lest-you-get-too-comfortable

Jake Gyllenhaal Hosts Best SNL In Years

2007-01-14T23:41:00.000-05:00

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Priceless! This was the best Saturday night Live in many, many years. Jake Gyllenhaal is a great talent.

Film Giant Carlo Ponti Dies

2007-01-10T13:31:00.000-05:00

ROME - Italian producer Carlo Ponti, who discovered a teenage Sophia Loren, launched her film career and later married her despite threats of bigamy charges and excommunication, has died in Geneva. He was 94.

Ponti died Tuesday night at a Geneva hospital, his family said Wednesday. He had been hospitalized about 10 days earlier for pulmonary complications, it said.

He produced more than 100 films, including "Doctor Zhivago," "The Firemen's Ball," and "The Great Day," which were nominated for Oscars. Other major films included "Blow-Up," "The Cassandra Crossing," "Zabriskie Point" and "The Squeeze."

In 1956, "La Strada," which he co-produced, won the Academy Award for best foreign film, as did "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" in 1964.

But it was his affair with the young ingenue Loren that captivated the public, rather than his work with top filmmakers such as Dino De Laurentiis, Federico Fellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Peter Ustinov, David Lean and Roman Polanski.

"I have done everything for love of Sophia," he said in a newspaper interview shortly before his 90th birthday in 2002. "I have always believed in her."

Born near Milan in the small town of Magenta on Dec. 11, 1912, Ponti studied law and worked as a lawyer before moving into film production in the late 1930s.

He was married to his first wife, Giuliana, when he met Loren - then Sofia Lazzaro - about 1950. At the time she was only 15 - a quarter-century younger than Ponti.

They tried to keep their relationship a secret despite huge media interest, while Ponti's lawyers went to Mexico to obtain a divorce from his first wife.

Ponti and Loren were married by proxy in Mexico in 1957 - two male attorneys took their place and the happy couple only found out when the news was broken by society columnist Louella Parsons.

But they were unable to beat stringent Italian divorce laws and the wrath of the Roman Catholic church. Ponti was charged with bigamy.

"I was being threatened with excommunication, with the everlasting fire, and for what reason? I had fallen in love with a man whose own marriage had ended long before," Loren has said.

"I wanted to be his wife and have his children. We had done the best the law would allow to make it official, but they were calling us public sinners," she said. "We should have been taking a honeymoon, but all I remember is weeping for hours."

The couple first lived in exile and then, after the annulment of their Mexican marriage, in secret in Italy.

During this period, Ponti produced the film "La Ciociara" - known in English as "Two Women" - for which Loren won a best actress Oscar in 1962, and contributed significantly to the development of French New Wave cinema in his collaboration with Godard.

Ponti and Loren finally beat Italian law by becoming French citizens - the approval was signed personally by French President Georges Pompidou - and they married for a second time in Paris in 1966.

Despite many predictions that the marriage would founder over Ponti's affairs and the many dashing leading men who reportedly fell in love with Loren, the couple stayed together.

Ponti had several other brushes with the law.

He was briefly imprisoned in by the Fascist government in Italy during World War II for producing "Piccolo Mondo Antico," which was considered anti-German. An Italian court later gave Ponti a six-month suspended sentence for his 1973 film "Massacre in Rome," which claimed Pope Pius XII did nothing about the execution of Italian hostages by the Germans. The charges eventually were dropped on appeal.

Though Loren was better-known, Ponti amassed a fortune considerably greater than that of his wife - and again fell foul of the Italian authorities.

In 1979, a court in Rome convicted him in absentia of the illegal transfer of capital abroad and sentenced him to four years in prison and a $24 million fine.

Loren, along with film stars Ava Gardner and Richard Harris, were acquitted of conspiracy.

It took Ponti until the late 1980s to settle his legal problems and finally obtain the return of his art collection, which had been seized by authorities and given to Italian museums.

He also survived two kidnapping attempts in 1975.

Ponti discovered many of the great Italian leading ladies, including Gina Lollobrigida, and had affairs with several. "I don't like actors. I prefer women," he said at the time.

In recent years, the couple lived mostly in Switzerland, where they had several homes. Despite reports that he was seriously ill, Ponti attended the 1998 Venice Film Festival to accept a lifetime achievement award for his wife, who was kept away by illness.

Ponti had two sons with Loren - Carlo Jr., a celebrated conductor, and Edoardo, a film producer. He also had two children from his first marriage, Guendolina and Alexander.

No date was given for a funeral, but the family said it would be "strictly private."

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I cannot remember a time in my life that a film by carlo Ponti didn't figure in. Whenever I get bored with my life, I go back and watch such greats as "Cassandra's Crossing" or "Dr. Zchivago". carlo gave us all so much screen magic. He will be sorely missed. I hope the Italian government will now realise with shame the terrible mistakes they made against Carlo Ponti. Carlo, sleep in peace.

Saddam Hussein's Corpse

2007-01-09T01:51:00.000-05:00

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I started not to post this, but I believe everyone is entitled to decide what they want or don't want to see. I have decided that this will only be posted for 7 days, after which I will remove it. I will leave the YouTube link to the video up so anyone can find the video if they desire.

It isn't that I feel sorry for Saddam Hussein. He's dead now, though. He has "paid in full" for all of his crimes against humanity. He paid with his life. It's time for all of the world to move on. This preoccupation with his corpse is morbid and perverse. It's almost as though people expected Saddam to rise from the dead. He isn't going to. It's all been one barbaric episode in our history. Bring our soldiers home, now.

Inventor of Instant Noodles Dies at 96

2007-01-06T22:54:00.000-05:00

TOKYO - Momofuku Ando, the Japanese inventor of instant noodles — a dish that has sustained American college students for decades — has died. He was 96.

Nissin Food Products Co., the company Ando founded, said on its Web site that he died Friday after suffering a heart attack.

Born in Taiwan, Ando founded his company in 1948 from a humble family operation. Faced with food shortages in post-World War II Japan, Ando thought a quality, convenient noodle product would help feed the masses.

In 1958, his "Chicken Ramen" — the first instant noodle — was introduced after many trials. Following its success, the company added other products, such as the "Cup Noodle" in 1971.

"The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum" opened in 1999 in Ikeda City in western Japan commemorating his inventions.

Ando gave a speech at the company's New Year ceremony and enjoyed Chicken Ramen for lunch with Nissin employees on Thursday before falling ill, Japan's largest daily Yomiuri reported.

He is survived by his wife, Masako.

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Good night and God Bless, Mr. Ando. Rest assured that your noodles will live long after you are gone. Ramen noodles are surely one of the "miracle foods" of the century. I know I would have starved to death many times over without these little fast life-savers. Rest in peace.

Bush Rhetoric Is Actually a Promise of Non-Cooperation

2007-01-03T09:40:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON - President Bush pushed his signature agenda in a newspaper opinion piece Wednesday while asking Democrats, in charge of the House and Senate for the first time in his presidency, to work with him on legislation over the next two years.

Bush repeated his long-held policies on the war in Iraq, tax cuts, entrepreneurship and changes in Social Security and other entitlement programs in a guest column published in The Wall Street Journal. However, the policies came wrapped in an appeal for bipartisanship the day before Republicans turn over control of Congress to wary Democrats.

And he included a warning: "If the Congress chooses to pass bills that are simply political statements, they will have chosen stalemate," Bush wrote. "If a different approach is taken, the next two years can be fruitful ones for our nation. We can show the American people that Republicans and Democrats can come together to find ways to help make America a more secure, prosperous and hopeful society."

Bush is expected to announce this month a new direction for U.S. policy on Iraq. In the column, he gave no hint of change but cited as a priority his frequently stated goal of helping Iraq gain full control over its affairs.

"We now have the opportunity to build a bipartisan consensus to fight and win the war," he wrote.

Bush said he would submit a budget in February that would make tax cuts permanent and lead to a balanced budget by 2012, which he contended would put the country in a better position to tackle the challenge of changing the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs. He also said he would offer his own plan for dealing with pork-barrel spending by Congress and would ask for a line-item veto.

"Together, we have a chance to serve the American people by solving the complex problems that many don't expect us to tackle, let alone solve, in the partisan environment of today's Washington," Bush wrote. "To do that, however, we can't play politics as usual. Democrats will control the House and Senate, and therefore we share the responsibility for what we achieve."

White House spokesman David Almacy said the president has used the forum of a newspaper guest column, or "op-ed," at least four other times: to commemorate the first anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks; to promote his re-election in 2004; to mark his second inaugural, in 2005; and again in 2005 to note the U.S. response to the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Bush planned to meet Wednesday with his Cabinet to discuss domestic priorities. He was expected to court key lawmakers at a social reception Wednesday evening. Although officials say he is still making decisions regarding Iraq policy and will not reveal any changes this week, he is expected to say he is sending additional U.S. troops there.

Democrats, eager for their turn at power when they take control of Congress, have complained that Bush has kept them at arm's length and has not consulted on key decisions. Even a senior Republican, Sen. Richard Lugar (news, bio, voting record) of Indiana, said Sunday that Bush has been inclined "to not take Congress very seriously" on Iraq policy.

In recent weeks, Bush has signaled a willingness to go along with a Democratic priority for raising the minimum wage, if it is accompanied by tax and regulatory relief for small businesses.

He also has suggested that progress could be made on an immigration policy overhaul — stymied primarily by conservative Republicans who want a get-tough approach — that would include a way for some illegal workers to move toward citizenship.

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Bush amuses me greatly. First he tells the American public that he "hopes the democrats will cooperate in a show of bipartisanism" and then he stubbornly (and this is a charactersitic he has displayed throughout his presidency) warns the democratic congress that he will not compromise with them. That is tantamount to saying : "You must do as i tell you or I will veto everything you do". it's a threat. Unfortunately, the ones who will suffer are the American people. Impeach, impeach, impeach!

UFO Spotted Over Chicago's O'Hare Airport

2007-01-02T15:30:00.000-05:00

CHICAGO - Federal officials say it was probably just some weird weather phenomenon, but a group of United Airlines employees swear they saw a mysterious, saucer-shaped craft hovering over O'Hare Airport last fall.

The workers, some of them pilots, said the object didn't have lights and hovered over an airport terminal before shooting up through the clouds, according to a report in Monday's Chicago Tribune.

The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged that a United supervisor had called the control tower at O'Hare, asking if anyone had spotted a spinning disc-shaped object. But the controllers didn't see anything, and a preliminary check of radar found nothing out of the ordinary, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said.

"Our theory on this is that it was a weather phenomenon," Cory said. "That night was a perfect atmospheric condition in terms of low (cloud) ceiling and a lot of airport lights. When the lights shine up into the clouds, sometimes you can see funny things."

The FAA is not investigating, Cory said.

United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said company officials don't recall discussing any such incident from Nov. 7.

At least one O'Hare controller, union official Craig Burzych, was amused by it all.

"To fly 7 million light years to O'Hare and then have to turn around and go home because your gate was occupied is simply unacceptable," he said.

Full and Graphic Execution Video of Saddam Hussein

2007-01-01T14:31:00.000-05:00

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He's dead. Can we all please move on, now? Can we please get our troops out of that god-forsaken place, now? Can we impeach the man who lied to get us in Iraq, now? Can Bush be tried as a war criminal as he should be? I doubt it. One war criminal has executed another war criminal. That's all.

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T01:26:00.000-05:00

Happy New year to you all. Have a great year.

American Death Toll Reaches 3000

2006-12-31T18:08:00.000-05:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military announced Sunday the deaths of two soldiers, pushing the number of Americans who have died in the Iraq war to the grim milestone of at least 3,000. On the final day of an exceedingly bloody year, Saddam Hussein was also buried in the town where he was born.

The White House said the president mourned each death but would not issue a statement in reaction to the 3,000th in a war now 46 months old.

Despite the momentous developments in a deeply troubled Iraq, bombers and assassins appeared to have taken the day off at the close of a brutal year when the country seemed near to unraveling along its sectarian seams.

Police reported finding 12 bodies dumped in Baghdad Sunday as well as 12 other violent deaths nationwide, both relatively low numbers by recent standards.

One day after Saddam was hanged, his body was interred in a special compound he built in Ouja and designed for use in mourning ceremonies by the people of the town where he was born 69 years and eight months before.

Those who saw the ceremony said the building was decorated in a Moroccan motif with teak wood walls. The domed burial chamber was about 20 feet tall and hung with a green chandelier. Incense perfumed the burial location where the raised grave covering was about 6 inches above floor level.

Ouja is a few miles south of Tikrit, the Tigris River city that is capital of Salahuddin province, 80 miles north of Baghdad. It was a major power base for the former leader who brutally ruled Iraq for nearly a quarter century.

Officials in Tikrit said the body was transferred by American helicopter to the U.S. military base at Tikrit from Baghdad, where Saddam dropped through the gallows floor and died shortly before dawn on Saturday.

At Saddam's funeral, dozens of relatives and other mourners, some of them crying and moaning, attended the interment shortly before dawn. A few knelt before his flag-draped grave. A large framed photograph of Saddam was propped up on a chair nearby.

"I condemn the way he was executed and I consider it a crime," said 45-year-old Salam Hassan al-Nasseri, one of Saddam's clansmen who attended the interment. Some 2,000 Iraqis traveled to the village as well.

Mohammed Natiq, a 24-year-old college student, said "the path of Arab nationalism must inevitably be paved with blood."

"God has decided that Saddam Hussein should have such an end, but his march and the course which he followed will not end," Natiq said.

Police on Saturday blocked the entrances to Tikrit and said nobody was allowed to leave or enter the city for four days. Despite the security precaution, gunmen took to the streets, carrying pictures of Saddam, shooting into the air and calling for vengeance.

Saddam was captured in an underground hide-out near Ouja on Dec. 13, 2003, eight months after he fled Baghdad ahead of advancing American troops. He was convicted and sentenced to death last month for crimes against humanity for his role in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims from Dujail after a 1982 assassination attempt against him in the town.

His burial place is about two miles from the graves of his sons, Odai and Qusai, in the main town cemetery. The sons and a grandson were killed in a gunbattle with the American forces in Mosul in July 2003.

"We received the body of Saddam Hussein without any complications. There was cooperation by the prime minister and his office's director," clan chief Sheik al-Nidaa told state-run Al-Iraqiya television. "We opened the coffin of Saddam. He was cleaned and wrapped according to Islamic teachings. We didn't see any unnatural signs on his body."

The American death toll rose to at least 3,000 according to an Associated Press count with the announcement Sunday that a soldier was killed a day earlier in a roadside bombing in the capital. The soldier's name and unit were not given.

Shortly afterward, the Department of Defense said on its Web site that Spc. Dustin R. Donica, 22, of Spring, Texas, had been killed. Donica, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, died on Thursday. His death was not announced by U.S. military authorities in Baghdad.

Their deaths raised to at least 111 the number of U.S. service members reported killed in December, the bloodiest month of 2006.

At least 820 U.S. military personnel died in Iraq in 2006, according to the AP count.

While not responding to the 3,000th death, President Bush did issue New Year's greetings that noted the continuing turbulence in Iraq.

"Last year, America continued its mission to fight and win the war on terror and promote liberty as an alternative to tyranny and despair," Bush said in the statement wishing Americans a happy new year.

"In the New Year, we will remain on the offensive against the enemies of freedom, advance the security of our country, and work toward a free and unified Iraq. Defeating terrorists and extremists is the challenge of our time, and we will answer history's call with confidence and fight for liberty without wavering."
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George W, Bush, bring our children home. We hold you responsible for every single American and Iraqi death you caused by your lies. I, for one, want you impeached. Impeached and tried as a war criminal. Impeached, tried, convicted and executed on the same gallows they hanged Saddam Hussein upon. You are no less guilty of crimes against humanity than that creature was. You are a lame duck and deserve a trial, but I hope you are convicted and executed for your many, many crimes.

Red State Update: Hanging Saddam Hussein

2006-12-30T18:00:00.001-05:00


Jackie and Dunlap discuss the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Plus, RSU reveals its Wish List of Celebrity Hangmen. Plus, Showtime at the Apollo. http://www.redstateupdate.com

saddam hussein hanging

2006-12-30T16:48:00.001-05:00


saddam hussein hanging

Saddam Hussein Executed Yesterday

2006-12-30T15:24:00.000-05:00

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners before dawn Saturday. But as his final moments approached and masked executioners slipped a black cloth and noose around his neck, he grew calm.

In a final moment of defiance, he refused a hood to cover his eyes.

Hours after Saddam faced the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power, Iraqi state television showed grainy video of what it said was his body, the head uncovered and the neck twisted at a sharp angle.

A man whose testimony helped lead to Saddam's conviction and execution before sunrise said he was shown the body because "everybody wanted to make sure that he was really executed."

"Now, he is in the garbage of history," said Jawad Abdul-Aziz, who lost his father, three brothers and 22 cousins in the reprisal killings that followed a botched 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail.

The post-execution footage showed the man identified as Saddam lying on a stretcher, covered in a white shroud. His neck and part of the shroud have what appear to be bloodstains. His eyes are closed.

Al-Arabiya satellite television reported Saturday night that a delegation including the governor of Salahuddin Province and the head of Saddam's clan retrieved his body from Baghdad and took it for burial near the executed dictator's hometown of Tikrit. The broadcaster reported the burial would take place Sunday. The report could not immediately be verified.

Earlier, in Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, hundreds of people danced in the streets while others fired guns in the air to celebrate. Some hanged an effigy of Saddam. The government did not impose a round-the-clock curfew as it did last month when Saddam was convicted to thwart any surge in retaliatory violence.

It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed three U.S. presidents. Despite his ouster, Washington, its allies and the new Iraqi leaders remain mired in a fight to quell a stubborn insurgency by Saddam loyalists and a vicious sectarian conflict.

The execution took place during the year's deadliest month for U.S. troops, with the toll reaching 109. At least 2,998 members of the U.S. military have been killed since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

President Bush said in a statement issued from his ranch in Texas that bringing Saddam to justice "is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror."

He said that the execution marks the "end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops" and cautioned that Saddam's death will not halt the violence in Iraq.

Within hours of his death, bombings killed at least 68 people in Iraq, including one planted on a minibus that exploded in a fish market in a mostly Shiite town south of Baghdad.

Ali Hamza, a 30-year-old university professor, said he went outside to shoot his gun into the air after he learned of Saddam's death.

"Now all the victims' families will be happy because Saddam got his just sentence," said Hamza, who lives in Diwaniyah, a Shiite town 80 miles south of Baghdad.

But people in the Sunni-dominated city of Tikrit, once a power base of Saddam, lamented his death.

"The president, the leader Saddam Hussein is a martyr and God will put him along with other martyrs. Do not be sad nor complain because he has died the death of a holy warrior," said Sheik Yahya al-Attawi, a cleric at the Saddam Big Mosque.

Police blocked the entrances to Tikrit and said nobody was allowed to leave or enter the city for four days. Despite the security precaution, gunmen took to the streets of Tikrit, carrying pictures of Saddam, shooting into the air, and calling for vengeance.

Security forces also set up roadblocks at the entrance to another Sunni stronghold, Samarra, and a curfew was imposed after about 500 people took to the streets protesting the execution of Saddam.

A couple hundred people also protested the execution just outside the Anbar capital of Ramadi, and more than 2,000 people demonstrated in Adwar, the village south of Tikrit where Saddam was captured by U.S. troops hiding in an underground bunker.

In a statement, Saddam's lawyers said that in the aftermath of his death, "the world will know that Saddam Hussein lived honestly, died honestly, and maintained his principles."

"He did not lie when he declared his trial null," they said.

Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, were not hanged along with their former leader as originally planned. Officials wanted to reserve the occasion for Saddam alone.

"We wanted him to be executed on a special day," National Security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie told state-run al-Iraqiya television.

Sami al-Askari, the political adviser of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, told the AP that Saddam initially resisted when he was taken by Iraqi guards but was composed in his final moments.

He said Saddam was clad in a black suit, hat and shoes, rather than prison garb. His hat was removed and his hands tied shortly before the noose was slipped around his neck.

Saddam repeated a prayer after a Sunni Muslim cleric who was present.

"Saddam later was taken to the gallows and refused to have his head covered with a hood," al-Askari said. "Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted: 'God is great. The nation will be victorious and Palestine is Arab.'"

Iraqi state television showed footage of guards in ski masks placing a noose around Saddam's neck. Saddam appeared calm as he stood on the metal framework of the gallows. The footage cuts off just before the execution.

Saddam was executed at a former military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, al-Askari said. During his regime, Saddam had numerous dissidents executed in the facility, located in a neighborhood that is home to the Iraqi capital's most important Shiite shrine - the Imam Kazim shrine.

The Iraqi prime minister's office released a statement that said Saddam's execution was a "strong lesson" to ruthless leaders who commit crimes against their own people.

"We strongly reject considering Saddam as a representative of any sect in Iraq because the tyrant only represented his evil soul," the statement said. "The door is still open for those whose hands are not tainted with the blood of innocent people to take part in the political process and work on rebuilding Iraq."

The execution came 56 days after a court convicted Saddam and sentenced him to death for his role in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims from Dujail. Iraq's highest court rejected Saddam's appeal Monday and ordered him executed within 30 days.

A U.S. judge on Friday refused to stop Saddam's execution, rejecting a last-minute court challenge.

U.S. troops cheered as news of Saddam's execution appeared on television at the mess hall at Forward Operating Base Loyalty in eastern Baghdad. But some soldiers expressed doubt that Saddam's death would be a significant turning point for Iraq.

"First it was weapons of mass destruction. Then when there were none, it was that we had to find Saddam. We did that, but then it was that we had to put him on trial," said Spc. Thomas Sheck, 25, who is on his second tour in Iraq. "So now, what will be the next story they tell us to keep us over here?"

At his death, he was in the midst of a second trial, charged with genocide and other crimes for a 1987-88 military crackdown that killed an estimated 180,000 Kurds in northern Iraq. Experts said the trial of his co-defendants was likely to continue despite his execution.

Many people in Iraq's Shiite majority were eager to see the execution of a man whose Sunni Arab-dominated regime oppressed them and Kurds. Before the hanging, a mosque preacher in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Friday called Saddam's execution "God's gift to Iraqis."

In a farewell message to Iraqis posted Wednesday on the Internet, Saddam said he was giving his life for his country as part of the struggle against the U.S. "Here, I offer my soul to God as a sacrifice, and if he wants, he will send it to heaven with the martyrs," he said.

One of Saddam's lawyers, Issam Ghazzawi, said the letter was written by Saddam on Nov. 5, the day he was convicted by an Iraqi tribunal in the Dujail killings.

Najeeb al-Nauimi, a member of Saddam's legal team, said U.S. authorities maintained physical custody of Saddam until the execution to prevent him being humiliated publicly or his corpse being mutilated, as has happened to previous Iraqi leaders deposed by force. He said they didn't want anything to happen to further inflame Sunni Arabs.

"This is the end of an era in Iraq," al-Nauimi said from Doha, Qatar. "The Baath regime ruled for 35 years. Saddam was vice president or president of Iraq during those years. For Iraqis, he will be very well remembered. Like a martyr, he died for the sake of his country."

Iraq's death penalty was suspended by the U.S. military after it toppled Saddam in 2003, but the new Iraqi government reinstated it two years later, saying executions would deter criminals.

Saddam's own regime used executions and extrajudicial killings as a tool of political repression, both to eliminate real or suspected political opponents and to maintain a reign of terror.

In the months after he seized power on July 16, 1979, he had hundreds of members of his own party and army officers slain. In 1996, he ordered the slaying of two sons-in-law who had defected to Jordan but returned to Baghdad after receiving guarantees of safety.

Saddam built Iraq into a one of the Arab world's most modern societies, but then plunged the country into an eight-year war with neighboring Iran that killed hundreds of thousands of people on both sides and wrecked Iraq's economy.

When the U.S. invaded in 2003, Iraqis had been transformed from among the region's most prosperous people to some of its most impoverished.

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For the many murders of his own people; Hussein deserved the sentence of death. However, George W. Bush's excuse for invading Iraq and overthrowing Saddam was a lie. George Bush should be brought up on charges for lying to the American people and he should be made to answer for the deaths of every American and every Iraqi who has died because of his lies. Impeach George W. Bush.

Deputy in Gibson Case Claims Harassment

2006-12-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

LOS ANGELES - The sheriff's deputy who arrested Mel Gibson for drunken driving six months ago says his superiors have harassed him ever since a report detailing the star's anti-Semitic tirade was leaked to a celebrity new Web site.

Deputy James Mee was transferred to another assignment, interrogated for several hours, and investigators seized a computer and phone records during a search of his home, his attorney told the Los Angeles Times for its Thursday editions.

"His life and career would be a lot different had he not made that arrest," attorney Richard Shinee said.

Neal Tyler, a division chief who oversees the sheriff's office where Gibson was booked, denied that Mee was singled out and said he didn't know of any problems with Mee's treatment.

He declined to discuss Mee's specific complaints because of confidentiality rules, but he said, "I disagree with the assessment that personnel in the department or at the station have been relating to him or supervising him in an unfair manner."

Mee arrested Gibson July 29 in Malibu on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. An arrest report signed by Mee and posted on the celebrity news Web site TMZ said Gibson was belligerent and quoted him as saying: "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world."

The actor-director later apologized to the Jewish community and pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of drunken driving.

After Gibson's much-publicized arrest, investigations were opened into whether Gibson received preferential treatment, and into who leaked Mee's report to TMZ.

"My client has denied he gave the report to anyone," Shinee said.

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For the record, I do not like Mel Gibson. I dislike and distrust bigots. To me, any man who is capable of making some of the comments and slurs Mel Gibson has made in the past is capable of anything. Do I think he gave that report out? Yes. Did Gibson mean the slurs? Probably. It's hard for me to fathom how anyone with a conscience could go to a movie made by this man and contribute to this form of social injustice and hatred. I refuse to give him my hard earned money so he can have a big hit when he says such horrible things about other people. He is NOT the victim here. The people he slurs are the victims. Boycott. Boycott. Boycott.

Ex-President Gerald Ford Dead At 93

2006-12-27T08:05:00.000-05:00

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - Former President Gerald R. Ford, who declared "Our long national nightmare is over" as he replaced Richard Nixon but may have doomed his own chances of election by pardoning his disgraced predecessor, has died. He was 93.

The nation's 38th president, and the only one not elected to the office or the vice presidency, died at his desert home at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.

"His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country," his wife, Betty, said in a statement.

Ford was the longest living former president, surpassing Ronald Reagan, who died in June 2004, by more than a month.

Ford's office did not release the cause of death, which followed a year of medical problems. He was treated for pneumonia in January and had an angioplasty and pacemaker implant in August.

Funeral arrangements were to be announced Wednesday.

"The American people will always admire Gerald Ford's devotion to duty, his personal character and the honorable conduct of his administration," President Bush said in a statement Tuesday night.

Former President Carter described him as "one of the most admirable public servants and human beings I have ever known."

Ford was an accidental president. A Michigan Republican elected to Congress 13 times before becoming the first appointed vice president in 1973 after Spiro Agnew left amid scandal, Ford was Nixon's hand-picked successor, a man of much political experience who had never run on a national ticket. He was as open and straightforward as Nixon was tightly controlled and conspiratorial.

He took office moments after Nixon resigned in disgrace over Watergate.

"My fellow Americans," Ford said, "our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule."

And, true to his reputation as unassuming Jerry, he added: "I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots. So I ask you to confirm me with your prayers."

He revived the debate over Watergate a month later by granting Nixon a pardon for all crimes he committed as president.

That single act, it was widely believed, contributed to Ford losing election to a term of his own in 1976. But it won praise in later years as a courageous act that allowed the nation to move on.

The Vietnam War ended in defeat for the U.S. during his presidency with the fall of Saigon in April 1975. In a speech as the end neared, Ford said: "Today, America can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by refighting a war that is finished as far as America is concerned." Evoking Abraham Lincoln, he said it was time to "look forward to an agenda for the future, to unify, to bind up the nation's wounds."

Ford was in the White House only 895 days, but changed it more than it changed him.

Even after two women tried separately to kill him, his presidency remained open and plain.

Not imperial. Not reclusive. And, of greatest satisfaction to a nation numbed by Watergate, not dishonest.

Even to millions of Americans who had voted two years earlier for Nixon, the transition to Ford's leadership was one of the most welcomed in the history of the democratic process — despite the fact that it occurred without an election.

After the Watergate ordeal, Americans liked their new president — and first lady Betty, whose candor charmed the country.

In a long congressional career in which he rose to be House Republican leader, Ford lit few fires. In the words of Congressional Quarterly, he "built a reputation for being solid, dependable and loyal — a man more comfortable carrying out the programs of others than in initiating things on his own."

When Agnew resigned in a bribery scandal in October 1973, Ford was one of four finalists to succeed him: Texan John Connally, New York's Nelson Rockefeller and California's Ronald Reagan.

"Personal factors enter into such a decision," Nixon recalled for a Ford biographer in 1991. "I knew all of the final four personally and had great respect for each one of them, but I had known Jerry Ford longer and better than any of the rest.

"We had served in Congress together. I had often campaigned for him in his district," Nixon continued. But Ford had something the others didn't: he would be easily confirmed by Congress, something that could not be said of Rockefeller, Reagan and Connally.

So Ford became the first vice president appointed under the 25th amendment to the Constitution.

On Aug. 9, 1974, after seeing Nixon off, Ford assumed the office. The next morning, he still made his own breakfast and padded to the front door in his pajamas to get the newspaper.

Said a ranking Democratic congressman: "Maybe he is a plodder, but right now the advantages of having a plodder in the presidency are enormous."

In 1976, he survived an intraparty challenge from Ronald Reagan only to lose to Democrat Jimmy Carter in November. In the campaign, he ignored Carter's record as governor of Georgia and concentrated on his own achievements as president.

Carter won 297 electoral votes to his 240. After Reagan came back to defeat Carter in 1980, the two former presidents became collaborators, working together on joint projects.

"His life-long dedication to helping others touched the lives of countless people," Carter said Wednesday. "He frequently rose above politics by emphasizing the need for bipartisanship and seeking common ground on issues critical to our nation."

At a joint session after becoming president, Ford addressed members of Congress as "my former colleagues" and promised "communication, conciliation, compromise and cooperation." But his relations with Congress did not always run smoothly.

He vetoed 66 bills in his barely two years as president. Congress overturned 12 Ford vetoes, more than for any president since Andrew Johnson.

In his memoir, "A Time to Heal," Ford wrote, "When I was in the Congress myself, I thought it fulfilled its constitutional obligations in a very responsible way, but after I became president, my perspective changed."

Some suggested the pardon was prearranged before Nixon resigned, but Ford, in an unusual appearance before a congressional committee in October 1974, said, "There was no deal, period, under no circumstances." The committee dropped its investigation.

Ford's standing in the polls dropped dramatically when he pardoned Nixon. But an ABC News poll taken in 2002 in connection with the 30th anniversary of the Watergate break-in found that six in 10 said the pardon was the right thing to do.

The late Democrat Clark Clifford spoke for many when he wrote in his memoirs, "The nation would not have benefited from having a former chief executive in the dock for years after his departure from office. His disgrace was enough."

The decision to pardon Nixon won Ford a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2001, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), acknowledging he had criticized Ford at the time, called the pardon "an extraordinary act of courage that historians recognize was truly in the national interest."

While Ford had not sought the job, he came to relish it. He had once told Congress that even if he succeeded Nixon he would not run for president in 1976. Within weeks of taking the oath, he changed his mind.

He was undaunted even after the two attempts on his life in September 1975. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a 26-year-old follower of Charles Manson, was arrested after she aimed a semiautomatic pistol at Ford on Sept. 5 in Sacramento, Calif. A Secret Service agent grabbed her and Ford was unhurt.

Seventeen days later, Sara Jane Moore, a 45-year-old political activist, was arrested in San Francisco after she fired a gun at the president. Again, Ford was unhurt.

Both women are serving life terms in federal prison.

Asked at a news conference to recite his accomplishments, Ford replied: "We have restored public confidence in the White House and in the executive branch of government."

As to his failings, he responded, "I will leave that to my opponents. I don't think there have been many."

In office, Ford's living tastes were modest. When he became vice president, he chose to remain in the same Alexandria, Va., home — unpretentious except for a swimming pool — that he shared with his family as a congressman.

After leaving the White House, however, he took up residence in the desert resort of Rancho Mirage, picked up $1 million for his memoir and another $1 million in a five-year NBC television contract, and served on a number of corporate boards. By 1987, he was on eight such boards, at fees up to $30,000 a year, and was consulting for others, at fees up to $100,000. After criticism, he cut back on such activity.

Ford spent most of his boyhood in Grand Rapids, Mich.

He was born Leslie King on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Neb. His parents were divorced when he was less than a year old, and his mother returned to her parents in Grand Rapids, where she later married Gerald R. Ford Sr. He adopted the boy and renamed him.

Ford was a high school senior when he met his biological father. He was working in a Greek restaurant, he recalled, when a man came in and stood watching.

"Finally, he walked over and said, 'I'm your father,'" Ford said. "Well, that was quite a shock." But he wrote in his memoir that he broke down and cried that night and he was left with the image of "a carefree, well-to-do man who didn't really give a damn about the hopes and dreams of his firstborn son."

Ford played center on the University of Michigan's 1932 and 1933 national champion football teams. He got professional offers from the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, but chose to study law at Yale, working his way through as an assistant varsity football coach and freshman boxing coach.

Ford got his first exposure to national politics at Yale, working as a volunteer in Wendell L. Willkie's 1940 Republican campaign for president. After World War II service with the Navy in the Pacific, he went back to practicing law in Grand Rapids and became active in Republican reform politics.

His stepfather was the local Republican chairman, and Michigan Sen. Arthur H. Vandenberg was looking for a fresh young internationalist to replace the area's isolationist congressman.

Ford got twice as many votes as Rep. Bartel Jonkman in the Republican primary and then went on to win the election with 60.5 percent of the vote, the lowest margin he ever got.

He had proposed to Elizabeth Bloomer, a dancer and fashion coordinator, earlier that year, 1948. She became one of his hardest-working campaigners and they were married shortly before the election. They had three sons, Michael, John and Steven, and a daughter, Susan.

Ford was the last surviving member of the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 and concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin.

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I wish very much that I had only kind memories of Mr. Ford, but I also remember that Gerald Ford was most probably part of a Republican power deal to keep Richard Nixon from being impeached and brought up on federal charges. The Nixon-Agnew administration was perhaps one of the most corrupt in US history. That Ford was an extended part of that corrupt regime is unfortunate. He was probably the most benign of US presidents in recent history. History will, of course, say only good things about Mr. Ford, and we all know that his wife, Betty, showed extreme courage by coming forward with her alcohol and drug dependency. The Betty Ford Clinic has been the salvation of many since then. Mr. Ford, I will just say that you were just caught in a bad situation and perhaps it wasn't fair to your abilities as a diplomat. Rest in peace.

The Nepalese "Buddha Boy" Has Returned

2006-12-26T13:50:00.000-05:00

KATHMANDU- A mysterious teenaged boy believed by some to be a reincarnation of Lord Buddha has reappeared in eastern Nepal after vanishing for nine months, a witness and a television channel said on Monday.

Sixteen-year-old Ram Bahadur Bamjon was spotted on Sunday by villagers in the remote and dense forests near Piluwa village in Bara district, 150 km (95 miles) east of Kathmandu, local journalist Raju Shrestha, who visited the boy, told Reuters.

Bamjon disappeared in March from the forests in nearby Ratanpuri village where he had reportedly been meditating without food or water for almost 10 months.

"I have been wandering in the forests since then," Shrestha quoted Bamjon as telling him.

"I am engaged in devotion which will continue for six years," the boy told Shrestha.

Hundreds of curious onlookers, including many Buddhists, thronged the site to see the boy, sitting in a meditating position.

A local TV station showed people pressing their palms together and lowering their heads in devotion in front of him.

"I don't think he is a Buddha. But he has some sort of extra strength to meditate. He eats herbs," Shrestha said.

Before his disappearance, an estimated 100,000 people from Hindu-majority Nepal and neighbouring India flocked to see him meditate. They were not allowed to get closer than 50 metres (165 feet).

Shrestha, who met the boy up close, said he had shoulder-length hair and sat cross-legged under a small tree.

"He has an ash-colour shawl wrapped across his chest," he said, adding the boy had a "flat-ended scimitar" next to him.

Buddha was born a prince in Lumbini, a dusty village in Nepal's rice-growing plains about 350 km (220 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu more than 2,600 years ago.

He is believed to have attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, which borders Nepal.

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Always there will be those who give us hope. Whether or not this boy is the buddha is irrelevent. That he gives hope to many is important. Just as Jesus Christ gives us all hope every day of our lives. Let us not forget that Jesus was born to save us all.

James Brown "The Godfather Of Soul" Is Dead

2006-12-25T21:29:00.000-05:00

'Godfather of Soul' James Brown Dies

ATLANTA (AP) - James Brown, the undeniable "Godfather of Soul," told friends from his hospital bed that he was looking forward to performing on New Year's Eve, even though he was ill with pneumonia. His heart gave out a few hours later, on Christmas morning.

The pompadoured dynamo whose classic singles include "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)" died Monday of heart failure, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music. He was 73.

"People already know his history, but I would like for them to know he was a man who preached love from the stage," said friend Charles Bobbit, who was with Brown at the hospital. "His thing was 'I never saw a person that I didn't love.' He was a true humanitarian who loved his country."

The entertainer with the rough-edged voice and flashy footwork also had diabetes and prostate cancer that was in remission, Bobbit said. Brown initially seemed fine at the hospital, Copsidas said. Three days before his death, he had participated in his annual toy giveaway in Augusta, and he was looking forward to his New Year's Eve show.

"Last night, he said 'I'm going to be there. I'm the hardest working man in show business,'" Copsidas said Monday. He said Brown planned to perform during a two-week tour in Canada after hitting Times Square.

Brown was himself to the end, at one point saying, "I'm going away tonight," Bobbit said at a news conference later Monday.

"I didn't want to believe him," he said.

A short time later, Brown sighed quietly three times, closed his eyes and died, Bobbit said.

One of the major musical influences of the past 50 years, Brown was to rhythm and dance music what Bob Dylan was to lyrics. From Mick Jagger to Michael Jackson, David Bowie to Public Enemy, his rapid-footed dancing, hard-charging beats and heartfelt yet often unintelligible vocals changed the musical landscape.

He was one of the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.

"He was an innovator, he was an emancipator, he was an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown," entertainer Little Richard, a longtime friend of Brown's, told MSNBC.

"James Brown changed music," said Rev. Al Sharpton, who toured with Brown in the 1970s and imitates his hairstyle to this day.

"He made soul music a world music," Sharpton said. "What James Brown was to music in terms of soul and hip-hop, rap, all of that, is what Bach was to classical music. This is a guy who literally changed the music industry. He put everybody on a different beat, a different style of music. He pioneered it."

Sharpton will officiate at Brown's funeral service, details of which were still incomplete, Copsidas said.

Brown won a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living In America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.)

He even had a brief but memorable role on the big screen as a manic preacher in the 1980's movie "The Blues Brothers."

Brown, who lived in Beech Island, S.C., near the Georgia line, had a turbulent personal life that included charges of abusing drugs and alcohol. After a widely publicized, drug-fueled confrontation with police in 1988 that ended in an interstate car chase, Brown spent 15 months in a South Carolina prison and 10 months in a work release program.

From the 1950s, when Brown had his first R&B hit, "Please, Please, Please" in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business" and often tried to prove it to his fans, said Jay Ross, his lawyer of 15 years.

Brown's stage act was as memorable, and as imitated, as his records, with his twirls and spins and flowing cape, his repeated faints to the floor at the end.

"He was dramatic to the end - dying on Christmas Day," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a friend of Brown's since 1955. "Almost a dramatic, poetic moment. He'll be all over the news all over the world today. He would have it no other way."

His "Live at The Apollo" in 1962 is widely considered one of the greatest concert records ever. He often talked of a 1964 concert in which organizers made the mistake of having the Rolling Stones, not him, close the bill, remembering Mick Jagger waiting offstage, nervously chain smoking, as he pulled off his matchless show.

"To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one's coming even close," rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once told the AP.

Brown routinely lost two or three pounds each time he performed and kept his furious concert schedule in his later years even as he fought prostate cancer, Ross said.

With his tight pants, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince. And the early rap generation overwhelmingly sampled his music and voice as they laid the foundation of hip-hop culture.

"Disco is James Brown, hip-hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I'm saying? You hear all the rappers, 90 percent of their music is me," Brown told The AP in 2003.

Born in poverty in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933, Brown was abandoned as a 4 year old to the care of relatives and friends. He grew up on the streets of Augusta, Ga., in an "ill-repute area," as he once called it, learning how to hustle to survive.

By the eighth grade in 1949, Brown had served 3 1/2 years in reform school for breaking into cars. While there, he met Bobby Byrd, whose family took Brown into their home. Byrd also took Brown into his group, the Gospel Starlighters. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B.

In January 1956, King Records of Cincinnati signed the group, and four months later "Please, Please, Please" was in the R&B Top Ten.

Brown is survived by his fourth wife, Tomi Rae Hynie, one of his backup singers, and at least four children - two daughters and sons Daryl and James Brown II, Copsidas said.

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Rest in peace, James. You have earned your right to sleep. You gave us all so much of yourself, and you got so little back from so many who never loved you. But those who did love you will neve forget you. I was only 12 when I first heard you sing. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the TAMI show and they had to literally drag you off the set. I understand now why it was so hard for you to leave that stage. Good night, and be at peace.

Santa Is Alive And Well In America

2006-12-24T13:49:00.000-05:00

Santa Claus endures in America

WASHINGTON - Santa has lots going against him — school-yard rumors, older brothers who think they know the deal and tattle to the young ones, errant price tags, the tell-all Internet and so many Made in China labels it seems the North Pole has outsourced to Asia. Humbuggers everywhere. But no worries. It's a wonderful life for Santa.

An AP-AOL News poll finds him to be an enduring giant in the lives of Americans.

Fully 86 percent in the poll believed in Santa as a child. And despite the multiethnic nature of the country, more than 60 percent of those with children at home consider Santa important in their holiday celebrations now.

That's an approval rating President Bush and most in Congress could only dream about these days. (If Santa were a politician, Catholics and the nonreligious would be his base.)

Among the findings:

_Santa is important to 60 percent of Catholics, 51 percent of those without a religious affiliation and 47 percent of Protestants, when households both with and without children are surveyed.

_Nearly half, 47 percent, said Santa detracts from the religious significance of Christmas; over one-third, 36 percent, said he enhances the religious nature of the holiday.

_91 percent of whites believed in Santa as a child; 72 percent of minorities did. One quarter of those now living in households with incomes under $25,000 did not believe in Santa.

_An overwhelming majority, across nearly all backgrounds and religious beliefs, say they believe in angels — 81 percent. Belief in angels is shared by 57 percent of those who say they have no religious affiliation. Nearly all white evangelical Christians, 97 percent, share this belief.

Somehow, the tradition has survived all that challenges tradition.

Carl Anderson studied Santa beliefs as a doctoral student 20 years ago, looking at the phenomenon then and a century earlier. A child psychologist with a long, real beard, he's since put in 18 Christmases at the Dallas NorthPark Center absorbing the wide-eyed wishes of little ones.

So what's new, Santa?

Remarkably, he says, not much. The set of beliefs appears to have remained largely intact since the topic was studied in the late 1800s.

Few kids have challenged him over the years, he said. When one little girl did so, tentatively, this week, he did what psychologists always seem to do. He answered by asking a question.

"Santa, some people are saying they don't believe in you," she told him shyly.

"Well, what do you say to them?"

"I tell them they haven't met you."

Case closed, for now.

In the poll, 8 was the average age for a child's Santa reality check. Fifteen percent hung on to their belief over age 10. The telephone poll of 1,000 adults was taken Dec. 12-14 by Ipsos, an international polling firm. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Kimberly Schiller, 25, of Levittown, N.Y., believed in Santa until she was 13. He was a comfort to her after her dad left home when she was 12. "So I was kind of holding on to that last bit of childhood," she said.

"I teach 13-year-olds now," she went on. "They are just so jaded. They always want stuff. It's kind of sad that they don't believe anymore."

Wendy Ross, 50, from Kings City, Calif., said she gave up her Santa belief when she was about 5, but that didn't spoil Christmas for her. "The only thing that spoiled the holidays for me was me. I threw a fit if I didn't get what I wanted."

Now the mother of three grown children, Ross said she brought her kids up to focus on Jesus, at the expense of Santa. Now she sees Santa as a symbol of giving, but also one of superheated commercialism.

In Louisville, Ky., Ron Montgomery agrees with that downside. "Now if you are using Santa Claus to push a $100 robotic dinosaur, then that's a problem," he said. But the 64-year-old grandfather counts himself as a Santa believer to this day.

"It's the whole atmosphere," he said. "Santa Claus is the spirit. The trees, the church, the whole works. You actually see more of your neighbors.

"It's a feeling. It's not like a ghost. It's an attitude."

Reaching deep into memory, Margaret Klumpp, 88, of Windsor, N.Y., recalled hiding her Santa doubts from her parents. "I think probably I pretended I believed so my parents would keep doing it," she said. "I don't know if I was that smart at 5, but I did later."

Now she sees Santa through the eyes of five great-grandchildren, the oldest 6, and considers him a complement to the Christian celebration.

"When you are a little child you go to Santa and after that you move over to Jesus," she said. "I think it kind of goes together."

Anderson shared his historical expertise with an elite group this summer in Missouri, addressing the international convention of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas.

At the Dallas mall, he knows the faces looking up at him will be clouded by questions before long. But for many kids, the letdown also comes with an upside.

"They see themselves as more grown up," he said through that beard. "They're on the other side now."

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Santa is alive and well, in the hearts of America. Now, let's pray for the rest of the world. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you out there.

Obesity Maybe Linked To Stomach Bacteria

2006-12-21T11:28:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's germs that are making you fat

Researchers found a strong connection between obesity and the levels of certain types of bacteria in the gut. That could mean that someday there will be novel new ways of treating obesity that go beyond the standard advice of diet and exercise.

According to two studies being published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, both obese mice and people had more of one type of bacteria and less of another kind.

A "microbial component" appears to contribute to obesity, said study lead author Jeffrey Gordon, director of Washington University's Center for Genome Sciences.

Obese humans and mice had a lower percentage of a family of bacteria called Bacteroidetes and more of a type of bacteria called Firmicutes, Gordon and his colleagues found.

The researchers aren't sure if more Firmicutes makes you fat or if people who are obese grow more of that type of bacteria.

But growing evidence of this link gives scientists a potentially new and still distant way of fighting obesity: Change the bacteria in the intestines and stomach. It also may lead to a way of fighting malnutrition in the developing world.

"We are getting more and more evidence to show that obesity isn't what we thought it used to be," said Nikhil Dhurandhar, a professor of infection and obesity at Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

"It isn't just (that) you're eating too much and you're lazy."

Dhurandhar wasn't part of the research, but said it may change the way obesity is treated eventually.

He said the field of "infectobesity" looks at obesity with multiple causes, including viruses and microbes. In another decade or so, the different causes of obesity could have different treatments. The current regimen of diet and exercise "is like treating all fevers with one aspirin," Dhurandhar said.

In one of the two studies in Nature, Gordon and colleagues looked at what happened in mice with changes in bacteria level. When lean mice with no germs in their guts had larger ratios of Firmicutes transplanted, they got "twice as fat" and took in more calories from the same amount of food than mice with the more normal bacteria ratio, said Washington University microbiology instructor Ruth Ley, a study co-author.

It was as if one group got far more calories from the same bowl of Cheerios than the other, Gordon said.

In a study of dozen dieting people, the results also were dramatic.

Before dieting, about 3 percent of the gut bacteria in the obese participants was Bacteroidetes. But after dieting, the now normal-sized people had much higher levels of Bacteroidetes — close to 15 percent, Gordon said.

"I think that gut bacteria affects body weight," said Virginia Commonwealth University pathology professor Richard Atkinson, who wasn't part of the research team and is president of Obetech Obesity Research Center in Richmond. "I don't think there's any doubt about that and they showed that."

The growing field of research puts more importance in the trillions of microbes that live in our guts and elsewhere, crediting it with everything from generations of people getting taller to increases in diabetes and asthma.

People are born germ-free, but within days they have a gut blooming with microbes. The microbes come from first foods — either breast milk or formula — the exterior environment, and the way the babies are born, said Stanford University medicine and microbiology professor David Relman, who was not part of the study.

For decades, doctors have treated bacteria in a "warlike" manner, yet recent research shows that "most encounters we have with microbes are very beneficial," Gordon said.

"Much of who we are and what we can do and can't do as human beings is directly related to microbial inhabitants," Relman said.

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Doctor? I want to set up an appoinment for a gut flush and bacteria change. How much simpler could it all get? I hope this research at least sheds some light on why we get fat. Heaven only knows I could use a little less fat.

Tracking Santa On The Web!

2006-12-20T12:48:00.000-05:00

Let NORAD Help You Track Santa

We watched Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story recently, and it was fun to hear my kids laugh throughout one of my favorite holiday movies, a well-told story by a radio legend. Watching Ralphie listening to the radio stirred vague memories of tuning into Jean Shepherd's radio show, with my family riveted to his every word. But it also reminded me of the only time as a kid I remember being riveted to the radio instead of the TV: Christmas Eve, listening to the NORAD sightings of Santa on his marathon gift run.

NORAD's Santa tracking operation moved onto the web in 1998, and kids and parents can go to the NORAD Tracks Santa web site and track the big fella's movements in six languages. The story goes that NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) got involved in Santa's movements after its predecessor, CONAD (Continental Air Defense Command), got calls about Santa's whereabouts after Sears & Roebuck mistakenly misprinted a Santa hotline telephone number in newspaper ads in 1955. The commander who answered the first child's call gave out the requested info, and a tradition was born. When CONAD became NORAD, the bi-national air defense command for the United States and Canada in 1958, it took over the duties of tracking Santa's around-the-world flight.

Kids can check out the Santa webcams that "capture images of Santa and the Reindeer as they make their journey around the world."

My kids have also liked the Santa at Claus.com web site, where they can check if they've been naughty or nice. But they have grown suspicious in the past when some of the same phrases popped up after they put in different friends' names. (As always, this is a good teachable moment to tell young kids not to put in full names or other personal information if they send an e-mail to Santa.)

Bush Illegally Silences Critic of Iran Policy

2006-12-19T13:26:00.000-05:00

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Can impeachment proceedings be far behind? If these accusations are true, then there should at least be a congressional probe into Bush's actions. I would suggest a recall vote over impeachment.

One Of The Lost Climbers Found Dead In Snow Cave

2006-12-18T10:22:00.000-05:00

Mt. Hood body identified as Kelly James

HOOD RIVER, Ore. - A missing climber found dead in a snow cave on Mount Hood was identified as a Dallas man who had placed a distress call to relatives a little more than a week ago, a person close to the family said Monday.

Searchers found the cave Sunday near the spot located by cell phone signals traced from Kelly James, who made a four-minute call to his family Dec. 10 just below the summit, said Jessica Nunez, a spokeswoman for the climber's family.

On Monday, a recovery team was expected to retrieve the body, which remained on the mountain over night because darkness made it too dangerous to retrieve. The search for two other climbers also was to resume on the treacherous north side of Oregon's highest mountain.

The discovery of James' body brought a sad conclusion to a long week of anxious optimism in the search for three men on the 11,239-foot mountain.

Family members had relied on intense religious faith along with confidence that the extensive mountaineering experience of the trio would save them from a week of blizzard storms and single-digit temperatures that kept search teams and helicopters at bay.

James, 48, had told his family that his climbing party was in trouble and that Brian Hall, 37, also of Dallas, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, 36, of New York City, had headed back down, apparently for help. James may have been injured.

His body was found in a second snow cave near the first, about 300 feet below the summit. Rescuers found two ice axes, a sleeping bag or pad and rope in the first. It was not known if any gear was in the second cave.

James' mother, Lou Ann Cameron, told The Associated Press she did not want to talk about her son and referred questions to the Hood River County Sheriff's Office.

Monday's search would center on possible descent routes on Eliot Glacier and Cooper Spur, relatively lower levels of the mountain, in case the other two got down that far, said Pete Hughes of the sheriff's office, the lead agency in the search.

"Eliot Glacier is real dangerous so we will do that by air only," Hughes said Monday. "It's a bad avalanche area with crevasses. There are still people in crevasses that have never been recovered."

Near the first snow cave, helicopters had spotted rope that had been intentionally laid out in a Y-shape, which climbers often use to indicate their location. There also was an ice spike and footprints, apparently headed up the mountain, said Sgt. Gerry Tiffany, a spokesman for the Hood River County sheriff's office.

Searchers dug through the first cave to ensure no one was there and took the equipment, which will be examined for clues. The second cave with the climber's body was found a short time later.

It was not immediately clear which cave was occupied first, or why or when the climber, or climbers, decided to move from it.

Weather conditions have been harsh since the three were reporting missing, with heavy snow and wind gusts of up to 100 mph. The snow stopped Saturday, but wind of up to 50 mph blew the fresh snow, hampering visibility.

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This is very sad news. Everyone's hopes had been so high that the climbers would be found in time. Now, one family has lost a father and husband. All our heartfelt regards go out to Kelly James' family. This Christmas will be a sad one for them. Always.Please pray very hard for the rremaining 2 climbers. Pray that they are found alive and soon. If they are already beyond our help, then I pray they are at least found soon.

Carolina Loses. Playoff Hopes Dead In Carolina

2006-12-17T18:16:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh 37, Carolina 3

December 17, 2006

AP - Dec 17, 4:57 pm EST

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- It may be too late, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are finally playing like last season's Super Bowl team.

Willie Parker rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown and Ben Roethlisberger threw for a score and ran for another to lead Pittsburgh past the Carolina Panthers 37-3 on Sunday, delighting the thousands of their loyal fans who turned Bank of America Stadium into a virtual Steelers home game.

The Steelers (7-7) also blocked a punt and returned another for a touchdown as they won their third straight game and kept their faint playoff hopes alive. The Steelers, who started 2-6, have allowed 13 points in the past three games.

"We've been there before. We've played on the road in December and we've played on the road in January," Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher said. "This football team knows that mind-set you have to have to win."

It's still going to be difficult for the Steelers to make the playoffs, but Carolina's chances are virtually over after it turned in another stinker.

==================================

If anybody asks, I will be away in mourning all week. Dressed in black and moaning a lot. You won't be able to miss us. A crowd of guys and gals all huddled over bellyaching about the Panthers loss to Pittsburgh. Btw, good luck to Pitt, they'll need it. Have a good week.

Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

2006-12-13T15:09:00.000-05:00

Wed Dec 13, 10:00 AM ET

The Geminid meteor shower, a reliable annual display, peaks tonight and into the pre-dawn. For skywatchers with dark, clear skies, this dazzling display should produce up to 120 meteors per hour.

The best time to watch is tonight or anytime between midnight and dawn Thursday.

Unlike the highly-touted Leonid meteor shower, which disappointed many skywatchers last month, the Geminids are known for dependability.

"Start watching on Wednesday evening, Dec. 13, around 9 p.m. local time," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "The display will start small but grow in intensity as the night wears on. By Thursday morning, Dec. 14, people in dark, rural areas could see one or two meteors every minute."

What to expect

The Geminids are bits of debris cast off by 3200 Phaeton, a strange asteroid-like object that scientists think might be a burned-out comet. "No one can decide what it is," Cooke said.

The object orbits the Sun and crosses the path of Earth's orbit. Pieces of material typically no larger than a pea vaporize as they slam into Earth's atmosphere.

Geminids tend to be slow compared to other shooting stars, and some of them will be very bright.

"This shower has a reputation for being rich both in slow, bright, graceful meteors and fireballs as well as faint meteors, with relatively fewer objects of medium brightness," said Joe Rao, SPACE.com's skywatching columnist. "Many appear yellowish in hue. Some even appear to form jagged or divided paths."

How to Watch

To view the Geminids, bundle up and find the darkest location possible with a wide-open view of the sky. Dress in layers and much more warmly than you think necessary. Use a lounge chair, tarp or blanket to allow you to lie back and stare up. Allow 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, then scan as much of the sky as possible.

In the late evening, most of the activity will be toward the east-northeast. Find a spot that has a clear view of the horizon. After midnight, the whole sky is fair game.

City dwellers can expect to see far fewer meteors as only the brightest of them can overcome urban glare. Suburbanites and rural residents should turn off porch lights and seek to escape as much local light as possible.

While tonight and Thursday morning offer the best bet, up to 30 or even 60 meteors per hour might grace the skies Thursday night and Friday morning. The shower, which got going last weekend, will then taper off rapidly, offering a few stragglers into the weekend.

________________________________________

Guess I won't see this one, since it's very overcast and rainy here in SC. This is a great opportunity for families to get out and do something fun and educational tonight (even if it does happen to be a school night and the peak is quite late - it's worth the staying up). have fun but wrap up warmly. See ya in the stars!

Search Continues For Three Missing Climbers

2006-12-13T11:34:00.000-05:00

Search resumes for climbers on Mt. Hood

COOPER SPUR, Ore. - Cold rain lashed the base of Mount Hood on Wednesday as search parties headed back up the treacherous slopes to look for three climbers missing since the weekend.

A fresh team was joining the search Wednesday, and crews may get some help from heat-seeking, unmanned aircraft provided by a Colorado company and pinpoint cell phone detection equipment from another high-tech company, said Pete Hughes of the Hood River County Sheriff's Department.

"But if anybody is above the 7,000-foot range, we're not going to be able to get to them," Hughes said. "And we're probably not going to be able to get to them by Thursday either, unless there happens to be a break in the weather."

Even at the base camp at Cooper Spur, the wind hit 60 mph Wednesday morning and temperatures hovered in the 30s. At higher elevations, the teams have faced wind so strong it knocked them off their feet, plus poor visibility in blowing snow and a threat of avalanches. More stormy weather was in the forecast.

"The next 48 hours is not looking very good," Hughes said.

Plans called for two staging camps on the north and south sides of the mountain so teams can head to the summit quickly if the weather breaks, he said.

There had been no contact with the missing climbers since Sunday, when one reached his family by cell phone to say he was in a snow cave high on the mountain and his two companions had gone for help.

The rescue effort was hampered because the three climbers had taken one of the most difficult approaches to the summit, scaling the north side of the mountain where slopes tilt at angles of 50 or 60 degrees and feature become sheer walls of ice.

Higher flanks of the mountain have been scoured by wind up to 80 mph.

Kelly James, Brian Hall and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke had planned a "quick climb" on Mount Hood, traveling light to make the ascent as fast as possible, officials said.

Cooke, 36, a lawyer from New York City, and Hall, 37, a personal trainer who played for the now-defunct Dallas Rockets professional soccer team, are believed to have attempted a descent while James, 48, a landscape architect from Dallas, apparently remained near the summit.

James has the most experience — 25 years of mountaineering that includes Mount McKinley, the Andes Mountains in South America and peaks in Europe, his family said.

"My brother has been climbing for 25 years, and he would know what to do in a difficult situation," said Frank James. "He's been in a number of situations and always managed to get out well. I think that's a testament to his experience."

Frank James said it wasn't clear from his brother's four-minute cell phone call whether he was injured. His brother did appear to be feeling the effects of the cold and said he was worried about the weather, he said.

____________________________________________________________

Good luck. I hope these guys turn up safe and sound. Funny how these stories take on new meaning in the Christmas season. Everyone becomes so much more aware of "goodwill" and "love your neighbor". Would that this could go on all year long.

Merry Christmas to all of you and a very, Happy and Prosperous New Year.

A Young U.S. Marine Speaks Out

2006-12-10T12:14:00.000-05:00

A Young Marine Speaks Out
By Philip Martin

I'm sick and tired of this patriotic, nationalistic and fascist crap. I stood through a memorial service today for a young Marine that was killed in Iraq back in April. During this memorial a number of people spoke about the guy and about his sacrifice for the country. How do you justify 'sacrificing' your life for a war which is not only illegal, but is being prosecuted to the extent where the only thing keeping us there is one man's power, and his ego. A recent Marine Corps intelligence report that was leaked said that the war in the al-Anbar province is unwinnable. It said that there was nothing we could do to win the hearts and minds, or the military operations in that area. So I wonder, why are we still there? Democracy is not forced upon people at gunpoint. It's the result of forward thinking individuals who take the initiative and risks to give their fellow countrymen a better way of life.

When I joined I took an oath. In that oath I swore to protect the Constitution of the United States. I didn't swear to build democracies in countries on the other side of the world under the guise of "national security." I didn't join the military to be part of an Orwellian ("1984") war machine that is in an obligatory war against whoever the state deems the enemy to be so that the populace can be controlled and riled up in a pro-nationalistic frenzy to support any new and oppressive law that will be the key to destroying the enemy. Example given � the Patriot Act. So aptly named, and totally against all that the constitution stands for. President Bush used the reactionary nature of our society to bring our country together and to infuse into the national psyche a need to give up their little-used rights in the hope to make our nation a little safer. The same scare tactics he used to win elections. He drones on and on about how America and the world would be a less safe place if we weren't killing Iraqis, and that we'd have to fight the terrorists at home if we weren't abroad. In our modern day emotive society this strategy (or strategery?) works, or had worked, up until last month's elections.

My point in this; to show that America was never nationalistic. If anything they were Statalistic (giving their allegiance to the state of their residence). This is shown in the fact that the founders created states with fully capable and independent governments and not provinces that were just a division of the federal government. These men believed that America was a place where imperialistic values would be non-existent. Where the people trying to make their lives better by working hard, thinking, inventing and using the free market would tie up so much of normal life that imperialistic colonization and the fighting of wars thousands of miles away for interests that are not our own would be avoided. They believed this expansion of power could be left to the European nations, the England, France and Spain of their time. However this recent, and current influx of nationalistic feeling has created an environment where giving up your rights, going to a foreign country to fight a people who did not ask for us to be there, nor did their leader do anything to warrant us being there, and dying would be considered honorable and heroic. I don't believe it anymore. I don't believe it's right for any American to go along with it anymore. Yes I know that we in the military are bound by the UCMJ and somehow don't fall under the Constitution (the very thing we're suppose to be defending) but sooner or later there is a decision that every American soldier, marine, airmen and seamen makes to allow themselves to be sent to a war that is against every fiber this country was founded on. I know that when April rolls around I will be thinking long and hard on that decision. Even though we in the military are just doing as we're told we still have the moral and ethical obligation to choose to do as we're told, or to say, "No, that isn't right." I believe that if more troopers like me and the professional military, the officers and commanders, start standing up and saying that they won't let themselves or their troops go to this illegal war people will start standing up and realizing what the heck is going on over there.

The sad fact of the matter is that we are not fighting terrorists in Iraq. We are fighting the Iraqi people who feel like a conquered and occupied people. Personally I have a hard time believing that if I was an Iraqi that I wouldn't be doing everything in my power to kill and maim as many Americans as possible. I know that the vast majority of Americans would not be happy with the Canadian government, or any other foreign government, liberating us from the clutches of George W. Bush, even though a large number of us would like that, and forcing us to accept their system of government. Would not millions of Americans rise up and fight back? Would you not rise up to protect and defend your house and your neighborhood if someone invaded your country? But we send thousands of troops to a foreign country to do just that. How is it moral to fight a people who are just trying to defend their homes and families? I think next time I go to Iraq perhaps I should wear a bright red coat and carry a Brown Bess instead of my digitalized utilities and M16.

Notice I never once used the word homeland in any of this. I have a secondary point I want to bring up now. Never once was the term homeland ever used to describe the country of America until Mr. Bush began the department of homeland security after the 9/11 attacks. Taking a 20th century history class will teach us that the most notable countries in the last century that referred to their country in this way were Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. Hitler used the term fatherland to drum up support, nationalistic support, for his growing war machine. He used the nationalism he created in the minds of the Germans to justify the sacrifice of their livelihood to build the war machine to get back their power from the oppressive restrictions the English and French had put on them at Versailles. This is the same feeling that has been virulently infecting the American psyche in the last hundred years. This is the same feeling that consoles a mother after her son is killed in an attempt to prosecute an aggressor's war 10,000 miles away. It's also known as Patriotism these days, but I say, "No more." No more nationalistic inanity, no more passing it off as patriotism. Patriotism is learning, and educating oneself to understand what their country really stands for.

I heard a lot during the memorial service about how the dead Marine did so much good for others and how his helping others was like a little microcosm of America helping because we have the power to do so. Well if we have the power to help people why aren't we helping in Darfur where hundreds of thousands of people have died in the last 10 years. Saddam was convicted and sentenced to death for killing 143 Shiites who conspired to assassinate him. (I know all you "patriotic" Americans would be calling for the heads of anyone who conspired to assassinate supreme leader Bush). And yet we spend upwards of 1 trillion dollars and nearing 3,000 lives to help these Iraqis when they don't even want us there. Not to mention we don't have the legal justification to be there. I guess we should wait around for the omnipotent W Bush to decide who we should use our superpowerdom to help next. It's about time to throw him and the rest of the fascists out. Moreover it's about time to start educating Americans about their past and history, and letting them know that imperialistic leaders are not what the founders of this great country wanted.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

This is happening more and more often. Young people questioning the motives of their government. Asking themselves and their leaders "WHY?"
The traditional soldier never questions the motives of his county's leaders. This is ideal in a soldier if he is to be an efficient fighting tool of the civil government.
When soldiers begin to ask that question, the end is near. I'm not saying that I believe that a soldier should nver question why he's fighting the "enemy" that his Commander In Chief indicates, but when he DOES begin to ask, the end of that unquestioned authority is near an end.

The US has been in Iraq longer than we fought WW2, and the casualties are mounting with no indicator on how long these young people are going to have to watch their comrades and buddies die for something it's very hard for any rational person to grasp. They are beginning to realize they were lied to. Lied to about why they are there and lied to about the way the conflict would be settled.

Mr. Bush, please bring these children home to us. Please end this senseless killing. Let the Iraqui people settle this in their own way. The US doesn't want to support another corrupt regime in Iraq as we did in Viet Nam. We would gladly rather have electric automobiles than our children dead and maimed. We can overcome the petroleum shortage. We can live without many of the luxuries we have taken for granted in this country. Just bring the soldiers home to us so we can sleep peacefully again.

Couldn't the billions spent in the senseless Iraqui conflict feed some of the estimated 3 million children in our own country who go to sleep hungry every night? Or supply heating and medical relief for the elderly and for the disabled? Or save medicare?

We are not the world's police force. We are not entitled to more than our fair share of the petroleum supplies in the world. Bring the children home. We don't even ask you to admit you lied to us. We don't care if you have no remorse for what has happened. Bring the soldiers home.

Jake Won't Start For Carolina. Weinke In

2006-12-10T00:43:00.000-05:00

Chris Weinke #16 / Quarterback / Backup

Height: 6-4 Weight: 232
Born: Jul 31, 1972 - St. Paul, MN
College: Florida State
Draft: 2001 - 4th round (11th pick) by the Carolina Panthers
_________________________
Barring a significant recovery by Jake Delhomme, backup Chris Weinke is expected to start for Carolina on Sunday against the New York Giants.

Weinke took all the snaps in practice this week as Delhomme nursed an injured right thumb. Delhomme has also struggled this season, including an interception against Philadelphia on Monday night that ended the Panthers' hopes for a comeback win.

In anticipation of Delhomme not playing, the Panthers activated quarterback Brett Basanez from the practice squad. Basanez may open the game as the No. 2 quarterback
__________________________

Jake Delhomme suffered a really significant thumb injury against Philadelphia on Monday, so it looks as though Weinke is in. Carolina is holding it's collective breath, guys.
__________________________

Jake Delhomme #17 / Quarterback /First String

Height: 6-2 Weight: 215
Born: Jan 10, 1975 - Breaux Bridge, LA
College: Louisiana-Lafayette
Draft: None

Hitler

2006-12-08T07:59:00.000-05:00

I want to take issue with the currently fashionable assertion that Hitler was a leftist. If “left” and “right” were defined simply economically, that would be a fair characterisation. Social factors also come into play. Neither wing of politics has a monopoly on social authoritarianism. Left-wing social authoritarianism is also called political correctness, and is characterised by attacks on others for being judgemental about people - in the world of the far left, judgementalism is the only sin. Everyone is of equal merit and only those who say otherwise are evil.

It should come as no surprise, then, that right-wing social authoritarianism stems from the opposite extreme of excessive moral judgementalism. In this view of the world, people living a certain lifestyle, or of a certain racial or cultural group, are judged immoral or inferior. Crucially, not only is this judgement made, but the social rightist goes on to say “and something should be done” - by, for example, criminalising homosexual sex, or banning Asian immigration. Islamist terror attacks also fall under the heading of right-wing social doctrine. Such dogma cannot be categorised as left-wing, despite its interventionist tendencies, because it is directly opposed to the leftist religion of equality and relativism. This is not simply an argument about interventionism versus non-interventionism, or authoritarianism versus libertarianism. BOTH sides want intervention, the far left to establish the equality of minorities and the far right to force minorities to conform.

Hitler was the most ruthless proponent of right-wing social doctrine in world history. Stalin, Mao and others massacred people in the name of equality, the common good and socialist dogma (the engineered famines, for example) and were social leftists. Hitler massacred people because he thought they were vermin and was a social rightist. The characterisation of Hitler as right-wing is fair because his genocidal crimes were committed as a result of his right-wing social ideals. That he was economically leftist is true but irrelevant.

The base problem is that (and this is of course old news) left-wing and right-wing are not adequate to describe the full range of political opinion. Social and economic leftism, for example, are lumped together by correlation - a lot of people who believe in forced social equality also believe in forced economic equality, but the two are logically distinct. If Hitler must be described as one or the other, then right-wing is the correct choice.

Another History Lesson Lost in Iraq

2006-12-07T11:59:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON -
President Bush meets with British Prime Minister
Tony Blair at the White House today, a day after the release of the
Iraq study group's report.
ADVERTISEMENT

President Bush faces urgent pressure to find a fresh strategy in Iraq as a new defense secretary heads to the
Pentagon and a scathing bipartisan commission report says his war policies have failed and that "time is running out."

The Iraq Study Group's report said the situation in Iraq was "grave and deteriorating" after nearly four years of bloodshed and more than 2,900 American deaths. The report gave weight to the president's talks on Thursday with Blair, his closest ally in the unpopular war.

Bush, possibly with counsel from Blair, could embrace some or all 79 of the Iraq Study Group's recommendations. The president also could ignore them and chart his own new course based on internal reviews being done at the Pentagon, State Department and the White House.

"It's clear that the present situation is not one that could be sustained or accepted," White House press secretary Tony Snow said Wednesday.

The panel's recommendations ranged from gradually withdrawing U.S. combat forces during the next year to ramping up the training of Iraqi security forces to enlisting diplomatic help from Iraq's neighbors — not only to resolve problems in Iraq but to find an end to the long-running conflict between
Israel and the Palestinians.

The White House was cautious not to specifically reject any of the group's ideas outright and vowed that Bush would entertain suggestions from all political circles before charting a new way forward.

But the president already has rejected the idea of direct talks with
Iran and
Syria. The administration continues to insist that Iran verifiably suspend uranium enrichment before the United States would start direct talks, although Snow left the door open for discussions through an outside group.

"There's some very good ideas in there," Bush said about the report after meeting Wednesday afternoon with lawmakers. "Not all of us around the table agree with every idea, but we do agree that it shows that bipartisan consensus on important issues is possible."

When a reporter asked whether Bush was capable of making dramatic changes in his war plan, Snow said: "Well, you're assuming that the president has to pull U-turns. I'm not sure I agree."

Democrats, meanwhile, clamored for change.

"I'm encouraged," said Rep. Jane Harman (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., "and I feel the stay-the-course strategy is officially dead."

"The American people have spoken," said incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "The Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group has spoken. They have all demanded a change of course in Iraq, and the Bush administration must listen."

Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., said the key question was whether Bush was ready for a change of course.

"All eyes now are on this president," Schumer said.

Bush's national security adviser,
Stephen Hadley, has said Bush would make his decision within weeks.

"We believe that the situation in Iraq today is very, very serious," said James A. Baker III, the former Republican secretary of state who led the panel jointly with former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind. "We do not know if it can be turned around."

While the panel concluded that a stable, democratic Iraq was still possible, its pessimistic assessment of the situation contrasted with Bush's upbeat prediction that the U.S.-led coalition was on the road to victory.

"We're winning, and we will win, unless we leave before the job is done," Bush said at a White House news conference on Oct. 25.

The White House insists that Bush will not outsource his decision-making on Iraq, yet the changing political landscape would seem to make it difficult for him not to embrace or — at least seriously consider — opposing views.

"The politics have shifted so this report now becomes the default position for many in the public and many in political life," said Jon B. Alterman, a former State Department official who specialized in the Middle East.

"The president now isn't the one defining the terms of the debate. He's responding to a debate that others have framed, and a debate that others have framed on some terms that he has said are unacceptable.

"What I think is striking is that the president has said that defeat is not an option," said Alterman, now director of Mideast programs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "And what this report says is that defeat is a real possibility."

Leon Panetta, a Democratic member of the Iraq Study Group, said Bush needs to unify an America divided by the war.

"I think the president understands that he simply is not going to be able to proceed with whatever policy changes he wants to implement if we're divided," Panetta said. "That is the principal goal, in my mind, that he has to accomplish."
___________________________________________________________________

If this doesn't reek of Viet Nam, nothing does. So blind to History's lessons. I am reminded of something the novelist George Sand said:

The truth is always simple, but usually we arrive at it by the most complicated way."

Amen to that.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Sarah Takes On Mel Gibson

2006-12-06T21:40:00.001-05:00

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you, Sarah. This edition of The Daily English Show expresses my own feelings as well. While many of us have forgiven Mel Gibson; we also are wary of him. Many of the things he said regarding the Jewish People have been said before by the right. By Hitler. Just prior to WW2, Hitler said: "The Jews are responsible for all of the world's wars". Of course, this was basically an indictment of the Jewish Rothschilds family and their fortune, but it further stigmatized the Jews in the world's eye at that time. It is very disturbing to hear these same words come from Mel Gibson's mouth (even if he was drunk). Mel Gibson has condemned and ridiculed many minorities. I'd say that he really needs to put that bottle down for good. Everyone's good.

Lord Of THe Rings Parody

2006-12-06T13:22:00.000-05:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Lord of the Rings
Video sent by kympa

This is just soooo funny. Hilarious.

Candid Jerk

2006-12-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

________________________________

I thought this was hilarious, and I want to lighten up on differing political opinions. Sorry if this offends anyone. It's funny, though.

Open And Fair List Of Demands From Michael Moore

2006-12-04T13:46:00.000-05:00

This is what we demand:

1. Bring the troops home now. Not six months from now. NOW. Quit looking
for a way to win. We can't win. We've lost. Sometimes you lose. This is one
of those times. Be brave and admit it.

2. Apologize to our soldiers and make amends. Tell them we are sorry they
were used to fight a war that had NOTHING to do with our national security.
We must commit to taking care of them so that they suffer as little as
possible. The mentally and physically maimed must get the best care and
significant financial compensation. The families of the deceased deserve
the biggest apology and they must be taken care of for the rest of their
lives.

3. We must atone for the atrocity we have perpetuated on the people of
Iraq. There are few evils worse than waging a war based on a lie, invading
another country because you want what they have buried under the ground.
Now many more will die. Their blood is on our hands, regardless for whom we
voted. If you pay taxes, you have contributed to the three billion dollars
a week now being spent to drive Iraq into the hellhole it's become. When
the civil war is over, we will have to help rebuild Iraq. We can receive no
redemption until we have atoned.

In closing, there is one final thing I know. We Americans are better than
what has been done in our name. A majority of us were upset and angry after
9/11 and we lost our minds. We didn't think straight and we never looked at
a map. Because we are kept stupid through our pathetic education system and
our lazy media, we knew nothing of history. We didn't know that WE were the
ones funding and arming Saddam for many years, including those when he
massacred the Kurds. He was our guy. We didn't know what a Sunni or a
Shiite was, never even heard the words. Eighty percent of our young adults
(according to National Geographic) were not able to find Iraq on the map.
Our leaders played off our stupidity, manipulated us with lies, and scared
us to death.

But at our core we are a good people. We may be slow learners, but that
"Mission Accomplished" banner struck us as odd, and soon we began to ask
some questions. Then we began to get smart. By this past November 7th, we
got mad and tried to right our wrongs. The majority now know the truth. The
majority now feel a deep sadness and guilt and a hope that somehow we can
make make it all right again.

Unfortunately, we can't. So we will accept the consequences of our actions
and do our best to be there should the Iraqi people ever dare to seek our
help in the future. We ask for their forgiveness.

We demand the Democrats listen to us and get out of Iraq now.

Yours,

Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com

______________________________________
Stats thus far:

US Military Deaths (Iraq) - 2,900
US Military Wounded (Iraq) - 21,778
Iraqui Civilian Deaths (Min) - 49, 235
"Excess" Iraqui Deaths - 655,000
_______________________________________
It's a fair and honest list. It's a fair and accurate assessment of who we are as the American people. It's an acccurate assessment of a dishonest war. It's fair to our troops and it's fair to the people in Iraq whom we have wronged.
Get us out of Iraq, now, Mr. Bush.

World AIDS Awareness

2006-12-03T16:08:00.000-05:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Someday - Alcazar (Gay anthem)
Video sent by jief75

It's World AIDS Awarness week and I'd like to bring this to everyone's attention. Please give to the AIDS charities and dig deep. This is a charity very dear to me and to so many. This video is the official Gay Pride Theme from the Sweden 2003 Gay Pride venue. Enjoy.

Christian Coalition Finds Caring About The Sick, Elderly, And Gays "Not Christian"

2006-12-02T22:13:00.000-05:00

Thomas: Pastor doubts Christ hated caring 'liberals'

Construction is near completion at Northland, A Church Distributed.

The impressive $38 million facility in Longwood will hold 3,400 people.

Pastor Joel Hunter no longer will have to lead seven services each weekend in the old converted roller-skating rink to accommodate everyone who wants to hear him.

When he came to Northland in 1985, the church had 200 members. Now it has more than 7,000.

My friends who attend Northland all say the same thing about Hunter's success: He is a great communicator.

Now, that skill and Hunter's message have put him on a national stage. He may well become the most important and refreshing voice speaking for evangelical Christians today.

I am not trying to be flip when I say: Thank God.

In many ways, he is a classic conservative Christian. He is pro-life. He considers gay marriage a violation of the Old Testament. He believes Christians should be active in politics.

Before you stereotype him, though, read his book, Right Wing, Wrong Bird. In this very sharp and very on-target critique of the religious right, he details the pitfalls of a Christian movement that has lost its Christianity.

The pursuit of political power has replaced spiritual depth.

Condemning others has replaced the love that is at the heart of Jesus' teachings.

The strategy is to prey on people's fear and anger because that motivates the base more than appealing to their compassionate side.

Compassion is the message Hunter has preached at Northland for 21 years. Members are encouraged to go out into the community and help the less fortunate. Hunter stresses programs that rehabilitate people so they can fend for themselves.

It's a message he shares with other evangelical leaders who have grown tired of the narrow hot-button issues pushed by the religious right. That approach is turning off young evangelicals.

"This is a watershed moment in our history," he says. "Putting it bluntly, are we just going to be a voice that just tells people what they should do, or are we going to be servants who benefit everybody? I think Jesus would take the second of those."

Ah, yes, what would Jesus do?

Would he spend his time obsessing about homosexuals, an issue he never addressed in the gospels, or would he be out at the homeless shelter preaching to the poor and hungry?

Would Jesus, who showed such compassion with lepers, turn his back on those with AIDS?

Hunter thinks the answer is pretty clear in the New Testament.

Unfortunately, the religious right has become so closely tied to conservative Republican politics that biblical and political principles have merged. Hence, anything that might be considered a liberal political position becomes unacceptable.

That is why the Christian Coalition, which approached Hunter about leading the organization, changed its mind. The group could not accept some of his "liberal" beliefs.

"If you care about the environment or justice or AIDS or poor people, all of a sudden you are a liberal, and liberals are the enemies," Hunter says. "The compassion issues of Christ have been tagged as liberal issues. It is the reverse of what it ought to be."
---------------------------------------------------
There is no "Christian Coalition" It is dead. Dead morally and spiritually. It sold out to the Devil for political gain. Thank God's grace for men like Pastor Hunter, who fight the good fight for Christ every day. Pray for those who falsely come in the name of Christ, but Christ is not in them. They are those Christ warned us about. Pray for those they victimize and persecute. Pray for the end of their abomination against God.

Now You See It, And Now It Never Was There

2006-12-01T12:06:00.000-05:00

Cipel Says Ex-Gov. McGreevey Is Not Gay
Man Former New Jersey Governor Claimed Was His Lover Says James E. McGreevey Is Not Gay

TRENTON, N.J. - The man former New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey identified as his gay lover said Thursday he believes McGreevey is not gay.

Appearing on "Larry King Live," Golan Cipel, an Israeli citizen hired by McGreevey first as a campaign aide and later as his homeland security adviser, said that McGreevey's 2004 resignation speech admission that he is "a gay American" was "part of the spin."

Through lawyers, Cipel had threatened to sue McGreevey for sexual harassment shortly before and after McGreevey's resignation. A lawsuit was never filed.

"I think McGreevey had no choice. There was a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. And he didn't know what to do, and his advisers told him, 'come out first,' and he would be perceived as the victim" and thereby gain control of the story, Cipel said.

While he said McGreevey did make sexual advances toward him on several occasions, Cipel said the former governor also frequently spoke about heterosexual encounters, including sex with prostitutes on trips to Germany and the Dominican Republic.

"I believe that Jim McGreevey is bisexual," Cipel said.

Cipel, 37, in his first extended national television interview since the publication in September of McGreevey's memoir, "The Confession," also urged the gay community "not to embrace McGreevey," saying the former governor committed sexual harassment against him and others.

Cipel, who has repeatedly denied being gay, again insisted that McGreevey's often graphic portrayal of their relationship in the book is untrue.

In the book, McGreevey, 49, writes that he was forced to resign after Cipel threatened to reveal his homosexuality unless he was paid millions to keep quiet.

McGreevey released a statement Thursday night saying, "I stand behind the truth and accuracy of every word in this book." He said he and Cipel had a consensual relationship that lasted for months.

"My only wish for Golan is that he find peace and acceptance in his life," McGreevey said in the statement.

McGreevey now works as an educational consultant and a childhood anti-poverty advocate, and lives in Plainfield, N.J., with his partner, Mark O'Donnell. Cipel has been living in Israel

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Now that I've finally gotten my eyes back into their normal position from the extreme roll they went into when I read that tripe, I must say the bullshit that some people will come up with in order to further their own cause is at times staggering.
The good ex-governor of New Jersy is gay, gay, gay, gay. The man who issued this statement is the ex-governor's supposed Israeli boyfriend who held a much-to-be-coveted position. Thanks in no small way to ex-governor McGreevey. It is in this man's interest to disassociate himself with any gay-orientation. The man was nothing more than a gay goldigger who now wants to make us believe that none of the story leading up to the ex-governor's resignation is true. Give me a break!

Carolina Panthers Lose To Washington Redskins

2006-11-26T20:21:00.000-05:00

Washington 17, Carolina 13

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -- Seeking his first win as an NFL starting quarterback, Jason Campbell faced a vital third down with his team trailing late in the fourth quarter.

Through his helmet transmitter, he heard his position coach call the formation.

Then silence. The transmitter went dead. Campbell had to call the play himself, based on the players sent onto the field.

"We could tell that there was something wrong," right tackle Jon Jansen said. "But he picked up and just took us out there and we ran the play, and it was big."

The play went for 66 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Chris Cooley caught the pass over the middle near midfield, escaped two tacklers and ran down the sideline for the winning score in the Washington Redskins' 17-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

"I didn't hear the play that was called," Campbell said. "I just tried to call one of the plays that we worked on all week that would give us an opportunity to make a first down. Fortunately, God was with me when I made that call, and Cooley did a great job of running after the catch."

The victory broke a two-game losing streak for the Redskins (4-7) and made Campbell a winner in his second start, following Mark Brunell's benching. The Redskins responded well to coach Joe Gibbs' call to return to his principles of running the ball and stopping the run, but it took the big play to Cooley on a third-and-8 with 4:26 remaining to beat the Panthers (6-5) in a game dominated by defense.

"I felt like today it was kind of our style of football," Gibbs said. "And it was good to get back to that."

For 3 1/2 quarters, the best highlights were two blocked punts and an incredible fourth-quarter catch by Carolina's Steve Smith at the back of the end zone. Ladell Betts, the Redskins featured running back now that Clinton Portis is out for the year, finished with 104 yards on 24 carries. Campbell threw an interception on the previous drive and had only 52 yards passing when he hit Cooley for the made-up touchdown. He finished 11-for-23 for 118 yards with two touchdowns.

"I've never seen him uncomfortable," Gibbs said. "It's an amazing thing about him. He's got that laid-back personality, and from the day he got here. He's never looked like he was feeling pressure or anything."

The Redskins defense, ranked last in the NFC entering the game, also had its first good game. The Panthers were held to 264 total yards, and the much maligned secondary limited Smith to 34 yards on five catches. Safety Sean Taylor made a tackle on fourth down to stop Carolina's next-to-last drive, and he intercepted Jake Delhomme in the end zone on the Panthers' last possession.

"It's just a steppingstone," Taylor said.

Smith gave the Panthers a 13-10 lead with 7:55 to play when he reached high for the ball at the back of the end zone and managed to have both feet hit the ground inches from the white line for an 8-yard touchdown.

The Panthers defense would usually take over from there. Carolina entered having allowed 10 points in two games since its week off, and the Redskins' only touchdown through three quarters Sunday was set up by a blocked punt by rookie Rocky McIntosh.

But Cooley caught the big pass ahead of Chris Gamble and then broke away from Mike Minter. The loss knocked the Panthers out of first place in the NFC South.

"This one stinks -- especially when I didn't make that tackle," Minter said. "He beat his guy -- 100 percent of the time you have to make that tackle."

No one will mistake either team for an offensive juggernaut anytime soon, and the reputations were kept safe in a first half that included nine punts, no touchdowns and only 91 combined yards passing. The punting duel left the Redskins with good field position for much of the half, but they had to settle for two field goal attempts by Nick Novak. He missed from 37 yards, then converted from 42.

The first blocked punt came near the end of the half. Adam Seward got a hand on Derrick Frost's attempt, setting up a 51-yard field goal by John Kasay that gave Carolina a 6-3 lead.

Carolina rookie RB DeAngelo Williams started for DeShaun Foster (elbow) and ran for 63 yards on 17 carries. ... Delhomme (23-for-38 for 168 yards) passed Steve Beuerlein as the Panthers' career leader in completions and yards. He has 1,055 completions for 12,854 yards. ... Redskins S Vernon Fox, starting for Troy Vincent (hamstring), got his first interception since 2002. ... Novak is 5-for-10 in field goal attempts. ... The Panthers are 1-7 against the Redskins, 0-5 in Washington.

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It's going to be a very long week. i can tell. When the panthers lose, nothing else goes right in Carolina. Not anywhere in Carolina. Even non-fans of NFLL football or of Carolina concede this fact. To lose to a store-bought team like Washington especially makes this bad news. There went any hope of a playoff spot. However, we forgive you guys. There's always going to be next season. Just come on home and forget about it. The fireplace is warm ....come on in ans sit a sspell..see you people in the morning.

Company Recalls Turkey and Ham

2006-11-24T20:58:00.002-05:00

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Ohio-based company is recalling 46,941 pounds of turkey and ham products that officials fear could cause listeriosis, a potentially fatal disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday.

HoneyBaked Foods Inc. is voluntarily recalling the meat, which includes cooked, glazed and sliced ham and turkey, USDA said in a statement.

The meat, which was produced between September 5 and November 13, may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which can bring about high fever, headaches, neck stiffness and nausea, USDA said.

Healthy individuals are not usually susceptible to the illness, but it can cause infections to infants, the elderly, or people with HIV or cancer. It can also cause miscarriages.

The meat was sold at the company's retail stores and kiosks around Toledo, Ohio, and to customers across the country over the Internet and through the company's catalog.

USDA said it considered the situation a high risk to human health, but it has not received any reports so far of illness related to the meat products.

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Yikes, just what I needed to hear after all I ate yesterday! Just don't buy their brand, I always say. However, it seems we have had a real rash of tainted food in the last few months. A whole lot of tainted food. Maybe I should just not eat? Or maybe just not go shopping? It;s Black Friday, folks. Get out your plastic and consume mass quantities.

Hollywood Celebrities Serve Meals To The Homeless

2006-11-23T15:24:00.000-05:00

Celebrities Serve Meals to L.A. Homeless

LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Spartacus" star Kirk Douglas, who turns 90 next month, joined volunteers on Thanksgiving eve to dish up turkey feasts to thousands of street denizens outside the Los Angeles Mission.

Tony Danza, Minnie Driver, Kevin Nealon, Sally Kirkland, Jason Ritter, Judy Tenuta and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were among those on hand Wednesday to help Douglas and his wife, Anne, deliver holiday cheer to the homeless and the less fortunate.

"I'm in the position of such fortune in my life, and as far as I can see, it's not very many steps away from being homeless," Driver said as she helped dish out food.

Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls and pumpkin pie were on the menu for the four-hour 5th Street event held in the heart of downtown's Skid Row. More than 3,000 people were expected to be served.

The Los Angeles Mission Community Clinic also provided foot care and medical exams.

"It's a wonderful party," said Mission President Herbert Smith.

At the nearby Fred Jordan Mission, volunteers were expected to serve about 2,000 Thanksgiving meals to the homeless.

The Los Angeles Mission is home to the Anne Douglas Center for Women, which was created more than a decade ago. In June, the Douglases were on hand when 10 computers were donated to the center. City National Bank, Nestle and mission staff contributed to the purchase.

The computers are used by former homeless women for job training.

"It's a pleasure to have them here," Smith said of Kirk and Anne Douglas. "They have been wonderful supporters of the mission for years."

The Los Angeles Mission has served Skid Row for more than a half-century, providing emergency services such as shelter, food, clothing and medical services. The mission also offers long-term residential rehabilitation programs, including job training, placement and counseling.

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Thank you fellas. I needed something like this to restore my faith in my fellow human beings. Happy Thanksgiving, all.

Thanksgiving Travelers

2006-11-22T10:17:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON - Today is the day when the Thanksgiving holiday travel begins in earnest. AAA says 38.3 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home, an increase of nearly three percent from last year.

And despite increasing prices for hotel rooms, rental cars and airfares, AAA expects airports and highways will be busier than ever.

Nearly 32 million travelers will be on the roads. They'll pay an average of $2.23 for a gallon of gas, about nine cents cheaper than a year ago.

AAA expects nearly five million people to travel by airplane, and almost two million by train, bus or another mode of transportation
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Wherever you go, however you get there, BE CAREFUL. You are someone's loved one and we don't want anything to happen to you. Have a warm and loving Thanksgiving with lots of good things to eat and all of your loved ones right there with you. Let there be the beginnings of peace throughout our troubled world. Let greed be put aside for love of one's fellow human beings. Just for once let us think of others before we think of ourselves. Be at peace with all who have wronged us and with those whom we have wronged. Be thankful for our lives as they are; as we have caused them to be. Have care that we do not deny ourselves the wonder of the love of our own existence; the curiosity of who we are and how we got here. The joy of life's movement.

Happy Thanksgiving
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Por todas partes donde van, no obstante hay, TENGAN CUIDADO.
Son algún uno les gustó uno y no queremos llegar nada ustedes. Tenga
un calor y a el Thanksgiving afectuoso con un buen número de buenas
cosas que deben comerse y todo el vuestro le gustaron los bien allí
con ustedes. Dejado haya los principios de la paz en todo nuestro
mundo preocupado. Deje la avaricia dejarse de lado para el amor de sus
seres humanos de camarada. Exactamente para una vez dejan piensan
otros antes de que pensáramos a nosotros mismos. Esté a la paz con
todos lo que los hicieron de la culpa y con los que hicimos la culpa.
Esté agradecido durante nuestras vidas ya que son; como los hicimos
ser. Tenga un cuidado que nosotros mismos no rechazamos a la maravilla
del amor de nuestra propia existencia; la curiosidad de quien somos y
cómo obtuvimos aquí. La alegría del movimiento de la vida.

Thanksgiving feliz

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Partout où vous allez, toutefois vous y arrivez, FASSE ATTENTION.
Vous êtes quelqu'un avez aimé un et nous ne voulons rien arriver à
vous. Ayez un chaud et le Thanksgiving affectueux avec un bon nombre de
bonnes choses à manger et tout le votre a aimé ceux bien là avec
vous. Laissé il y ait les commencements de la paix dans tout notre
monde préoccupé. Laissez l'avarice être mis de côté pour l'amour
de ses êtres humains de camarade. Juste pour une fois laissez-nous
pensent à d'autres avant que nous pensions à nous-mêmes. Soyez à
la paix avec tous ce qui nous ont faits du tort et avec ceux que nous
avons faits du tort. Soyez reconnaissant pendant nos vies car ils sont
; comme nous les avons faits être. Ayez un soin que nous ne refusons
pas nous-mêmes à la merveille de l'amour de notre propre existence ;
la curiosité de qui nous sommes et comment nous avons obtenu ici. La
joie du mouvement de la vie.

Thanksgiving heureux

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Wohin Sie gehen, gleichwohl Sie dort erhalten, GEBEN acht. Sie sind
jemand liebten ein und wir wünschen nicht nichts, Ihnen zu geschehen.
Haben Sie ein warmes und liebendes Thanksgiving mit Losen guten Sachen
zum zu essen und den ganzen Ihr liebte eine nach rechts dort mit
Ihnen. Gelassen gibt es die Anfänge des Friedens während unserer
gestörten Welt. Lassen Sie Habsucht für Liebe irgendjemandes
Mitmenschen beiseite gesetzt werden. Gerade für einmal lassen Sie uns
denken an andere, bevor wir an uns selbst denken. Seien Sie am Frieden
mit allen, die uns geschadet haben und mit denen, denen wir geschadet
haben. Seien Sie für unsere Leben dankbar, da sie sind; wie wir sie
veranlassen haben zu sein. Haben Sie Obacht, die nicht wir selbst dem
Wunder der Liebe unseres eigenen Bestehens verweigern; die Neugier von
wem wir sind und wie wir hier erhielten. Die Freude an der Bewegung
des Lebens.

Glückliches Thanksgiving
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Kie ajn vi iras, tamen vi alven, ESTI ZORGEMA. Vi estas ies amato kaj ni ne dezir io al fariĝ al vi. Havas varmetan kaj am Dankado kun multaj bonaj aferoj manĝi kaj la tutaj viaj amatoj prav tie kun vi. Las tie esti la komencaĵoj de paco tra la tuta nia ĝenata mondo. Las avareco esti flankenmet por amo al onies samrangulo homoj. ĉifoje se ne plu ni ..u pripensas aliulojn antaŭ nin pripensas nin. Esti paca kun ĉiuj kiuj(n) havas ofenditan nin kaj kun tiuj, kiujn ni havas ofenditan. Esti danka por niaj vivoj kiel ili estas; kiel ni havas kaŭz ili esti. Havas prizorgon ke ni ne malhavigi (al) ni la scivol de la amo la propra ekzisto; la scivoleco de kiuj(n) ni estas kaj kiel ni akiris tie ĉi. La ĝojo de viva movado.

Feliĉa Dankado

Film Director Robert Altman Dead At 81

2006-11-21T15:22:00.000-05:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Robert Altman, the caustic and irreverent satirist behind "M*A*S*H," "Nashville" and "The Player" who made a career out of bucking Hollywood, has died at 81. The director died Monday night at a Los Angeles Hospital, Joshua Astrachan, a producer at Altman's Sandcastle 5 Productions in New York City, told The Associated Press.

The cause of death wasn't disclosed. A news release was expected later in the day, Astrachan said.

A five-time Academy Award nominee for best director, most recently for 2001's "Gosford Park," he finally won a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2006.

"No other filmmaker has gotten a better shake than I have," Altman said while accepting the award. "I'm very fortunate in my career. I've never had to direct a film I didn't choose or develop. My love for filmmaking has given me an entree to the world and to the human condition."

Garrison Keillor, who starred in Altman's last movie - this year's "A Prairie Home Companion" - said Tuesday that Altman's love of film clearly came through on the set.

"Mr. Altman loved making movies. He loved the chaos of shooting and the sociability of the crew and actors - he adored actors - and he loved the editing room and he especially loved sitting in a screening room and watching the thing over and over with other people," Keillor said in a statement to The Associated Press. "He didn't care for the money end of things, he didn't mind doing publicity, but when he was working he was in heaven."

Elliot Gould, who starred in "M-A-S-H," said Altman's legacy would "nuture and inspire filmmakers and artists for generations to come."

"He was the last great American director in the tradition of John Ford," Gould said. "He was my friend and I'll always be grateful to him for the experience and opportunities he gave me."

Altman had one of the most distinctive styles among modern filmmakers. He often employed huge ensemble casts, encouraged improvisation and overlapping dialogue and filmed scenes in long tracking shots that would flit from character to character.

Perpetually in and out of favor with audiences and critics, Altman worked ceaselessly since his anti-war black comedy "M-A-S-H" established his reputation in 1970, but he would go for years at a time directing obscure movies before roaring back with a hit.

After a string of commercial duds including "The Gingerbread Man" in 1998, "Cookie's Fortune" in 1999 and "Dr. T & the Women" in 2000, Altman took his all-American cynicism to Britain for 2001's "Gosford Park."

A combination murder-mystery and class-war satire set among snobbish socialites and their servants on an English estate in the 1930s, "Gosford Park" was Altman's biggest box-office success since "M-A-S-H."

Besides best-director, "Gosford Park" earned six other Oscar nominations, including best picture and best supporting actress for both Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith. It won the original-screenplay Oscar, and Altman took the best-director prize at the Golden Globes for "Gosford Park."

Altman's other best-director Oscar nominations came for "M-A-S-H," the country music saga "Nashville" from 1975, the movie-business satire "The Player" from 1992 and the ensemble character study "Short Cuts" from 1993. He also earned a best-picture nomination as producer of "Nashville."

No director ever got more best-director nominations without winning a regular Oscar, though four other men - Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Clarence Brown and King Vidor - tied with Altman at five.

In May, Altman brought out "A Prairie Home Companion," with Keillor starring as the announcer of a folksy musical show - with the same name as Keillor's own long-running show - about to be shut down by new owners. Among those in the cast were Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Kline, Woody Harrelson and Tommy Lee Jones.

"This film is about death," Altman said at a May 3 news conference in St. Paul, Minn., also attended by Keillor and many of the movie's stars.

He often took on Hollywood genres with a revisionist's eye, de-romanticizing the Western hero in 1971's "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and 1976's "Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson," the film-noir gumshoe in 1973's "The Long Goodbye" and outlaw gangsters in "Thieves Like Us."

"M-A-S-H" was Altman's first big success after years of directing television, commercials, industrial films and generally unremarkable feature films. The film starring Donald Sutherland and Gould was set during the Korean War but was Altman's thinly veiled attack on U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

"That was my intention entirely. If you look at that film, there's no mention of what war it is," Altman said in an Associated Press interview in 2001, adding that the studio made him put a disclaimer at the beginning to identify the setting as Korea.

"Our mandate was bad taste. If anybody had a joke in the worst taste, it had a better chance of getting into the film, because nothing was in worse taste than that war itself," Altman said.

The film spawned the long-running TV sitcom starring Alan Alda, a show Altman would refer to with distaste as "that series." Unlike the social message of the film, the series was prompted by greed, Altman said.

"They made millions and millions of dollars by bringing an Asian war into Americans' homes every Sunday night," Altman said in 2001. "I thought that was the worst taste."

Altman never minced words about reproaching Hollywood. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he said Hollywood served as a source of inspiration for the terrorists by making violent action movies that amounted to training films for such attacks.

"Nobody would have thought to commit an atrocity like that unless they'd seen it in a movie," Altman said.

Altman was written off repeatedly by the Hollywood establishment, and his reputation for arrogance and hard drinking - a habit he eventually gave up - hindered his efforts to raise money for his idiosyncratic films.

While critical of studio executives, Altman held actors in the highest esteem. He joked that on "Gosford Park," he was there mainly to turn the lights on and off for the performers.

The respect was mutual. Top-name actors would clamor for even bit parts in his films. Altman generally worked on shoestring budgets, yet he continually landed marquee performers who signed on for a fraction of their normal salaries.

After the mid-1970s, the quality of Altman's films became increasingly erratic. His 1980 musical "Popeye," with Robin Williams, was trashed by critics, and Altman took some time off from film.

He directed the Broadway production of "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean," following it with a movie adaptation in 1982. Altman went back and forth from TV to theatrical films over the next decade, but even when his films earned critical praise, such as 1990's "Vincent & Theo," they remained largely unseen.

"The Player" and "Short Cuts" re-established Altman's reputation and commercial viability. But other 1990s films - including his fashion-industry farce "Ready to Wear" and "Kansas City," his reverie on the 1930s jazz and gangster scene of his hometown - fell flat.

Born Feb. 20, 1925, Altman hung out in his teen years at the jazz clubs of Kansas City, Mo., where his father was an insurance salesman.

Altman was a bomber pilot in World War II and studied engineering at the University of Missouri in Columbia before taking a job making industrial films in Kansas City. He moved into feature films with "The Delinquents" in 1957, then worked largely in television through the mid-1960s, directing episodes of such series as "Bonanza" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."

Altman and his wife, Kathryn, had two sons, Robert and Matthew, and he had a daughter, Christine, and two other sons, Michael and Stephen, from two previous marriages.

When he received his honorary Oscar in 2006, Altman revealed he had a heart transplant a decade earlier.

"I didn't make a big secret out of it, but I thought nobody would hire me again," he said after the ceremony. "You know, there's such a stigma about heart transplants, and there's a lot of us out there."

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An era has passed. Robert Altman is quite possibly the greatest and most successful film director of our time. How many Hollywood stars owe their twinkle to Mr Altman? Countless. Ask Alan Alda, for instance. Without the M*A*S*H TV series, Alda would not be the prominent Holloywood fixture he now is. A very large chunk of Americana has died and there is no one to replace him.

Michael "Kramer" Richards Makes Racial Slur in Comedy Club Act

2006-11-20T22:23:00.000-05:00

LOS ANGELES - Michael Richards said Monday he spewed racial epithets during a stand-up comedy routine because he lost his cool while being heckled and not because he’s a bigot.

“For me to be at a comedy club and flip out and say this crap, I’m deeply, deeply sorry,” the former “Seinfeld” co-star said during a satellite appearance for David Letterman’s “Late Show.”

“I’m not a racist. That’s what’s so insane about this,” Richards said, his tone becoming angry and frustrated as he defended himself. A clip from the show played on CBS before “Late Show” aired Monday night.

Richards described himself as going into “a rage” over the two audience members who interrupted his act Friday at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. Richards responded to the black hecklers with repeated use of the “n word” and profanities.

Jerry Seinfeld, who had issued a statement saying he was “sick over this horrible, horrible mistake” and calling it offensive, was scheduled as a Letterman guest Monday. He encouraged Richards to make a satellite appearance to talk about the incident, a CBS publicist said.

Richards, 57, who played Seinfeld’s eccentric neighbor Kramer on the hit 1989-98 sitcom and whose major credit since was a failed 2000 comedy, hadn’t spoken publicly about his remarks before “Late Show.” Calls to his representatives were not returned Monday.

His on-stage remarks were condemned by industry colleagues.

Comedian Paul Rodriguez, who was at the Laugh Factory during Richards’ performance, said he was shocked.

“Once the word comes out of your mouth and you don’t happen to be African-American, then you have a whole lot of explaining,” Rodriguez told CNN. “Freedom of speech has its limitations and I think Michael Richards found those limitations.”

Shocking remarks
His Laugh Factory tirade began after the two clubgoers shouted at him that he wasn’t funny. A videotape of the incident was posted on TMZ.com.

Richards retorted: “Shut up! Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a f------ fork up your a--.”

He then paced across the stage taunting the men for interrupting his show, peppering his speech with racial slurs and profanities.

“You can talk, you can talk, you’re brave now mother------. Throw his a-- out. He’s a n-----!” Richards shouts before repeating the racial epithet over and over again.

Moderating his tone at one point, Richards tells the audience, “It shocks you, it shocks you” and refers to “what lays buried.”

While there is some chuckling in the audience throughout the outburst, someone can be heard gasping “Oh my God” and people respond with “ooh” after Richards uses the n-word.

Eventually someone calls out: “It’s not funny. That’s why you’re a reject, never had no shows, never had no movies. ‘Seinfeld,’ that’s it.”

On Monday, about a half-dozen community activists gathered at the club to denounce Richards’ remarks and demand an apology.

“These kind of comments hurt all of us,” said protester Lita Sister Herron of the Youth Advocacy Coalition. She called Richards’ comments hate speech.

Club owner expresses remorse
The protesters also demanded an apology from the Laugh Factory. At a news conference a short time later, club owner Jamie Masada expressed remorse and said Richards will not be back at the club until he says he’s sorry.

“This is one thing we don’t tolerate. ... I personally apologize. I apologize from my heart,” Masada said Monday.

Richards did appear at the club Saturday, without incident, but that was because he had told the club he intended to apologize, according to a Laugh Factory statement Monday.

Rodriguez, also at the news conference, said: “I kept expecting a punch line. It didn’t come.”

Veteran publicist Michael Levine, whose clients have included comedians George Carlin, Sam Kinison and Rodney Dangerfield, called Richards’ remarks inexcusable. Comics often face hecklers without losing their cool, he said.

“It’s never seen anything like this is my life,” Levine said Monday. “I think it’s a career ruiner for him. ... It’s going to be a long road back for him, if at all.”

Daryl Pitts, a Laugh Factory audience member interviewed by CNN, compared the incident to another recent celebrity controversy.

“You think about Mel Gibson and what he said, and put that in the context of this, it’s very upsetting,” Pitts said, referring to Gibson’s anti-Semitic outburst during his arrest for drunken driving.

Scrutiny of Richards’ remarks likely will continue but won’t match the level prompted by Gibson’s behavior because Richards is far less famous, Levine said.

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Just what am I supposed to say? Michael Richards really let loose with the "Mel Gibsonisms", didn't he? I find racism appalling and as I have boycotted all of Mel Gibson's movies and refused to buy or rent any of his DVDs for the very same reason, (Gibson's a self-confessed BIGOT). All I have to say is I will not go to any of his shows again and I will not watch any movie, TV show, or otherwise unless he apologizes publicly to his fans. No more "Seinfeld" reruns for me until he does. If you'd like to see a video clip of just what Richards said, click on the Title of this blog and it will take you to the MSNBC site where you can view and judge for yourself. Michael, Michael, what were you thinking?

Good Guys DO Finish First in NASCAR

2006-11-20T01:26:00.000-05:00

Jimmie Johnson Wins NASCAR's NEXTEL CUP

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson's California cool turned to euphoria when he won the Daytona 500. At Indianapolis, his emotions were overwhelmed again after a win he never expected.

Still, Johnson had won races before.

A first NASCAR championship? For the driver who had everything but, nothing could have come as a bigger relief.

"It's going to take a little bit of time for this to soak in, just to think what this team has accomplished and the year we've had," Johnson said. "Being a champion, it's the only thing I ever wanted to be."

He finally got his wish Sunday, wrapping up an overdue Nextel Cup title with his ninth-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It sealed his championship by 56 points over Matt Kenseth, who finished the race ahead of Johnson, in sixth.

Greg Biffle won the Ford 400 for the third straight season, beating rookies Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin to the finish line. Kasey Kahne was fourth and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five.

Juan Pablo Montoya, making the first Nextel Cup start of his budding NASCAR career, ran as high as 13th, but his race ended in a fiery wreck 16 laps from the finish.

When this Chase got rolling 10 weeks ago, few thought Johnson would win it. The most dominant driver of the regular season had wrecked out of the first Chase race, dropped to ninth in the standings and knew he'd need a furious rally.

"I think we knew in our hearts we could do it all along, we just got into some bad luck at the beginning," Johnson said. "That's what let us get the momentum, let us sleep well at night, is because we knew this team was capable of winning a championship. We just had to have some good luck."

But even with a little luck, it still looked bleak: He was 165 points out after the third Chase race.

That's when Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports crew turned it up a notch, reeling off five straight wins of second or better. It moved them back on top of the leaderboard -- where they spent 22 of 26 weeks of the regular season -- and sent them into Homestead poised to win the title.

He didn't need to be perfect to do it, either. To lock this one up, Johnson needed only to finish 12th or better.

Sounds easy enough. But in typical Johnson fashion, it was anything but.

Flying debris ripped a hole in the grill of the No. 48 Chevrolet a mere 15 laps into the race, then his team couldn't find the tape to patch it. He almost pulled out of his pit with a loose lug nut, but crew chief Chad Knaus noticed it and frantically stopped Johnson from pulling away.

Then he had to avoid Robby Gordon's spinning car.

"We've been ducking them all day," Knaus sighed after Johnson scooted past Gordon.

But on Sunday, the little things that sunk Johnson in the past turned out to be mere annoyances. Johnson was twice a championship runner-up, and a cut tire caused him to fall to fifth in last season's bid.

"I knew we had a good team. I knew we'd be able to do things right. But you just can't control the outside variables," Johnson said. "Today I was around three or four wrecks and had a piece of debris go through the front of the race car, which we had to fix on pit road.

"There was a lot of crazy stuff going on, and luckily we missed all those problems."

The race was delayed nearly eight minutes to clean the track after Montoya's wreck, briefly postponing Johnson's long-awaited celebration. But with the title right in front of him, he wasn't too worried -- he'd worked all that out of his system long before the race even began.

"Once I fired the car off, I was in my element and my place to be, and things really mellowed out for me," Johnson said. "My mind really played games with me in the hours leading up to the race."

How he stayed calm -- considering all his issues -- is a mystery.

When caution came out with 62 laps to go, Knaus wanted to change all four tires and stretch it to the end. But Johnson wasn't convinced, and demanded his crew copy whatever Kenseth did.

With his spotter keeping a close eye on Kenseth, who took only two tires, Knaus quickly adjusted and ordered the same service. It put Johnson in ninth place on the restart with 58 laps to go, but a stack of traffic behind him on four fresh tires.

"Drive it like you stole it, homie," Knaus encouraged him.

Johnson held his position, then copied Kenseth again on a final round of pit stops. Kenseth was in fifth and Johnson was in sixth on the re-start with 16 laps to go, and it would take only a catastrophe at that point to deny Johnson the title.

But two late cautions -- Montoya's wreck, followed by good buddy Casey Mears blowing an engine -- again prolonged the celebration.

Finally, the race was restarted for a two-lap shootout to the end.

"It was such a long day to get here," he said in Victory Lane. "There were times when we were down and out, and in the back, and had to come back through. This just means the world to me, it's the most amazing day of my life."

Jeff Gordon, the four-time series champion who befriended Johnson and convinced car owner Rick Hendrick to give his new protege a ride, celebrated on the cool-down lap by bumping into the side of Johnson's car.

"I don't like to take much of the credit because Jimmie is a heck of a race car driver," Gordon said. "Somebody was going to pick him up, and I'm just really thankful that the opportunity presented itself to us. I think he'll be one of the best champions we've ever had because he cares so much about it."

Knaus received a celebratory hug from Hendrick, who won his sixth championship as a car owner, and another from Ray Evernham, the championship crew chief turned rival car owner who taught Knaus much of what he knows.

"This team has really come into its own over the last year," Knaus said. "I just couldn't be prouder. We had to battle back from a lot of weird stuff this year, and they held strong."

It started with the season-opening Daytona 500, when Knaus was caught cheating in race preparations. He was sent home and forced to watch Johnson win the biggest race of the season on TV. And he was still at home, finishing up his four-race suspension, when Johnson scored his dramatic win in Las Vegas.

They finally reunited in late March, but needed five more races to make it to Victory Lane together. They did it in Talladega, conquering a track that had tormented Johnson throughout his career and threatened to tarnish his squeaky-clean image with a series of Johnson-caused accidents.

Then they won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August, giving Johnson same-season victories at NASCAR's two historic venues. It automatically made Johnson the favorite to win the title: Five of the past eight Brickyard champions parlayed their wins into a championship.

Now it's six of nine.

Hamlin finished third in the final Chase standings and was followed by Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Gordon was sixth, Jeff Burton was seventh and Kahne, Mark Martin and Kyle Busch completed the Chase field.

Reigning champion Tony Stewart, who failed to make the Chase but won three of its races, finished 15th Sunday and finished 11th in the standings to earn the $1 million payout.

Johnson earned $6.2 million in race winnings, but his payday doesn't end there -- the final prize money is announced Dec. 1 at NASCAR's end-of-year banquet in New York City. Last year, Stewart totaled more than $13 million for his title.

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And who, exactly, ever said that good guys don't finish first? Jimmie Johnson is my personal idol in NASCAR. It's so good to see a guy who is so patient with his fans and who really, really deserves this title actually win. Jimmie is a Californian and a super nice guy. Congratulations, Jimmie on a job well done and a championship title more than deserved. Hope Jimmie is back on Letterman soon.

Tom And Katie Exchange Vows In Italy

2006-11-19T02:21:00.000-05:00

Cruise, Holmes Exchange Vows in Italy

Published: 11/19/06, 1:05 AM EDT
By MARIA SANMINIATELLI

BRACCIANO, Italy (AP) - Officially, they got married in Los Angeles, but the spectacle of the wedding between Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes was here, in a 15th-century castle that evoked fairy tales and lit up with red, white and green fireworks for a cheering, celebrity-laden crowd.

There were fireworks inside, too, a "never-ending kiss" between the betrothed after they exchanged vows Saturday. The kiss lasted so long it caused guests to shout "stop, stop!" said Giorgio Armani, who attended the wedding and designed the outfits of the bride, the groom and their baby, Suri.

The ceremony was a lavish apex to perhaps the celebrity world's most closely watched relationship, proclaimed with Cruise's leap on Oprah Winfrey's couch, bestowed with the nickname "TomKat" and raised to a new level seven months ago when Holmes gave birth to their daughter.

The evening wedding was performed by a Scientology minister in front of more than 150 relatives and friends, the couple's publicists said.

Oil-fed torches and tiny candles flickered from the battlements and windows of the Odescalchi castle in this lakeside town as the couple and guests gathered for the ceremony in the town about 45 kilometers (27 miles) northwest of Rome. Suri, dressed in white, arrived in her mother's arms.

The wedding party included Cruise's two children, Isabella and Connor, from the superstar actor's previous marriage to Nicole Kidman, the publicists said in a statement. The best man was Cruise's best friend David Miscavige and the matron of honor was Holmes' sister Nancy Blaylock.

Holmes wore a black dress and boots before she changed into Armani's off-the-shoulder ivory silk gown. Her father, Martin Holmes, walked her down the aisle and she carried a bouquet of flowers made by Armani including calla lilies.

Cruise, who sported dark shades and waved to fans as he rode through the castle gates in a van, wore a single breasted navy blue Armani handmade suit for the wedding, with an ivory silk French collar shirt of the same fabric as the bride's gown.

Armani told The Associated Pre

Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson File For Divorce

2006-11-19T02:14:00.000-05:00

Chris Robinson to Divorce Kate Hudson

Published: 11/18/06, 1:25 AM E

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rocker Chris Robinson filed for divorce from Kate Hudson on Friday, citing irreconcilable differences. The 39-year-old frontman for the Black Crowes has been married to the 27-year-old actress for nearly six years. They announced their separation in August.

According to the Superior Court filing, Robinson is seeking shared custody of the couple's son, Ryder Russell Robinson, who will turn 3 in January.

Hudson, daughter of Goldie Hawn, was nominated for a supporting-actress Oscar for her role as rock groupie Penny Lane in 2000's "Almost Famous." Other screen credits include "You, Me and Dupree" and "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."

A call to Hudson representative Brad Cafarelli for comment after business hours Friday was not immediately returned.

Robinson's band formed in 1990 and released its first CD, "Shake Your Money Maker," that year.

Its hits include "Hard to Handle" and "She Talks to Angels."

Shooting, Other violent Crimes In Playststation 3 Waiting Line

2006-11-17T11:19:00.000-05:00

UTNAM, Conn. (AP) - Two armed thugs tried to rob a line of people waiting for the new Playstation 3 game system to go on sale early Friday and shot a man who refused to give up his money, authorities said.

In other states, customers pushed and shoved their way to the shelves to get at the limited supply, and in Kentucky, four people were grazed by BBs fired from a passing vehicle as they waited for a Best Buy store to open.

The two gunman in Putnam confronted 15 to 20 people standing outside a Wal-Mart store shortly after 3 a.m. and demanded money, said State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance.

"One of the patrons resisted. That patron was shot," Vance said.

He said the two gunmen fled after shooting a 21-year-old Massachusetts man in the chest and shoulder. The victim was taken to University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester. There was no immediate word on his condition.

Vance said police were searching for the suspects, both believed to be in their teens. He said one was wearing a ski mask and brandishing a handgun, and the other had what appeared to be a shotgun.

Aside from the police tape, things had returned to normal by midmorning at the Wal-Mart store in rural Putnam, a town of about 9,000 residents near the Massachusetts and Rhode Island borders.

Short supplies of the PS3 and strong demand led to lines of buyers, some waiting for days, outside stores across the country.

In Palmdale, Calif., authorities shut down a Super Wal-Mart after some shoppers got rowdy late Wednesday. In West Bend, Wis., a 19-year-old man was injured when he ran into a pole racing with 50 others for one of 10 spots outside a Wal-Mart.

In Lexington, Ky., someone fired BB pellets from a passing vehicle at people waiting outside a Best Buy store, according to WKYT, whose own reporter said she was among four people grazed while she interviewed buyers in line.

A Best Buy in Boston, aware it had only 140 of the consoles, got smart about the big sale - its employees gave out tickets to the first 140 people in line so everyone could go home until the store opened.

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Is anyone surprised? Not hardly. Sony bears a whole lot of the responsibility for these shootings and other violence. Sony promised the public that there would be a certain number of PS3's available and then renigged to only a third that number. If the promised units had been supplied, there wouldn't have been anyone in that line at that hour. WalMart should also have known better. No security? With that many people waiting in line to buy? Three words. Irresponsible, Irresponsible, Irresponsible.

They're Bringing Back Mint Julips And "Darkies" Too

2006-11-15T22:03:00.001-05:00

Trent Lott returns to Senate leadership

Mitch McConnell unanimously chosen to be Senate minority leader

BREAKING NEWS
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:23 a.m. PT Nov 15, 2006
WASHINGTON - Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, ousted from the top Senate Republican leadership job four years ago because of remarks considered racially insensitive, won election to the No. 2 post Wednesday for the minority GOP in the next Congress.

Lott returned to the center of power by getting the position of vote-counting GOP whip, nosing out Sen. Lamar Alexander. Sen. Rick Santorum told reporters that Lott beat Alexander by a 25-24 vote.

After an intense evening in which both men lobbied colleagues during floor votes, the Republican caucus elected Lott, a one-time whip and majority leader, by secret ballot. Lott will be the GOP's second-in-command to Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was elected unanimously to be the Senate minority leader in the new Congress.

The campaign

With the midterm elections finished and Santorum, another candidate for the post, failing to win re-election, Lott cast himself as the more experienced candidate and the better choice for a job.

Alexander, of Tennessee, was not new to the art of counting votes among finicky colleagues, any one of whom can use Senate procedural rules to hold up business or kill legislation. A former Cabinet secretary and governor and now a deputy Republican whip, Alexander cast himself as a morale-booster for a demoralized Republican caucus.

Remaining neutral was McConnell, who was uncontested to be the Republican minority leader. He'll replace Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who is retiring from the Senate under a self-imposed term limit and is a potential contender for the GOP presidential nomination in two years.

Dealmaker returns

Lott's victory over Alexander showcases his lobbying and vote-counting skills. Alexander had campaigned for the position for 18 months and the night before was predicting that he would win by as many as 30 votes. But Lott's last-minute lobbying -- by telephone, on the Senate floor, in the hallways -- turned the secret balloting into a comeback.

The win reinstates one of the Senate's best dealmakers, a skill certain to come in handy in a chamber split by one vote - at a time when both parties want legislative accomplishments to tout on the campaign trail in 2008.

Lott relished his duties as majority leader but stepped down in 2002 under pressure over remarks that were interpreted as racially insensitive. He has long hinted at making a comeback bid.

More to come

The GOP whip's race was but one source of suspense in the wake of the midterm balloting, in which war-weary voters stripped President Bush's party of its majority. Congress returned to a lame-duck session to pass a budget, and the Senate was considering Bush's nomination of a new defense secretary.

On Tuesday, Senate Democrats elected their leadership roster.

Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Minority Whip Richard Durbin of Illinois will ascend to majority leader and majority whip, respectively.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., will continue as the chairman of the party's campaign fundraising committee. Schumer also will add vice chairman to his title, making him No. 3 in the leadership and a chief strategist.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington will serve as conference secretary; Debbie Stabenow of Michigan will chair the steering committee; and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota will serve as chairman of the research-focused policy committee.

House Democrats choose their leaders on Thursday; House Republicans elect theirs on Friday.

____________________

Well, I don't know about you, but I am totally disgusted. The Republican Party has somehow managed to NOT learn a lesson from their dreadful defeat in the elections. They seem intent upon a course of political disaster. The Trent Lotts in the party will bring about the demise of what little is left now. This is a slap in the face to good, decent Americans everywhere.

Walk The Line Star In Accident

2006-11-15T00:44:00.001-05:00

Hollywood Film Star In Accident

Hollywood actor Joaquin Phoenix was in a car accident in Los Angeles, but no one was injured, police have announced.

Phoenix, the star of Walk the Line, had been driving on a canyon road mid-afternoon Thursday when he discovered his brakes had stopped working, police spokesperson Jason Lee said, according to the Associated Press.

Lee said Phoenix then lost control of his car, which overturned and hit another vehicle. No police report was filed and there were no reports of injury.

Phoenix had been wearing his seat belt and had been helped out of his car by a passer-by, the actor's publicist, Susan Patricola, later said in a statement.

Despite the accident, the 31-year-old actor will attend Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards gala, where he is nominated for best male actor in a leading role, Patricola told Us Weekly magazin

Phoenix won a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of country music legend Johnny Cash in Walk the Line.

__________________________

I think this mat be an older story, and I hope Joachin is doing great. I actually got to meet his brother River and their father in Idaho back in 1985 or so. I wasn't really a fan of theirs at that time. I believe they were scouting for a movie location. Not sure. Great people, very earthy. Hope he's doing well.

Carolina Panthers Beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2006-11-14T23:27:00.000-05:00

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - After a 15-day layover to stew about their fourth-quarter meltdown against Dallas, the Carolina Panthers came out so flat on offense that the crowd booed them off the field at halftime. Steve Smith was feeling sick, Keyshawn Johnson fumbled, Jake Delhomme threw an interception and punter Jason Baker was awfully busy the rest of the time. In the second half, the bumbling Tampa Bay Buccaneers bailed them out.

Delhomme threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Johnson for the go-ahead score in the third quarter and Julius Peppers had three sacks and recovered a fumble as the Panthers beat the Buccaneers 24-10 on Monday night to end a two-game losing streak.

Smith was seen repeatedly vomiting into a garbage can on the sidelines, once after a long catch early in the second half. But he stayed in the game, catching eight passes for 149 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter that sealed it.

"My little girl was sick," Smith said, "and so, she's a daddy's girl, kissing on me and so - I got the flu. What happens in the house just goes around the parents."

Smith said he fought through the wooziness, because "this is how I feed my family."

Rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski threw two interceptions and lost a fumble for the Buccaneers (2-7), who committed turnovers on four of five possessions in the second and third quarters to blow a 7-0 halftime lead in their third straight loss.

"I'm just sick about the outcome of the game," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. "Carolina is a good football team. We turned the ball over and missed some opportunities to make some big plays."

The Panthers, who had said they couldn't wait to play again after being outscored 25-0 in the final quarter against the Cowboys, managed only three first downs and 98 yards in the first half. Their drives in that half went: punt, fumble, punt, punt, punt, interception.

"The first half we didn't run it well enough, we didn't throw it well enough," Delhomme said. "It was an embarrassment in the first half. Second half we answered. The defense forced turnovers and we made more plays. We did enough things to win in the second half."

Fans, upset with the play-calling and the Panthers inability to run, showed their displeasure early and saved the loudest boos as the Panthers walked off the field at halftime with only three first downs against a team missing three defensive starters to injury, including Simeon Rice.

Carolina scored on four of their first six drives in the second half - but then, the Buccaneers made it easy for the Panthers to come back. Gradkowski's third turnover of the game, a fumble forced by Chris Draft and recovered by Peppers, gave Carolina the ball at the Tampa Bay 44.

Delhomme then found Smith for a 21-yard catch-and-run, setting up Delhomme's 4-yard TD pass to Keyshawn Johnson. It gave Carolina its first lead, 10-7 midway through the third quarter.

Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, held to 44 yards on 15 carries, fumbled on the next possession and Mike Minter recovered at the Tampa Bay 16. Four plays later Brad Hoover's 5-yard touchdown run put Carolina up 17-7.

"I got careless with the ball," Williams said. "I think my turnover created momentum for Carolina."

It marked the eighth time in nine games the Panthers held the lead going into the fourth quarter, unlike on three previous occasions, the Panthers held on with Peppers, who took over the league lead with 11 sacks, making life difficult for Gradkowski.

Coming into the game with only one interception in 186 games, an NFL record for most attempts without two picks, Gradkowski struggled with his accuracy. He overthrew open Joey Galloway for what would have been a touchdown in the first quarter.

"I have to go out there and not try to do to much," said Gradkowski, who became the starter when Chris Simms suffered a ruptured spleen in the first meeting with Carolina. "I feel like I was competing. Sometimes you just try to do too much."

Gradkowski later underthrew two passes near the end zone, resulting in interceptions for Ken Lucas and Shaun Williams. He even bounced a pass off Peppers' helmet and coach Jon Gruden started screaming at him in the first half.

"I think the first series, we had Galloway wide open. You've got to make those plays," Gruden said. "Then we had (Michael) Clayton at the end of the half and we didn't make that play. It's a turnover. We fumbled the ball in successive series to start the second half. That's a big reason why we lost."

Gradkowski, who was 17-of-32 for 173 yards, did take advantage when Ronde Barber ripped the ball away from the ex-Buccaneer Johnson near midfield late in the first quarter. Five plays later Gradkowski tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ike Hilliard.

That was enough to take a halftime lead on the Panthers. The boos started early when offensive coordinator Dan Henning called for a running play on third-and-11 and DeShaun Foster gained only five yards.

By the end, everyone in Carolina - even Smith - was feeling better with the win.

"It means in the second half of the season," Smith said, "we're 1-0."

Notes:@ Smith, who said he wouldn't return punts anymore after fumbling one against Dallas Oct. 29, returned one punt for no gain in the first half. ... Alstott's second quarter reception moved him past Johnson into third place on the Buccaneers' all-time list. ... Besides Rice, Ellis Wyms (ankle) and Shelton Quarles (knee) sat out for the Bucs. ... The Panthers have won seven of the past eight meetings between the teams.

___________________________________________

Yay, Panthers! Yay, Jake! Yay, SS! This is incredible. I LOVE the Panthers! I just had to blog this. Just turned off the TV. Wow! I was down in the dumps 'cause the Giants lost on Sunday to the Chicago Bears. Felt really bad for Eli Manning, because the Giants did so well in the first half against Chicago. This makes up for everything. I will float through the rest of the week. Just got Prayer Warriors in the AM, so no blog posts. This is the blog for November 15, 2006 See ya!

And You Thought Trent Lott Was Gone For Good

2006-11-14T11:06:00.000-05:00

Lott running for whip post

After keeping his plans close to the vest since Election Day, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) formally declared his bid for minority whip on Monday evening.

Lott had refrained from openly discussing his intentions for the whip race even after GOP Conference Chairman Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who was next in line based on seniority, lost his reelection bid last week. Few on Capitol Hill would second-guess Lott’s prowess at backroom maneuvering, and his silence had given way to questions about whether a new feint was in the works.

But Lott spokeswoman Susan Irby confirmed his bid in a statement. "Senator Lott is running for Republican whip. His name will be on the ballot. We are closing in on victory," she said.

Lott was forced to step down as Senate majority leader in 2002 after comments he made at former Sen. Strom Thurmond’s (R-S.C.) birthday party touched off a racially charged controversy and the White House threw its backing to now-Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).

Frist’s fellow Tennessean, Lamar Alexander (R), has already declared his whip bid and continues to make calls lining up support before Wednesday’s leadership elections.

"We feel really good about where we are," Alexander chief of staff Tom Ingram said on Monday, projecting that the conference majority Alexander claimed late last week had grown to "majority-plus."

Ingram acknowledged that the secret ballot of Wednesday’s election means victory will rely on trusting that senators will stick to their public commitments. Still, he expressed confidence in Alexander’s whipping for the whip job, which has seen about 10 senators making calls on his behalf.

One source close to that whip operation said the Alexander camp has Lott’s support in the conference pegged at about a dozen senators.

_________________________________________
Why Is This Man Smiling?

You know, this says much about the Republican party nowdays. Trent Lott is as corrupt and vile a man as ever sat in the Senate, yet the Republican party is actually considering him as Senate Minority Whip. THIS is why the Republicans lost so many voters in this country. It is why they will continue to lose voters until the bitter end. It is why the party must repudiate Trent Lott once and for all.

Tom and Katie Wedding

2006-11-13T15:42:00.000-05:00

Cruise Arrives in Rome Ahead of Wedding

Published: 11/13/06, 12:25 PM EDT

ROME (AP) - Tom Cruise flew into a Rome airport on a private jet Monday, airport officials said, setting off a frenzy among media and fans anticipating the star's high-profile wedding to Katie Holmes.

Cruise arrived at Rome's small Ciampino airport from Los Angeles with about 10 people, including his mother and his three children, airport officials said.

The 44-year-old actor and Holmes, 27, are set to marry in an undisclosed Italian location Saturday. Speculation on the location has focused on Odescalchi Castle on Lake Bracciano, near the capital. The romantic, 15th-century castle, with its halls and gardens, can host up to 1,400 guests.

Local officials and residents remain tightlipped, and Bracciano's mayor has only acknowledged that authorities received a request to clear the square in front of the castle.

Some 100 fans mingled with photographers and camera crews in front of the Hassler, the luxury Rome hotel on top of the Spanish Steps where Cruise was said by airport officials to be staying. An employee at the hotel's front desk, who refused to give her name, denied that Cruise was staying there.

Traffic police managed the crowd at the Hassler and bodyguards stood at the ready next to limousines parked in front of the hotel.

Holmes and Cruise became engaged in June 2005. Their daughter, Suri, was born April 18.

Cruise, has two children, 13-year-old Isabella, and 11-year-old Connor, from his marriage to Nicole Kidman. Kidman and Tom Cruise divorced in 2001 after 10 years of marriage.

Holmes, who starred in TV's "Dawson's Creek," had been engaged to Chris Klein. Cruise was also previously married to Mimi Rogers, and had a high-profile romance with Penelope Cruz.

__________________________

Well, I guess this proves Tom is 100% heterosexual. I wish them both luck. They make a very fine looking couple. I wonder if Suri will be at the wedding?

David Geffen's New Boytoy?

2006-11-13T03:07:00.000-05:00

Is Seann William Scott David Geffen's Billionaire Boy Candy?
Nestled deeply in the "Surveillance" section of today's Rush & Molloy column in the NY Daily News comes this item regarding Seann William Scott, star of such upcoming entertainments as Coxblocker and Mr. Woodcock, tripping the gay light fantastic with none other than Carbon Beach land baron, David Geffen:

Sean William Scott turned heads when he showed up at Los Angeles gay bar Heat on the arm of David Geffen ...
-------------------------------

I've always wondered about Seann. I mean, you never read anything in any Hollywood rag about him showing up with girls, though up until now, I never heard anything about him being gay, either. I suppose only David and Seann know for sure.

Sex In Space?

2006-11-11T16:15:00.000-05:00

Sex in Space
November 11th, 2006

As some avid campaigners say, ‘life begins at conception’. And except for a few farm yard animals, this means sex. The book ‘Sex in Space’, by Laura Woodmansee, moves this sensitive topic into a place without appreciable gravity and provides some weighty thoughts. For, of course, it was sex that brought us into this world and it may be a significant reason for our departure.

Sex in Space by Laura S. Woodmansee

Many young adults take frivolous ‘tests’ that assign numerical ranks for variations in sexual encounters. Books have been written that describe, in great detail, hundreds of coupling positions. The fact that well over six billion people now cover our Earth’s globe gives testament to the success of our method of procreation. Yet, for all we know, all of humanity’s sexual encounters have occurred on Earth. This isn’t necessarily a perpetual restriction.Woodmansee acknowledges early in her book that talking about sex raises most people’s emotions. In anticipation, she prepares the reader by being as straightforward and factual as possible in the early going. Effectively this means telling about opportunity and desirability that has or might have already occurred. With hundreds of people having been in space, many for long durations, this makes for interesting reading and speculation.

But this book isn’t all tabloid, though there is some resemblance in the early going. The next section in the book considers the physicist’s approach to sex. This is the ol’ action-reaction issue. This section is likely the cause of the note on the book’s cover which reads “Warning: Contains explicit content that may be unsuitable for young readers”. Suffice it to say that pictures of Barbarella and Buck dolls, together with some interesting rubber constraints, add some novel images. With this, the book concludes the more sensational side of its contents.

After these sections, the book pursues more ‘hard science’ issues with respect to sex. It touches on radiation effects for the mature adult and new conceptions. Also inside is the psychological issues about single-sexed or mixed crews on multi-year missions, such as to Mars. Most of these topics aren’t new, however, Woodmansee tackles them mainly from the viewpoint of sex, which is original. Her writing style with this information is similar to a dry technical paper where particular topics are enlarged upon.

The book’s final sections associate sex with the potential space tourism industry. There’s design thoughts for space bedrooms and space hotels. These point at an underlying perception that sex in space is somehow different. Yet, perhaps unknowingly, Woodmansee shows that sex is as natural as humans and the location doesn’t change the action, much. Further, people have a strong sexual drive that shouldn’t and really can’t be ignored. Rather, sex, such as with space tourism, may actually be a benefit to the space industry.

With the book considering both the ‘giggle factor’ and some hard science, these two usually disparate considerations get joined. It acknowledges the sensuous nature of humans, together with the harshness and unnatural attributes of the space environment. By bringing these together into one book, Woodmansee may be able to bridge gaps amongst people of various backgrounds, whether softening some of the hard science types or bestowing information to the more sensual. Other than this, little is new in this book. The technical stances are well known and the coupling descriptions would likely to come to anyone with a bit of imagination. Yet, putting a copy of this book on the edge of the office desk could spark some lively and worthwhile conversation to help continue our species into space.

Where would we be without sex? Evolution would decidedly have come to an end for us. Yet we are amazing creatures, as Laura Woodmansee shows in her book “Sex in Space”. Whether travelling on a multi-year mission to Mars or a quick jaunt into low-earth orbit, she shows sex is a consideration for the future.

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Well, well, well, some good news for a change. You know, maybe sex is even good for ending wars and nasty divorces..Just Kidding...

Screenstar Jack Palance Has Died

2006-11-10T21:48:00.000-05:00

Associated Press
Actor Jack Palance Dies in California

Jack Palance, the craggy-faced menace in "Shane," "Sudden Fear" and other films who turned to comedy at 70 with his Oscar-winning self-parody in "City Slickers," died Friday.

Palance died of natural causes at his home in Montecito, Calif., surrounded by family, said spokesman Dick Guttman. He was 85, according to Associated Press records, but his family gave his age as 87.

When Palance accepted his Oscar for best supporting actor he delighted viewers of the 1992 Academy Awards by dropping to the stage and performing one-armed push-ups to demonstrate his physical prowess.

"That's nothing, really," he said slyly. "As far as two-handed push-ups, you can do that all night, and it doesn't make a difference whether she's there or not."

That year's Oscar host, Billy Crystal, turned the moment into a running joke, making increasingly outlandish remarks about Palance's accomplishments throughout the show.

It was a magic moment that epitomized the actor's 40 years in films. Always the iconoclast, Palance had scorned most of his movie roles.

"Most of the stuff I do is garbage," he once told a reporter, adding that most of the directors he worked with were incompetent, too.

"Most of them shouldn't even be directing traffic," he said.

Movie audiences, though, were electrified by the actor's chiseled face, hulking presence and the calm, low voice that made his screen presence all the more intimidating.

His film debut came in 1950, playing a murderer named Blackie in "Panic in the Streets."

After a war picture, "Halls of Montezuma," he portrayed the ardent lover who stalks the terrified Joan Crawford in 1952's "Sudden Fear." The role earned him his first Academy Award nomination for supporting actor.

The following year brought his second nomination when he portrayed Jack Wilson, the swaggering gunslinger who bullies peace-loving Alan Ladd into a barroom duel in the Western classic "Shane."

That role cemented Palance's reputation as Hollywood's favorite menace, and he went on to appear in such films as "Arrowhead" (as a renegade Apache (nyse: APA - news - people )), "Man in the Attic" (as Jack the Ripper), "Sign of the Pagan" (as Attila the Hun) and "The Silver Chalice" (as a fictional challenger to Jesus).

Other prominent films included "Kiss of Fire," "The Big Knife," "I Died a Thousand Deaths," "Attack!" "The Lonely Man" and "House of Numbers."

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Goodbye, Mr. Palance. Rest assured you and your work will be remembered for generations to come. Jack was perhaps the most famous major character actor and leading man ever to grace the filmlot. I don't beleieve I have ever heard any other actor or director say a bad word about Jack palance.Goodnight sweet prince. Your rest is earned. My best wishes to your family.

Will Michael Jackson's Return Be A "Freakshow"?

2006-11-10T11:01:00.000-05:00

Will Michael Jackson's comeback performance become a “freak show”?

That's what some worried when the singer announced that he will perform next week at the World Music Awards in London next week.

Jacko has told organizers he is planning to do a live recreation of the graveyard scene from his “Thriller” video to close out the show — his first performance since his messy child abuse case last year.

He was acquitted of those charges, but the trial had dire consequences for his career. He has appeared publicly only one time since the trial, at the MTV Video Music Awards in Tokyo, but has spent most of his time in seclusion in Bahrain and, more recently, in Ireland, where he’s said to be working on his comeback CD.

“He looks dreadful and hasn’t performed for years — I fear it’s going to be a humiliating freak show which he will regret,” a commentator wrote in the London Sun.

Jackson is scheduled to start rehearsals early next week, but some music industry insiders are betting that rehearsals won't go well and Jackson will come down with a case of that old standby — “dehydration."
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Know I have to say about this tidbit? Who will care? Michael Jackson's career has been destroyed. Even if he wasn't guilty of any of the charges the authorities brought against him (and, in his defense,I really think he might be)he will never be cleared by public opinion. You know, the backyard fence mentality thing. There will always be at least doubt. Too bad, because Jacko was a major talent. I wish him luck on the comeback trail.

Daniel Baldwin Arrested

2006-11-09T13:49:00.000-05:00

One of the Baldwin Brothers Charged With Stealing Car

It seems one of the Baldwin brothers has had a lot of bad luck when it comes to cops and alleged drug use.

No, not Stephen Baldwin, that world-saving Jesus freak.

No, not Alec Baldwin, that talented, but incorrigible, pompous ass and occasional Saddam Hussein-esque tyrant.

No, not William Baldwin, the lesser-known but moderately successful actor who pretended to have sex on film with Cindy Crawford and Sharon Stone.

We’re talking about Daniel Baldwin. Yes, apparently there is a Daniel Baldwin. You learn something every day in this line of work.

Law enforcement sources arrested Daniel Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., after he allegedly stole a car. The owner of the vehicle called OnStar, reporting it car stolen, and a rep from OnStar in turn called the Santa Monica P.D. to report the theft.

Cops found the car at a local motel and saw Baldwin getting inside the vehicle.

A disheveled Baldwin was taken into custody for grand theft auto. Officers conducted a search of the motel room where Baldwin was staying and found narcotics and paraphernalia. He was booked on charges of possessing illegal drugs before being sprung on $20,000 bail. Pete Doherty smiled from afar.

Man, looks like Tom Cruise isn’t the only guy Stephen Baldwin needs to save. This is the second time Baldwin has been busted in Santa Monica for drugs. Last April, he was arrested at another Santa Monica hotel after a woman called the cops claiming she had been threatened there. Cops claim when they arrived, they found cocaine on Baldwin.

___________________

What could I possibly say? It just looks like we now have twoBaldwin brothers with substance abuse problems. You heard it right here, first.

Britney and K-Fed Getting A Divorce

2006-11-08T10:11:00.000-05:00

TMZ obtained the legal papers, filed today in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing "irreconcilable differences." In her petition, Spears asks for both legal and physical custody of the couple's two children, one-year old Sean Preston and two-month old Jayden James, with Federline getting reasonable visitation rights.

As for money, sources tell TMZ the couple, who married in Oct. 2004, has an iron-clad prenup. Not surprisingly, Spears is waiving her right to spousal support. She's also asking the judge to make each party pay their own attorney's fees.

Spears gives the date of separation as yesterday, the same day she flaunted her incredible revamped physique during a surprise appearance on David Letterman's show. Sources tell TMZ there was no single reason for Britney pulling the plug, rather, it was "a string of events."

Spears has hired powerhouse celebrity divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, who has repped a number of celebs, including Angelina Jolie, Nick Lachey and Kiefer Sutherland. We're told Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe asked Wasser to rep both of them in their split, but Wasser declined for personal reasons.

Significantly, Britney lists the date of her marriage as October 6, 2004. There was an uproar around the time of the wedding because the highly publicized "secret" ceremony was held on Sept. 18th, leading many to question the validity of the ceremony. Now the divorce documents indicate that the lavish ceremony was not the official wedding.

_______________________________

Well, well, well. I noticed in this article that the reporter stated that Britney and Kevin had ,indeed, signed a prenuptial agreement. Wait a second, I distinctly remember Miz Spears stating to the press and media that she refused to sign a prenupt because it would jinx her marriage!

I'll wait and see on this report. Really, it wouldn't matter to me about a minor talent singer and wannabe rapper/dancer getting a divorce, but it appears so many Hollywood couples are parting company lately. Remember Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey? How about Liza and David? Or Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe Or Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston

Oh well, it must be so tough being that rich and famous. Get your divorce and move on, just please spare the public your drama and dirty laundry. We really don't care if you have "irreconcilable differences".

I Told You So!

2006-11-08T02:31:00.000-05:00

Resurgent Democrats Win Control of House

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats won control of the House early Wednesday after a dozen years of Republican rule in a resounding repudiation of a war, a president and a scandal-scarred Congress.

"From sea to shining sea, the American people voted for change," declared Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the hard-charging California Democrat in line to become the nation's first female House speaker.

"Today we have made history," she said, "now let us make progress."

The White House made plans for President Bush to call Pelosi first thing in the morning; he will enter his final two years in office with at least half of Congress in the opposition party's hands.

"It's been kind of tough out there," conceded House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who won a 11th term.

By early Wednesday, Democrats had won 221 seats, enough to control the House, and were leading for another 13, which would give them 234. Republicans, who hold 229 seats in the current House, won 181 and were leading in another 20, which would give them 201.

Democrats had won 25 Republican-controlled seats, and no Democratic incumbent had lost by early Wednesday. Races were too close to call in more than a dozen seats, making it impossible to know how large the Democratic margin would be.

Still, it already was an eerie reversal of 1994, when the GOP gained 54 seats in a wave that toppled Democrats after four decades. No Republican incumbent lost that year.

This time, Republicans fell from power in nearly every region of the country - conservative, liberal and moderate - as well as in every type of district - urban, rural and suburban. Middle class voters who fled to the GOP a dozen years ago appeared to return to the Democrats, according to exit polls.

Casualties of a Democratic call for change, three GOP congressmen lost in Indiana, three more in Pennsylvania, two in New Hampshire, one in North Carolina and one in Kansas. Democrats won open seats in New York, Arizona, Iowa and elsewhere.

Scandals that have dogged Republicans appeared to hurt GOP incumbents even more than Bush's unpopularity and the nearly four-year-old war in Iraq.

Republicans surrendered the Texas seat of former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who resigned from the House after being charged in a campaign finance scheme, the Ohio seat once held by Bob Ney, who resigned after pleading guilty in a lobbying scandal, and the Florida district of Mark Foley, who stepped down after the disclosure that he sent sexually explicit messages to male congressional pages.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats defeated Curt Weldon in the fallout from a federal corruption investigation and Don Sherwood who admitted to a long-term affair with a much younger woman who says he choked her.

Midway through the evening, Pelosi, a grandmother five times over, briefly addressed a crowd of party faithful at an election-night fete at a Washington hotel.

"I thank all of you for taking us to where we are tonight," said Pelosi, who won an 11th term. As she left the stage, half the crowd started chanting "Madam Speaker" and the other shouting "Nancy, Nancy."

Ethics woes, the war and overall anger toward Bush appeared to drive voters to the Democrats, according to surveys by The Associated Press and the television networks of voters as they left voting places. Several traditionally hard-fought demographic groups were choosing Democrats, including independents, moderates, and suburban women.

Those exit polls also showed that three in four voters said corruption was very important to their vote, and they tended to vote Democratic. In a sign of a dispirited GOP base, most white evangelicals said corruption was very important to their vote - and almost a third of them turned to the Democrats.

Two out of three voters called the war very important to them and said they leaned toward the Democrats, while six in ten voters said they disapproved of the war. About the same number said they were dissatisfied with the president - and they were far more likely to vote Democratic.

Additionally, eight in ten voters called the economy very important to their House vote, and those who said it was extremely important - about four in ten voters - turned to Democrats.

All 435 House seats were on the ballot, and most incumbents won easy re-election. The current lineup: 229 Republicans, 201 Democrats, one independent who lines up with the Democrats for organizational purposes, and four vacancies, three of them in seats formerly held by Republicans.

The fight for control came down to 50 or so seats, nearly half of them in a string stretching from Connecticut through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. All were in Republican hands, a blend of seats coming open and incumbents in trouble.

For months, national surveys have showed Democrats favored over Republicans by margins unseen since 1990 as voters have grown restless with the Bush administration and seemingly more ready for an end to one-party rule on Capitol Hill.

American casualties and costs have climbed in Iraq, and public support for the war has fallen, as have approval ratings for Congress along with the president.

In addition, DeLay, R-Texas, was charged with participating in a campaign finance scheme and resigned from the House. Ney, R-Ohio, resigned, too, after pleading guilty in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation. A month before the election, Foley, R-Fla., stepped down when it was disclosed that he had sent sexually explicit electronic communications to former congressional pages.

Through it all, Democrats cast the race as a national referendum on Bush and Iraq, accusing Republicans of walking in lockstep with the president and rubber stamping his policies.

Republicans insisted the elections came down to choices between individual candidates from coast to coast - and that Democrats were liberals who would raise taxes, flee from Iraq and be soft on terrorists.

Initially, Democrats targeted GOP-held seats left open by retiring Republicans as well as districts where Bush won by close margins in 2004 - many in the Northeast and Midwest. In recent weeks, Democrats have been able to expand the battlefield, making plays for seats long in Republican hands, such as in Wyoming and Idaho.

The GOP, defending its majority, made serious bids for only a handful of Democratic-held seats, including two districts in Georgia that the Republican legislature redrew to make more hospitable to the GOP. The only two endangered Democrats appeared to be in those Georgia districts, where the vote totals were so close that the races appeared to be headed to recounts.

As the 2006 midterm election cycle began, Republicans were optimistic that they would be able to extend their reign because they had limited the number of GOP retirements, leaving fewer open seats that would be targets for Democrats.

Then violence increased in Iraq and scandals erupted in the House - knocking the GOP off course.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press.

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Well, I hate to say I told you so, but my prophesy came true. It's time for a big change. One that the GOP cannot or will not give the American people. Hence, they lost their butts. Remember you heard it here on this blog.

Election Day Prophecy

2006-11-07T00:41:00.000-05:00

The backwoods folk are beginning to doubt Bush

The American humourist Will Rogers once described his political position thus: “I belong to no organised party. I am a Democrat.” It captured the undisciplined, chaotic, often hilarious internecine battles that have plagued the party.

The astonishing aspect of the current intense election campaign in the United States is that this time the roles are reversed. On the eve of an election it is the usually disciplined, on-message, obedient Republican party that is at war with itself. The polls don’t help. They suggest an imminent drubbing, and the newspapers and blogosphere have been full of what are termed “pre-mortems” or “precriminations”.

***

The intellectual titan of American conservatism, William F Buckley, has called the Iraq war a failure, and attributed it to the lack of a coherent conservative governing philosophy in the Bush White House.

***

Most critically, it is the rural heartland that is beginning to question Bush and the war:

* First, they trusted him as a man of God. Then they blamed the media for distorting reality in Iraq.

* Then their patriotism kicked in as the president urged them to “stay the course”.

* But now this segment of the population, people who have disproportionately sent their sons and daughters to fight in the bloodsoaked
streets of Ramadi and Falluja and Baghdad, show signs of revolt. If Bush loses these voters — or if they are too demoralised to vote at all — the omens are truly dark for the Republicans.

The party’s strategy, after all, has long been not to persuade moderate, suburban America, but to register, organise and mobilise millions of rural evangelical voters who had not voted in large numbers since the 1920s. Issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage brought these voters to the polls and made the difference. Without them in Ohio in 2004, John Kerry would now be president. The Republicans also gerrymandered their constituencies to ensure these voters were spread around enough to provide narrow margins of victories across the country. The victories were always close ones, nonetheless.

Until recently the rural evangelicals have stuck with the president, in part to honour the fallen, and out of admirable patriotism and trust.

It is hard to believe that your son or daughter died or is permanently crippled for a bungled cause. But if the facade cracks, if these rural voters begin to believe they have been misled, then the rock-solid patriotic support could become something else. It would not, in my judgment, fade into indifference. It could turn into rage.

That hasn’t happened yet. But you can feel it beginning. When you add to it the libertarian Republicans, alienated by the religious right, the worries for Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney mount. Then there are the fiscal conservatives appalled by the massive spending and borrowing, and the social conservatives who suspect the Republican leadership of covering up pederasty in its own ranks in the Mark

Foley affair, and the neoconservatives who believe that their war was never given enough troops or resources to succeed. Put it all together and you have a party that is beginning to resemble a circular firing squad nine days before critical mid-terms.

***

There is, of course, a great justice in this. In many ways the Bush administration and Republican Congress have abandoned principled conservatism and deserve to be punished by conservatives more than liberals. When they took over in 2000, the long-term fiscal liability of the federal government was $20 trillion. It now stands at $43 trillion. They have increased government spending at a faster rate than any Democratic Congress since the 1930s. They have generated deficits after four years of strong growth. This kind of spending has made sleaze and de facto bribery inevitable.

The number of lobbyists in Washington has doubled in five years. As for pork barrel spending, a simple comparison tells the tale. In 1985, Ronald Reagan vetoed a motorway-construction bill because lawmakers had stuffed into it 150 pet projects for their constituencies.

Reagan thought that was unconservative. Last year George W Bush eagerly signed a similar bill with 6,000 such projects. In plain English, they are bribing the voters with the public purse.

***

It is premature to predict a huge change in the Congress on November 7. Republican discipline could still hold on by a squeak. But a big Democratic victory could happen. And if it does, it will be Republican and conservative voters who deliver it.

The Times Online Article In Full

What else is there left to say? Get out there and vote. Make a difference. America needs your vote. Put these characters out on their ear. They are not Christians, and they don't care about you or your loved ones. They only used you to get your vote. It's time to take control of our destiny away from these madmen. However you feel, get out and vote!

Science Versus God...Is This The Beginning of the Godless End Time?

2006-11-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

God vs. science: Can religion stand up to the test?
POSTED: 10:01 a.m. EST, November 5, 2006

(Time.com) -- It's a debate that long predates Darwin, but the anti-religion position is being promoted with increasing insistence by scientists angered by intelligent design and excited, perhaps intoxicated, by their disciplines' increasing ability to map, quantify and change the nature of human experience.

Brain imaging illustrates -- in color -- the physical seat of the will and the passions, challenging the religious concept of a soul independent of glands and gristle. Brain chemists track imbalances that could account for the ecstatic states of visionary saints or, some suggest, of Jesus.

Catholicism's Christoph Cardinal Schönborn has dubbed the most fervent of faith-challenging scientists followers of "scientism" or "evolutionism," since they hope science, beyond being a measure, can replace religion as a worldview and a touchstone.

It is not an epithet that fits everyone wielding a test tube. But a growing proportion of the profession is experiencing what one major researcher calls "unprecedented outrage" at perceived insults to research and rationality, ranging from the alleged influence of the Christian right on Bush administration science policy, to the fanatic faith of the 9/11 terrorists, to intelligent design's ongoing claims. Some are radicalized enough to publicly pick an ancient scab -- the idea that science and religion, far from being complementary responses to the unknown, are at utter odds.

Finding a spokesman for this side of the question was not hard, since Richard Dawkins, perhaps its foremost polemicist, has just come out with "The God Delusion" (Houghton Mifflin), the rare volume whose position is so clear it forgoes a subtitle.

The five-week New York Times best seller (now at No. 8) attacks faith philosophically and historically as well as scientifically, but leans heavily on Darwinian theory, which was Dawkins' expertise as a young scientist and more recently as an explicator of evolutionary psychology.

Dawkins and his peers have a swarm of articulate theological opponents, of course. But the most ardent of these don't really care very much about science, and an argument in which one party stands immovable on Scripture and the other immobile on the periodic table doesn't get anyone very far.

Most Americans occupy the middle ground: We want it all. We want to cheer on science's strides and still humble ourselves on the Sabbath. We want access to both MRIs and miracles. We want debates about issues like stem cells without conceding that the positions are so intrinsically inimical as to make discussion fruitless.

Informed conciliators have recently become more vocal, and foremost among them is Francis Collins. Collins' devotion to genetics is, if possible, greater than Dawkins'.

Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute since 1993, he headed a multinational 2,400-scientist team that co-mapped the 3 billion biochemical letters of our genetic blueprint, a milestone that then-President Bill Clinton honored in a 2000 White House ceremony, comparing the genome chart to Meriwether Lewis' map of his fateful continental exploration. Collins continues to lead his institute in studying the genome and mining it for medical breakthroughs.

He is also a forthright Christian who converted from atheism at age 27 and now finds time to advise young evangelical scientists on how to declare their faith in science's largely agnostic upper reaches.

His summer best seller, "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief" (Free Press), laid out some of the arguments he brought to bear in the 90-minute debate Time arranged between Dawkins and Collins in our offices at the Time & Life Building on September 30.

Okay, so let me get this straight. Science says there is no God. Just what proofs are they offering? None, None, and None.
Don't get me wrong, I think science is a wonderful thing, but, like a Hollywood actor doing ads for politicians...it just doesn't cut the mustard. They do not belong in the field of faith.
I happen to know a scientist who is well known in government circles. he's the son of a fellow parishoner. He says that "off the record" all the research he has done has simply made him believe that all of creation is guided by a higher authority with a higher level of intelligence. He also says that it is arrogance on man's part for any scientist to deny this basic fact, when if he would simply look at the overall plan of the physical world, it becomes apparent that there is, indeed, a God.
Personally, I love and know God very well. He is always there when I need a shoulder or a helping hand. I may not always get what I want, but He's always there. God is my science and my faith. I feel that science gives us proofs of how God works, but cannot disprove something it is apparently blind to. Have a great week, and God bless!

RNC Chief Ken Mehlman accepted political contributions from gay porn king?

2006-11-05T13:28:00.000-05:00

October 28, 2006 -- 11:41 PM EDT

Last week, you'll remember, the RNC, headed by Ken Mehlman, was running that race-baiting 'bimbo' ad against Rep. Harold Ford (D) down in Tennessee. One of the barbs in that ad was the claim that Ford had taken political contributions from "porn movie producers."

But it seems there is plenty of porn movie producer money to go around.

It turns out that the Republican National Committee is a regular recipient of political contributions from Nicholas T. Boyias, the owner and CEO of Marina Pacific Distributors, one of the largest producers and distributors of gay porn in the United States. This recent article on Marina Pacific's new marketing campaign form XBiz, a porn industry trade sheet, notes that, in addition to producing its own material, the "company acts as a distribution house to hundreds of lines, mostly gay, 40 of which can be purchased only through MPD."

The company actually seems to be a trendsetter in the industry. As Boyias recently noted, "We have always modeled ourselves after a Fortune-style company. They are the models of exceptional customer service. We have formed strategic alliances with our vendors and customers alike, offering them tools and marketing to assist them in succeeding with their business models. Our one-on-one interpersonal relationships have never been duplicated in the distribution industry."

Some recent releases include "Fire in the Hole", "Flesh and Boners", even a "Velvet Mafia" series.

FEC.gov lists Boyias as contributing to the RNC three times in 2004 and two times in 2005. The NRCC got a little too. But only $250.

The FEC records list Boyias as either "self employed" or as owner and CEO of NTB Inc. But the California Secretary of State's website lists Boyias' NTB, Inc as located at 7077 Vineland Ave, which turns out to be the same address where Marina Pacific is located. So I'm pretty sure we're dealing with the same guy.

So, Ken Mehlman, for porn producer money before he was against it, I guess.

Let me say, for the record, that I consider pornography not only a legal but a morally unobjectionable product. People in that industry have as much right to participate in the political process as anyone else. And it's difficult for the head of a political committee or a candidate in a political campaign to know the background of every contributor. But hypocrisy blows. And on this issue, as on others, Ken Mehlman's a hypocrite. A real Republican example of how the entire GOP party blows chunks. It's another example of just why America needs Democrats in the Senate and The House of Representatives to blow these crooks, hypocrites, and pedophiles out on their ear.

And brother is this a big one...

2006-11-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

Super-Massive Black Hole Discovered

The Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the National Radio Astronomical Observatory teamed up to produce this composite image of galaxy cluster MS0735.6+7421, located about 2.5 billion light-years from Earth. The cluster contains dozens of galaxies held together by gravity. A truly supermassive black hole lurks at the heart of this cluster, containing more than a billion solar masses. The red areas are twin jets of material streaming away from the black hole.

Galaxy cluster MS0735.6+7421. Image credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, STScI, and B. McNamara
Click to enlarge
November 2nd, 2006

Wow, well I thought we could all use a little scientific information to round out our knowledge. It is just beyond me to understand how the Hubble telescope can find all these things. Can you just imagine how BIG this thing is? Think about how small we are in comparison.

Neil Patrick Harris Comes OUT

2006-11-04T11:49:00.000-05:00

Actor Neil Patrick Harris says he’s gay
Former ‘Doogie Howser,’ star, 33, tells People he wants to quell rumors

Chris Carlson / AP file Actor Neil Patrick Harris stars in the CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother."

Updated: 12:24 a.m. ET Nov 4, 2006
LOS ANGELES - Neil Patrick Harris is gay and wants to quell any rumors to the contrary.

“(I) am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest,” Harris tells People magazine’s Web site.

The 33-year-old actor said he was motivated to disclose his sexuality because of recent “speculation and interest in my private life and relationships.”

Harris stars on the CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother.” He started on TV as a teen, playing the namesake doctor on the series “Doogie Howser, M.D.”

© 2006 The Associated Press

Well, you know what? I'm pulling for you, Neil. It took guts to come out like you did. I hope this only makes your career take off into high gear. Kudos to you.

..And Various OTHER Hiding Places....

2006-11-04T11:40:00.000-05:00

‘You can’t get much more concealed than that’
Police arrest naked man after he allegedly said he had a tool in his rectum

Updated: 5:21 a.m. ET Nov 4, 2006
EL CERRITO, Calif. - A man was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon after police found him outdoors — naked — and he told them he had a tool in his rectum, authorities said.

The man was lying on a tree stump, masturbating beside a nature path, near a Bay Area Rapid Transit station Thursday, police said.

John Sheehan, 33, of Pittsburg, was initially arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure. But when asked whether he was carrying anything police should know about, Sheehan mentioned the tool, said El Cerrito Detective Cpl. Don Horgan.

“You can’t get much more concealed than that,” Horgan said.

Officers drew their weapons and firefighters were called to the scene. Sheehan removed a 6-inch metal awl wrapped in black electrical tape without incident.

Sheehan, who was paroled from state prison last week, was then booked into jail on suspicion of parole violations, indecent exposure and one felony count of possessing a concealed weapon.

“When you’re talking about an awl or an ice pick and you’re dealing with somebody who’s fresh out of prison, it’s a weapon. That’s a stabbing instrument,” Horgan said.

It was not immediately clear what Sheehan was on parole for. A person answering the phone at the jail Friday night did not know whether Sheehan had a lawyer.

© 2006 The Associated Press.

Okay, but don't even get me started on this one. Here is this guy with God-knows-what-all stuck up his nether regions and he's playing with himself on a tree stump by a nature path. Right? AND he just got out of prison. Well, looks like he's missing his boyfriend already. Lock him up and throw away the key!

Kevin Federline and Britney Spears....Again

2006-11-03T13:59:00.000-05:00

So Britney and the Federjerk are having trouble in their marriage. That's not exactly shocking. What is surprising, though, is that Us Weekly had the balls and was somehow able to get it past their legal department to mention in their cover story that Kevin loves to suck on big, fat, juicy, illegal joints!

The new parents were experiencing some strain in their relationship and Britney decided to flee Los Angeles with the baby (and without her husband) and go visit her hick family in Kentwood.

Kevin, meanwhile, decided to carpe diem fo shizzle and hit all of the clubs, as we were the first to tell you.

On October 20th, the Federjerk and his crew hit the ultra exclusive Cabana Club.

Us Weekly reports:

"He and pals were hunkered down in Cabana Club's VIP section, pouring drinks from bottles of Grey Goose vodka and Jack Daniels, downing lemon drop shots and smoking marijuana. That night, he told a fellow clubgoer (probably an Us Weekly reporter undercover) that he "hadn't been partying with the boys in forever!" And he was going to make up for lost time!

Kevin and crew had planned a boys trip to Vegas, but Britney decided that she actually gave a fuck about her marriage and flew back to L.A. early to "surprise" Kevin. And, yup, that totally forced the party-hungry pimp to cancel his Vegas plans with his pals.

Dear Brit, don't try and paint a zebra black. Let his stripes shine girl! Just toke on his roach and let him fuck around. You got your little Tater Tot. Isn't that all you wanted?

Posted by on November 3, 2005 2:03 PM
_______________________________________

How would you like to live under this kind of scrutiny? Hounded by the paparazzi and cameras going off everywhere you go. Kev may not be perfect, but if Britney loves him, let them alone. I think it's time the press took some real police heat for stalking these celebrities. Toss a few in jail and make their bails very high. Lets restore the right to privacy in this country.

People in glass houses and all that...

2006-11-02T20:17:00.000-05:00

CATHERINE TSAI
Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The leader of the influential National Association of Evangelicals, a vocal opponent of the drive for same-sex marriage, resigned Thursday after being accused of paying for sex with a man.

The Rev. Ted Haggard also stepped aside as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church while a church panel investigates, saying he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."

The investigation came after a 49-year-old man told a Denver radio station that Haggard paid him to have sex.

Haggard, a married father of five, denied the allegations in an interview with KUSA-TV late Wednesday: "Never had a gay relationship with anybody, and I'm steady with my wife, I'm faithful to my wife."

In a written statement, Haggard said: "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."

Mike Jones, 49, told The Associated Press that Haggard paid him to have sex nearly every month for three years. His allegations were first aired on KHOW-AM in Denver.

Jones said that he had advertised himself as an escort on the Internet and that a man who called himself Art contacted him. Jones said he later saw the man on television identified as Haggard.

He said that he last had sex with Haggard in August and that he did not warn him before making his allegations this week.

Jones said he has voice mail messages from Haggard, as well as an envelope he said Haggard used to mail him cash, though he declined to make any of it available to the AP.

"There's some stuff on there (the voice mails) that's pretty damning," he said.

Richard Cizik, vice president for government affairs for the evangelicals association, expressed shock.

"Is this something I can imagine of Ted Haggard? No," he said.

Carolyn Haggard, spokeswoman for the New Life Church, said a four-member church panel will investigate the allegations. She did not identify the board members.

"This is really routine when any sort of situation like this arises, so we're prepared," she said. "The church is going to continue to serve and be welcoming to our community. That's a priority."

_________________________________

You know, nothing gets my goat more than hypocrisy. Here's Rev. Ted Haggard pointing a finger at gay people and telling them they can't be saved. That Jesus doesn't love them. The whole time, he's out hiring young men for sex.
I have just had it with the entire Republican Right-Wing Fundamentalist thing. The Jesus I love loves me completely and wholly. He knows what my sexuality is and he loves me anyway. I don't need Ted Haggard telling me otherwise.

Ted, God returns the evil that you do unto you. I only pray you learn from this. Jesus doesn't want you to exclude gays from His Church. He wants you to learn from them and grow.

Embrase diversity! It's what made America great.

GOP Is Getting Desperate

2006-11-01T17:57:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John Kerry apologized Wednesday for a "poorly stated joke," which the Massachusetts senator says was aimed at the president but was widely perceived as a slam on U.S. troops.

"I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended," he said in a written statement.

"As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: My poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and [was] never intended to refer to any troop," he said.

In the statement, the four-term senator continued to assert that the GOP was using the gaffe to distract voters from its own shortcomings.

"It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy," he said. "I don't want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops."

The White House quickly issued a response, saying, "Sen. Kerry's apology to the troops for his insulting comments came late, but it was the right thing to do."

Kerry canceled plans to campaign for fellow Democrats after the GOP began hammering him over his comments to college students about getting "stuck in Iraq."

President Bush's 2004 presidential rival -- who told a radio host Wednesday he was sorry for what he called a "botched joke" -- will not appear with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bob Casey on Wednesday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a Democratic official said.

"I would be surprised if you see him welcomed out there anywhere," the official said, "and certainly not in a race that is meaningful."

Strategists at both the Democratic House and Senate campaign committees told their candidates the flap is a distraction they don't need right now. (Time.com: John Kerry, still one step behind)

The Democratic official said the issue doesn't appear to change any races, but it may attract more GOP supporters in tight Senate contests in Missouri and Tennessee.
GOP plays offense

Kerry's comments provide an opportunity for Republicans to go on the offensive on national security issues -- a winning GOP strategy in 2002 and 2004 that has been blunted by the increasingly violent situation in Iraq.

The Republican National Committee took advantage of the Kerry gaffe with an ad featuring the text of quotes from Maj. Gen. Thomas Bostick, Sen. John McCain and Bush in support of U.S. troops.

A video clip of Kerry's remarks follows, then the caption, "John Kerry should apologize. Our soldiers are waiting."

Kerry made the comment Monday to students at Pasadena City College in California.

He said: "You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well.

"If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq." (Watch Kerry's "botched joke'" that launched the political stink -- 1:50 )

A Kerry aide said the senator was supposed to say, "I can't overstress the importance of a great education. Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq."

Appearing Wednesday on radio host Don Imus' program, "Imus in the Morning," Kerry said, "I'm going back to Washington. I'm going back to tackle this, you bet." (Watch Kerry refuse to apologize for criticizing the president and "his broken policy" -- 9:33 )

"Of course, I'm sorry about a botched joke," he added. "Everybody knows I botched a joke."

"They shouldn't be allowed to do that," the Massachusetts lawmaker said. "I'm not going to let these guys lie and smear, and they put their whole machine out to do it, and they ought to apologize."

But White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said the onus was on Kerry to issue an apology, and he rejected the notion that Kerry's remarks to Imus constituted one.

"You and I and everybody in this room have said things that we didn't intend to say," Snow said at a press briefing Wednesday. "And when it offends people, you say, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it. I'm wrong.' And he hasn't done that."

Snow said Kerry was "insistent on pointing fingers at the president" and that the senator's remarks did not appear to be in jest.

"If you listen to the tone of voice in which he said them, it's hard to construe them as a joke. It didn't sound like he was trying to make funnies," he said.
Cheney set to enter fray

Kerry's office said two House campaign appearances also have been canceled -- by mutual decision -- so as not to "allow the Republican hate machine to use Democratic candidates as their proxies in their distorted spin war in which once again they're willing to exploit brave American troops."

A Kerry aide said the senator wouldn't go to Minnesota for Democrat Tim Walz, who is trying to unseat Rep. Gil Gutknecht, R-Minnesota, and congressional candidate Bruce Braley of Iowa announced that Kerry would not appear with him either.

Republicans unleashed a firestorm of criticism against Kerry after the Vietnam veteran's remarks.

Vice President Dick Cheney will enter the fray Wednesday night during a speech in Montana. The White House released the portion of Cheney's speech pertaining to Kerry.

"John Kerry needs to learn that the men and women serving in Iraq aren't there because they didn't study hard or do their homework," Cheney is set to say. "They're smart, patriotic, exceptionally well-trained and dedicated to their mission. They are heroes, and they are the pride of the United States of America."

On Tuesday, Bush joined many GOP lawmakers -- including House Majority Leader John Boehner and McCain, a former prisoner of war -- in blasting Kerry. (Watch both sides tussle over Kerry's gaffe -- 3:02 )

"The senator's suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and shameful," Bush said. "The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer armed forces are plenty smart and are serving because they are patriots -- and Sen. Kerry owes them an apology."

Bush will not face voters again, and Kerry isn't up for re-election this year.

A number of top Democrats said they, too, were upset with the senator for giving the Republicans election-time ammunition -- even if the GOP was hyping the remark.

A top Democratic strategist said Tuesday that Kerry "already cost us one election" and should "keep his mouth shut." Added Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee on Wednesday, "Whatever the intent, Sen. Kerry was wrong to say what he said. He needs to apologize to our troops."

Democratic candidate Jon Tester, who is in a tight race against Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Montana, said in a statement, "Sen. Kerry's remarks were poorly worded and just plain stupid. He owes our troops and their families an apology."

But not all Democrats concurred. Vietnam veteran and former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia defended Kerry's record of fighting for veterans and applauded the senator for showing "our party how to fight back with the truth."

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, also defended Kerry, telling reporters Wednesday in Burlington, Vermont, "Kerry made a blooper. Bloopers happen," according to The Associated Press.

CNN's John King and Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.

CNN.
__________________

You know ...SO WHAT?!? It certainly isn't like Kerry told a lie. He told the honest truth and I think that's what hurts all the little right wing fascists out there. Leave Kerry alone, Mr. Bush. Sweep before your own door. You have a whole lot of dirt at your own doorstep. You and lots and lots of your fellow Republican cronies.

Larry

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Who's Got The Pumpkin

2006-10-31T23:51:00.000-05:00

Well, it's THAT day again. That witchy night when we all go Pagan.
Halloween is Christianity's attempt to absorb a Celtic Pagan ritual.
What's really funny about this that so many people around here seem
to decorate for Halloween like it's Christmas.

Being Lutheran I can understand all of the holy implications in
Halloween, All Souls Day, and All Saints Day. However, I draw the line
at treating Halloween as though it had the same significance as Christmas.
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the Saviour of the World. Big Difference.

Anyway, my opinions seem to fall upon deaf ears and the little
hobgoblins are out in force.

Odd thing. The Police and Sherriff's department issued a curfew for all sex offenders ( regardless of whether or not they are a danger to children)
that states no sex offender can answer the door for a child or go outside
from 8pm
until 11pm. Oh well, maybe the children dressed up like minions of
hell will be safe.

Ryan and Reese are Splitsville

2006-10-31T11:04:00.000-05:00

LOS ANGELES - Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, who started the year on an Oscar-winning high, are ending it on a low note: The couple have separated.

"We are saddened to announce that Reese and Ryan have decided to formally separate," publicist Nanci Ryder said in a statement issued Monday on behalf of the couple.

"They remain committed to their family and we ask that you please respect their privacy and the safety of their children at this time," the brief statement concluded. Ryder said she could not elaborate on the split.

Witherspoon, 30, and Phillippe, 32, have two children, 7-year-old Ava and 3-year-old Deacon. The couple, who co-starred in the 1999 movie "Cruel Intentions," married that year.

In March, Witherspoon won a best-actress Academy Award for her role as June Carter Cash in 2005's "Walk the Line." Phillippe co-starred in the best-picture winner, "Crash," and is starring in Clint Eastwood's latest film, the World War II drama "Flags of Our Fathers."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061030/ap_en_mo/people_witherspoon_phillippe

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

Now, I don't pretend to know anything about their personal lives,
but this was  one couple I really thought would make it..

I guess it's very hard when one's (Reese) career takes off (she won the Oscar)
and the  other is still doing ensemble work.

Reese won the Best Supporting Oscar as June Carter Cash in "I Walk The Line".
Ryan was in "Crash" and was the star of the movie "54".

For the sake of their children, I hope this can be an amicable divorce without
all the nasty  mudslinging one sees so often in Hollywood divorces.
Good luck to both Ryan and Reese. May the rest of your lives be happy.

About the upcoming elections.

2006-10-30T17:44:00.000-05:00

You know, I was born in the deep south. South Carolina is about as deep in the south as you get, politically. The folks here consider themselves staunch Conservatives. Friends of the flag, so to speak. They believe in fighting for everything. Our way of life, our families, and our right ro worship as we please.

Unfortunately, that DOESN'T include gays, same-sex marriage, right to privacy, freedom of choice. They believe they have the right to choose for you. And really, THAT is the standard Republican line. We have been promised less intrusive government repeatedly by the Republican party and lo and behold we have lost the right to privacy.

I will be voting in this upcoming election on November 7th. I will not be voting FOR any party. I will be casting my vote for the candidates who have the greatest chance of defeating any Republican candidate they are running against. I am not alone in this. ESpecially given the recent scandals within the GOP. Pedephiles, bribe-taking, vote-selling, and Bush's refusal to hear the plea from America to end this God-forsaken war.

When you vote, cast your ballot with your conscience.

Larry