Spring Cleaning, Feline Style

Fred the Cat, demonstrates his ability to rest and bathe at the same time.

National RAT Day

If Karl Rove is indicted, I think we should declare a national holiday. We could call this day, “National RAT Day”.
(Republicans Are Toast)

Have a Wonderful Weekend

Enjoy nature's beauty

Bay Buchanan, crowned Ms Arrogance of the Week

Over at Crooks and Liars we learn that Bay Buchanan, thinks Hurricane Katrina is so yesterday, so over, so passé. Here’s what she said. "I think Katrina has worn its welcome.- I think the American people are tired of it."

Damn, Bay believes she has her finger on the pulse of America. It’s been eight months since Katrina wrecked thousands of lives, destroyed hundreds if not thousands of homes, killed a lot of people, but no one knows how many yet because all the bodies have yet to be recovered. The levees are kinda, sorta, maybe, somewhat, hopefully about fixed. Sure Bay, we’re all so tired of hearing about death and destruction and the failure of the US government to be able to deal with something like this. Does Bay understand that there are still children unaccounted for as a result of that storm? Wonder if Bay saw her president down there yesterday along side Mayor Ray Nagin as they played, Let’s Hammer a Nail (while standing on a ladder) I guess bush isn’t quite ready to join Bay and “the American people” in being tired of it”. He’s still using it.

I would like to suggest to Ms Buchanan that she might go down to the Gulf Coast and actually work with the survivors of Katrina. Then perhaps she can learn what being tired actually feels like.

Wonder if Bay is tired of hearing about the events of 9-11?. That was almost five years ago. Have the events of that day worn out their welcome too? Are tragedies only worthy of being memorable if they can be tied to patriotism, used to start wars, used to restrict rights and used to get votes? If a terrorist attack had been the cause of the death and destruction along the Gulf Coast would Ms Buchanan be "tired of it" now?

They'll give you $100 if they can drill ANWR

The Republicans want to give each of you a hundred dollar gas rebate check.
But as they say, there’s more

“The fate of the amendment, however, is uncertain because Frist has included in his plan a provision on opening drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. Drilling in ANWR has frequently been a poison pill for Democrats, and Republicans told FOX News they fully expect "Democrat shenanigans, " possibly in the form of a filibuster, on this amendment.”

Link

Ted Stevens must be experiencing something better than Viagra right about now.

One Simple Question

If the American military, with all their strength and power and with whatever number they have now of Iraqi military, can’t stop the violence, who could reasonably expect the Iraqi military, no matter their number, ever to be able to do it alone?

Secret Prisons and Common Sense

As I understand it, prisons serve two purposes. They keep convicted criminals off the street and their existence should be a deterrent to the public, as in it’s not a place you want to be, so don’t break the law.

Okay, if the CIA feels that having these prisons around the world to which they render criminals is a legal operation, why wouldn’t they want everyone including the terrorist to know about them? Seems to me they would want it known far and wide that if you are a terrorist you don’t want to take a chance of getting caught in this country because there is an excellent chance you will be sent to one of these prisons, god only knows what will be done to you, and you’ll probably never be heard from again.

Scares the bejeezus out of me and I’m not a lawbreaker. Seems the knowledge that this system exists would be a hell of a deterrent for would-be terrorists everywhere. If you have something like that, why keep it a secret? How could the knowledge of such prisons hurt the war on terror? Don’t we want to let the terrorists know that if they get caught they will be punished?

Yesterday we learned that the government will now, almost five years after 9-11, begin doing background checks on everyone who works at our ports. Why wasn’t that done before now? When they were shaking us down at the airport to confiscate our nail clippers, didn’t anyone consider that maybe we should scrutinize our port workers just as much as we were our grandmother’s purse.

Sometimes it makes you wonder. Sometimes the facts just don’t seem to paint a picture of a sensible country doing everything it can to protect its citizens. Sometimes you have to ask if we are in such danger from terrorists, why wouldn’t the common sense precautions be taken first and foremost and why wouldn’t we want terrorists to know some seriously bad times await them if they are caught? Why wouldn’t our government take these rational actions? Is there some benefit in not doing that?

Seems to me either the government is stupid or the threats they constantly tell us about are not as real as they would lead us to believe.

Foreboding

You can tell by looking at this photo that things were about to get a whole lot worse on the beach. To me this photo symbolizes the mood in our nation these days.

What I heard in Bush's speech today

Bush spoke today about the price of gasoline.
Of course the opening of his speech was about the war on everything that scares the hell out of human beings.
He talked about Iraq and how splendidly things were going there.
He spoke of the economy and how splendidly things were going here.
He said all the jobs at McDonald’s have been taken, so alls good on the employment front.
He made a breaking news sort of statement when he said, “The American people are working.” And the crowd went wild!
He said his tax cuts had done everything from cure cancer to putting a chicken in every pot.
Then he said he appreciated the oil companies raising their prices because it gave him an opportunity to slash the hell out of environmental regulations.
He also said we should reduce our need for oil and then he said he wanted to drill the hell out of ANWR. Doesn’t sound like much a habit breaking plan if the pusher man is just selling different drugs, does it?
He talked about hybrid vehicles and explained what they were for the totally brain-dead members of his audience who might be clueless.
I think the following actual quote from his speech this morning is just so george bush. Possibly even a quotable quote for the future.

“The way I like to put it would be - it's a good thing when a president can sit there and say, gosh, we've got a lot of corn.”

Damned straight, george! That's what we've all been longing for. The day our president can say, gosh we got us a big old mess of corn, life will be good in America once again!

Gitmo Got less

From the LA Times
“The Pentagon plans to release nearly a third of those held at the prison for terrorism suspects here because they pose no threat to U.S. security, an official of the war crimes tribunal said Monday.”
(snip)
“Only 10 of the roughly 490 alleged "enemy combatants" currently detained at the facility have been charged; none has been charged with a capital offense.”
(snip)
“The detainees determined by last year's Administrative Review Boards to pose no threat to U.S. national security are "no longer enemy combatants," explained Lt. Cmdr. Chito Peppler of the Pentagon office in charge of reviewing detainee status.
He contended that the men's detention had been justified. Battlefield commanders in Afghanistan and Pakistan had determined when the men were arrested that they were a threat to U.S. forces in the region, he said.”

So what changed? Have these people have been cleansed of “enemy combatant” taint? They used to be the enemy but now they aren’t?. Some have been detained for four years and we must ask, why? After four years of torture this prison turns out to be a holding cell? Seems we were told the prisoners at Gitmo wanted to kill all of us and stuff like that. Now most of them are going to be released. Somebody fudged the story.

In June of 2005, this was the story
“Detainees are sent to Guantanamo only after a proper screening process that identifies these prisoners who pose a threat to the United States or who have intelligence value. The kind of people held at Guantanamo include: terrorist trainers, bomb-makers, extremist recruiters and financiers, bodyguards of Osama bin Laden, and would-be suicide bombers. They are not common car thieves. They are believed to be determined killers," said Rumsfeld.”

Good one Rummy! So how many more dirtbags are in this administration? Probably more than there are terrorists in Gitmo.

The Evangelical Monkey on the Republican’s Back

There is one thing the Democrats don’t have to worry about. They didn’t adopt the Christian Right. They don’t have that Evangelical monkey on their back.

The Republicans took in the Christian Right when it was to their advantage to have them and use their votes. There was a time when the they provided an advantage to the Republicans. Over time the Republicans became so addicted and relied so heavily on the votes of the Christian Right that today they feel they cannot live without them. They still have to cater to them in order to have a shot at the November vote and the 08 vote. The Republicans still must look for the Evangelical’s blessings even as they hold their nose and fall to their knees to do it.

We already see things like Giuliani going to campaign for Santorum and McCain pandering to the Right’s causes. It looks pathetic and painful. These guys are fooling no one, and they probably know it. But it’s what they have to do, because for the last few years they have pandered to their ideology and embarrassingly must continue to do.

Thank goodness the Democrats did not saddle themselves with religious extremists. Many of the hard line Right will never vote for a Democrat no matter the situation, so the Democrats are free to state their own case without worrying about catering and belittling themselves and looking like hypocrites.

An analogy might be a couple who adopt a child for no other reason than to benefit from the tax breaks they will receive as the result of their new dependant. The child turns out to be unruly and overly demanding. This child and its demands prevent the couple from carrying on their desired life style. While the couple may have achieved their desired financial goal, they must still care for this difficult child for many years to come. Another couple who did not adopt a child would not receive the financial benefits but they would be free to establish a lifestyle based on their own needs and desires with no lasting requirements and responsibilities attached.

Hopefully the Democratic candidates will use this freedom to articulate the difference they can make in our country for all citizens. While the Republicans have, for all means and purposes, allowed the Christian Right to take over their party, the Democrats are free to concentrate on the whole country. That is an asset I think we all hope the Democrats will use wisely. They must show they are open to all people, all ideas and all faiths.

The Republicans are bogged down by the Evangelical sanctimonious monkey on their back and now it may be more of a burden than they can bear, but it’s a habit they can’t afford to break.

Bolten's Plan-My Translation

From Raw Story
"TIME Magazine's Mike Allen outlines a "five-point plan" posited by President Bush's new chief of staff Josh Bolten to "rescue" the Bush presidency in magazines to hit newsstands Monday.
The five key points include:
1) "Deploy guns and badges" -- to play to the conservative base on illegal immigration, using the cloak of Homeland Security.
2) Make Wall Street happy through tax cuts.
3) Brag more ("highlight the glimmer of success in Iraq").
4) Reclaim security by playing tough with Iran (On Iran, "Democrats will lose").
5) Court the press (pffer Tony Snow of Fox News the job of White House press secretary)"

Translation:
1, Hire Elmer Fudd
2. Hire Uncle Scrooge
3. Hire Bugs Bunny
4. Hire Yosemite Sam
5. Rehire Jeff Gannon

We need boxes of Depends in Washington DC

We have leaks galore. We have the leaks by Condi, Bush, Cheney et al, then we have leaks by the CIA. Seems to me there might be a critical need for a few boxes of Depends. Gotta catch the drips, don’t cha know.

But see we have some leaks and drips that are okayed by the government. These drips evidently do not have an unpleasant aroma. Socially acceptable leaks I guess you could call them. Okay, so they outted a CIA agent. Hey, it was necessary if the administration was going to convince the American people that they weren’t lying about Iraq having weapons that would blow up our country like a drunk shooter on a quail hunt. Basically they wanted us to believe there was a monster in the closet and anyone who said otherwise was fair game. Justifiable declassification they might call it, in order to promote a lie.

Then we have a CIA agent who possibly just didn’t feel it was morally responsible to remain silent about the fact that the United States was scooping up human beings and flying them to prisons far away to be tortured. This was supposedly being done in the name of preserving freedom and justice for all. The agent knew that smelled really bad and maybe just couldn’t live with the fact that it was happening. She leaked the information to a reporter and the reporter printed the story. That agent has now been fired for doing what she did.

It’s okay to leak to sell a lie, but it’s not okay to leak to save a life. That’s the bush administration’s point of view. If a female agent is outted in order to start a war, that’s okay. If a female agent outs the torture of human beings by the government, that’s not okay.

“Depends” is the operative word here. It just depends on who the leaker might be and why they leaked as to whether or not it’s socially, bush white house-ally, acceptable.

This tells you so much

The following is from “Cobra II”. This is a meeting that took place during the march to Baghdad.

“The most striking moment of the meeting came when Franks said he did not want to hear about casualties, even though no one had mentioned any. At that point, he put his hand to his mouth and made a yawning motion, as if to suggest that some casualties were not of major consequence to the attack. Nobody argued openly with Franks’s (sic). The CENTCOM commander was unloading on them and they would ride out his behavior. McKiernan’s deputies who attended the meeting, however, were shocked. Albert Whitley, McKiernan’s top British deputy, was furious at Franks’ cavalier attitude about casualties – Royal Marines had been killed on the opening night of the war and an American Patriot unit has mistakenly shot down a British Tornado, killing its two-man crew.”

Enlightening, isn’t it?

Speaking of enlightening pieces, here’s something from another source that will make you want to toss something large and heavy right through your monitor. This is a long article so get comfy before you begin reading. Once you begin reading, you won’t want to stop for anything.

Halliburton’s War
By Jeffrey Steinberg,

Highway Robbery?

Here’s a nifty site that can help a bit. Just type in your zip code and it’ll tell you where to find the least expensive gasoline in your area. Last time Mr. Pop filled up it cost him $3.05 per gallon for mid range gas. By the way, that was over a week ago.

Welcome to the Media. May I take your order?

You’re probably as tired as I am of the Natalie Holloway story and the story about the alleged rape at Duke. Those two stories get far more air time than the deceptions of this administration and the war. We wonder why this happens. Miss Holloway surely is not the only missing person in the United States and sadly people are accused of rape every day. The media covers these stories because they have an audience who craves them.

To me this is similar to the obesity of the American people. Some want to blame this obesity problem on fast food restaurants and junk food producers. In reality the restaurants and food producers make this food available because the public has a taste for it and demands it. Unhealthy food is not a new thing. Speaking as a child of the deep South, unhealthy food may have it’s origins down here. We batter and fry anything that stands still. Grease is a food group in the South.

The food producers, not being stupid, realized that there is a market out there made up of people who want to buy and eat food which is not healthy but has taste appeal. It’s food with lots of grease and salt and sugar. As a result of ingesting this combination of ingredients, many people gain a lot of weight. Perhaps they don’t mind. Perhaps the convenience and the taste are more important to them than their own health. Are these people wise? I’ll leave that up to you.

The news providers have discovered the same formula for success that the food producers have. There is hunger in the viewing audience for gossip type news stories. Some of the viewers grew up with their noses in everyone’s business but their own and they still have a taste for such things. They like news with sex, mystery, and other people’s personal tragedies. As a result of watching and hearing these kinds of stories, many people gain a lot of useless knowledge. Are these people wise? Again, I’ll leave that up to you.

So as we watch many Americans drive through the fast, but unhealthy, news lane we are left to wonder, why do they prefer to have unhealthy minds due to their over consumption of personally tragic news. Unfortunately they have acquired a taste for any news that shows distress in other’s lives and it’s a lot easier than recognizing the distress in their own lives. They will take time to grab a fast news story because it makes them feel good to know that someone is in worse shape than they are, a sort of self-gratification at the expense of someone else.

As long as the public shows an interest, a taste and a desire to be more up to date on their fellow man’s shortcomings than in the present and future of our country, there will always be a lane open and someone to serve them.

More Changes by Bolten

In an effort to be more honest and open with the American people, the new chief of staff, Josh Bolten, has ordered one of these signs to be placed above the entrance to each office in the west wing of the white house.

Remember these guys?

"The man Bush tapped to fill Karl Rove's spot as his policy wizard is none other than Joel Kaplan, who took part in the infamous "Brooks Brothers riot" of 2000. That's when a bunch of Washington GOP operatives, posing as outraged Floridians, waved fists, chanted "Stop the fraud!" and pounded windows in an effort to intimidate officials engaged in the Florida recount effort."

Link

Scottie Resigns

The white house robot has announced he will resign. Who do you think will take his place? Someone from FOX News?

A Fantacy. Come along!

Until the hell of the bush administration ends (no, I haven’t a clue when that might be) let’s all move here. I saw a tourism commercial on TV and the scenes were breath taking plus the music was nice as well. At the very end of the commercial the viewer is informed that all the scenes are from this gorgeous place. That’s what fired me up to check out their website. And what a beautiful website it is.

I think how nice it would be to press a magic button and be there with Mr. Pop, my pets and all my stuff. Maybe I could have a little amnesia so I wouldn’t remember what is happening in the world. That would help.

I want to wake up, walk out and look at those scenes they are temping me with at the website. Aren’t they wonderful? Oh, and in this fantasy I would have enough money to be comfortable too. Not lottery like sums, but enough to get by.
Let’s do it. Let’s all push that magic button and go right now to New Zealand.

Punishment

If for some magical reason the bush administration is tried and found guilty of all their sins, there should be an appropriate punishment. I do not believe in capital punishment, so that’s out. I also find just lounging around in a federal prison insufficient. I do have one suggestion.

Put george bush in a room and bring in little kids. These little kids are those who have lost someone in the war in Iraq, someone they loved very much. He first should be forced to listen to each child as he or she tells him about the lost loved one and what it means to their life. Stories like how they miss daddy and the things daddy used to do with them. Then bush must confess to each of these children individually what he did in order to get this war started and what he didn’t do to protect the person they loved so much. He should have to look into those little tear stained faces and tell them the truth and he also must apologize to each one of them.

He should have to hear the children’s sobs and see their broken hearts. Their sobbing should be recorded and played aloud in his cell every night while he tries to sleep. Photos of the crying children should be placed permanently on all the walls of his cell so he can never avoid seeing them.

He should forever be reminded of what he has done and he should never be free of the anguish he has caused. No one can change the past, and he should never be allowed to forget it or rid himself of the heartbreak his actions have caused.

Evidence of a Crime

Rumsfeld is exactly the right guy to be Secretary of Defense. If you can say that and believe it, you are either a liar or you have not heard any news for the past three years.

I know I have pimped the book, “Cobra ll”, all over the internet. If you don’t already have it, get your paws on that big book and please read it. I don’t know much about military operations and even I can read this book and see where things went all to hell. The authors give the names of those who were involved in the operations, and as of now I have not heard of a single person deny anything depicted in the book.

Because I allow myself only so much time for reading each day, I am about three quarters through the book. I feel great gratitude to the authors for helping me see what really happened before and during the invasion. Do I think the retired generals who are lambasting Rumsfeld are justified? Absolutely! Do I think there should be a large legal net thrown over this administration? Yes, with all my heart. Do I feel it would be justified? Thanks to the authors of “Cobra ll”, I now know it would not only be justified, it is mandatory for the future of our country.

Anyone who is aiding and abetting this administration at this time is committing a moral crime, if not a legal crime. Now is truly the time for all good men to come to the aid of our country, because our country is in pathetic shape. We are seriously lacking in truth and valor right here in America. Someone is killing the truth, and as a result people are dying. That would seem to me to be evidence that a crime has been committed.

Easter Bunny Drops in for a Morning Martini

There are times when all’s right with the world, even when it isn’t

I was awakened early this morning by Murphy. He’s a little deaf dog who apparently can’t hear his own bark, so he barks a lot when he needs us. No one breathing can sleep through his vocal messages. We take turns getting up and caring for him.

I got up, went into the kitchen and gave him his breakfast. Fred the Cat was awake so I fed him as well. After Fred ate I opened the door to allow him a romp around the screened-in patio. Then I grabbed Murphy’s leash, snapped it on his collar and we went outside to explore the early morning yard.

The moon was lingering in the western sky even as the sun was sneaking up from the opposite direction. If the moon didn’t get going we would seem to be in for a clash of large shiny orbs. In the distance I could make out the silhouette of a mourning dove sitting patiently on a pine tree branch. Maybe she was watching the celestial show along with me.

As Murphy diligently sniffed every blade of grass I listened to the sounds of a new day. An occasional mocking bird blurting out some important announcement at the top of its lungs. The hum of a car as someone set out for their destination, so early in the day. The distant call of the water birds as they awoke and discussed their flight plans and where they might dine today. Nothing unpleasant, just the sounds of a fresh and shining new day.

As I stood there in the early morning, dew-moistened grass waiting for my little dog to complete his mission, I couldn’t help but feel at that moment that all was right with the world, even though I know it isn’t.

Easter Necessities

The Easter holiday is hopping down the bunny trail. It’s almost here. There are so many pretty things associated with that day. There are the gorgeous flowers, the pictures of baby animals and the beautiful colors on the Easter eggs.
In the spirit of this holiday please complete the following sentence.
It just wouldn’t be Easter without ______________

Enough Already

Bush still has the majority of his base with him, his war base. Ironically they are also his Christian base. Christians for war. Christians for invasion of sovereign countries. Christians for flag draped coffins. You go Christian cheerleaders!

Thirty five soldiers have been killed this month alone. Today is only the 12th of April. This doesn’t seem to bother the Christian cheerleaders. What they are concerned about is something different. The Christians for war are trying to rev up a War on Easter and a War on Christians. Jeezz, how many wars will it take to make them happy? Wasn’t the War on Christmas enough for them? They like these wars for some reason and they like to fight about them, if only they could find someone to fight with. See that’s the safe part, it’s easy to declare that someone is at war with you if there’s no need for actual personal involvement like fighting and dying. They enjoy being involved in these pretend wars and acting like the victim but oh don’t ask them to fight the kind of wars that bush likes to start. They’ll just stay home and cheer for the home team.

I have a suggestion for these war loving Christians. Either sign up and fight in the real war or shut the hell up. You whimper and whine because everyone in the freakin’ world doesn’t have a religious symbol, with your personal Christian stamp of approval stamped on it, stuck in some damn prominent spot of their homes or lawns or cars or wherever the hell else. While you are having your Christian hissy fit, there are people with lives and hearts being torn all to hell because a member of their family has been killed in your war president’s real war. That is the result when people are involved in real war. That’s what it looks like. It doesn’t look like mangers or crosses or some kind of symbol, it looks like real pain and real end of life.

Please just stop this bullshit. Nobody has time to screw with you war-loving, but non-fighting, people right now. While you are rolling around in you own self inflicted pity in the safety of your own little group of self righteous peers, there are real things that are so much more important than your insane, and it seems never ending, complaints. The only fight you are truly involved in is your daily battle against facing reality.

Happiness is Not an Empty Martini Glass

And so far, my day has been just like an empty martini glass.

This morning is not going well. We are selling our other house and the buyer is dicking us around to the point that I am greatly disgusted with him, the contract, and everything involved. This is supposed to be the day we close on the sale and the buyer is, well, he’s apparently a jerk and we aren’t sure if we’ll close or there will be yet another delay. I am mentally frazzled with this entire situation. Living in limbo does not suit me well. Let’s just say not only am I not in my happy place, I can’t even remember what it looks like. Perhaps events will change today and the clouds will part. But for now reality is sort of sucky.

Since I am so agitated with this real morning, I’m going to create my own fantasy morning.

Wake up to sunshine peaking through my window. Turn on the news. Hear that President Feingold has indeed named Al Gore as Secretary of the Interior. Great choice. The newscaster goes on to say that since President Feingold was able to reach out to the United Nations and get their cooperation there is finally peace in Iraq. The next item is something about the prison time the old administration will be serving. I wouldn’t pay much attention to that because I would be waiting for the story about President Feingold being able to persuade former President Clinton to become his Secretary of State. Then I realize my cheeks are hurting because of that giant smile on my face.

Oh, if only that were true. If it was, I think we would be able to handle this day to day bs so much better.

The Temptation of Insanity

Our country seems to reek of frustration.

Those of us in the hurricane magnet area soon face another season that is advertised to be just about as bad as last year. The war goes on as do the deaths in its wake. Dead and decayed human beings are still being pulled from the debris along the Gulf Coast. It’s a lot to deal with if you are a sane, sensitive, caring human being.

FEMA will apparently be headed by the last person nabbed for the job. I doubt many have much faith in things getting any better there.

The bush administration doesn’t show any signs of changing its course as far as fighting wars is concerned.

With all this going on, seems to me it would be so much easier to declare insanity than to try to deal with it all. Just throw in the towel and say that’s it, I’m insane and I refuse to acknowledge all the many trials and tribulations that life is barreling my way. Of course we aren’t going to do that, but hell, it sure does seem it would be so much easier. We’re all in the hand basket. We know the destination, and there are times when it looks appealing to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

More Doubtful Everyday

I was never one to give serious consideration to the government being involved in the events of September 11, 2001. It was beyond my comprehension that any administration of the United States would act in such a way. This is America.

Yes, yes, I know that the settlers who arrived on these shores massacred the real Native Americans. I know slaves were brought to this country and treated in the most vile way. I know it took way too long to end slavery and even longer to give African Americans their equal rights. I know our country has made hideous mistakes in the past, but I thought we were learning as we went along, just as I think most believed we had learned a lesson as the result of our military involvement in Vietnam.

I remember President Clinton saying we would build a bridge to the twenty-first century. It sounded so positive and so right. Well, here we are in that twenty-first century and somebody blew up the bridge.

We aren’t committing crimes, but we are watching crimes being committed. Our government is manipulating the truth at every turn. When did that manipulation begin? Was it born after the attacks of 9-11?

Did those attacks on September 11, 2001, change everything? Or had things already changed? Sometimes I wonder about things that would never have crossed my mind only five years ago.

What became of this little girl

Today is this little girl’s birthday.

This little girl had a hell of a childhood. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother was codependent and an enabler. Her mother was much more concerned about her father than she was the little girl. This little girl had to grow up long before she should have. Her childhood was a nightmare.

There was one particular rainy night when she was only eight years old. Her family lived in what would now be referred to as “the projects”. The so-called homes were actually military housing that even the military didn’t want anymore. Her daddy was drunk and raising hell for more liquor. There was no way her momma was going to let him drive in that condition so she left the little girl at home with her sister, who was almost two, and she drove the little girl’s daddy to accommodate his addiction. The little girl cried because she didn’t want to be left at home on that dark and rainy night. That didn’t stop them from leaving her though. As they drove away, the baby woke up and began to cry. The little girl went in and picked the baby up. She carried the baby with her to the closed backdoor . The upper half of the door was a glass window. The little girl just stood there holding the crying baby and looking out into the darkness. All she saw was her own reflection in the glass pane. She leaned her face against the cold glass and she cried too. The raindrops were running down the glass on the outside and her tears were running down the glass on the inside. She was so afraid. She felt so helpless. She worried, what if they didn’t come back? Why wouldn’t the baby stop crying? Then she realized that no one was going to help her. There was no one to turn to. She had to do this all by herself. That night was a turning point for the little girl in so many ways. Her parents did come back safe and sort of sound and she and the baby were okay. Maybe that was the night she learned that no matter how hard and sad and frightening life could be, she could get through it.

I believe that was the night when that little girl decided there would be nothing she couldn’t handle. I believe that was the night she became determined never to give up. I know there were times when she wondered if she wanted to keep going, times when she doubted the struggle would produce anything of value. But she hung in there. She let no one get her down. She did everything she could to overcome all the obstacles carelessly thrown in her path.

Had this little girl not been the person that she was, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Thanks to that strong and determined little girl, my life is different today. I owe her my gratitude. She was just a little girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders but she struggled on, and as a result, today I am the woman that I am. She lit the candles and she made the wishes, and because of her I am able to blow out the candles and see her wishes come true. I surely owe a debt of gratitude to the little girl I was when life was so lonely and so sadly difficult. She created my strength and my determination. Because of her decisions, today I have the life she always dreamed I would have. I’m having a very happy birthday today and watching all my wishes come true. That little girl is very happy too.

Sunday with Fred the Cat

Fred the Cat, reminisces about his long ago days as a cat of the streets. He compares those days to the present. He no longer goes outside and he no longer fears the dangers of the street life. He no longer goes without food when he’s hungry. Fred probably knows that today, in his safe and loving home, he has it made.

Wiretapping Florida Style

Seems the NSA has been using Ibis to listen in on phone conversations in Florida. As seen here, two listen to the conversations passing through the wires while a third stands watch to guard against any pesky Liberals who might want to try to enforce their right to privacy.

While other states may have human beings as NSA agents, Gov. Jeb Bush, while keeping with his family’s tradition, felt it appropriate to give Florida residents the bird.

Shooting Birds in My Nightgown

This morning I was out in my backyard in my nightgown. I was armed with a camera and I was hunting for some farm raised trial attorneys to shoot. I thought I saw one. As I swung around to shoot, the early morning sun was in my eyes. I fired. Sadly, I quickly saw what I had hit. This scissor tailed kite, being harassed by a fish crow. You can see that the picture is a bit blurred because I realized just as I pressed the button on the camera what was about to happen. I’ve waited until now to make the picture public as I had been drinking coffee at breakfast and there might have been some caffeine in my bloodstream at the time of the shooting.

Neither the crow not the kite can be reached for comment.

Truth and Consequences?

Okay, so it wasn’t a leak if it was information that the president had declassified.
So, why didn’t bush tell us that instead of this on Oct. 7, 2003

“Dana.
Q Mr. President, beyond the actual leak of classified information, there are reports that someone in the administration was trying to -- after it was already out -- actively spread the story, even calling Ambassador Wilson's wife "fair game." Are you asking your staff is anyone did that? And would it be wrong or even a fire-able offense if that happened?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the investigators will ask our staff about what people did or did not do. This is a town of -- where a lot of people leak. And I've constantly expressed my displeasure with leaks, particularly leaks of classified information. And I want to know, I want to know the truth. I want to see to it that the truth prevail. And I hope we can get this investigation done in a thorough way, as quickly as possible.”

Libby testifies Bush Authorized Leak

MSNBC is announcing that Libby has testified that both Cheney and bush authorized the leaking of the info about Valerie Plame.

Here's a link at Smoking Gun

Who Hates our Freedom?

The bush administration complained recently that the enemy in Iraq is waging a propaganda war via blowing up roadside bombs and killing people. They claim that that’s the reason they blow things up because they know it will make front page news. Meanwhile the US is waging a propaganda war via paying to place articles in Iraqi newspapers and possibly American newspapers

The true propaganda is the attempt by this administration to warp American minds into believing that this war was necessary and legitimate They want us to think that there are so many evil people bent on our destruction that we have to edit the Constitution in order to make it fit our new found needs. If we are fighting “them” over there why must we curb freedom over here? If the enemy is “over there”, why is the right to privacy being fought over here? If we are winning the war on terror, why are we losing the war for our own rights and freedom?

Who exactly is the Patriot Act protecting? Is it protecting us from the enemy? By making us more vulnerable to the government’s probes how does that advance our safety? How much privacy must we surrender to the government before the enemy decides they don’t want to destroy us? And, who is this enemy who we are told hates our freedom? I would say it is those who seek to take it away.

Oops! Caught on Tape, Delay and Matthews

Did you see DeLay on “Hardball” last night with Chris Matthews? Well, there was a part of the conversation they thought you weren’t going to hear. Guess that pesky tape kept running during a break. You can hear it here.

Nature's Gentle Beauty

A week ago today I was standing on these sand flats you see above. The flats were exposed because it was low tide, otherwise this is under water. This is where we went to search for piping plovers as they were scrambling around searching for snacks and preparing for their trip back up north.

Even when the world appears to have lost it’s sanity, places like this have a kind of mental medication that is, to my way of thinking, indispensable. Looking out over the gorgeous water gives one a sense of balance and serenity. Whether you’re gazing at the mountains, the desert or the ocean, you can’t help but feel the healing powers of nature.

Good Evening from Florida

Thinking about a Vacation?

“…you find quiet streets…”

“…a double-sized Olympic pool with a palm-fretted patio restaurant, food courts and a giant coffee lounge where lessons in belly dancing and martial arts are offered.”

Sounds heavenly, no? Where, you may ask, is this place?
This my friends, is inside the Green Zone in Baghdad. Outside the Green Zone is where you find hell.

MSNBC and Newsweek have a very interesting article about Rice’s trip to Iraq.

Bug man DeLay, Bugging out

This fine young (he’ll be 59 Saturday) Republican is stepping down. He’s doing it for his party as he knows the next election will be all about him. And not being one to grab a spotlight, he’s taking one for his party. Okay, he has a trail of crookedness that seems to be following him wherever he goes, but aside from that he’s a heck of a guy. Perhaps now he will go to the front line and fight the good fight in the war against Christianity.

See ya, Tom

Using His Name, Ignoring His Lessons

I went to Sunday school as a little kid and attended church until my early twenties. I listened to what I was told during those years. I found it interesting to hear the stories from the bible, and the lessons they imparted benefited me as a person. The stories and the lessons were, for the most part, very positive or at least what I took from them proved to be positive in my life.

There was one aspect of attending church that always bothered me as far back as I can remember. I dreaded the part where they passed around the plate for donations. See, my family was always seriously financially challenged. We barely had rent and food money let alone money to give to the church. When I would see that donation plate coming my way I would almost panic. While others dropped in folding money, I dropped in a measly amount of change, seldom adding up to a quarter. I always felt ashamed that I wasn’t in a position to give more. That was the worst part of my church experience.

Somewhere along the way I decided that I didn’t need to attend organized religious meetings in order to live the kind of life I knew that I should. I had learned the basic teachings of Jesus. I learned to try to be kind to people in need. I learned to be as good a person as I could be and not to intentionally cause harm to others. I learned to respect people as much as they would let me and to try very hard to understand people with whom I disagreed, no matter what.

Today I see praying as another form of wishing. I don’t believe there is a superior being who is playing traffic cop and controlling which way our lives must lead. I hope there was a person just like the Jesus whose lessons I learned. I hope there was a person like that at least once upon this earth. I sure do hope there was.

Today the Christian Right is the worst enemy of religion. They are intolerant of anyone who doesn’t believe the way they believe, and for some reason, they are grand supporters of this war. My feeling is that these “Christians” never bothered to read the New Testament. That’s the part that’s the most important. The world according to the Old Testament was a miserable mess. Then in the New Testament, along came Jesus to try to get it straightened out. I don’t know how you can claim the word “Christian” if you don’t know the story of Christ.

So to me it’s kind of ironic that I, as an atheist, try so very much to live my life by the teachings of Jesus while the Christians on the Right seem to fight his teachings all along the way. We’ve all heard the question, “What would Jesus do?” Because I remember the lessons and based on what those lessons taught me, I pretty much can guess what he would do in most situations. I think he would be fair and tolerant. I think he would approach each situation with an open mind and a gentle heart.

Too bad, if there really was a person like Jesus, he couldn’t come back now and help us get our world back on track. We could use someone like him right now. The Christian Right says Jesus may return any day. For their sake they better pray it isn’t today. He just might not like them using his name but ignoring his lessons.

McCain, like a turtle on its back

Did you see McCain yesterday on “Meet the Press”? He reminded me of a box turtle that had been rolled over on its back. You know how turtles in that position stick out their feet on first one side to get some leverage to turn themselves upright as they roll back the other way? That’s what McCain was doing. First he would stick out his conservative feet and then he would try to roll over to his liberal side and when that didn’t work he would reverse the action and try to kick himself back to his conservative side. He would try to get leverage from one side and then the other. He was liberal, but not that liberal. He was conservative, but not that conservative. He rolled back and forth all throughout the interview.

We all know what will eventually happen to a turtle that can’t roll over, he meets his demise because he wears himself out. Looks to me like McCain is doing the same thing. He is trying so hard to be all things to all people that he seems to appear to be nothing to anyone. He’s just rolling back and forth on his shell and making no progress in either direction.

Frustrated with Failures

(I’ll post more photos tomorrow but right now there is something else on my mind.)

Thank you Democrat senators for absolutely nothing! Where the hell were you yesterday when the censure hearing was going on? What was more important to you than protecting Americans rights? You do work for Americans, you know? Senator Kennedy, where were you? Where were all of you? Senator Feingold and Senator Leahy were present and we won’t forget they were. We also won’t forget the rest of you were not. Did you think it was too risky to show that you give a damn about our right to privacy? Big mistake there folks.

The Republicans say that the message of the hearing was that if you don’t keep Republicans at the wheel, this is what is going to happen. The Democrats will try to impeach bush in a time of war. Well, with an overall approval rating of less than 40% maybe the American people don’t think that impeaching bush is such a bad idea. The Republicans ask what kind of message would it send to the world if we impeach the president during a time of war. The Democrats should reply, what kind of message did this war send to the world?

So why are any senators protecting this miserable incompetent administration? They have bungled every damned thing they have touched. Nothing has been accomplished, because nothing they’ve ever started has been successfully completed. They just go from one project to another, leaving the previous project in shambles as they begin the next. The list of failures is too long and too familiar to even bother to list. The newest shiny thing is immigration. Will they find a solution to that problem? No they won’t but it’s supposed to take the public’s eye off their last dismal failure.

So again, thanks for doing absolutely nothing for us, Democratic senators. Too bad you are so much into politics and so little into the American people. Our country has never needed you more and I can’t remember a time you have given us less. You had your chance and you turned your back on us. We’ll keep that in mind. While you tried to cover your political asses by ignoring Senator Feingold’s effort, we saw you for what you really are. You are just run of the mill politicians. Sadly you are not statesmen and women. You showed yourselves to be unworthy of our confidence and surely unworthy of our support.

Please ask yourselves what message your absence from the hearing sent to our country. Either you are protecting the president or protecting your political selves. Neither is worthy of such protection. We would rather see you protect the Constitution and American rights. That’s what we elected you to do and yesterday you failed us and you failed our country.

(just found out that Russ Feingold will be appearing on "Fox News Sunday" this weekend)