Bush lifts wage rules for Katrina

The biggest money wasting, president ever, has now seen fit to use the hurricane Katrina disaster to suspend federal laws requiring federal contractors to pay the prevailing wage!
First of all if this country were broke and in dire straits I could understand it; but NOT when we are throwing away billions of dollars in Iraq, Afghanistan, NASA's space program, and elsewhere.
Second, what kind of quality do you think you are going to get on construction and other work when you are cheating the workers? Americans already lack integrity and quality in their workmanship at the incredibly high "prevailing" wage! Talk about houses built of straw! The big bad wolf is lying in wait!

British Forces Raid Iraqi Jail to Free Troops

Ahhh .... With friends like this ....... who needs enemies.

And I'm not sure which side that applies to!!??

Florida could bow to drilling

Florida's Deal With the Devil

Florida appears on the verge of completing the transaction that began when it elected Bush in 2004. In exchange for voting for a man who convinced them with lies that he was a christian who valued life, Florida may now find out another of the hidden costs behind the deal they made with the devil. They appear to now be on the verge of approving oil drilling in the glorious Gulf of Mexico. Another part of the earth getting prepped for destruction, just as the devil planned. Yes that evil that is oil is weighing heavily on all Americans. Oil is to Bush as evil is to the devil, you cannot separate one from the other.

Man Guilty of Murder Though No Body Found

A man was convicted of murder based on a missing persons case that happened 11 years ago. No body was ever found.
I understand he probably did it. The circumstantial evidence is substantial,but I mean what ever happened to the age old adage of "no body no crime"? What if after he's imprisoned for years, maybe dies, maybe only wishes he did, maybe gets hurt, beaten, raped, whatever, in jail and then this girl turns up? What then? Does an I'm sorry work then? HELL NO! Does a monetary settlement make everything alright? HELL NO! And besides those monetary payments for wrongful imprisonment aren't that easy. The wrongly imprisoned must show "malicious prosecution". Yeah right, fat chance. I actually knew a girls years ago who disappeared. Some time later her family was asked to identify her body, which they did, and then buried her and life went on. Only problem was she "turned up" years later, married with children, so hey it happens. How a jury or court arrives at "BEYOND a REASONABLE doubt in this case is beyond me. I guess the fact that it occurs in that "red state" of Georgia has something to do with it.

Presidential Election 2008

Who will we select to lead the United States out of the dark Ages that Bush created? That is the question. The answer: Dick Cheney? HELL NO!!!! Jeb Bush, HELL NO, never again another Bush thank you very much. But who then?
How about McCain / Guliani, or Guliani / McCain; not sure Guliani's ego would allow him to play second fiddle to anyone, and not sure McCain deserves to be only second fiddle
On the other side it's even more interesting: How about Hillary Clinton / Oprah Winfrey? I would want Oprah on top of the ticket,because she's a much better human being, but lack of political experience might hurt.

Comments? Suggestions?

Oakland A's Baseball Team

Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane is a genius, not that he needed me to say that. I needed me to say that! All he's done is lead his A's to the post season time after time after time, year after year, while maintaining a low payroll. Credit was given to former manager Art Howe, so the NY Mets sought him out. Billy Beane allowed this. Why? Because he knew that the real "force" in the clubhouse and on the field was bench coach Ken Macha. The Mets signed Howe to a HUGE contract, and continued to lose, while all Beane did was turn the team over to Macha, and continued to win. Then credit was given to "stat master" Paul DePodesta. The Dodgers wanted DePodesta and got him, and are a losing team this year. Billy Beane, meanwhile continues to win. Everything, or rather everyone he touches turns to gold. Yes Billy Beane is a genius; I was a fan of him as a NY Met ballplayer, but that didn't work out as expected. I am now a fan of him as general manager, and thing are working out quite nicely.

Catholic Church News

While reading the "Tablet" this week I came across two "telling" articles. One was about the diocese of Spokane complaining that the court wrongly ruled that the parish and the school are part of diocesan property and therefore includable in church "assets" that get counted when making any financial settlements of sexual abuse claims. Bishop Skylstad claims he can no more lay claim to the parish property, than he can a parishioners house. I take it the assumption is that parish and school belong to the parishioners, and NOT the church. Yeah, right! IF the parishioners own the parish and school property, well then why is it that in the northeast part of the country diocese are closing some of their schools AGAINST the wishes of the parents?
I have always maintained that the catholic church and all other denominations as well, are businesses. This just again proves my point. If in fact they were truly concerned and sorry for what happened to the victims of clergy sexual abuse, then they wouldn't be doing this in Spokane and elsewhere. No, they would instead be doing what they "claim" they were going to do, help the victims above all else. By this action the church shows its true colors, that of a business who cares nothing about those it hurt. More proof? Some say this appeal process could take up to 10 years. So much for the concern about the victims huh?

Second story pales in comparison but nonetheless show the anti christian ways of the catholic church. The vatican is sending a delegation to inspect all seminaries and interview seminarians to ascertain their sexual proclivities. I oppose homosexuality as well, but lets face it, they exist in all phases of our existence, from CEO's to migrant workers and everything in between. The problem is not in who they got the "hots" for, but in what they do about it. As long as they keep their choices to themselves, we're all good. Granted the church definitely needs to be on guard for those who want to get "frisky" with the kids and even each other, but that's it. Same as they would do if a priest and a nun were getting it on, or a priest and any other female. To remove homosexuals because of the sexual preferences is just wrong. Otherwise while their at it they might as well remove straight priest also, because they have just as much chance of "temptation", or more, than a gay priest.
What do you say we go for eunuchs only as priests. That might work. Yes the only way the church can be sure of being safe is to hire only those people with NO sex drives, say like the average housewife maybe. Oh no, women can't be priests! Too bad, I think I was onto something there.

Parents Cage Children

Here's the story of yet another good, conservative christian family. Why they even attended "services" in a "church" they built on their property; and gave their adopted children biblical names, god bless them. No doubt they voted for Bush, consider themselves "pro life" and support the war wherever Bush wants it, huh!

Oh yeah, so their white and their adopted kids are black "special needs" kids for whom the government pays the Gravelles well. $4,265 a month when they had 8 children; who knows what they were paid when they got up to 11.
Also seems they hunted hard for the neediest kids in the country. Was it out of love or was it that they knew the government would be glad to "get rid" of those hard to place children, and therefore less likely to check up on them.

Yes I can see how this country would be much better off with religious conservatives running it.
Click the link or the headline for the whole story

Bugatti: 1,001 horsepower, $1.24 million

Volkswagen is scheduled to begin production of its new supercar, the Bugatti Veyron. it will have 1001 horsepower and a top speed of 250 miles per hour and a price tag of $1,250.000.00.

My only questoin is except for greed and "one-upmanship" WHY? Just WHY

Pledge of Allegiance Again Ruled Unconstitutional

The latest round in the Pledge of Allegiance battle continues. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruling the Pledge in public schools is unconstitutional, said he was bound by precedent set in 2002 by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling on the same subject.

The root cause of all this wasted time and money is the two simple words "under god", without which the pledge would be fine AND constitutional. Lets look at the pledge, shall we? It IS about pledging allegiance to the United States, plain and simple, and if two lousy words, which aren't necessary and weren't even in the original, are making it unconstitutional, then they gotta go, easy as that. The words "under god" were only added in 1954 anyway. In fact it wasn't until 1923/24 that the original words "MY flag" were even changed to "THE flag".
The Pledge originator was one Francis Bellamy, oddly enough, himself a Baptist Minister, who DIDN'T see the need for an inclusion of "god" in his pledge. In fact, on yet another strange twist, Bellamy and his cousin held Socialist views and that ultimately led to Bellamy's dismissal from his church.
The basic principle that makes this country so sought after by immigrants is its freedoms, and that includes freedom of religious choice as well as freedom FROM religion. As for me, it makes no difference whether you include the words "under god' or not, just as I also have always accepted BOTH evolution AND creationism. In fact I fit them together by believing that god created all around us and man was just his last and greatest, so in a sense the earth "evolved" on his schedule. Sounds like the subject of another blog........

A history of the Pledge and even better a brief Bio on Francis Bellamy here

Good references can be found here

Bush Takes Responsibility for Blunders

Y
A
Y
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New Hurricane Naming System

Hurricane Ophelia, with all her weaving and stalling, ducking and bobbing and shucking and jiving, one day full of hot air, the next day not, then full of hot air again, then not, has me thinking yet again.
Why don't we start naming all hurricanes after politicians? And if we run out of names we can use the names of infamously notable judges & lawyers.
I never would have connected the two had it not been for the adjectives being used to describe Ophelia as noted above. It was then that I realized that, hey these are some of the same words used to describe the traits, characteristics and policy of many who run for office. I mean throughout history there have been numerous politicians responsible for death, destruction, mayhem, chaos. Many have been blowhards. Heck when it comes to blowhards and "windy" conditions noone knows more about that then Bill Clinton, right? And stalling? Supreme court wannabe Roberts is doing that perfectly right now; as do most politicians also. And speaking of politicians aren't they "raining" down hard on Roberts right now? Pounding him unmercifully, just like a hurricane. Some are also good at promoting business which a hurricane will also do before it arrives and after it leaves. Then there is the "eye" of the storm, when all is calm; liken that to the baby kissing and sweet talking a politician will do to get into office, BUT watch out once he's in, its thunder, lightning and torrential downpour.

Just a thought

Nebraska man charged for sex with wife, 13

Ah, yes and right in the heart of the "red states" Bush country too. I've seen these families interviewed on TV and read the story. It seems a man started a sexual relationship with a girl in Nebraska when he was around 20 and she around 12. At 13 she became pregnant; both families accepted the "decision" to marry and drove to Kansas where it is legal for a 12 year old girl to marry with parental consent! Bush voters who are conservative by nature out to be outraged. An adult male engaging in sex with a 12 or 13 year old girl is illegal and he is being prosecuted in Nebraska, but shouldn't more be done? I mean able to marry at 12 in Kansas with parental consent. Come on people. Anyone who would give consent to such an arrangement, obviously is incompetent. And these people are allowed to vote! No wonder the worst candidate got in

Abortion or Adoption

I have been told many times by so called pro-lifers that there are more than enough people waiting to adopt unwanted children, a position I don't believe since group homes are full in many places. I have always contended that a child who will be unwanted and unloved would be better off having never been born. There are many ways to accomplish this; LAST of which would be abortion.
Today in Ohio it was discovered that a couple who had adopted / fostered 11 children in their home, had been keeping at least 9 of them in wooden cages! These cages measured 40 inches high by 40 inches deep and came furnished with - nothing! No pillows, mattresses, sheets, blankets - nada, zilch. They claim a Psychiatrist told them to do this for the "protection" of the children from each other! Now I have personally seen many children that SHOULD be kept in cages, and mostly for the protection of others! Want proof? Just watch "Nanny 911" on TV sometime. Now I'm not saying bad behavior is necessarily the childrens fault; it isn't.in many cases it's the fault of whoever is responsible for their care, or lack there of. Another show "wife swap" (no not that kind) aired last night on WABC. In the episode it showed a mother whose children ran amok, poking holes in the food in the meat section and emptying the coupon dispensers for "fun". The mothers reaction to those who objected was "too bad".
Now again its not the kids fault, its the mother and people like her shouldn't be allowed to breed! And she admittedly had a "bad memory" of her childhood and wanted her kids to live differently. Congratulations, yet another reasonnot to breed, but your not unique, the nations prisons are full of children who never knew discipline or love. I only wish the religious affiliation of these people were known, no doubt many would turn out to be "good, pro-life wannabe, christians".
Ahh, children, just another STD.

Roberts Vows to Be a Humble Chief

Well he's either a good selection or he has started out by showing his contempt for the judicial system by lying under oath. I guess time will tell. That is if he becomes chief justice.
Regardless, John Roberts started out well today pledging to judge with humility and "without fear or favor" should he be selected for the Supreme Court. He went on to say he has no platform and Judges are not politicians who can promise to do certain things in exchange for votes. "If confirmed, I will confront every case with an open mind. I will fully and fairly analyze the legal arguments that are presented. And I will decide every case based on the record, according to the rule of law, without fear or favor, to the best of my ability." Judges must have the "humility to recognize that they operate within a system of precedent & the modesty to be open to the considered views of their colleagues.

Brown Quits FEMA

Hey the Bush administration Has finally made a correct move albeit late as usual, not to mention it could have been avoided had Bush chosen by talent instead of cronyism.
But in any event how fitting for the former "sword swallowing" Brown to have now "fallen on the sword".for the "common good".
And it appears "your" president has named a replacement for Brown as well. Bush named R. David Paulison a former "fire eater" to replace the "sword swallower" as FEMA boss.
At least it seems as if Paulison has the credentials. according to the FEMA web site he is a career firefighter from Miami who was among the emergency workers responding to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades in 1996. Paulison also was chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, leading 1,900 personnel and a $200 million operating budget. He was in charge of Dade County's emergency management office. But remember Browns bio on the same site was inaccurate so who knows.

MORE PROOF of Global Warming

Let me start this one by saying "maybe" it isn't the fault of humans that the earths temperature is rising; Maybe its another one of thosae "cycle" things like the hurricanes. STILL The temperature IS rising and IS having negative global impacts, and we ought to be more concerned than we are. Ok having said that here we go:

The increase in size and frequency of ice breaking off in Greenland are a powerful reminder that the frozen sheet covering the world's largest island is thinning — a glaring sign of global warming, scientists say.
Where once the ice could be walked on and fished for 6 months a year, it is now down to scarcely 2. Other signs of global warming include the northward spread of spruce beetles in Canada to melting permafrost in Alaska and northern Russia. New plant species are popping up, killing older native plant types. New fish are now moving into the new warmer neighborhood, where before it was too cold for them to survive. Breem for example are common in warmer waters and NOT seen here in Greenland. But now this fish IS in Greenland and being predatory in nature it is eating up fish eggs and fry of rarer species normally found here. Research also shows that populations of turbot, Atlantic cod and snow crab are no longer found in some parts of the Bering Sea, an important fishing zone between Alaska and Russia.
Arctic sea ice has decreased by about 8 percent, or more than 380,000 square miles, over the past 30 years.In Sisimiut, Greenland's second largest town, lakes have doubled in size in the last decade.
With warmer temperatures, some bacteria, plants and animals could disappear, while others will thrive. Polar bears and other animals that depend on sea ice to breed and forage are at risk, scientists say, and some species could face extinction in a few decades.

The Kyoto Protocol that took effect in February aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But the 140 nations that have signed the pact don't include the United States, which produces one-quarter of the gases.
The Bush administration says participation would severely damage the U.S. economy. Many scientists say that position undermines the whole planet
Interestingly this week there is a summit in New York City and one of the major topics will be global warming and All of those countries in attendance oppose the U.S.' refusal to sign on to the Kyoto Treaty. Heck sign it and then reneg like you did so many times with the Indians.

Just more typical American greed. Screw the earth, we only care about the almighty dollar. It IS our god!

New Radar, But NOT for New York airports

There's a new "ground" radar system that detects ground planes that stray off course and prevents runway collisions, and its scheduled to be installed in airports around the country. That's good news I guess, but NONE of the New York area airports are on the list to get this new equipment! That's 3 airports that last year handled over 93 million passengers, or about 10% of the entire nations airline passengers. Go figure. Who makes the decision as to who gets and who doesn't? And why or how did they arrive at such a decision? I'm just curious, aren't you? Shouldn't we all be?

F.A.A., FEMA, Feds, same difference, all idiots,. Just who IS in charge? Can't blame Michael Brown this time. No I guess since its the Bush Administration technically in charge of all this, then you gotta blame Bushie. Seems all his people can do is talk the talk, even look the look, but they can't walk the walk. No when it comes to action, to actually DOING something, they are all lost. I guess incompetence begets incompetence, huh?

U.S. Envisions Using Nukes on Terrorists

Yes that's right, the worst abuser of nuclear weapons is threatening to use them again. Yet when Iran or North Korea make similar statements they are labeled as dangerous rogue countries that need to be stopped immediately.
Iraq (Saddam) had WMD's (supposedly) and was an "imminent" threat, so the U.S. invaded his country, overthrew his government, imprisoned their leader (Saddam) and the country is still a mess. And when it was discovered there were NO WMD's, the spin was changed to " well he's a human rights violator and murderer.
China is perhaps the worst human rights violator (think Tianeman Square) AND a Communist run country WITH plenty of nuclear capability yet we do nothing but gently ask them to change!
Saudi Arabia - many of the terrorists came from here NOT Iraq yet we do nothing but request they do better. Why? Because they are the Bush - whackers oil buddies and one of the largest (if not THE largest) oil producers.

V-Iraq-Nam

U.S.military attacked insurgent strongholds only to discover the enemy had escaped through tunnels and blended into the countryside.
Sound familiar? It should if your old enough to remember Viet-Nam.

Another familiar theme is the growing anti -war movement in the United States, as was with Viet-Nam.
now for the terrible X-factor, that being the home-bred haters of America and her policies. Notice I didn't say disillusioned, or disgruntled, or disappointed. No, I deliberately said "HATERS", because these are much more dangerous than your garden variety anti-war protester; and much more dangerous than the normal us vs. them attitude common between Democrats and Republicans. These "haters" are the ones born and raised right here among us, who look and sound and outwardly act just like you and me, with one major, dangerous difference. They are willing to lay down their lives to destroy America. These are the ones, the guerrillas, who will be impossible to stop because they outwardly "fit" in, blend, into the U.S. much like the insurgents in Iraq do, and much like the Vietnamese did a generation ago. You cannot stop what you cannot see, and if they don't "look" like the enemy or "act" like the enemy then for the most part they wont be (known) the enemy until its too late.

The most recent example of this is the latest Al Queda threat, delivered by an "apparent" American youth named Adam Gadahn. These threats are supposedly directed at Los Angeles, California and Melbourne, Australia.

Continued violence can only breed more contempt and hatred of what appears to be a greedy, selfish nation. We must instead dialogue with those in disagreement with us, accompanied by pressure from their peers to reach agreement based on compromise. Trouble is America has a bad reputation historically. The most destructive user of nuclear weapons to date has been the U.S. yet we want to be the ones to decide who should and shouldn't have nuclear weapons? That makes sense? And as far as agreements go, remember the U.S had never made a treaty with the indigenous Americans that it didn't later break, so how trustworthy is the U.S.? How good is her word? That and only that will bring lasting peace. Remember also when Iraq was fighting Iran, the U.S. BACKED Saddam! yet now he's a murderer? He is as we are, that's all ...........

9/11/01 - 9/11/05

Remembering all those who died on this, the fourth anniversary of an event that shook and changed the world forever. May they all rest in peace and may we never forget them, any of them, and ALL of them, uniformly, without regard for any one over another. All who died on 9/11/01 did so equally, despite what some want to convey. God bless them all.

Scientists Find Growing Land Bulge in Oregon

Doomsayers Delight

For the doomsayers out there, here's one you may have overlooked. There is land in eastern Oregon that is beginning to bulge as in perhaps the makings of a new volcano! Of course it could also just be water filling a gap in the earths crust, but that wouldn't serve the purpose of those predicting the earths demise. Mind you I'm not ridiculing them; not now anyway; not after all that's happened in the world over the last 4 years. We are all aware of the natural and man made disasters that have taken place throughout the world in recent years, most recently hurricane Katrina which almost eliminated one of the United States most colorful, storied cities.

European Union Demands More and Cheaper Oil

Oil demand has been estimated by some to increase by about 50% in the next 20 years.
European ministers (not religious) have asked for a half a million barrel a day increase in oil production, and that oil companies spend more of their huge profits on exploration and alternative energy sources.
One oil company made 1.5 million Euros an HOUR in the first 6 months of the year!!
After being threatened with heavier taxation of their profits by France, 2 companies agreed to lowers prices by about 3 euro cents per liter. That's about 12 cents a gallon for those in the U.S. if your counting.

There was also an appeal to the United States and China to use oil more efficiently. Germany's deputy finance minister said, "Attention should be drawn to the fact that the biggest sinners on energy efficiency -- the United States and also China now -- need to address this issue with greater intensity.

New DUI machine has same old flaw

IF a DUI Defendant asks for the "source code" for the breathalyzer test in parts of Florida, the test gets thrown out, and in many cases so does the case. In other parts of Florida the judges dismiss requests for this "source code". Why the discrepancy? Where the hell is the justice being meted out fairly and evenly?
Source code will reveal how the breathalyzer reaches its conclusion as to whether or not a person is drunk. This method will then arm the defense to argue that the code is faulty. That in turn will lead to experts for both sides lying to suit their own agendas. But the company making the breathalyzer refuses give it up, fearing that releasing the "Code" will allow competition to utilize it; or is it that they methodology is faulty and they don't want that to be known? If its the latter, I shudder to think how many erroneous DUI convictions there have been.
There is a solution to this. The code can be broken by any hacker worth his salt, but,.... ummm, that's illegal. Oh well.
I thought the law was fair , unbiased, and all about reaching the truth! Ok I never really believed that anyway, but that's what we are SUPPOSED to believe. That is what we promote in this country.
When guilt or innocence varies from judge to judge based solely on opinion, something is wrong. Judges are the most powerful people on earth; we expect, no need, uniformity. And that uniformity need be based on truth, facts

Katrina Continued .........

New Orleans Mayor to Force Remaining Residents to Leave City
Can he legally? Should he?

Refugee Term angers residents
Are they refugees? Yes and no. The term refugee, especially in this country, the so called "melting pot", has probably been overused and misused. We are used to it meaning a person fleeing religious and political persecution. Alternate terms include "evacuee", which is also applicable. They have been forced to "evacuate" their homes due to a natural disaster, and they are now seeking "refuge" somewhere else. So what do you say we call them "refuge seeking evacuees"? Geez political correctness is such a chore. What would you call the opposite of a "fish out of water" anyway? I do know what we can call those who DON'T want to leave - refusees!

FEMA Boss a Total Loss
Only AFTER Katrina struck did Michael Brown first send a "proposal" of what he thought should be done and how. Browns memo described Katrina as "this near catastrophic event" but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, "Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities." Employees were told that among their duties, they would be expected to "convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public."
So the over educated , but underqualified Brown knew how to put the "proper spin" on a story, but when it came to action he was woefully inadequate. Its not he first failure either. No, Brown was previously fired, asked to resign, "pushed out" or just "left" (whatever) from that most demanding, most important, most qualifying of all jobs in the world, that of "overseer" of horse shows! Yep During the 1990s, Brown served as commissioner of judges and stewards for the International Arabian Horse Association. This obviously left him well qualified for his job as FEMA boss because as reporters quote Kate Hale, former Miami-Dade emergency management chief: "He's done a hell of a job, because I'm not aware of any Arabian horses being killed in this storm.
Having said all that though, just how DID he get the job at FEMA? Well here's a simple, quick, how to on getting a job you don't deserve and it goes on each and every day throughout the world. And that is: Brown knew Joseph Allbaugh, President Bush's 2000 campaign manager. Allbaugh took over FEMA in 2001, and hired Brown, his old Oklahoma college roommate as general counsel. Allbaugh left FEMA in 2003 to work for the president's re-election campaign and guess who got the nod at FEMA? Yeah, him ...... cronyism at its worst.

Iran Offers 20 Million Barrels of Oil in Aid to U.S.
Of course it was predicated on the U.S. lifting trade sanctions against Iran, and of course the United States rejected the offer. It was unfortunate that Iran saw the need to attach strings such as it did, because had they not, and combined with Cuba's offer of medical help previously, together they could have gone a long way toward making the U.S. look even more Demonic to its detractors. Kind of like a "see we are more humanitarian than the self righteous America" etc. etc. But they blew it, big time. Instead they made themselves look like exactly what America portrays them as. Too bad ......

TV's Gilligan dies

TV's "Gillligan", that laughable, lovable, dummy has passed away, but I'll always remember him and his antics. How can I not be reminded of him as long as Bush-whacker is in office. The main difference between Bush and Gilligan is Gilligan was lovable! Rest in peace Gilligan ..........

Court Rules Against Kazaa

An Australian court has ruled against Sharman Networks, creators of the wildly popular Kazaa, a file sharing software. The court said that while Sharman didn't itself break copyright laws, it did encourage users to do so with its web site prompting users to "Join the Revolution".

Ok fine, but then shouldn't there also be culpability for those who:

Make motor vehicles that can go faster than the legal speed limit and then promote and glorify the same?

Make musical lyrics promoting or glorifying illegal activities

Have products promoted deliberately to children, knowing that the average parent can't or won't say no to them. No product should be promoted to a market under the age of reason.

Market weapons, whose users then go out and kill illegally

Air advertisements aimed at adults but aired at times when young or underage viewers may be watching or listening?

Make movies showing dangerous activities that should either not be tried by anyone or at least not be tried by anyone but trained professionals, then offering no warnings or disclaimers.

Run for office on a particular platform and then reneg after being elected

Make "copy" machines and cameras, whose very purpose is to "copy" something or archive it.

Castro Offers Aid to U.S.

Fidel Castro has offered to send 1500 Doctors each carrying 27 pounds of medicine to the U.S. to aid in caring for the sick and injured, in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
Alas the U.S. has yet to reply.
Say what you want about Castro, but I'm amazed at his offer and even though it stinks of politics, he's the bigger man this time around. Bush meanwhile as I would expect from him is still refusing to play nice with others. Easier I guess to bomb them than dialogue with them huh?

Oops and Ouch!

OOPS!
Teen pregnancy at this Ohio high school has reached epidemic proportions with 64 of the schools 490 female students expecting. Thats 13% folks! While most girls their age are epecting different things like expecting to graduate, pass exams, go to their proms, get accepted to college etc. these girls are expecting babies!!


OUCH!
A South African inventor has come up with an "anti-rape female condom". Itis worn by the female and when raped It hooks onto the rapist's skin, and can only be removed through surgery!

Katrina: A How NOT TO Essay

This is a book that begs to be written, and surely it will be. Probably dozens of them; I only wish I had the expertise, the know how and the connections to do it, because I am really upset at what has taken place in the aftermath of Katrina; or rather I'm upset at what HASN"T taken place.
Blame; There is plenty of that to go around, on ALL levels, from human nature to your president Bush. Now everyone knows I hate the Bush men , but try as I might I cant blame him for the man made disaster that followed Katrina, until I've finished blaming many others.
Lets begin with the past. Past governments and activities that aided in Katrinas destruction.
LEVEES:
Levees that kept back the overflow waters of the Mississippi river in normal times is also to blame for the same reasons. I understand before those levees were built, the Miss. used to overflow tons of silt which helped to at least preserve the barrier islands. Damming of the Miss. over the years has resulted in reducing the amount of silt being dumped into the barrier islands by more than half. This has directly help the erosion of these island s which would normally act as a "buffer" to storms, helping to diminish their power. So again man trying to "harness" and control mother nature has resulted in devastation and complete and utter failure!. Just when will we learn?
HUMAN NATURE
. By that I mean that the average person when told to evacuate, probably didn't believe it necessary, but did it anyway. The extreme in that group did stay behind. I would have. I am extremist in that situation; I know that I will never win the lottery because of the odds, and likewise I feel the odds of me being swept away and killed during a hurricane, although less than winning lotto are still astronomical. Am I being stupid, or naive? Probably both, but stay I would have. Now, not all stayed because they didn't believe the hype of "the sky is falling" that was being bandied about. No, many stayed because they had little or no choice: they didn't have the "means" to get out.
INCOMPETENCE AT ALL LEVELS
This is where the "blame" starts with government. You are the local government;. you order a mandatory evacuation of your "constituents". Don't you realize that many of your citizens have NO way of getting pout of town without your help? Did YOU order buses into the area to aid in the evacuation? Did you order ALL your emergency personnel into the area to facilitate the evacuation? You did arrange for the stadium to take refugees, but did you also arrange for hotels in safe area to accept those in need? Or did they only accept those who could pay? Did you make arrangements or at least try, with other cities and states to prepare to accept people? I mean there are approximately 500,000 people now (Sept 5th) displaced from New Orleans. People are blaming racism on the failure in N.O. but I blame economics. Yes I think Economics is the new racism in this country.
When did you call for Federal assistance? Before or after you did your job. Your emergency personnel should have been ordered to "loot" stores themselves, and distribute it to those in need. That would have helped prevent the "thuggery" that followed. Odd how in a time of crisis its called "price gouging" and other times its called good old fashioned Capitalism. Did you have a "police presence" in the shelters? When did you call for the National Guard? Speaking of the National Guard, THIS is what they are for. Had they not been in a foreign country they could have more easily and quickly and in larger numbers been deployed here: and NOT as a military force per se, but as a humanitarian effort to help, serve and protect our own here in America. This is just an ever so brief touch on what should have and could have been done at the state and local level. How much did they do? Time will tell, when all the facts come out. In the meantime thousands are dead, hundreds of thousands homeless, countless ill from the ordeal, and just so they get a small mention probably tens of thousand of animals dead.
Then there's the Feds, those infamous finger pointing, I'm better than thou, secretive Federal government agencies. What did they do? What did Bush do? The most "vacationed" president in recent memory, was again (still?) on vacation before, during and after Katrina came to town. Bush came back to the white house 2 days AFTER Katrina struck. What this indicates to me is not so much HIS incompetence, (I already knew that), but rather the incompetence of his hand selected people. The complete inability of anyone in his administration to act on anything without the kings approval. Well if this is actually true, then he should have come back from his month long vacation the day OF Katrina NOT 2 days AFTER the fact. But again before I can blame him personally I must first find fault with everyone else under him.
History Lesson
There is a precedence to this latest tragedy. Back in 1927 there was an equally disastrous flood in New Orleans. But THEY at least had a plan; sure did. They rounded up the local black people at gunpoint and forced them to worked sandbagging the levees and cleaning up,not allowing them to leave. Perhaps it is that America without this option just really doesn't know what to do. Take our military for example. If it wasn't for the poor of our country we would have no volunteer military to send to foreign lands to die so the more affluent of America can continue to wallow in their excesses. Sure there will always be the "gung ho kill em all" types and the " my country right or wrong" types, but not enough to protect our greed. Uniquely it was also this 1927 flood that shifted black folk away from their alliance with the Republican party and onto their current affinity for the Democratic party.

Surely I did not do justice to the scope of inadequacy of response in New Orleans, nor can I. For as I've said before I have not the ability, knowledge or network needed for such an endeavor. All I do have is anger: anger at what happened in Rome while Nero fiddled.



too many people in natures way,

Crisis Grows As Flooded New Orleans Looted

Rice says race had nothing to do with Katrina aid

Was Race a Factor in Relief Delay?

Katrina's Victims Poorer Than U.S. Average

Storm Exposed Disarray at the Top

Last 300 Refugees Leave Superdome
At one point Friday, the evacuation was interrupted briefly when school buses pulled up so some 700 guests and employees from the hotel could move to the head of the evacuation line— much to the amazement of those who had been crammed into the Superdome since last Sunday.

World stunned as US struggles with Katrina

New Chief Justice on Supreme Court

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died Saturday, leaving Bush the rare opportunity to appoint 2 supreme court justices. Bush having already nominated John Roberts for the court, has now nominated him for the newly vacated "chief justice" position. I don't know the history of the supreme court selection process, nor do I care. I only want to ask the question, is this right? Is it fair? Is it correct? I mean shouldn't one consider those already on the supreme court to fill the slot of "chief", then replace the lesser positions with new people? I mean don't you think the "big cheese" ought to be "well aged" for the gouda of the country? Sorry had to put that in, couldn't help it.

Housing Katrina's Homeless

There are problems finding shelters for all those left homeless in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. I as usual have an idea.
I just happen to know where there are almost 1600 acres of mostly unused land near Crawford Texas. I understand the property includes a creek, canyon, waterfalls, and meadows, not to mention a well stocked, man made bass lake.
Heck for that matter MOST of Texas is unused land. We could start out immediately with tents set up orderly in neighborhood fashion to allow for transport of all supplies and medical treatment. Wouldn't take too long to bring in pre-fab housing dorm style to begin with until more permanent housing can be built.

Yes that's the plan: send all those left homeless to Texas and build new cities for them

Stock Update

Haven't updated my stock picks in a while but if anyone was paying attention, when last i did, your pretty happy right now. I know I am!!!

CSCO 17.65 close on thurs. 9/1; bought @ 18.89 down 6.4%
MEE 50.80 close onThurs 9/1, bought at 35.98 up 41%
CNX 70.01 close on Thurs 9/1 bought @ 43.10 up over 62%
ATHR 10.16 close on Thurs 9/1 bought @ 8.25; up 23%
ADS 41.92 close on Thurs 9/1 bought@ 37.00; up 13%

And I still like CISCO (CSCO)
BUT I DON'T RECOMMEND ANYTHING OFFICIALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Two recent additions are:
EXPE 22.22 close Thurs. 9/1 bought @ 21.75 on 18aug05
NKTR 17.39 close Thurs 9/1 bought @ 16.97 on 18aug05

My first attempts @ selling "short"
HAR "sold" @ 102.40 on 18aug05, Buying @???
MYOG "sold" @ 21.67 on 18aug05 Buying @????
but I won't hold either too long as it's more nerve wracking than the "normal" methods of owning stocks!

and finally one I'm "waiting" for is CHCI; when or if it hits 20.00 I'm in!!!

Conservatives and the KKK

Reading an article this morning I was struck by a sentence that suddenly put it all in a proper perspective. That sentence was: "Conservative groups and the Ku Klux Klan were planning to protest a weekend meeting at the lake of Methodists who want gays welcomed in all aspects of church life."
Finally someone, probably inadvertantly, has linked the KKK and conservatives.

Testing Our Biases

Read the following statement then close your eyes and put a face on these men.

The founder of a radical Islamic group and his three followers were indicted on Wednesday for plotting attacks on Los Angeles-area military facilities and synagogues, the Israeli consulate and El Al airlines, authorities said.
Ok, got the picture of these would be terrorists? What is it? No doubt Middle Eastern Arab looking people right? Of course that's what you thought; to say otherwise would be lying to yourself.
And of course you figured there would be a "catch" to this obvious question and surely there is. For these terrorists in waiting are not Middle Easterners, they are Los Angeleans; gang members actually, one of which, a Kevin James had formed a radical organization "Jam'iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh", while serving time at a California prison. He then distributed his "teachings" to fellow inmates and recruited fellow inmate Levar Washington. Upon Washingtons release he recruited his roommate Gregory Patterson and a friend, Hammad Samana.
So you were wrong; want to guess again? You are now armed with their names. You again would no doubt be bias in what you say, but this time you'd at least be closer to being right.