Boom!

Whoa, I got a coffee grinder and and some Columbian coffee beans for Christmas and man am I wired!! I'm beginning to understand the widespread popularity of places like Starbucks, I've been missing out. Well better go get some more coffee and clean the house and then maybe paint the house!

Tex went down to Texas

I thought of a cool post. I even told Shelly about it, she thought it would be okay.
It was funny, interesting and all that. But now neither one of us can remember what it was going to be about! Maybe I should write one about the mental decline that people experience in their mid 40's. We went to Dallas today, while Shelly was shopping, I roamed the streets of the Dallas-Fort worth metroplex shouting
"Babs!Babs, where are you?" No luck, one guy said he had Babs for me right here and pointed down his pants but I figured it must be the wrong Babs, she would have mentioned being a tiny person by now if she was. I ate a good hamburger down there today, it seemed a little bigger than the burgers I usually get in Oklahoma. Shelly said it's because everything is bigger in Texas. I wanted to get a motel room and see if it was true but we needed to get back home, plus my wallet's a little thin since Christmas. (I did ask a friend from Texas and he said it was true, Texas motel room are 20% larger than Oklahoma motel rooms!)

Yardhouse Texlahoma, Co

yardhouse

Understanding Time Zones

I can't believe no one has ever thought of this before. Here's the plan, I call it
"The Time zone Exploit", I go watch a Dallas Cowboys home game. I call you in Los Vegas, tell you who won. Now you have two hours to place a huge bet on the winning team (because it's two hours earlier in Los Vegas) and just like that, we're rolling in dough. I will, of course, have to send a trusted Representative to accompany you. (I ain't no dummy!)

Bareback Mountain (Homophobic version)

I saw Brokeback Mountain the other day. I saw where the movie went horribly wrong. When the guy in the tent sees the other guy out by the campfire beating his meat, spanking his monkey or whatever the kids call it now days, he should have said "Hold off on that for just a minute, have I got a surprise for you." Then, a little later, he returns to the camp with a ewe (A female sheep). They take the sheep into the tent and have their way with her (it). Then at the end of the movie the boss man could ask
"How was it up there on the mountain with nothing but sheep for such a long time?"

The cowboy could reply "Not baaaaa, baaa, baaaad!"

[last scene soundtrack- (Linda Ronstadt's "When will I be loved?")]

The very last scene could be a trailer full of sheep being taken to market, the camera zooms in to a closeup of a sheep (wearing lipstick & mascara) looking back at the cowboys with tears in her eyes.

4000%

MPP Report: Does Prohibition of Marijuana for Adults Curb Use by Adolescents?

MPP's December 2006 report examines whether current marijuana laws effectively deter marijuana use by young people. Among the major findings:
Marijuana prohibition has not prevented a dramatic increase in marijuana use by teenagers. In fact, the overall rate of marijuana use in the U.S. has risen by roughly 4,000% since marijuana was first outlawed.
Independent studies by RAND Europe and the U.S. National Research Council have reported that marijuana prohibition appears to have little or no impact on rates of use.
Since Britain ended most marijuana possession arrests in 2004, the rate of marijuana use by 16-to-19-year-olds has dropped.
In the U.S., rates of teen marijuana use in states that have decriminalized adult marijuana possession are statistically equal to rates in those that have retained criminal penalties.
In the Netherlands, where adults have been allowed to possess and purchase small amounts of marijuana since 1976, the rate of marijuana use by adults and teens is lower than the U.S., and teen use of cocaine and amphetamines is far lower than in the U.S.

A 'JIHAD' ON USERS

The Dec. 19 Chronicle article "Houston's rise in violent crime outpaces U.S." said that "violent crime in Houston increased at nearly twice the national level." Certain deductions about this near doubling of violent crime in Houston are obvious.

Houston and Harris County lead the world in the incarceration of our citizenry; mostly for drug charges, minor amounts, empty bags, empty pipes or for failing a urine test for drugs. Our jails are so overcrowded that prisoners sleep underneath bunks and next to toilets, and we are contemplating building additional jails to house more drug users. Our jails and prisons are so swamped with drug prisoners that we find it necessary to provide early release to violent criminals to make room for these minor drug offenders.

Many cities and states around this nation ( even within Texas ) have found it necessary to ease back on sentencing drug users. They have found it necessary and prudent to cease the arrest and sentencing of those found with empty bags, pipes and minor amounts of drugs.

Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal says "when the only tool you have to work with is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail." Police Chief Harold Hurtt, a black man, seems indifferent to the fact that Houston arrests blacks at a rate significantly higher than that of South Africa under apartheid. Houston and Harris County lead the world in the incarceration of our own people, and yet we seek to build more jails, to send more people to prison for longer periods of time for minor amounts of drugs. At some point, for moral reasons, for fiscal reasons, we will have to back down from our "jihad" against drug users.

Perhaps then, our police force can focus its attentions on violent criminals, and we'll have plenty of prison beds available so the predator types can serve their full sentence.

DEAN BECKER

spokesman, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Houston

Report criticizes FBI's Okla. City probe

Report criticizes FBI's Okla. City probe

By JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 14 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The
FBI failed to fully investigate information suggesting other suspects may have helped
Timothy McVeigh and
Terry Nichols with the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, allowing questions to linger more than a decade after the deadly attack, a congressional inquiry concludes.


The House International Relations investigative subcommittee will release the findings of its two-year review as early as Wednesday, declaring there is no conclusive evidence of a foreign connection to the attack but far too many unanswered questions remain.
Previously, the bureau has said it believes its investigation of the bombing was exhaustive and there is no credible evidence that other people were involved.

The subcommittee concludes the Justice Department should not have rushed to execute McVeigh in 2001 after he dropped his court appeals, and officials should have made more efforts to interview and question him about evidence suggesting he might have gotten help from other people who remain unpunished.

The former lead FBI agent in the case, Dan Defenbaugh, told AP a few years ago he was trying to get one last interview with McVeigh to go over unanswered questions in the case but could not get it arranged before McVeigh was executed.

Rohrabacher's report cites several leads the subcommittee believes were not fully investigated, including:

_Information that McVeigh called a German citizen living at a white supremacist compound in Oklahoma two weeks before the bombing and that two witnesses saw the men together before the bombing.

_Witness accounts that another man was seen with McVeigh around the time of the bombing. The FBI originally looked for another suspect it named John Doe 2, even providing a sketch, but abruptly dropped that line of inquiry.
The subcommittee concludes that decision was a mistake.

_Findings in AP articles in 2003 and 2004 that indicated the FBI had gathered some evidence suggesting a group of neo-Nazi bank robbers may have been tied to McVeigh. The subcommittee interviewed three of those robbers, and all denied a connection. A fourth member of the gang died and a fifth member could not be located by Congress.

_Phone record and witness testimony that persons associated with Middle Eastern terrorism in the Philippines may have had contact with Nichols, and that Nichols took a book about explosives to the Philippines. The FBI and Filipino police spent months investigating such a connection, but ruled it out.

_Information from a former TV reporter concerning an Iraqi national who was in Oklahoma around the time of the bombing.

Va. Congressman Protests Ellison's Quran Swear-In

(AP) Washington, D.C. Responding to constituent e-mails about Rep.-elect Keith Ellison's decision to use the Quran at his ceremonial swearing-in, Virginia congressman Rep. Virgil Goode, R(Republican)-Va warned that "many more Muslims" will be elected demanding to use the Quran unless immigration is tightened. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., made the comments in a letter sent to hundreds of constituents about Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to Congress. The letter triggered angry responses from a New Jersey congressman and an Islamic civil rights group.

In the letter, Goode wrote, "The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran."

Goode said the U.S. needs to stop illegal immigration "totally" and reduce legal immigration.

Ellison's decision to use the Quran at his ceremonial swearing in next month has generated heated controversy. Conservative talk radio host Dennis Prager has criticized Ellison for it, prompting CAIR to call on Prager's removal from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum board.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of. Goode is totally paranoid about Muslims. To me, it makes more since to have a person swear in on the book that they believe in, as a matter of fact it should be required. But, on the other hand, it might have looked kind of bad when Bush & Cheyney swore in on the book of Satan.
By the way, Ellison was born in Detroit.

Earthquake

OKLAHOMA CITY -- An earthquake was reported and confirmed in central Oklahoma on Wednesday night, authorities said.

Jim Lawson with the Oklahoma Geological Survey observatory in Leonard, Okla., said the southeast Oklahoma City and Midwest City-Del City communities experienced an earthquake at about 8:40 p.m.

They are gathering information relative to the magnitude of the quake; however, several residents reported to Eyewitness News 5 that the earthquake sounded and felt like a large explosion.


Stay tuned to Eyewitness News 5 for further details.

Christmas tagged

I've been Christmas tagged, I never fully cooperate with tags, but I'll do what I can. Here are the rules as explained by my tagger, somewhereinnowhere www.somewhereinnowhere.blogspot.com

[Ok this is how it works. The player (me) must list 3 things that I would love to get for Christmas. Then I must list 3 things that I definitely do not want to get for Christmas. Then I tag 5 friends and list their names. The one I tag needs to write on their blogs about their Christmas wishes then tag 5 more people. They must also clarify all the rules. When you tag someone you need to leave a comment that says "you've been Christmas tagged!" in their comments]

Three things that I would love to get for Christmas

1) A nice car. I drive a very practical "Grampa Car" that is totally not me. I don't need a new car, just a nice sports car.


2) I might as well get a new dome home while stuff is free.



3) Enough money to live on without working for someone else. Also enough to start a business of my own.

Three things that I definitely do not want for Christmas.

1) A Lobotomy. In his transorbital lobotomy, a mallet is used to force a surgical instrument akin to an ice pick through the thin layer of skull at the top of the eye socket. The pick is then wiggled to damage the frontal lobe. This technique could be performed in a doctor's office rather than in an operating room, and required only a few minutes to perform. Freeman advocated this procedure for patients with even fairly mild symptoms, and as a result, performed the operation on thousands of people.




2)Cozy Ballet Slipper Sock

3)Herpes virus

Learn this Jingle, Confuse Your Friends

BC Clark
Ever want to make someone think you're from Oklahoma? Probably not huh?
Well, you can at least know this jingle when it's on the Meagan Mallally Show on Dec. 22 2006. You can sing along and add a sense of mystery to your persona. You can deny ever being in Oklahoma, to some of you, I guess that goes without saying.
(The "animation with jingle" is the one I remember best.)

The Zappa Door

I think I've talked about the house in Norman that I shared with two roommates...you know, the one with a Frank Zappa mask on the front door and we would look through the eyes when someone knocked on the door? Well I found a picture of it, I use to have a Pentax k-1000 camera that was my constant companion.

Hurry, your twenty minutes is almost up!

Let's say your getting pretty old, you've lived a full life with it's ups and downs. Your the father of three kids, two girls and a boy, your first wife died and you never remarried. You're on your death bed now and you know it's almost over.

Then suddenly you're somewhere else and a guy is removing some device from your head. He is smiling and saying "Well what did you think?" "Pretty realistic isn't it?" "You played it for about twenty minutes, I thought I should check on you, besides I wanted to see if you thought it seemed real enough." "Are you okay?"

"Dude, it's too real!" "I worked for 45 years!" "I lived a whole life, I miss my wife and kids, my wife died, but she never really existed...and it was only twenty minutes."

Hide in Plain Sight

Bob lays low in an attempt to exempt himself from certain "Holiday Activities".



But after a few drinks, Bob relaxes and gets into the festive spirit.

You may be right, I might be crazy

Sometimes songs pop into my head, that go along with what I'm doing, sometimes the lyrics are a little twisted around but close enough for my subconscious I guess. Like at work there are vials that say NEVER TOUCH. Suddenly M.C. Hammer is playing in my head "You can't touch this!" and of couse the always popular "The turbidity of our water." by System of a Down.

What's that?

I'm off today so I was wasting time looking at Google Earth. I was looking at New Mexico because I lived there in the mid 1960's. Anyway I was looking at Carlsbad, to see if you could tell that there was a huge cave there, I couldn't. (click on pics)



Just to the east of there I noticed that there was an "I" someone had a question about what this is, but he was mostly interested in the square things. What blows my mind is the circular symbol with the North to South and West to East lines through it! I've seen that symbol a million times. Oh yeah, I lined the Google Earth pointer up on it and it is exactly North and South and East to West. (There's a path or road that cuts across it but you can tell that it's seperate from the original.) It's in an interesting place too, Carlsbad Caverns to the west, springs nearby and some kind of depression(?) to the East. If you want to look for yourself, it's @ 32 degrees 11' N and 104 degrees 17' W

Shitbegone gallery

These images brought to you by the makers of Shitbegone. "Quietly doing your dirty work for over thirty years."

Guthrie

Guthrie, Oklahoma a nice place to visit and it seems like it would be a nice place to live too.
It was a beautiful night, clear sky, full moon and snow on the ground. I made good time without driving very fast, there was very little traffic, but I guess you wouldn't expect much at 10:00 on a Sunday night. I took the South Guthrie exit, which in one way was a mistake (the North exit would have taken me almost directly to my motel). I drove around a little, looking for a sign, a motel sign. I had no luck but the old downtown looked great in snow and so did the old houses, so I didn't really mind the delay in getting to the motel. I decided to go to McDonald's, I always think better on a full stomach, and besides something told me the young people there would know and help if I asked them right. So I drive up to the first window and ask him, "I have no idea." So I go to the second window (this guy looks friendly) I ask him, he gives the best directions I've ever heard (he makes me feel like I've been there) I don't know what job he should have but he's wasting his talent in fast food. So I drive right to the motel and there's I-35, the North exit!

There's no place like home

Oh I don't see how those people do it, people that have to travel all the time, catch flights, or drive long distances. I just had to drive about 100-150 miles away and stay for two days for classes then drive back. I just got back and I'm wiped out, driving through very heavy traffic and a traffic jam on I-35 "South to Dallas" in Oklahoma City. To people up there it's nothing, hell, it was nothing to me a few years back but I've gotten use to the slow pace of a small town.
[If young me were reading this, he'd be screaming "No! nooooo!"]
The good news is, I passed! The bad news is, someone like me will be tinkering with "your" water. When someone takes a sip and says "Huh, that tastes kind of weired!" they will think of me. I can't wait till St Patrick's Day! I've seen green beer and green rivers, but I've never seen green beer on tap for a whole city! {To DEQ and EPA, not really!}

Blue Star

White Feather, Bear Clan

"The Fourth World shall end soon, and the Fifth World will begin. This the elders everywhere know. The Signs over many years have been fulfilled, and so few are left.

"This is the First Sign: We were told of the coming of the white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana -- men who took the land that was not theirs and who struck their enemies with thunder. (Guns)

"This is the Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices. (Covered wagons)

"This is the Third Sign: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns, will overrun the land in large numbers. (Longhorn cattle)

"This is the Fourth Sign: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron. (Railroad tracks)

"This is the Fifth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider's web. (Power and telephone lines)

"This is the Sixth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun. (Concrete roads and their mirage-producing effects.)

"This is the Seventh Sign: You will hear of the sea turning black, and many living things dying because of it. (Oil spills)

"This is the Eighth Sign: You will see many youth, who wear their hair long like our people, come and join the tribal nations, to learn our ways and wisdom. (Hippies)

"And this is the Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling-place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. Very soon after this, the ceremonies of the Hopi people will cease.

"These are the Signs that great destruction is here: The world shall rock to and fro. The white man will battle people in other lands -- those who possessed the first light of wisdom. There will be many columns of smoke and fire such as the white man has made in the deserts not far from here. Those who stay and live in the places of the Hopi shall be safe. Then there will be much to rebuild. And soon, very soon afterward, Pahana will return. He shall bring with him the dawn of the Fifth World. He shall plant the seeds of his wisdom in our hearts. Even now the seeds are being planted. These shall smooth the way to the Emergence into the Fifth World."
dreamscape

Star Man

He sticks a cigarette in his mouth and flips one up for the
STAR MAN.

COOK
Smoke?

The STAR MAN takes it, quickly examines it, then positions
it in his mouth at the exact angle the Cook did. His eyebrows
raise when the Cook flicks his Bic and puffs an ash on the
end of his cigarette.

The butane flame is swung in his direction and he flinches
back before allowing the Cook to singe his Camel. He copies
the Cook's puffing and the end of his cigarette begins to
glow.

COOK
She wants to become a doctor. She's
a bright kid. Hard worker. I think
she'll make it. But the damned
inflation's driven the tuition up so
high it makes it real tough on a
family like ours.

The Cook inhales deeply from his cigarette and blows smoke
at the windshield. The STAR MAN mimics the inhalation, then
chokes. His eyes bulge and his cheeks puff out as he tries
to be cool and not cough. The Cook takes no notice of his
struggles.

To work!

I'm on my way to work, driving, typing on my lap top, drinkin a cup a coffee and smokin a cigarette, now that's multi-taskin. I decided to start smoking cigarettes, I was looking at some of the testimony of the tobacco companies during senate hearings, those guy make a lot of since. Well, I got ta go make some dough, see ya later.

Louis Armstrong

The notion that marijuana leads to the use of more problematic drugs also finds no support from the life of Louis Armstrong. Easily available heroin and cocaine held no interest for him and Armstrong never used them. He wrote that, "...it really puzzles me to see Marijuana connected with Narcotics -- Dope and all that kind of crap ... It is actually a shame." (Armstrong, page 112) His criticism of the Bebop musicians included both their sound and their use of heroin.

Armstrong eluded amotivational syndrome too, in fact, a fair description of him might include the word workaholic. He composed dozens of jazz standards, recorded over a thousand songs, averaged more than 300 concert dates per year, toured much of the world for the State Department, had parts in thirty plus films, became ubiquitous on radio and television, and found time to write two autobiographies, more than ten magazine articles, hundreds of pages of memoirs, and thousands of letters. He kept up this strenuous pace well into his sixties.

He worked so hard because he enjoyed it, as he enjoyed life in general. No confusion, acute panic reactions, anxiety attacks, fear, a sense of helplessness, and loss of self-control plagued Louis Armstrong. He often commented on how good life had been to him. Though given ample cause, the era’s brutal segregation, marital strife, problems with his management, and involvement in underworld conflicts, to be depressed, Armstrong never succumbed. His last big hit recording carried the title "What a Wonderful World" and he always believed it was.

Marijuana did not affect Armstrong’s memory, he carried literally thousands of tunes in his head. It did not impair his judgment, comprehension, or problem solving ability when it came to his career, he earned the accolades of the world as well as financial security. His speech in the form of scat singing has influenced vocalists ever since it was first heard. As for reaction time, it was an essential element of his genius. The improvisional nature of jazz required quick and innovative reactions and Louis Armstrong was the master.

Louis Armstrong's biography reveals no automobile accidents. It does, however, disclose a remarkable set of lungs. A consensus of jazz critics consider recordings he made for Okeh records in 1925 under the name Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five then later Hot Seven to be among the finest in jazz history, with his ability to hit the high notes especially remarkable. No one with lungs impaired by marijuana smoking would have been able play that music. Yet, Armstrong reported that some specific songs were laid down after he and the band had smoked, the implication being that this was the usual practice. One of the tunes named "Muggles" was a synonym for marijuana. Armstrong continued to play and record until the very last year of his life, with plans for more music when his health recovered. He died of heart disease, one of the few illnesses that the government has not yet tried to link to, as Armstrong would put it, that beautiful gage.

In his book Chocolate to Morphine Dr. Andrew Weil correctly contends that, "Any drug can be used successfully, no matter how bad its reputation, and any drug can be abused, no matter how accepted it is. There are no good or bad drugs; there are only good and bad relationships with drugs." The evidence is clear, Louis Armstrong had a very good relationship with marijuana and we are all the better for it.

www.hnn.us

Cat Carrier

At least I know I'm free

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
At least that's what they told me
I believed it when I was three.

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
These words would ring much truer
Outside of the penitentiary

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
I fell in love with two gals
Now I'm doing time for bigamy

Stop the cat box

Now the king told the boogie men
You have to let that raga drop
The oil down the desert way
Has been shakin to the top
The sheik he drove his cadillac
He went a cruisnin down the Ville
The muezzin was a standing
On the radiator grille

The shareef dont like it
Stop the cat box
Stop the cat box
The shareef dont like it
Stop the cat box
Stop the cat box

By order of the prophet
We ban that boogie sound
Degenerate the faithful
With that crazy casbah sound
But the bedouin they brought out
The electric camel drum
The local guitar picker
Got his guitar picking thumb
As soon as the shareef
Had cleared the square
They began to wail

The shareef dont like it
Stop the cat box
Stop the cat box
The shareef dont like it
Stop the cat box
Stop the cat box

Now over at the temple
Oh! they really pack em in
The in crowd say its cool
To dig this chanting thing
But as the wind changed direction
The temple band took five
The crowd caught a wiff
Of that crazy casbah jive

The shareef dont like it
Stop the cat box
Stop the cat box
The shareef dont like it
Stop the cat box
Stop the cat box

The king called up his jet fighters
He said you better earn your pay
Drop your bombs between the minarets
Down the casbah way

As soon as the shareef was
Chauffeured outta there
The jet pilots tuned to
The cockpit radio blare

As soon as the shareef was
Outta their hair
The jet pilots wailed

The shareef dont like it
Stop the cat box
Stop the cat box
The shareef dont like it
Stop the cat box
Stop the cat box

He thinks its not kosher
Fundamentally he cant take it.
You know he really hates it.

Giant Mexican telescope launched

The telescope has been built on the summit of an extinct volcano
Mexican President Vicente Fox has inaugurated a giant telescope that could help scientists uncover clues about the origins of the Universe.

NO PHISHING

Fifth-Third Bank's brand, name and logo have been frequently exploited by Phishing scam emails. Computer security company McAfee reports on their website that, at the beginning of September 2006, over 98% of Phishing scam emails being reported to McAfee were utilizing Fifth-Third Bank's brand.



When I got this I was sure it was a scam since I don't have an account there, but if a person did, I could see how they might fall for it. Since I knew it was a scam, I just gave them all the personal info I had on this one dude that I don't like.

Good news, unless you want to be drafted

Democratic Leaders Reject Idea of Draft
Pelosi and Others Predict Cool Reception in Congress for Any Conscription Bill

By Charles Babington and Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, November 21, 2006; Page A04


The new Democratic-controlled Congress will not seriously consider reinstating the draft, even if concerns about the military's strength and resiliency grow, party leaders said yesterday.

Key Democrats, including the incoming House speaker, House majority leader and chairmen of the House and Senate armed services committees, said they do not support a resumption of the draft. They predicted that the idea will gather little momentum in the 110th Congress, which convenes in January. Pentagon officials also restated their opposition to a draft.

Charles Rangel "The tail wags the dog!"

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans would have to sign up for a new military draft after turning 18 if the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee has his way.

New York Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel said Sunday he sees his idea as a way to deter politicians from launching wars. He believes a draft would bolster U.S. troop levels that are currently insufficient to cover potential future action in Iran, North Korea and Iraq.

"There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft, and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way," Rangel said.

Rangel, a veteran of the Korean War who has unsuccessfully sponsored legislation on conscription in the past, said he will propose a measure early next year.

In 2003, he proposed a draft covering people age 18 to 26. This year, he offered a plan to mandate military service for men and women between age 18 and 42. It went nowhere in the Republican-led Congress.

Prophetic Words from 1986 (The Cure) "Killing an Arab"

Standing on the beach
With a gun in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring down the barrel
At the Arab on the ground
I can see his open mouth
But I hear no sound

I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an Arab

I can turn
And walk away
Or I can fire the gun
Staring at the sky
Staring at the sun
Whichever I chose
It amounts to the same
Absolutely nothing

I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an Arab

I feel the steel butt jump
Smooth in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring at myself
Reflected in the eyes
Of the dead man on the beach
The dead man on the beach

I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an Arab

Our trip to Washington D. C.

mpp radio add

mpp

Cannibal Conversation

[Cannibal Dad] "The man you are eating right now, was a very brave war hero."

[Cannibal Son]"Then why does he taste like chicken?"

[Cannibal Mom] "He's not Chinese is he?"

[cannibal Dad] "No, why?"

[Cannibal Mom] "Cause when you eat Chinese, in two hours you're hungry again!"

I'm so cheap

How cheap are you? I'm so cheap that one time the store was out of the cheap bread, so I brokedown and bought the good stuff. The kids both said "There's something wrong with this bread, it's soft!"

Who's my little crack baby?

Back in the late 1980's statements like this were very common "Theirs will be a life of certain suffering, of probable deviance and permanent inferiority." The former director of the National Center on Child Abuse called Crack Babies "a Bio-underclass".
Recently the terms "Meth Babies" and "Ice Babies" have come into vogue.
As usual, we, the public, jumped on the band-wagon. As in "If someone said it, it must be true!" Well as it turns out, it was all a giant load of Bull shit. Cocaine use by a pregnant woman does increase the chances of spontaneous miscarriage or low birth weight. But any later deficits were caused not by crack but by having Crack Heads for parents. Like malnutrition, lack of parental care and poverty. The 1985 study that started all of this was small and since then there have been many, more rigorous studies that dispute the Crack Baby myth.
A group of 96 physicians have circulated a statement proclaiming "The use of terms like "meth babies" and "crack babies" lacks scientific validity and should not be used.

Retirement, are we there yet?

I've been so fuckin busy lately! I feel like I'm about ready to retire, and I'm only in my mid forties. But really, wouldn't 50 be a good age for retirement? Now it's 65-70, they want you to work until you have to go to the nursing home, bastids. I'll fool everybody, when I hit 50 I'm gonna get alzhiemers real bad, you know forget to go to work and shit like that. Go out walking in my P.J.s (note to self-buy some Pajamas before age 50) long walks, like to neighboring towns. Go to the store for bread and show up two days later stinking of hookers and alcohol, no I think I did that last week. On the bright side, they don't send me to get bread anymore!

Bob enjoys a day off

Dear people of Iraq

What I wish I could tell the people of Iraq.
We are sorry for ever invading your country. Bush lied to us and took advantage of the emotion that our citizens felt after 9-11. Most people see invading your country as a huge mistake. Another huge mistake that we made was electing Bush as president.
I'm proud to say that I, like about half of the U.S. citizens, never voted for Bush.
The results of our upcoming election should be a sign to your people of our approval or disapproval of invading Iraq. I think that the Democrats will win and that should let the people of your country see that it is not the American people that are your enemy. It is Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and all the other politicians that want the U.S. to continue to tell Iraqis how to run Iraq.

Nine items or less

I hate it when I get to the checkout counter at the grocery store and the items kind of sum up my evening plans (of life plans for that matter). A can of chili, a twelve pack of beer and a package of toilet paper.

The Watch Dog on my wrist barked out it's warning, "It's 12:41! It's 12:41!".

Did he sell his soul for oil money?
Or save his country from terrorists?

The Horror!

Click it if you dare. Life and Death of a Pumpkin

White Powder

NEW YORK (Rooters) - A suspicious white powder delivered by mail to former President Bill Clinton's New York office on Friday was not dangerous, kind of spacey, yet energetic a Secret Service spokesman said.

The good news is, you're getting out...

I know how our government could save some money. Send all of our inmates that are in for life to Iraq. Not as soldiers, just as targets for insurgents, it might save a few soldiers lives. Hey, why not? Seems like a win-win to me.

The trouble with Democracies

Democrats and the republicans should compromise on the Iraq policy. Stay and run?
Cut the course? No, I still say if it's a democracy they should let the Iraqis vote on if the U.S. stays or goes. That's one of the flaws of a democracy. Who decides what you get to vote on? Voted on any Federal laws lately?

Whah!

I'm back to work after a few days off. (excuse me while I cry) Ok, I'm alright now, already half way through the day. I heard from a very unreliable source that we were getting a computer and internet at work, I sure hope so but I dought it. Gota go mine some salt.

Planted Propaganda

Planted Propaganda
It's a bad idea, whether or not it violates regulations. Too bad the Pentagon won't say that.
Monday, October 23, 2006; Page A20


THE DEFENSE Department inspector general has concluded that having a Pentagon contractor secretly pay Iraqi journalists and other news organizations to run positive news stories about the war doesn't violate any laws or regulations.
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If I don't blog much in the next few weeks it's because I've run onto some unexpected income and will be out spending it.
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Anyway, I guess I've been looking at this whole war in Iraq the wrong way. It gives our soldiers something that you just can't buy, real live combat experience. Some say we should cut and run but staying the course is looking better and better. If you are an American male here in the states, every day that we stay in Iraq ups your odds of finding a single female (if you don't mind hooking up with a widow).
Another problem with leaving now is that we still haven't found the weapons of mass destruction, they must be there somewhere. Our beloved president saw an intelligence report that said so!
Check back here often to find more positive news stories about the war in Iraq.

Ryder rents trucks

The pilot who took the photos wishes (for the obvious reasons) to remain anonymous, but these photos are purported to be of an area near Camp Gruber-Braggs, Oklahoma in early April of 1995. Needless to say, just days after this photo was taken, the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City was destroyed (along with internal cutter charges) by a Ryder truck full of explosives.

NEW! In a recently discovered news article written by the Washington Post on June 17th, 1997, the Oklahoma National Guard authenticates the following photos as being exactly what they appear to be, photos of a Ryder truck in a clandestine base at Camp Gruber-Braggs.

Majority of Iraqi youth smarter than Bush

Majority of Iraqi youth wants U.S. out By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 7 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Majorities of Iraqi youth in Arab regions of the country believe security would improve and violence decrease if the U.S.-led forces left immediately, according to a State Department poll that provides a window into the grim warnings provided to policymakers.

Thank goodness for e-mail alerts!

Thank goodness for e-mail alerts! I was blogging when I noticed that I had a new e-mail, I'm glad I got this right away.
"Elsewhere in Monologue Planet Gnome Bloghaus Design Bell Music Together Homeabout Usabout Mission Uswhats or Newwhats Newpress all is."

A blog by any other name would still smell like your computer screen

I've recently seen some blogs that don't allow comments, at all. I thought the blogs that have to approve comments were rather wimpy but to not allow them at all?
Oh well, to each his own I suppose.
It strikes me as odd when a spell checker for blogs, thousands of blogs, doesn't know the word blog! I notice strange things I guess.

Sometimes they fight back

Two Men Make a Citizen's Arrest In Sherman

Posted: Oct 13, 2006 07:38 AM

A citizen's arrest in Sherman has resulted in hero status for two local men. A would-be armed robbery was foiled yesterday afternoon on Sunset street in Sherman. Chelsea Hover has the story.

Just before 12:30, the suspect went into Sunset Food Mart and put a few items on the counter, like he was going to make a purchase. Then, he threw a cup of scolding hot chocolate in the clerks face, went around the counter and allegedly pulled out a large knife. He threatened the store clerk for money. But instead of paying, the clerk wrestled the robber to the ground, and with the assistance of a customer, held him down until the Police arrived.

58-year old James Douglas Hayes was arrested for aggrevated robbery. He is in the Grayson County Jail tonight. The clerk was taken to Wilson N Jones for minor burns on his face from the hot chocolate.

We are constantly adjusting our tactics

"We are constantly adjusting our tactics so that we achieve the objective, and right now the objective is to cause a civil war, help terrorist recruiters and to get a lot of our soldiers killed." "Mission accomplished!" Bush said in an Associated Press interview.

Bush restricting rights

Bush signs bill restricting rights for terror detainees



I just hope that all these bills restricting the rights of terrorist, clearly defines terrorist!
{We caught this man Jay-walking, clearly an act of terror!}

Wow, I had a thought!

yellowdoggrannie's post about gays in Texas got me to thinking. I have an idea that could help a small percentage of gay couples in states that won't recognize gay marriages. If a gay male couple and a gay female couple live together in a stable and trusting relationship. What if the males and females were to get married? Then if a spouse died, the children wouldn't be "up for grabs", custody would go to the other spouse no questions asked.

"Foley Exemption"

Lawyer: Foley to name alleged abuser By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 20 minutes ago


WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Mark Foley plans to reveal the name of a clergyman he says abused him as a teenager, a move his attorney said would deflate claims the former congressman fabricated the allegations as an excuse for sending sexually explicit e-mails to teenage pages.


Gerald Richman, Foley's civil attorney, said Tuesday that Foley has been "keeping this deep dark secret inside of him for many years."

"He's dealing with this issue, but it's going to take a lot of time."

Foley, 52, a Florida Republican, resigned last month after he was confronted with the e-mails. He has not been charged with a crime.

Some have charged that Foley made up the allegations as an excuse or to elicit public sympathy.

Richman said Foley has not told him the name of the clergyman but has told another attorney. He said the clergyman is still alive.

Foley has been in seclusion at an alcohol rehabilitation facility at an undisclosed location.
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Child molester caught red-handed. Charges dropped because he used the "Foley Exemption" Police say as soon as he was caught the molester stated "It's okay! A member of the clergy once made a pass at me and I drink too much!"

Our freedoms-another ones gone-and another ones gone- another one bites the dust

Congress Chooses to Legislate Morality with Internet Gambling Ban

Tens of Millions of Americans Dealt a Losing Hand


(Washington, D.C.) Over the past weekend, a bill was passed by Congress that essentially bans Internet gambling within the United States.



Tennessee Senator and supposed presidential hopeful, Bill Frist, snuck the legislation into a port security bill which passed with only two dissenting votes. The new regulations, which will go into effect when George W. Bush signs the bill, will ban wire transfers to online gaming companies.



Supporters of the legislation accuse online gaming companies of being involved in money laundering operations and, according to the Washington Post, even fronts for terrorist groups.



"This goes beyond the absurd," exclaimed Shane Cory, executive director of the Libertarian National Committee. "Using the supposed War on Terror in defense of this legislation designed to legislate morality is sickening. Using this same reasoning, Congress should close Vegas as 9/11 Hijacker Mohamed Atta made a least two trips to the 'Sin City' before setting out to murder thousands of Americans."



In addition to citing money laundering and terrorism as excuses for the new Internet restrictions championed by Republican politicians, proponents also state that online gambling targets children and gambling addicts.



"Once again, we see politicians in Washington attempting to protect us from what they see as wrong in this world. I have news for them: Americans are smart people who can take care of themselves AND their children," continued Cory. "In restricting Internet activities, I think it would make much more sense to ban instant messaging within Congressional offices rather than ban the online hobbies of millions of tax-paying citizens."



The Libertarian Party is working to stop poor legislation such as the ban on Internet gambling by electing principled and reasoned Libertarian leaders to public office at the local, state and federal levels of government.

Ghost Picture

In about 1974 my parents and I went on vacation and while in Lexington, KY we visited the city cemetery. I had a new camera and was snapping pictures like I was on assignment for National Geographic. I took several pictures in the cemetery, I think I took this one for the pretty flowers and because it was the grave of a Todd as in Mary Todd Lincoln. After we got back home we got the film developed and were quite surprised by this pic. I definitely remember that the pic was near the middle of the roll and that no other pictures had anything out of the ordinary. My daughter pointed out a possible face near the center of the swirl. It took me a while to see it but it looks like a girl with long hair leaning over maybe with her arms crossed in front of her, as if to hug someone who is not there. But even if there is no face I think it's pretty cool. It's kind of extra cool to me since I like parapsychology.

What is Network Neutrality?

The phrase Network Neutrality describes networks that don't favor some destinations over others, or classes of application (for example the World Wide Web) over others (such as online gaming or Voice over IP).

Advocates of network neutrality claim that large telecommunications providers are attempting to unfairly profit from their investment in residential networks:
"[These companies] want to be Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow and which won't load at all"..."tax content providers to guarantee speedy delivery of their data."..."to discriminate in favor of their own search engines, Internet phone services, and streaming video —while slowing down or blocking their competitors"..."to reserve express lanes for their own content and services.

Network neutrality regulations are supported by large Internet content companies (e.g., Google, Yahoo, and EBay), consumers-rights groups such as Consumers Union, high-tech trade associations such the American Electronics Association (AeA), politically liberal blogs, and some elements of the Religious Right.

Opposition to network neutrality regulations generally comes from large communication carriers, manufacturers of network equipment (e.g., Cisco Systems), and free-market advocacy organizations such as the Cato Institute.

Did Bush con Christians?

Ex-Bush Aide: White House Officials Called Evangelicals 'Ridiculous'New Book, 'Tempting Faith' Accuses Administration Officials of Bashing Evangelical Christians

David Kuo, former deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, has written a new book that claims members of the Bush administration mocked evangelical Christian leaders behind their backs. (ABC News)

Book Excerpt: David Kuo's 'Tempting Faith'

Oct. 16, 2006 — For the White House, the charges coming their way this morning in the new book "Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction" must seem anything but heaven-sent.

The accusations are coming from an unlikely source: David Kuo, former deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, which channels federal dollars to religious charities.

Kuo says the office was misused to rally evangelical Christians, the Republican base voters, to get GOP politicians elected. Not only that, Kuo claims Bush officials mocked evangelical leaders behind their backs, alleging that in the office of political guru Karl Rove they were called "the nuts."

"National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as 'ridiculous', 'out of control,' and just plain 'goofy,' " Kuo writes.

"You name the important Christian leader, and I have heard them mocked by serious people in serious places," Kuo told "60 Minutes" Sunday night.

That mockery, he added, included the Rev. Pat Robertson being called "insane," the Rev. Jerry Falwell being called "ridiculous" and comments that Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family "had to be controlled."

James Towey, Kuo's former boss in the faith-based initiative office, suggested Kuo is bearing false witness.

What the book seems to be "describing is kind of a personal animus against evangelicals and a kind of personal insulting behavior," Towey said. "President Bush would never have tolerated that, and I never saw it in four and a half years."


Kuo says that he never heard President Bush himself say anything negative about Christians, but he believes many Christians have put too much faith in political leaders.

"I think the Christians have viewed this president, with a lot of help from the White House, as a pastor-in-chief, as opposed to a commander-in-chief," Kuo said today on "Good Morning America."

"And Christians need to understand that there's a difference between George W. Bush who is a great man, a good, compassionate man, and President Bush, a politician."

Kuo says it should come as no surprise that any administration plays politics.

"But my point is even in this White House, you are loved for your votes, not anything else. That's what you need to know," Kuo said. "I say it within this broader argument, Christians have put way too much emphasis on politics."

Welcome to the Corn Field

I saw that Dick Cheney wants the TVs in his hotel rooms to be set on Fox News only. This kind of reminds me of and old Twilight Zone episode. The one where the little boy is all powerful and can send you to the "Corn Field" if you say, or even think anything bad about him. So here is a post for Dick.
Dick, that was a good thing you did, starting a war to help out all the nice stock holders at Halibuton. Why the American people don't mind that there loved ones are getting killed, as long as it makes you happy. I wish you were president instead of George! People don't think it's bad of you to be against gays even though your own daughter is gay, they think it shows how strong your morals are. Some people think that you and George know more about 9-11 than you're saying, but they're just nuts that need to be locked up and silenced. Some people even think that FOX news identified Foley as a Democrat on purpose, but I know it was an honest mistake, Fox News would never do anything to misrepresent the facts! Well, keep up the good work, you know we all love you!

bradblog

Eat your veggies and smoke your pot

Pot Compound Protects Against Alcohol-Induced Brain Damage

May 26, 2005 - Bethesda, MD, USA



Bethesda, MD: Administration of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) protects against ethanol-induced neurotoxicity in rats, according to clinical trial data published in the current issue of the journal Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) reported that the co-administration of CBD with ethanol reduced alcohol-induced cell death in the hippocampus and etorhinal cortex of the brain in a dose-dependent manner by up to 60 percent. "This study provides the first demonstration of CBD as an in vivo neuroprotectant ... in preventing binge ethanol-induced brain injury," authors wrote.

Researchers hypothesized that CBD is neuroprotective because it possesses anti-oxidant properties. Anti-oxidants, such as vitamin C and vitamin E, are believed to help the body protect against the deleterious effects of free radicals (unstable atoms that can damage cells and may accelerate the progression of cancer and age-related diseases).

Previous research performed by NIMH researchers demonstrated that both THC and CBD protect rat brain cells against glutamate toxicity (a neurochemical that is released at toxic levels during a stroke or severe head trauma). An Italian research team has also demonstrated CBD to protect against the brain damage caused by ischemia (a reduction of blood flow to the brain that can cause cell death).

Researchers have also noted that CBD and THC can induce tumor regression, including brain cancer, in rodents and human cells.

US federal law prohibits the medical use of cannabinoids except for synthetic THC.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, "Comparison of cannabidiol, antioxidants and diuretics in reversing binge ethanol-induced neurotoxicity," appears in the May issue of the journal Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Eat your veggies and drink your coffee

Drinking coffee may shield the liver from the worst ravages of alcohol, a study of more than 125,000 people suggests. The risk of developing alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver dropped with each cup of coffee they drank per day.

"Consuming coffee seems to have some protective benefits against alcoholic cirrhosis, and the more coffee a person consumes the less risk they seem to have of being hospitalised or dying of alcoholic cirrhosis," says Arthur Klatsky at Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Programme in Oakland, California, US, who led the study.

His team identified people who had enrolled on a private health care plan in northern California between 1978 and 1985. On enrolment, the subjects had also completed health questionnaires on the amount of alcohol, tea and coffee they drank over the course of a year. Some had also had their blood tested for levels of certain liver enzymes which are released into the bloodstream when the liver is diseased or damaged.

The researchers identified how many of these people had gone on to develop cirrhosis – a total of 330 people, including 199 with alcoholic cirrhosis.

People drinking one cup of coffee per day were, on average, 20% less likely to develop alcoholic cirrhosis. For people drinking two or three cups the reduction was 40%, and for those drinking four or more cups of coffee a day the reduction in risk was 80%.

10-15-1951

Mexican chemist Luis Miramontes synthesized the first oral contraceptive (1951).

I thought I knew all about how women get pregnant, but oral? I guess it has something to do with swallowing. :)

Arlington Hotel Hot Springs, Arkansas

"I was sitting at the bar talking to the bartender, and I asked the hotel's ghost stories. She said that she'd heard of a few things like that, and began to relate a few stories - what I noticed, though, was that her voice was very low, as if she was afraid that someone would hear. Whenever someone came by, she stopped talking and waited for them to leave. She told me that when she first started working there, a particular bottle of wine would continually jump off the bar, as if some unseen hand was knocking it off on purpose. She went on to say that many customers had seen this occur."

"Customers had also come up to the bar and told her stories of people in old fashioned clothes walking down the hall, or strolling through the lobby, and simply disappearing. The strangest thing, though, is that she said there were several rooms in the hotel that have been permanently locked, and neither visitors or staff are allowed to enter. Some have been permanently walled up."

ghostinmysuitcase