If you watched the debate Tuesday night, or at least heard about it, you hopefully learned something about Hillary, that is if you didn't already know it. Anyway, she really showed her true colors and it was nice to see someone other than Republicans call her on her lack of a stand. She really avoided answering any questions regarding where she stands on the issues. You can read some good articles on the debate below.
Apnews
Townhall
NewsMax
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
A History Lesson
Who said it?
1) "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
A. Karl Marx
B. Adolph Hitler
C. Joseph Stalin
D. None of the above
2) "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the
few, and for the few...and to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity."
A. Lenin
B. Mussolini
C. Idi Amin
D. None of the Above
3) "(We) ...can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something
has to be taken away from some people."
A. Nikita Khrushev
B. Josef Goebbels
C. Boris Yeltsin
D. None of the above
4) "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up
a little bit of their own .. in order to create this common ground."
A. Mao Tse Dung
B. Hugo Chavez
C. Kim Jong Il
D. None of the above
5) "I certainly think the free-market has failed."
A. Karl Marx
B. Lenin
C. Molotov
D. None of the above
6) "I think it's time to send a clear message to what has become the most
profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched."
A. Pinochet
B. Milosevic
C. Saddam Hussein
D. None of the above
Scroll down for answers . . .
Answers:
(1) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/29/2004
(2) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 5/29/2007
(3) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(4) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(5) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(6) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 9/2/2005
1) "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
A. Karl Marx
B. Adolph Hitler
C. Joseph Stalin
D. None of the above
2) "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the
few, and for the few...and to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity."
A. Lenin
B. Mussolini
C. Idi Amin
D. None of the Above
3) "(We) ...can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something
has to be taken away from some people."
A. Nikita Khrushev
B. Josef Goebbels
C. Boris Yeltsin
D. None of the above
4) "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up
a little bit of their own .. in order to create this common ground."
A. Mao Tse Dung
B. Hugo Chavez
C. Kim Jong Il
D. None of the above
5) "I certainly think the free-market has failed."
A. Karl Marx
B. Lenin
C. Molotov
D. None of the above
6) "I think it's time to send a clear message to what has become the most
profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched."
A. Pinochet
B. Milosevic
C. Saddam Hussein
D. None of the above
Scroll down for answers . . .
Answers:
(1) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/29/2004
(2) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 5/29/2007
(3) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(4) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(5) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(6) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 9/2/2005
Monday, October 29, 2007
More felonius activity from the Clintons.
Here is a must see.
Hillary! Uncensored - Banned By The Media
Hillary! Uncensored - Banned By The Media
Already tired of Politics
OK, so maybe this goes without saying, but I'm already tired of the 2008 presidential campaign. Sadly, we have another year of this crap to go! This feeling of dread, or perhaps loathing would be a better word has really been brewing for years. I've really grown weary of politicians in general. So many of them are so far removed from reality that they cannot relate to the "common folk" if you will.
So here we are, the 2008 presidential election run and every one of the folks running has been in politics way too long, in my opinion. I really believe that there should be a limit to how long one can be in office. Term limits? Sure, I think I'm all for them. I'm tired of pols having no clue about real life. No clue about the real struggles we have in life. And that leads me into another area...
OK, so I'm reading a story in the paper regarding a family of five struggling with bills and unable to get assistance. The reason? They make too much money. They make over the $24,500 maximum to get assistance. Just one more shining example of moronic government policy. What's sad is that they cut off all support at 25K. Don't you think it would make sense to offer partial assistance up to a certain degree? Nope. Just cut ya off. No wonder people stay on welfare for years and have no desire to try to get off of it. You start earning money, still not enough to support yourself and the government cuts you off.
So here we are, the 2008 presidential election run and every one of the folks running has been in politics way too long, in my opinion. I really believe that there should be a limit to how long one can be in office. Term limits? Sure, I think I'm all for them. I'm tired of pols having no clue about real life. No clue about the real struggles we have in life. And that leads me into another area...
OK, so I'm reading a story in the paper regarding a family of five struggling with bills and unable to get assistance. The reason? They make too much money. They make over the $24,500 maximum to get assistance. Just one more shining example of moronic government policy. What's sad is that they cut off all support at 25K. Don't you think it would make sense to offer partial assistance up to a certain degree? Nope. Just cut ya off. No wonder people stay on welfare for years and have no desire to try to get off of it. You start earning money, still not enough to support yourself and the government cuts you off.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
The Hillary Scandal Train rolls on!
Will the Main Stream media notice?
Story on Fox
I recall Hillary and her husband were deeply embroiled in controversies back in the 90's and the media constantly stifled the stories. Here we go again.
Story on Fox
I recall Hillary and her husband were deeply embroiled in controversies back in the 90's and the media constantly stifled the stories. Here we go again.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
WAY TO GO ARNOLD!!!
The fires in California are just terrible, but the people are working together to make the best of it. Unlike Katrina, the Californians are seeking to help themselves rather than wait for the government to bail them out. Check out this video of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger being interviewed. She tries to sensationalize it and he just puts her in her place! Way to go Gov!!!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
A heartwarming story of unselfishness.
Here's an article by one of my favorite columnists.
When Bad News Hit a Great Guy, She Knew a Card Just Wouldn’t Do
By: Katherine Kersten
Think Again Blog
October 22nd, 2007 – 8:09 AM
Bill Palmquist is that gem of a guy every workplace should have. He does dozens of small things for dozens of people, all the while giving you the feeling that it’s a joy to do so.
Every day Palmquist’s cart makes the rounds at Medtronic’s offices in Fridley and other northern suburbs, dispensing the basics that make an office hum: staples, pens, paper. But Palmquist, who works for Spee-Dee Delivery Service, dispenses something more.
“You can hear him coming down the hall, greeting everyone, spreading good cheer and sunshine,” says Sue Dzieweczynski of Circle Pines, an executive assistant for Medtronic’s leadership team. “He’d do anything for you.”
Palmquist often dropped by Dzieweczynski’s desk to chat. “He ‘d call me ‘Polish One’ ” — a joking reference to her hard-to-pronounce last name — “and I’d call him ‘Spee-Dee Boy,’” she says.
But in May, a shadow passed over Palmquist’s “cheer and sunshine.” His Medtronic fan club soon learned why.
Palmquist’s wife, Joy, had taken their then-8-year-old son, Aaron, to a clinic near their home in St. Cloud with what seemed like typical flu symptoms. Within hours, Aaron was airlifted to the University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview. He had kidney failure.
“They told us he would have had six to 12 hours to live if we hadn’t brought him in,” recalls Palmquist. The boy needed a kidney transplant.
Palmquist and his family were tested for a match, but no one qualified.
They turned in uncertain fear to face some daunting options.
If a living donor couldn’t be found, Aaron’s name would be added to the national donor waiting list. He may have to wait five or six years for a kidney. Until then, he would need dialysis in Minneapolis, three times a week, four hours a session.
Pediatric patients do not grow well on dialysis, but resume normal growth after a successful transplant, says Cathy Garvey, transplant coordinator at University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview.
The longer a patient must wait for a transplant, the less likely success may be, she adds.
At Medtronic, Tammy Ocel — one of Palmquist’s hundreds of friends — decided she needed to consider more than flowers and a card. Ocel e-mailed 15 or 20 colleagues about the search for a donor.
The e-mail raced from computer to computer. Soon hundreds, even thousands, of Medtronic employees knew.
“When I got it, I hollered over to another ‘admin’ — is that our Spee-Dee Boy?” Dzieweczynski recalls. “I didn’t even know Bill’s name.”
Donations poured in: $3,000 worth, including motel vouchers, gas cards and even an iPod for Aaron. He got toys and games to play with during dialysis, and every kind of fruit snack — one of the few things he could still eat.
But the greatest gift, a new kidney, remained elusive.
A few Medtronic employees offered to be tested for a match. One was Dzieweczynski. She had never met Aaron. “But my first instinct when I heard was, ‘I want to help if I can.’”
Bingo! A match
It turned out she could; she is a match for Aaron. After lengthy medical tests, Dzieweczynski got the go-ahead in early September. Her family, husband Mark and son Dan, 18, supported her decision.
“I called Bill and asked, ‘Are you sitting down?’ she says. “We both cried.”
What motivated her sacrifice? “I still can’t get my head around why people think it’s such a big deal,” she says. In the family she grew up in, “It’s just what you do,” she says.
She says working at Medtronic was a factor. Apparently, the company’s mission statement — that sometimes-numbing document you have to read at a new-job orientation — means something at Medtronic.
“We hear so many stories about people we’ve helped,” Dzieweczienski says. “We all carry around the mission on our employee identification cards: ‘alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life.’ After a while, the words just seem to become ingrained.”
Macaroni and cheese
To celebrate, Palmquist, Dzieweczynski and their families had dinner at a restaurant where Aaron could order his beloved — but now rare — macaroni and cheese. Dzieweczynski saw him for the first time that night.
“I didn’t want to put a face to his name until I knew I could help him,” she said.
On Wednesday, the Palmquist and Dzieweczynski families will meet again as their loved ones are wheeled into adjacent operating rooms. One of Dzieweczynski’s kidneys will be removed and carried to Aaron around the corner.
When Bad News Hit a Great Guy, She Knew a Card Just Wouldn’t Do
By: Katherine Kersten
Think Again Blog
October 22nd, 2007 – 8:09 AM
Bill Palmquist is that gem of a guy every workplace should have. He does dozens of small things for dozens of people, all the while giving you the feeling that it’s a joy to do so.
Every day Palmquist’s cart makes the rounds at Medtronic’s offices in Fridley and other northern suburbs, dispensing the basics that make an office hum: staples, pens, paper. But Palmquist, who works for Spee-Dee Delivery Service, dispenses something more.
“You can hear him coming down the hall, greeting everyone, spreading good cheer and sunshine,” says Sue Dzieweczynski of Circle Pines, an executive assistant for Medtronic’s leadership team. “He’d do anything for you.”
Palmquist often dropped by Dzieweczynski’s desk to chat. “He ‘d call me ‘Polish One’ ” — a joking reference to her hard-to-pronounce last name — “and I’d call him ‘Spee-Dee Boy,’” she says.
But in May, a shadow passed over Palmquist’s “cheer and sunshine.” His Medtronic fan club soon learned why.
Palmquist’s wife, Joy, had taken their then-8-year-old son, Aaron, to a clinic near their home in St. Cloud with what seemed like typical flu symptoms. Within hours, Aaron was airlifted to the University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview. He had kidney failure.
“They told us he would have had six to 12 hours to live if we hadn’t brought him in,” recalls Palmquist. The boy needed a kidney transplant.
Palmquist and his family were tested for a match, but no one qualified.
They turned in uncertain fear to face some daunting options.
If a living donor couldn’t be found, Aaron’s name would be added to the national donor waiting list. He may have to wait five or six years for a kidney. Until then, he would need dialysis in Minneapolis, three times a week, four hours a session.
Pediatric patients do not grow well on dialysis, but resume normal growth after a successful transplant, says Cathy Garvey, transplant coordinator at University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview.
The longer a patient must wait for a transplant, the less likely success may be, she adds.
At Medtronic, Tammy Ocel — one of Palmquist’s hundreds of friends — decided she needed to consider more than flowers and a card. Ocel e-mailed 15 or 20 colleagues about the search for a donor.
The e-mail raced from computer to computer. Soon hundreds, even thousands, of Medtronic employees knew.
“When I got it, I hollered over to another ‘admin’ — is that our Spee-Dee Boy?” Dzieweczynski recalls. “I didn’t even know Bill’s name.”
Donations poured in: $3,000 worth, including motel vouchers, gas cards and even an iPod for Aaron. He got toys and games to play with during dialysis, and every kind of fruit snack — one of the few things he could still eat.
But the greatest gift, a new kidney, remained elusive.
A few Medtronic employees offered to be tested for a match. One was Dzieweczynski. She had never met Aaron. “But my first instinct when I heard was, ‘I want to help if I can.’”
Bingo! A match
It turned out she could; she is a match for Aaron. After lengthy medical tests, Dzieweczynski got the go-ahead in early September. Her family, husband Mark and son Dan, 18, supported her decision.
“I called Bill and asked, ‘Are you sitting down?’ she says. “We both cried.”
What motivated her sacrifice? “I still can’t get my head around why people think it’s such a big deal,” she says. In the family she grew up in, “It’s just what you do,” she says.
She says working at Medtronic was a factor. Apparently, the company’s mission statement — that sometimes-numbing document you have to read at a new-job orientation — means something at Medtronic.
“We hear so many stories about people we’ve helped,” Dzieweczienski says. “We all carry around the mission on our employee identification cards: ‘alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life.’ After a while, the words just seem to become ingrained.”
Macaroni and cheese
To celebrate, Palmquist, Dzieweczynski and their families had dinner at a restaurant where Aaron could order his beloved — but now rare — macaroni and cheese. Dzieweczynski saw him for the first time that night.
“I didn’t want to put a face to his name until I knew I could help him,” she said.
On Wednesday, the Palmquist and Dzieweczynski families will meet again as their loved ones are wheeled into adjacent operating rooms. One of Dzieweczynski’s kidneys will be removed and carried to Aaron around the corner.
Pet Peeves...
OK, we've all got 'em, but sometimes it seems to help to vent a little so here I go. A few of my pet peeves.
1. Phone Solicitors. Yeah, I know you're just trying to make a living, but man those calls can be annoying!!! To your credit, some of you are very polite, but the majority of you come off as rude and inconsiderate! If I say no, I mean NO! The following conversation ACTUALLY happened to me once.
I got a call from some organization that sends kids with cancer on some special trip. Similar to the Miracle Network. Anyway, I get a call from this lady and she's asking me for money. I don't recall the situation, but I didn't have a whole lot of extra cash so I told her "no thank you." -Now you must know this about me. I am a polite person. I am the one that holds the door for people. I will even stand and wait for a person so I can hold the door for them. I'm not a mean person. I want people to like me so I find it difficult to be rude since it's not in my nature.- So anyway, I tell this lady no thanks and she starts going off on me! She actually said, "Don't you care about kids that are dying?" among other things. I was dumbfounded. I sat in shock on the other end of the phone. She then proceeded to hang up on me.
My wife noticed that something was going on and asked me what was up. I told her about the conversation and as I told her, anger started to well up in me. How dare she? That woman knew NOTHING about me! She knew nothing of my past and she sat there and criticized me! She didn't know that when I was only 22 years old that I had a 10 month old baby going into surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. I know how scary that is. I know what it's like to have a surgeon tell you that your child has cancer. I know what it's like to have to talk to what seems like hundreds of doctors and interns about your daughters past symptoms ad nauseam. It was a frightening ordeal. So to you phone solicitors, have a heart. If you can't find other work, at least try to be polite.
2. Pet peeve number two, Hand washing, or lack thereof. Now, I can only speak to the dudes out there since I don't frequent ladies rooms but dudes, wash your hands!!! It only takes a few moments, but many dudes fail to wash their hands. I'm especially talking to you dudes that just finished with number 2! Dudes, it freaking gross!!! I refuse to help myself to the open bowl of M&M's at work. After seeing a guy walk out of the bathroom without washing his hands, then walk over the M&M's... Uhh, no thanks. I'll go buy some of my own.
3. Pet Peeve number three. Bad Drivers. I've learned that here in Minnesota, once you're over 18, you can skip some of the lessons required of those under 18. So what happens? We get immigrants come in and get their license, yet they have no clue on really how to drive. What they lack is the common sense side of driving. Things like.
A. Learning how to merge. You don't stop at the end of the on ramp!!!!
B. The left lane is the passing lane, not the drive 45 in a 65 lane.
C. At a 4 way stop, the person that arrives first has the right of way. If the two cars arrive at the same time, the person to the right has the right of way. WRITE IT DOWN!!!
There. I feel better.
That is all.
1. Phone Solicitors. Yeah, I know you're just trying to make a living, but man those calls can be annoying!!! To your credit, some of you are very polite, but the majority of you come off as rude and inconsiderate! If I say no, I mean NO! The following conversation ACTUALLY happened to me once.
I got a call from some organization that sends kids with cancer on some special trip. Similar to the Miracle Network. Anyway, I get a call from this lady and she's asking me for money. I don't recall the situation, but I didn't have a whole lot of extra cash so I told her "no thank you." -Now you must know this about me. I am a polite person. I am the one that holds the door for people. I will even stand and wait for a person so I can hold the door for them. I'm not a mean person. I want people to like me so I find it difficult to be rude since it's not in my nature.- So anyway, I tell this lady no thanks and she starts going off on me! She actually said, "Don't you care about kids that are dying?" among other things. I was dumbfounded. I sat in shock on the other end of the phone. She then proceeded to hang up on me.
My wife noticed that something was going on and asked me what was up. I told her about the conversation and as I told her, anger started to well up in me. How dare she? That woman knew NOTHING about me! She knew nothing of my past and she sat there and criticized me! She didn't know that when I was only 22 years old that I had a 10 month old baby going into surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. I know how scary that is. I know what it's like to have a surgeon tell you that your child has cancer. I know what it's like to have to talk to what seems like hundreds of doctors and interns about your daughters past symptoms ad nauseam. It was a frightening ordeal. So to you phone solicitors, have a heart. If you can't find other work, at least try to be polite.
2. Pet peeve number two, Hand washing, or lack thereof. Now, I can only speak to the dudes out there since I don't frequent ladies rooms but dudes, wash your hands!!! It only takes a few moments, but many dudes fail to wash their hands. I'm especially talking to you dudes that just finished with number 2! Dudes, it freaking gross!!! I refuse to help myself to the open bowl of M&M's at work. After seeing a guy walk out of the bathroom without washing his hands, then walk over the M&M's... Uhh, no thanks. I'll go buy some of my own.
3. Pet Peeve number three. Bad Drivers. I've learned that here in Minnesota, once you're over 18, you can skip some of the lessons required of those under 18. So what happens? We get immigrants come in and get their license, yet they have no clue on really how to drive. What they lack is the common sense side of driving. Things like.
A. Learning how to merge. You don't stop at the end of the on ramp!!!!
B. The left lane is the passing lane, not the drive 45 in a 65 lane.
C. At a 4 way stop, the person that arrives first has the right of way. If the two cars arrive at the same time, the person to the right has the right of way. WRITE IT DOWN!!!
There. I feel better.
That is all.
Monday, October 22, 2007
A little humor...
By Dave Barry, one of my favorite humor writers.
The Trojan Twinkie caper
by: Dave Barry
I'll tell you when I start to worry. I start to worry when ''officials'' tell me not to worry. This is why I am very concerned about the following Associated Press report, which was sent to me by a number of alert readers:'RICHLAND, WASH. -- Radioactive ants, flies and gnats have been found at the Hanford nuclear complex, bringing to mind those Cold-War-era `B' horror movies in which giant mutant insects are the awful price paid for mankind's entry into the Atomic Age. Officials at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site insist there is no danger of Hanford becoming the setting for a '90s version of `Them!' the 1954 movie starring James Arness and James Whitmore in which huge, marauding ants are spawned by nuclear experiments in the desert.''
Should we trust these ''officials''? I'll let you decide for yourself what the answer is (NO). But consider:
--For years, ''officials'' insisted that our cars needed air bags for safety; then, when we GOT air bags, ''officials'' started warning us how dangerous they are, the result being that many concerned parents now strap their children to the car roof.
--For years, ''officials'' told us that marijuana was an evil, criminal drug. Now, they tell us that it has, quote, ``important medical benefits warranting further investigation, but first let's order a pizza.''
--Every year, ''officials'' tell us to turn all our clocks ahead one hour, only to turn around a few months later and tell us to turn them BACK. Make up your minds, ``officials''!
My point is that we cannot trust ''officials'' any further than we can throw them by the leg. This is especially true when it comes to the Hanford nuclear complex. When this complex was built, ''officials'' said it was safe; now the area glows like a Budweiser sign. So when ''officials'' tell us that the radioactive Hanford insects are NOT going to mutate into giant monsters like the ants depicted in the 1954 movie ''Them!'' it clearly is time to study this movie and see what happened, because it is about to happen again.
I did not see ''Them!'' but I do have a plot summary from a book called ''Guide for the Film Fanatic.'' It states that after James Whitmore and James Arness discover the giant mutant ants marauding around the New Mexico desert, they kill most of them by burning their nest; however, some ants escape, and the heroes ''trace them to Los Angeles.'' The book doesn't say why the heroes would have to ''trace'' the ants; you'd think that if marauding insects the size of houses showed up in a heavily populated area, it would be mentioned prominently in the news media, but ''Guide for the Film Fanatic'' makes it sound as though Arness and Whitmore had to track the ants down via detective techniques:
JAMES ARNESS (showing a photograph to a storekeeper): Have you seen this ant? It's 23 feet tall.
STOREKEEPER (frowning at the photograph): Hmmm ... We did have a 40-foot praying mantis in here last week, but I don't recall any ... Wait a minute! Aren't you Marshal Dillon from ``Gunsmoke''?
JAMES ARNESS: Not until 1955.
Anyway, the heroes finally locate the giant ants in the Los Angeles sewer system, where, according to ''Guide for the Film Fanatic,'' there is ''a thrilling finale.'' The Guide gives no details on this finale, so we don't know whether the ants are killed, or mutate again and become agents, or what.
But the point is this: If, as now seems likely, the radioactive insects at the Hanford complex mutate and start marauding, they will almost certainly head for Los Angeles. This is a terrifying prospect. Imagine how you would feel if you tuned in to the evening news and learned that, for example, Fran Drescher had been sucked dry by a gnat the size of a water buffalo. You'd feel pretty excited. You'd hope there was video.
But innocent people could also be hurt, and that is why we need to take action NOW. We need to construct, in the desert outside of Los Angeles, a 100-foot-high, 500-foot-long, fully functional Hostess Twinkie. The giant insects would be attracted to the Twinkie, and while they were munching on it, an Earth-orbiting manned space station would launch a rocket-propelled, laser-guided, nine-story-high, 18,000-pound man's shoe, which would, by the time it reached the Twinkie, be traveling at over 6,000 miles per hour, resulting in a Stomp of Doom that would hurl globs of cream filling as far as St. Louis.
Of course, building a weapons system this size would not be easy. There would be political considerations: Powerful members of Congress would insist on having giant Twinkies built in their states, too. But that is a small price to pay for national security. We must proceed with this! We already have the technology! Which means, of course, that so does China.
The Trojan Twinkie caper
by: Dave Barry
I'll tell you when I start to worry. I start to worry when ''officials'' tell me not to worry. This is why I am very concerned about the following Associated Press report, which was sent to me by a number of alert readers:'RICHLAND, WASH. -- Radioactive ants, flies and gnats have been found at the Hanford nuclear complex, bringing to mind those Cold-War-era `B' horror movies in which giant mutant insects are the awful price paid for mankind's entry into the Atomic Age. Officials at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site insist there is no danger of Hanford becoming the setting for a '90s version of `Them!' the 1954 movie starring James Arness and James Whitmore in which huge, marauding ants are spawned by nuclear experiments in the desert.''
Should we trust these ''officials''? I'll let you decide for yourself what the answer is (NO). But consider:
--For years, ''officials'' insisted that our cars needed air bags for safety; then, when we GOT air bags, ''officials'' started warning us how dangerous they are, the result being that many concerned parents now strap their children to the car roof.
--For years, ''officials'' told us that marijuana was an evil, criminal drug. Now, they tell us that it has, quote, ``important medical benefits warranting further investigation, but first let's order a pizza.''
--Every year, ''officials'' tell us to turn all our clocks ahead one hour, only to turn around a few months later and tell us to turn them BACK. Make up your minds, ``officials''!
My point is that we cannot trust ''officials'' any further than we can throw them by the leg. This is especially true when it comes to the Hanford nuclear complex. When this complex was built, ''officials'' said it was safe; now the area glows like a Budweiser sign. So when ''officials'' tell us that the radioactive Hanford insects are NOT going to mutate into giant monsters like the ants depicted in the 1954 movie ''Them!'' it clearly is time to study this movie and see what happened, because it is about to happen again.
I did not see ''Them!'' but I do have a plot summary from a book called ''Guide for the Film Fanatic.'' It states that after James Whitmore and James Arness discover the giant mutant ants marauding around the New Mexico desert, they kill most of them by burning their nest; however, some ants escape, and the heroes ''trace them to Los Angeles.'' The book doesn't say why the heroes would have to ''trace'' the ants; you'd think that if marauding insects the size of houses showed up in a heavily populated area, it would be mentioned prominently in the news media, but ''Guide for the Film Fanatic'' makes it sound as though Arness and Whitmore had to track the ants down via detective techniques:
JAMES ARNESS (showing a photograph to a storekeeper): Have you seen this ant? It's 23 feet tall.
STOREKEEPER (frowning at the photograph): Hmmm ... We did have a 40-foot praying mantis in here last week, but I don't recall any ... Wait a minute! Aren't you Marshal Dillon from ``Gunsmoke''?
JAMES ARNESS: Not until 1955.
Anyway, the heroes finally locate the giant ants in the Los Angeles sewer system, where, according to ''Guide for the Film Fanatic,'' there is ''a thrilling finale.'' The Guide gives no details on this finale, so we don't know whether the ants are killed, or mutate again and become agents, or what.
But the point is this: If, as now seems likely, the radioactive insects at the Hanford complex mutate and start marauding, they will almost certainly head for Los Angeles. This is a terrifying prospect. Imagine how you would feel if you tuned in to the evening news and learned that, for example, Fran Drescher had been sucked dry by a gnat the size of a water buffalo. You'd feel pretty excited. You'd hope there was video.
But innocent people could also be hurt, and that is why we need to take action NOW. We need to construct, in the desert outside of Los Angeles, a 100-foot-high, 500-foot-long, fully functional Hostess Twinkie. The giant insects would be attracted to the Twinkie, and while they were munching on it, an Earth-orbiting manned space station would launch a rocket-propelled, laser-guided, nine-story-high, 18,000-pound man's shoe, which would, by the time it reached the Twinkie, be traveling at over 6,000 miles per hour, resulting in a Stomp of Doom that would hurl globs of cream filling as far as St. Louis.
Of course, building a weapons system this size would not be easy. There would be political considerations: Powerful members of Congress would insist on having giant Twinkies built in their states, too. But that is a small price to pay for national security. We must proceed with this! We already have the technology! Which means, of course, that so does China.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Hillary Clinton's donor list
I found this one rather interesting. Hillary seems to have a rather large and generous following in China Town in New York. The funny thing is, she's getting a lot of money from people who don't make a lot of money. Seems a bit fishy to me. A couple key quotes in the linked story below;
"The Times examined the cases of more than 150 donors who provided checks to Clinton after fundraising events geared to the Chinese community. One-third of those donors could not be found using property, telephone or business records. Most have not registered to vote, according to public records."
and
"Like many who traveled this path, most of the Chinese reported as contributing to Clinton's campaign have never voted. Many speak little or no English. Some seem to lead such ephemeral lives that neighbors say they've never heard of them."
Find the story here.
That is all.
"The Times examined the cases of more than 150 donors who provided checks to Clinton after fundraising events geared to the Chinese community. One-third of those donors could not be found using property, telephone or business records. Most have not registered to vote, according to public records."
and
"Like many who traveled this path, most of the Chinese reported as contributing to Clinton's campaign have never voted. Many speak little or no English. Some seem to lead such ephemeral lives that neighbors say they've never heard of them."
Find the story here.
That is all.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
What's worse? Texting and driving or drinking and driving?
I don't get. Here's a story where a man hit a train while driving and texting. OK, I fully agree that cell phones and driving can be a distraction for some, but what is the real story here? Here is the headline.
Man texting while driving hits train Read the story and you will find this line; Gillespie, who had turned 38 the day before, was charged with drunken driving... Shouldn't that be the headline? Drunk drives into train? Or perhaps Drunk hits train while texting? I find it incredible that they don't even mention this in the headline.
Maybe I'm old fashioned. I don't know.
That is all.
Man texting while driving hits train Read the story and you will find this line; Gillespie, who had turned 38 the day before, was charged with drunken driving... Shouldn't that be the headline? Drunk drives into train? Or perhaps Drunk hits train while texting? I find it incredible that they don't even mention this in the headline.
Maybe I'm old fashioned. I don't know.
That is all.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The pill for middle schoolers?
That's what they're proposing in Maine! Yup! Your little 11 year old daughter can get birth control pills without your consent or knowledge from school, because that's what we send our kids to school for anyway. Forget the reading and writing thing. Let's look at the possible side effects.
Side Effects
Prescribe 'the pill' at middle school?
Side Effects
Although the majority are not serious. They include:
- Nausea
- Weight gain
- Sore or swollen breasts
- Small amount of blood, or spotting, between periods
- Lighter periods
- Mood changes
The following side effects, easily remembered by the word "ACHES," are less common but more serious. If you experience any of these, contact your doctor immediately. If you cannot reach your doctor, go to an emergency room or urgent care center for evaluation. These symptoms may indicate a serious disorder, such as liver disease, gallbladder disease, stroke, blood clots, high blood pressure, or heart disease. They include:
- Abdominal pain (stomach pain)
- Chest pain
- Headaches (severe)
- Eye problems (blurred vision)
- Swelling and/or aching in the legs and thighs
Prescribe 'the pill' at middle school?
Student health officials say a broad contraceptive program is 'totally needed.'
Article here
Students who have parental permission to be treated at King Middle School's health center would be able to get birth control prescriptions under a proposal that the Portland School Committee will consider Wednesday.
The proposal would build on the King Student Health Center's practice of providing condoms as part of its reproductive health program since it opened in 2000, said Lisa Belanger, a nurse practitioner who oversees the city's student health centers.
If the committee approves the King proposal, it would be the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available to some students in grades 6 to 8, said Nancy Birkhimer, director of teen health programs for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Most middle schoolers are ages 11-13.
Although students must have written parental permission to be treated at Portland's school-based health centers, state law allows them to seek confidential health care and to decide whether to inform their parents about the services they receive, Belanger said.
Proponents say a small number of King students are sexually active, but those who are need better access to birth control.
Of 134 students who visited King's health center during the 2006-07 school year, five students, or 4 percent, reported having sexual intercourse, said Amanda Rowe, lead nurse in Portland's school health centers.
"This is a service that is totally needed," Rowe said. "It's about very few kids, but they are kids who don't have the same opportunities and access as other students."
The percentage of middle school students in Maine who reported having sexual intercourse dropped from 23 percent in 1997 to 13 percent in 2005, according to the Maine Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
"Thirteen percent is still more than one in 10 students," Birkhimer said.
The School Committee will meet at 7 p.m. in Room 250, Portland Arts and Technology High School, off Allen Avenue.
Robert O'Brien, who chairs the committee's policy subcommittee, said his panel has yet to discuss the proposal.
He declined to comment until after the matter has been aired.
The issue could stir controversy, as it has in the past.
"I'm personally fine with it, but I know some parents might not be," said Jennifer Southard, wife of City Councilor Edward Suslovic, who has two daughters at King. "I think information and access are good things. I would hope my children would come to me, but some students might not have that option."
The city's Division of Public Health, which made the birth- control proposal, operates seven health centers in Portland Public Schools in an effort to increase access to physical, dental and mental health care.
They are located at Portland High School, Deering High School, Casco Bay High School, King Middle School, West School special education program, and two elementary schools -- Reiche Community School and East End Community School.
The first centers opened in the high schools more than a decade ago, Belanger said.
There are 27 school-based health centers in Maine, 20 of which are funded and overseen by the state, including those in Portland, Birkhimer said.
There are more than 1,700 school-connected health centers in the United States.
One in four provides birth control ranging from condoms to prescription contraception, said Divya Mohan, spokeswoman for the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care.
Last year, Portland's program cost about $500,000 to operate, including state and foundation grants, MaineCare/Medicaid and private health insurance reimbursements, and in-kind contributions of space and services provided by the city, Belanger said.
Of 2,877 students eligible to attend Portland's seven health centers last year, 1,261, or 44 percent, were enrolled. The center at King, which has 510 students, enrolled 134 students and tallied 266 visits last year, Belanger said.
The health centers at Portland High, Deering High, Casco Bay High and West School have provided prescription contraception as part of overall primary health care since 2003, Belanger said.The King Student Health Center has provided condoms since it opened in 2000, along with counseling and testing for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, she said.
Contraception would be prescribed after a physical examination by a physician or nurse practitioner, Belanger said.
Types of prescription birth control available through the health centers include contraceptive pills, patches or injections, as well as the morning-after pill. Diaphragms and IUDs are not usually prescribed, she said.
Belanger said health center workers encourage students to tell their parents about their health center experiences, but by law they cannot compel students to do so or inform parents without the student's consent.
King is the only one of Portland's three middle schools with a health center, primarily because it has more students who get free or reduced-price lunch, Belanger said.
Moore and Lincoln middle schools don't have health centers, and their students are ineligible for treatment at the King Student Health Center.
Belanger said the top five reasons for visits to the health center last year were, in descending order: immunizations, physical examinations, sore throat, upper respiratory infection and asthma.
Nationally, the top five reproductive health services offered at school-based health centers were, in descending order: pregnancy testing, abstinence counseling, HIV/AIDS counseling, birth control counseling, and the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, according to the national assembly.
Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at:
kbouchard@pressherald.com
Article here
Universal Health Care
For those of you interested in Nationalized Health Care, or Universal, or whatever you want to call it, this is what you have to look forward to.
During a difficult pregnancy, Elizabeth Jones was monitored every day because doctors were worried about the health of her baby.
But on the day of the birth, she was twice turned away from the hospital because it was full - forcing her partner to deliver the baby himself at their home.
Father delivered baby after partner was turned away from NHS hospital - TWICE
Last updated at 18:04pm on 17th October 2007During a difficult pregnancy, Elizabeth Jones was monitored every day because doctors were worried about the health of her baby.
But on the day of the birth, she was twice turned away from the hospital because it was full - forcing her partner to deliver the baby himself at their home.
Miss Jones, 24, and her partner Anthony Jones - who coincidentally share the same surname - dashed to their local maternity unit when she started to have strong contractions.
However, their excitement at the prospect of the birth soon turned to horror when staff on the ward told them: "Sorry we are full. Come back later."
Medics at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, near Cardiff, insisted the baby would not arrive for hours and suggested the couple go and have a cup of coffee while they tried to free up a bed.
Three hours later, they returned to the hospital when Miss Jones's contractions became more frequent.
This time she was given a thorough examination by a midwife who confidently sent them away for the second time, telling them the baby was still "hours away".
Once again, the frustrated couple headed back to their home in Bridgend. But within minutes Miss Jones felt the baby arriving.
Her partner's 17-year-old daughter Kirsty called 999 and relayed instructions, as he delivered the baby himself on October 12 at 11am.
"It was a great experience - but at the time I wished we were in hospital in a controlled environment," Mr Jones, 39, said. "What if something had gone wrong?
"It's worrying that the only maternity hospital for miles around had to turn us away twice just while Elizabeth was in the last stages of labour.
"You hear so much about the NHS being under pressure but you would think that maternity would be a priority. Many things can wait for a later appointment - but never a baby.
"It's very worrying that they haven't got the facilities to do the job properly when you want it.
He added: "They need more beds and at least another ward at the hospital. We've been told that it's always getting full there. We turned out to be fine - the next family may not be so lucky."
During her pregnancy, Miss Jones became a regular visitor to the hospital because the baby was growing unusually slowly. She was given scans twice a week and was monitored by the maternity team on a daily basis.
But fortunately, her new-born, who has been named Emily, arrived without complications, weighing a healthy 6lb 8oz.
She said: "It was one big shock. I wanted to have her in the hospital after all the problems we had. I knew she was coming soon because the pain was strong.
"Anthony did a fantastic job - but it's not what we expected from the NHS. I was in too much pain to be too nervous."
Mr Jones is still exhilarated at the experience of delivering a baby, although he has no plans to switch careers just yet.
"It was so quick that I didn't have time to think about it," he said. "I was shocked but just had to get on with it. I was getting instructions on the phone from the 999 operator.
"I realised Emily was coming out and there was nothing to stop her now.
"I just saw Emily's head coming out as the paramedics arrived. But they said I was doing a good job and I should just carry on.
"I delivered her into the world with the paramedic standing by to help me if anything had gone wrong. But luckily it all went well and it was an amazing experience. We just feel very thankful that there weren't any complications."
The couple, who have a four-year-old daughter Bethanne, are campaigning to prevent other pregnant women from being turned away from the hospital.
A spokesman for the hospital said: "The maternity unit from time to time experiences peaks in demand and during the last 12 months we have seen an increase in births at the Princess of Wales Hospital.
"We can confirm that it was necessary for this unit to close recently for a short time to new maternity admissions due to the unit reaching full capacity."
Article here
Monday, October 15, 2007
Why so difficult?
Ok, here's a question. When did this HTML stuff get so difficult? Oh, I know it hasn't really changed any, but I used to find it so much easier to work with when suddenly, I can't seem to do anything HTML'y without help!
I used to be such a geek! Using EDLIN, EDIT, good old DOS based programs were no problem! Write a bat file? No problem! Now I find myself asking my high school age daughter to help me edit stuff! Like my Myspace page! AGH! I'm feeling left behind in technology.
Time for me to start studying again....
That is all.
I used to be such a geek! Using EDLIN, EDIT, good old DOS based programs were no problem! Write a bat file? No problem! Now I find myself asking my high school age daughter to help me edit stuff! Like my Myspace page! AGH! I'm feeling left behind in technology.
Time for me to start studying again....
That is all.
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