Debt Counter Busted

Even this blog's Debt Counter has run out of places for digits ...

and the debt keeps growing!

UPDATE: Got the Debt Counter working again. Almost wish it wasn't though.

12 New Stomach-Turning Revelations About Sarah Palin

Palin has taken to smearing Obama. But it's her own record that continues to yield alarming information, undermining her skills and credibility.

Read the latest here.

The Athiest and the bear

An atheist was taking a walk through the woods. "What majestic trees!
What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!" he said to himself. As he continued walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes. Turning to look, he saw a 7 foot grizzly charging towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the bear was closing in on him. His heart was pumping frantically and he tried to run even faster. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear raising his paw to take a swipe at him.

At that instant the atheist cried out: "Oh my God.... !" Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. It was then that a bright light shone upon the man and a voice came out of the sky saying: "You deny my existence for all of these years, teach others I don't
exist and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament?
Am I to count you as a believer?"

The atheist looked directly into the light and said: "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a
Christian now, but perhaps, could you make the BEAR a Christian?"

"Very well," said the voice.

The light went out, and the sounds of the forest resumed. And then the bear lowered his paw, bowed his head and spoke: "Lord, bless this food which I am about to receive and for which I am truly thankful, Amen. "

Daily Funny

A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem. While they were there, the wife passed away.

The undertaker told the husband, "You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here, in the Holy Land, for $150."

The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home.

The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your wife home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here and you would spend only $150?"

The man replied, "Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

A True Love Story

This 80 year old woman was arrested for shop lifting. When she went before the judge in Cincinnati he asked her, "What did you steal?" She replied, "A can of peaches."

The judge then asked her why she had stolen the can of peaches and she replied that she was hungry.

The judge then asked her how many peaches were in the can. She replied 6.

The judge then said, "I will then give you 6 days in jail."

Before the judge could actually pronounce the punishment, the woman's husband spoke up and asked the judge if he could say something.

The judge said, "What is it?"

The husband said, "She also stole a can of peas."

Can you pass a third grade test?

Can you pass a third grade test?*
*repugicans need not attempt

The 25 Most Important Questions in the History of the Universe

• 1. What Makes No. 2 Pencils So Darn Special?
• 2. Who’s That AOL Guy Who Eerily Knows When You’ve Got Mail?
• 3. Where Does Nougat Come From?
• 4. Is There One Move That’s More Likely to Win a Game of Rock-Paper-Scissors?
• 5. Which Came First, the Can Opener or the Can?
• 6. How Does a Word Become a Curse Word?
• 7. Can a Pregnant Woman Drive in the Carpool Lane?
• 8. Why Do Battery Letters Skip from A to C? Was There Ever a B-Cell Battery?
• 9. What Does McDonald’s Have in Common with the CIA?
• 10. Why Does Hawaii Have Interstate Highways?
• 11. Why Do Most Snooze Buttons Only Give You Nine More Minutes of Sleep?
• 12. Why Do We Call Them Grandfather Clocks?
• 13. Was Turkey a Bird or a Country First?
• 14. How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck if a Woodchuck Could Chuck Wood?
• 15. We Know Nothing Better Has Come Along Since then, But Who Invented Sliced Bread Anyway?
• 16. Why Is It Called "Blackmail?"
• 17. Is It Possible to Own Property on the Moon?
• 18. Why Can’t You Tickle yourself?
• 19. Human Meat Isn’t Appetizing, But is It Healthy?
• 20. Can You Actually Sense Weather with an Injured body Part?
• 21. Why Won’t Pineapple and Jell-O® Be Friends?
• 22. What are Sea-Monkeys®, Anyway?
• 23. How Many Pounds of Chimpanzee are Needed to Defeat the Average Human?
• 24. Why are Grape-Nuts® Neither Grapes Nor Nuts?

• 25. How Many Licks Does It Take to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Pop?

Believe it or not, the answers to these questions are here.

And I Quote

Life Quotes

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. Oscar Wilde

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change Charles Darwin

Some people walk in the rain. Others just get wet. Roger Miller

It is a sad thing to look at happiness only through another's eyes Marquerite Blessington

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. George Bernard Shaw

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us. Helen Keller

Most people would rather be certain they're miserable, than risk being happy. Robert Anthony

Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Harold Whitman

Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy. Cynthia Nelms

If you're going through hell, keep going. Winston Churchill

We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them. William Arthur Ward

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever Gandhi

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. George Washington Carver

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. Charles Spurgeon

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens. Circumstances and situations do color life but you have been given the mind to choose what the color shall be. John Homer Miller

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not our circumstances. Martha Washington

We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us. Charles Bukowski

My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right? Charles M Schulz

Close your eyes and go back.....

....Before the Internet or PC or the MAC......
....Before semi-automatics and crack....
....Before Play station, SEGA, Super Nintendo, even before Atari...
....Before cell phones, CD's, DVD's, voicemail and e-mail....
....way back....
....way.....way.....way back.....

I'm talkin' bout hide and seek at dusk
Red light, Green light
Red Rover....Red Rover.....
Playing kickball & dodge ball until the first...no...second...no...third streetlight came on
Ring around the Rosie
London Bridge
Hot potato
Hop Scotch
Jump rope
Kick the can
Duck....duck....GOOSE!!!
YOU'RE IT!!
Parents stood on the front porch and yelled (or whistled) for you to come home -
no pagers or cell phones
Mother May I?
Hula Hoops
Seeing shapes in the clouds
Endless summer days and hot summer nights (no A/C) with the windows open
The sound of crickets
Running through the sprinkler
Happy Meals
Cereal boxes with that GREAT prize in the bottom
Cracker jacks with the same thing
Popsicles with 2 sticks you could break and share with a friend

...but wait.....there's more....

Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons (you had 3 channels to choose from)
Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs, Picture Pages, G-Force & He-Man, Schoolhouse Rock….
Going even farther back…. Roy Rogers, Wild Bill Hicock, Sky King, Hopalong Cassidy….
…The Adventures of Superman, Bonanza (in color), Ozzie and Harriet
Watchin' Sunday morning oldies (Abbott & Costello, Three Stooges) Wonder Woman & Super Man Underoos,
FONZIE.....AYYYYYYYY
Playing Dukes of Hazard
Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar
Christmas morning
Your first day of school
Bedtime Prayers and Goodnight Kisses
Climbing trees
Swinging as high as you could to try and reach the sky
Getting an Ice Cream off the Good Humor Truck
A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers
Jumpin' down the steps
Jumpin' on the bed
Pillow fights
Sleep overs
A 13" black and white TV in your room meant you were RICH
Runnin' till you were out of breath
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
Being tired from PLAYING
WORK: meant taking out the garbage or doing the dishes
Your first crush
Your first kiss (I mean the one that you kept your mouth CLOSED and your eyes OPEN)

Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" or "hangman" in the classroom, Remember that?

Oh, I'm not finished yet....

Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer
So was a swig from the hose
Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars
Playing Wiffle Ball in the back yard
Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school
Class Field Trips with soggy sandwiches
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance, and another quarter a MIRACLE
When ANY parent could discipline ANY kid, or feed him, or use him to carry Groceries... And nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
When your parents took you to McDonalds and you were COOL
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of us are still afraid of em!

Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!"
Well, let's keep going!! Let's go back to the time when...

Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"
"Race issues" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly"
Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
Being old, referred to anyone over 20. (CRAP! I'm officially old!)

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
Nobody was prettier than Mom
Scrapes and bruises were kissed by mom or grandma and made better
It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
Abilities were discoverd because of a "double-dog-dare"
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon.
Older siblings were your worst tormentors, but also your fiercest protector

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life......
I DOUBLE DOG DARE YA!!!!!!

Mexican marijuana cartels sully our forests and parks

National forests and parks - long popular with Mexican marijuana-growing cartels - have become home to some of the most polluted pockets of wilderness in America because of the toxic chemicals needed to eke lucrative harvests from rocky mountainsides, federal officials said.

The grow sites have taken hold from the West Coast's Cascade Mountains, as well as on federal lands in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Seven hundred grow sites were discovered on U.S. Forest Service land in California alone in 2007 and 2008 - and authorities say the 1,800-square-mile Sequoia National Forest is the hardest hit.

Weed and bug sprays, some long banned in the U.S., have been smuggled to the marijuana farms. Plant growth hormones have been dumped into streams, and the water has then been diverted for miles in PVC pipes.

Rat poison has been sprinkled over the landscape to keep animals away from tender plants. And many sites are strewn with the carcasses of deer and bears poached by workers during the five-month growing season that is now ending.

"What's going on on public lands is a crisis at every level," said Forest Service agent Ron Pugh. "These are America's most precious resources, and they are being devastated by an unprecedented commercial enterprise conducted by armed foreign nationals. It is a huge mess."

The first documented marijuana cartels were discovered in Sequoia National Park in 1998. Then, officials say, tighter border controls after Sept. 11, 2001, forced industrial-scale growers to move their operations into the United States.

Millions of dollars are spent every year to find and uproot marijuana-growing operations on state and federal lands, but federal officials say no money is budgeted to clean up the environmental mess left behind after helicopters carry off the plants. They are encouraged that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who last year secured funding for eradication, has inquired about the pollution problems.

In the meantime, the only cleanup is done by volunteers. On Tuesday, the nonprofit High Sierra Trail Crew, founded to improve access to public lands, plans to take 30 people deep into the Sequoia National Forest to carry out miles of drip irrigation pipe, tons of human garbage, volatile propane canisters, and bags and bottles of herbicides and pesticides.

"If the people of California knew what was going on out there, they'd be up in arms about this," said Shane Krogen, the nonprofit's executive director. "Helicopters full of dope are like body counts in the Vietnam War. What does it really mean?"

Last year, law enforcement agents uprooted nearly five million plants in California, nearly a half million in Kentucky and 276,000 in Washington state as the development of hybrid plants has expanded the range of climates marijuana can tolerate.

"People light up a joint, and they have no idea the amount of environmental damage associated with it," said Cicely Muldoon, deputy regional director of the Pacific West Region of the National Park Service.

As of Sept. 2, more than 2.2 million plants had been uprooted statewide. The largest single bust in the nation this year netted 482,000 plants in the remote Sierra of Tulare County, the forest service said.

Some popular parks also have suffered damage. In 2007, rangers found more than 20,000 plants in Yosemite National Park and 43,000 plants in Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park, where 159 grow sites have been discovered over the past 10 years.

Agent Patrick Foy of the California Department of Fish and Game estimated that 1.5 pounds of fertilizers and pesticides is used for every 11.5 plants.

"I've seen the pesticide residue on the plants," Foy said. "You ain't just smoking pot, bud. You're smoking some heavy-duty pesticides from Mexico."

Scott Wanek, the western regional chief ranger for the National Park Service, said he believes the eradication efforts have touched only a small portion of the marijuana farms and that the environmental impact is much greater than anyone knows.

"Think about Sequoia," Wanek said. "The impact goes well beyond the acreage planted. They create huge networks of trail systems, and the chemicals that get into watersheds are potentially very far-reaching - all the way to drinking water for the downstream communities. We are trying to study that now."

*****
There is a reason it's called DOPE you know!

Hey Sarah Palin

With subtitles for the lyrically challenged no less (read: repugicans).

Out of the mouths of children ...

The youth of America are renewing my hope for mankind this election year.

As of this moment ...

4181 Brave men and women are never coming home from Iraq.

Support OUR Troops ... Bring them Home Now!

Man wins $200K in Powerball twice in same year

For a Kansas City man, 2008 has been a great year when it comes to playing the Missouri Lottery. Arthur Watkins, 53, has won slightly more than $400,000 in two Powerball drawings within a four-month period.

Missouri Lottery officials said Thursday that Watkins selected the Powerball number to win $200,003 in the Sept. 24 drawing. He matched five white-ball numbers in the in the May 21 game to pick up $200,000.

Watkins bought both winners at the Longview Apple Market in Kansas City.

*****

I guess I need to make a trip to Longview Apple Market myself!

NC mom gets life for setting up robbery death

A 20-year-old mother has been sentenced to life in prison for setting up what prosecutors called the cold-blooded robbery and killing of a man for $120.

The Star-News of Wilmington reports a jury found LaKendra Grady guilty Friday of first-degree murder, robbery and burglary.

Authorities say Grady was a gang member who let Pervis Owens sleep in her house in January 2006, then had three men come over to rob the man who had once bought diapers for her children.

Prosecutors say Owens awoke to three guns pointed to his head and was shot in the back. A video caught Grady demanding Owens' cell phone as he bled.

The shooter was sentenced to life in prison, another teen faces at least 14 years behind bars after testifying and the third teen is awaiting sentencing.

An Open Letter to John McCain

Frank Schaeffer writes:

Senator John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as "not one of us," I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence.

At a Sarah Palin rally, someone called out, "Kill him!" At one of your rallies, someone called out, "Terrorist!" Neither was answered or denounced by you or your running mate, as the crowd laughed and cheered. At your campaign event Wednesday in Bethlehem, Pa., the crowd was seething with hatred for the Democratic nominee - an attitude encouraged in speeches there by you, your running mate, your wife and the local Republican chairman.

Shame!

John McCain and Sarah Palin, you are playing with fire, and you know it. You are unleashing the monster of American hatred and prejudice, to the peril of all of us. You are doing this in wartime. You are doing this as our economy collapses. You are doing this in a country with a history of assassinations.

Change the atmosphere of your campaign. Talk about the issues at hand. Make your case. But stop stirring up the lunatic fringe of haters, or risk suffering the judgment of history and the loathing of the American people - forever.

We will hold you responsible.

Read the rest An Open Letter to John McCain

Frank Schaeffer is the author of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back.

The Lion Awakes

Jimmy Cliff doing Reggae proud!

Peace Mon!

ELO: A 'garage band' in 1975

So, what do you think will this 'garage band' make it or not?!

Homeless man dies after being set ablaze in LA

"That ye do unto the least of my brethren ye do also unto me."

A homeless man died after being set on fire on a street where he had lived for many years, police and local merchants said Friday.

Police were called to Third Street west of downtown Thursday evening and found the man, who apparently had been drenched with what may have been gasoline and set ablaze. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz said a man in his 20s was seen running from the scene. Scorch marks stained a wall Friday where the man was burned.

The victim remained unidentified, Detective Brian Carr said. Investigators canvassed the neighborhood Friday looking for evidence, witnesses and information about the victim.

Shopkeepers said the man was a fixture in the neighborhood, and residents were shocked to hear about his violent death.

Every day, the man drank a Dr Pepper, ate a bag of chips and smoked cigarettes, said Young Kim, who owns a nearby dry cleaner.

The homeless man had been in the area for at least 20 years but never bothered anyone or begged for money, Kim said. People gave him food, clothes and spare change.

"This is a terrible shame. He didn't deserve this. It's so cruel," said Jose Antonio Gonzalez, who owns a vitamin shop near where the man was found.

Gonzalez said some longtime residents called the man Johnny and believed he had fought in the Vietnam War and had a wealthy family somewhere. Gonzalez didn't know whether the stories were true.

"He didn't seem to have mental problems. He understood and spoke well. I don't know why he lived on the street," Kim said.

A witness, Thomas Lopez, told KCAL-TV he saw a teenager walk by the homeless man and pour something on him. Moments later the man was on fire.

"To actually see this guy on fire, it was unbelievable. Who would do such a thing?" Lopez said. "I took my shirt off and started putting him out."

The man, who paramedics thought was about 50 years old, had burns over 90 percent of his body, Fire Department spokeswoman d'Lisa Davies said.

Andy Bales, chief executive of the Union Rescue Mission on downtown's Skid Row, said the incident was "part of a long history of people attacking vulnerable homeless individuals in Los Angeles."

"They think the person is less than human because they happen to be homeless. I don't know how you could do that to another human being," Bales said.

*****

A society is judged by the manner in which it treats the least among it ... and right now our society isn't fairing all that well and such events as this aren't going to win any points anytime soon!

Russian cops hassling bathtub chopper driver

Who says the Russians don't have a sense of humor?

Russian biker busted for driving a non street legal bathtub.

Scenes from the life of traffic cops from Russia and other post Soviet countries.

Palin Abuses Power

repugican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaska’s governor by trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from the state police, a state investigator’s report concluded Friday.

Alaska governor Sarah Palin is under investigation for the firing of her public safety commissioner.

“Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda,” the report states.