May 31, 2005
I wonder if Nixon is turning over or groaning? I never would have guessed it was Felt. I wonder in today's world, how long that secret would have lasted.
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This is the song that kept going through my head as the mammogram technician kept trying to coax me to relax. She calibrated that machine to squish my boobies till they were almost abnormally flat!
The second thought that came to mind, which I shared with the technician: If men had their genitalia squeezed to within an inch of passing out, I bet there would be an NSF grant issued immediately, luring the best scientific minds to develop a better diagnostic machine that wouldn't require squishing their genitalia or that would cause them pain in any way.
I'm willing to bet big money that it was a sadistic man that designed this machine, with the thought that if we could endure 18 hrs of labor we could endure the 15 minutes it takes for our boobies to be painfully squished and filmed!
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06:25 PM
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May 30, 2005
- Aristotle (325 B.C.)
Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
- George Orwell
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
- Gen. George S. Patton
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02:18 PM
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May 29, 2005
In the sixties, America correctly focused on bringing down walls that prevented equal access and due process. It was time to walk the Founders' talk -- and we did. With barriers to opportunity no longer written into law, today the body politic is crying for different remedies.
America must now focus on creating healthy, self-actualizing individuals committed to taking responsibility for their lives, developing their talents, honing their skills and intellects, fostering emotional and moral intelligence, all in all contributing to the advancement of the human condition.
At the heart of authentic liberalism lies the recognition, in the words of John Gardner, "that the ever renewing society will be a free society (whose] capacity for renewal depends on the individuals who make it up." A continuously renewing society, Gardner believed, is one that seeks to "foster innovative, versatile, and self-renewing men and women and give them room to breathe."
One aspect of my politics hasn't changed a bit. I became a liberal in the first place to break from the repressive group orthodoxies of my reactionary hometown.
This past January, my liberalism was in full throttle when I bid the cultural left goodbye to escape a new version of that oppressiveness. I departed with new clarity about the brilliance of liberal democracy and the value system it entails; the quest for freedom as an intrinsically human affair; and the dangers of demands for conformity and adherence to any point of view through silence, fear, or coercion.
True, it took a while to see what was right before my eyes. A certain misplaced loyalty kept me from grasping that a view of individuals as morally capable of and responsible for making the principle decisions that shape their lives is decisively at odds with the contemporary left's entrance-level view of people as passive and helpless victims of powerful external forces, hence political wards who require the continuous shepherding of caretaker elites.
Leftists who no longer speak of the duties of citizens, but only of the rights of clients, cannot be expected to grasp the importance (not least to our survival) of fostering in the Middle East the crucial developmental advances that gave rise to our own capacity for pluralism, self-reflection, and equality. A left averse to making common cause with competent, self- determining individuals -- people who guide their lives on the basis of received values, everyday moral understandings, traditional wisdom, and plain common sense -- is a faction that deserves the marginalization it has pursued with such tenacity for so many years.
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10:35 AM
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May 28, 2005
Hope you all have a great Memorial Day!
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09:22 AM
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You scored: 75 Holy, 68 Tactful, 92 Natural, and 70 Arcane!
You can do everything well to an extent. You can pull off a spell or two, fend off warrior in a fight for a few minutes, and you've been known to pick a lock or two, but chances are someone in your party can do these same things. You have one of two options... go it alone or in a small group and fill all the niches that are uncovered. You are the best of all worlds when it comes to leadership... you've got perspective on every person's strengths and weaknesses, you are a master at planning and cunning, you are in tune with the natural world, and you may have your God, but the last thing you want to do is impose it upon everyone else. Lastly, you can really whip a crowd up into a fenzy when you're wailing on your guitar. The trade off for being so cool is that you get both positive and negative attention (such as getting beat up).a lot. Bards are both loved and hated, so don't get caught in one of the trans-dimensional vortexs of life if you don't want a good drumming now and again.
The test tracked 4 variables. Here's how you compared to others in your age and gender group:
You scored higher than 75% on Godliness
You scored higher than 99% on Tact
You scored higher than 87% on Harmony
You scored higher than 99% on Arcane
Thanks to Laughing Wolf for the link. A warning: you need HTML knowledge in order to post this decently onto your site.
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May 26, 2005
1. fire a gun or rifle
2. go hunting
3. try ocean surfing
4. ride in a tank
5. ride in an F15
6. go inside 10 Downing St. for tea w/a political staffer
7. get a small tattoo or piercing
8. go to Disney World or Disney Land
9. snowboard (I used to skateboard a lot)
10. Â…Â…?
I've been trying to think of the 10th for the last few days now and have come up blank. IÂ’d welcome any suggestions for things I might consider in order to finish my list. Feel free to share your list via a trackback or in the comments section. [via Poliblog]
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LOLMay 24, 2005
Up until that point I hadnÂ’t realized how much IÂ’ve missing you. After each interview I wished I could have called you to let you know how things had gone. Instead, I got online and visited my blog family and sprinkled comments everywhere. You would like all of them. They're funny, smart, and interesting. Some have the same sense of humor you do. I have to say that in your honor IÂ’ve been visiting one site in particular called Madfish WillieÂ’s Cyber Saloon. It kind of defies description. ItÂ’s the kind of place you used to drink with your buddies before you left the Fire Dept. You know, the bar youÂ’d ask me not to go into but instead to meet you at the corner. Yep, itÂ’s that kind of a place; all are funny, some are bawdy, the drunks are surly, and a very few are lewd. While their outrageous humor shocks me just enough to not visit too often, most jokes are not so naughty that they prevent me from laughing.
Visiting all these wonderful people has helped me stay in the land of the vibrantly living and moved me beyond the present and looking towards a brighter future. IÂ’ve even begun forming close bonds with a few. The blessing is that it's slow going and at a distance. You know how I am, mostly a solitary creature; if it hadnÂ’t been for you adopting me we probably wouldnÂ’t even had become friends. Well, last summer I was adopted into this family and theyÂ’ve all helped with my healing since then. It all started with Sgt Hook posting the letters I sent to him. Shortly after that, Harvey read them and found me living in some lousy conditions at this awful blogging ghetto and helped find me a nice new home. Nice digs donÂ’t you think! I eventually grew on him, as you used to say - like fungus, and he adopted me. I guess I would have eventually started coming out of the dark on my own. But as you know, writing just helped me heal faster than most. Since my first site incarnation IÂ’ve managed to really come into the light with their help.
In rereading this letter I realized that this post, in a way, is like our birthday celebration. Your 46, my site is 1yr old, and me, well, IÂ’m still young at heart. Though I will not be going to the circus, and I will not be picking up cupcakes from Mrs. BeasleyÂ’s to celebrate, I will do something fun in your memory. Still canÂ’t think of what it might be, but it will be a remembrance nonetheless. Maybe IÂ’ll get some help setting up a page for a 24hr online jokathon like you once wanted me to do to benefit the MS and Leukemia societies. But although I was stumped back then as to how to collect money online, I just thought of a possiblity that might work. Hmmmmm, gotta think about this some more. Wow, thanks for the idea kiddo. I can see youÂ’re still telling me what you want me to do!
Well, I hope you continue watching over me from heaven, because as youÂ’ve seen, I can still get in over my head sometimes here on earth. Oh by the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY sans le cupcake!!!
Loving you always!
M/
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Thanks to the Llamas for the link which came originally via The Crusty Curmudgeon.
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12:05 AM
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F/A-22 Raptor
You are an F/A-22. You are technologically inclined, and though you've never been tested in combat, your very name is feared. You like noise, but prefer not to pollute any more than you have to. And you can move with the best.
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.
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May 23, 2005
PostSecret aims to help all who feel they need a safe place to divulge their secret without being judged, discovered, or while they figure out how to reconcile their secret within their lives.
As for me, I have only 2 secrets, and their both big. I've made peace with one, and as for the other, well.... click the extended entry to see.
more...
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12:15 AM
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May 22, 2005
A Friend Like You
There's lots of things
with which I'm blessed
when life is going blue;
Of all my blessings
there's one that's best,
that's having a friend like you.
In times of trouble some will say,
'I'll be there to help you through';
But you don't wait for me to ask,
You're there and simply do!
I just can't think of something else
that's better for me to do;
than know a friend,
and be a friend,
and love a friend... like you.
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12:10 AM
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May 21, 2005
As a stress relief I thought I'd join the Karnival of Kids fun being hosted at Susie's, of Practical Penumbra, and share a bit of his silly and playful side with all of you.
Here we were at the Boat Basin in Central Park a couple of weeks ago, when suddenly he decides to lay down on his back and watch the clouds in the sky. As I snapped the picture he had just finished saying, "I love this place!" Yes, I do too. Get well soon my little cuddlebunny, 'cause I miss your smile!
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10:02 PM
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May 20, 2005
I'm currently staying at my mom's in Manhattan due to chemical fumes seeping into my own apt from construction in the apt. below. So life will continue to be stressful and posting will be light, as anyone who works or has been in Manhattan can attest, that life here is noisy, over stimulating and energy depleting.
In the mean time, I encourage everyone, AND I MEAN YOU! to go over to Bill Whittle's site of Eject! Eject! Eject for his long awaited essay installments since his hiatus: Sanctuary I and Sanctuary II. Grab you're favorite drink and prepare yourself to have your heart and mind stimulated for an hour or so.
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06:47 PM
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May 17, 2005
Where do we go from here? For me it's clear, we go back to the pre-watergate era when reporters were questioned thoroughly by their editors; when claims by anonymous sources were investigated by reporters and corroborated with existing factual information and not just from a source's lone witness account; when editors personally met big news sources to gage their credibility and truthfulness, double-checked that against the data and story their reporters had presented.
News Editors need to dig deep into their values and go back to a place before news was a commodity; before news became earnings, ratings and subscriptions competition, to a place where a News Editor's role is once again that of a vanguard and protector of the truth. For that is what the American people want, and that is what our system of democracy demands.
If we are to have any credibility, as a leader in democratic principles and the lone nation that will singlehandedly stand up in the global war on terror, it is imperative that truth be valued more highly than anything else. For it is only then that we will have the most powerful weapon in our arsenal, one that is undeniably powerful in opening the hearts and minds of our critics, and potential enemies. Truth is the most accurate and powerful weapon we have in the battle against propaganda and holy jihad. For what we are fighting in essence is an ideology and a belief system.
The only way our nation will ever be effective in combatting the darkness of terror, is by holding up the powerful light of truth for all to see.
The blogosphere has similar opinions but from diverging viewpoints. Several former journalists and prominent bloggers bring up excelent points. I'm linking to Laughing Wolf, Indiepundit, and Buzzmachine, are all good reading on this subject.
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12:39 AM
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My darling blog-”niece” Arianna,
You’ve asked your old “Uncle Walter” how to solve the problem of the network news...
And speaking [of equating defeatism with patriotism], did it ever strike you as odd how remarkably uncurious the media is to get to the bottom of the Bush Air National Guard Memo story? Ask yourself this: “Who stands to gain?”
Yes, that’s right, Arianna–that’s exactly what I’m saying; I AM Lucy Ramirez! (I’m only telling you this here because no one reads these new-fangled ‘blog’-thingies.)
I typed out those memos on my 1972 Rosemary Woods Model Selectric…and Dan [Rather] and Mary sucked them up like a crack ho on a 5-dollar rock. And now Little Danny has been shipped off to that televised retirement home they called “60 Minutes”…and my old job has opened back up!
So, dear, to answer your question, whatÂ’s the solution to the problem of the National Media?
I am. Me. Walter F. FarkinÂ’ Cronkite, THE GREATEST JOURNALIST WHO EVER LIVED!!! THATÂ’S RIGHT PEOPLE IÂ’M BACK, SO BITCHES, GET OUT OF MY WAY!!! I HELPED US LOSE ONE WAR AND I CAN DO IT AGAIN!!!!! AND YOU CANÂ’T STOP ME!!!!!!!! NOBODY CAN STOP ME!!!!!!!!!! NOBODY, DO YOU HEAR ME?????? Â…MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And thatÂ’s the way it is.
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12:28 AM
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May 16, 2005
Infinite, unthinking, beautiful -- there is no peace like it in this world, whether by trance or narcotic. Married with the joy of flight, the unblinking starscape becomes my paradise. Weightless, my ruined body feels young strength. Boundless, my spirit soars.
via The Darth Side
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12:16 AM
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The Keys to Your Heart |
You are attracted to honesty, affection and warmth. |
In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved often. |
You'd like for your lover to think you are optimistic and happy. |
You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, sarcastic or negative. |
Your ideal relationship is traditional. Without saying anything, both of you can communicate with your hearts and spirit. |
Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. |
You think of marriage as something you've always wanted... though you haven't really thought much about it. |
In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do much for love, but you won't fall for it easily. |
The most unusual part of this quiz can be found in the questions. If you click through on the link above you'll see what I mean.
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May 15, 2005
The riots and deaths that have recently occurred in Afghanistan are one of the most egregious examples of bad journalism I've ever seen. That it came out of a Newsweek Magazine story (worldwide circulation of 4.9 million) is all the more shocking.
The media has of course, white-washed or muted the truth of their culpability in this situation. The facts are that unverified inflammatory and defamatory information found it's way to print. This caused a destabilization in a politically charged environment which fragmenting relations with a population that were still tenuous at best, creating chaos and causing many injuries and death (to both Afghani's and Americans), from the rioting which result from these stories.
These injuries and deaths are a result of unbridled arrogance by yet another news organization, whose hubris led them to neglect their duty as vanguards of the truth.
Is it any wonder why viewership of tv news and readership of newspapers is at an all time low? No one can trust or believe in what they report anymore as they have proven, especially in the last 9 months, to be extremely fallible. I'm sure Marshall McLuhan has been turning over in his grave.
Update: This is what National Review has to say after contacting Newsweek editors and reporters responsible for this story:
Equally disturbing is the fact that Newsweek reporters seemed to have little idea how explosive such a story would be. While noting that, to Muslims, desecrating the Koran “is especially heinous,” Thomas looks for explanations, including “extremist agitators,” of why protest and rioting spread throughout the world, and maintains that it was at Imram Khan’s press conference that “the spark was apparently lit.” He confesses that after “so many gruesome reports of torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, the vehemence of feeling around this case came as something of a surprise.”
What planet do these people live on that they are surprised by something so entirely predictable? Anybody with a little knowledge could have told them it was likely that people would die as a result of the article. Remember Salman Rushdie?
Dudes, the damage has been done! I say each family of a deceased and injured person should teach Newsweek a valuable and costly lesson!
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08:12 PM
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May 14, 2005
The proposal? That there be 100 hours of debate on each nominee, with each senator getting one hour of floor time. On Tuesday, 4 nominees are scheduled to be considered.
I believe that Senators, who after reading the JC's (Judiciary Committee's) comprehensive report (which includes nominees profiles and credentials) and the transcript of the interviews, they are still unable to make up their mind on nominees (who are currently sitting on the bench in Circuit Court) or are incapable of debating their credentials concisely on the floor, then these Senators don' t deserve to be on the hill! more...
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10:14 AM
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I've posted in the extended entry a one page transcribed excerpt I found on either Hewitt's site or Fox news (sorry lost the link & page), just in case anyone was interested in seeing our hard earned tax dollars at work. Here's a link to the MP3 excerpt (via radioblogger.com) of the portion I didn't transcribe because of the overwhelming urge to laugh and scream simultaneously. For the love of God, can anyone tell me what this man means by the Republicans "Hamanizing" the Senate?
I'm interested in what others are doing to stay informed, so please let me know what you think and if you've kept up with the filibustering. Sometimes the personal annecdotes drive me over the edge, because I think to myself: "this is the crap that's going into the senate record for the day!"
Read on McDuff's, you be the judge and see if the wheels of democracy have come to a screeching halt. more...
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08:46 AM
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