U-Blog Press

This will be my last post on this site...

2009-02-21T20:13:00.003-05:00

Sadly, this will be my last post on this site...

My original intention for this site was an experiment in community blogging. It never really took off, and has become a site where just I add a post from time to time. I had really wanted a site where everybody could blog together, Democrats, Republicans, people who don't care about politics, men, women, young, old etc. It started off pretty good, but has tapered to mostly just my posts.

I really appreciate the people who continued to visit U-Blog Press just to see what I had to say next =)

I am still a contributor on my friend John Good's blog Left in Aboite, and I will probably post more on his site in the future.

If you are a contributor to this site, please feel free to continue to add your posts. I just will not be adding any myself.

Thank you for visiting!!!

Stan Matuska

Feds want your medical records

2009-02-08T13:39:00.005-05:00

By Bob Unruh© 2009 WorldNetDaily

A little-discussed provision in President Obama's economic stimulus plan would demand that every American submit to a government program for electronic medical records without a choice to opt out, and it has privacy advocates more than a little alarmed.

Patients might be alarmed, too, privacy advocates said, if they realized information such as documentation on abortions, mental health problems, impotence, being labeled as a non-compliant patient, lawsuits against doctors and sexual problems could be shared electronically with, perhaps, millions of people.

Sue A. Blevins, president of the Institute for Health Freedom, said unless people have the right to decide "if and when" their health information is shared, there is no real privacy.

"President Obama has pledged to advance freedom," she said. "Therefore the freedom to choose not to participate in a national electronic health-records system must be upheld."

Blevins' organization, one of the few raising the alarm at this point, said the stimulus plan would impose an electronic health records system on every person in the U.S. without any provision for seeking patient consent or allowing them not to participate.

"Without those protections, Americans' electronic health records could be shared – without their consent – with over 600,000 covered entities through the forthcoming nationally linked electronic health-records network," Blevins said.

The organization said Americans who care about health privacy should contact members of Congress and the president to let them know about the need for opt-out and consent provisions.
According to the institute, the measure currently includes plans for:

An electronic health record "for each person in the United States by 2014."

A national coordinator to develop a "nationwide health information technology infrastructure that allows for the electronic use and exchange of information."

The institute said the medical privacy rule established under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 already allows personal health information to be passed along without patient consent for treatment, payment and "oversight." The recipients of such information could be any of the people in the 600,000 organizations in the industry.

"Nobody wants to stop the proper use of good technology," Blevins said, "and for some people privacy is not an issue."

But she said the bottom line is that patients "would end up losing control of his or her personal health information."

"There's a lot at stake with electronically transferring health data and paying claims within the $2.2 trillion healthcare industry," warned the organization, which works on issues of health freedom in the U.S.

Another group, Consumer Watchdog, even suggested today Google is trying to lobby for the "sale of electronic medical records."

The group said, "Reportedly Google is pushing for the provisions so it may sell patient medical information to its advertising clients on the new 'Google Health' database."

Consumer Watchdog said, "Americans will benefit from an integrated system capable of making our medical records available wherever we may need them, but only if the system is properly used.

"The medical technology portion of the economic stimulus bill does not sufficiently protect patient privacy, and recent amendments have made this situation worse. Medical privacy must be strengthened before the measure's final passage," the group said.

WND previously has reported on attempts in Minnesota by state lawmakers to authorize the collection and warehousing of newborns' DNA without parental consent.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been successful in stopping the action there so far.

The Citizens' Council on Health Care has worked to publicize the issue in Minnesota. The group raised opposition when the state Department of Health continued to warehouse DNA without parental consent in violation of the genetic privacy and DNA property rights of parents and children.

Twila Brase, president of CCHC, said at the time the problem is that "researchers already are looking for genes related to violence, crime and different behaviors."

In an extensive interview with WND at the time, she said, "In England they decided they should have doctors looking for problem children, and have those children reported, and their DNA taken in case they would become criminals."

In fact, published reports in Britain note that senior police forensics experts believe genetic samples should be studied, because it may be possible to identify potential criminals as young as age 5.

Brase said efforts to study traits and gene factors and classify people would be just the beginning. What could happen through subsequent programs to address such conditions, she wondered.

"Not all research is great," she said. Classifying of people could lead to "discrimination and prejudice. … People can look at data about you and make assessments ultimately of who you are."

The Heartland Regional Genetics and Newborn Screening is one of the organizations that advocates more screening and research.

The group proclaims in its vision statement a desire to see newborns screened for 200 conditions. It also forecasts "every student … with an individual program for education based on confidential interpretation of their family medical history, their brain imaging, their genetic predictors of best learning methods. …"

Further, every individual should share information about "personal and family health histories" as well as "gene tests for recessive conditions and drug metabolism" with the "other parent of their future children."

Still further, it seeks "ecogenetic research that could improve health, lessen disability, and lower costs for sickness."

"They want to test every child for 200 conditions, take the child's history and a brain image, and genetics, and come up with a plan for that child," Brase said at the time. "They want to learn their weaknesses and defects.

"Nobody including and especially the government should be allowed to create such extensive profiles," she said.

The next step, said Brase, is obvious: The government, with information about potential health weaknesses, could say to couples, "We don't want your expensive children."

"I think people have forgotten about eugenics. The fact of the matter is that the eugenicists have not gone away. Newborn genetic testing is the entry into the 21st Century version of eugenics," she said.

Trust me... I know that look!

2009-02-01T17:42:00.003-05:00

This is a relatively recent photo of President Obama. I think he needs a cigarette!!! Poor guy. I know he is trying to quit smoking, but I don't think he has succeeded. Now I hear that he can't even sneak away for a puff because his Mother-in-Law is keeping her eye on him! You would think the leader of the free world would be able to do what he wants!!!

Quitting smoking is easy. I've done it over 20 times! And I even quit between cigarettes! LOL - but not really funny. I still smoke and hate it!

I just hope that if President Obama really really needs a cigarette, that he is able to get one.

IT'S JUST A NUMBER - OR IS IT???

2009-01-19T20:57:00.003-05:00

You may have seen this somewhere before.
I got it off of John's blog http://leftinaboite.blogspot.com/
I remember when the number was 4000.
I thought "wow, that's an incredible number of deaths in Iraq."

As time went by, I didn't pay too much attention to the numbers climbing. Then today I thought about it some more. Since I last stopped and actually paused at the incredible number of deaths just a few short months ago, I realized that there were 226 American soldiers still alive back then, who are no longer with us today...

Each soldier's death is just as sad as the next; yet we seem to pause to remember primarily when the number reaches some rounded number, such as 4000.

Today, I am remembering all 4226 solderiers who gave their lives in Iraq... and in addition, I pray for the souls who are alive today, yet will increment the number in the days to come...

It's time to end the American bloodshed and bring our troops home; but in the mean time, I will remember that each number represents what was once a brave, living, breathing, feeling, young American soldier.

BREAKING NEWS!!!

2009-01-08T20:52:00.007-05:00

BREAKING NEWS!!! 11 Macy's stores to close!

Yes, that is the breaking news I heard today!!! What??? That's the breaking news??? I couldn't believe it!

It used to be that breaking news was something pretty earth shattering, such as an earthquake, massive casualties or the death of a very well known celebrity or president.

When did breaking news become news that is just new news? "Breaking News, the unemployment numbers for December are now in." "Breaking News, President elect Obama has just landed in Hawaii.". Really? Was there any specific reason I needed to know this... and as breaking news?

Now, I realize that the term 'breaking news' actually sounds like it should be news that is 'breaking' - meaning new news; but in past years, that is not how it was used. I remember that the term was used very infrequently; so when I heard it, I knew something terrible had happened, and I would stop what I was doing to hear the breaking news.

It wouldn't be so bad if they had different background audio/sound/music for the breaking news to discemminate the urgent serious breaking news from the new news. As far as I can tell, the background audio is the same no matter what the breaking news is about.

Well, that's my gripe. Maybe I am the only one who feels this way, I don't know; but like the 'boy who cried wolf', I will probably miss a real tragedy because I am starting to tune out the breaking news.

Fla. woman claims 'Merry Christmas' got her fired

2008-12-26T12:57:00.003-05:00

By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer Melissa Nelson, Associated Press Writer – Fri Dec 26

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A Christian woman claims she was fired from her job because she greeted callers with "Merry Christmas," but the vacation rental company says it's no Scrooge and the woman is just a disgruntled employee.

Tonia Thomas, 35, said she refused to say "Happy Holidays" and was fired, even after offering to use the company's non-holiday greeting. The Panama City woman filed a federal complaint that accuses the company of religious discrimination. She is seeking compensation for lost wages.

"I hold my core Christian values to a high standard and I absolutely refuse to give in on the basis of values. All I wanted was to be able to say 'Merry Christmas' or to acknowledge no holidays," she said Tuesday. "As a Christian, I don't recognize any other holidays." Thomas said she is Baptist.

Her former employer, Counts-Oakes Resorts Properties Inc., said she wasn't fired for saying "Merry Christmas," but would not elaborate.

"We are a Christian company and we celebrate Christmas," said Andy Phillips, the company's president. Thomas is "a disgruntled employee," presenting a one-sided version of what happened when she was fired Dec. 10, Phillips said.

Liberty Counsel, an Orlando-based legal group that advocates for people discriminated against because of their religion, is representing Thomas before the federal Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. Their complaint also accuses the company of harassing and taunting Thomas after she was fired by calling the police to watch her pack her belongs and leave.

Thomas could have hard time winning the case, said G. Thomas Harper, a Jacksonville-based labor attorney who writes a newsletter on Florida employment law.

"I wouldn't think an employee has the right to insist (on saying Merry Christmas) unless that really is a tenet of their faith. She would have to make a strong case that was part of her beliefs, if not, it becomes insubordination," he said.

Thomas has found another job, but she makes less than the $10.50 an hour she earned with the rental company. She said the trauma of being fired and the pay cut has made for a tough holiday season for herself, her husband and their 6-year-old son.

Harper said when it comes to holiday greetings, the smartest choice might be ignoring the season. "The best option is just not to say anything," he said.

Save the whales!!! I mean...save the bows!!!

2008-12-25T21:50:00.004-05:00

"Save the bows!!!" That's what I found myself saying repeatedly as we unwrapped our Christmas gifts. What? Am I insane? Save the bows? Are we the only kooks out there who do this? I don't think so.

It just doesn't make sense to throw away a perfectly good looking bow when it can be re-used next year. The problem with that is that bows are so incredibly cheap!!! We spend a LOT of money on Christmas gifts, so what's another $5.99 for the large bag of new bows?

Not one person laughed or made any disparaging comments when I requested their bow off of their priceless gift. A sign of the times? I don't think so. It's been a "tradition" around our home for years! And yours too???

Congress gets a raise

2008-12-19T23:07:00.004-05:00

So, Congress is getting a $4,700 pay increase, during this recession. I'm not really sure if that is supposed to be a statement or a question.

To be fair, they didn't even have to vote on the raise. It is an automatic 2.8 percent increase. They would actually have to vote to NOT receive the pay increase... but, should they have passed on it as was done in 2000?

You know, I'm not against wage increases. In fact, I was all for raising the minimum wage, even though I know there are cons to that as well. In today's economy, I think that if a member of Congress has trouble making ends meet with an average salary of $169,300 per year, that they should just get out of office. The main reason for wage increases is to offset the cost of living, but should that even be a factor if you are making over six figures???

If nothing else, the timing is just bad. With so many unemployed, and the economy in a seemingly never ending downward spiral, it just doesn't make sense. But then again, it's only an additional $2.5 million per year. What the heck is that though compared to the billions being tossed out like candy already? How about just setting an example to the banks, auto makers and the average person? Or is the message do as I say, and not as I do?

Tomorrow is history

2008-12-06T13:49:00.014-05:00

Sometimes I sit around and just think of stupid stuff. For example, are airplanes upside down on the other side of the world? This post isn't really much different.

I often think about how we are a civilization of "recorded" data. Meaning, we have a need to "record" the events of every single day for future posterity.

How much video data will be stored for what happens tomorrow?
How much picture data will be stored for what happens tomorrow?
How much computer data will be stored for what happens tomorrow?
How much voice data will be stored for what happens tomorrow?
Hom much audio data will be stored for what happens tomorrow?
How much hard copy print will be stored for what happens tomorrow?
How much evidence data will be stored for what happens tomorrow?

How much weather data will be stored for what happens tomorrow?
The list goes on and on and on and on...

So, every single day, tons of "recorded" data is stored. Why? Because someday it may be needed. If you are audited by the IRS, you need your "recorded" data. If you are accused of a murder, rape, bank robery etc., you will need your or someone else's "recorded" data. If anyone for any reason wants to know what happened on a particular date in history, there will be a need for "recorded" data.

So, how much space is being taken up by all the "recorded" data? How long should it be kept? Should there be backups of backups of "recorded" data? Will we ever run out of room for it? Should there be a Czar (sp) of "recorded" data?

I know one thing for sure. This post will be "recorded", but will not be around for very long. I think I'll archive it in case I want to post it again another time :)

TAKING YOUR CREDIT BACK

2008-11-27T20:19:00.015-05:00

It's pretty obvious that we are in some kind/form of recession. I just didn't think it would come to me, or come to me so soon.

You see, several weeks ago, I received a letter from my mortgage company telling me that my home equity line of credit no longer exists. The letter continued, stating something about if I can prove my home is worth my loan value, then they would consider returning my line of credit.

Interesting.

Then last week, I received a letter from American Express telling me that they were going to reduce my credit line $15,000.00.

Then this week, I recveived my AT&T bill stating that my interest rate was going to go up from 9.9% to 24.99%.

All of this happened even though I have maintained an unblemished credit report. So, the way I see it, the financial institutions are taking credit back from the consumers in order to stay in the black (or to minimize the red).

I do understand what lending institutions are going through. I have been lending money on Prosper.com for the past couple of years. In those years, I have gambled on loaning money to all credit grades. Granted, the lower the credit rating, the higher the interest I would receive, but that's because of the higher default rate. After earning $584.24 in interest, I have lost $541.35 in defaulted loans! That does still leave me in the black, but by only $42.89! If I were a financial institution, it would not be enough of a return to stay in business. Several months ago I quit lending to credit grades other than AA, A, B and I have not lost a penny on those loans! Guess what? If you don't have a credit score worthy of a B or better, than you will probably NEVER get a bank loan again!!!

So, having good credit is more important than ever before. If you want to check your credit reports for free (no gimicks), log on to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/. I don't believe you can get your credit SCORE for free, but you can get your credit REPORT for free.

Well, sit back and enjoy the ride. It's going to be a bumpy one!!!

Happy Holidays! NOT! Merry Christmas!!!

2008-11-23T10:06:00.005-05:00

I have a personal gripe. Something I have always taken for granted has been taken away from me. Many years ago it started to become "offensive" to say Christmas or Merry Christmas in public places such as schools and department stores at... well, Christmas time! What!!!???

When my kids were in school several years ago, they used to have an annual choral dinner program called "Christmas with Charisma". They had to change it to "Holidays with Charisma" because a parent complained. What was so ironic about it was that during the dinner, the show choir would sing to the dining audience... and sing CHRISTMAS songs!!! No one complained about that, and many of them mentioned the baby Jesus, etc.

I have been listening to television commercials for the past few years more closely than in the past. If they mention "Holiday" sale - I tell my wife to avoid shopping there. If they mention "Christmas" sale - I tell my wife to try to shop there.

Pirates? In the 21st century?

2008-11-19T21:16:00.003-05:00

What in the world is the deal with pirates hijacking humongous ships??? This is the 21st century, and there are still active pirates in the world???

Ok, I realize that this is happening elsewhere in the world, but come on! You mean there are no defenses against a small boat with a few pirates on board? Now, I know they have weapons, including RPG's, but isn't there any technology out there to prevent this from happening??? How about firing a RPG into their boat??? Would that be so bad... with sufficient warning of course.

Now, in the news, I am hearing that ships may have to take the long way around to avoid the pirates...and pass the cost on to YOU!!! What???

This is it. Don't get scared now!!!

2008-11-02T21:48:00.002-05:00

This is it. Don't get scared now!

Who will be the next President???

UPDATE!!! OBAMA WINS!!!

Guess who said these words of wisdom

2008-10-18T10:14:00.003-04:00

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees, but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this message to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or just hit delete....

Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember to say “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment, for someday that person will not be there.

Give time to love; give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breaths away.

George Carlin (may he rest in peace)

Get your share of $10 million dollars!!!

2008-09-24T21:47:00.004-04:00

By Brandon GriggsCNN

(CNN) -- Got an idea that could change the world, or at least help a lot of people? Google wants to hear from you -- and it will pay as much as $10 million to make your idea a reality.

To help celebrate its 10th birthday, the ambitious Internet giant is launching an initiative to solicit, and bankroll, fresh ideas that it believes could have broad and beneficial impact on people's lives.

Called Project 10^100 (pronounced "10 to the 100th"), Google's initiative will seek input from the public and a panel of judges in choosing up to five winning ideas, to be announced in February.

Google announced the project live on CNN on Wednesday morning.

"These ideas can be big or small, technology-driven or brilliantly simple -- but they need to have impact," Google said in a news release. "We know there are countless brilliant ideas that need funding and support to come to fruition."

Those are ideas such as the Hippo Water Roller, which Google cited as the kind of concept the company would be interested in rewarding. Developed in Africa, where it is most used, the Hippo Water Roller is a barrel-shaped container, attached to a handle, that holds 24 gallons of water and can be rolled with little effort like a wheelbarrow, making it easier for villagers on foot to transport critically needed fresh water to their homes.

People are encouraged to submit their ideas, in any of 25 languages, at www.project10tothe100.com through October 20. Entrants must briefly describe their idea and answer six questions, including, "If your idea were to become a reality, who would benefit the most and how?"

Google employees, with the help of an advisory board, will narrow the submissions to 100 semifinalists by January 27. Between January 27 and February 2, the public will vote online for their favorite ideas. A panel of as-yet-unnamed judges will then review the top 20 ideas and announce up to five winners in mid-February.

Funding, from a pool of $10 million, will be awarded in May. If the judges decide to reward five winning ideas, each will receive $2 million. If only two ideas are chosen, each will receive $5 million, and so on.

A Google spokeswoman was reluctant to set parameters for the submissions, although the project's Web site suggests that successful ideas should address such issues as providing food and shelter, building communities, improving health, granting more access to education, sustaining the global ecosystem and promoting clean energy.

"We don't want to limit it at all. We want a wide range of ideas," said Bethany Poole, product marketing manager at Google, who announced the project Wednesday on CNN along with Andy Berndt, managing director of Google's Creative Lab. "We think great ideas come from anywhere."

To cite Google's own example, Google News began after the September 11 terrorist attacks, when an engineer became frustrated that he couldn't aggregate news sources from around the world in one place.

By opening the project to anyone -- not just laboratories or universities -- Google is embracing "crowdsourcing," the Internet-age notion that the collective wisdom of mass audiences can be leveraged to find solutions to design tasks.

Project 10^100 is not unlike the Google-sponsored Lunar X PRIZE, a $30 million international competition to safely land a robot on the surface of the moon, travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send images and data back to Earth. The first team to land on the moon and complete the mission objectives will be awarded $20 million. At least 16 teams are competing.
Those who submit winning Project 10^100 ideas will not be required to have the technical expertise to implement them, Poole said. Google has not determined how winning projects will be sustained financially after the initial prize money runs out, she said.

People may submit more than one idea. Through its online submissions, Google also hopes to connect people with good ideas to charitable organizations who could help implement them, Poole said.

Early voting starts today (09/22/08) in some states

2008-09-22T18:53:00.003-04:00

By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY

FAIRFAX, Va. — Voters by the thousands will begin casting ballots for president this week in an early voting process that's expected to set records this year.

Residents of Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia are among the first in the nation eligible to vote in person, as well as by mail. During the next few weeks, at least 34 states and the District of Columbia will allow early in-person voting for Nov. 4 elections.

Experts such as Paul Gronke of the Early Voting Information Center predict nearly a third of the electorate will vote early this year, up from 15% in 2000 and 20% in 2004. In closely contested Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, about half the voters are expected to cast ballots before Election Day. Florida could be 40%.

"It's a sea change," says Rosemary Rodriguez, head of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. "This is a little bit astounding."

It's all part of the most extensive early voting process in history. The campaigns of Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are already focused on getting voters to the polls, even as their general election contest is taking shape — and before any of the debates.

What used to be a 72-hour get-out-the-vote effort has become "a 720-hour program," says Rich Beeson, the Republican National Committee's political director.

Each side says it's ready. "We go through massive efforts to make sure our supporters know all the ways that they can vote," says Jon Carson, Obama's national field director.

The boom in early voting is fed by election officials' desire to expand turnout without overwhelming polls. "The operative word is options," says Pedro Cortés, president of the National Association of Secretaries of State.

In Georgia, where voting begins today, Secretary of State Karen Handel has urged voters to cast ballots early and expects about 1 million to do so — 25% of the electorate. "We don't want voters to have to wait in line on Election Day," she says.

A couple of counties in Virginia and Kentucky allowed voting late last week. On Friday, 244 people voted in Fairfax County, Va. A day earlier, 96 people kicked off the process in Louisville, despite widespread power outages caused by Hurricane Ike.

Both states only allow absentee votes by people unable to get to the polls on Election Day. Thirty-one states are more liberal, allowing anyone to vote early.

What would you do????

2008-09-15T15:48:00.005-04:00

Fort Wayne woman finds $100,000 on front porch

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) A single, Fort Wayne mother found up to $100,000 on her front porch Tuesday morning (Sept. 9th). She immediately turned it over to police.

The woman who found the money between her front door and her storm door, does not want her name released. She talked exclusively with NewsChannel 15's Megan Stembol about what she found. She said at first she thought it was a loaf of banana nut bread left for her by her neighbor.

"I took a razor and sliced it, and black stuff started coming out," the 29-year old said. "It was black. It was oozy and it smelled."

When police wiped away the black substance, what was in the tightly bound package became very clear.

"He said, 'this is money'," the woman recounted, saying one officer guessed it could be up to $100,000.

The way it was wrapped lead vice and narcotics officers to believe it could be drug money. Police Officer Michael Joyner says motor oil or grease is often used in transported money to cover up it's scent, or the scent of drugs on it.

Why someone left it on an apartment doorstep, in the 600 block of Lawton Place though is a mystery.

Officers took the bundle into custody, and are investigating to see who it could belong to. Police say the woman did the right thing.

"You don't know whose money it is," said Joyner. "If it is, in fact, drug money, are they going to come looking for it...?"

The money is now in the evidence room at the Fort Wayne Police Department. Eventually it will be turned over to the Allen County general fund, if police can't figure out who its rightful owner is.

9th month, 9th day - FAS Awareness Day . . .

2008-09-09T12:49:00.000-04:00

Some of the most common characteristics of alcohol related brain-damage include: poor impulse control and poor problem solving skills, inability to predict what may happen next, difficulty linking actions to consequences, poor social communication (inability to read environments and adapt behavior accordingly), limited abstract reasoning and lack of trial and error learning. In addition, people with FAS/FAE have great difficulty internalizing values, feelings and laws. Therefore, they do not feel empathy for others or have a sense of justice. They can be entirely unattached, feeling nothing, even for the people who raise them. Because of these deficits, they have no internalized sense of right and wrong. A person with no morals, empathy, values or feelings can be a danger to themselves and to society.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are a spectrum of disorders that are a permanent part of that child FOREVER because the mother made a choice to drink while pregnant. It is a 100% preventable birth defect. Pre-natal alcohol exposure was a choice. My son's mother chose to put that bottle to her lips and drink, injuring his future and forever altering the physical make-up of his brain. Intentional? No. But permanent nonetheless.

Education is the best medicine for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. We MUST educate women who are pregnant. We must educate women of child bearing age, whether trying to conceive or not, that you do not drink if there is a possibility of pregnancy. Let's face it. Most women don't know that they are pregnant for at very least 3 weeks after conception . During that time you could have already altered your child's brain, is it worth it? We must also educate doctors that there is no safe amount of alcohol to be consumed during pregnancy. Doctors who tell a patient to put their feet up and have a simple glass of wine are negligent. They need education.

My child's life was stolen from him. Just as a drunk driver hits a child crossing the street and permanently disables her, my son was blind-sided by a drunk mother. The vehicle just happened to be an ambilical cord full of liquor. My son was robbed of a life he could've had.

If that sounds like anger it is. I am irritated at the selfishness. I am angry at the lack of education. I am frustrated in dealing with this disorder every day. I love my boy and wish only the best for him. But, while mother's of other 13 year olds are dropping their child of for a day at the mall, I am looking at my son watching pre-school TV. While those mothers are leaving their sons at a friend's house for the night, I am drugging my son with very dangerous psychotropic meds to help him fend off the hallucinations and get a restful night sleep. I don't grieve for myself, I mourn the loss of my son's life.

Is he happy? Sure. Is he loved? Absolutely. His brain is broken. There are missing pieces. A few examples:

1. I am sitting on the couch watching televisions. He is in the chair not more than 3 feet from me. He has just been told to leave the cat alone because he has tried to keep him on his lap when the cat wanted down. About 3 minutes later the cat saunters past him. He says, "Ozzy, come here kitty." in a normal voice. I look at him. He says, "What? I didn't do anything." "Dustin I heard you call the cat." "You did? How?"

If I wasn't looking at him he has no idea how I heard him. He cannot fathom that I caught him. He denies it. With every fiber of his being he denies calling the cat. He begins to whine and cry and hit is legs in anger. I let it go. I have said nothing more. He continues to holler that he did not call the cat. I say, "Okay. Just leave the cat alone please." Not 3 minutes later I see him out of the corner of my eye looking at me. Waving his arms. I say "Dustin, I see you." He wait about 2 minutes and slaps his knees to call the cat, and says, "Here Ozzy." In a normal voice. I look at him over he top of my glasses and he raises his hands in the air and says, "What?". Argh!

2. Dustin is CONSTANTLY hungry. If I let the child eat every time he said he was hungry we would be in the poor house and he would be sick. I buy him chips for the next day after school. Despite my efforts at trying to keep them a secret he finds them. He asks if he can have them. I tell him no, it is almost bedtime. I tell him that he can earn them for a snack after school. About 3 minutes later he haaaaaaaaaaas to go to the bathroom. I send him upstairs to avoid the kitchen because I know he is trying to get he chips. Two minutes later he asks to let the dog in, once again having to go through the kitchen. No thank you Dustin. He asks to play on the computer. Sure. About 5 minutes later I notice he is missing. The chips are open and he is munching and crunching in the kitchen. RATS. Foiled again. I have him put them away and return to the living room. He is watching TV at the kids television in the room right next to me, in full view. About 10 minutes later, I notice he is sitting on the floor. Unusual. I notice he is sticking his hand under the couch. EATING CHIPS. "Dustin put the chips back in the kitchen." I put him on the chair next to me. 20 minutes pass, the asking is over. I think we are in the clear. I ask him to go shower, he has to go through the kitchen. He showers and then runs upstairs to get underwear. I realize is taking a remarkably long time to get on underwear. He comes downstairs with a mouthful of barbecue chips. "Dustin, put the chips away and get your pills for bed." He complies. Morning comes, I decide to have a small baggie of chips to take to work. I open the cabinet, no chips. I find the empty bag under his bed. Argh!

This is my life.
Object permanence is missing.
Impulsivity rules.

My child cannot ride a bicycle. He automatic memory is broken.

My son cannot read at more than a pre-school level.

My son cannot be left unsupervised very often.

My son cannot walk around the block alone.

My son cannot remember his address or phone number.

My son cannot understand risky behaviors and avoid them.

My son constantly needs an "external brain" to guide his behaviors and impulses.

My son cannot be medication free without hallucinating and living in another world.

My son cannot sleep without medication.

My son cannot be left alone.

My son cannot see consequences of his actions, or even see they are related.

My son cannot ever have the life he should've had, but my son CAN live a wonderful life that we have created for him and CAN say he is cared for and LOVED unconditionally.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders CAN be eliminated. Not one more child needs to suffer their effects. Not one more child needs to grow up with the uncertainty, the impulsivity and the frustration of having their brain permanently altered due to their mother's choices. It can happen. Get out there. Educate.

And while your at it, if you go to the store can you buy me a bag of chips?

WHEN SEX BECOMES AN ADDICTION

2008-09-08T17:39:00.007-04:00

By Elizabeth Landau CNN

CNN) -- "Californication" star David Duchovny made headlines for voluntarily entering rehab last week. But it wasn't for drugs or alcohol. It was for another dependency, one that affects millions of Americans but is seldom discussed: sex addiction.

Sex addiction, also called compulsive sexual behavior, is like a gambling compulsion or alcoholism: It's about devoting your free time to a behavior that you cannot stop, even if you damage relationships or prompt other negative consequences. That could mean extensively using pornography, having affairs, sleeping with prostitutes, and masturbating excessively, to the point where such behaviors get out of control.

If you think it's just about primal desire, think again. For many addicts, sex becomes a way to numb out painful feelings, kill time or stop feeling lonely, says Kelly McDaniel, licensed professional counselor in San Antonio, Texas, and author of "Ready to Heal: Women Facing Love, Sex and Relationship Addiction."

"Most people I talk to get to the point where they don't even like sex," said McDaniel, who has no connection to David Duchovny and did not speculate about his specific situation.
Who are sex addicts?

Sex addiction is estimated to affect 3 to 6 percent of adults in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic, but the American Psychiatric Association has not classified the condition in its diagnostic handbook. Sexhelp.com, run by psychologist Patrick Carnes, provides an online test to help people determine if they have a problem.

The Internet, providing endless opportunities for porn-watching and cybersex, has fueled a surge in cases of sex addiction, experts say.

"We're seeing it with epidemic proportions now, particularly with regards to cybersex," said Mark Schwartz, psychologist and former director of the Masters and Johnson Institute in St. Louis, Missouri. "There isn't a week that goes by where I don't get two calls" about sex addiction.

Therapists have recently seen more women with the condition in connection with Internet porn, which has become a "gender-neutral" addiction, McDaniel said. Before, female sex addicts generally tended to have affairs or become sex workers, she said.

Experts acknowledge that people who have affairs or use pornography are not necessarily sex addicts. Such pastimes form an addiction when they generate negative consequences for a person's relationships, take over free time and become impossible to quit.

Where does it come from?

About 80 percent of sex addiction cases have sexual abuse or emotional trauma in their backgrounds, said Doug Weiss, therapist and executive director of the Heart to Heart Counseling Center. Schwartz also noted that huge numbers of people coming forward as sex addicts have been abused, assaulted or raped.

"When you have abuse in your background, you're less likely to trust people, [and] you're more likely to turn to something like sex addiction as a manifestation," Schwartz said.

Feelings of neglect as a child -- whether from divorced parents or parents who both worked and didn't spend a lot of time with their kids -- may also lead to sex addiction, Schwartz said.

Research into the neuroscience of sex addiction has not been conclusive, the Mayo Clinic said. Naturally occurring chemicals in the brain such as dopamine and serotonin do contribute to sexual functioning, but it's not clear how they are related to sex addiction. McDaniel said these two chemicals are lower in the brains of children who have suffered abuse, which may explain why some of them use their own bodies -- or, in other cases, food -- to increase dopamine and serotonin levels.

A lot of teenagers develop their sexuality with pornography, and then find that relational sex isn't as satisfying, Weiss said. Porn gives them a "very strong chemical hit," and alters ways of thinking about sex, somewhat like the classic "ring the bell, feed the dog" stimulus-response mechanism. Addicts thus learn to become sexually attached to objects, and have trouble getting the same kind of satisfaction from sex in a relationship, he said.For many people, especially women, sex addiction occurs in tandem with another problem such as an eating disorder, drug or alcohol addiction, McDaniel said.

How does treatment work?

A good treatment center will review the reasons why the addiction has come about, along with the brain chemistry of it, McDaniel said. A premier rehabilitation facility would have a combination of individual and group therapy, 12-step support, and possibly psychiatric medications such as antidepressant medications if necessary.

Health Library

MayoClinic.com: Compulsive sexual behavior
The 12-step programs, which have components that parallel Alcoholics Anonymous, are the most widely used form of treatment, said Sam Alibrando, therapist and consultant in Pasadena, California. They involve having a sponsor and being available for others in the group at any time. Anecdotally, however, they work less well than AA because sex is harder to give up, said Alibrando, author of "Follow the Yellow Brick Road: How to Change for the Better When Life Gives You Its Worst."

"Treatment is long-term, and it's not easy," McDaniel said. "I really recommend that a woman or a man find someone who's trained and understands that sex addiction is a brain disease and does not further the shame that comes with this disease."

Unlike drugs or alcohol, the goal of sex addiction therapy is usually not abstinence, but rather learning to have sex in a relationship, experts say. Similarly, someone who recovers from an overeating disorder does not stop eating entirely but learns how to manage diet. Marriage counseling often becomes part of the treatment, Weiss says.

The goals of recovery vary for different people, says Alibrando. He's currently treating a couple in which the wife cannot tolerate her husband even looking at other women. On the other end of the spectrum, he has treated couples in which a woman will buy her boyfriend pornography.
"The spectrum is so wide in terms of where people draw the line," says Alibrando.

Some recovering addicts join support groups requiring that members only have sex with their partners, even prohibiting masturbation.

What's after recovery?

Weiss considers himself a former sex addict, having recognized his problem in his early 20s. Women weren't making him happy; he was using pornography and felt "in conflict" about it.

Now, he runs a resource Web site for recovery at sexaddict.com, along with three-day intensive workshops to jump-start recovery for sex addicts.

Weiss said he's proud of Duchovny for voluntarily seeking help, apparently without prodding from press reports or lawsuits.

"This kind of person who decides to get recovery for themselves without getting exposed" is "likely to get better," he said. "People who voluntarily get better have a much better chance of staying well."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a personal note, I have had a lot of "emotional trauma" in my life, so I get a pass.

Gallup Daily: No Bounce for Obama in Post-Biden Tracking

2008-08-26T23:28:00.000-04:00

McCain creeps ahead, 46% to 44%

PRINCETON, NJ -- It's official: Barack Obama has received no bounce in voter support out of his selection of Sen. Joe Biden to be his vice presidential running mate.

Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Aug. 23-25, the first three-day period falling entirely after Obama's Saturday morning vice presidential announcement, shows 46% of national registered voters backing John McCain and 44% supporting Obama, not appreciably different from the previous week's standing for both candidates. This is the first time since Obama clinched the nomination in early June, though, that McCain has held any kind of advantage over Obama in Gallup Poll Daily tracking.

See full story at: http://www.gallup.com/poll/109834/Gallup-Daily-Bounce-Obama-Post-Biden-Tracking.aspx

This is going to be an interesting race, but I just finished watching Hillary at the Democratic convention, and I'm here to tell you that McCain's edge will be short lived!!! Hillary made some excellent points and was very convincing that we have to elect Obama as the next President of the United States!

Home of the Whopper and ....

2008-08-12T23:05:00.002-04:00

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

2008-08-03T23:06:00.006-04:00

I would like to share with you my fairly recent experience with Verizon, in particular Verizon FIOS.

I have had Verizon for many years for my land line, cell phone and DSL Internet connection. I kept receiving mailings from them wanting me to switch to the FIOS product. We had the Dish network for our television. The mailings were always enticing due to deals such as a $200 Best Buy gift card for signing up. I finally took them up on their offer back in April of this year. I had no idea what a big deal it was to get connected!

After several phone calls back and forth and time off work, they finally dug the ground for the "cable" and had a hell of a piece of equipment to get it to go from my fence to under the pool filter/pool plumbing/gas line/etc area! Actually, all of this went ok. It just took a lot of time.

We went with the big guns! We got the HD DVR recorder with a Multi Room package, 15/15 FIOS internet, and the Freedom calling plan! I was so excited!

So it's our first night with the new FIOS and the TV picture froze up. I rummaged through all my new paperwork to find a number to call. After about a half hour of going through prompts and hold time I finally get connected to a....computer voice! It was not a human, but believe it or not it helped me!! 'It' had determined that my box need to be re-booted. It did re-boot it and it started to work again! I was impressed.... until it kept happening and happening. I finally got wise and quit calling the computer to re-boot for me and just started to unplug and plug it back in myself! The next day I called Verizon and told them that their piece of shit equipment was not doing so well at my house!!! They sent a tech guy out (more time off work). He inspected the work of the previous installer. He replaced a couple of connections and all seemed ok. The next day, the same thing happened! I called "the guy" again! He came out (more time off work) and installed a new box. That seemed to solve the problem. Whew!

So I try to pause live tv in the bedroom. Doesn't work. I try to record from the bedroom. Deosn't work. I call Verizon again... they tell me that I can't do that. I couldn't believe it because I could with the Dish service. "we're sorry, but our equipment doesn't do that". That was a letdown.

So now we're cooking. Our TV in the bedroom wasn't HD capable so we could only watch the recorded programs that were not in HD, but that was ok. Of course, that was all we could do with the fancy DVR from the bedroom.

I called Verizon the other day to ask where my $200 gift card was. Hadn't received it yet. After about a half hour on hold, the gal said "I'm sorry, but you aren't qualified for the gift card because you aren't a new Verizon customer.". What! Are they serious??? I was told I would be receiving it when I ordered the Verizon FIOS service. She finally agreed to give me a $50 credit on my bill for the 'inconvenience'. That sucks!

Our living room tv lamp went out a couple of weeks ago. We had ordered a new one, but it was going to be a week or two before it would arrive and be installed. My wife and I decided to upgrade our bedroom TV to an HD capable TV so we could watch the HD programs we record. We bought the tv, but hooked it up in the living room until our lamp was replaced. So last week, we got our lamp replaced and I hooked the new HD TV up in our bedroom. It was not a digital signal (our old tv was an analog tv), and when I tried to watch an HD recorded program it said I didn't have an HD receiver and to call to order one. So I did.

The new HD receiver arrived via UPS and I hooked it up myself. Yeah! Nice clear picture on our new HD TV in the bedroom!!! Wait, only local channels were coming up. It said we weren't subscribed to things like CNN etc! Back on the phone again. Talked to a live person who kept me on the phone for about an hour until he figured out what the problem was on their end, but at least he did figure it out. Yeah...again.

Wait. When I push the DVR button on the bedroom remote nothing happens. That's weird. Back on the phone again with Verizon. I was told they sent me the wrong receiver!!! Great! Now what? Well, I was then told they don't actually have a receiver for what I want!!!! Excuse me??? What??? He said they are still testing the Multi Room DVR for HD, but it isn't on the market yet. I said "what about those commercials where they say "you mean what I record in here I can watch in here, and over there and in there?"". "Not in HD".

Ok - I've about had it. I asked to speak to a supervisor. That guy told me the same story about how HD recordings can NOT be viewed anwhere but where they were recorded from. I couldn't believe it. He was also going to check on the bumb steer we got with the $200 promotion. I asked him if I could keep both boxes for the bedroom tv for one price so I cold watch HD tv and watch non HD recorded programs. he said "no". He said he would check on things and get back with me within a half an hour. He called me back in about 5 minutes! He said the billing office is now closed and he would have to wait until tomorrow. That was last Wednesday. Today is Sunday evening and I still haven't heard back from the supervisor...

UPDATE: 08/04

I decided to contact Verizon during my lunchtime today. I was going to get to the bottom of this.
After all, I had 25 minutes before I had to head back to work.

So I call Verizon and went through the standard prompts and quizzes and finally get put on hold for the next available person. After what seemed like a half hour, but was probably only five minutes, I get a live person. I have to go through the entire story and tell him my reference number, but I thought it would be worth it to get to the bottom of this. "I can't access that reference number" I am told. "I am just a tech, you will have to talk to a different department. let me transfer you.". "wait..." too late. Now I am back on hold again, and this time I am pretty sure it was for about ten minutes. My time is running out already!

"Hello, this is Shirley" or some pretty voice on the other end. Ok, so now I tell her the whole story with reference number. She said "you probably need to talk to tech support" WHAT!!!??? I just got transferred to her FROM tech support!!! I told her I didn't have time to continue this any more today. She gave me a different 888 number which is supposed to help me get further the next time I call. Oh brother!!!!

UPDATE: 08/06

I had to get something done about this because I have two "boxes", and I'm sure to get billed for both of them, so I decided to call Verizon once again. I pleaded with the support person to help me get this resolved once and for all. He reset my bedroom box and said that I should be able to get HD on my bedroom TV AND use the DVR button (but without viewing HD recordings). Yeah! Wait...it still doesn't work!!! Hmmm. After several minutes on hold, the tech informed me that if I would just be patient (one day to one week), that an update would be installed automatically that would fix the problem! Really? He said I should call billing tomorrow and inform them that I am going to keep both boxes until the "patch" arrives. Are you buying this??? I'm not, but I'll just have to wait and see....

PICKENS PLAN

2008-07-22T22:54:00.000-04:00

Just wondering

2008-07-18T22:44:00.000-04:00

Every now and then I think of things that bother me.
Maybe you can help me.

If you turn the air conditioner up, are you making it warmer or cooler?

Are 'this Saturday' and 'next Saturday' the same date?

What happens when an irresistible force encounters an immovable object?

IT'S JUST SATIRE, OR IS IT...???

2008-07-14T16:24:00.007-04:00

The New Yorker magazine says it's satire, but a lot of people find it's just disgusting. I didn't "get it" at first. I thought it was really outrageous and offensive!!! If I thought that, then I think the "average" person will think the same. Apparently it is meant to show just how distorted some images of the Obama's really are - but I see an opposite effect. To me, it says "don't vote for Obama".

What do you think?

"Don't Tell Mom, the Boyfriend's Dead!"

2008-07-03T23:01:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm gonna rot in hell for that one, but I. . .just. . .couldn't. . .resist. . .

Lee Grivas, the 26-year-old on and off boyfriend of Christina Applegate, was found dead from a heroin overdose in his apartment on Tuesday afternoon. Applegate and Grivas, a 26-year-old skateboarder and photographer, had a rocky on-again, off-again relationship due to his continual battle with drugs and alcohol. But the couple had decided to give it one last shot this past April when Grivas made another attempt at getting clean.

"I am profoundly saddened," Applegate said in a statement to Us Magazine. "Lee was an incredible human being who was an extremely important and beautiful part of my life. He is missed beyond words," she added. "He touched so many and I feel much sadness for his mother, father, brother, and all of his family and friends."

Do you ever wonder...

2008-07-02T19:23:00.006-04:00

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?

Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars,but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?

What is the speed of dark?

Are there specially reserved parking spaces for "normal" people at the Special Olympics?

If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?

If it's true that we are here to help others, what are the others doing here?

Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?

Do you cry under water?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?"

Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken there... I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta it's butt."

Why do toasters always have a setting so high that could burn the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their ass when they ask where the bathroom is?

Why does your Obstetrician, Gynaecologist leave the room when you get undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They'reboth dogs!

Can blind people see their dreams?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made fromvegetables,then what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
Stop singing and read on . . . . . .. .. . . .

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?

Why does the weather forcaster say there's a 30% chance of showers instead of a 70% chance of sunshine?

Good job George!

2008-06-27T22:02:00.003-04:00

What do you think of Obama's new logo?

2008-06-20T17:27:00.004-04:00

From CNN Political Producer Alexander Marquardt

The Obama campaign debuted a new logo Friday that bears a striking resemblance to the presidential seal. Photo credit: AP, White House.

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) – Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama sat down in Chicago Friday morning to discuss the economy with visiting Democratic governors, but all eyes were on the Illinois senator’s podium bearing, what might be described as, a quasi-presidential seal – the Obama campaign’s new official logo.

The seal includes the same bald eagle as the actual presidential seal clutching an olive branch and arrows in its talons, but instead of a shield covering the center of the eagle’s body, the Obama version displays the campaign’s trademark “O.” Unlike the Presidential seal, which includes the words “Seal of the President of the United States” around the circumference, “Obama for America” and “www.barackobama.com” grace the top and bottom of Obama's.

Finally, just above the eagle, in Latin, are the words – “vero possumus” – which translates to “yes we can,” the oft-heard chant at Obama rallies.

It remains to be seen how the new seal will play in the campaign’s quest to win over working-class voters.

What do you think of the logo?

-----------------------------------------------

Update:

The official Great Seal of Obama that the senator from Illinois rolled out last week has been relegated to a campaign office shelf.

"It was a one-time seal for a one-time event,'' said Robert Gibbs, communications director for the Obama campaign.

Is this fair or just a way to get more money?

2008-06-15T22:02:00.003-04:00

Charging by the Byte to Curb Internet Traffic

By BRIAN STELTER of the New York Times

Some people use the Internet simply to check e-mail and look up phone numbers. Others are online all day, downloading big video and music files.

For years, both kinds of Web surfers have paid the same price for access. But now three of the country’s largest Internet service providers are threatening to clamp down on their most active subscribers by placing monthly limits on their online activity.

One of them, Time Warner Cable, began a trial of “Internet metering” in one Texas city early this month, asking customers to select a monthly plan and pay surcharges when they exceed their bandwidth limit. The idea is that people who use the network more heavily should pay more, the way they do for water, electricity, or, in many cases, cellphone minutes.

That same week, Comcast said that it would expand on a strategy it uses to manage Internet traffic: slowing down the connections of the heaviest users, so-called bandwidth hogs, at peak times.

AT&T also said Thursday that limits on heavy use were inevitable and that it was considering pricing based on data volume. “Based on current trends, total bandwidth in the AT&T network will increase by four times over the next three years,” the company said in a statement.

All three companies say that placing caps on broadband use will ensure fair access for all users.
Internet metering is a throwback to the days of dial-up service, but at a time when video and interactive games are becoming popular, the experiments could have huge implications for the future of the Web.

Millions of people are moving online to watch movies and television shows, play multiplayer video games and talk over videoconference with family and friends. And media companies are trying to get people to spend more time online: the Disneys and NBCs of the world keep adding television shows and movies to their Web sites, giving consumers convenient entertainment that soaks up a lot of bandwidth.

Moreover, companies with physical storefronts, like Blockbuster, are moving toward digital delivery of entertainment. And new distributors of online content — think YouTube — are relying on an open data spigot to make their business plans work.

Critics of the bandwidth limits say that metering and capping network use could hold back the inevitable convergence of television, computers and the Internet.

The Internet “is how we deliver our shows,” said Jim Louderback, chief executive of Revision3, a three-year-old media company that runs what it calls a television network on the Web. “If all of a sudden our viewers are worried about some sort of a broadband cap, they may think twice about downloading or watching our shows.”

Even if the caps are far above the average users’ consumption, their mere existence could cause users to reduce their time online. Just ask people who carefully monitor their monthly allotments of cellphone minutes and text messages.

“As soon as you put serious uncertainty as to cost on the table, people’s feeling of freedom to predict cost dries up and so does innovation and trying new applications,” Vint Cerf, the chief Internet evangelist for Google who is often called the “father of the Internet,” said in an e-mail message.

But the companies imposing the caps say that their actions are only fair. People who use more network capacity should pay more, Time Warner argues. And Comcast says that people who use too much — like those who engage in file-sharing — should be forced to slow down.

Time Warner also frames the issue in financial terms: the broadband infrastructure needs to be improved, it says, and maybe metering could pay for the upgrades. So far its trial is limited to new subscribers in Beaumont, Tex., a city of roughly 110,000.

In that trial, new customers can buy plans with a 5-gigabyte cap, a 20-gigabyte cap or a 40-gigabyte cap. Prices for those plans range from $30 to $50. Above the cap, customers pay $1 a gigabyte. Plans with higher caps come with faster service.

“Average customers are way below the caps,” said Kevin Leddy, executive vice president for advanced technology at Time Warner Cable. “These caps give them years’ worth of growth before they’d ever pay any surcharges.”

Casual Internet users who merely send e-mail messages, check movie times and read the news are not likely to exceed the caps. But people who watch television shows on Hulu.com, rent movies on iTunes or play the multiplayer game Halo on Xbox may start to exceed the limits — and millions of people are already doing those things.

Streaming an hour of video on Hulu, which shows programs like “Saturday Night Live,” “Family Guy” and “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” consumes about 200 megabytes, or one-fifth of a gigabyte. A higher-quality hour of the same content bought through Apple’s iTunes store can use about 500 megabytes, or half a gigabyte.

A high-definition episode of “Survivor” on CBS.com can use up to a gigabyte, and a DVD-quality movie through Netflix’s new online service can eat up about five gigabytes. One Netflix download alone, in fact, could bring a user to the limit on the cheapest plan in Time Warner’s trial in Beaumont.

Even services like Skype and Vonage that use the Internet to transmit phone calls could help put users over the monthly limits.

Time Warner would not reveal how many gigabytes an average customer uses, saying only that 95 percent of customers use under 40 gigabytes each in a month.

That means that 5 percent of customers use more than 50 percent of the network’s overall capacity, the company said, and many of those people are assumed to be sharing copyrighted video and music files illegally.

The Time Warner plan has the potential to bring Internet use full circle, back to the days when pay-as-you-go pricing held back the Web’s popularity. In the early days of dial-up access, America Online and other providers offered tiered pricing, in part because audio and video were barely viable online. Consumers feared going over their allotted time and bristled at the idea that access to cyberspace was billed by the hour.

In 1996, when AOL started offering unlimited access plans, Internet use took off and the online world started moving to the center of people’s daily lives. Today most Internet packages provide a seemingly unlimited amount of capacity, at least from the consumer’s perspective.

But like water and electricity, even digital resources are finite. Last year Comcast disclosed that it was temporarily turning off the connections of customers who used file-sharing services like BitTorrent, arguing that they were slowing things down for everyone else. The people who got cut off complained and asked how much broadband use was too much; the company did not have a ready answer.

Thus, like Time Warner, Comcast is considering a form of Internet metering that would apply to all online activity.

The goal, says Mitch Bowling, a senior vice president at Comcast, is “ensuring that a small number of users don’t impact the experience for everyone else.”
Last year Comcast was sued when it was disclosed that the company had singled out BitTorrent users.

In February, Comcast departed from that approach and started collaborating with the company that runs BitTorrent. Now it has shifted to what it calls a “platform agnostic” approach to managing its network, meaning that it slows down the connection of any customer who uses too much bandwidth at congested times.

Mr. Bowling said that “typical Internet usage” would not be affected. But on the Internet, “typical” use is constantly being redefined.

“The definitions of low and high usage today are meaningless, because the Internet’s going to grow, and nothing’s going to stop that,” said Eric Klinker, the chief technology officer of BitTorrent.

As the technology company Cisco put it in a recent report, “today’s ‘bandwidth hog’ is tomorrow’s average user.”

One result of these experiments is a tug-of-war between the Internet providers and media companies, which are monitoring the Time Warner experiment with trepidation.

“We hate it,” said a senior executive at a major media company, who requested anonymity because his company, like all broadcasters, must play nice with the same cable operators that are imposing the limits. Now that some television shows are viewed millions of times online, the executive said, any impediment would hurt the advertising model for online video streaming.

Mr. Leddy of Time Warner said that the media companies’ fears were overblown. If the company were to try to stop Web video, “we would not succeed,” he said. “We know how much capacity they’re going to need in the future, and we know what it’s going to cost. And today’s business model doesn’t pay for it very well.”

Guess what this is . . .

2008-06-10T22:19:00.001-04:00

Click image for a larger view.

Would you fly with this man?

2008-06-03T07:34:00.003-04:00

An airline passenger claimed that a security guard threatened to arrest him because he was wearing a T-shirt showing a cartoon robot with a gun.

Brad Jayakody, 30, from London, said he was stopped from passing through security at Heathrow's Terminal 5 after his Transformers T-shirt was deemed 'offensive.'

The IT consultant was set to fly off on a business trip to Dusseldorf in Germany when he was pulled to one side.

Mr Jayakody said the first guard started joking with him about the Transformers character depicted on his French Connection T-shirt.

'Then he explains that since Megatron is holding a gun, I'm not allowed to fly,' he said.

'It's a 40ft tall cartoon robot with a gun as an arm. There is no way this shirt is offensive in any way, and what I'm going to use the shirt to pretend I have a gun?

He was cooperative with the supervisor and took off the the 'offensive' T-shirt, replacing it with another shirt in his carry on luggage.

A spokesman for Heathrow operator BAA said: 'If a T-shirt had a rude word or a bomb on it, for example, a passenger may be asked to remove it.

'We are investigating what happened to see if it came under this category.
'If it's offensive, we don't want other passengers upset.'
He said there was no record of the incident and the passenger 'certainly didn't make a formal complaint at the time.'

Historic pictures sent from mars

2008-05-26T19:13:00.002-04:00

A Nasa spacecraft has sent back historic first pictures of an unexplored region of Mars.

The Mars Phoenix lander touched down in the far north of the Red Planet, after a 680 million-km (423 million-mile) journey from Earth.

The probe is equipped with a robotic arm to dig for water-ice thought to be buried beneath the surface.

It will begin examining the site for evidence of the building blocks of life in the next few days.
A signal confirming the lander had reached the surface was received at 2353 GMT on 25 May (1953 EDT; 0053 BST on 26 May). The message took 15 minutes to travel to Earth from Mars at the speed of light.

Wait just a minute! What? "A signal confirming the lander had reached the surface was received??? At the speed of light???" How in the world can a signal be sent 423 million miles without some kind of signal booster? I mean, even the phone company has to have signal boosters. On top of a "signal" confirmation, there were phenomenal pictures, with high quality even! How can this be? Can someone explain this to me???

Is Bush going to attack Iran???

2008-05-20T19:16:00.005-04:00

From The Jerusalem Post

The White House on May 19th flatly denied an Army Radio report that claimed US President George W. Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term. It said that while the military option had not been taken off the table, the administration preferred to resolve concerns about Iran's push for a nuclear weapon "through peaceful diplomatic means."

Army Radio had quoted a top official in Jerusalem claiming that a senior member in the entourage of President Bush, who visited Israel last week, had said in a closed meeting here that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were of the opinion that military action against Iran was called for.

The official reportedly went on to say that, for the time being, "the hesitancy of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" was preventing the administration from deciding to launch such an attack on the Islamic Republic.

The Army Radio report, which was quoted by The Jerusalem Post and resonated widely, stated that according to assessments in Israel, the recent turmoil in Lebanon, where Hizbullah has established de facto control of the country, was advancing an American attack.

Bush, the official reportedly said, considered Hizbullah's show of strength evidence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's growing influence. In Bush's view, the official said, "the disease must be treated - not its symptoms."

However, the White House on Tuesday afternoon dismissed the story. In a statement, it said that "[the US] remain[s] opposed to Iran's ambitions to obtain a nuclear weapon. To that end, we are working to bring tough diplomatic and economic pressure on the Iranians to get them to change their behavior and to halt their uranium enrichment program."

It went on: "As the president has said, no president of the United States should ever take options off the table, but our preference and our actions for dealing with this matter remain through peaceful diplomatic means. Nothing has changed in that regard."

In an interview last week in the Oval Office, Bush told the Post that "Iran is an incredibly negative influence" and "the biggest long-term threat to peace in the Middle East," but that the US was "pushing back hard and will continue to do so."

He noted that "Iran is involved in funding Hamas and Hizbullah, and it's that Iranian influence which I'm deeply concerned about. But there needs to be more than just the United States concerned about it."

Bush said: "We take [seriously] this issue of [Iran] getting the technology, the know-how on how to develop a nuclear weapon."

"All options are on the table," he said, but, "Of course you want to try to solve this problem diplomatically."

Asked whether the Iranians would be deterred from their nuclear drive by the time he left office, Bush told the Post: "What definitely will be done [before I leave office will be the establishment of] a structure on how to deal with this, to try to resolve this diplomatically. In other words sanctions, pressures, financial pressures. You know, a history of pressure that will serve as a framework to make sure other countries are involved."

Days later, in his address to the Knesset, Bush said that "the president of Iran dreams of returning the Middle East to the Middle Ages" and "America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions."

"Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," he said.

... and even more poll numbers!!!

2008-05-16T10:41:00.002-04:00

38% of Democrats Want Clinton to Drop Out

From Rasmussen Reports

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of Democratic voters nationwide now believe that Hillary Clinton should drop out of the race for the White House. That’s up slightly from 34% in late April, 32% earlier in April and 22% in late March.

However, if Clinton does not win the Democratic Party nomination, 29% of Democrats say she should run an Independent campaign for the White House. Sixty-one percent (61%) of Democrats disagree. Clinton supporters are evenly divided on the question.

As for Barack Obama, 25% Democrats say he should drop out. That’s down from 22% following the Pennsylvania Primary, 26% earlier in April and unchanged from 22% in March.

Six percent (6%) want both candidates to drop out and 43% aren’t ready for either to leave.
Obama supporters, by an 84% to 8% margin, believe their candidate would be the stronger general election candidate.

By an 82% to 5% margin, Clinton supporters say the same about their candidate.
Rasmussen Reports has stated that the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination is effectively over and that Obama will be the nominee. Rasmussen Markets currently suggests that Obama has an 91.7 chance of winning the nomination. Obama is essentially even with Republican John McCain in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

By a 67% to 20% mark, Obama supporters say that Clinton should leave the race. But, just 4% of those who support Senator Clinton agree. Forty-four percent of Clinton supporters believe Obama should drop out while 42% disagree.

The national telephone survey also found that 76% of all Democrats now believe it is at least somewhat likely the Democratic nomination will remain unresolved until the Democratic convention in August. That’s down nine percentage points over the past two weeks. Forty-one percent (41%) of all Democrats believe that a decision at the convention is Very Likely. That’s down ten points since the previous survey Republicans are now evenly divided as to which Democrat they see as the tougher challenge in the fall. That is little changed from the late April survey. Earlier in the year, Republicans were far more likely to see Obama as the stronger Democratic candidate.

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

The Rasmussen Reports ElectionEdge™ Premium Service for Election 2008 offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a Presidential election.
Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.

What was Rev. Wright thinking!!!???

2008-04-30T13:41:00.003-04:00

I'm not going to go deep into the Rev. Wright controversy, other than to post this so you, the blogger, can comment. I may comment back though on comments posted. What are your thoughts? Motive? Is this the end of this story?

Obama vs. Clinton - Does race matter?

2008-04-24T20:48:00.002-04:00

From The Times
April 24, 2008
Yes it's politically incorrect but race matters
The Democrats must admit it: Obama would lose to McCain
Anatole Kaletsky
"The latest polls in the two most important swing states show Mr McCain easily beating Mr Obama in both Florida and Ohio, while Mrs Clinton comfortably beats the Republican in Ohio and is neck and neck in Florida."

See the full story here.

Voting has started

2008-04-21T20:02:00.001-04:00

Hello friends,

Voting begins today on MoveOn.org's "Obama in 30 Seconds" contest. My submission made it past the screening and now it is up to people like you to get me into the next round.

The winner of the contest will win a $20,000 certificate good for professional Video equipment. I will be going up against many professionals, so if anyone needs the equipment, it's poor little me (where are all those tiny violins when you need a good pity party). At any rate here is the link to my video.

http://obamain30seconds.org/vote/?v=view-420-RJrCZD

Now, what I need from everyone. Please, please, please, write a post about the contest and include my link. If possible, put a link to my ad on your sidebar. Also, send an email to everyone you know and send them to my ad. Here are the rules and the way voting works.

The first way is to have one of the 10 highest-rated ads. In order to rate ads, people will go to the Obama in 30 Seconds website and click to get started. Then, they’ll be brought to a voting screen and shown their first ad. While they’re rating ads, voters will not be able to choose what ads they see; we’ll choose for them. This ensures that all of the ads get seen by lots of voters and that nobody is able to pump up an ad’s rating by asking people to just go and vote on that one ad. And of course, each voter will only be shown each ad once.

In the rating system, viewers will give each ad 1-5 stars in each of three categories: Overall Impact, which counts for 50%; Originality, which counts for 25%; and Positive Message, which counts for 25%. At the end of voting, the 10 ads with the highest average rating, using those criteria and weightings, will be finalists.

The second way to become a finalist is to have one of the five ads that’s watched by the highest number of unique viewers on the Obama in 30 Seconds website. For these “direct hits,” we’ll send you a link to your ad as soon as voting opens on Monday. We encourage you to pass the link around to friends and family, post it on your blog, or do anything else creative to drive people to the site to watch it. Each time someone follows that link and watches your ad on our site, we’ll count that toward your total viewers. Of course, people who watch an ad this way will have to enter their email address before they’re counted; this prevents fraud and makes sure it’s not one person just hitting refresh over and over.

It’s important to note that people who see your ad through the automatic voting system won’t be counted toward the number of viewers. But, on the voting page, we’ll provide the direct link to the ad they’re watching. That way, if somebody sees your ad while voting and loves it, they can show it to all their friends. And when they do, since their friends will be using the direct link to your ad, all of those viewers will count toward your total.

It's not often a lowly blogger wins this kind of contest. Hey, I decided to give it a shot. Now, please, give a fellow blogger a hand. If you're not an Obama supporter, that's okay, think of it as helping a fellow blogger. If you are an Obama supporter, then you have a chance for another Obama supporter's home made ad to run on National TV.

Here's thanking you in advance for your cooperation.

Robert

Here a poll, there a poll, everywhere a poll poll

2008-04-20T22:29:00.008-04:00

According to a recent Gallup poll, Senator Barack Obama is in the lead over Senator Hillary Clinton. Last week, their poll indicated that Senator Clinton would win against McCain by 1 pt, but Senator Obama would only tie him. Now they are saying that Obama and McCain are in a dead heat, while McCain has a 1 pt advantage over Clinton. Oh brother!!! Let's see what PA. and IN. have to say about this.

See the full story here.

Peace symbol origin

2008-04-17T15:14:00.003-04:00

By RICHARD LACAYO

Just like Madonna and Michelle Pfeiffer, the peace symbol is turning 50 this year. When an icon turns that age, you can start making some judgments about whether it has what it takes to endure. Madonna? Hanging in there. Pfeiffer? We'll see. But the peace symbol--it's 50 years young and going strong.

By now, the little sectioned circle has become so familiar, it feels as if it had no genesis, that it just emerged out of a collective folk culture, like the Star of David or a nursery rhyme. But in fact it can be traced to a single inventor, Gerald Holtom.

Holtom was a London textile designer who had been a conscientious objector during World War II. By 1958, as Britain, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were well into the nuclear arms race, a grass-roots movement to "Ban the Bomb" was gathering force in the United Kingdom. Early that year, a fledgling disarmament group called the Direct Action Campaign (DAC) started to put together what would be Britain's first major demonstration against nuclear weapons. The plan was for a 52-mile (84 km) march from London to the town of Aldermaston, home to an A-bomb research center.

Enter Holtom, who brought to the DAC his design for a symbol that marchers could carry on banners and signs. He had arrived at the image by combining the semaphore signals for the letters N, for nuclear, and D, for disarmament. The first is a figure with arms held downward and out from both sides; the second, a figure holding one arm above its head while the other points to the ground.

The symbol was simple--a few straight lines inside a circle. But like a Chinese character, its form was suggestive. The straight lines hinted at the human body. The circle brought to mind Planet Earth. (It also looked a bit like the Mercedes-Benz logo, which has led to some confusion over the years.) Importantly, anybody could draw it.

Before long, millions of people did. It debuted on April 4 in London's Trafalgar Square, the assembly point for the four-day march. Over the next few days, it appeared in countless newspaper photos and TV reports. Bayard Rustin, an American protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. who took part in the march, brought the symbol home to a growing civil rights movement dedicated to nonviolence. When the Vietnam War started getting out of hand, protesters discovered they had a ready-made icon to signal their feelings.

There were people who didn't like the symbol any better than they liked the movements it represented. They saw it as an inverted broken cross or "the footprint of the American chicken." But it kept spreading through the culture. Like the Christian cross, which has served the purposes of soup kitchens and Crusaders, the Sisters of Mercy and the Ku Klux Klan, it was adaptable. Over time, it evolved from its narrow association with nuclear disarmament into an insignia for countercultures of all kinds. Hippies made it a sort of all-purpose symbol of peacefulness. The environmental group Greenpeace, the militant wing of flower power, adopted it for its eco-defense campaigns.

And inevitably, the market found it. By the late 1960s, peace symbols were appearing on coffee mugs, miniskirts and ponchos and were dangling from chains around the necks of guys you would expect to see at the Playboy mansion. Duplicated endlessly as a hip fashion accessory, it threatened to devolve into a meaningless emblem of benign and groovy sentiment. It started looking corny, a kind of smiley face before there were smiley faces.

But events have conspired to keep giving the peace symbol fresh life. The arms race rumbles along, wars keep happening, and it continually comes back into circulation as, well, a peace symbol. The war in Iraq has created all kinds of opportunities for it at rallies and demonstrations. If it's true, as John McCain has suggested, that the U.S. may have to remain in Iraq for 100 years, then the peace symbol probably has a long life ahead of it.

Sign of the Times For a photographic history of the peace symbol, go to time.com/peace

How to get a good reference after being fired - not

2008-04-13T19:03:00.003-04:00

EXIT 329 CLOSED

SUCKS TO BE YOU. BUT

I GOT FIRED TODAY SO

DONT EXPECT ANY HELP

Good vs. Evil

2008-04-09T22:04:00.004-04:00

A senior citizen in Florida bought a brand new Corvette convertible. He took off down the road, flooring it to 80 mph enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left on his head. "This is great," he thought as he roared down I-75.

He pushed the pedal to the metal even more. Then he looked in his rear view mirror and saw a highway patrol trooper behind him, blue lights flashing and siren blaring.

"I can get away from him with no problem" thought the man and he tromped it some more and flew down the road at over 100 mph.

Then 110, 120 mph. Then he thought, "What am I doing? I'm too old for this kind of thing."

He pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the trooper to catch up with him.

The trooper pulled in behind the Corvette and walked up to the man. "Sir," he said, looking at his watch. "My shift ends in 30 minutes and today is Friday. If you can give me a reason why you were speeding that I've never heard before, I'll let you go."

The man looked at the trooper and said, "Years ago my wife ran off with a Florida State Trooper, and I thought you were bringing her back."

"Have a good day, Sir," said the Trooper.

Blog till you drop

2008-04-07T07:38:00.002-04:00

In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop
The New York Times
SAN FRANCISCO — They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.

A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.

Of course, the bloggers can work elsewhere, and they profess a love of the nonstop action and perhaps the chance to create a global media outlet without a major up-front investment. At the same time, some are starting to wonder if something has gone very wrong. In the last few months, two among their ranks have died suddenly.

Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack. In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.

Other bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet.

To be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging, and the premature demise of two people obviously does not qualify as an epidemic. There is also no certainty that the stress of the work contributed to their deaths. But friends and family of the deceased, and fellow information workers, say those deaths have them thinking about the dangers of their work style.
The pressure even gets to those who work for themselves — and are being well-compensated for it.

“I haven’t died yet,” said Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, a popular technology blog. The site has brought in millions in advertising revenue, but there has been a hefty cost. Mr. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees. “At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen.”

“This is not sustainable,” he said.

It is unclear how many people blog for pay, but there are surely several thousand and maybe even tens of thousands.

The emergence of this class of information worker has paralleled the development of the online economy. Publishing has expanded to the Internet, and advertising has followed.

Even at established companies, the Internet has changed the nature of work, allowing people to set up virtual offices and work from anywhere at any time. That flexibility has a downside, in that workers are always a click away from the burdens of the office. For obsessive information workers, that can mean never leaving the house.

Blogging has been lucrative for some, but those on the lower rungs of the business can earn as little as $10 a post, and in some cases are paid on a sliding bonus scale that rewards success with a demand for even more work.

There are growing legions of online chroniclers, reporting on and reflecting about sports, politics, business, celebrities and every other conceivable niche. Some write for fun, but thousands write for Web publishers — as employees or as contractors — or have started their own online media outlets with profit in mind.

One of the most competitive categories is blogs about technology developments and news. They are in a vicious 24-hour competition to break company news, reveal new products and expose corporate gaffes.

To the victor go the ego points, and, potentially, the advertising. Bloggers for such sites are often paid for each post, though some are paid based on how many people read their material. They build that audience through scoops or volume or both.

Some sites, like those owned by Gawker Media, give bloggers retainers and then bonuses for hitting benchmarks, like if the pages they write are viewed 100,000 times a month. Then the goal is raised, like a sales commission: write more, earn more.

Bloggers at some of the bigger sites say most writers earn about $30,000 a year starting out, and some can make as much as $70,000. A tireless few bloggers reach six figures, and some entrepreneurs in the field have built mini-empires on the Web that are generating hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. Others who are trying to turn blogging into a career say they can end up with just $1,000 a month.

Speed can be of the essence. If a blogger is beaten by a millisecond, someone else’s post on the subject will bring in the audience, the links and the bigger share of the ad revenue.
“There’s no time ever — including when you’re sleeping — when you’re not worried about missing a story,” Mr. Arrington said.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we said no blogger or journalist could write a story between 8 p.m. Pacific time and dawn? Then we could all take a break,” he added. “But that’s never going to happen.”
All that competition puts a premium on staying awake. Matt Buchanan, 22, is the right man for the job. He works for clicks for Gizmodo, a popular Gawker Media site that publishes news about gadgets. Mr. Buchanan lives in a small apartment in Brooklyn, where his bedroom doubles as his office.

He says he sleeps about five hours a night and often does not have time to eat proper meals. But he does stay fueled — by regularly consuming a protein supplement mixed into coffee.
But make no mistake: Mr. Buchanan, a recent graduate of New York University, loves his job. He said he gets paid to write (he will not say how much) while interacting with readers in a global conversation about the latest and greatest products.

“The fact I have a few thousand people a day reading what I write — that’s kind of cool,” he said. And, yes, it is exhausting. Sometimes, he said, “I just want to lie down.”

Sometimes he does rest, inadvertently, falling asleep at the computer.

“If I don’t hear from him, I’ll think: Matt’s passed out again,” said Brian Lam, the editor of Gizmodo. “It’s happened four or five times.”

Mr. Lam, who as a manager has a substantially larger income, works even harder. He is known to pull all-nighters at his own home office in San Francisco — hours spent trying to keep his site organized and competitive. He said he was well equipped for the torture; he used to be a Thai-style boxer.

“I’ve got a background getting punched in the face,” he said. “That’s why I’m good at this job.”
Mr. Lam said he has worried his blogging staff might be burning out, and he urges them to take breaks, even vacations. But he said they face tremendous pressure — external, internal and financial. He said the evolution of the “pay-per-click” economy has put the emphasis on reader traffic and financial return, not journalism.

In the case of Mr. Shaw, it is not clear what role stress played in his death. Ellen Green, who had been dating him for 13 months, said the pressure, though self-imposed, was severe. She said she and Mr. Shaw had been talking a lot about how he could create a healthier lifestyle, particularly after the death of his friend, Mr. Orchant.

“The blogger community is looking at this and saying: ‘Oh no, it happened so fast to two really vital people in the field,’ ” she said. They are wondering, “What does that have to do with me?”
For his part, Mr. Shaw did not die at his desk. He died in a hotel in San Jose, Calif., where he had flown to cover a technology conference. He had written a last e-mail dispatch to his editor at ZDNet: “Have come down with something. Resting now posts to resume later today or tomorrow.”

Sex takes 3 to 13 minutes, study says

2008-04-02T21:19:00.004-04:00

From CNN.com

NEW YORK (AP) -- Maybe men had it right all along: It doesn't take long to satisfy a woman in bed.

It's difficult for men of all ages to make sexual intercourse last much longer, a psychologist says.

A survey of sex therapists concluded the optimal amount of time for sexual intercourse was 3 to 13 minutes. The findings, to be published in the May issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, strike at the notion that endurance is the key to a great sex life.

If that sounds like good news to you, don't cheer too loudly. The time does not count foreplay, and the therapists did rate sexual intercourse that lasts from 1 to 2 minutes as "too short."

Researcher Eric Corty said he hoped to ease the minds of those who believe "more of something good is better, and if you really want to satisfy your partner, you should last forever."

The questions were not gender-specific, said Corty. But he said prior research has shown men and women want foreplay and sexual intercourse to last longer.

Dr. Irwin Goldstein, editor of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, cited a four-week study of 1,500 couples in 2005 that found the median time for sexual intercourse was 7.3 minutes. (Women in the study were armed with stopwatches.)

It's difficult for both older men and young men to make sexual intercourse last much longer, said Marianne Brandon, a clinical psychologist and director of Wellminds Wellbodies in Annapolis, Maryland.

"There are so many myths in our culture of what other people are doing sexually," Brandon said. "Most people's sex lives are not as exciting as other people think they are."

Fifty members of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research in the U.S. and Canada were surveyed by Corty, an associate professor of psychology at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, and student Jenay Guardiani. Thirty-four members, or 68 percent, responded, although some said the optimal time depended on the couple.

Corty said he hoped to give an idea of what therapists find to be normal and satisfactory among the couples they see.

"People who read this will say, 'I last five minutes or my partner lasts eight minutes,' and say, 'That's OK,' " he said. "They will relax a little bit."

A visit from Senator Hillary Clinton

2008-03-29T12:51:00.002-04:00

Senatory Hillary Clinton visited a local Fort Wayne Indiana restaurant, and I was able to be one of the 100 people allowed in. It was pretty interesting! See my full story at: http://leftinaboite.blogspot.com/2008/03/visit-from-senator-hillary-clinton.html

McCain’s blogging daughter

2008-03-25T20:45:00.003-04:00

The Week magazine

Meghan McCain would rather blog than campaign, says Maeve Reston in the Los Angeles Times. Spouses and children of presidential candidates typically are found stumping tirelessly on the candidate’s behalf. But John McCain’s 23-year-old daughter prefers to chronicle her father’s quest for the White House on the Web. Her blog, Mccainblogette.com, is filled with photos and observations of life on the campaign trail, mainly of the mundane or trivial variety. A typical entry will detail her father’s recipe for dry ribs (“He uses lots of garlic salt, lemon pepper, and lemons”), the green rubber band he wears on his wrist (“It’s sort of like his stress ball”), or his sweet tooth (“My dad wanted a candy bar for dinner, I said, ‘Hand it over’ and got him a salad”). One thing Meghan doesn’t want to blog about is politics. “I don’t think it’s my role. It’s not a medium to get policy or to sell my candidate’s issue.” Her softball approach is not for everyone. “Why is this girl so vapid?” one reader recently complained to the media gossip website Gawker.com. McCain, a Columbia graduate, says she resents that remark: “They see blond hair and they see makeup and automatically I am whatever their blond stereotype is.” If anything, she says, she hopes to become first daughter so she can blog even more about what goes on behind the scenes. “I’d want to expose everything. Because I don’t understand how, in politics, it got to this point where politicians and their families have been so isolated.”

Consumers in dark over new light bulbs!!!

2008-03-22T00:47:00.004-04:00

By Joseph Farah
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com

WASHINGTON – Brandy Bridges heard the claims of government officials, environmentalists and retailers like Wal-Mart all pushing the idea of replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving and money-saving compact fluorescent lamps.

So, last month, the Prospect, Maine, resident went out and bought two dozen CFLs and began installing them in her home. One broke. A month later, her daughter's bedroom remains sealed off with plastic like the site of a hazardous materials accident, while Bridges works on a way to pay off a $2,000 estimate by a company specializing in environmentally sound cleanups of the mercury inside the bulb.

With everyone from Al Gore to Wal-Mart to the Environmental Protection Agency promoting CFLs as the greatest thing since, well, the light bulb, consumers have been left in the dark about a problem they will all face eventually – how to get rid of the darn things when they burn out or, worse yet, break.

CFLs are all the rage. They are the spirally shaped, long-lasting bulbs everyone is being urged, cajoled and guilt-tripped into purchasing to replace Thomas Edison's incandescents, which are being compared to sports utility vehicles for their impracticality and energy inefficiency.

However, there is no problem disposing of incandescents when their life is over. You can throw them in the trash can and they won't hurt the garbage collector. They won't leech deadly compounds into the air or water. They won't kill people working in the landfills.

The same cannot be said about the mercury-containing CFLs. They bear disposal warnings on the packaging. But with limited recycling prospects and the problems experienced by Brandy Bridges sure to be repeated millions of times, some think government, the green community and industry are putting the cart before the horse marketing the new technology so ferociously.
Consider her plight.

When the bulb she was installing in a ceiling fixture of her 7-year-old daughter's bedroom crashed to the floor and broke into the shag carpet, she wasn't sure what to do. Knowing about the danger of mercury, she called Home Depot, the retail outlet that sold her the bulbs.

According to the Ellison American, the store warned her not to vacuum the carpet and directed her to call the poison control hotline in Prospect, Maine. Poison control staffers suggested she call the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The latter sent over a specialist to test the air in her house for mercury levels. While the rest of the house was clear, the area of the accident was contaminated above the level considered safe. The specialist warned Bridges not to clean up the bulb and mercury powder by herself – recommending a local environmental cleanup firm.

That company estimated the cleanup cost, conservatively, at $2,000. And, no, her homeowners insurance won't cover the damage.

Since she could not afford the cleanup, Bridges has been forced to seal off her daughter's bedroom with plastic to avoid any dust blowing around. Not even the family pets are permitted in to the bedroom. Her daughter is forced to sleep downstairs in an overcrowded household.

She has continued to call public officials for help – her two U.S. senators included. So far, no one is beating down Bridges' door to help – not even Al Gore, whose Academy Award-winning movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," urges everyone to change to CFLs to save the planet from global warming.

Bridges is not alone.

Elizabeth Doermann of Vanderbilt, Tenn., had a similar experience. After her CFL bulb broke – because the cat knocked over a lamp – she didn't call Home Depot. Instead, she did what she had always done when old-fashioned incandescent bulbs had broken. She vacuumed up the mess.

Only then did she learn about the mercury hazard.

"If I had known it had mercury in it, I would have been a lot more careful," she told the Tennessean. "I wouldn't have vacuumed it up. That blew the mercury probably all through the house."

The warnings on the packages of some of the new bulbs are in fine print – hard to read. They are also voluntary, with many bulbs being sold and distributed with no disposal warnings at all.

Charmain Miles of Toronto, Canada, had another frightening experience with a CFL bulb.

Last month she smelled smoke on the second floor of her home, only to discover it was emanating from a new energy-efficient bulb.

"I was horrified," she told a local TV station. "I went through every place upstairs and took out every bulb."

The bulb had been placed in a track-lighting fixture. Though the bulb contained no warning about such fixtures, it turns out CFLs are not for use in track, recessed or dimmer fixtures.

And while the Consumers Council of Canada advises not to purchase any package of CFL bulbs that contains no instructions, the entire country is on a timetable to eliminate entirely the only alternative – the incandescent bulb.

In fact, practically the whole world – fearing global warming – is getting ready to ban the incandescent light bulb. It started in Cuba, moved to Venezuela, then Australia, Canada and the European Union. Now individual states in the U.S., including California, Connecticut, North Carolina and Rhode Island, are all in the process of legislating an end to Edison's greatest invention. Even local towns and cities are getting into the act.

The rap against the incandescent is that it uses more energy to produce light. Advocates of CFLs say they save money and energy by producing more light over more time for less money and less energy. They prefer to minimize concerns about cleanup and disposal, usually saying more needs to be done in the area of recycling.

But recycling experts say the solutions are at least five years away. Meanwhile, millions of consumers and green activists are being persuaded to make the switch.

"EPA currently doesn't provide a unified message to the public on what to do with fluorescent lamps once they are no longer used," admits a draft announcing plans for a pilot project by the agency.

Yet, the EPA's Energy Star program is one of the major forces behind the push for CFLs.

"Currently the need to recycle mercury in fluorescent lamps isn't mentioned on the Energy Star web page although they are working with the Office of Solid Waste to address this," the memo continues. "This may create confusion to the public about doing the right thing."

In fact, even the memo doesn't advise what the public should do.

No question about it, though. You as a consumer will be required to find certified waste recycling centers to turn in your dead and broken bulbs.

The American Lighting Association has some ideas. It has created a list of five considerations that should be weighed by all legislative bodies considering bans on incandescent bulbs.

The association of American manufacturers and retail outlets suggests any such legislation include the following provisions:

1. a lumen per watt energy efficiency standard should be established rather than a ban on a specific type of product. It should include a 10-year goal

2. halogen bulbs should be exempted

3. incandescent bulbs 40 watts or less should be exempt

4. collection and disposal plans for mercury-based CFLs should be made prior to any ban;

5. persuade consumers through education rather than coerce them through limiting choices

Governments may indeed be promoting a kind of lighting that is itself nearly obsolete. Fluorescent lights are nothing new. They've been around for a long time. And while they may save money, some say the public hasn't chosen them for good reasons – including, but not limited to, the mercury issue.

Some experts predict the next generation of lighting, though, is LED lights. They are made from semiconductor materials that emit light when an electrical current flows through them. When this form of light takes over, all bulbs will be obsolete. Your wall tiles can light up. Curtains and drapes can light up. Even your dining room table could be made to light up – at exactly the level you want.

That's what is ahead in the next decade, according to some in the industry.

Nobody promoted CFLs as aggressively as IKEA. Not only does the retailer sell them, it also provides one of the very few recycling centers for the burned out bulbs. But even with a plethora of recycling centers, how will the public view the prospect of saving up dead bulbs and transporting them to recycling centers? And how about the danger of breakage in that process?

"The industry is currently aiming at totally mercury-free CFL lighting, but this is still five to 10 years away," admits IKEA.

Those who really care about this problem right now are those involved in the waste industry.

"Most agree more energy-efficient light bulbs can significantly curb air pollution, but fewer people are talking about how to deal with them at the end of their lives," explained a page 1 story in the April 2 issue of Waste News. It goes on to explain "there is no plan to address air and water pollution concerns that could develop if consumers improperly dispose of the mercury-containing devices."

-----------------------------------------------------

Awww, hell no! Now I'm scared to death of the damn things!!! Stan

A sign that global warming is real!

2008-03-22T00:09:00.002-04:00

Yes, global warming seems to be here! Just look at how undies have gone from large to teenie weenie!

A sign of the times

2008-03-15T13:53:00.001-04:00

Bush vetoes bill banning waterboarding

2008-03-08T20:00:00.006-05:00

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Saturday he vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding to break suspected terrorists because it would end practices that have prevented attacks.

"The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror," Bush said in his weekly radio address taped for broadcast Saturday. "So today I vetoed it," Bush said. The bill he rejected provides guidelines for intelligence activities for the year and has the interrogation requirement as one provision. It cleared the House in December and the Senate last month.

"This is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe," the president said.

Supporters of the legislation say it would preserve the United States' ability to collect critical intelligence while also providing a much-needed boost to country's moral standing abroad.

"Torture is a black mark against the United States," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California. "We will not stop until [the ban] becomes law."

The bill would limit CIA interrogators to the 19 techniques allowed for use by military questioners. The Army field manual in 2006 banned using methods such as waterboarding or sensory deprivation on uncooperative prisoners.

Bush said the CIA must retain use of "specialized interrogation procedures" that the military doesn't need. The military methods are designed for questioning "lawful combatants captured on the battlefield," while intelligence professionals are dealing with "hardened terrorists" who have been trained to resist the techniques in the Army manual, the president said.

"We created alternative procedures to question the most dangerous al Qaeda operatives, particularly those who might have knowledge of attacks planned on our homeland," Bush said. "If we were to shut down this program and restrict the CIA to methods in the field manual, we could lose vital information from senior al Qaeda terrorists, and that could cost American lives."

The legislation's backers say the military's approved methods are sufficient to any need.
Those 19 interrogation techniques to which the bill would have restricted CIA personnel include the "good cop/bad cop" routine, making prisoners think they are in another country's custody and separating a prisoner from others for up to 30 days.

Among the techniques the field manual prohibits are hooding prisoners or putting duct tape across their eyes, stripping them naked, forcing them to perform or mimic sexual acts, or beating, electrocuting, burning or otherwise physically hurting them.

They may not be subjected to hypothermia or mock executions. It does not allow food, water and medical treatment to be withheld. Dogs may not be used in any aspect of interrogation.

But waterboarding is the most high-profile and controversial of the interrogation methods in question.
It involves strapping a person down and pouring water over his or her cloth-covered face to simulate and create the sensation of drowning. It has been traced back hundreds of years to the Spanish Inquisition and is condemned by nations around the world and human rights organizations as torture.

Some argue it must be banned because, if torture, it is illegal under international and U.S. law. The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 includes a provision barring cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment for all detainees in U.S. custody, including CIA prisoners, and many believe that covers waterboarding.

Others say that, even if legal, there are practical arguments against waterboarding: that its use would undermine the U.S. when arguing overseas for human rights and on other moral issues and would place Americans at greater risk of being tortured when captured.

"President Bush's veto will be one of the most shameful acts of his presidency," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, said in a statement Friday. "Unless Congress overrides the veto, it will go down in history as a flagrant insult to the rule of law and a serious stain on the good name of America in the eyes of the world."
He noted that the Army field manual contends that harsh interrogation is a "poor technique that yields unreliable results, may damage subsequent collection efforts, and can induce the source to say what he thinks the (interrogator) wants to hear."

The U.S. military specifically prohibited waterboarding in 2006. The CIA also prohibited the practice in 2006, and says it has not been used since three prisoners encountered it in 2003. But while some Bush administration officials have questioned the current legality of waterboarding, the administration has refused to rule definitively on whether it is torture. Bush has said many times that his administration does not torture.

The White House says waterboarding remains among the interrogation methods potentially available to the CIA. Its use would have to be approved, on a case-by-case basis, by the president after consultation with the attorney general and the intelligence community. Among the acceptable situations for approving it could be belief of imminent attack, according to the White House.

"Because the danger remains, we need to ensure our intelligence officials have all the tools they need to stop the terrorists," Bush said.

Jimmy Kimmel singing "I'm F*cking Ben Affleck"

2008-03-06T20:40:00.000-05:00

Not so bright Marion Cotillard Oscar winner

2008-03-02T10:58:00.002-05:00

Actress Marion Cotillard sparked a political row yesterday after accusing America of fabricating the 9/11 attacks.

The 32-year-old French actress, who received an Oscar last month for her performance as singer Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, openly questioned the truth behind the terrorist atrocity in an interview broadcast on a French website.

"I think we're lied to about a number of things," Cotillard said, singling out the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center as an example of the US making up horror stories for political ends. See the full story here.

To Ebay or not to Ebay, that is the question

2008-02-25T22:00:00.004-05:00

I have done a lot of business with Ebay over the years. Some as a seller and some as a buyer. Over the course of the years, the fees charged by Ebay have steadily climbed. Here is their published fee schedule:

Insertion Fee - If you want to sell on item on eBay, you create a listing using the Sell Your Item form. When you list an item, you are charged an Insertion Fee for the listing. The Insertion Fee is based on what you decide is the Starting Price of your item or the Reserve Price if one is included. For example, you want to sell your Sony camera. You list it with a Starting Price of $60.00. The Insertion Fee would be $2.00 (from the table on the fee page which range from 10 cents to $4.00).

Final Value Fee - If the item sells, you are charged a Final Value Fee. The Final Value Fee is based on the final amount the item sells for. The Final Value Fee does not include shipping costs. For example, your item sells for $153.00. Your Final Value Fee would be $6.67. This is calculated as follows: $2.19 (.0875 times $25.00) plus $4.48 (.0325 times $128.00) for a total of $6.67.

Listing upgrades - Additionally, you may want to add a subtitle or an extra picture to your listing, a charge would be added for each listing upgrade. The charges also depend on the category and format you list in.

PayPal Fee - 2.9% + $0.30 USD

In addition to these exorbitant fees, they are restructering their feedback policy so that a seller cannot leave negative feedback and holding PayPal monies for a period of time.

This is really a story of David Vs. Goliath, but unfortunately, I believe Goliath is going to win.

By the time you actually sell something on Ebay, a large portion of your take are going to fees!

I am going to boycott Ebay for now, but sadly, I'll eventually come back!

See the blogger comments about this story here.

Powerful . . .

2008-02-22T09:26:00.002-05:00

I borrowed this entire post from Process. A blog written by a current Child Protection Worker that really makes you think. This is an AMAZING read and made me truly think about the plight of others. I think every person who has ever used the term "welfare whore" needs read this. What are you thoughts?

What Would It Be Like?

What would it be like to lose my job because I couldn't work because I was in pain all day? What would it be like to try to keep working, to try to stay on my feet and be nice to customers and keep pace with the lunchtime rush, all while I was in so much pain I was sweating and shaking? How long would I last? Would I push myself through a couple more days than I really could, because I knew that losing my job would be just the beginning?

What would it be like to lose my home because I lost my job and could no longer pay the rent? What would it be like to pack up all my belongings--the things my mother had given me, the crafts my kids made for Mothers' Day, my favorite coffee mug--and ask people to store them for me in their attics and their basements? What would it be like to tell my kids that we were going to a homeless shelter?

What would it be like to be sent to a shelter on the other side of the state, because that's where there was a place for us? What would it be like to be told my family of five could only take six bags? What would that long silent ride be like, in the van they sent for us, sitting in the middle of the back seat, not really knowing where we were going, my children leaning into me on both sides, looking to me for safety and comfort?

What would it be like in that city, a city I didn't know, where my children would have to go to schools I knew nothing about? Would I be afraid for them?--after all, shelters are not in the best parts of town. How long would it take me to figure out the bus routes--if there were buses--so I could get to their new schools, the grocery store, Wal-Mart, so I could do for them as I'd always done?

What would it be like when, after we'd finally been moved to a shelter closer to home, after we'd been there nearly a year without any problems, to be shaken awake by staff one morning after a bad, bad night and told to pack our things, we had to leave? What would it be like to protest that I wasn't the one who had started the fight, that the other resident had attacked me, and had slapped my children when they'd tried to intervene? What would it be like if the police backed up my story, and still I was told we were the ones who had to leave? What would it be like if I knew the other woman was the staff's favorite? How angry would I be? How powerless would I feel?

What would it be like to be sent to a hotel to wait for the next opening, in some shelter, somewhere--anywhere--in the state? What would it be like to have four hungry children and only the food I'd bought while I was in the shelter--meats and beans and rice--and no stove in the hotel room to cook it on, and no more food stamps coming for another two weeks?

What would it be like to finally get to a food pantry--after asking too many people if they knew where one was, and spending too much of what little money I had on a taxi to get there--and to be considered ungrateful for asking for microwavable foods, as though I were too lazy to cook for myself? What would it be like not to be able to cook the familiar foods for my family, not to be able to make my children's favorite meals? What would it be like to be afraid that we would lose part of our ourselves, part of who we were as a family, if we couldn't ooh and aah over the simmering pot on the stove, couldn't sit down at the table together to eat?

What would it be like to get the call from the front desk, the one I'd been dreading, telling me to pack our bags again? What would it be like to have to go back where we'd been before, hours away? What would it be like to be placed in an apartment this time--not one we can stay in, but one that's part of the shelter--with a stove now but no microwave? What would it be like to have to make calls on a Friday afternoon, begging for food and pots and pans and blankets, hoping that someone will respond so that my children wouldn't be hungry and cold all weekend long?

What would it be like to know that I was supposed to get a housing voucher months ago, but someone made a mistake, counted the days we'd been waiting wrong, and gave it to someone else, someone who hadn't been waiting nearly as long as we had? What would it be like to tell my story about all this over and over and over again to anyone I thought had even a little bit of power, and not get anywhere, to be told there's no recourse, that the damage done to me and mine can't be corrected, that all I can do is wait?

Some of Senator Barack Obama's positions

2008-02-20T22:51:00.002-05:00

Opposed the Iraq war from the start.Voted to end the war in Iraq.Supports capturing and killing Osama Bin Laden.Favors a $1000 tax cut for every working American family. Will implement tax form simplification to reduce filing time.Provide tax credit for all middle class owners.Provide a tax cut for all families making less than $75,000 a year.Amend NAFTA to protect American workers.Amend NAFTA to strengthen environmental protections.Providing Flex Ed training accounts for workers.Extending Trade Adjustment assistance to service workers.Supported Patriot Employer Act of 2007 that gives tax credits to large companies that keep workers here in America.Double funds for basic federal research.Implement a long term research and development tax credit.Invest in green technologies.Reduce carbon emission gases.Tackle the challenges of global warming.Create an energy focused youth jobs program.Create Federal Renewable Portfolio Standard.Extend the Production Tax Credit.Expand Broadband into every community.Keep the Internet tax free.Expand high speed internet access in rural areas.Fight for passage of Employee Free Choice Act.Ensure freedom to unionize.Would overturn "Kentucky River" classifications of Bush's NLRBProtect rights of striking workers.Increase the mininum wage to index it to inflation.Crack down on predatory lenders.Provide a universal mortgage tax credit for homeowners who don't itemize.Sign the Stop Fraud Act to prevent lending fraud.Mandate accurate loan disclosure.Create a fund to protect people from foreclosures.Close the bankruptcy loophole for mortgage companies.Establish a credit card rating to improve disclosure.Ban utilateral credit card charges.Apply interest rate only to future debt.Prohibit credit card interest on fees.Prohibit Universal defaults.Require prompt and fair crediting of cardholder payments.Protect working people from unfair bankruptcy laws.Ban executive bonuses for bankruptcy companies.REquire disclosure of pension investments.Cap outlandandish interest rates on payday loans.Implement legislation to drive unscrupulous lenders out of businessCreate a bankruptcy exemption for people that went broke because of medical bills.Double funding for after school programs.Extend Family and Medical Leave Act.Encourage states to adopt Paid leave.Expand the Child Care Tax CreditSupports ratification of UN Convention Rights of Persons With Disabilities.Supports independent, community based living for people with disabilities.Expand educational opportunites for people with disabilities.Expand job opportunities for people with disabilities.Strengthen civil rights enforcement.Sign into law the Fair Pay Act.Sign law reversing recent SCOTUS rulings that permitted discrimination against women.Sign law reversing recent SCOTUS rulings that permitted discrimination against racial minorities.Strengthen federal hate crimes legislation.Eliminate the sentence disparities regarding crack cocaines.Establish drug courts for first time, non violent offenders.Create a prison to work incentive for those transitioning back into society.Passed a law to prohibit the practice of racial profiling.Supported reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act.Opposes all discriminatory barriers to voting.Helped reform death penalty system in Illinois to protect innocent people on death row.Voted to ban cluster bombs.Provide high quality affordable child care to families.Will quadrulple Early Head Start funding.Will increase Head Start funding.Creates early learning challenge grants.Abolish overly rigid teach to the test curriculum in schools.Improve accountability in public schools.Invest in intervention strategies to reduce dropout rates in schools.Increase funding for afterschool programs.Supports Step Up program to increase summer learning opportunities.Support English language learner programs.Expand college outreach programs.Create teacher service scholarships.Requires all public schools to be accredited.Create teacher residency programs.Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit for higher education.Streamline financial aid application.Introduced legislation to increase Pell Grant to $5,100.Reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.Confront deforestation.Promote carbon sequestration.Accelerate commercialization of plug in hybrids.Promote development of commercial scale renewable energy.Invest in low emission coal plants.Transition to new electric digit grid.Double science funding for clean energy products.Create Green Jobs Corps.Invest in programs to help manufacturers make transition to green products.Create clean technologies venture capital fund.Deploy cellulosic ethanol.Expand locally owned biofuel refineries.Increase renewable fuel standards.Establish national low carbon fuel standard.Increase fuel economy standards.Invest in solar energy.Invest in wind energy.Establish a centralized database to track lobbyist activities.Appoint an independent watchdog group to oversee congressional ethic violations.Favors campaign finance reform.Sunshine on legislation proposal.End abuse of no bid contracts.Release presidential records in a more timely fashion.Prevent political appointees from working as lobbyists within two years after employment has ended.Reform political appointment process.Sign ethics legislation that he proposed as a Senator with Russ Feingold.Obama sponsored a bi-partisan bill allowing regular people to track federal grants.Take leadership in the global fight against AIDS.Provide tax cuts to small businesses.Provide income tax cuts for all senior citizens making $50,000 a year or less.Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit.Protect workers from caregiver discrimination.Increase mentoring programs for beginner teachers.Provide universal health care for all Americans within 4 years.Combat fraudulent subprime loans.Expand Nurse Family Partnership.Provide automatic workplace pensions for workers.Expand savings credit for retirement accounts.Reinstate pay as you go budget rules.Repeal Bush tax cuts for top 1% which led to lower middle class standard of living.Slash earmarks to pre 2001 levels.Abolish obsolete wasteful government programs.Voted against raising the minimum debt in 2006.Supports wiping out Al Qaeda wherever they may be.Opposed Kyl Lieberman.Supports tough attempts at diplomacy with Iran to protect America's interests.Will work to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Restrengthen NATO.Passed a bipartisan law with Senator Lugar to prevent smuggling of WMDs.Introduced a bill with Senator Hagel to reduce nuclear arsenals around the globe.Supports securing loose nuke arsenals from the former Soviet Union and elsewhere.Strengthen Non Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.Expand size of Army by 65,000.Expand size of Marines by 27,000.Provide our troops with new equipment and the tools they need.Provide National Service troops with adequate leave time.Will insulate the Director of National Intelligence from partisan politics.Guarantee that health care can never be denied because of a pre-existing condition.Introduce a health care plan similar to the one members of Congress have and give all Americans access to this plan.Simplify the paperwork in health care costs.Make premiums and co pays affordable.Require mandatory coverage of all children for health care.Expand SCHIP.Expand Medicaid.Reduce costs of catastrophic illnesses for employers and employees.Support disease management programs.Require hospitals and providers to have full transparency over costs.Promote patient safety by requiring providers to report medical errors.Establish an independent institute to guide reviews + research on comparative effectiveness in health care.Strengthen anti trust laws to prevent insurance companies from gouging medical providers.Lower medical costs by having electronic health info systems.Increase competition in prescription drug markets.Advance biomedical research field.Improve mental care coverage.Reduce mercury deposits to help prevent miscarriages.Increase funding for autism research.Cosponsored Healthy Kids Act of 2007.Cosponsored reauthorization of SCHIP in 2007.Obama introduced legislation to establish guidelines to monitor fuels from nuclear power plants.Sponsored a bill with Senator Lautenberg to protect chemical plants from possible terrorist attacks.Introduced legislation to upgrade monitoring of water supplies.Introduced legislation to protect localities from radioactive leaks.Create secure borders with additional personnel and infrastructure.Remove incentives for people to enter this country illegally.Crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.Invest in transitional jobs.Improve transportation access to jobs.Fully fund community block grants.Create an affordable housing trust fund.Establish a program called 20 Promise Neighborhoods.Invest in rural areas, especially small businesses, schools, and doctors.Implement a payment limitation program to help small farmers.Protect family farms from anti-competitive monopolies.Implement tough fines for CAFO violations.Establish country of origin labeling for all products.Support regional food systems.Encourage organic farming.Provide tax credits for young farmers.Increase capital for small farmers.Modify FCC so all rural residents have access to modern communications.Upgrade rural infrastructure.Supported legislation to reverse 2 billion dollars of agriculture cuts under Bush.Cosponsored Emergency Farm Relief Act of 2006.Sponsored a bill to combat the scourge of methamphetamines.Expand Americorps.Double the Peacecorps in 8 years.Expand Service learning in all our schools.Offer an opportunity tax credit for college students in exchange for 100 hours of community service.Promote college work study programs with public service.Expand on the YouthBuild program.Create a Social Investment Fund Network.Create a non profit entrepreneur agency.Protect Social Security.Reform corporate bankruptcy laws.Strengthen laws protecting against age discrimination in the workplace.Ensure heating assistance for senior citizens.Protect the openness of the Internet.Encourage diversity in media ownership.Protect children from Internet predators with strict law enforcement.Support transition of the internet into the digital world.Preserve artistic expression.Keep inappropriate advertising away from programs for children.Enhance safety standards for toys imported into this country.Protect the right of privacy of every law abiding American.Update surveillance laws under the rule of law.Higher salaries for teachers.Work with the FTC to cut down on cyber crimes.Eliminate teach to the test curriculum and restore true learning to the classroom.Open up government to citizens by providing transparency.Provide all our schools with broadband technology.Modernize public safety networks.Make the research and development tax credit permanent.Protect intellectual property at home and abroad.Reform the patent system to encourage innovation.Allow all veterans back into the VA.Strengthen VA care for all veterans.Fight veterans employment discrimination.Fix the benefits bureaucracy to help veterans.Expand vet centers across the country.Obama passed legilsation to slash red tape to help wounded soldiers at Walter Reed.Introduced legislation to direct the VA and Pentagon to fix its veterans record systems.Introduced legislation to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.Rebuild the roads and bridges that need to be rebuilt.Will end the genocide in Darfur.Will restore habeas corpus to America.Reject torture.Close down Gitmo.Pledges to obey the Constitution of the United States.Will fully implement and enforce the Equal Pay Act.End tax breaks for US companies sending jobs overseas.Voted to reinstate 1.15 billion to the COPS program to reduce crime.Wants to keep drinking age at 21.Supports grants to local educational agencies.Voted to protect ANWR.Voted to protect the Great Lakes from polluters.Favors labor and trade standards with trade with China.Opposed CAFTA which hurts American workers.Voting to give the District of Columbia its proper vote in Congress.Voted to expand enrollment period for Medicare Part D.Favors repealing the discriminatory don't ask don't tell policy.Provide first responders with the health care and equipment they need.Voted to implement the 9/11 commission recommendations.Voted to restore money to ports and first responders.Voted to establish a Guest Worker program.Voted to increase the minimum wage.Voted against anti-Constitution radicals Alito and Roberts.Voted against the repeal of the estate tax that only applies to 1% of the wealthiest of estates.Supports the first amendment freedom of religion clauses and establishment clauses.Introduced a bill requiring public companies to give shareholders an annual nonbinding vote on executive compensation.Protects our schools by opposing voucher schemes.Introduced Biofuels Security Act in 2007.Favors closing corporate tax loopholes.Understands that global warming is a real problem that must be addressed.Supports civil unions for LGBT couples.Favors the death penalty in the rarest but appropriate of circumstances.

Navy to shoot down failed satellite Thursday

2008-02-18T21:31:00.005-05:00

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Navy will likely attempt to shoot down a faulty spy satellite Thursday, the day after the space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to land, two officials told CNN Monday.

The officials -- who spoke on condition of anonymity because much of the planning remains classified -- said the idea is to leave as much time as possible so a second attempt could be made if necessary.

Because the 5,000-pound satellite malfunctioned immediately after launch in December 2006, it has a full tank of fuel. It would likely survive re-entry and disperse potentially deadly fumes over an area the size of two football fields, officials have said.

The Navy plans to fire at the satellite as it enters Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of about 150 miles.

Officials want the missile to hit the edge of the atmosphere to ensure debris re-enters and burns up quickly.

The Missile Defense Agency estimated the cost of a sea-based attempted intercept at $40 million to $60 million.

Without any intervention, Pentagon officials have said they believe the satellite would come down on its own in early March.

The option of striking the satellite with a missile launched from an Aegis cruiser was decided upon by President Bush after consultation with several government and military officials and aerospace experts, said Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said there's nothing the military can do to make the outcome worse.

"If we miss, nothing changes. If we shoot and barely touch it, the satellite is just barely in orbit" and would still burn up somewhat in the atmosphere, Griffin said.

"If we shoot and get a direct hit, that's a clean kill and we're in good shape," he added.

Update: 02/21 - Apparently they did shoot down the satellite with success!

Why I was never late for school . . .

2008-02-16T22:00:00.001-05:00

Digital televsion transition questions

2008-02-09T14:57:00.000-05:00

On February 17, 2009, TV stations will switch over to digital broadcasting. How will it affect you? Here are some answers.

Will I have to get a new TV? Not if you have a cable box or a set with a digital tuner. But an analog TV not not hooked up to cable will need a converter box.

Where do I get a box? Major retail chains will start selling them on February 17th, 2008.

So I have to pay for it? Yes, but every household is entitled to two $40 government-funded coupons. Call 888-DTV-2009 or log onto www.dtv2009.gov.

The Galloping Gertie

2008-02-03T00:07:00.000-05:00

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of mile-long suspension bridges in the U.S. state of Washington, which carry State Route 16 across the Tacoma Narrows between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. The first bridge opened to traffic on July 1, 1940 and became famous four months later for a dramatic wind-induced structural collapse that was caught on motion picture film. The original span’s resonance earned it the nickname Galloping Gertie. Here is some incredible footage of that collapse:

SAFETY FIRST

2008-02-02T21:32:00.000-05:00

Yes, those are flip flops floating the extention cord!

Can you guess who these kids are???

2008-02-01T21:20:00.000-05:00

Do you recognize thise kids?
To find out who they are click here.

Defunct Spy Satellite Falling From Orbit

2008-01-26T21:04:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON (AP) - A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and propulsion and could hit the Earth in late February or March, government officials said Saturday.

The satellite, which no longer be controlled, could contain hazardous materials, and it is unknown where on the planet it might come down, they said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is classified as secret.

"Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council. "Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly. We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause."

He would not comment on whether it is possible for the satellite to be perhaps shot down by a missile. He said it would be inappropriate to discuss any specifics at this time.

A senior government official said that lawmakers and other nations are being kept apprised of the situation.

World's largest swimming pool

2008-01-25T23:35:00.000-05:00

Try making a splash in the world's largest swimming pool... it's 1,000 yards long!

If you like doing laps in the swimming pool, you might want to stock up on the energy drinks before diving in to this one.

It is more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, has a 115ft deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water.

Yesterday the Guinness Book of Records named the vast pool beside the sea in Chile as the biggest in the world.

But if you fancy splashing out on one of your own – and you have the space to accommodate it – then beware: This one took five years to build, cost nearly £1billion and the annual maintenance bill will be £2million.

The man-made saltwater lagoon has been attracting huge crowds to the San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, on Chile's southern coast, since it opened last month.

Its turquoise waters are so crystal clear that you can see the bottom even in the deep end.
It dwarfs the world's second biggest pool, the Orthlieb – nicknamed the Big Splash – in Morocco, which is a mere 150 yards long and 100 yards wide. An Olympicsize pool measures some 50 yards by 25 yards.

Chile's monster pool uses a computer- controlled suction and filtration system to keep fresh seawater in permanent circulation, drawing it in from the ocean at one end and pumping it out at the other.

The sun warms the water to 26c, nine degrees warmer than the adjoining sea.

Chilean biochemist Fernando Fischmann, whose Crystal Lagoons Corporation designed the pool, said advanced engineering meant his company could build "an impressive artificial paradise" even in inhospitable areas.

"As long as we have access to unlimited seawater, we can make it work, and it causes no damage to the ocean."

I LOVE MY DOG BUT...

2008-01-14T12:22:00.000-05:00

I recently noticed there is an expiration date on my dog's food pouches, and I really don't care.

The Hidden Truth Behind Hotel Drinking Glasses

2008-01-09T22:08:00.000-05:00

Cowboy Poetry

2008-01-06T22:08:00.000-05:00

I ain't much for shopping,
Or for goin' into town
Except at cattle-shipping time,
I ain't too easily found.

But the day came when I had to go -
I left the kids with Ma.
But 'fore I left, she asked me,
'Would you pick me up a bra?'

So without thinkin' I said, 'Sure,'
How tough could that job be?
An' I bent down and kissed her
An' said, 'I'll be back by three.'

Well, I done the things I needed,
But I started to regret
Ever offering to buy that thing -
I worked me up a sweat

I walked into the ladies shop
My hat pulled over my eyes,
I didn't want to take a chance
On bein' recognized.

I walked up to the sales clerk -
I didn't hem or haw -
I told that lady right straight out,
'I'm here to buy a bra.'

From behind I heard some snickers,
So I turned around to see
Every woman in that store
Was a'gawkin' right at me!

'What kind would you be looking for?'
Well, I just scratched my head.
I'd only seen one kind before,
'Thought bras was bras,' I said.

She gave me a disgusted look,
'Well sir, that's where you're wrong.
Follow me,' I heard her say,
Like a dog, I tagged along.

She took me down this alley
Where bras was on display.
I thought my jaw would hit the floor
When I saw that lingerie.

They had all these different styles
That I'd never seen before
I thought I'd go plumb crazy
'fore I left that women's store.

They had bras you wear for eighteen hours
And bras that cross your heart.
There was bras that lift and separate,
And that was just the start.

They had bras that made you feel
Like you ain't wearing one at all,
And bras that you can train in
When you start off when you're small.

Well , I finally made my mind up -
Picked a black and lacy one -
I told the lady, 'Bag it up,'
And figured I was done.

But then she asked me for the size
I didn't hesitate
I knew that measurement by heart,
'A six-and-seven-eighths.'

'Six and seven eighths you say?
That really isn't right.'
'Oh, yes ma'am! I'm real positive -
I measured them last night!'

I thought that she'd go into shock,
Musta took her by surprise
When I told her that my wife's bust
Was the same as my hat size.

'That's what I use to measure with,
I figured it was fair,
But if I'm wrong, I'm sorry ma'am.'
This drew another stare.

By now a crowd had gathered
And they all was crackin' up
When the lady asked to see my hat,
To measure for the cup.

When she finally had it figured,
I gave the gal her pay.
Then I turned to leave the store,
Tipped my hat and said, 'Good day.'

My wife had heard the story
'fore I ever made it home.
She'd talked to fifteen women
Who called her on the phone.

She was still a-laughin'
But by then I didn't care.
Now she don't ask and I don't shop
For women's underwear.

Careful What You Ask For

2008-01-06T20:56:00.000-05:00

A young man went to a fortune teller. Gazing into her crystal ball, the old lady asked, “What is your dream, young man? What do you want to do with your life?”

“I want to become a great writer.

"How do you define great?” she asked.

“I want to write things that the whole world will read, Things that people will react to on a truly emotional level, Things that will make them scream, cry, wail, howl in pain, desperation and anger.

”The fortune teller reassured him, “It will be so.”

He now works for Microsoft, writing error messages. . .

President Huckabee???

2008-01-04T23:36:00.000-05:00

Can you find a huckleberry and a huckabee in the image above?

I'm sorry, but I don't think we will ever have a President Huckabee in the White House.To be a president of the United States, you have to have looks (including a good head of hair), and a last name that sounds commanding. President Huckabee? Sounds like hug a bee.

MICHAEL MOORE ON THE FENCE

2008-01-02T20:26:00.000-05:00

'I am not endorsing anyone at this point'
Michael Moore, Wed Jan 02 2008 07:32:44 ET

Friends, A new year has begun. And before we've had a chance to break our New Year's resolutions, we find ourselves with a little more than 24 hours before the good people of Iowa tell us whom they would like to replace the man who now occupies three countries and a white house.

Twice before, we have begun the process to stop this man, and twice we have failed. Eight years of our lives as Americans will have been lost, the world left in upheaval against us... and yet now, today, we hope against hope that our moment has finally arrived, that the amazingly powerful force of the Republican Party will somehow be halted. But we know that the Democrats are experts at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and if there's a way to blow this election, they will find it and do it with gusto.

Do you feel the same as me? That the Democratic front-runners are a less-than-stellar group of candidates, and that none of them are the "slam dunk" we wish they were? Of course, there are wonderful things about each of them. Any one of them would be infinitely better than what we have now. Personally, Congressman Kucinich, more than any other candidate, shares the same positions that I have on the issues (although the UFO that picked ME up would only take me as far as Kalamazoo). But let's not waste time talking about Dennis. Even he is resigned to losing, with statements like the one he made yesterday to his supporters in Iowa to throw their support to Senator Obama as their "second choice."

So, it's Hillary, Obama, Edwards -- now what do we do?

Two months ago, Rolling Stone magazine asked me to do a cover story where I would ask the hard questions that no one was asking in one-on-one interviews with Senators Clinton, Obama and Edwards. "The Top Democrats Face Off with Michael Moore." The deal was that all three candidates had to agree to let me interview them or there was no story. Obama and Edwards agreed. Mrs. Clinton said no, and the cover story was thus killed.

Why would the love of my life, Hillary Clinton, not sit down to talk with me? What was she afraid of?

Those of you who are longtime readers of mine may remember that 11 years ago I wrote a chapter (in my first book) entitled, "My Forbidden Love for Hillary." I was fed up with the treatment she was getting, most of it boringly sexist, and I thought somebody should stand up for her. I later met her and she thanked me for referring to her as "one hot s***kicking feminist babe." I supported and contributed to her run for the U.S. Senate. I think she is a decent and smart person who loves this country, cares deeply about kids, and has put up with more crap than anyone I know of (other than me) from the Crazy Right. Her inauguration would be a thrilling sight, ending 218 years of white male rule in a country where 51% of its citizens are female and 64% are either female or people of color.

And yet, I am sad to say, nothing has disappointed me more than the disastrous, premeditated vote by Senator Hillary Clinton to send us to war in Iraq. I'm not only talking about her first vote that gave Mr. Bush his "authorization" to invade -- I'm talking about every single OTHER vote she then cast for the next four years, backing and funding Bush's illegal war, and doing so with verve. She never met a request from the White House for war authorization that she didn't like. Unlike the Kerrys and the Bidens who initially voted for authorization but later came to realize the folly of their decision, Mrs. Clinton continued to cast numerous votes for the war until last March -- four long years of pro-war votes, even after 70% of the American public had turned against the war. She has steadfastly refused to say that she was wrong about any of this, and she will not apologize for her culpability in America's worst-ever foreign policy disaster. All she can bring herself to say is that she was "misled" by "faulty intelligence."

Let's assume that's true. Do you want a President who is so easily misled? I wasn't "misled," and millions of others who took to the streets in February of 2003 weren't "misled" either. It was simply amazing that we knew the war was wrong when none of us had been briefed by the CIA, none of us were national security experts, and none of us had gone on a weapons inspection tour of Iraq. And yet... we knew we were being lied to! Let me ask those of you reading this letter: Were YOU "misled" -- or did you figure it out sometime between October of 2002 and March of 2007 that George W. Bush was up to something rotten? Twenty-three other senators were smart enough to figure it out and vote against the war from the get-go. Why wasn't Sen. Clinton?

I have a theory: Hillary knows the sexist country we still live in and that one of the reasons the public, in the past, would never consider a woman as president is because she would also be commander in chief. The majority of Americans were concerned that a woman would not be as likely to go to war as a man (horror of horrors!). So, in order to placate that mindset, perhaps she believed she had to be as "tough" as a man, she had to be willing to push The Button if necessary, and give the generals whatever they wanted. If this is, in fact, what has motivated her pro-war votes, then this would truly make her a scary first-term president. If the U.S. is faced with some unforeseen threat in her first years, she knows that in order to get re-elected she'd better be ready to go all Maggie Thatcher on whoever sneezes in our direction. Do we want to risk this, hoping the world makes it in one piece to her second term?

I have not even touched on her other numerous -- and horrendous -- votes in the Senate, especially those that have made the middle class suffer even more (she voted for Bush's first bankruptcy bill, and she is now the leading recipient of payoff money -- I mean campaign contributions -- from the health care industry). I know a lot of you want to see her elected, and there is a very good chance that will happen. There will be plenty of time to vote for her in the general election if all the pollsters are correct. But in the primaries and caucuses, isn't this the time to vote for the person who most reflects the values and politics you hold dear? Can you, in good conscience, vote for someone who so energetically voted over and over and over again for the war in Iraq? Please give this serious consideration.

Now, on to the two candidates who did agree to do the interview with me...

Barack Obama is a good and inspiring man. What a breath of fresh air! There's no doubting his sincerity or his commitment to trying to straighten things out in this country. But who is he? I mean, other than a guy who gives a great speech? How much do any of us really know about him? I know he was against the war. How do I know that? He gave a speech before the war started. But since he joined the senate, he has voted for the funds for the war, while at the same time saying we should get out. He says he's for the little guy, but then he votes for a corporate-backed bill to make it harder for the little guy to file a class action suit when his kid swallows lead paint from a Chinese-made toy. In fact, Obama doesn't think Wall Street is a bad place. He wants the insurance companies to help us develop a new health care plan -- the same companies who have created the mess in the first place. He's such a feel-good kinda guy, I get the sense that, if elected, the Republicans will eat him for breakfast. He won't even have time to make a good speech about it.

But this may be a bit harsh. Sen. Obama has a big heart, and that heart is in the right place. Is he electable? Will more than 50% of America vote for him? We'd like to believe they would. We'd like to believe America has changed, wouldn't we? Obama lets us feel better about ourselves -- and as we look out the window at the guy snowplowing his driveway across the street, we want to believe he's changed, too. But are we dreaming?

And then there's John Edwards.

It's hard to get past the hair, isn't it? But once you do -- and recently I have chosen to try -- you find a man who is out to take on the wealthy and powerful who have made life so miserable for so many. A candidate who says things like this: "I absolutely believe to my soul that this corporate greed and corporate power has an ironclad hold on our democracy." Whoa. We haven't heard anyone talk like that in a while, at least not anyone who is near the top of the polls. I suspect this is why Edwards is doing so well in Iowa, even though he has nowhere near the stash of cash the other two have. He won't take the big checks from the corporate PACs, and he is alone among the top three candidates in agreeing to limit his spending and be publicly funded. He has said, point-blank, that he's going after the drug companies and the oil companies and anyone else who is messing with the American worker. The media clearly find him to be a threat, probably because he will go after their monopolistic power, too. This is Roosevelt/Truman kind of talk. That's why it's resonating with people in Iowa, even though he doesn't get the attention Obama and Hillary get -- and that lack of coverage may cost him the first place spot tomorrow night. After all, he is one of those white guys who's been running things for far too long.

And he voted for the war. But unlike Sen. Clinton, he has stated quite forcefully that he was wrong. And he has remorse. Should he be forgiven? Did he learn his lesson? Like Hillary and Obama, he refused to promise in a September debate that there will be no U.S. troops in Iraq by the end of his first term in 2013. But this week in Iowa, he changed his mind. He went further than Clinton and Obama and said he'd have all the troops home in less than a year.

Edwards is the only one of the three front-runners who has a universal health care plan that will lead to the single-payer kind all other civilized countries have. His plan doesn't go as fast as I would like, but he is the only one who has correctly pointed out that the health insurance companies are the enemy and should not have a seat at the table.

I am not endorsing anyone at this point. This is simply how I feel in the first week of the process to replace George W. Bush. For months I've been wanting to ask the question, "Where are you, Al Gore?" You can only polish that Oscar for so long. And the Nobel was decided by Scandinavians! I don't blame you for not wanting to enter the viper pit again after you already won. But getting us to change out our incandescent light bulbs for some irritating fluorescent ones isn't going to save the world. All it's going to do is make us more agitated and jumpy and feeling like once we get home we haven't really left the office.

On second thought, would you even be willing to utter the words, "I absolutely believe to my soul that this corporate greed and corporate power has an ironclad hold on our democracy?" 'Cause the candidate who understands that, and who sees it as the root of all evil -- including the root of global warming -- is the President who may lead us to a place of sanity, justice and peace.

Yours, Michael Moore (not an Iowa voter, but appreciative of any state that has a town named after a sofa)

SICKO

2008-01-01T22:54:00.000-05:00

One of the things I asked for and received this Christmas, was for the movie SICKO by Michael Moore. I watched the movie tonight, hence my reason for the post.

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you do. You may or may not agree with everything in the movie, but it does get one to ponder the health care issue.

I have a lot of thoughts about "free" healthcare. Some are pro's and some are con's. One of the things that stuck in my mind from the movie was when someone said, I think from Great Britain, that it's interesting how a government can always come up with the money to kill people fighting wars, but there's not enough money to care for their sick. That really stuck in my head.

I don't want to give away too much of the movie, but there was a portion where the 9/11 volunteer workers were denied healthcare because they were volunteers, and not on the governments payroll. Michael takes them on a boat trip to Cuba! They try to get care at Guantamamo Bay since the people who want to kill us are given free health care, why not the 9/11 volunteers? Well, you'll have to see the movie to see how it turns out, but the point being is that our health care system is broken when the 9/11 volunteers who got sick bringing out the dead from the burning rubble can't get health care in America!!!

I really don't like big government, and I don't think the government should be controlling the entire health care system, but there has to be more that can be done to make it a fair system for all.

We normally don't think about health care too much because we are insured, we go to the doctors and take our children to the doctors, and the insurance pays their portion and we pay ours. That's fair and reasonable. But...that's the usual and customary services. What if you had a heart attack, stroke, or get cancer tomorrow? Will you think the system is fair and reasonable then?

I don't like a system where the goal is to deny (expensive) healthcare. We hear all these horror stories about how the free healthcare systems don't work - but who exactly are we hearing it from?

I think we can come up with a way where the government isn't in total control, and yet everyone has access to health care. Maybe it won't be a 100% "free" system, but at least a system where every American citizen can receive health care without being turned away or losing their home, savings and retirment money.

What do you think, and specify if you have seen the movie or not.

Ron Paul? Look Again!

2007-12-25T12:34:00.000-05:00

Is Ron Paul looking like a good candidate for president to you? Have a look at this and see if you still feel the same:

John Edwards? Love child? Say it ain't so!

2007-12-19T20:40:00.000-05:00

Apparently, according to the all knowing and all trusting National Enquirer, John Edwards has a love child! Now, if you read the entire story, you'll see that there is no proof of this, but...The cat is out of the bag, and perception is reality. I feel badly for John Edwards, but not if it's true.

See the entire store here: john_edwards_love_child

Update: KATIE QUERIES CANDIDATES ON INFIDELITY Tue Dec 19 2007 14:49:22 ET

KATIE COURIC:

Harry Truman said, "A man not honorable in his marital relations is not usually honorable in any other." Some people don't feel comfortable supporting a candidate who has not remained faithful to his or her spouse. Can you understand their position?

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS:

Of course. I mean, for a lot of Americans-- including the family that I grew up with, I mean, it's-- it's fundamental to-- how you judge people and human character-- whether you keep your word, whether you keep what is your ultimate word, which is that-- you love-- your spouse, and you'll stay with them.

KATIE COURIC:

Do you think-- what-- what about people who use that as a way to evaluate a candidate? In other words, there have been a number of fine presidents according to some analysts-

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS:

Right.

KATIE COURIC:

--who have certainly not been sort of exhibited the greatest moral character--

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS:

Right.

KATIE COURIC:

--when it comes to infidelity--

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS:

Right.

KATIE COURIC:

--I guess is what I'm getting at.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS:

Yes.

KATIE COURIC:

So how important do you think it is in the grand scheme of things?

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS:

I think the most important qualities in a president in today's world are trustworthiness-- sincerity, honesty, strength of leadership. And-- and certainly that goes to a part of that. It's not the whole thing. But it goes to a part of it.

KATIE COURIC:

So you think it's-- an appropriate way to judge a candidate?

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS:

Yeah. But I don't think it's controlling. I mean, I think that, as you point out, there have been American presidents that at least according to the-- to the stories we've all heard-- that were not faithful, that were in fact good presidents. So I don't think it controls the issue. But I think it's certain-- something reasonable for people to consider.

A Bush in the hand is worth...

2007-12-18T22:50:00.000-05:00

Bill Clinton: George H.W. Bush will help President Hillary

Bill Clinton said former president George H.W. Bush will help fix damage done to America's reputation by his son, George W. Bush.

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina (CNN) – Former President Bill Clinton said Monday (Dec. 17th) that the first thing his wife Hillary will do when she reaches the White House is dispatch him and his predecessor, President George H.W. Bush, on an around-the-world mission to repair the damage done to America's reputation by the current president — Bush's son, George W. Bush.

"Well, the first thing she intends to do, because you can do this without passing a bill, the first thing she intends to do is to send me and former President Bush and a number of other people around the world to tell them that America is open for business and cooperation again," Clinton said in response to a question from a supporter about what his wife's "number one priority" would be as president.

A spokesman for the George H. W. Bush said Tuesday afternoon the former president supports his son's foreign policy and has "never discussed an ‘around-the-world-mission’ with either former President Bill Clinton or Sen. Clinton." (Click here for the full statement)

Clinton and the elder Bush, rivals in the 1992 presidential election, have grown chummy in recent years, often traveling and appearing at public events together. In 2005, they started a charity to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

UPDATE: The Republican National Committee issued this statement in response to Clinton's comments:
"In 2009, a Republican president will be working with our friends and allies abroad to continue to keep our nation safe," said RNC spokesman Danny Diaz. "The American people expect our leaders — both current and former — to present serious solutions to the very real challenges confronting our nation."

Yeah, whatever. If Hillary becomes the next president, then I have no doubt that the senior Bush would jump for the chance to go on a around-the-world mission to repair the damage done to America's reputation by his son. Bush senior has always seemed to have a cooler head than his son; and isn't afraid to call him out on his failings....though his spoken words first need to be filtered by wife Barbara.

Mitchell Report List

2007-12-13T22:55:00.000-05:00

Here's a list of most of the names Major League Baseball players (AP) - listed in the Mitchell Report.
The following players were connected to steroids, either use or possession, in the report:

Lenny Dykstra, David Segui, Larry Bigbie, Brian Roberts, Jack Cust, Tim Laker, Josias Manzanillo, Todd Hundley, Mark Carreon, Hal Morris, Matt Franco, Rondell White, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, Jason Grimsley, Gregg Zaun, David Justice, F.P. Santangelo, Glenallen Hill, Mo Vaughn, Denny Neagle, Ron Villone, Ryan Franklin, Chris Donnels, Todd Williams, Phil Hiatt, Todd Pratt, Kevin Young, Mike Lansing, Cody McKay,
Kent Mercker, Adam Piatt, Miguel Tejada, Jason Christiansen, Mike Stanton, Stephen Randolph, Jerry Hairston, Paul Lo Duca, Adam Riggs, Bart Miadich, Fernando Vina, Kevin Brown, Eric Gagne, Mike Bell, Matt Herges, Gary Bennett, Jim Parque, Brendan Donnelly, Chad Allen, Jeff Williams, Exavier "Nook" Logan, Howie Clark, Paxton Crawford, Ken Caminiti, Rafael Palmeiro, Luis Perez, Derrick Turnbow, Ricky Bones, Ricky Stone

The following players were cited under "Alleged Internet Purchases of Performance Enhancing Substances By Players in Major League Baseball."

Rick Ankiel, David Bell, Paul Byrd, Jose Canseco, Jay Gibbons, Troy Glaus, Jason Grimsley, Jose Guillen, Darren Holmes, Gary Matthews Jr., John Rocker, Scott Schoeneweis, Ismael Valdez, Matt Williams, Steve Woodard

The following players were linked through BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative):

Benito Santiago, Gary Sheffield, Randy Velarde, Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi, Bobby Estalella, Barry Bonds, Marvin Benard

What do you think about steroid use in sports? What do you think about the Mitchell report list? I think steroids should be illegal in sports; but I also think publishing this list was a big mistake! I don't see where any good will come from the list.

Step aside, Mr. Hankey

2007-12-10T23:48:00.000-05:00

The REAL "Christmas poo" has roots deeper than South Park.

From this Wiki article:

The traditional Caganer

In Catalonia, as well as in the rest of Spain and in most of Italy and Southern France, the traditional Christmas decoration is a large model of the city of Bethlehem, similar to the Nativity scenes of the English-speaking world, but encompassing the entire city rather than just the typical manger scene. The Catalans have added an extra character that is not found in the manger scenes of any other culture. In addition to Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the Shepherds and company, Catalans have the character known as the Caganer. This extra little character is often tucked away in some corner of the model, typically nowhere near the manger scene, where he is not easily noticed. There is a good reason for his obscure position in the display, for "caganer" translates from Catalan to English as "pooper", and that is exactly what this little statue is doing — defecating.

Possible reasons for placing a man who is in the act of excreting waste in a scene which is widely considered holy include:

Tradition.
Perceived humor.
Mythical Defecation by Dwarfs
Finding the Caganer is a fun game, especially for children.
The Caganer, by creating feces, is fertilizing the Earth. However, this is probably an a posteriori explanation, and nobody would say they put the Caganer on the Nativity scene for this reason.
The Caganer represents the equality of all people: regardless of status, race, gender everyone defecates.
Increased naturalism of an otherwise archetypal (thus idealised) story, so that it is more believable, taken literally and seriously.

The exact origin of the Caganer is lost, but the tradition has existed since the 17th century. An Iberian votive deposit was found nearby Tornabous in the Urgell depicting a holy Iberian warrior defecating on his falcata. This started a short lived series of polemics between the Institut d'Estudis Catalans and the Departament d'Arqueologia in the Conselleria de Cultura of the Generalitat de Catalunya as to whether that can be regarded as a proto-caganer (which would draw the origins of this tradition far before than it is thought) or just a pre-combat ritual.

There you have it, U-Bloggers. Christmas Poo isn't just for badly drawn cartoon miscreants, the Europeans love it too!

Take "charge" of your credit!

2007-12-05T23:04:00.000-05:00

This is a re-post of a post I did some time ago. It is still just as useful today, so I thought I would re-publish it.

I am not an expert by any means on this subject, but I have my fair share of knowledge about money. I hope by sharing the lessons I have learned that perhaps you will gain some benefit from this report. I’m not going to bore you with the basics. I just want to share a few tips that may be helpful.

Cash advances
Taking a cash advance on your credit cards, either by check or by card, is the absolute worst things you can do. Duh… but, not only is the interest outrageous, there is a hidden catch in the fine print. All payments are applied to the lowest interest rate. That means if you owe 5K at 9% and you take a cash advance for 3K at 26% interest, you must pay off the 5K before any money gets applied to the high interest cash advance. Think how fast the 3K at 26% interest will grow before you get even $1 paid to it!!!! Of course, if you have a zero balance prior to getting a cash advance, then this will not affect you.

Borrow from your 401k
You should be able to borrow from your 401k for certain circumstances. I believe the rules vary by the corporate administrator, but typically you can borrow for 3 reasons. 1) First time homebuyer down payment. 2) College expenses. 3) Financial hardship. I fell in the 3rd category when I got caught by the cash advance scheme described above. I borrowed from my 401k to pay off my lower interest rate so I could pay off the cash advance I took. When you borrow from your 401k you are charged interest, but the principal and interest are all paid back to you! I saw this as a win win since I am making interest on my 401k loan, and I can now pay down the high interest cash advance.

Debit cards
What’s the difference between a credit card and a debit card? A credit card allows you to make payments on credit over time, and a debit card deducts the entire purchase from your bank account. Simple, right? Then how come when you use your debit card you always have to select credit or debit? Here is a tip I learned. If I choose “credit” with my debit card, then I am not charged a $1 fee by my bank. If I choose “debit” with my debit card, then I am charged the service fee. Not all banks charge a debit card fee, but there is no good reason I know of to choose “debit” with your debit card. Another tip along the same line, if there is not a button to choose “credit” where it asks for your PIN number, hit “cancel” and then you will be able to choose “credit”. You should never have to enter your PIN number with a debit card as long as you always choose “credit”. After all, it looks like a credit card and works like a credit card, so choose “credit”.

Keep track of your credit
You should always know the status of your credit cards. I keep an Excel spreadsheet showing account name, percent of interest, account balance, available credit and credit limit. I keep them ordered by highest interest to lowest interest amounts. Then month by month on the same spreadsheet I show the balance, charges, interest and payments. I then have a tabulation that shows the difference from last month to the current month balance. This shows me if I am increasing my overall balance or decreasing it. I know, It’s a little anal, but I feel in complete control.

Reduce your debts
Once you have your spreadsheet (or just a list on paper) of your credit card debts, you can choose one of two methods to reduce your debt. One method is to start by paying off the lowest balances first, no matter the interest rate. This will quickly give you less number of debits to pay on, and will allow you to put more amounts towards the larger balances in a short period of time. The other method is to pay off the highest interest rates first, no matter the balances. This will start reducing the amount you are paying in interest monthly which will allow you to put more and more towards your debts.

Credit score
Personally, I hate credit scores; and I feel the consumers are being abused because of them. For example, I have never been late on a payment, but because of my debt/income ratio, some credit card companies raised my interest an additional 6-10%. Why? I have never been late on a payment??? Oh, I get it. If you are at risk of possibly missing a payment, then increasing your interest will almost guarantee you to not be able to afford the payment! I also heard that car insurance rates are going to be determined by your credit score in addition to your driving record! Anyway, the better your credit score, the better interest rate you will receive almost everywhere. Take advantage of the free credit reports (not freecreditreport.com. They automatically enroll you in a credit protection program that you will pay for if you don’t cancel it), available at www.annualcreditreport.com. Once a year, you can get a truly free credit report from the three reporting agencies Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.

Reduce your interest
It never hurts or costs you anything to contact your credit card companies and argue the interest rate down. Some companies refuse to budge, some budge a little and some barter.
I had one company lower my rate from 19% to 14%, but I had to agree to a higher credit line and a cash advance (at the normal apr of 14%). I used the money to pay down other cards that wouldn't budge. I called Discover recently because they raised my rates due to my credit score, not because I have ever been late. I said "I want to either close my account, or get a better rate". They said "sorry, but we don't do that. Your account is now closed". Just like that!

Borrowing and lending on the web
Yes, you can be a lender, just like the banks! You can also borrow money from individuals instead of banks, and at even better interest rates!!! I saw an article recently in Newsweek about a site called Prosper at www.prosper.com. I really don’t like promoting a site on this blog, but I think this site is worth knowing about. I personally took a loan from the site recently at a lower interest rate than my bank would have charged me, and much lower than my credit card interest rates. I used the money to pay down my credit card balances. The only down side is that all loans are 3 year loans, whether you borrow 3K or 25K. That means that your minimum payment is going to be higher than a bank loan for more than 3 years.

I hope you have learned something though this post. If you have other tips to share, please leave a comment so everyone can learn from them.

Deep thoughts, by Stan Matuska

2007-12-03T19:20:00.000-05:00

I often ponder certain things in life, as I'm sure we all do.
Here are a few that have been keeping me awake at night.

Some are original, some are not. Can you tell them apart?

1. If there is no gravity on the moon, then what keeps the moon rocks from floating away?

2. How do atheists explain the sun, earth and stars? If it was a "big bang", then how did the stuff that went "bang" get there in the first place?

3. They say there's always someone worse off than you, but what do you say to the person at the end of the chain?

4. What color hair do they put on the driver's license of bald men?

5. If you fly half way around the world, are you upside down?

6. When you find something that you've been looking for, why do you say it was in the last place you looked?

7. If the oldest living documented person was 128 years old, then think about this: 128 (or so) years from now, every single person alive today will be dead. The earth will be inhabited entirely by people who are not alive today.

8. Of the new inhabitants from 7. above, There will still be racism, fighting among countries similar to today, and blame for slavery. Why is that?

9. Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?

10. If a person loses ten pounds, where does it go?

11. If you saw the clerk at Subway take someones money, then proceed to make your sandwich without washing their hands or putting on plastic gloves, would you say something?

12. Why do we say that our feet smell and out nose runs?

13. Speaking of feet, what is the name of the top part of your foot?

14. Why is the third hand of a watch called a second hand?

15. Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?

16. What happens when an iresitsable force meets an imovable object?

17. How is it that we can send a rocket to the moon, but can't make a tire that doesn't go flat?

18. Actually, I recently heard a real commercial about a run-flat tire that gives you something like 50-100 miles before it goes completely flat.... so if you have a flat, but don't know it because of the run-flat tires, wouldn't you still be left just as surprised about your flat tire, except that you'll be 50-100 miles further down the road?

19. Where do they put the Bible in libraries, the fiction or non-fiction section?

20. Why doesn't broccoli come in a can?

XXX SEX XXX SEX XXX SEX XXX SEX

2007-11-29T23:06:00.000-05:00

Now that I have your attention, here is an article that may just have an impact on you! Ok, maybe not you, but if not you, then who? The way I see it, I'm just offering a free public service. Enjoy, but not too much!!!

By JORDAN ROBERTSON

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Online pornography hunters' Internet adventures are already fraught with danger from malicious code many porn sites use to commandeer visitors' machines or steal personal data.

Now comes a scheme some researchers say amounts to extortion: One site's threat to disable visitors' computers with relentless pop-up ads if they don't pay for a subscription they were automatically signed up for after a free trial.

The threats, reported this week by researchers at security vendor McAfee Inc.'s Avert Labs, affect people who visit the Web site and download software to access a free three-day trial membership.

Visitors do get free access for three days, but the download includes code that then generates a stream of pop-up windows, when the user is online and offline, demanding payment of roughly $80 for 90 days' worth of additional access.

The windows stay open up to 10 minutes and appear once a day. They appear on top of any open windows and restore to their original size if shrunk or moved, making them impossible to ignore. They also reappear if the computer is rebooted.

The site actually warns visitors they will be billed as full members — and lose full use of their computers if they don't — unless they cancel the subscription within the trial period. But the warning appears in the full terms and conditions statement, which downloaders aren't required to read.

Once the fees are paid, the software can be removed with a special file.

"What it appears they are doing is, in my humble opinion, a form of extortion based on the (usually correct) assumption that a person's computer will be key to many other activities in their daily life," McAfee researcher Seth Purdy wrote on the Avert Labs blog.

Truly a scary thought

2007-11-29T00:23:00.000-05:00

Click on the image and read the article under the picture.

Where have all the U-Blogger's gone?

2007-11-27T22:39:00.000-05:00

It's been pretty quiet here at the U-Blog Press. I know there are still visitors because I see the counter growing... ever so slightly.

If you are already a contributor, how about adding a post every now and then?

If you are not a contributor, how about becoming one?

You can use this site to promote posts on your site with links.

You can be a Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian or none of the above.

As long as you follow the the rules you too can be a contributor!

If you choose not to contibute, please keep checking back, as I do like to add posts on occasion.

Thanks for visiting!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

2007-11-20T18:21:00.000-05:00

Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.
See the PC Police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a "Holiday".
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!

CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith;
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebra te "Winter Break" under your "Dream Tree"
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!

This was received as an email, and I thought it should be shared.
I told my wife to only shop at stores that recognize Christmas, but it's too early to tell who will and who will not.

Wal-Mart has finally admitted that censoring Christmas is not a good idea. After experiencing a backlash last Christmas season from unhappy customers and facing frustrated employees, Wal-Mart retreated from its use of "Happy Holidays" and will let employees greet shoppers with "Merry Christmas." Let's hope other retailers follow suit. It's a bit premature to say, but I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year!!!

Here's your lump of coal kid - Merry Christmas!

2007-11-17T22:33:00.000-05:00

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!

2007-11-12T22:30:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Robert Rouse at http://www.leftofcentrist.com/ I, Stan Matuska, have been tagged to write ten random things about myself.

1. I was born at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne Indiana on November 13th, 1959; but back then the hospital was on Fairfield Avenue. The interesting thing about that is that it was on a Friday....the 13th!!!!

2. I had four sets of parents growing. My birth parents, step parents and two sets of foster parents. Why you ask? See #1 above. No, I really can't tell you why. I was too young to understand, but I think it had to do with parents out of control.

3. I was a single parent to my one year old son when I was just 21.

4. I used to get crazy with John Good from http://leftinaboite.blogspot.com/ when I was much younger. We would do crazy stuff like dress up as anything stupid and then go to Azars by Southtown Mall for coffee. We had many a party at his "love shack", but I usually got the owl while he got the catch of the day. He took me and my son in during my difficult times, and my son potty trained in his living room. Looking back, it was a lot like the show Two and a half Men!

5. Most of my blood siblings live in Southern California, with the exception of one brother who lives in Fort Wayne. He is a couple of years older than me and is more into auto mechanics than politics. I have 4 brothers and 1 sister in my birth family plus myself. We are still all very close, with the exception of my oldest brother who served in Viet Nam, came home, opened an Army/Navy store on Wells street, moved his business to California and was beaten to death in the desert several years ago. How does one survive Viet Nam but not the states???

7. I have been married three times, but divorced only twice! My wife and I have been married for 9 years in December. I have two step sons ages 21 and 25, and I have a son 27, and a daughter 22. As of today we are DINKS (double income no kids), but who knows what next week will bring!

8. I became a Grandpa a few weeks ago for the first time!!! My step-son and his wife gave us this beautiful gift!!! His name is Noah Daniel Hahn; and I am proud to tell people that I am a Grandpa - even though today at the nursing home I volunteer at, a 96 year old woman called me a GLM! I thought she was talking gibberish, but she said it meant Good Looking Man! I still got it! Ok - so she's 96 and I'm a Grandpa, but it still made me feel good =)

9. I love to give to charities, but I like to do it on my terms. I know that sounds weird, but I hate the cold contact phone calls, and the begging in the mail from charities that I never even heard of. It's like helping our kids. I love to help them, but I want do it because I want to, not because they want my help. BTW, kids, if you are reading this - you wouldn't believe how much a simple "thank you" from time to time can mean.

10. I had four years of Spanish in school. I would get C's and D's in English, but straight A's in Spanish. I took it the first year because a cute girl ahead of me signed up for it in 9th grade, then stayed with it because my High School Spanish teacher was a hot tamali! My Spanish name was Francisco. Que pasa? Donde esta el quarto de bano?

11. I know I was only supposed to do 10, but if you didn't catch it, I purposely omited #6, so technically I owe you this one!

U.S. internet control hangs in the balance

2007-11-11T10:52:00.000-05:00

Next week there will be a meeting in Brazil that is supposed to cover topics like spam, free speech and cheaper access. It is starting to look like it will be more of a debate over U.S. control over the internet!

The four day forum is comprised of over 2,000 representatives from government, business and "civil society", with the key theme being how to bring the internet to the next billion people.

The Internet Governance Forum is the result of a compromise world leaders reached at a U.N. summit in Tunisia two years ago. They agreed to let the United States remain in charge.

But they established an annual forum to discuss emerging issues, including whether control of how Internet addresses are assigned—and thus how people use the Internet—should remain with the U.S. government and an American nonprofit.

Many countries complained U.S. dominance wasn't discussed enough during the first forum last year, in Athens. In meetings leading to the second round opening in Rio de Janeiro, China, Iran, Russia and Brazil, among others, won an opening-day panel devoted to "critical Internet resources." Iran!???

Some governments are seeking more concrete results, such as a chairman's statement or negotiated agreement on next steps, though U.S. and U.N. leaders cautioned that specific decisions are unlikely and even inappropriate.

"If last year was viewed as a trial run, this year is in a sense a bit more important," said a law professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada. "If little comes out of this, I think there will be growing concern that the IGF is little more than a talk shop and a place to meet."

Some governments, particularly in developing countries, sought to strip the United States of its oversight so they could have more say over such policies as domain names in languages other than English.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything comes as a result of the Internet Governance Forum.

Let's go Krogering . . . Not . . .

2007-11-08T13:15:00.000-05:00

Anyone else have issue with the Scott's Stores being taken over by the Kroger's in town? I miss my Scotts. While I didn't do my full monthly shopping there, I loved to drop in there for necessities on a daily basis. I hate them now that they have gone to Kroger. The two stores I frequent most are the N. Anthony store and the Clinton Store. Both stores are beginning to resemble the Kroger store on Spy Run that closed. They are dirty, disorganized and constantly out of certain products. The parking lots are disgusting and there are never in carts in the store, they are all out in the lot rolling around.

It burns my buttons when I go into a store and can't buy a gallon of chocolate milk or better yet a gallon of white that doesn't expire in 3 days. Robert actually had issue a few weeks ago when the store was completely out of white bread. Bread. Ridiculous. I always loved the Scotts stores for the family atmosphere, the high quality, and the helpful staff. Good luck getting help in the store now, and the check-out lines are atrocious because they are now staffed like a Kroger. I miss my Scotts!

Argh!

Cooler heads prevailed. . .

2007-11-06T21:22:00.001-05:00

I read a quote from Dan Carmody, the outgoing Downtown Improvement District director. Jeff Pruitt asked him how he felt about Tom Henry being elected Mayor and he said, "It looks like cooler heads are prevailing".

After seeing, and being on the receiving end, of the Kelty Krazies shenanigans these past 2 days before the election, I am pleased that their apparent desperation was warranted.

Congrats to Mayor Henry!

Libertarians Rising

2007-10-22T22:09:00.001-04:00

I came across this Time magazine article and wanted to share it with you. I'm not sure I fully understand exactly what they are saying though. Perhaps you can give me your thoughts after you read the article.

To oversimplify: Democrats are for Big Government; Republicans are against it. To oversimplify somewhat less, Democrats aren't always for Big Government, and Republicans aren't always against it. Democrats treasure civil liberties, whereas Republicans are more tolerant of government censorship to protect children from pornography, or of wiretapping to catch a criminal, or of torture in the war against terrorism.

War in general and Iraq in particular--certainly Big Government exercises--are projects Republicans tend to be more enthusiastic about. Likewise the criminal process: Republicans tend to want to make more things illegal and to send more people to jail for longer. Republicans also consider themselves more concerned about the moral tone of the country, and they are more disposed toward using the government in trying to improve it. In particular, Republicans think religion needs more help from society, through the government, while Democrats are touchier about the separation of church and state.

See complete story here

Allow God in flag certificates

2007-10-15T21:14:00.000-04:00

U.S. Rep. Dave Camp is among lawmakers objecting because the U.S. Capitol's architect won't allow God to be mentioned in certificates of authenticity accompanying flags flown over the Capitol and bought by constitutents.

"This is as insulting as it is absurd," Camp said in a prepared statement. "The architect has gone way too far. If we can put 'in God we trust' on our money, then we can certainly put it on a flag certificate when a citizen wants it there."

Camp and dozens of other lawmakers are sending a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi calling for "an immediate review of the authority under which the architect is making these rules, as well as the reversal of this policy which censors our citizens' right to expressions of their faith."

A 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Ohio reportedly was denied the request to have a certificate read, "This flag was flown in honor of Marcel Larochelle, my grandfather, for his dedication and love of God, country and family."

"I can't believe the U.S. House of Representatives can pass a resolution recognizing the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, which we did this week, but can't send out certificates with the word 'God' on them," Camp said. "It doesn't make any sense. The policy needs to be changed."

The controversy over certificate wording has arisen several times in past years, with the architect's office saying religious and political messages should not be permitted, House leadership aides said.

One proposed compromise was to put out a uniform certificate of authenticity while allowing members to add messages they choose, but some lawmakers objected to that approach, the aides said.

U.S. Rep. Dave Camp is a Republican representing Michigan. Though he's not a Democrat, I support his objection to this issue. I am so tired of God being taken out of our lives while political correctness is recognizing Ramadan and other holidays.

Which 2008 Presidential Candidate Agrees With You?

2007-10-05T21:47:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to a candidate calculator. I'm not sure I place much stock in it since it says I should be voting for Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd (D). I was a 72.92% match, and he isn't even high on my maybe list. Which candidate agrees with you?

www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html

Think about it . . .

2007-09-23T23:28:00.001-04:00

Lincoln's $5 bill gets a colorful makeover

2007-09-22T23:33:00.000-04:00

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Honest Abe will become Colorful Abe with splashes of purple and gray livening up the $5 bill.

The government showed off the new bill Thursday in an Internet news conference - a high-tech unveiling that officials say is entirely appropriate for a 21st century redesign of the bill featuring the Civil War president, Abraham Lincoln.

The changes are similar to those already made, starting in 2003, to the $10, $20 and $50 bills. In those redesigns, pastel colors were added as part of an effort to stay ahead of counterfeiters and their ever-more-sophisticated copying machines.

Click here to see the full story.

The Reaper

2007-09-13T21:00:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty sure I'd need to change my shorts after this:

FASD Awareness Day

2007-09-11T08:28:00.000-04:00

Posted yesterday over at my blog, thought it worthy to post here as well . . .

Yesterday I had a wicked headache. I spent most of the day covering my head with a pillow and snoozing on the couch. I missed posting about FASD Awareness Day which is on the ninth day of the nine month, Sept. 9th.

On this day back in 1999 some families got together to raise their voices and educate people about the dangers in drinking during the 9 months of pregnancy. It also served to educate the public on children who have been afflicted with FASD and how their lives have been changed simply by their birth mother partaking in alcohol during those precious 9 months in utero. NINE MONTHS. Such a short time in the life of that mother has changed my son's life forever. I sometimes sit and mourn the life he could be living. The life that he would have without alcohol pervading his little body in the womb. The life that he could've had without the brain damage that he has due to those drinks. . .

Then I get angry. I get angry at the selfishness of birth mother's who should know better. I get mad at birth mother's who have access to birth control if they are choosing to drink or suffering from alcoholism. I get angry that I have to see the frustration and the struggles he goes through on a minute by minute basis. I get frustrated that his brain doesn't function in the way most people's do. I get livid that she still doesn't understand she has affeected him for life and created a child who can NEVER be fully functional on an independant level.

Then I get motivated. Motivated to educate every woman of child bearing age that you SHOULD NOT drink one drop of alcohol during those precious months. You should not drink if there is any possiblitiy of conceiving. I want to educate them that you can mess up a life in the same way that drunk drivers destroy a family by killing someone on the road. I want to grab them, shake them and make them understand what this child deals with on a daily basis. I want to educate people in restaurants, the grocery and my child's school that FASD is not a "made-up" disorder or a "fabricated" reason for my child's behaviors. I want them to realize that just because a child looks "normal" they still can have brain damage. I want them o stop looking at me like my parenting has caused this behavior. I want to make FASD a part of everyone's vocabulary.

I want to shout from the rooftops, "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the ONLY birth defect that can be 100% preventable!" It is up to all of us! Raise your voice, educate someone today! (even though it is a day late) Heck, educate someone everyday!

Gen. David Petraeus talks to Congress

2007-09-10T17:22:00.000-04:00

Today General Petraeus spoke to Congress. He had a lot to say and yet little to say. I wasn't able to hear the entire hearing, but from what I have heard, it doesn't sound like he had anything to say that wasn't already expected.

Someone brought up a good point. Isn't this about the war on terror? If so, then why would the General be willing to reduce the number of troops once the sectarian violence diminishes. It would seem that we are in Iraq to assist with the sectarian violence and not really because of the war on terror.

Democrats went into the rare joint hearing raising questions about the figures Petraeus would be presenting and putting the focus on the White House, not the general or the ambassador. "The fact remains that the administration has sent you here today to convince the members of these committees and the Congress that victory is at hand," said Rep. Tom Lantos, D-California, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. "With all respect to you, I don't buy it."

I trust the General more than Congress or the President, but I still think we are in Iraq for the wrong reason(s).

Size Doesn't Matter

2007-09-09T20:37:00.000-04:00

Now. . .back off of Dennis Kucinich:

You know you're in trouble when. . .

2007-09-08T00:35:00.001-04:00

. . .as a forty-something political candidate, you have to call in Mommy to plead your case:

Of course, the first signs of trouble would have been the complete lack of understanding of campaign finance laws and the utter disregard for the members of the grand jury that you ~~testified before~~ lied to. . .

The Supreme Court Justices

2007-08-08T23:19:00.000-04:00

Most people think the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court can only be changed when one of the appointed Justices dies, resigns, retires or is impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate. Not so.

There's a time-honored tradition for the makeup of the Supreme Court: change it's size. It's not the Constitution, but rather the Congress that determines the size. Throughout history the makeup has been increased and decreased six times!

In 1837, Congress increased the size from seven to nine in order to give Democrat Andrew Jackson two new appointments. During the Civil War, the court increased again to ten Justices to create an anti-slavery majority. Franklin Delano Roosevelt wanted to give himself six new appointments to win approval of his "New Deal", but failed to do so.

There's nothing set in stone about the number nine in regards to the number of Justices. If the right leaning Supreme Court continues to rule as it has, a Democratic President and Congress in '08 could change the makeup once again. The only problem with that, is that it would revive the time-honored tradition which could be used against them later down the road.

Skirt Chaser

2007-07-29T20:44:00.001-04:00

Watch Ur Wife - video powered by Metacafe

Newhart - The Finale

2007-07-29T20:31:00.000-04:00

I consider this one of THE funniest sitcom moments in history! You have to be in on the joke though. . .most of you will likely recall the show "Newhart" from the 1980's, but the younger crowd may not remember Bob Newhart's earlier show from the 1970's.Here's the intro, just to jog your memory:

For the "Newhart" finale, Bob wakes up in bed with his wife from the earlier show on the set of said earlier show and discusses the newer show as "I just had the strangest dream":

CNN-YouTube debate

2007-07-24T13:58:00.000-04:00

While watching last night’s CNN-YouTube debate of the Democratic Presidential candidates, I was suddenly struck by this question: What if we voted for President the way we vote for “American Idol”? Would Hillary still be the country’s “fan favorite”? Would John Edwards get the female votes because of his good looks? Would Mike Gravel keep hanging on as the Sanjaya-like favorite of “Vote for the Worst” or would he just be one of the funny clips of a contestant shoved into the “audition” shows? I can’t help but look at Dennis Kucinich and think of “Chicken Little” from a couple seasons back on AI-you remember the poor guy (though I can’t remember his real name) he was “Everynerd” in high school, but people listened to his voice and he got a lot further than anyone thought he would.

Think back on the first season of American Idol: The vote came down to Kelly Clarkson, the normal, middle class girl from small town mid-America with big dreams (Hillary) and Justin Gaurini, the exotic looking smooth voiced rebel (Obama). I remember it being a neck and neck, back & forth competition between those two AI contestants, culminating in the eventual win of the girl with big dreams. I remember being shocked that she won, wondering if her victory would see any fame, if she could turn herself into what the American public expected of her. As we all know, she was able to do all of those things and Justin has quietly faded into the background. America is becoming a reality TV based culture, so my advice to the candidates, especially Hillary and Obama is this… watch a little American Idol; watch and learn.