford.
Hudson has published two articles that have infuriated some potters and written numerous e-mails, one of which resulted in legislative fiscal researchers examining the center's finances in August.
The state auditor has since given the center a clean financial report.

Museum supporters operate the Seagrove Pottery Festival.
It attracts 5,000 to 6,000 people to Seagrove - population 250 - each year and is considered one of the best festivals in the Southeast.
Scheduled for the weekend before Thanksgiving, it gives potters a chance to make money before tourism slows in the winter and raises $50,000 to $60,000 for the museum.
"I know that people know that the economy is bad now, but really, for us, it's been dwindling for several years," Kovack said.
"And it makes that show all the more important because the slow season is like January through March, maybe even April. And we need to make a lot of money at Christmastime to get us through that slow season."

Some museum supporters say the center has tried to steal the festival for years, though the former center director denies that.
Hudson tries to frame the feud around the center.
He brought the simmering ill feelings to the public with a May article he published in the guide of a separate pottery gathering.
The article, "Frankenstein's Monster," referenced the museum's efforts to start the center years ago.
Hudson accuses the center of playing favorites and planting "seeds of discord and strife in a community already under the stress of intense competition."

In doing so, Hudson didn't win any friends.
The former attorney said in an e-mail that no one "has ever confused me with Mother Teresa."
The tone of the article upset many, including some of his museum board colleagues, who failed in an attempt to boot him.
Two other board members and an office staffer resigned.
"I think Don in his heart thinks he's doing absolutely the best he can for us," said Judy Merritt, board secretary until she resigned in early June after the failed ouster attempt.

Word of a new event soon followed: the Celebration of Seagrove Potters, scheduled for the same weekend as the other festival.
It began as a group of irked potters, but is now under the auspices of the Seagrove Area Potters Association, a nonprofit marketing group.
Phil Morgan, a potter renowned for his crystalline glazes, said the new event is part of "a vindictive attack to try to kill the museum because Don Hudson is associated with the museum."
Nonsense, said dissident group leader Ben Owen III, another titan of Seagrove and descendant of one of the community's founding families.
He insists the new festival is about highlighting only Seagrove artists, and doesn't have anything to do with Hudson.
That despite the festival, with an emphasis on pottery made in a specific Seagrove area, not including Hudson, who is based in nearby Sanford.

In the past few weeks, things have only gotten worse.
Morgan said someone fired a gunshot into his shop on N.C. 705 - known as "Pottery Highway."
Two other potters accused each other of assault.

Museum supporters are threatening to go to court, claiming the second festival doesn't meet town ordinances.

In August, Hudson wrote a flier titled, "SewerFest," referring to the event's location: a vacant building beside a sewer lagoon.
It includes a tribute to Richard Gillson, the longtime museum president who died in January after falling from a ladder at the museum.
Hudson and his supporters defended the flier as political satire.
But Gillson's daughter, Deborah Gardner of Dunkirk, N.Y., said her father would be horrified.
"My father was a very outspoken man, but he never would have stooped to the level that Don Hudson has brought himself down to," she said.

*****

Oh, and you guessed it Hudson is a ... re...
It seems they cannot exist without causing trouble for everyone else.
Well, I hadn't planned on attending the Seagrove festival this year anyway.

Independents react to Palin's 'speech'

Here are some reactions by four Independent voters to the speech given by the repugican VEEP nominee:

I was completely underwhelmed. She was a republican novelty act with a sophomoric script. It was not even a speech I would expect for a someone running for the local PTA, much less for vice president.”

-- George Lentz, 66, Southfield - Independent


Who is Sarah Palin? I'm sorry but I still don't know anymore about this young lady tonight than I did last night ... the way it looks to me, she's the republican vice presidential nominee for one reason: because Hillary wasn't selected.”

-- Mike Kosh, 38, West Bloomfield - Independent


"Sarah Palin is a self-described ‘pitbull with lipstick.’ She spent little time helping Americans learn who she is. Her speech contained few statements about policy or the party platform. … I am not convinced that Palin's experience as a mayor or governor in Alaska meet the qualifications to be vice president much less one stroke or heart attack away from being commander in chief.”

-- Ilene Beninson, 52, Berkley - Independent


Nothing worked for me. I found her barrage of snide remarks and distortions to be a major turn off. She is not a class act. The most important point she made is that she will be an effective attack dog.”

-- Jan Wheelock, 58, Royal Oak - Independent

Palin energizes the base

Palin energizes the base all right -

- the Democratic base

Ben Smith @ poltico reports that Maggie O'Connell's speech last night raised $10 million...for Obama!

Obama's coffers have been filling since Sarah Palin attacked him repeatedly in St. Paul last night.

An Obama aide confirms Drudge's report that Obama has raised about $8 million from more than 130,000 donors and is on pace to raise $10 million by the time McCain reaches the stage tonight.

Bet you they didn't see that coming

Get the latest real facts and figure from 538, who has always maintained for weeks now that obama is ahead w/electoral, popular and percentage votes.

Why would your daughter need sex education?

Why would your daughter need sex education?

Because she's 16 and chugging
rum shots with the gang?

Where was Mom????

As of this moment ...

Lest the repugicans think their diversion is working ...

As of this moment:

4,150 brave men and women are gone.


In Iraq due to the greed and callousness of the cabal!

Support our troops, bring them home now!

Send a card

See more at someecards.com

Palin, the CNP and Diebold are linked

Get ready for another stolen election!

by Faun Otter

Fact 1. Palin was not vetted by McCain but by the leaders of CNP

Fact 2. Diebold are major financial backers of CNP candidates

Fact 3. CNP are Christian Reconstructionists and Christian Dominionists

CNP have a rule that, the media should not know when or where they meet or who takes part in their programs, before or after a meeting.

(Reported in the NYT August 2004)

The following Source Watch listing will convince you of the bad people that make up this unpleasant group:

http://tinyurl.com/gs89

Another good article and links on CNP is at:

How stupid are Repugicans?

They'll buy an "Abstinence Only" program
from a woman who's daughter looks like this.

Relax you morons it isn't her!

Cap'n Morgan to the rescue

Penis-boy and Bristol (left) get down
with some Captain Morgan Rum.

He gets the governor's daughter drunk,
screws her,
impregnates her,
then says,
"I don't want kids."

And these are the 'Family Values' people!?

Bristol Palin at the family bar
...and she's either 16 or 17 in this picture.

Don't know about you but my children did not drink at 16 or 17.

In fact they still don't drink - and the "baby" is 35 years old now.

The media's love affair with McPain is over.

Bloomberg media: The media's love affair with McPain is over.

About time, don't you think!?

Three Facts

Here are three facts about Wasilla:


Wasilla is considered a backwoods hillbilly area by other Alaskans.

People from the area proudly call themselves "Valley Trash."

How much more obvious do you need?


Sarah Palin wows the faithful with her "Seig Heil" tribute to Hitler

Be afraid, be very afraid ...

Video footage of Sarah Palin's church
Wasilla Assembly of God Clip
This is video footage from the Pentecostal church Sarah Palin belongs to, clearly showing dozens of members of the congregation speaking in tongues and wandering zombie-like through the aisles, also thrashing around on the floor in front of the pulpit.
I am not sure, but I believe several people are drooling or frothing at the mouth - it is not clear enough to make it out for sure
I have haven't seen anyone online mention this video, or even Palin's connection in general to this church (including a pastor who preaches that God put the shrub in office), so thought I would bring it to your attention.
Smashing Telly's post with the video.

The Wasilla Assembly of God church had lots more up on their website, but they've since removed it with this statement.

In one of those videos Palin describes the Iraq War as "a task from god."
Here's that video.

Here's another in which it is revealed that the Alaska oil pipeline is God's Will.
If you're so inclined, a quick search reveals a lot more on.

Douglas Rushkoff on the RNC

rudy-can-fail.jpg

Douglas Rushkoff posted an insightful essay about the RNC speeches.

"I felt a bit nauseous watching the Republican convention last night. I’m very much a give-the-benefit-of-the-doubt kind of guy, so I try to listen to the arguments people make even when they’re made in over-the-top or patronizing ways.
Sometimes it’s good to distinguish between the rhetorical devices and the underlying substance. Even people who use manipulative language sometimes have an important point beneath their persuasion techniques (ads against smoking, for example). I usually don’t feel uneasy when I put those filters on, but last night - during the
Guiliani speech - I realized I was no longer filtering a speechwriter’s intentional manipulation; I was trying to look beyond real hate."

Read the rest of Douglas Rushkoff's essay over at Boing Boing: Douglas Rushkoff on the RNC
Douglas Rushkoff's own website is under a 'Denial-of-service cyberattack' - something that the wing-nuts are fond of doing - preventing readers from viewing his website for the time being

Repugican Hypocrisy

Leave it Jon Stewart to prove the repugican's hipocrisy1


The Daily Show has a segment with video clips of Dick Morris, Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly, and others complaining about the media's unfair treatment of Sarah Palin, along with earlier video clips of these folks dishing out the same garbage about other women, including Hillary Clinton.

Damn it, those ol' cameras and tape recording devices are only supposed to show and record the dogma not the truth!

Soap Opera: episode 9 million and one part 26 - A

Texas drops over half of the cases in polygamist sect raid.

Child by child, Texas authorities are acknowledging that many of the children seized during a raid on a polygamist sect's ranch can safely live with their parents or guardians.

Since the April 3 raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, 235 children's custody cases have been dropped, meaning fewer than half of the 440 children seized remain bound by a court order to stay in Texas, attend parenting classes or be available for unannounced visits by Child Protective Services.

CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins said more cases are likely to be dropped but he was unsure how many.
They're being dropped "as fast as we can because it's a burden on everyone," he said.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Peggy Noonan & Mike Murphy - You've been YouTubed!

Hear what the repugicans really think of Palin:





A rough transcript
  • Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor work. Engler, Whitman, Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. And these guys, this is all like how you want to (inaudible) this race. You know, just run it up. And it’s not gonna work.

    Noonan: It’s over.

    Murphy: Still, McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.

    CT: Don’t you think the Palin pick was insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too (inaudible)

    Noonan: I saw Kay this morning.

    Murphy: They’re all bummed out. I mean, is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

    Todd: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

    Noonan: The most qualified? No. I think they went for this, excuse me, political bullshit about narratives and (inaudible) the picture.

    Yeah, but what’s the narrative?

    Noonan: Every time the Republicans do that because that’s not where they live and it’s not what they’re good at and they blow it.

    Murphy: You know what’s really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism and this is cynical.

    And as you call it gimmicky.
Check out the rest at C&L

*****

They make it so easy.
They really do!

Palin speaks

Just heard Palin speak for her time at the gathering and it it not go well.

She sounded nervous as a whore on the front row in church and the sermon was about fornication.

Her attempts at folksy and at humor failed miserably and her overall timing and cadence was off throughout the entire session.

Her negative tone and litany of lies made the entire thing a farce.

On the whole the whole evening was a classic lesson on negativity and hate with all the caterwauling from every drone mouthing the dogmatic line.

Enough is enough ... that is what America is saying.
But as usual amerikkka doesn't listen.
They just don't get it.

Security guards beat man in soccer arena, then get beat up by players, fans


Security guards break in their nightsticks on a banner-waving soccer fan running across the arena, prompting players and fans to storm the field and beat up the guards.

Serves them right!

Canada looses 19 square miles

A chunk of ice shelf nearly the size of Manhattan has broken away from Ellesmere Island in Canada's northern Arctic, another dramatic indication of how warmer temperatures are changing the polar frontier, scientists said Wednesday.

Derek Mueller, an Arctic ice shelf specialist at Trent University in Ontario, told The Associated Press that the 4,500-year-old Markham Ice Shelf separated in early August and the 19-square-mile shelf is now adrift in the Arctic Ocean.

"The Markham Ice Shelf was a big surprise because it suddenly disappeared.
We went under cloud for a bit during our research and when the weather cleared up, all of a sudden there was no more ice shelf.
It was a shocking event that underscores the rapidity of changes taking place in the Arctic," said Mueller.
Mueller also said that two large sections of ice detached from the Serson Ice Shelf, shrinking that ice feature by 47 square miles - or 60 percent - and that the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf has also continued to break up, losing an additional eight square miles.

Mueller reported last month that seven square miles of the 170-square-mile and 130-feet-thick Ward Hunt shelf had broken off.
This comes on the heels of unusual cracks in a northern Greenland glacier, rapid melting of a southern Greenland glacier, and a near record loss for Arctic sea ice this summer.
And earlier this year a 160-square mile chunk of an Antarctic ice shelf disintegrated.

"These changes are irreversible under the present climate and indicate that the environmental conditions that have kept these ice shelves in balance for thousands of years are no longer present," said Mueller.
During the last century, when ice shelves would break off, thick sea ice would eventually reform in their place.
"But today, warmer temperatures and a changing climate means there's no hope for regrowth. A scary scenario," said Mueller.

The loss of these ice shelves means that rare ecosystems that depend on them are on the brink of extinction, said Warwick Vincent, director of Laval University's Centre for Northern Studies and a researcher in the program ArcticNet.
"The Markham Ice Shelf had half the biomass for the entire Canadian Arctic Ice Shelf ecosystem as a habitat for cold, tolerant microbial life; algae that sit on top of the ice shelf and photosynthesis like plants would.
Now that it's disappeared, we're looking at ecosystems on the verge of extinction,' said Mueller.
Along with decimating ecosystems, drifting ice shelves and warmer temperatures that will cause further melting ice pose a hazard to populated shipping routes in the Arctic region

"Reduced sea ice conditions and unusually high air temperatures have facilitated the ice shelf losses this summer," said Luke Copland, director of the Laboratory for Cryospheric Research at the University of Ottawa.
"And extensive new cracks across remaining parts of the largest remaining ice shelf, the Ward Hunt, mean that it will continue to disintegrate in the coming years."

Formed by accumulating snow and freezing meltwater, ice shelves are large platforms of thick, ancient sea ice that float on the ocean's surface but are connected to land.

The Idiots speak ...

The idiots in Minneapolis speak and thereby reprove the adage -
Tis better thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!

In Fred Thompson's speech last night he said that the Democrats are afraid of Palin

One Democrat responded with this ... "Are we afraid, let me respond this way. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA."

Oh, the pain from the belly-laughs - afraid of Palin ... about as much as, well I don't know as much as ... what's as much as nothing?

And I Quote

The House Republican brand is so bad right now that if it were a dog food, they'd take it off the shelf.

~ Representative Thomas M. Davis III (r-VA)

Palin Slashed Funding for Teen Moms


Excerpt:

Earlier this year, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin used her line-item veto to slash funding
for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

A would-be banner of books

Question: Do we want this type to be Vice President of these United States?

Answer: No!

Time Magazine says that when Sarah Palin took office as mayor, she approached the town librarian and asked how to go about banning books from the town library:
[Former Wasilla mayor] Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. “She asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” The librarian, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire her for not giving “full support” to the mayor.

Visitors and readers

118 different countries have visited this site!

Not bad for a lil' ol' blog that "nobody reads". All I can say to those naysayers is ... how wrong you are!

Readers from around the world in:

Argentina; Australia; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; Denmark; England; Finland; France; Germany; Guam; Hong Kong; India; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Malaysia; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Russia; South Africa; Sweden; Switzerland; Venezuela.
And right here in the USA.

Also say you are wrong to the naysayers

Israeli archaeologists uncover parts of ancient wall

Israeli archaeologists say they have uncovered new sections of Jerusalem's ancient walls, continuing a project started more than a century ago.

Yehiel Zelinger of the Israel Antiquities Authority said that he located two wall segments just south of the Old City.
The project continues work begun in the 1890s by American archaeologist Frederick Bliss and his British assistant, Archibald Dickie.
The two tunneled along the length of the ancient wall and marked its route.
The modern diggers found beer bottles, a lamp and a shoe that Bliss and Dickie's team left behind.
They also found part of a wall built by the Hasmonean dynasty 2,100 years ago, and another section built by Byzantine rulers five centuries later.

The find will help scholars accurately outline the borders of historical Jerusalem.

It is always interesting at an archaeological dig - you never know what you will find.