Has the Higher Authority Spoken?

I had a thought on the disaster in Miss. and La. they are calling "natural". you know it hit a gambling mecca in Biloxi, Miss. and "sin" city in New Orleans who historically make a mockery of "ash Wednesday" by being gluttonous the day before in all ways possible. combine that with the expression "god works in mysterious ways"
and ya think maybe .............. he's telling us something???? Does Sodom & Gomorrah sound familiar? Just a thought that crossed my mind. Consider this the "bone" I'm throwin you religious conservatives for all the past blogs I wrote that you didn't like. Your welcome!

It's Not Nice To Fool Mother Nature

The increased frequency and severity of hurricanes over that last couple years is the result of global warming!

The increased frequency and severity of hurricanes over that last couple years is the result of a natural cycle that reoccurs from time to time.
Which one is true? Who knows.
another study published in Nature in July, found that the destructive power of North Atlantic storms had doubled over the past 30 years, during which the sea-surface temperature rose by only 0.9 F.

Hurricane Katrina which landed in Louisiana this week also showed that we shouldn't mess with mother nature. The levees which man made to prevent flooding when the Mississippi overflows its banks are likely to also be the downfall of coastal Louisiana. Before the levees were built the silt from the Mississippi filled the bayous and kept them above sea level helping to buffer the hurricanes thereby aiding in the protection of coastal cities. Since the levees however there is no more silt filling the bayou and hence much of the natural protection the bayou offered has disappeared.
Man has disrespected mother nature (or perhaps you prefer to call it a "higher authority"?) far too long and may now be paying the price. Examples of man trying to alter mother nature abound, many already proven unsuccessful others still waiting for the right time. Look back to the Tsunami last year, the so called "primitive" tribes survived simply because they "understood" mother nature and try to live in harmony with her as opposed to controlling her
Wouldn't it be so much simpler to work in harmony with nature? Must we always try to control and conquer?
I deliberately chose to use mother nature / higher authority interchangeably in order to get those of you who don't "believe" to rethink that position. Obviously, or at least I would hope it obvious to you all, that ALL things in nature can't possible be explained away without giving credit somewhere to someone or something.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050830/sc_afp/usweatherscience

Cheating The Elderly

Attention Senior citizens and those who care about them.
Every year the government decide how much of a raise to give senior citizens in their social security checks, based on the rise in consumer prices. That's fair right? Sure if its done fairly; but this IS the U.S. government after all, so the answer is, not really, not when their doing the calculations. It seems that the government bean counters have seen fit to NOT include, read that again, NOT, NOT include the increase in prices of gasoline, medical costs, the housing price boom..
Gasoline won't figure into social security increases because of the unique mathematical calculations (new math again?) used. When all is said and done the governments geniuses say gasoline has only risen 0.5% in the past 3 months! Anyone who drives knows better even if they never went to school. To make matters more confusing, these statistics clash with a different set of government stats that AREN'T used in S.S. calculations that says gas sales rose almost 1.5 billion dollars during the same period , while number of gallons didn't rise appreciably. That translates to a 4.5% INCREASE in gas prices! What gives? I don't know for sure but I'd venture a guess that these are probably the same geniuses that "SAW" WMD"s in Iraq!!

Coffee Rich in Antioxidants

A study recently concluded that coffee is rich in antioxidants and that people get most of their daily antioxidants from their coffee.It only mentioned regular coffee so I don't know if de-caf works, but here is the article

55 Saves Lives

Remember that slogan? I think it began back in the 70's during the "original" gas crisis. What the government did was lower all speed limits to a maximum of 55mph. They then justified it as they always do by lying (think Iraq & WMD's), .saying it saves gas and lives. Or did they? I don't know whether America bought it or not but hey it was the law. Today 30 years later they still say it saves gas but oddly they now don't talk much about the life part.

My problem is which is it? If it truly saves gas and lives why not put it back into effect nationwide? A nationwide speed limit of 55 mph that will cut our dependence on oil by quite alot is you believe the hype. They say that driving 65mph uses 20% more gas and driving 75 a whopping 50% more fuel!! To further make a case for "drive 55" they continue that driving 65 pollutes much more (153% more CO) and kills far more. The first year after Congress lowered the speed limit to 55, 9,000 less people died. Then in 1987 Congress allowed states to raise their speed limits on rural roads to 65. Ultimately it was realized that this speed limit increase led to a 30% increase in fatalities. Armed with this information what did Congress do? Well of course in 1991 they expanded states authority so they could allow the higher speed limits on certain other roads as well. And you thought the U.S. government was always looking out for our welfare didn't you?
So what is it? If Bush and his cronies are really looking out for the well being of American citizens shouldn't they again enact legislation to lower the speed limit to 55mph? It will save lives, gas, money and indirectly fight terrorism!!! How much more patriotic can one be?
So remember you are NOT required to drive AT the speed limit; only that you must drive at least 40mph on most interstates and that failure to drive at 55 means you are supporting terrorism, you are increasing the risk that you and others will die in an accident and you are contributing to polluting the earth and all the bad things that go with that (another blog maybe?)
So who are you? A selfish, terrorist supporting, earth killing criminal? or a kind, considerate, unselfish, "family values", life protector? ME? That's easy. When it comes to driving I'm the first one. I 've driven both 55 and 75 and if 55 became law again nationwide I'd rather stay home thank you.
A few interesting places to visit on this are here, and here

Catholic News?

I apologize! I couldn't help it. I was reading "The Tablet" today, which is the "official paper of the brooklyn/queens catholic diocese in N.Y., and they were talking about world youth day organized and attended by pope Benedict the whatever, 16th?
Any way he was urging among other things that catholics should organize under the guidance of the clergy and immediately i thought Oh no, don't we already have NAMBLA? Now I'm not going to dignify that group by typing out what the acronym means, I'll leave that for you curious ones out there

On a lighter note a nun attending world youth day got reprimanded for " wild dancing" that included her wrapping her legs around a male missionaries body after he lifted her into the air. The 29 year old nuns eplanation? ''I wouldn't do this at home but at such occasions I get carried away by the enthusiasm of the group,''
Well at least it was with someone of the OPPOSITE sex unlike some others we know who the church took 40 years to reprimand, and then only after "the scandal" became public.

Bush Urges Iraq Compromise

I see where Bush - whacker is urging compromise in Iraq for the sake of unity. Why doesn't he suggest THAT here in THIS country? What I'm thinking is ONLY those who voted FOR Bush, and their children should be forced to fight his wars ............. now THATS a fair compromise for the GOOD of this country......

Greatest All-Latino Baseball Team

Major League Baseball unveiled its plan to vote for the greatest all Latin team. Controversy arose when it was noted that two of the greatest Latinos ever to play the game were left off the ballot. The names were Reggie Jackson, who some may have known had Latin heritage, and another that would have destroyed the mans career & wreaked havoc on this nation had it been revealed 60, 50, 40 years ago. That name is Ted Williams, whose mother was Mexican.
Two arguments here: One says that only those who acknowledged and embraced their heritage should be eligible: while the other says that for the sake of truth and accuracy both should have been included.
I think that along with a growing number of other baseball stats, both should be included, BUT with an asterisk next to their name explaining that although they are of Hispanic heritage they chose, for whatever reason not to acknowledge it.
But then in Williams case in fairness to him and the times he lived in maybe we should include an asterisk to the asterisk that explains that had Ted Williams let his heritage be known he would never had been allowed to play!
AhhThank God for asterisks. How could we ever live without them

If you want to throw a wrench in the works go to mlb.com and vote, since they have write in votes, we the fans can finally let MLB know what we think of their ideas of right and wrong.

Gas Prices

This article is only intended for honest, unselfish Americans and others. Wow, thats limiting!!! As if I could afford diminished readership! Well actually you cant diminish ZERO, can you?

In any event Americans must stop crying about gas prices. Sure thats the real reason we went to war, getting cheap oil, and sure it isnt working very well, but still, wake up and look around. Contrary to what you think, the world is NOT your oyster! You are not alone on this planet, nor are you superior to others! And OTHERS are paying WAAAAY more than the U.S. and driving motorized baby food jars with wheels to boot. I mean those European contraptions they call cars are worse than solitary confinement. I now know how sardines feel.

Here are gas prices in some other countries:

Netherlands Amsterdam $6.48
Norway Oslo $6.27
Italy Milan $5.96
Denmark Copenhagen $5.93
Belgium Brussels $5.91
Sweden Stockholm $5.80
United Kingdom London $5.79

Germany Frankfurt $5.57

France Paris $5.54
Portugal Lisbon $5.35
Hungary Budapest $4.94
Luxembourg $4.82
Croatia Zagreb $4.81
Ireland Dublin $4.78
Switzerland Geneva $4.74
Spain Madrid $4.55
Japan Tokyo $4.24
Czech Republic Prague $4.19
Romania Bucharest $4.09
Andorra $4.08
Estonia Tallinn $3.62
Bulgaria Sofia $3.52
Brazil Brasilia $3.12
Cuba Havana $3.03

Some nice places there
But wait its cheap gas you want, right? OK pick one of these places to live then:

Taiwan Taipei $2.84
Lebanon Beirut $2.63
South Africa Johannesburg $2.62
Nicaragua Managua $2.61
Panama Panama City $2.19
Russia Moscow $2.10
Puerto Rico San Juan $1.74
Saudi Arabia Riyadh $0.91
Kuwait Kuwait City $0.78
Egypt Cairo $0.65
Nigeria Lagos $0.38
Venezuela Caracas $0.12

Hmmm..... nothing very appealing there Huh?
So shut up, sit down and count your blessings!!

Actually the quote about oysters which comes from Shakespeare's comedy "The Merry Wives of Windsor": - is quite appropriate for "Bush-whackers" (or is it Bush backers, Ahh, same thing)
" Why, then the world's mine oyster,Which I with sword will open." Pistol, (2.2.3-4)

Gas prices source air-inc.com

Kill Him Says Christian Leader

And yet another "good" religious christian leader heard from. Seems Evangelist Pat Roberts is reccomending the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo ChaveZ. Yes Robertson, the founder of the Christian Coalition, andone of Bushes staunchest allies made his suggestion during the broadcast of his religious "The 700 Club" program. Chavez rightly accuses Robertson of promoting terrorism, and he's right, but do you think for a minute Robertson will be arrested or put on a Watch list?

His idea would be to send "covert operatives" to eliminate Chavez. And finally a christian, conservative leader I agree with! That ought to proveto all you "good" christians out there just how wrong he is.

No, actually I have always thought that assassinating leaders was much preferable to war. Just think if that was woorld policy we would be rid of Saddam, Bin Laden, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and a host of others, but our childrens lives would be protected. A win win situation
Amen my brothers and sisters
More on Robertson here.

Stem Cell Advances

Harvard scientists have successfully converted human skin cells into embryonic stem cells without using a human egg or new embryo. Scientists emphasize its NOT yet a replacement for conventional stem cells, and urged that current methods should be continued until such time that the new method is shown to be as effective.

And it has been pointed out that for now the new Harvard procedure requires cell lines taken from a human embryo.
"It's not as if this research says there is no need for embryonic stem cells," said Sean Tipton, spokesman for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. "It continues to show the enormous potential of stem cell research and highlights the value of embryonic stem cells as a source of research material."

Well there appears to be a method on the horizon that "may" please all groups, but in the meantime we must stay the course.

Bush: US must finish job in Iraq to honor the fallen

"We owe them something, to honor their sacrifice, said Bush-wacker! I got something to honor their sacrifice, impeach Bush and charge him with war crimes or crimes against humanity. That would go a loong way to showing the world we are an honest. peace loving nation who will not tolerate war mongering, power hungry Demagogues.

N.Y. Yankee's Jorge Posada gets 1000th hit

Congrats to N.Y. Yankee Catcher Jorge Posada who collected his 1000th carreer hit yesterday. His hit however bounced into the stands where it was retrieved by a fan. And herein lies my story and the drama of good old fashioned capitalism at its worst, something all pro baseball players know all too well.
It seems when the yankees tried to retrieve the ball, they offered the fan an autographed bat and ball, seemingly worth more on e-bay than Posada's 1000th hit, I think. But money isnt always the most important thing. Sometimes the lesson is more valuable. I only hope I'm NOT the only one who saw a lesson here. Anyway the fan turned down the Yankees offer and instead reportedly asked for $20,000.00 which was rebuffed.
Anyone I know, including myself who heard that sum had the same reaction. Ridiculous, absurd, downright selfish and greedy. And all are accurate. Normal everyday Americans should rightfully be dissappointed and annoyed or more at this "fans" greed. BUT todays professional baseball player should NOT. He has no right to be. There are no bigger, greed fueled, sell to the highest bidder people, than todays major league baseball player.They reap (finally) what they sow. Signatures routinely sell for $10-15 or more. A little "private" time with Barry Bonds or A-Rod sold for I believe like 7 or 8000 dollars!

So put into perspective, the "fans" asking price wasnt so much. Posada is being paid somewhere between $9 -11 MILLION dollars, or if we use the 9 mil figure that breaks down to about $56,000 PER GAME!! And thats assuming he plays all games, which they dont. So for Posada's 3 hours of work he gets $56,000. All the fan was asking for was roughly 2 hrs. pay (after taxes). Heck take it a step further; A-Rod gets $ 150,000 a game (approx.) For him 20 grand is literally lunch money. He probably had that much with him on the field in his uniform pockets. He could have "treated" Posada to the momento he sought. For me, if it was something memorable that I or a loved one did, I would certainly think it was worth something between lunch money and 2 hours pay for the momento, wouldnt you? Yes maybe justice is finally reaching professional sports. You reap what you sow

Catholic religion is not DIY says the pope

The pope says the catholic church is not, and should not be a do it yourself religion, but I have to ask, what IS religion if not a "do it yourself" phenomenon? I mean throughout history man has always realized that there was / is a higher power. He then proceeded to try and explain it, named it religion) and later when money became important man realized he could also "sell" it. It being his interpretation of religion & the Higher Power. And so it continued through the millenia that man has interpreted, invented, twisted, & perverted the miracles that are the universe, many well intentioned and yet others out of greed orwant of power.

I know I risk hearing from the catholics "well we are the one true church" blah, blah, blah, but even they have been guilty of the above; simply look at catholicism today and what it was about 1900 years ago when man invented it AFTER the death of jesus. It has continuously been reinvented, reinterpreted, and updated to try and keep their audience. I mean really, by a show of hands, if mass was still in latin, how many of you would go? .

religion is the interpretation of the who, what, when, where, and why's of life, and the correct interpretation (if there is one or just one) wont be known untill its too late which is why people cling to one or another.

Another "Good" Right Wing Christian Man

Dennis Rader, the self titled BTK killer is a 60-year-old former church-congregation president and Boy Scout leader, who took a picture of himself wearing panty-hose and a bra and hanging from a pipe.
According to testimony from Kansas special agent Larry Thomas, Rader killed Josephine Otero's parents and brother Joseph, then took the 11-year-old girl to the basement where the little girl asked "What's going to happen to me?"
Rader's reply was "Well, honey, you're going to be in heaven with the rest of your family." Rader then hanged the girl and masturbated over her body!

Yes I do mean to shock & incite readers. It seems the only way to get through to some. Not that they'll admit it, they won't, but reading something as heinous as this act, ought to stay in the mind awhile. Combine that with the facts of what he "represented" himself as, what he was in the community and hopefully the "right (wrong) wingers" will sit up and take note that a person is not necessarily what he presents himself to be.

I am in no way promoting the opposing view either. The left wing liberals are the same.
The difference between conservative right wingers and liberal left wingers is simply that the liberal left wingers are more wiling to admit that they are weirdo-wacko- perverts, etc.

Most things are best viewed from the middle so you get the best all around perspective, such as half court and the 50 yard line. Life is no different.

Religious rally attacks 'arrogant' judges

There is NO ONE on earth more powerful than the United States Supreme Court Justices, despite what Bush and the Pope, and their followers think. So why exactly do we, arguably the best government on earth, allow these men and women to be appointed for life, to rule with impunity? No one can over rule them.

Oddly I find myself uncomfortably aligned with focus on the family founder James Dobson when he said these "judges" are "unelected, unaccountable activist and arrogant," His stated plan was to educate evangelical Christians abou the supreme court, and to let the "justices" "know what "we" want". Of course his real and unstated mission was to let the current and future wannabe presidents know what "they" want, because after all what good does it do to tell a person who is, in Dobsons words "unelected, unaccountable activist and arrogant," what you /we /they want. There response is simply who cares. No the real mission her is to let the future presidential hopefuls "whats up". I would also hope that those who hear him come away with wanting to know what can be done to eliminate the "lifetime" appointment of these people, or at least curtail their supreme powers. Many good points were raised. Among them that Congress HAS the power to make laws and a suggestion that nothing short of a unanimous decision by the supreme court can overturn Congress.

Of course as is the case in everything, there were opposing viewpoints, even within the so called "religious" community. And of course there had to be someone in the crowd who felt it necessary to say that "Our laws are based on the Ten Commandments." Well I've been saying for a long time that regardless of your beliefs the ten commandments are a great set of rules to live by that were set down ages ago, by an all-knowing genius.
And by the way the original commandments were greater than 10 in number and were known about before they even appeared in the bible! So for all you out there who want to lay "claim" to them, sorry you wrong, they're not yours; there everyones, but that's another "blog" so write me if your curious

Babies Caught Up in 'No-Fly' Confusion

Oh, Now I feel safe! Infants, year old babies and other toddlers are being denied boarding on planes if there names match or just come close to those on no-fly-lists. Thank God we are protected by the most intelligent, motivated self starters America has to offer.
But really what sense does it make to have the planners of national security making millions of dollars only to have it enforced by people whose real future is as a Walmart greeter, or shopping cart attendant! There isn't an IQ there over 80 ...... COMBINED! And if there is, be careful that person is probably a terrorist or collaborator.

Iran backing Iraqi insurgent bombers

I got it. Bush didn't lie when he said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that they were part of the network responsible for 9/11. Nor was he lied to. It was simply a mistake; either his or his "intelligence" people, and I use that term "intelligence" loosely. You see what was meant wasn't Iraq but rather Iran. You know Iraq, Iran, honest mistake, right?
Iran, it seems, is backing the insurgency in IraqIf you believe even some of what the article says, and if Bush had a choice then we would be in Iran, not Iraq. But self-serving bum that he is, doesn't have a choice, due to his decision to invade Iraq. We are spread so thin that the rest of the world is now trying to "have their way" with us. They are pushing the envelope, they being China, Iran, North Korea, Russia etc.. And we? All we can do is keep redrawing the line in the sand (pun intended). I was going to call Bush an idiot, but that would be wrong; he is a shrewd business man taking care of himself and his partners. The real idiots are those who voted for him for a second term.
What can we do now? Well two things I can think of. First we can do what those who voted for him last time failed at - PRAY!, pray that we get through the rest of his term without having to learn to speak Chinese. Yes that day is coming, the day when China rules the world instead of the U.S. But before that happens all the nuclear devices will have been detonated, so congratulations China, you win - what?
Second thing we can do is NOT make the same mistake again in the next election. Sure George W. Bush isn't eligible, thank God, but he has an eligible brother. But really regardless of whether a Republican or Democrat gets elected, let at least try and put an intelligent, decent person in the White House next time. PLEEEASE

60th Anniversary of Hiroshima A-Bomb

Another solem anniversary remembered today; the day the United States saw fit to slaughter an estimated 140,000 innocent or mostly innocent people. This ended the war to be sure, but at what moral cost? This wasnt simply combat casualties we're talking about, but rather the extermination of people as if they were insects.
Congratulations America, another job you can be proud of? Remember this as the trial of Saddam Hussein begins. A trial charging him with human rights violations and other atrocities against his own people. Im not saying he's innocent by any means, just that he's no more guilty than many other leaders of many other countries, including the one who appointed itself god over the entire world - the United States.