When is Something a Crime?

       Now You all know that I love to ridicule Republicans who are "closet gays" and get caught with their pants down (pun intended), but today I have to stick up for the latest - Senator Larry Craig.
It seems Sen. Craig was in a mens room stall and used "signals" to solicit gay sex from a Minneapolis Airport cop. This consisted of his foot touching and or rubbing against the cops foot who was in an adjacent stall, followed by the Senator supposedly putting his hand under the stall, another gesture that the Sen. supposedly wanted sex.
Now, are there unspoken gestures or actions to solicit sex? Sure there are.
in fact there are gestures that will get you many other things as well. In Manhattan in NYC, i can raise my hand on any street corner and in no time i'll have cab drivers trying to kill each other to get to me, assuming i want a ride. Go to an auction house and raise your hand and you might be the winning bid on something you dont want. BUT, does that mean i have to get in the cab, does that mean i have to buy that item i supposedly bid on? NO, make that HELL NO!  Just because a silent signal can mean one thing, it doesnt mean it cant mean other things as well.

In the case of soliciting sex, the purpose of a "silent" system is to avoid getting arrested for outright "asking for it."  I can go anywhere and depending on the neighborhood I can make connections to buy drugs, sex and more with little or no conversation. Once one or the other person feels its safe, then a more explicit conversation takes place to complete the transaction. Now THIS, in my opinion is when a crime is committed, not before. I find it awfully presumptuous that a person can get arrested for what they are thinking, No correct that, for what someone else thinks you are thinking!!!.
Now granted this cop (who joined the airport police department just out of college in 2000, promoted to sergeant in 2005 & got his master's degree in criminal justice, leadership and education in 2006) appears to be on the "fast track" to something, whatever he has planned for his future, BUT that doesnt make him a mind reader.
He likely did have probable cause to assume the Senator wanted sex, and perhaps he should have pursued it further, until it either ended innocently or until the Senator actually did something illegal, like say exposing himself. Now we have a crime, not before, or at least that how I think it should be in this country. We shouldnt be able to get arrested for what we think, want or need, but rather ONLY for acting upon these
 things IF they are illegal. I mean him getting arrested for what he did is just as wrong as me assuming perhaps the cop, in his zeal and "career pursuit" used his overactive imagination to make a crime out of something that wasn't.
The Senators painted himself into a corner by pleading guilty, either because he was or because he didnt trust our justice system. Either way there's nothing left for him to do now but become a Democrat, a penalty worse than death for some....
 

Unlocking Your I-Phone

Two Companies are touting a "software only" method of unlocking the I-Phone, are two companies,  Uniquephones, (video and blog) , and iPhoneSimFree.com,   

Me, I cant even justify buying one, much less taking it apart and voiding the warranty right after such purchase, but hey you might ......

Fidel Weighs in on U.S. '08 Presidential Race

Disclaimer: Castro supposedly said this. Others swear hes dead.

"The word today is that an apparently unbeatable ticket could be Hillary for president and Obama as her running mate ," Castro wrote in an editorial column on U.S. presidents published on Tuesday by Cuba's Communist Party newspaper, Granma.

Of course his favorite president was also Carter, whom I despised.
 Im sure these statements do more, much more for the Republican party than the Democratic party.  In fact it can be argued that Castro saying these things almost makes it look as if he pulling for the Republicans..  Now If he's really dead, then a case could be made that the Republican party themselves started this rumor. Thats how detrimental it could be to the Democrats.

Who Said That?

"I want to be elected to the presidency not by having pretended I was one thing and then surprise people with an agenda, but to get the agenda elected, to get a mandate for change. And you can't do that if you're not doing some truth telling."

Agree with him or not, its a noble statement. He is saying things that are alienatting him among some of his own party while quite possibly endearing him to some in the opposing party.  
Thats sounds like my favorite position - Middle of the road, moderate. I still need to see / hear more, because I am NOT in his party, and besides, all politicians tell you what they think you want to heara and this may just bre more of the same, but so far, so good.

A China Import thats Healthier than Its U.S. Equal

  We are all too familiar with China's list of bad imports, ranging from pet foods to people foods to toothpaste to children's toys.  well now a little bit of irony thats fits well with my strange sense of humor:

China makes and imports bootleg cigarettes that are actually healthier than the U.S. made ones.  
Yes Chinas counterfeit Cigarettes are lower in Tar, Carbon Monoxide and particulate matter, whatever the heck that is??  thats the good
 news. The bad, they're higher in Nicotine.   End result?  you get to pick your "poison" so to speak.  Tar causes cancer and Nicotine causes heart disease so depending on which death you prefer, thats what cigarette you should smoke.

 Well actually you don't even have that choice either since your ever protective Government has confiscated these cigarettes, thus saving you from cancer but "allowing" you to continue to choose death by heart disease if you wish.. After all you dont expect the government to put RJ Reynolds out of business do you?  Hmmmm on second thought if cigarettes were banned, we'd have millions of nervous wrecks flooding their Doctors offices in desperate need of tranquilizers thus good news for the pharmacy Industry.  

And oh yeah i lied about the cigarettes being healthier, but i figured that would keep you reading :-)
full story here

Abused become the abusers

Generally speaking this is the belief of science, medical professionals. And NO im not talking about my pet peeve,  the child molesting priests, tho they are included. But todays story is about military instructors abusing their trainees.  Several have been charged with abuse ranging from mental to physical and include death.
The charges include

• 91 counts of assault, 90 of failure to obey lawful orders and 27 of cruelty and maltreatment.The charges cover about 110 alleged incidents between Dec. 23, 2006 and Feb. 10, 
• ordered a recruit to jump head-first into a trash can and then pushed him further into the container,
• also accused of striking recruits with a tent pole and a heavy flashlight

• Last year, four Marines at the San Diego depot were charged in the drowning of a fellow drill instructor during a water survival training course.
  

Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps prosecutor and judge who teaches law of war at Georgetown University Law Center, estimates that on average about six drill instructors, or DIs, are charged nationwide each year with abusing recruits."These kids are helpless before DI's," Solis said. "The DI is God and they have no immediate recourse."Abuse charges against Marines have become less common since six recruits drowned during a training exercise at Parris Island in 1956, Solis said.

 In light of this type of training, this disreguard for life, literally hammered into young people with little recourse, how can we then turn around and hold them responsible for commiting atrocities whil at war? This is what they are trained to do; War is MEANT to kill people. that is its main function - kill and win; kill other humans. So if killing is condoned, demanded, then how much of a stretch is it for them to think that stealing, beating, raping & other abuses are alright? O mean they ARE lesser offenses arent they?
We are appalled by these atrocities, as we should be, but then why arent we appalled at the "training" that goes on behind closed doors. Because as with other abuses it usually remains secret, an embarrassment to admit to what you were forced to endure. Why are so many war "crimes" brought to light? Because the madia is there, right on top of it and in their liberal zeal, they probably hunt for these stories. Perhaps we should have the media stationed in military boot camps as they are in war camps. That might help us to know what really goes on, what really is condoned by our government despite their denial and feigned disbelief.

Your Rights Abused - By You & Against You

How much is too much and when is it not enough?  
Here are two instances, one of which i feel abuses our "rights"  and one in which we use our rights to be abusive. You may agree or not 
and i''m sure you have many more examples of your own, as do i, but these were in the news today so i used them. 

1. Abuse OF our rights: Atlanta Ga. trying to make it illegal to show ones undergarments. The point is to try and stop the young people from wearing their pants too low to deliberately expose their boxershorts and / or thongs. The sponsor says its a bad example for the little kids who see it and want to emulate it.
   I think it ridiculous to see young males wearing their pants that low BUT i also feel that is the parents job to prevent it, NOT the governments. After all they are fully clothed and its not indecent; stupid maybe, immoral (?), if you want, maybe so, but thats just an opinion also. Fact - NOTHING is exposed that would / could make it illegal. A step further, a woman whose bra strap is exposed would also be in violation according to the proposal.
   Now, i study women for a living, (grin), and let me tell you, normal women in the heat of the summer cant guarantee their bra strap will NEVER be exposed. Heck the top bra strap could get exposed no matter what your wearing unless its a '''crew" or turtle neck shirt! Thats the absurdity of such a law. Similar laws already exist in several areas in Louisiana in case you were wondering.
2. Rights abused by us - Inmates, prisoners who committed (convicted of) crimes ( thus violating and depriving other of THEIR rights), enter the prison system and demand meals that cater to their stated religions. No one is allowed or able to determine ones "religiosity." Well I will. Simply put IF your as religious as you say and in need of a "special" prepared meal, in keepin with your religious dictates, then my friend you would NEVER have commited a crime in the first place! NO main stream religion permits you to commit a crime against soiciety, so you are already in violatiojn of your religion, and so i'm sure your god will forgive you if you have no other choice but to eat whats offered while your in jail.

Do you have other examples? I'd like to hear them

Doubting Thomas?

Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear.
bemoans the "dryness," "darkness," "loneliness" and "torture" undergoing. compares the experience to hell and at one point says it has driven to doubt the existence of heaven and even of God. is acutely aware of the discrepancy between inner state and public demeanor. "The smile," , is "a mask" or "a cloak that covers everything." Similarly, wonders whether engaged in verbal deception. "I spoke as if my very heart was in love with God - tender, personal love,". "If you were [there], you would have said, 'What hypocrisy.'"
reveal that for the last nearly half-century of life felt no presence of God whatsoever - , "neither in her heart or in the eucharist."

The Onset
Lord, my God, who am I that You should forsake me? The Child of your Love - and now become as the most hated one - the one - You have thrown away as unwanted - unloved. I call, I cling, I want - and there is no One to answer - no One on Whom I can cling - no, No One. - Alone ... Where is my Faith - even deep down right in there is nothing, but emptiness & darkness - My God - how painful is this unknown pain - I have no Faith - I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart - & make me suffer untold agony.
So many unanswered questions live within me afraid to uncover them - because of the blasphemy - If there be God - please forgive me - When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven - there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives & hurt my very soul. - I am told God loves me - and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. Did I make a mistake in surrendering blindly to the Call of the Sacred Heart?

The more I want him - the less I am wanted," : "Such deep longing for God - and ... repulsed - empty - no faith - no love - no zeal. - [The saving of] Souls holds no attraction - Heaven means nothing - pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything."
"What do I labour for? If there be no God - there can be no soul - if there is no Soul then Jesus - You also are not true")
bemoaned an inability to pray: "I utter words of Community prayers - and try my utmost to get out of every word the sweetness it has to give - But my prayer of union is not there any longer - I no longer pray." "my darkness" and to Jesus as "the Absent One."
Tell me, Father, why is there so much pain and darkness in my soul?


 The church anticipates spiritually fallow periods. Indeed, the Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross in the 16th century coined the term the "dark night" of the soul to describe a characteristic stage in the growth of some spiritual masters.This new
 one may be the most extensive such case on record. (The "dark night" of the 18th century mystic St. Paul of the Cross lasted 45 years;

"It may be remembered as just as important a ministry. It would be a ministry to people who had experienced some doubt, some absence of God in their lives. And you know who that is? Everybody. Atheists, doubters, seekers, believers, everyone."
 was no more exempt from the realization that religion is a human fabrication than any other person, and that the attempted cure was more and more professions of faith could only have deepened the pit that had dug

There was one respite. prayed for a "proof that God is pleased with the Society." And "then and there, disappeared the long darkness ... that strange suffering" Unfortunately, five weeks later reported being "in the tunnel" once more. And it never lifted again.

" If this became public, "people will think more of me - less of Jesus."

The particularly holy are no less prone than the rest of us to misjudge the workings of history - or, if you will, of God's providence.

A lot of negativity isnt there??   I know what your thinking this is just more of my negative rambling , BUT YOU"D BE WRONG!!!!!   These are NOT MY words but those of one Agnes Bojaxhiu, recounted in a new book entitled ................................  

 Nah that would spoil the surprise if i told you
. Instead go here and see for yourself, you WILL DEFINITELY be surprised, shocked, maybe even in denial or a "doubting Thomas" perhaps,
or more appropriately here a doubting TH?????  Its definitely someone you all know and probably all admire. ( so now you know it ain't me .... LOL...!!!!!..) 
Got it yet? Let me know if you guessed who's responsible for all those quotes above...

Strange Bedfellows Indeed

An Orthodox Jew doing an unorthodox job, stumping for money from evangelical Christians to support Jewish settlements in the occupied territories -- land she calls biblical Israel.  A recent stop finds her in Melbourne, Florida, visiting Pastor Gary Christofaro at his First Assembly Church of God. Christofaro and his flock take their Jewish roots so seriously that on Friday nights they observe the Jewish Sabbath with Hebrew prayers.
Christofaro's Florida congregation responded with money -- all while singing a prayer for peace in perfect Hebrew.
This is not just religious ritual. They support Israel -- which to them includes Jewish settlements on the occupied West Bank. Church members have donated more than a $100,000 to support them.
"If it wasn't for what the Jews brought to Christianity, there would be no Christianity," Christofaro said. "There is a promise to those who bless Israel to be blessed. Those who curse it will be cursed."
Christofaro and Baras are part of a growing alliance between evangelical Christians and Israelis.
A recent poll found that 59 percent of American evangelicals believe Israel is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.  
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates 85 million evangelicals believe God tells them to support Israel -
One of the most successful Jewish fundraisers, raised $39 million last year from Christian Zionists.  
Christian Zionists often converge on Washington by the thousands to lobby members of Congress in support of Israel.
 "The support of Christian Zionists today is critical to Israel's security and strength and to America's security and strength."

Back in church, Baras told the congregation: "We need to stand together so that our governments will believe that the land of Israel, the entire land of Israel, belongs to the Jewish people."
"I was never fully American, ( the trouble with most of todays various nationalities living in America ) " she explained. "I was Jewish." Judaism was not only her religion but also her nationality.
"We learned how to read Hebrew before we learned how to read English," she said.  Her parents, who narrowly escaped the Holocaust, sent her to Zionist summer camps that championed the Jewish homeland.

Some people say Jews and evangelical Christians make strange bedfellows, given historical anti-Semitism. "Because of this doctrine of a Jew being a Christ-killer ... so much hatred and anti-Semitism has been propagated throughout the Earth," Christofaro said.
Now such historic anti-Semitism has given way to an urgent support of Israel among some evangelicals, many of whom believe that only when Jews live in all of the Holy Land - -- only then will Christ return and true believers be raptured up to heaven.     (Scariest idea yet)

"It is a controversial issue here in Israel as to whether we should be partnering with the Christians in any way," Baras said.
It's controversial in part because in the judgment day scenario embraced by some evangelicals, Jews who don't convert to Christianity burn in hell. But Baras said she isn't worried.
"I know that I'm not going to burn in hell because I didn't accept Jesus, because I don't believe Jesus is the Messiah," she said. "So how could I possibly be threatened?"

"Israel has many enemies," she said. "We have to take advantage (what they do best) of every single one of our friends.

Remember jews suppport & believe in NO ONE but themselves, they only USE you to their advantage

Full story here

• red comments are mine

Artificial Life & Possible Oldest Human Footprint

Scary thought:
 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070820/ap_on_sc/artificial_life

a handful of scientists are trying to create life from scratch and they're getting closer.  Experts expect an announcement within three to 10 years about a technology that could change our world in pretty fundamental ways — in fact, in ways that are impossible to predict."  (THATS SCARY)

"Creating protocells has the potential to shed new light on our place in the universe," Bedau said. "This will remove one of the few fundamental mysteries about creation in the universe and our role."
And several scientists believe man-made life forms will one day offer the potential for solving a variety of problems, from fighting diseases to locking up greenhouse gases to eating toxic waste. ( hmmmm and creating new problems no doubt; after  their done eating the toxic waste then what ? EAT US HUMANS?)

2nd story of the day not scary just interesting
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070820/sc_nm/egypt_antiquities_dc
Egypt discovers what may be oldest human footprint
"This could go back about two million years," Khaled Saad, the director of prehistory at the council, said that based on the age of the rock where the footprint was found, it could date back even further than the renowned 3-million year-old fossil Lucy, the partial skeleton of an ape-man, found in Ethiopia in 1974





--
 

Good News, Re: U.S, France & Germany

And finally some potentially good news concerning the U.S. and its allies(?)     I cant ALWAYS be negative can i? I especially like the part about Putin's "misbehaving" helping our cause.

Good ideas

• "We've got to make sure workers are represented, not just CEOs.
• We've got to make sure patients are represented and the nurses are represented, not just drug companies,"
• make the government more accountable, post all non-emergency bills online for five days before he signed them into law, allowing Americans a chance to weigh in on the legislation.post all meetings between lobbyists and government agencies online. 
• require Cabinet officials to speak to Americans via national broadband town-hall style meetings to discuss issues at their agencies  
• pledged to issue an executive order that information about the government's operations must be released to those seeking it unless it could harm a protected interest. 
• his record of backing ethics and lobbying reforms, including co-authoring a bill that requires all government spending to be posted online . 
•  helped to create hospital report cards so that patients could understand the quality of care offered at each hospital.

                                          Senator & presidential candidate Barack Obama


He's NOT my candidate, hes a little too inexperienced & liberal for me,  BUT the ideas are good ones, getting ALL americans involved. AND he's certainly a better Democrat option than Hillary ..........

Did You Know

Cellucotton was originally devised by the Kimberly-Clark Co. for improving wound care during World War One.   It was 5 times more absorbant than cotton while costing half as much.
After the war it found what arguably was an even greater use in feminine hygene products.  Prior to this women were using ........ well lets just say they had better stay close to home!  What a boon for the working woman indeed!  Maybe the single biggest product to allow women greater freedom to leave the house for extended periods (pardon the pun ....  LOL)
 Now supposedly the product is again coming into use in the middle east for wound care.

China's Naval Buildup

China's navy is rapidly modernizing and transforming from a coastal force into a bluewater naval power with more than 20 new amphibious assault ships and nuclear-powered attack submarines.
A new type of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine equipped with sea-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles is currently undergoing sea trials.  Full story here

This goes well with my previous blog, warning about China :

Fresh Water Dolphin Extinct?

The Yangtze River dolphin, in China, is "functionally extinct" according to reports. the reasons are varied, but all controllable IF people cared about their environment.  According to Wang Ding, a researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology and a leading expert on the baiji, dolphins like the Yangtze River dolphin  are an "indicator species" - bellwethers of the general health of an ecosystem. Their disappearance bodes ill for the Yangtze, which supports more than 400 million people, roughly 6% of the world's total population. Wang says the Yangtze is relatively unpolluted. But untrammeled commerce and massive hydrological projects like the Three Gorges Dam have dramatically altered the river's landscape. With as many as 60 boats per km of river in some areas, the Yangtze already looks less like a river than a highway during rush hour.
 What difference does it make?  Who cares you may ask. Well YOU should care. Take this quote for example: "Baiji are at the top of the food chain just like human beings," Wang says. "If the river can't support baiji, someday it won't support humans either.". which leads to another fact; China MUST expand, MUST find new land and resources for their people, for their survival. And when someones actual survival is at stake, NOTHING will stop them from protecting themselves and their interests.  Take note  chest pounding people of the U.S. You are not invincible. 
You cannot continue to demand.  You MUST learn to cooperate & compromise.  You must learn to play well with others, instead of  being the
 playground bully.  Oh and it wouldn't hurt to learn how to speak Chinese.  Think you can live without Chinese products? Think again. Maybe YOU can, but many can't.  Eliminating Chinese products from our stores will destroy AMERICAS lower class, along with many of those who like to kid themselves into thinking they're "middle class" by being up to their neck in debt, just so they can have "all the toys" their 
neighbor has.
Beware!  What happens to an (outwardly appearing) insignificant animal across the world DOES affect you.

If He Only Had a Brain

Called "the brain" by some and the architect by Bush himself, Karl Rove has handed in his resignation all but certifying that Bush will now be totally useless, if this is to be believed.

A Well Stated Quote

"China is rising and it's not going away, they're neither our enemy nor our friend. They're competitors."
Sen. Barack Obama

"New" Is Nothing to be Feared

Abe Lincoln had 2 "life masks" made of himself in the 1860's, all the "vogue" back then. But its just now that scientists studying those masks have discovered a probable facial deformity in the former president known as cranial facial microsomia. The full story is here, but my point is not solely about Lincoln, but rather about various "new" discoveries. Discoveries that can sometimes scare people, scare em to the point of d enial, denial to the extreme in some cases. I myself for the most part hate having to learn or rather relearn
something "new," especially when I thought i already knew all about it.

Extreme examples of denial are usually over "matters of the heart" so to speak. Matters such as "new findings" or disconcerting "news" over ones chosen religion. Another "touchy" subject is the abortion issue, an issue that even ", pro choicers" would rather not argue. The reason is the "bottom line: to rid oneself of a unwanted "potential" child, or bring that unwanted child into the world only to put it at potential lifelong risk associated with being unwanted. Neither is a good "choice."
I personally know of one such person, who broached the abortion subject one day with me (a partially pro abortionist) and another friend ( a staunch anti abortionist). He was questioning his mothers staunch anti abortion stance. He couldnt understand her position given the fact that early in his life his mother walked out on him and his siblings, and he has spent a good part of his life wishing he had been aborted ( HIS exact words), and failing that, he has spent much of his life on a self destructive course, which has included drug and alcohol abuse and imprisonment. Our institutions are full of these unwanted, unloved children. Having worked in some of these "institutions," I know of this first hand.
A couple years ago my friend, the staunch anti abortionist, sent me statistics pertaining to birth, abortion etc
.along with the link to the site he got it from. i went to the site, found an updated stats page and I quoted from it, back to him. The same site he used, remember. He wrote back, basically telling me I don't understand what I'm reading.!? What the @#$%???
When the stats agreed with him i could read and understand, but when the updated stats disagreed with him, it was I that could no longer read
or understand!! It led to one of our more angry disagreements, which we've since gotten over, but we also try to steer clear of "the issue' of abortion.
Another "touchy" subject is the age of man and earth. Now this is one that many of you might not think is an issue, but for a select few "bible thumpers" it certainly is. At issue is, on the one side, science estimates humans to have existed for upward of a couple million years and the earth to have existed for a couple billion years, while on the "other" side, the bible thumpers say that the bible claims that earth and man are a mere 6,000 years old, give or take a little. Now this is a VAST difference, one that cannot be bridged
without compromise.
I've tried to show my "bible as fact" believing friends that even assuming science is 99.9 % wrong, that still leaves a HUGE difference in "facts"(?). I believe this discrepancy in one of the leading causes of home schooling. Yes i use "causes" as if it were a disease, because I believe it is in many cases. Dont get me wrong if your a recent college grad or have a degree in teaching, by all means home school your child, They may indeed be better off academically. Of course their social skills & ability to interact with others may still suffer. I also witnessed this in the Prison system, where the people hired from the "lily white" suburbs (where their interaction
with folks not of their color was limited) were often scared by the sudden presence of an overwhelmingly minority prison. This led to
unnecessary altercations between staff and imnates.

My belief is that the bible is a story, & a guide as to how we should live our lives. It was NEVER meant to be taken as fact. Science, while also not always meant to be taken as fact (hypothesis anyone?) is probably much closer to the truth. At the very least it gives "reasons" for its findings, something the bible can't say. Heck the bible may not even be an "original" work, but rather adapted from "The Egyptian Book of the Dead" or earlier works, which also co- insides with my belief that all religions were "adapted" from an
original simple belief that something or someone mighty powerful is in control of everything. Over the many millenia, various people, at
various times, adapted these beliefs to suit their needs and purposes and so we are today left with a hodge podge of religions, all claiming to
be correct, and each in their own way working successfully at what they were meant to do, control people, while offering "hope" IF they
conform.
Other recent ones are: the "supposed" finding of jesus tomb, the supposition that jesus and mary magdelene might have been married, might have had other kids, the interpretation of the last supper painting, the Davinci code, and on and on.
A less important issue is the recent "findings" that Pluto is no longer a planet! Having suddenly created "rules" science now claims Pluto no longer qualifies. Again I say what the $#%@!! is going on here. A belief we have ALL held for our entire lives is now no longer true! What gives them the right to all of a sudden create "rules" and thus take away from us something that has been a staple, a given in our
lives? That is my feelings on this subject. BUT does that make me right? Just because i "choose" not to believe something? does that change anything? Does what I or a select few think, change anything at all? No, I'm afraid not.

Just a few more of my "pet peeves:"

when weather forecasters refer the water accumulating on roadways as "ponding water." How did we ever figure out what they meant years ago before the word ponding came in to use? Anyone out there remember that word being used even say 10 years ago? Please let me know.How about the term "embedded" used to refer to media traveling with the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I mean what were the media doing during Vietnam, when they were travelling with the troops and reporting on the war? They werent embedded back then. Anyone?? here's one I only encounter when in N.Y.C. Horn blowing. Not horn blowing during instances when it might actually help mind you. No, I'm talking about horn blowing when your in traffic backed up for blocks or miles; or horn blowng the instant, and i mean instant a light has turned green. They are seemingly quicker on the horn than is possible to be on the gas. I chalk this up to N.Y's selfish ignorance.

Well enough. Having reread this, i almost feel compelled to make a subtitle called ramblings or pet peeves. Should have probably made a separate entry entitled pet peeves instead of adding it to this one. oh well, whatever this will have to do until next time.

What America Could Learn from China

Sure China is screwing the U.S.every way possible. But thats another story.  Today, we can actually look up to China and take a lesson from it.  What is that lesson?  More honor among our leaders.   Read here what happened in China over the toy recall fiasco. Now THATS how to solve a problem properly, once and for all.  Just 
think how much better off we would be if our leader in politics, business, religion etc. would follow  this method when they screw up and get caught. 
 Ok for those of you who wont " click thru", ill tell you what that method is.. Here is an excerpt:
The head of a Chinese manufacturer whose lead-tainted Sesame Street toys were the center of a massive U.S. recall has committed suicide, apparently by hanging himself.

Now I dont much care what method they use, no,  the important thing is that they JUST DO IT.  Imagine how much safer and better off we'd be if our leaders would follow the Asian example of the honor system.  And yes I'm talking about THOSE leaders. The very ones you won't dare allow yourself to think of in such a way.  

Priest Accused Of Jogging Nude

Ah yes, another perfect specimen, caught with his pants down!  pun intended! 
im surpeised he didnt say he was pretending to be Adam!   And Dont miss the links at the bottom of the story for more good Catholic priests in action.
WOW,  ABC-7 in Denver is sure get get a lot of mail accusing them of being anti catholic.
 Full story & others here 

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Insurance That Answers Your Prayers

I know many of you will be checking this out. An interesting twist actually.

GuideOne Insurance Company, offers "FaithGuard", a car insurance policy aimed at churchgoers. Among the benefits, the policy waives your deductible you're in an accident on your way to or from a faith-based activity. (A wide variety of religions qualify.) If you lose some income because of an accident, the company will make tithing payments for you to your church, along with car loan and mortgage payments. And the company will also make a $1,000 memorial contribution to your religious institution if you die in an accident on a faith-related trip. full story here
guideone website here

More "Dumbing Down" in D.C.

The Pentagon cannot account for 190,000 AK-47 rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005, or about 54 percent of the total weapons distributed to the Iraqi force, according to a government report.   Full Story here