Why is it so acceptable to America-bash? If an American were to desparage another culture or country, RACIST IMPERIALIST CAPITALIST PIG HOW DARE YOU!!! Yet it seems many non-Americans find it totally ethical to call us assholes, ignorant, mindless, what have you. I cannot think of one American that I have ever known in my life that would insult another country or culture as quickly and as easily and as thoughtlessly as I read and hear us insulted, my friends. While it is wrong for US to judge a society or country based on a few people or incidents or their government, it is totally okay for them to judge us on any criteria they see fit. Why is that? Oh, so it is alright for you to decide what kind of person I am or what I believe because of where I live, because we are all alike. I see. And who has the small mind? Who is the racist? Who is the xenophobe?

Any foreign visitor who has spent any time here and met real Americans would know that we are compassionate, thoughtful, caring people. We should not be defined by our government's foreign policy or by the entertainment industry. I appreciate the many friends I have made overseas and in the US through this blogging experience. It is through you that I've learned that the US is not universally hated, that not everyone thinks we are all wealthy and arrogant and war-hungry. It is through you that I've learned that the Muslims I see on tv or read about in the papers do not represent you. You have the crazy folk just like we do and no one should be judged by their color or religion or their certifiably insane. When it comes down to it, we are pretty much the same. You have love affairs and heartaches and career worries and concern for your children. You are just trying to live your life, hoping for a better world. Just like us. Some may try to tell us that we are so different. You and I know we are not. Those who try to amplify minor differences are trying to keep us separate because they are insecure in their identities. They need it all to be black and white. Life isn't like that. It may be easier to think that way but it's not reality. The reality is that it's all different shades of grey. I don't believe in Jesus or God or Allah or Buddha but most of you do. And that's ok. I don't need to make you think as I do and you don't need to make me believe as you do. It's ok for us to be different. It's good. It makes life interesting. It's what makes life the adventure that it is. I wouldn't have it any other way. Why would anyone?

Query

Let's have a little informal poll, shall we? At this point and time in America, who is hated most?

1. Homosexuals
2. Illegal Immigrants
3. Muslims

I think it's a pretty tight race between gays and Muslims. But that's just my opinion.

Recently seen bumper stickers

Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam

The problems we face will not be solved by the minds that created them

Sarcasm at its best

Updated and revised
Saw the repeat and here's what she actually said, word for word.

Rosanne Barr on the U.S. military

The world is our bitch and we will bust a cap in her ass if she doesn't do what we say.

I've come to realize something. I dislike many things about myself. I'm fifteen pounds heavier than I'd like, I don't know how to wear make-up and really need to start, my hair is always unstyled, and I haven't a clue as to how to dress fashionably. I am awkward. Truthfully I don't know how I landed Jd. I'm not like other women. I'm not beautiful. When I go out I feel like I stand out and not in a good way. I see the women who look so together, the ones people look at admiringly. I feel like a dork in department stores with the trendy clothes and perfumes. I'm embarrassed of myself. I wear mens shoes. Most of my clothes are hand-me-downs from my sisters and friends so they are a few years dated. I never used to care. I'm starting to. Just once I want to be one of those together women. I grew up in a very very small village. I didn't have a mind or heart for fashion like the other girls. I never cared much for material things. Until I moved to the city I never knew that there was so much to want. Somehow I wish I didn't know this now. I wish I was still unselfconscious and unaware. Please don't read this and try to assure me of my inner beauty. I don't want to hear any nice things about myself. I just want to get these thoughts out of my head.

"We've never ever moved together yet so beautiful." Clouds - Cibo Matto

"There's a difference between a philosophy and a bumper sticker."-Charles Shultz

God is a concept
By which we measure
Our pain
I'll say it again
God is a concept
By which we measure
Our pain

I don't believe in magic
I don't believe in I-ching
I don't believe in Bible
I don't believe in tarot
I don't believe in Hitler
I don't believe in Jesus
I don't believe in Kennedy
I don't believe in Buddha
I don't believe in Mantra
I don't believe in Gita
I don't believe in Yoga
I don't believe in kings
I don't believe in Elvis
I don't believe in Zimmerman
I don't believe in Beatles
I just believe in me
Yoko and me
And that's reality

The dream is over
What can I say?
The dream is over
Yesterday
I was the Dreamweaver
But now I'm reborn
I was the Walrus
But now I'm John
And so dear friends
You'll just have to carry on
The dream is over

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Feelin' the love...

You are all so sweet. I have recovered fully from my nerve in neck problem without doctors or drugs. I have been better for a few days but have been caught up in my latest obsession, decluttering and organizing my home. This will be a shocking admission, I'm certain. I am not tidy. Clean, yes. Together and tidy, not so much. I am forever losing important papers, my driver's license, etc. I put something down and it is as if it disappears. It doesn't help that I am also terribly forgetful, partly due to my meds, partly because I always have been. I always forget one thing wherever I go. It never fails. But I am ready to turn over a new leaf. I'm tired of losing things and I'm tired of annoying Jd. I've borrowed several home organizing books from the library for ideas and helpful tips. I've made a little progress. Time will tell if it sticks.

Some random thoughts now.

1. Does it strike any other Americans as odd that gas prices are suddenly dropping so drastically? Hmmm....I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that some big elections are coming up in November. Sure. Right. It's just a coincidence. They must think we are idiots. I have to say that I am pleased that all but one of the candidates I voted for won the recent primary election. Now if I can only convince Jd to vote...He says he served his country for four years, he has the right to choose not to vote. I can't believe I ended up with someone so politically apathetic.

2. I keep seeing this commercial on tv for "New Orleans-style" rice dishes. It's all Mardi Gras and jazz band, "have a taste of New Orleans". I told Jd if they really want a taste of New Orleans they ought to show folks living in flood damaged homes full of mold, without access to running water, electricity, medical care and food. The homicide and suicide rate in New Orleans is going through the roof but nobody seems to care anymore. We've moved on, it's old boring news now. So what if thousands are still homeless and destitute? Have some rice!

3. There's a woman in my neighborhood we call "Meth Mom". Everytime we see her she is always tweaked and dragging two somewhat neglected kids behind her. For those who are lucky enough not to know and see this shit, Meth is one nasty drug. Extremely addictive and extremely destructive. It's made from decongestant, antifreeze, and plenty of other deadly, unsavory ingrediants. Users are sometimes called "tweakers" because when using, they always twitch and fidget. Meth also REALLY rots teeth. Anyways, her older kid goes to the same school as my son. I went to pick him up from school the other day and there she was with her younger one. The kid was in pajamas and barefoot, hair uncombed. It was fifty degrees and windy. Meth mom was in flip-flops, smoking a cigarette and PREGNANT. I feel for her kids...it's not their fault but they are definately paying the price. I want to help but what can I do? Call the cops or childrens' services because I suspect the mother is a meth addict? I don't have any proof, other than her tweaks,bad teeth and the fact that she looks like she hasn't eaten in a year. Yeah, I am willing to put money on it. But is my gut instinct enough to go on? Has anyone else ever been in this kind of position? What did you do? Would you do anything or just hold your tongue?

Wake up American Idol idiots

The media is using 9-11 to get ratings. The government is using 9-11 to further terrify the citizens into complacently giving up their privacy and civil rights, to support an unjustified war, to ignore the billions of dollars spent on war while social programs in the US dry up and die. They use it to control YOU.

As the fifth anniversary of 9-11 grows closer, I am more and more disgusted. I am tired of the damn movies and tv shows reliving it over and over and over again. Don't get me wrong, I am fully aware of what a horrific event is was. The loss of life and the way it was taken is staggering. It was nothing other than evil, cold-blooded mass murder and terrorism by the true definition of the word. What I cannot stomach is seeing this awful tragedy set to a soundtrack like some stupid-ass movie. It's not a movie. It's not tv. It was a real event, those were real people, not Hollywood actors. It has forever scarred us. The media is having a field day with this even five years later. It sickens me. They treat this like a ratings blitz. ENOUGH ALREADY!!! I don't think anyone who was alive will ever forget what happened. We never should. It is now part of American history and should be treated with dignity and honesty. Instead it is made glossy and sensationalized and censored and almost pretty. A tale of good vs. evil, a story of regular people turned into heros. What the media ought to be doing is working every angle trying to uncover every bit of fact, showing it as it truly was--without the use of actors, music clips, and slow motion camera tricks. They should be digging into the causes of that day, of the embarassing impotent failure of the US government on EVERY level. I don't for one minute believe the bullshit the government tries to serve as truth. We've seen time and time again that the current administration of full of liars and thieves.

Here is my statement to the media and to the government: You are gutless, lying, soulless bastards and you ought to go fuck yourselves and try to figure out how you can live with your blatant exploitation of such tragedy. How do you look at yourself in the mirror without a shred of integrity? You make me ashamed to be called an American, even to be a human.
NOT EVERYTHING SHOULD BE PACKAGED AND COMMERCIALIZED ASSHOLES.

'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin Killed by Stingray

The first time my best friend and I ever saw this man on tv, we came up with a nickname for him. It's not very catchy but it is appropriate. Good-bye, Fucking Crazy Australian.

Sept. 4, 2006 — Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.

Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" when he swam near one of the animals, which have a poisonous barb on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.

"He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the time.

Discovery News

On a more personal note, I'd also like to say good-bye to Cary. You always treated me like your own daughter, even taking me on family vacations. You always made me feel welcome. Although I hadn't seen you in years, I never forgot you. I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch with you and your family and I am so sorry for their loss. You were too young to die. I hope you are feeling better now, wherever you are.

Bush Urges Nation To Be Quiet For A Minute While He Tries To Think

WASHINGTON, DC—In a nationally televised address Monday, President Bush urged all citizens, regardless of race, creed, color, or political affiliation, "to quiet down for just one minute" so he could have "a chance to think."

"Every American has an inalienable right to free speech and self-expression," Bush said. "Nonetheless, I call upon the American people to hold off on it for, say, 60 seconds. Just long enough for me to get this all sorted out in my head."

"Please," Bush added.

While the president said achieving a unilateral peace and quiet "would not be easy," he hoped that citizens would respect his wish and work toward a temporary cease-talk so that he could can hear his own thoughts "for once."

"Make no mistake: It will take patience and sacrifice," Bush said. "But such drastic measures could lead to a better tomorrow for all of us, especially for your commander in chief."

Bush then closed his speech by exhaling sharply, tightly closing his eyes, and massaging his temples. "I just—Christ, I just need a goddamn minute, you know?" he said.

The presidential call for national silence came as little surprise following weeks of rumors from White House sources that Bush appeared increasingly distracted and wearied by the ever-pervasive noise. Excerpts from an unedited videotaped meeting made public last Thursday revealed a frustrated Bush rhetorically asking Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan how "the leader of the free world was supposed to get any work done around here with all this volume."

Assuring the public it "can make as much noise as [it] wants" as soon as the Bush-proposed national minute of silence concludes, Chief Of Staff Josh Bolten said that the White House was making "every effort" to accommodate Bush's wishes.

"Currently, the president's calls are being bounced back to the West Wing call center, and all televisions and radios on White House property have been switched off," said Bolten, who added that staffers moved Bush family dog Barney from the Oval Office after Bush called the Scottish terrier's heavy panting "intolerable."

Several world leaders, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chinese President Hu Jintao, reacted to Bush's speech by openly wondering if Bush's request pertained to them.

"I think he meant everyone, allies or not," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. "So, please, whether you are the prime minister of India or the German chancellor, try to tone it down. Also, if you are an Iraqi insurgent, a leader of Hezbollah, a member of al-Qaeda, or a general enemy of the U.S., hush."

Bush's plea was backed by leading Republicans, who urged their constituents to comply with the president's request to "be quiet for seriously, like, two seconds."

"In these trying times for our president, we must show respect for his office, even if it means turning our car radios down, shushing our children, and turning off all fans," Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) said. "Heck, the man just needs one measly minute."

Capitol Hill Democrats, however, have criticized Bush's call for silence, with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) calling it "yet another example of Bush's inability to connect with everyday Americans, many of whom rarely, if ever, receive a moment to themselves."

"Where's their moment to think?" Pelosi said.

While Bush deemed the attempts at quiet "helpful and encouraging," he called for "literally one more second" of complete silence, saying he was "very close to getting it together and almost had it" before being interrupted by the sound of a car alarm moments ago.

Am I angry too? HELL YES!!!!

I read this and agreed with a great deal of it. The parts I omitted, well, she has a right to her opinion. Here are the parts of her letter that I think rocked.

I Am Angry
by Susan Fassanella

I am a 51-year-old woman. I have been married to the same man since 1976. I am the secretary/office manager for a small legal firm in the D.C. suburbs. My husband manages a wine and spirits store. I have two sons, aged 26 and 22. After realizing it wasn’t possible to support themselves and the government at the same time, both returned to the nuclear nest. Along with most people in my economic situation, I believe I am living what is supposed to be the American dream. I know why I am an angry American. I am frightened because America isn’t the same country it was when I was my children’s age. Allow me to share with you some of the reasons why I am an angry American.

I am angry because my government has been taken over by liars, thieves, thugs, deviants, and micromanagers. The propaganda it produces rivals that of the most fascist dictatorship.

I am angry that my government perceives my intelligence to be that of a jar of pickles incapable of making the smallest decision.

I am angry that my government takes it upon itself to shove its clucking nose into my pantry, medicine chest, bedroom, family room, doctor’s office, workplace, and everywhere else it thinks I need guidance to keep me safe from myself.

I am angry that the will of the American people is ignored on every issue imaginable. If voting really mattered, it would have been outlawed long ago.

I am angry that I am called a conspiracy theorist because I dare to think on my own and question authority and its lies.

I am angry that the more I read about 9-11 the more it looks like an inside job that was allowed to happen, enabling the Patriot Act to be conveniently enacted into law with the ensuing "war on terrah" following closely on its heels.

I am angry that the evil puppets in power think laws are created for the peon masses and it is their right to ignore the ones that get in the way of their agenda.

I am angry that the media has sold its soul to the evil forces running the world.

I am angry that my "leaders" have taken to calling my country the "homeland." It reeks of socialism.

I am angry that my government has invaded yet another sovereign nation and caused untold death and destruction based on a flimsy lie. I am expected to believe that weapons of mass destruction threatened my freedom and then I am told several years and billions of squandered dollars later that a massive intelligence network got the wrong information. A select group of businesses profit enormously from war. When Bush announced his intention to save Iraq from itself and that its oil would pay for the overthrow of Hussein, I laughed so hard I nearly choked. I remember the instability in the Middle East during the 1970s and the gas "shortages" that followed. I knew which direction gas prices would go. How stupid does Mr. Bush and his cronies think I am?

I am angry that the world stands silently by while my government bombs foreign lands with weapons containing depleted uranium and the news magazines wonder on their front covers why lung cancer has increased six-fold in the last year.

I am angry that Americans accept as gospel the propaganda that is routinely cranked out of the Washington lie machine. The lies become more transparent and brazen with each passing year, yet the only thing that seems to matter in living rooms across America is who will be the next American Idol.

I am angry that my life doesn’t belong to me anymore.

I am angry that I am required to obtain permission, fill out mandated paperwork in quadruplicate, and obtain the correct license or permit for just about everything imaginable. The tentacles of government are strangling my freedom, choice, and privacy at an alarming rate. The wrath of the machine is a constant threat should I dare do anything without leaving a neon paper trail and of course ignorance of the law is never an excuse.

I am angry that property rights are a thing of the past thanks to court-approved eminent domain theft.

I am angry that the Constitution is routinely declared irrelevant making it easier for a fascist police state and new world order to take over.

I am angry that legislation is in the works that will require me to carry "papers" to "prove" who I am. Another coming law I will ignore.

I am angry that my right to own and carry a firearm is drastically regulated and restricted.

I am angry every time I see a young person detained on the side of the road while cops paw through their possessions looking for anything that could enable them to be arrested and dragged through the criminal justice system. This has become so commonplace it is now the accepted norm.

I am angry when I read stories of Americans terrorized in airports and treated like common criminals by government minions after they have paid for the right to travel within a private system, yet pilots are blocked from carrying firearms.

I am angry that America has become a nation of busybodies. We are constantly bombarded with messages to be on the lookout for terrorists around every corner, report "suspicious activity," and rat on our neighbor whenever the opportunity presents itself. Is this not how the Nazis gained control of Germany and then most of Europe?

I am angry that the government requires me to sign a form every time I purchase a prescription. Whose business is it that I choose to take a thyroid medication, an antibiotic, a painkiller, an appetite suppressant, or any other substance? Am I dying of cancer? Am I facing debilitating chronic pain? Do I simply want to get HIGH? Heaven forbid someone out there might get their hands on something that might make them FEEL GOOD! No substance should be illegal or unobtainable. If a person wishes to self-medicate, that is their right. The government should not be in the business of criminalizing personal choices of any kind as long as those choices don’t infringe on another’s rights.

I am angry when I am told I am a bigot when I thumb my nose at political correctness.

I am angry when I wonder whether an expressed belief or opinion could land me in litigation if someone doesn’t like what I said and wants to silence my voice.

I am weary of being made to feel guilty for being an American.

And finally, I am angry that after working my entire adult life, I don’t see retirement in my life’s picture. My husband and I earn over a hundred thousand dollars a year, but by the time we pay federal taxes, state taxes, social security taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes, energy taxes, telecommunication taxes, savings taxes, fees, permits, etc., there isn’t much left. But please don’t think that I mind supporting every deadbeat and down-and-outer with his hand out for a piece of my pie that I worked so hard for. I love supporting the world. After all, it’s the American way, isn’t it?

July 5, 2006

Susan Fassanella was born in Washington, D.C. and resides in Frederick County, Maryland with her husband and two sons.

Anyone else want to hide from the boogeyman under the blankets?

I'm really sick of politics, world events, and war but found these articles and had to post them. I'm not going on record with an opinion about any of them--just thought I'd share them with you folk, see what you think.

IS ISRAEL BLACKMAILING AMERICA?
Israel, purportedly our friend, has been spying on us all. And we're not talking about individual spooks like Jonathan Pollard, or small-time networks such as the 140 Israelis arrested by the FBI prior to 9/11, or the 60 arrested since (including 5 arrested who were cheering and celebrating as the World Trade Towers collapsed).

It turns out that Israel has had a potential wiretap on every phone in America for years, along with the ability to monitor and record who any person is calling, anywhere in America; information of great value even if one does not listen to the calls themselves. Amdocs, Inc. the company which sub contracts billing and directory services for phone companies around the world, including 90 percent of American phone companies, is owned by Israeli interests. Yet another company, Comverse Infosys, is suspected of having built a "back door" into the equipment permanently installed into the phone system that allows instant eavesdropping by law enforcement agencies on any phone in America. This includes yours.

Bush to anti-war widow: "There was no point in us having a philosophical discussion about the pros and cons of the war"
One anti-war widow said she used the opportunity to voice her objections to Bush's policies.

"I said it's time to stop the bleeding," said Hildi Halley, whose husband, Army National Guard Capt. Patrick Damon, died June 15 in Afghanistan. "It's time to swallow our pride and find a solution."

She said Bush responding by saying "there was no point in us having a philosophical discussion about the pros and cons of the war."

Israel's 'Moral High Ground'
It keeps getting lower…
Thomas Ricks, reporter, Washington Post: "I think it will be. But I think civilian casualties are also part of the battlefield play for both sides here. One of the things that is going on, according to some U.S. military analysts, is that Israel purposely has left pockets of Hezbollah rockets in Lebanon, because as long as they're being rocketed, they can continue to have a sort of moral equivalency in their operations in Lebanon."

Kurtz: "Hold on, you're suggesting that Israel has deliberately allowed Hezbollah to retain some of its fire power, essentially for PR purposes, because having Israeli civilians killed helps them in the public relations war here?"

Ricks: "Yes, that's what military analysts have told me."

Matthews: Neocons ‘May Be Right’ When They Say Bush ‘Has To Hit’ Iran
Today on MSNBC, Chris Matthews hosted a segment entitled “Is Iran Next?” Matthews said that Bill Kristol and other neoconservatives “may be right” when they argue that Bush “has to hit” Iran militarily. Watch it:

Russia and Central Asian Allies Conduct War Games in Response to US Threats
Barely acknowledged by the Western media, military exercises organized by Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan under the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, (CSTO) were launched on the 24th of August. These war games, officially tagged as part of a counter terrorism program, are in direct response to US military threats in the region including the planned attacks against Iran.

Thanks to What really happened for the links.

Psst...Anonymous commentor

I've given my replies to your ignorant and blanket statements. Again, don't come here, to my blog or to my beautiful country. If you do return to my blog have a bit of courage and leave a name or a link.

Updated:
You've really pissed me off, Mr. or Ms. Anonymous. In general I try to be an open minded and patient person but lately I just haven't been in the mood. Here's my little love letter to you.

Dear Too Ashamed or Cowardly to Even Use an Alias:
Where do you get off accusing America of being evil, of being the cause of all the world's problems? What fucking utopian country do you hail from? Let me give you a quick rundown of a few of the world's other "problem causers" asshole.

Russia, China, North Korea, South Korea, India, Indonesia, France, Germany, Ireland, Jordan, Syria, Saudia Arabia, Iraq, Mexico, Bolivia, Israel, Spain, Uganda, the Congo, the Sudan, Nigeria, Iran...the Jews, the Christians, the Muslims, the Hindis, the Scientologists...the list could continue until every country and people in the world is named. Can you honestly give me one country or ethinic group that hasn't contributed some bullshit to the world? If you can then you are a liar. No one is without fault for the state of the world and that includes YOU. What have you done to improve it? Anonymously post your own bigoted and ignorant opinions all over cyberspace? Gee...how helpful. How lucky we are to have your insight to guide us.

One more thing...either learn to use spellcheck or learn how to spell.

Last night I watched a "60 Minutes" interview with the president of Iran. It was very enlightening. Ahmadinejad is quite a curious character. He comes across as intelligent and seems to want to appear rational and reasonable. He reminds me of a wolf. His answers were evasive, cunning--he never allowed himself to get caught in a verbal corner and he never really answered a single question. It was obvious that underneath his pleasant demeanor and smiles lie something very different. At one point he was giving advice to GW, telling him to "love the people" (of other countries and presumably his own). Now I've never been shy about my opinions of GW Bush. I don't like him or his politics. However I nearly laughed when I heard Ahmadinejad saying this. This coming from a man whose country cruelly punishes and executes their people. Public hangings, stonings, whippings....it's like something out of the middle ages. Adultery is a crime punishable by death as is homosexuality. From what I've read men are the ones most often executed for homosexual acts and women are killed most often for adultery. Un-f*ckingbelievable. Perhaps President Ahmadinejad should take his own advice, yes?

An open letter to my friends in the Middle East

Dear Friends,

I have been very troubled by current events in your region. In my thirty-one years on this planet I can never remember a time when your part of the globe saw true peace. There is no peace in the Middle East, only lulls in between the wars. Now the flames are burning bright again and showing no signs of dying down. I'm afraid that it will only get worse. Over the past year I feel I've gotten to know you. I know you are no more responsible for what is happening that I am for what GW does. You are rational, sane, compassionate people. You do not deserve to live in the shadow of war. You should be able to go to your job safely, raise your children, and live a normal life.

It is my opinion that it's time to realize the extremists on every side will not let go. They will not quit until every bullet is fired, every bomb detonated, every "enemy" is dead. And they don't care if they kill you in the process. You are disposable. Your life has no meaning and no value to them. Perhaps it is time to think about leaving. South America, the US, Canada, or Europe are compartively quiet places. Just a thought.

I know you may say you cannot leave your homeland or your family. Adopt another homeland and bring your family with you. My home has a spare bedroom. I will do anything I can to help you out. If you seriously want to come, contact me. We'll find a way to get you here. Maybe someday your homeland will be peaceful and you can return if you like. But please consider my suggestion and my offer in the meantime.

Every day you are in my thoughts and I wish nothing but good things for you.

With deepest sincerity,
Jane

My Time

Yeah the rain came
I said hey buddy,
Buddy the streets are a snake skin
I belong
Out there walkin'
Nobody's stoppin' to bother me
They hide
Outside, the ceilings
Cryin -
Listen to the sound
Of the gutters runnin'
Wash this dirty town
All fronts and no backs
Give me my time
Let me be
Outside
Under the ceiling
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me

Outside you know
I listen to the sounds
Of the gutters runnin'
Wash this dirty town
All fronts and no backs
Give me my time
Let me be
Outside
Under the ceilings
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me

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1%

All the people I know
They wanna' be left alone
Some people
I don't know?
They won't leave you alone
I guess you gotta'
Be just - be just like them
You see the biggest gang I know
They call the government
And a gang is a weapon
That you trade your mind in for
You gotta' be just - be just like them

The gang
And the government
Are no different
The gang
And the government
Are no different
The gang
And the government
Are no different
That makes me
1%
That makes me
1%

Trouble comes down
Like a foot steppin heavy
Shake your fist at the bitch
Or wave your money
You gotta be right
You gotta be right
Don't be no
Supper for a big fish
With the big lip
And the over - bite - bite
You gotta bite
bite - bite - bite - da bita
bite - bite - ba da da bita
bite - bite - bite - bite
bite - bite - bite - bite

All the people I know
They wanna' be left alone
Some people
I don't know?
They won't leave you alone
I guess you gotta'
Be just - be just like them

The gang
And the government
Are no different
The gang
And the government
Are no different
The gang
And the government
Are no different
That makes me
1%
That makes me
1%

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Dumb blonde joke

Seeing as though I am a blonde myself, I feel it is ok to share this joke with you. Here, have a good laugh the expense of myself and dumb blondes everywhere.

Tom, a handsome dude, walked into a sports bar around 9:58 PM. He sat down next to a blonde at the bar and stared up at the TV. The 10:00 PM news was coming on. The news crew was covering a story of a man on a ledge of a large building preparing to jump. The blonde looked at Tom and said, "Do you think he'll jump?" Tom says, "You know, I bet he'll jump." The blonde replied, "Well, I bet he won't." Tom placed a $20 bill on the bar and said, "You're on!" Just as the blonde placed her money on the bar, the guy on the ledge did a swan dive off the building, falling to his death. The blonde was very upset, but willingly handed her $20 to Tom, saying, "Fair's fair. Here's your money." Tom replied, "I can't take your money, I saw this earlier on the 5 PM news and so I knew he would jump." The blond replied, "I did too but I didn't think he'd do it again."
Tom took the money.

Blowing off steam

I was feeling much more zen this afternoon. Tonight I am feeling angry. While I am extremely sympathetic to those who are suffering due to ongoing wars, I feel a sense of frustration. I have always tried to be a person with an open mind, willing to expand my boundaries and hear other viewpoints. But I've been reading shit lately that makes my blood boil.

Whenever there is a conflict between two or more countries it always seems to boil down to this: If the US tries to step in we are bastards of the world, arrogant as always, going where we have no business being. If the US stands back we are allowing the killing to go on, we have blood on our hands. What the fuck does the world want from us? We can't control every damn thing that goes on in the world. Really. We can barely keep up with the crap going on here.

Many piss on our culture, our country, our people. If you don't like us, fine. Don't wear our clothing, watch or listen to our entertainment, use our technology, take our medicines, walk on our soil, eat our food, interact with our people. I love my country and am proud to be an American. Despite what many foreigners seem to think of us, the majority of us are good, compassionate, hard-working people just trying to live our lives. We are not blood-thirsty, power-hungry xenophobes looking for genocide.

Our dumb-ass president has already gotten us into two wars. Tens of thousands of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq have died and been injured. Thousands of our countrymen have died. Many more have been maimed and psychologically scarred for life. We have no business getting into another war. Our resources are already stretched quite thin.

I am all for the US government pressuring both sides to give up arms and begin talking to one another. But we are NOT responsible for what is going on. We did not start this particular war. If the world wants to point fingers for what's going down now, take a good long look at Hezbollah and Israel. No one else. Lebanon may be the innocent victim caught up in the crossfire but the US is not the one pulling the trigger.

Nobody Died When Clinton Lied

Lying, war-mongering, meglomaniac who is prime candidate for the antichrist. God help us.

10,000

Hey, I just looked and saw that I'm only a few short of 10,000 hits. To whomever is the one to be the grand number, please let me know who you are. It would make my day.

Fun from the news

WEST MILFORD, N.J. - A black bear picked the wrong yard for a jaunt, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree — twice.

Jack, a 15-pound orange and white cat, keeps a close vigil on his property, often chasing small animals, but his owners and neighbors say his latest escapade was surprising.

"We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty,' never knowing he'd go after a bear," owner Donna Dickey told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Friday's editions.
Jack the cat chases black bear up tree


SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A recently incarcerated inmate who claims she was unaware she was pregnant gave birth in her cell to a baby boy, authorities said Friday.

Leticia Cisneros, 35, was sitting on the toilet Wednesday, suffering from what she thought were cramps, when she gave birth, said a Sheriff's Department statement. Another inmate came to her aid and took the baby.Calif. inmate gives birth on the toilet
Personal inset here: I've had headaches that felt like tumors and sprains that felt like bone breaks but NEVER could I confuse childbirth with "cramps". Damn.

Personal inset here: And last but not least the horrendous crime of naked female breasts!!! AAAACCCKKK!!!!!!!Shameful evil disgraceful! We must be thankful that our caretakers know what we can handle seeing. I may have been scarred for life.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - A sheriff's deputy who is accused of going topless at a campground has been fired and charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.

Dawn Rene Roberson, 38, of Royal, was fired Wednesday after she turned herself in on the misdemeanor charges.

According to incident reports, a marine patrol deputy and a park ranger told a topless Roberson to cover up in separate encounters Sunday.

Later, authorities received a complaint that a woman without a top was in view of children.Deputy fired for allegedly going topless

In the News

Damn! You Middle Eastern men just cannot be trusted to have any self control, can you? RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - King Abdullah has told Saudi editors to stop publishing pictures of women as they could make young men go astray, newspapers reported Tuesday.

Stay the hell away from water in Florida unless you have a death wish. Three fatal alligator attacks in one week...

Guess who's been sleeping in Mubarak's bed? CAIRO, Egypt - The son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is widely seen as his father's heir-apparent, met secretly last week with top White House officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, Al-Jazeera reported Monday.

The whole tooth

This afternoon I went to the dentist for the first time in thirteen years. Yes, 13. Yeah, I know but I haven't had dental insurance, that's why. I finally caved in and went because I have a wisdom tooth that HAS to be pulled and I couldn't take it anymore. I expected to hear that I had ten cavities or bad decay. Much to my surprise other than than damn wisdom tooth my teeth are fine. However one side of my jaw is longer than the other and the roof of my mouth is too high, crowding my nasal passages. The dentist recommends orthodontics for this, saying it will reduce my chances of future jaw trouble, make it easier to breathe through my nose as well as improving my jawline. It could also change the sound of my voice, although probably not dramatically. I'm going to be a 31 year old woman with a retainer. How sexy is that!?! Ladies, try not to be jealous. Fellas, remember I am spoken for.

O beautiful for spacious skies...

Ahhh...America. Several centuries ago people began to come and colonize in the hopes of having freedom that they did not know in their homelands. Such lovely idealistic dreams. Where do I go to find freedom that I don't know in my homeland?

America is the land of the free, UNLESS:
1. You want to have private phone calls
2. You want to smoke a cigarette in public
3. You want the right to disagree with your government without being labeled an enemy combatant
4. You want the government to keep out of your sex life
5. You want to be able to choose to die with dignity if you are terminally ill
6. You want to practice an non-Judeo-Christian religion without being hassled
7. You or your family is from the middle east or if you are Muslim...hell, even if you just LOOK like you are either

Just some thoughts

1. Humans should not be allowed to procreate until age 18. Then, before having children, they should be required to take at least 8 hours of parenting classes. I know it won't elimate all cases of child abuse and neglect but it might save a few kids.

2. If the US government and our president are doing what is best for our nation, then why do so many other countries want to kick our ass? Yes, I know it is always like that but it seems more so lately.

3. Why didn't anyone tell me that having kids would kill my sex life?

4. On a day when more of our fellow Americans have died in wars overseas, why is the big news of the day that some pop-tart "singer" is pregnant?

5. Do the fundamentalist, bible-thumpers even listen to the Vatican or is it selective deafness?

6. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes the first official contact between Iran and the US since 1979. Wow.

My son

It seems my boy is finally turning the corner on whatever was making him so violently ill. It has been a hell of a few days. It started last Friday. Early on it appeared to be the normal flu but by the end of the day he was in really bad shape. He could not walk or even stand up. He was not able to get to the bathroom without being carried he was so weak. It was pretty frightening.

So Friday evening we took him to the clinic and they ran test after test after test and gave him IV fluids. He seemed to perk up a bit after that and started talking a bit again. Saturday he seemed more like himself, just tired. But then Sunday happened. He slept from 8pm Saturday night until 11:30am Sunday morning when I woke him. Again he could not get out of bed. At times he was too tired to speak. All day he drifted in and out of sleep. He would not eat. We only managed to get him to drink by telling him that if he didn't he would have to have another IV.

Yesterday he woke up on his own and asked for a drink right away. He was awake much more, although still tired. He ate bread and crackers and seemed to be improving again. I thought he would return to school today. After consideration his dad and I decided to keep him home one more day, just so he could rest. It's a good thing we did. He started vomiting again during lunch. We think it is probably because he woke up and ate yogurt before we could stop him and that his stomach just wasn't ready for it. This evening he seems fine. He ate toast and crackers, drank plenty of pedialyte solution.

I don't think there is anything worse for a mother than when one of her children are sick. I don't sleep well and in the back of my mind I am always worried about the worst case scenario. It was recently my birthday and Jd and I had been planning to go out and celebrate this weekend. Of course we stayed home with our son. Everyone kept saying, "What a shame. Not much of a birthday for you, not such a good way to celebrate." It's funny....that's not how I thought about it. I thought, "Thank goodness. This could have been so much worse. I could have spent my birthday in the hospital watching over my son."

The doctors never did come up with a diagnosis for him. Every test he had came back negative. They said it was a virus. That's what they always say when they don't know what it really was.

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers. It meant so much to me. Thank you.

I want to give my sincerest thanks to those who sent good thoughts and prayers our way these past few days. Although we still have no answer for what happened to him it does appear that he is finally beginning to improve. Today he was able to eat a little and walk a bit, which was a huge improvement over yesterday. I'm sorry I can't give more details tonight but will as soon as I have a moment. I love you all. Thank you.

My son has become very very ill in the past twelve hours. Please send him all your good thoughts and prayers.

Update:
We've just returned from the clinic but we still don't know what is wrong with him. He became ill so quickly...He got an IV, two shots of antibotics, a belly x-ray, and a strep culture. The doctor did allow us to bring him home for the night but we will have to take him back in the morning. He is sleeping peacefully at the moment. I appreciate all your thoughts and prayers. He's only five years old.

Every American needs to know this information

I came across this, courtesy of John at Goose the Blog. SCARY!!! America, the land of the supposed free, built on democracy, on the belief that all are created equal is turning into a dictatorship. If we do not stand up and speak soon we will no longer have the right to do so. Our president apparently sees himself as some sort of a diety, above the rest of us, above the law. READ THIS ARTICLE! RAISE YOUR VOICE! Even if you are a supporter of THIS administration, just remember, you may not be of the next. If it starts here, it will only continue.

For my foreign friends unaware of the way American government works, let me give you a quick primer. It is based on three branches, one branch made up of representatives elected by the public, one is the executive power of the president, and one is the judical. All three are to share power equally, with no one controlling too much. It is to be balanced to keep corruption out. The Constitution is supposed to be the user's manual. Well, GW is taking it upon himself to interpret it as he sees fit, picking and choosing what he likes and what he doesn't like.

Bush challenges hundreds of laws
President cites powers of his office
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | April 30, 2006

WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.

Far more than any predecessor, Bush has been aggressive about declaring his right to ignore vast swaths of laws -- many of which he says infringe on power he believes the Constitution assigns to him alone as the head of the executive branch or the commander in chief of the military.

Many legal scholars say they believe that Bush's theory about his own powers goes too far and that he is seizing for himself some of the law-making role of Congress and the Constitution-interpreting role of the courts.

Phillip Cooper, a Portland State University law professor who has studied the executive power claims Bush made during his first term, said Bush and his legal team have spent the past five years quietly working to concentrate ever more governmental power into the White House.

''There is no question that this administration has been involved in a very carefully thought-out, systematic process of expanding presidential power at the expense of the other branches of government," Cooper said. ''This is really big, very expansive, and very significant."

In October 2004, five months after the Abu Ghraib torture scandal in Iraq came to light, Congress passed a series of new rules and regulations for military prisons. Bush signed the provisions into law, then said he could ignore them all. One provision made clear that military lawyers can give their commanders independent advice on such issues as what would constitute torture. But Bush declared that military lawyers could not contradict his administration's lawyers.

...to the extent Bush is interpreting the Constitution in defiance of the Supreme Court's precedents, he threatens to ''overturn the existing structures of constitutional law."

A president who ignores the court, backed by a Congress that is unwilling to challenge him, Golove said, can make the Constitution simply ''disappear."


Now check this part out, my dear friends. The few who still support the train wreck that is GW's presidency say this...
Defenders say the fact that Bush is reserving the right to disobey the laws does not necessarily mean he has gone on to disobey them.

Many of the laws Bush has challenged involve national security, where it is almost impossible to verify what the government is doing. And since the disclosure of Bush's domestic spying program, many people have expressed alarm about his sweeping claims of the authority to violate laws.

And now this seemingly paradoxical event...In January, after the Globe first wrote about Bush's contention that he could disobey the torture ban, three Republicans who were the bill's principal sponsors in the Senate -- John McCain of Arizona, John W. Warner of Virginia, and Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina -- all publicly rebuked the president.

And the final scariness...''There can't be judicial review if nobody knows about it," said Neil Kinkopf, a Georgia State law professor who was a Justice Department official in the Clinton administration. ''And if they avoid judicial review, they avoid having their constitutional theories rebuked."

Without court involvement, only Congress can check a president who goes too far. But Bush's fellow Republicans control both chambers, and they have shown limited interest in launching the kind of oversight that could damage their party.

''The president is daring Congress to act against his positions, and they're not taking action because they don't want to appear to be too critical of the president, given that their own fortunes are tied to his because they are all Republicans," said Jack Beermann, a Boston University law professor. ''Oversight gets much reduced in a situation where the president and Congress are controlled by the same party."

Bruce Fein, a deputy attorney general in the Reagan administration, said the American system of government relies upon the leaders of each branch ''to exercise some self-restraint." But Bush has declared himself the sole judge of his own powers, he said, and then ruled for himself every time.

''This is an attempt by the president to have the final word on his own constitutional powers, which eliminates the checks and balances that keep the country a democracy," Fein said. ''There is no way for an independent judiciary to check his assertions of power, and Congress isn't doing it, either. So this is moving us toward an unlimited executive power."

Lessons

What my kids have taught me:

1. Whenever you fall down get right back up, no matter how many times you fall. (Even though my daughter has been walking for nearly a year she still falls down a lot. Sometimes it seems her legs move faster than her body.)

2. You can get almost anything you want from life if you are persistant enough. For example, if Mom and Dad put a latch on a cupboard to keep you out, spend as much time as necessary trying different techniques to unhook it.

3. Don't let obstacles deter you. If there is a baby gate in your path get a chair and climb over it.

4. Don't be afraid to try something new. How do you know that clump of dirt or that dead leaf doesn't taste good unless you try it?

5. Think for yourself. Don't let Mom and Dad's repeated warnings that you will fall and be injured if you jump on the furniture stop you if that is truly what you desire to do.

6. Life is unfair. Someone will always have a slightly larger cookie or slice of pie than you. Go ahead and cry about it.

More humor--How Americans view the world

Shamelessly stolen from Xylocaine.

This chemical imbalance in my brain is making me crazy!

(I can't take credit for this--it's from the Onion, obviously. But I LOVE it! Damn, I just keep laughing...it's funnier each time I read it.)

Have you ever been standing in line at the bank for so long that you feel like you're going to explode—just completely flip out? Well, I'm the exact same way. Except it's not waiting in line that drives me utterly nuts. It's the undersupply of key brain-chemistry cofactors, like amino acids, that help transport neurotransmitter precursors into my blood-brain barrier.

That shit just makes me lose my fucking mind!

This recurring neurological obstruction of the natural flow of information to my frontal lobe's processing centers is so annoying that I can't even think straight. Sometimes just the thought of how little serotonin my brain is producing is enough to completely kill my appetite, sex drive, and ability to sleep at night. In fact, most of the time I'm so wound up by the constant barrage of disparate neural signals discharging through my body that I can hardly concentrate on everyday tasks, such as washing each glass in the house four times.

I swear to God, unless my corpus callosum starts regulating nerve traffic normally again, I'm going to go out of my gourd!

There's something about my brain's chemical imbalance that really gets under my skin. At least once a day, the constant, overwhelming sensations of dread and hopelessness aggravate me to the point where I want to jump out the window. Seriously, I could be all sunshine and roses, and the smallest fluctuation in brain chemistry will just completely sour my mood.

It seems like no matter what I try to do to distract myself, I can't get this chemical imbalance out of my head. It's always there, in the region of the brain that controls emotion and behavior, gnawing away at my cognitive reasoning and motor skills. The whole thing has been grating on my cerebral cortex's nerves for years now.

In my early 20s, these elevated levels of dynorphin were only a minor annoyance. But their prolonged deregulation of my system's energy production and decision-making aptitude has, over time, really started to take a toll on me. Maybe I'm just overreacting to my body's increased hypersensitivity, but frequently, when my synapses are firing erratically rather than in tandem, I feel like I'm about to spiral out of control.

Trust me, I wish the enlarged concentration of the toxic neurochemical melanocyte, among others, didn't bother me so much. I wish I could just ignore my brain's reduced availability of acetylcholine and carry on with my day as if the hampering of some of my central nervous system's most significant executive functions had never happened. Unfortunately, I'm not wired that way.

This insufferable chemical imbalance is, if nothing else, incredibly tiring; so entirely and devastatingly fatiguing that, even after sleeping for 17 hours straight, I still wake up exhausted.

It's strange, I used to be a pretty level-headed guy. There was a time when nothing in life could infuriate me enough to make me want to rip my hair out, hurl a stack of books across the living room, scream hysterically at innocent friends and family members, use a razor blade to secretly make tiny, shallow cuts in the back of my thigh, or kick a hole in the wall. What is it about these low levels of dopamine and norepinephrine that has got me so loopy?

I only hope that if I do as they say, maybe the voices—which up to this point have been nothing but trouble—will deliver on their promise and come up with an answer.

File this one under "DUH!!!"

Researcher: Premature Babies Feel Pain

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A researcher at Arkansas Children's Hospital has submitted findings of a study that suggests premature babies can consciously feel pain instead of reacting to it by reflex...The accepted theory is that premature babies react to pain through reflex, but do not actually perceive pain beyond their nerve fibers or spinal cord or in the highest sensory center of the brain, he said...Nurses from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit then drew blood from the babies' veins, which resulted in an increase in blood flow to the sensory cortex. That increase suggested the babies felt pain at the highest sensory level of the brain, Anand said.

In defense of crazy old Pat...

The other day I received a comment from someone regarding my post about Pat Robertson's most recent comments about Islam. Pat says, and I quote, "The goal of Islam, ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not, is world domination...Islam is not a religion of peace...radical Muslims are satanic."

This is the comment posted:

And yet there are verses in the koran that explicitly command or condone violence and domination.
If Islam is so peaceful,why was there widespread rioting and killing because a Danish newspaper printed some inane cartoons?
Pat Robertson obviously does not always use tact or restraint when sharing his thoughts and opinions,but he understands history and current events better than most Americans.His ministry also helps a lot of needy people around the world,including the victims of Katrina and the Asian Tsunami.

By Anonymous

As I am no scholar in Islam there is not much I can say in rebuttal. However I would ask that the commentor specifically quote which passages he/she is referring to. And I invite my Muslim friends to respond to this.

My muse Pat

I knew it wouldn't take too long for something to pop up. Pat Robertson strikes again. The title of the article I'm linking to? "Robertson Finds Radical Muslims 'Satanic'". Some choice quotes from him?
"The goal of Islam, ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not, is world domination."

"Islam is not a religion of peace, and that radical Muslims are "satanic."

See now I just believe that the radicals are crazy. I certainly wouldn't go as far as satanic...lol.

Again his reps claim his statements were taken out of context. Yeah. Sure. Man, I'd love to get some of whatever he is on. It seems like it's pretty good stuff. What a lunatic.

Don't go quietly

This post from Mia regarding a young woman who was raped, tortured, and killed in NYC last Sunday morning has shaken me. It has also inspired me to post Safety Tips For Women swiped from here. If you are a woman please take the time to read this. If you know a woman please take the time to send her the link to either this post or the website I swiped it from.

"Tips on staying safe... for women"


The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!

If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you but everybody else will. This has saved lives.

The three reasons women are easy targets for random acts of violence are:

1) Lack of Awareness - You MUST know where you are & what's going on around you.

2) Body Language - Keep your head up, swing your arms, stand straight up.

3) Wrong Place, Wrong Time - DON'T walk alone in an alley, or drive in a bad neighborhood at night.

Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc.) DON'T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.

A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor,and in the back seat. If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. This is a good reason to park away from big vans.

Look at the car parked on the drivers side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman towalk you backout. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (Better paranoid than dead.)

ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot.) Do not get on an elevator if there is a weirdo already on there. (Of course bad men don't always look bad.) Do not stand back in the corners of the elevator. Be near the front, by the doors, ready to get off or on. If you get on the elevator on the 25th floor, and the Boogie Man gets on the 22nd, get off when he gets on. Don't ride the elevator with him if you are not comfortable.

If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! Police only make 4 of 10 shots when they are in range of 3-9 feet. This is due to stress. The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times. And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN!

As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP IT! It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good looking,well-educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

Pat Malone told us the story of his daughter, who came out of the mall and was walking to her car when she noticed 2 older ladies in front of her. Then she saw a police car come towards her with officers who said hello. She also noticed that all 8 handicap spots in the area were empty. As she neared her car, she saw a man a few rows over calling to her for help. He wanted her to close his passenger side door. He was sitting in the driver's side, and said he was handicapped. He continued calling, until she turned and headed back to the mall, and then he began cursing at her. In the meantime, she wondered why he didn't ask the 2 older ladies, or the policeman for help, and why he was not parked in any of the empty handicap spots. As she got back to the mall, two male friends of hers were exiting, and as she told them the story, and turned to point at the car, the man was getting out of the back seat into the front, and the car sped away. DON'T GET CAUGHT IN THIS TRAP.

Tips to saving your life, if you have gotten into a violent situation:
REACT IMMEDIATELY - If he abducts you in a parking lot, and is taking you to an abandoned area, DON'T LET HIM GET YOU TO THAT AREA. If you are driving, react immediately in the situation, and crash your car while still going 5 mph. If he's driving, find the right time, and stick your fingers in his eyes. He must watch the road, so choose an unsuspecting time, and gouge him. It is your ONLY defense. While he is in shock, GET OUT. This sounds gross, but the alternative is worse if you do not act.

RESIST - Don't go along with him: Run, if you are able: DON'T EVER GIVE UP! You DO NOT want to get to a crime scene.

Always keep your distance when walking past strangers on the street or in dark areas.

GET A CELL PHONE: There are packages for $19.95 a month that allow you to program only 911 into the dialing out program. (This is an alternative for parents who say it is too expensive for their kids to have a cell phone.)

BREAK DOWNS: Make every effort to avoid this by ALWAYS keeping your carin good working order. If your car breaks down:

LOCK YOUR DOORS. You better have a cell phone to call for help. If you don't have a cell phone: (shame on you) keep a blanket, warm clothes, a pair of boots, and a flashlight in your car always, for emergencies.

If it's noon on a business day, you may want to put your hazards on and walk to safety. If it's 2 AM, put on your warm clothes, and walk to a lighted area. You are a perfect target if you are sitting in your car broken down. Predators search the highways for easy targets like you.

If you're on a desolate road: walk away from the car (in your warm clothes) and go to some bushes, or some area AWAY from your vehicles. It will be cold, and uncomfortable, but you DO NOT want to stay in your car, and there are no psycho bogeymen waiting in the bushes who knew you were going to break down there and then.

Physical defenses that we can use against the violent predator: The EYES are the most vulnerable part of the body. Poke him there HARD. It may be your only window of opportunity.

The neck is also a vulnerable spot, but you MUST know where to grip, AND HAVE THE STRENGTH to cut off his breath. Punch him in the throat to cut off his air supply.

The last place is the KNEES. Everyone's knees are very vulnerable, and a swift kick here will take anyone down. **** A cautionary note about these things. If you do not do these things right the first time, you are in trouble, because it will only anger the individual, and that anger will be TAKEN OUT ON YOU. I'm not saying don't attempt them, it may be your only hope, but be forceful when you do.

If you are walking alone in the dark (which you shouldn't be) and you find him following/chasing you: Scream "FIRE!" and not "help"; People don't want to get involved when people yell "help" but "fire" draws attention because people are nosy. RUN!

Find an obstacle, such as a parked car, and run around it, like Ring Around the Rosie. This may sound silly, but over the years, 5 women have told Pat Malone that this SAVED THEIR LIVES. Your last hope is getting under the car. Once you are under there, there are tons of things to hold onto, and he will not be able to get you out and will not come under for you (most likely). Usually they give up by this point. The catch here is that YOU MUST PRACTICE GETTING UNDER THE CAR. You must have a plan (he will have one); know if you will be going on your back, front, from the side or back of the car. It must be practiced.

Never let yourself or anyone that you know be the "closer" in any type of business (bar, store, restaurant, gas station). Pat knew Danielle, who was a girl that just died from being shot point blank by some kids while she was closing at the local gas station. He talked with her the night before she died, and asked whether it ever scared her to close alone. She said, "Yes, but I'll be allright, Pat. I'll be all right." She wasn't. Our world is not as safe as we pretend that it is, and living in our fantasy worlds WILL get us in trouble, sooner or later. Pat Malone said again and again that the women who die EVERY MINUTE from violent crimes expected to go to bed tonight, and get up tomorrow. No one expects it,but we must be prepared and aware so that we HAVE A PLAN. BE PREPARED TO ACT! AND ACT HARD! HAVE A PLAN!

I would encourage you to pass this on to all women, not just your friends and family, but everybody. We all need to hear it. For you and to share with your family, especially the women.

Trippy-It makes my brain hurt

Parallel universes might interact, with disastrous results.
Is our universe about to be mangled?
17:43 23 February 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Maggie McKee

Our universe may one day be obliterated or assimilated by a larger universe, according to a controversial new analysis. The work suggests the parallel universes proposed by some quantum theorists may not actually be parallel but could interact – and with disastrous consequences.

Random quantum fluctuations mean the behaviour of particles and photons of light cannot be predicted exactly. The quantum equations that describe them contain a variety of different - and opposing - outcomes in their solution, such as a particular particle causing a bell to both ring and not ring in an experimental setup. Physicists then have to use an equation called the Born rule to calculate the probability of the bell ringing, and countless experiments have shown the rule works.

But researchers have long struggled to understand why a bell will ring – or not ring – in any given run of an experiment, since in theory it has the option of doing both. This conundrum, known as the quantum measurement problem, has led a small subset of physicists to argue that in fact the bell does do both - but that each possible outcome takes place in a different, parallel universe that pops into existence during the experiment.

"This is what the math suggests if you take it literally," says Robin Hanson of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, US. But the idea that "every microsecond, the universe splits into a bunch more universes boggles the mind."

Destructive interaction
And this idea, called the "many worlds" interpretation, raises other problems. Some theorists say it suggests that physicists doing a quantum experiment would find themselves in a random world, such that they would have an equal chance of seeing the bell ring or not ring. But this does not match the well-tested Born rule, which may predict that the bell should ring 70% of the time, for example.

Physicists have attacked this problem in a number of ways. Now Hanson, an economist who also studies physics, is taking a new approach. He argues that these multiple universes are not actually independent, as was thought, but interacting and sometimes destructive.

Quantum theory states that all universes are not created equal - each "parent" universe is much larger according to a particular quantum measure than its later descendants.

Quantum interactions between the universes were thought to be too small to really affect them, but Hanson says the interactions can be significant between universes of vastly different size.

Boiled worlds
The interactions can "smash or mangle the small worlds", says Hanson. He has not worked out exactly what happens, but he believes the small universes would be either destroyed or assimilated by the large universes, like specks of dust colliding with a planet.

"It could act like a big random fluctuation, like suddenly making the temperature of the universe become really high and boiling everything," he told New Scientist. "Or it could be more peaceful, where you're simply converted into somebody who remembers stuff from the large world, so the statistics would be those of the large world."

In this scenario, Born rule predictions that a bell should ring 70% of the time in an experiment work out because small worlds – in which bells ring less or more often – are too mangled to be observed. Hanson says there is a cut-off between small worlds that become mangled and large worlds that do not, and that most universes are near or below this line.

That suggests that the universe we live in now could be mangled at any moment by a larger universe, he says. "It could be there's a moment of pain before the end," Hanson says. "But you could be comforted by the fact that versions of you will go on, even if you don't."

Finely tuned
Physicists who have studied Hanson's idea say it is interesting, though preliminary and probably flawed. Michael Weissman of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US, says his biggest concern with the work is the notion of a cut-off.

He points out that the range of universe sizes is constantly growing. So the cut-off for what makes a universe observable must be perfectly balanced with that growth to produce the probabilities seen with the Born rule. "We don't have any real reason to think this fine-tuning will actually work out in practice," Weissman told New Scientist.

"It's interesting work and might feed into part of the Born rule problem," says David Wallace, a philosopher of quantum mechanics at Oxford University, UK. But he criticises Hanson's approach because "it doesn’t seem to handle one-off probabilities, only long-term sequences of probabilities," he told New Scientist. "It doesn’t tell us why right now we’d be better off betting on the bell ringing than not ringing."

Journal reference: Proceedings of the Royal Society A (DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2005.1640)
Link here.

Welcome to Abu Ghraib

Looking at these pictures, can anyone deny that US forces are guilty of torture, abuse, and inhumane treatment? I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't care if these "detainees" are terrorists or not. We are supposed to be better than our enemies. We are supposed to hold ourselves to a higher standard. This is not acceptable. The ends do not justify the means. If this is the way my government protects me I'd rather live an unsafe existance. Shame.

"The U.S. is committed to the worldwide elimination of torture and we are leading this fight by example. I call on all governments to join with the U.S. and the community of law abiding nations in prohibiting, investigating and prosecuting all acts of torture."- G.W. Bush, June 26, 2003