A little over a year ago I made this plea;

Evangelical Christians are mighty and powerful. Evangelical Christians, you won. Congratulations.
Evangelical Christians, please use your power to make the President quit running our country into the ground financially so the rich can get richer. Please use your power to make the President stop the raping and polluting of the land that doesn't belong to us but to the future.
Please use your power, Evangelical Christians, to help this country in ways we all want, show we have more in common than not and that we don't have to be a totally divided nation. Don't make concessions to the dark side of your chosen party. You don't have to, you have the power.

So now, the people that put James Inhofe (right wing corporate dick-sucking chair of senate environment committee that called global warming "the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people") in office, have read my blog and called for "Creation Care". They want to stop the "degradation of Creation" and those degradations are;

These degradations of creation can be summed up as 1) land degradation; 2) deforestation; 3) species extinction; 4) water degradation; 5) global toxification; 6) the alteration of atmosphere; 7) human and cultural degradation.

What does your Evangelical Christian Senator have to say to you?

Sticking with his corporate sponsors, Inhofe calls the claim that Christians should work to stop activities harmful to God's creation, "something very strange," and he dismisses the evangelical's Biblical citations for their work, saying: "You can always find in Scriptures a passage to misquote for almost anything."

Ouch!

From the Earthcam at 46th and Broadway in New York. Jess and her friend Misty after walking much more than they are used to. Of course, the Transit Strike is all our fault (her parents) because we had the gall to express concern over it before she left.
Safe trip home Jesse.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!!
Mincemeat Pie for my dad.

Funny Guy

So Sweet

November Sunset

IAN McEWAN
Novelist; Author, Saturday

What I believe but cannot prove is that no part of my consciousness will survive my death. I exclude the fact that I will linger, fadingly, in the thoughts of others, or that aspects of my consciousness will survive in writing, or in the positioning of a planted tree or a dent in my old car. I suspect that many contributors to Edge will take this premise as a given—true but not significant. However, it divides the world crucially, and much damage has been done to thought as well as to persons, by those who are certain that there is a life, a better, more important life, elsewhere. That this span is brief, that consciousness is an accidental gift of blind processes, makes our existence all the more precious and our responsibilities for it all the more profound.

Pajamas have ghosts that glow in the dark. I couldn't get a picture of that.

Vincent, 19 months old. Trick or Treat Pajamas from Aunt Jess.

So much for being a dilettante, huh? Last April, in a (in hindsight) predictable turn of events, I became boss to about 50 people and became responsible for about 4000 kids getting safely to and from school. And all the shit that goes with that.
From April to August I worked the jobs of two people and gained 20 pounds. Now I have a Fantastic Secretary but, we're still training because of all the extra shit that falls in on us everyday. I'm still dealing with old problems that I think will take another year to get all cleared up. I get tons of praise but that doesn't relieve the tons of stress. Sometimes, I hate this job.
I finally read all the Harry Potter Books. I'll be in line at midnight for the next one, right behind Ellen. Ricky orders his. I just started The Geographers Library by Jon Fasman and I feel like it's the first real novel I've read in a long time. I don't know what I mean by real novel. I know, but I can't explain it except to say that it feels good to get back to other places, other people, ideas. Page 5, paragraph 1;

"After a couple of hours of Career Promoting, I felt certain that I would live a long, lonely, useless life and die alone and unmissed (did I mention that I never bothered filling out any grad-school applications?). It's self-indulgent, I know, but this is what happens to the over achieving but essentially useless children of parents who raised their children to do well on tests but failed to equip them with the poison-tipped spurs of true ambition."

Ahhh, now I know.
But it's O.K. Life is grand.
My daughter is in grad school. My son is in college and working and being a great dad himself.
Roger and I only celebrate every 5th year of marriage now, that's how much we take it for granted.
Except for the 2o pounds and these sharp pains I keep having in the center of my stomach.....
Anyone know how much a gallbladder weighs?

Holly Beach after Rita. No flags here.

Mom's Place

Holly Beach after Rita

Holly Beach after Rita

Or anyone else Kanye!

Thanks for saying it.
Anyone that say's it was inappropriate is full of shit.

Here's one for Ellen's daughter, Lisa. She can read all about the people that will have power over her near future and hopefully, not be to horrified.
This guy is going to be one of my son's professors in the fall.
He goes, "Oh man. Gay guys are always attracted to me."
Conceited much?

What does it mean when several reviews refer to buying your grade and and a professor expecting bribes? I'm serious here. Do they mean you can actually pay this person for a passing grade?

"I expect better behavior out of Republicans."
Larry Johnson,a registered Republican and a former CIA analyst, in a hearing held by Senate and House Democrats examining the implications of exposing Valerie Plame's identity.

Only when "it" starts coming around to you and yours though, huh Larry.

"Jack Valenti, a former aide to Democratic President Lyndon Johnson, said he would advise Bush to announce a nominee for the Supreme Court this week to "wipe the Karl Rove story off the front page."

Go to all your major news sources and do a search on "Karl Rove". Keep doing it. Google "Karl Rove" often. The media pays attention to search engines.

Cookie mentions the importance of buying from local organic farms. Since I saw the film "The Future of Food" (which scared the bejeesus out of me, Margaret Atwood style), I have been going to the local Farmers Market every Wednesday. Is this what happens when you go organic?

We ate one with dinner last night and I was feeling a little frisky this morning.

After spending a couple of days on the "Cajun Riviera" recently, I can't help but think Dennis could do a little cleaning up down there. At least wash away the flags.

Last night Jess and I went to a showing of Mad Hot Ballroom. It's one of the films showing at the deadCENTER Film Festival here in Oklahoma City. Aside from really enjoying the film, I have always loved Downtown OKC and it has just gotten better and better. The weather is great more often than not. You can always find a place to park, not too far away and you always feel safe walking. You have to pay for parking in Bricktown but you can park for free Downtown and just stroll on over. They had a lovely fireworks display for us when we came out of the theatre too. Fireworks displays are a fairly common way to top off any celebration here and I love them but, I do wish they would shorten them to about 3 minutes. If you can ignore the GOPidiots, Oklahoma can be a really nice place to live. Or visit.

A White House official who once led the oil industry's fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that play down links between such emissions and global warming, according to internal documents.
In handwritten notes on drafts of several reports issued in 2002 and 2003, the official, Philip A. Cooney, removed or adjusted descriptions of climate research that government scientists and their supervisors, including some senior Bush administration officials, had already approved. In many cases, the changes appeared in the final reports.

A guy (don't know name, sorry) on the Al Franken Show said we need to turn this guy into a household name and I agree. The way Benedict Arnold is a Household name. Say your boss is telling you he's giving you an extended vacation and you suspect you're being fired, you could say "Don't Cooney me man." The harm he was willing to do to human kind is astronomical and there are so many Cooney's in the wings of the White House. We need to let them know they will be hated and reviled forever if they choose the Cooney way.

Efforts by the Bush administration to highlight uncertainties in science pointing to human-caused warming have put the United States at odds with other nations and with scientific groups at home.

Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, who met with President Bush at the White House yesterday, has been trying to persuade him to intensify United States efforts to curb greenhouse gases. Mr. Bush has called only for voluntary measures to slow growth in emissions through 2012.

Did you really think you had that kind of relationship with the Chimp in Chief Tony? You thought you had a little give and take kind of thing going on? Sorry Tony, no matter how much good you try to accomplish, you'll always be a Cooney to us.

I sent out a mass e-mail to co-workers concerning maintaining their license. It had the Why, How, When, Where, How Much and How To Get Reimbursed all in about 6 neat little sentences. It included links. I get a call from a seemingly nice guy. He's seems like a nice guy but, he has a W '04 sticker on his car.

He says "I got an e-mail about my license. I need to know what to do to maintain it."

Me- OK. What didn't you understand?

GOP member- Well, what am I supposed to do?

Me- You got the e-mail?

Disaster Monkey Lover- Yeah, I just didn't under...stand ... uhh....

Me- Would you like me to read the e-mail to you?

GOPidiot- Yeah. I guess I saw the subject but didn't read the e-mail.

Well that explains just about everything that has happened in the last 5 or 6 years then. Thank you Dickwad. Now I understand.

Graduate and Grandfather

Do you have to wear it from now on?

What's with the funky hat Aunt Jess?

Grandad! Quit callin' me!

I'm kinda busy right now. Wait, Who Is This?

Hello!

Excuse me, I have to take this call.

All dressed up for Aunt's Graduation

OK, several people I respect have offered to help so I'm going to post my dilemma.
Say, I have two people in plum positions (well, it's plum where I work). It's not our concern how they got these jobs since I wasn't in charge of hiring at the time. One of these people does everything he's told to do, unless, he goes to sleep somewhere that I can't find him instead. He occasionally pulls a drunk and disappears completely for 2 or 3 days but has never been written up for this by his previous supervisor. (He's been written up twice in the last month by me). The other person, I'm thinking, must have some kind of passive aggressive thing going on. I'll talk to her about something that needs to change and she's all smiles and, nods and, understanding and then, she continues to do things exactly the way she was. I can never find her and she never communicates to me what she's doing. (She's been written up once in the past month) Together, out of 16 hours they are being paid for in a day, they work maybe 10 and I am paying other people to take up the slack. I need two people with initiative that like to stay busy. People that can communicate with each other and will say "I can do that if we change this time by 15 minutes" instead of "I can't do that". I mean, the woman actually said to me "I really don't want to do that" when I asked her to do part of her job!
I'm way to busy to be babysitting these people and they actually make more work for me when their positions were created to alleviate it.
I don't have to fire them. I'm not required to renew their 8 hour a day contracts. I can offer them a four hour contract instead. So where's the dilemma? you say.
This is their job, they don't have other people to support them. I'd be cutting their paychecks in less than half. They're not bad people.
That's it, I don't know how to do this. I don't know if I should do it.
We'll get to the hiring question later, I'm verklimpt (sic). This is the one that wakes me up at night.

Vincent walking with his dad. I just love this one.

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

What a pain, what a load of pressure these things are. I totally forgot this year. When people were leaving the office Friday they started saying "Have a happy Mother's Day" I was goin "Yeah, you too." even to the men. Then all of a sudden I was like "What? Wait. Wha.., moth.., no.., arghh." So, I haven't gotten a hold of my mom yet so I still have all that grovelling to look forward too. I feel bad because I'm supposed to be a good kid.
Speaking of good kids

Having a popsicle to balance out all those brussel sprouts he eats. Seriously, I grind up steamed Brussel Sprouts and mix them with whatever else I'm grinding up for him, spagetti, stew, chicken soup, and then I freeze it in ice cube trays. 30 seconds in the microwave, lunch. And he eats a lot of brussel sprouts.

Really Important Stuff

My Daughter is graduating from OU next weekend! I am so proud of her! Many family members are coming up to share the proud moment and take their share of credit for her brilliant genes. The occasion will not be marred in any way by the choice of Commencment Speaker. It could have been so much worse and my Republican friend is not coming till the next day graduation ceremony because, in her words, "I hate John McCain", so he can't be too bad. At first I thought it was going to be Edwin McCain and that seemed sad so this is a step up. I know some of you will disagree. Go ahead, you can't bring me down, I'm just so tickled and thrilled.
Besides, she'll be starting Graduate School in the fall so in a few years I expect I'll be able to tell you that President Hillary Rodham Clinton is giving the Commencment Address.

Here we are in the land of Oklahomophobia, where Summer has turned to Spring and back to Summer. I have emerged, victorious, from a mountain of work to find the rest of the world still bass-akwards. I have received yet another letter from Senator Coburn, thanking me for for writing him (once), about the importance of our judicial nominees.
Thank you Senator Coburn, for killing the trees instead of using e-mail and, being an all around dickhead that's wrong about almost everything. No, I mean everything, wrong about everything.
Now back to my victory. I didn't climb the outside of the mountain with the advantages of exercise, fresh air and exciting danger. No, I took the Hobbit path, through the dirty, scary underbelly of the mountain where I met trolls aplenty. I came across Gollum several times in my quest and I kicked the annoying fuckers ass. Now all the trouble makers have straightened up or, been banished. Well, not all, but they all know it's coming.
There is so much still to do but I hope I'll have more time to read y'all's blogs and write here occasionally. Any of you that have ever been in a position to hire and fire people, let me know so I can get advice from you.

I dreamed that Bush decreed that all income tax returns would be invested in the stock market. Everyone found out about the time the checks were supposed to be in the mail. If you had a State Return but owed on Federal, it didn't matter, you wouldn't see it, it was being invested. It didn't matter what your income level was but, of course, it was all the poor people and the middle income that had a ton of extra money taken out every month so that they won't owe, that were hurt. In the dream I was realizing that Bush knew he wasn't going to get to murder Social Security and he knew the Stock Market was going to Crash and I knew, that this wasn't going to work either. No shit, that's what I just dreamed.

Today I'm wearing "poured in her britches, boy they're tight" hiphugger jeans and they just make me go naturally into that left hip out, right foot pigeon-toed to the point of looking deformed, stance. Did all 13 year girls have to perfect that stance in the 70's or was it just at Jackson Jr High? We bought bell bottoms at the Army Navy and then we turned them inside out and took the inseam up another inch so they would be tighter and lower. Now you can just buy them that way. I see tapered legs are coming back into the stores now. I don't look good in tapered legs.

My top, #1 song of all time, the one that never gets old for me, has been taken over by the Bush Administration in my mind. Of all the crimes he has committed, this is certainly the most heinous.

What's your porn name?
Dawn says she got her porn name (Cookie Christine), which she uses as a screen name by putting together 1st pet, 1st street. So of course I thought "What's my porn name?" Turns out it's Tuffer Barnes. Sounds a little gay porn to me so when my porn career starts I might go with 2nd pet and choose Pokey Barnes. What's your porn name?

I accidentally turned on NPR yesterday and, it's a good thing or I might not have known that the definition of the word "unethical" had officially been changed. Use to be, you were being unethical if you violated the rules of ethics. Now, you're just stupid and moronic which, the Bush Administration has always been proud to admit to.

The report also said two Education Department officials had warned the White House last summer about concerns, including the "inherent conflict" of paying a pundit to endorse the president's education law.

David Dunn, then-special assistant to the president for domestic policy, agreed with the concerns, yet neither the White House nor the department halted the contract until it was disclosed by the news media in January.

So Bush knew about it and kept it going for 6, 7, 8 months. Till he got caught.

Bush has said the hiring of Williams was wrong and that the White House did not know in advance that a pundit had been hired. Spellings said Friday that description is true.

I bet he could pass a lie detector on that one. He didn't know it was "Williams" "in advance".
What do you actually have to do to be considered unethical in this administration?
Naahh. Just Expendable.

If I can just make it through April, I might have time to pay attention to the world (outside my little world) and get pissed off enough to post again.


meme
Behold, the Caesar’s Bath meme! List five things that people in your circle of friends or peer group are wild about, but you can’t really understand the fuss over. To use the words of Caesar (from History of the World Part I), “Nice. Nice. Not thrilling . . . but nice.

I don't have friends and if I have peers I haven't met them yet. The voices talking at and around me belong to people that seem to think highly of Lake Eufala and Tunica. Tunica being better than the Indian Casinos they also enjoy. Never having been to any of those places we can assume it is ignorance, and not elitism, that makes me say "I don't get it".
The voices are mostly 'wild' about bitching. They like to complain more than anything else it seems. They complain about each other, the busses, the parents, the kids, the coaches, the weather, the pegs on the fucking board where they hang their fucking keys and, I'm sure, they bitch about me. But not to my face.
What's that you say? Hey Pot, way to call the kettle black!
But y'all understand, this is my bitch place. I have normal, bitchless, conversations with people every day. These people do not. I don't get it.
Anyone that happens over here, please do this meme. You're my only contact with the outside world. Jess, you do it too. You have friends.
I miss you guys

Iraqi's enjoy "Bush Style Freedom"
Students having a University approved picnic were attacked and beaten by the University morality police in Basra.

"They focused on the women," said Saeed's friend, Osama Adnan. "They were beating them viciously."

"Without any discrimination," Saeed added.

A spokesman for the militant young Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr and his Mahdi Army

"conceded that students were hurt and the beatings "went beyond what was legitimate." But, he added, "They say freedom means they can do what they want. This is not freedom. Freedom does not mean you can transgress traditions."

The video they distributed to show what freedom is 'not', shows some men dancing and a few women without their heads covered. And most shocking of all, a man pushing a woman on a swing.
How many people have died or sacrificed limbs so that the Muslim equivalent of really nutso Pentecostals can rule Iraq?

A meme for MeMe from EllenEllen

You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?

I want to be Pride and Predjudice.


Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

Probably more than one but the one that comes to mind is Gilbert Grape.

The last book you bought is:
Go Dog Go
Vincent knows it by heart and anticipates his hug for "Bundle up, so you don't freeze."



The last book you read:

Aside from "Where the Wild Things Are" and "The Rainbow Fish", I read "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night"

What are you currently reading?

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Five books you would take to a deserted island:
One huge book on how to survive on a deserted island.
The Collected Works of Jane Austen
There are so many books about what a shit Bush is but, I think Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them because I could laugh and be glad I'm on a deserted Island.
The Shipping News (I can read it over and over)
The collected Harry Potter Books because I've never read them

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 people) and why?
I don't know 3 people with blogs that haven't already done this so maybe Jess will answer it in the comments.

A year ago.
Incredibly cool. And you can call me
Sweetmom.

Ricky, your mom is right.
Give her a grandchild already.

This year has gone by fast.
Turn the volume down if you don't want to hear a squealing Sweetmom.

Bush is Back On Vacation in Crawford?! Good Lord, the Republicans love blowin our tax dollars. How much do you think it cost for him to fly to DC to sign that Schiavo Law that he could have just as well sat in Crawford and signed, and then fly his grandstanding ass back to Texas?

I think it's really ironic that these Republicans are so desperate to keep Terri Schiavo alive and so desperate to cut her Medicaid. She's also the beneficiary of one of those "frivolous lawsuits" that they're determined to put a stop too.
They are so disgusting. There are no depths to which they will not stoop.

Is She Still Alive?!
Fuckin Phyllis Schlafly, man! I thought she was dead for sure!
This idiotic conservative atmosphere must have rejuvenated her creepy old bones. We're living a Southpark Episode y'all.
I have to credit the old bitch (in some part) with making me see the wisdom of feminism at an early age. I was 11 or 12 when I first saw her on a talk show, squealing loudly in an attempt drive logic from the brains of her audience. It was something like (shrieking, standing at the edge of the stage, lording over the audience member) "Do you want your daughter to be drafted, to go to war, to be in a foxhole being shot at?!!!??" The lady in the audience calmly answered "No. I don't want my son there either. It seems we should fight the draft and not equal rights for women." She never stopped shrieking nonsensically for the whole show and she scared me to death.
She's Baaack
I stumbled on this while checking up on our Ok-Texas Morman Rep. Istook.
She loves him I'm sure. I'll just tackle this one little thing that Phyllis said.
"The Justice Department implied that public buses and subways can ban ads that encourage illegal drugs only if they simultaneously ban ads discouraging illegal drugs. That argument defies common sense."
Liar, liar, liar!
The ads encourage legalizing marijuana which is quite different from encouraging people to shoot up and go to jail.
Actually your statement implies that we have ads that say "Way to go Marijuana, keep trying, you can do it." and these ads can be countered (under those god-awful 1st Amendment Rights) only by signs that say "Don't even bothering trying Mary Jane, you can't get me high."
Common Sense should slap you in the face to see if you recognize it.

Remember Ernest Istook?
He's one of the guy's that represents me in D.C.
He's the morman from Texas that screwed a bunch of his fellow republicans out of money for their state projects last year because he doesn't like trains. He really doesn't like trains. As chairman of the House Transportation Appropriations Committee he hemmed and hawed over whether to give California the money it needed to extend light rail lines in LA. He didn't wanna, didn't wanna, didn't wanna, did. Two days later got a bunch a money from those west coasters for his re-election campaign.
We don't have to worry about him wielding all that power this term as the Republicans have him sitting in the naughty chair, VICE-chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.
I wonder how he likes reading quotes like this, "The leadership also stripped Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.) of his cardinal status as punishment for attempting last year to dump transportation projects in 21 GOP congressional districts."

Someone sent this to me with the question
"Do you like him better drunk?"

Not even when I'm drunk.
(scroll down about 26 from Tom Green)

Honestly I can't tell the difference.

Christmas just keeps on coming!

Got my Amazon order yesterday. My daughter has already taken ""J.S. and M.N." It's been so long since I've read for pleasure, mainly because everything dissappointed me, but I finished "The Time Traveler's Wife" last week and it wet my whistle.

10 and half months old

Ellen and Janis,
Click on the feet and you should go to dosali.com where you will find the barefoot sandals I make. Click on Brides and you'll see what I spend most of the time on. I wish I had more time to just create new combinations and patterns but it's fun working with the brides too. About the sandals? Well, I used to smoke and when I quit I needed something to do with my hands. After everyone in the family got an afghan and some footies, I remembered we used to macrame these things and I thought I could work up a crochet pattern for them. About a hundred pairs later I needed to start getting rid of them. When I did a search, I came across some strung bead barefoot sandals that were gorgeous but cost in the hundreds. So, of course, I can do that better and cheaper. I love making them, everyone is always so tickled with them. I don't make much money but, look at all I save from not smoking.

I feel like I'm being rude when I don't post for a while.
When I'm unable to keep up with reading all of y'all's blogs, not only do I feel rude but, bereft.
So, sorry if I'm being rude, here's my excuse.
First the baby had his first illness. I've never mentioned how incredibly healthy his 1st year has been because I didn't want to jinx it, but now that he's had the stomach virus (and my superstitions, amazingly, had nothing to do with it) it's safe to talk.
I was always bad about having sympathy illness with my kids but after being puked and pooped on for two days, I got this for real. His mother got sick too and pretty soon Roger, my husband, was the only man standing. What a trooper. For 48 hours I only saw him when he came in to get himself another clean shirt.
Everyone is OK now but I have a mountain of work and 66!!! pairs of sandals to make!
So talk amongst yourselves.
I'll be working to Al Franken and falling asleep to the Daily Show and I'll be back when I dig my way out.

"To serve the economic needs of our country, we must also reform our immigration laws. Reform must begin by confronting a basic fact of life and economics. Some of the jobs being generated in America's growing economy are jobs American citizens are not filling. This past week, I proposed a new temporary worker program that would match willing foreign workers with willing American employers, when no Americans can be found to fill the jobs. If an American employer is offering a job that American citizens are not willing to take, we ought to welcome into our country a person who will fill that job."
President's Radio Address, Jan. 10, 2004

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but if I were President, I'd be asking, "If an American employer is offering a job that American citizens are not willing to take, WHAT KIND OF PIECE OF SHIT HAZARDOUS, monotonous, low paying JOB ARE WE OFFERING HERE? and "How can we make this a better place to work?" Not, how can we legally get a Mexican to do it cheap.
Maybe it's just me.

We were discussing North Korea and The Bomb, at work this morning. It was said that it was in response to Dumya's "State of the State, or whatever you want to call it"
"...We're working closely with the governments in Asia to convince North Korea to abandon its nukyular ambitions. ...Today, Iran remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror -- pursuing nukyular weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve." and his "ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world"
That's when one of my favorite old guy's said, "What? Is Bush gonna commit suicide?"

Am I the only person that heard Rummy say this? When Democrats pointed out that the cost of the war was, once again, left out of the budget...

"No way in the world, anybody, a family, a business, eh, this government can pla-an that way, that well, over that long a period of time. It's just not possible-so what do you do? You have supplementals for those things that are of an emergency nature."

OK, so.. by Rummy's logic, I cannot possibly figure my car payment into my budget for the next year, much less, the next three years. Even though I bought it two years ago and (unless I win the lotto) will be paying on it for three more years. So I'm going to need "supplementals" to cover the car payment. So what? I just ask the people that were stupid enough to hire me, the one's that give me a contract every year so I'll know how much money I have to work with, to give me an extra $500.00 every month because it is fucking impossible to figure this into my budget.
Are we all retarded?

Early February

Vincent says "Try it, you'll like it."

According to my friend, Dagmar, the tackiest thing Americans do is dress our children like animals.

Easy Math

If a worker sets aside $1,000 a year for 40 years, and earns 4 percent annually on investments, the account would grow to $99,800 in today's dollars, but the government would keep $78,700 -- or about 80 percent of the account. The remainder, $21,100, would be the worker's.

With a 4.6 percent average gain over inflation, the government keeps more than 70 percent. With the CBO's 3.3 percent rate, the worker is left with nothing but the guaranteed benefit.

Fuck You Bush

Last year the Bush administration eliminated funding for the Bunker Buster, a ground penitrating nuclear weapon, because it was and election year and you know, he's supposed to be interested in reducing nuclear proliferation and the people wouldn't want to spend 500 million on it. But now, they don't have to pretend they give a damn about what the people want so Rumsfeld tells the Energy Secretary we need to put this program back in the budget and "You can count on my support for your efforts to revitalize the nuclear weapons infrastructure and to complete the RNEP study."
What a bunch a jerks we are.

The Night Democracy Died in Georgia
I read the explanation but I still can't understand how this happened. Georgia's Representatives have voted to give the Speaker of the House complete power over every vote in every committee. This page was just set up 2 days ago. You have to read it.

Got e-mail from my uncle, respectfully replied;

I can't imagine anyone confusing the president with our military members. This seems like a hateful piece of fiction to me. Suggesting that anyone that opposes the war or disagrees with Bush would also call our soldiers "baby killers" is really heinous, don't you think?
Since she couldn't even get the manager of the restaurant to verify her story, I'm thinking it was just a mean little fantasy she had.
love,
Donna

and sent the snopes.com story on it to him and everyone he sent it to.

Got this reply from someone on his list that I don't know;

Thank you for the info on this item. I've seen it before but have been too lazy to check it out. As a 25 yr AF veteran (medical) I opposed the Iraq invasion from the start and concur with Donna's statment.

H.
Saxonburg, PA

Made me feel good so I thought I'd share. So much nicer than being called names.

Short Dickwad List for January

Carlos Ghosn

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee

• (this guy votes against keeping us safe from terrorist if it means some endandgered birds wil be safe too.)

Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla) -- A dispute with other lawmakers over Amtrak funding had nothing to do with an Oklahoma congressman's loss of his chairmanship of a House Appropriations subcommittee, he said. HarHarHar (that didn't work. I was trying to link to a previous post where I correctly predicted that Istook would have more free time this session.

Freshman Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) whose 1st vote on the Judiciary Committee was in favor of Alberto Gonzales, President Bush's choice for attorney general. Coburn is co-sponsporing an informed consent bill that would require that women going through the excruciating , agonizing ordeal that is abortion, must be informed that a fetus feels pain at 41 days gestation. I assume he will push for fetal anesthesia to be made available in these cases, though I can't find where he may have mentioned that.
I wonder what age a human must become before Coburn stops caring about their pain. Not only stops caring but endorses torture through his vote for Gonzales.

This very important demonstration was kiped from Ricky.

Bush Demonstrates How Social Security Personal Accounts Will Work

"C'mon, c'mon...seven!"

During a visit to the White House this week by Finance Committee Republicans, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (Maine) told Bush she would be concerned about doing anything that would undermine the guaranteed benefit of Social Security.

"We'll keep you in the open-minded camp," replied the ever-optimistic Bush

And after telling reporters she will oppose the Presidents Social Security Plan;

"I always tell my colleagues that the Founding Fathers had a great idea, and that was checks and balances," she said

.

Hon, your colleagues listen as well as your president.

I actually love reading other people's meme's. They're interesting if I like the people.
Ricky sent me this one.

1. Total amount of music files on your computer: Not much. I use the laptop to download music and I'm pretty good about deleting it after I burn a CD.

2. The last CD you bought was: We pay for Morpheus so I pretty much make my own. The one I'm listening to now has
Nelly-Country grammar, Ride Wit Me ,E.I
The Staple Singers-I'll Take You There
Janet Jackson-Love You Down
A couple of Jackson 5's
Percy Sledge-Bring it on Home to Me
Shaggy- Mr Lover
Tone Loc- Funky Cold Medina, Wild Thing
Jefferson Airplane- White Rabbit
Enya-Ebudae, Book of Days
Simon and Garfunkel- Feelin' Groovy

If there's a theme I'm not inclined to figure out what it is. I did buy the soundtrack from "Garden State" for my daughter, does that count?


3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message? Zombie by The Cranberries. It expresses my feelings about 51% of the voters in this country quite well.

4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.
I don't listen often to the first two but they're for my son and daughter respectively;
1."I'll Stand By You", Chrissy Hynde
2."Bridge Over Troubled Water", Simon and Garfunkel
3."Kiss", Prince-It just never fails to light my fire.
"You don't have to be rich
to be by girl.
You don't have to be cool
to rule my world.
Ain't no particular sign
I'm more com-pat-a-ble with.
I just want your extra time and your......
Kiss."

4. "Man in the Mirror", Michael Jackson-It reminds me something I need to be reminded and it makes me dance. No jokes about Michael and changing the man in the mirror please. It's too easy and too sad.

5. "Southern Cross", Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. I don't know, it lifts me. It carries me.


5. Who are you going to pass this stick to? (3 persons) and why? Daisy. She's probably already done it but I missed it, and Mary, to get to know her better. The 3rd will go to who ever claims it.

OK, comments are by haloscan. I hope that it is easier for y'all to comment now and I'm sorry I lost all your past comments. If I remember right your comments were along the lines of- 1. you think I'm great- 2. my grandson is the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen and- 3. george w. bush sold his soul to get his job and the entire administration are spawns of satan. And I was in total agreement with you.

"I smell the smelly smell of something that smells smelly."

Focus on Family provides some comic relief in an otherwise depressing news month.
Also a little education. For instance, I did not know that the homosexual community had a coded language. Did you? I mean, I can imagine there are a few words or phrases a homosexual person might use that I may not be familiar with. Just like with the teen culture, I'm not quite in the loop these days. But I never would have suspected that "Tolerance" and "diversity" could be 'code' words for something heinous.

If I understand this correctly it means we're going to be a much poorer country.
Didn't Boy Blunder promise to cut the deficit in half this term? Well, don't worry, gw's not worried, he's "feeling pretty good". I can't wait to see the budget.
Fuckwit.

Bush Salutes Satan

New Christian Movement encourages male motorcycle riding and crying a lot. Well, I guess the idea is to imagine yourself a hero and your partner a damsel in distress. That alone would get pretty damn annoying, for the damsel, but they recommend emulating the Brad Pitt character in the movie "Legends of the Fall". Dude, I don't care how good looking you are, if you (a) let me get murdered or (b) cry fuckin constantly, I'm dumping your pansy ass. I laughed through most of that movie because it was so bad (my daughter was 13 and she got so mad at me at first because she was sitting there bawling but, by the eighth time he started crying, she was laughing too). I know a lot of people love it, I'm sorry if you are one of them but please, did he have to cry in every other scene? It was like they really couldn't come up with any dialog, it was too pathetic. "Wild at Heart"? Sounds like 'really annoying crybaby' to me.
So a lot of these guys won't have far to go to achieve it.

I'm dressed in black from my head to my toes. Going out to a seminar/lunch thing in town so I'm sure a couple of people will notice. So what, I know. But I've started doing little things like, when the lady at the post office handed me the stamps with the flag on them I said "Oh," handed them back, and politely and just loud enough for everyone to hear, "I don't want to do anything that gives the impression that I support the current administration. Have you got some birds or flowers?" I got one filthy look, two smiles and one thumbs up. I felt good.

And I personally believe -- this is my personal view -- that your loyalty to the mission you were given, to sell this war, overwhelmed your respect for the truth.
Sen. Barbara Boxer to Condoleezza Rice.

Barbara Boxer is my hero. Read the whole transcript, it's the feel-good read of the year.

Why the hell do they keep calling it the $40 million inauguration when it's going to cost at least twice that? Just giving the DC area federal employees the day off is going to cost $66 million for christsakes. So three years of Homeland Security and this is what we've got to show for it. The president can have a big ass ostentacious party and his friends can feel safe. Here's a few of his friends.

Corporations and trade associations giving $250,000 to become inaugural "underwriters" include:

Altria Corporate Services (parent company of Philip Morris USA)

American Financial (Carl Lindner, owner of the Cincinnati Reds and chairman of Great American Insurance Group and American Financial Group, also gave $1.9 million to pro-Bush groups. His son held a $1.7 million fund-raiser for Bush's re-election campaign.)

Ameriquest Capital Corp. (While unlimited by law, Bush has held his inaugural committee donors to a maximum of $250,000. Still, some have exceeded that with contributions from both a company and its subsidiaries. Marriott Hotels has contributed $750,000 under three corporate names, and Ameriquest Capital Corp. and its subsidiaries have donated $750,000.)



Argent Mortgage Co.

AT&T

Bank of America Corp. (privatizing Social Security is what they want)

Bristol-Myers Squibb (Bush is against letting us get affordable drugs from Canada, they like that)

ChevronTexaco (wants to drill for oil in Alaska)

Cinergy Corp.

Corporate Capital

Exxon Mobil Corp.

First Data Corp.

Ford Motor Co.

Golden Eagle Industries

Hunt Consolidated

Kojaian Ventures

Long Beach Acceptance Corp.

Marriott International (loves Boy Blunders' guestworker proposal)

Marriott Vacation Club International

National Association of Home Builders

New Energy Corp.

Occidental Petroleum Corp.

Rooney Holdings Inc.

Sallie Mae Inc. ("Student-loan debt collectors have power that would make a mobster envious," )

Southern Co.

Stephens Group Inc.

Strongbow Technologies

The Home Depot

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co.

Time Warner

Town and Country Credit

United Parcel Service

United Technologies

UST Inc.

The medical and pharmaceutical industry has donated at least $1 million.

Bush also will start with the lowest approval rating of a second-term president in a half-century, at 52 percent.

Hello-o-o

He's answering the phone.
Everytime we say hello to him now,
he puts his hand up to his ear and talks to us on the 'phone'.
Isn't that cute?

:)

"It's important for people to know that I'm the president of everybody."

And I sucked this thumb till I was 43 years old.

I think Ricky has a new girlfriend.

He isn't finding a lot to bitch about lately.

When asked if a new Iraqi government asks U.S. troops to leave, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told NPR's Steve Inskeep Thursday

"We would leave. Period. We have said very clearly to the U.S. Congress that if that circumstance exists, then we would leave, period. No qualifications, no weasel words."

No 'weasel words'. Of course Armitage is leaving with Powell and I don't think Condi speaks anything but Weasel.
God, I hope they have those elections and the first thing the newly elected government does is ask us to leave.

For Chasing Daisy's favorite recipe swap.

Long Island Iced Tea

1 part Vodka
1 part Tequila
1 part Rum
1 part Gin
1 part Triple Sec
1 1/2 parts Sweet and Sour Mix
1 splash Coca-Cola


Mix ingredients together over ice in a glass. Pour into a shaker and give one brisk shake. Pour back into the glass and make sure there is a touch of fizz at the top. Garnish with lemon.

In Michael Chrichton We Trust.

Read this post to see how another Oklahoma Moron is using his power.
RealClimate

Remember back in 2003 when Ernest (R-OK) Istook saw an ad that said "Enjoy better sex! Legalize and tax marijuana" in the Metro?
His response was to push legislation that stripped $92,500 in federal appropriations from the Metro "as a warning to other transit agencies."

"I must assure [sic] that [the Metro] will learn the proper lessons from this experience and will only accept appropriate ads in the future," Istook cautioned.

Then he author's legislation stripping away 1st amendment rights from all Americans. So of course it went to court. Instead of worrying about "frivolous" lawsuits I think g.w. might want to get hold of this frivolous legislation that's been going on since boy blunder came to town. How much time and money was wasted before a Federal Judge told Istook last June that "The government has articulated no legitimate state interest in the suppression of this particular speech other than the fact that it disapproves of the message, an illegitimate and constitutionally impermissible reason."
I think all the elected representatives should have to take Government 101 during their 1st session. That includes boy blunder. (I like that, it rolls off the fingers and the tongue, boy blunder) How much money would have been saved if he had not signed legislation that said if I was 21 weeks pregnant and the baby died I could not have a D and C but would have to suffer labor and delivery of a stillborn or have a hysterectomy. Clinton had vetoed the same Republican sponsored bill twice. What the fuck is up with that anyway? Do they honest to God think women suffer an abortion for sport? Do these people have mother's, sister's, wives? Do they believe there is some alien group of women with no conscious, having abortions so they can fit into their cloths?
Frivolous Legislation.

The only U.S. Senator with balls is named Barbara.

When not a single other senator would dare to object to an unfair Presidential Election in 2004, Barbara Boxer stood and objected, joining 31 Democratic members of the House of Representatives.

Well, at least one person stood up and said that the people of the United States deserve to be certain that their vote is being counted. There is no reason why we should not have a paper record of our votes. All of us. The only reason anyone would object to this is that it will make it harder to commit fraud. If your state does not have a paper record of your vote then you should find out why.

Bush Administration uses Tax Payers money to Pay for Illegal Covert Propaganda.

Armstrong Williams contract was part of a $1 million deal with Ketchum that produced "video news releases" designed to look like news reports.

Williams says he wanted to break the law and take our money because he believes in No Child Left Behind.
Bush says, "So Fucking What? I did it with the fake medicare news and what did it get me? Re-elected."

Media Matters for America has the Top 10 Most Outrageous Statements of 2004 and tons of other intersesting reading. Here's #10

# Jerry Falwell: "And we're going to invite PETA [to "wild game night"] as our special guest, P-E-T-A -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. We want you to come, we're going to give you a top seat there, so you can sit there and suffer. This is one of my special groups, another one's the ACLU, another is the NOW -- the National Order of Witches [sic]. We've got -- I've got a lot of special groups."

I've been a little neglectful. The vines actually took it off the top rail.

Senator Inhofe seems to be in a constate state of "outrage". He certainly keeps me in one. Look at why he voted against the intelligience bill
(Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (S.2845));

"Many people would be outraged to know that there is a 3.5 mile gap in our fence line with Mexico that exists solely to preserve the environment of five birds that are protected by the Endangered Species Act. The provision in the bill to patch this hole was removed because apparently repairing our border will disturb these five animals."

Inhofe also recently blamed President Bill Clinton for the disaster in Iraq.

"Eight years of Bill Clinton decimated the military to almost half of what it was in 1990," he said during a stop in Muskogee.

And yet 4 years of George Bush hasn't shown any improvement as Inhofe admits;

Inhofe said that during war, the U.S. historically spends 5.7 percent of its gross domestic product on military needs.

"Today it's 3.8 percent," he said. "In order to give us what we need, we'd need to spend 4.5 percent of the GDP on military."

Well why aren't we doing that Senator? Is it because tax cuts for the rich are much more important than protective gear for those "boots on the ground" as you refer to our soldiers?

It looks like it's cold almost everywhere today. The world looks gray from here. I took this in the 1st week of December. These leaves are from one of the Bradford pears in my yard and there's a few wild grapes from a vine some nice bird planted for me.I hope they get bigger next year.

So Republicans were all for changing the ethics rules to save Tom Delay's ass unless... they actually had to vote, in public, on record where all their constituents could see what rats they are. Bend over Tom. Yeah, yeah, I know, it was at your urging that they dropped it. Right. Go sit with Istook.
220 is our unlucky # folks. Now no one will ever be investigated for anything. The new rule will "require a majority vote of the 10-member ethics committee, or agreement by the chairman and the ranking minority member, before a complaint against a House member could be investigated."
Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., who presided over Delays admonishment last year had this to say, "It's a bad mistake," and "I assume that I'm going to get booted".
Hey, maybe Istook has some cards or something. Here comes your 4th.
Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut sacrificed his rear end by saying, "I think we've lost our minds. The power has gotten into our heads in a way that we're not thinking clearly."
But Delay (who I'm sure has better things in store) used the old 'water is not wet. it's dry.' and that's that. He said, "We didn't weaken the rules; we strengthened the rules,". And that's that.

They cancelled school today. Supposedly they think the weather is going to get bad. I think all the men are too upset about the game to go to work. I look at it the same way I did last year, Thank you Sooners! You gave us what? 11 or 12 really great Saturdays again this year. These game days spent with the family are really the best and I'll miss them till we get to start again in the fall.
Watching my son and daughter-in-law is hilarious sometimes.
She's not into sports at all and she chooses yesterday to say to him, "Don't watch a football game tonight, you're obsessed with football."
Of course he tries to explain to her the significance of this game and she says she can't believe his dad (my husband) took off work to watch a football game. He's asking her if she saved this up all season just so she could suck some of the pleasure out this day when (ignoring him) she picks up her phone, dials and says "Hey, has Dad left for work yet?" Clear as day her stepmom replies, "No. He took off work for the game."

My son is very funny. One day she was filling out an application and she told me she was using me as a reference and asked, "I shouldn't put down mother-in-law for relationship should I?" Without lifting his head from his book my son said "Put Nemesis."

So I'm wondering what my U.S. Rep Ernest Istook is up to and when I might expect to hear from him when I see that he sent out I'm Sorry cards instead of Happy Holidays this year. It seems he did not want to give Amtrak any money (figures, I love trains), while serving as chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury and Independent Agencies, but 21 of his fellow republicans voted 1.8 Billion to help out Fear of Flyingers. So Istook cuts funding for all of those guys state projects to offset Amtrak funding.

"Istook's action got the angry reaction one might expect -- according to some reports, Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., and Istook came close to fighting physically."

HA HA HA!! That would have been great! Y'all should punch his lights out you know, he screwed you man! I guess when the democrats have all been screwed you garbage bag assholes have got to start screwing each other. HA!
Republicans will be selecting the committee chairs next month, I'm thinking Istook will have a lot of free time next session.