Mother Christmas

On Thanksgiving, my church, MCC of Tampa had a huge Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone brought a dish and there was so much food that at the end of the meal, they were begging people to take stuff home.

Now normally, I cook at Thanksgiving so, at first I thought I might skip that tradition and just eat there. Especially since Daniel and his wife live far enough away that they don't want to drive back and forth for the next several days just to help us eat the leftovers. Not to mention, I'm the second stop they make that day so, they don't eat much and I don't know how to cook just a little. But, as fate would have it, I wound up cooking anyway as Daniel bought a turkey. Also because I wanted to attend the church meal, I moved my dinner to six o'clock in the evening. I figured that would be sufficient time for the lunch to settle and everyone's appetite return. Plus, I could attend the church meal, and still have time to prepare the last of the side dishes afterwards. As a nice gesture, I invited my mother to attend the church dinner. At first she refused as if by saying no, I would change my plans and stay and cook. When it began to sink in that I wasn't going to be guilted into that, she relented and said she would go. The service was nontraditional as always. I mean, we are a predominately gay and lesbian church so, scripture is often used as a metaphor to our plight in this world. They spoke about people who have torn us down and told us we weren't loveable, etc., This was very riveting as it was as if my mother was being told off in a way, I could have never found the words to do. Needless to say, she sat there like a bloated up old toad. At the end of the service there is always communion. No one is ever turned away. You don't have to be a member of our church or any church to receive it. They go by rows and you just go up to the front or back of the church where the ministers are standing to participate. The reverend, being kind, came directly to my mother as she was in a wheel chair and asked if she would like to receive communion. "NO!" was what she said in a very cross tone. It was embarrassing to say the least but, comical too.

Let me give you a post script here: We never invite my brother to our dinner. After 10 years of asking him and hearing every excuse under the sun and then finally no answer what-so-ever to our invitation, we stopped. This year, my mother took it upon herself to invite my brother to my house and then told me that she had done it with the statement "I hope he will be welcome." I told her I had never shut the door in his face but, that I had said years ago I would not be extending another invitation. Behind her back we were all whispering how he would no show and we were correct. Now lets jump forward to Christmas, shall we?

I just went down to check her central air and heating as she said the air condition wasn't coming on. That is because she had it on heat and had cranked it up to 79 degrees. The poor dog didn't know whether to shed or sit in it's water dish.

While I'm there, she asked me when I was having Christmas dinner. I said I didn't know.

Insert info here: My youngest son Dane moved in with his girlfriend the Friday after Thanksgiving.

I explained that it seemed silly to cook a lot (kind of like at Thanksgiving) since Lori has to work, Daniel and his family will hit is wife's family first and I have no idea when Dane will come around but, I'm sure it won't be early. I said I hadn't even given any thought to what I was having or anything. The conversation went like this:

Mom: Well, I'll pay for the ham.
Me: Why? Is David coming?
Mom: He would have come Thanksgiving but you had it to late.
Me: Six o'clock is not late. Lots of people eat in the evening. Not everyone eats right at the stroke of twelve.
Mom: Well, it was to late for him. He has to drive back around that time. (He lives in New Port Richey)
Me: Hey, I'm not going to shift around my entire day to suit David's schedule when 99% of the time he never calls or shows up.
Mom: Is your church planning a meal?
Me: They are Christmas Eve and I'm going to that. [they are during the day too but, I didn't mention it because I could tell she was wanting to be mean.]
Mom: Well, I'm not going!!!
Me: I didn't ask you.
Mom: I know you didn't but I'm telling you anyway.
Me: That's fine.

Now can you believe that? That is what I grew up with. Hatefulness and the constant reinforcement that my brother's time and presence was much more valuable than that of my own. He on the other hand, has that air about him that he could, should he choose, walk on water. Amazing that you could adopt two children who are biologically related and divide them to the degree she has but, I digress.

I'm thinking of calling the local deli and ordering a complete meal. I'll deliver it to her house on my way to church and say, ' Merry Christmas. I couldn't decide what to get you and then I realized, dinner with your son was what you wanted. Enjoy!' And then leave. I'm betting he will show some time that day. It might be late but, his reasons are always fine with her. What do you think?

CELEBRATE

A Special Email

It's true. Sometimes kids grow up to be wiser than we were at their age. I don't think even as a young adult, I ever reflected on what my parents were going through. I received this email today from my oldest son and thought I would share. I'm sure it applies to many.


Mom,

I got this and thought of you and all the things that you’ve gone through.

Malachi 3:3 says:

'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'


This verse puzzled me and I wondered what this statement meant about the true character and nature of God.

I decided to find out the process of refining silver before my next Bible Study.

I called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. I didn't mention anything about the reason for my interest beyond that of curiosity regarding the process of refining Silver.

As I watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest in order to burn away all the impurities.

I thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' Feeling the heat from the flame, I then asked the silversmith if he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. “If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.”

I went silent for a moment. Then asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'

His answer struck me when he replied: 'Oh, that's easy ...when I see my own image in it.'

What is Left to Be Said

wow. That's all I can say. People are talking about California's Proposition 8 and not even mentioning the slaughter and carnage in Florida with Amendment 2 passing. Billed as the "Gay marriage ban" it passed. All that was needed was 60% plus one vote. Before the last precincts were even reported, the total was:
62% or 4,589,831 for the ban
37% or 2,800,945 against it

Either way you look at it, that's a lot of haters. Over four million, five hundred and eighty-nine thousand, eight hundred and thirty one. And like I said, that wasn't ALL the votes. This is what it was last night, the last time I looked at it.

I'm just in shock. I have always felt out of place growing up and living here. Why I stayed and made a home here was purely due to economics. As a single parent in the late 70's the closer I needed to be to my so called support system, i.e.., family no matter how homophobic. Yes there were battles with that. I even endured my parents threatening to take my son away because I wanted to live with a woman. But, I persevered.

Maybe Amendment 2 won because it is where all the haters come to die. It also has as many rednecks as Georgia and Alabama. After all, we do have the largest Confederate Flag in the Nation flying in this town at the I-4 and I-75 junction. Maybe the 'Vote No on Amendment 2'folks didn't have the celebrity clout or money that California has. After all, people by nature down here are like sheep. In the end who really knows. But honestly, the older I get the more I think about my 'golden years' and how they may not be so golden down here. I've watched my grandparents, my Uncles, and finally one parent, age, become ill and die. It isn't pretty. None of mine had any strength to fight in the end. I can't imagine being in a similar situation and dying alone in some room because my life partner will not be allowed by my side and no one to speak up for her, for me, for us. Nope, I can't see that as being golden. All I can do is hope that our new President leads us all out of the bleak cavern of despair that exists here in Florida.

NOVEMBER 4TH

You know, I am so glad this election is coming to an end. Aside from hating the way the whole thing was run, I hate the way it turned a spotlight on some of my so called friends and family. I had friends that I thought really were friends. They always ask about Lori if they see me without her and vice versa if I'm not with her. Never seemed like there was any issues. Low and behold, this whole Amendment 2 issue has certainly awakened their true nature. I guess while they may like us as individuals or even as a couple, they don't feel we deserve equal rights. And I'm sure somewhere in the back of their minds, they feel it is okay to feel superior to us. Looking back, when they would ask, 'Are you and Lori still together?' I should have known. In their twisted bigoted minds, they probably think gays and lesbian couples only last a few years at best.

As for family members, I hope they don't look for a Christmas card this year cause it won't be in their box. Thank goodness this only happens every four years. It's been nerve racking and I wasn't running for office.

AMENDMENT 2 AND IT'S EFFECT ON FAMILIES

The following is taken from a letter by some Florida attorneys who publicly shared their concerns about this amendment with their fellow Floridians.

The vague language and potentially damaging consequences of the proposed Constitutional Amendment 2 in Florida called the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment. It is often referred to in the media as a "Gay marraige ban.' The proposed amendment is:

"In as much as marraige is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marraige or the substantial equivalent therof shall be valid or recognized."

FLORIDA LAW ALREADY PROHIBITS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

References to 'marriage protection' or 'gay marriage bans' are misleading as four existing Florida statues [FS 741.212 (1), 741.212 (2), 741.212 (3) and 741.04] already define marriage as the union of a man and a woman or oherwise prohibit the creationor recognition of 'same-sex marriages.' The legality or recognition of 'same-ses' unions in Florida will be no more or less illegal in Florida regardless of the outcome of the proposed amendment.

AMBIGUITY IN AMENDMENT LANGUAGE WILL LIKELY RESULT IN UNANTICIPATED AND SERIOUS ECONOMIC AND LEGAL REPERCUSSIONS

The chief concern is the section of the proposed amendment which states: "...no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."

The 2006 report of the Florida LEgislative Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) concluded: "The amendment provides no definition for the phrase 'substantial equivalent thereof,' which lends to the ambiguity of the wording of the proposed amendment."

Adding such vague, untested and undefined language is likely to deliver unanticipated repercussions and could substantially alter our state both economically and legally. Quoting the EDR report on Amendment 2 again, it warns, "Depending on actions taken by the Legislature, the courts, and Florida businesses, financial obligations between individuals are expected to change in complex ways..."

POTENTIAL LOSS OF EXISTING LEGAL PROTECTIONS AND BENEFITS FOR ALL FLORIDIANS.

ALIMONY: In 2005, the State Legislature adopted a new law designed to prevent a loophole where a former spouse receiving permanent alimony opts to cohabitate with a new partner rather than remarrying and continues to receive permanent alimony. Under this relatively new divorce law, a former spouse's alimony obligation may terminate if the recipient spouse enters into a "supportive relationship" with another person. Florida case law defines a supportive relationship as one that provides "support equivalent to marriage". Clearly, "support equivalent to marriage" is dangerously similar to "substantial equivalent to marriage". The portion of Florida Statute 61.14 recognizing a relationship providing "support equivalent to marriage" could be held unconstitutional under Amendment 2. As a result, every former spouse who is either Court Ordered or who signed an agreement to pay permanent alimony could be required to continue paying alimony despite the fact that the receiving spouse had found a new partner. At the very least, these individuals will face a costly Court battle trying to uphold their agreements and to terminate their alimony obligations.

Domestic Violence Protection: Other potential impacts include using Amendment 2 as a defense to domestic violence on an unmarried partner ( a similar amendment was used as a domestic violence defense in Ohio). Quoting the EDR again, "By invalidating any union or 'substantial equivalent thereof,' this amendment could be raised raised as a defense in domestic violence cases, resulting in fewer domestic violence convictions.

PRIVATE PROPERTY ARRANGEMENTS AND ESTATE PLANNING: Without examining every potential consequence in great detail, it is possible that Amendment 2 could also have profound implications on the ability of citizens to share property or pass on assets, establish trusts or other legal arrangements or even remarry. Especially likely to be impacted by this outcome are Florida's senior citizens and retirees who remain unmarried by choice and share pension benefits or other government benefits they have earned.

DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP REGISTRIES: this vague and broad language could also risk termination of the several established domestic partnership registries which are currently accessible to millions of Floridians. These registries allow unmarried Floridians to share benefits or other protections such as hospital visitation, burial rights and health care benefits. The non-partisan and independent EDR report again sites this concern in finding: "If domestic partnership registries are deemed substantially equivalent to marriage, their termination could place registrants at risk of losing specified rights and benefits, such as those related to health insurance."

While NO ONE CAN KNOW THE FULL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT, LITIGATION WILL RESULT as vested interest challenge shared health plans, defend domestic abusers or goverments seek clarity to the undefined language in the proposal. Even if every warning and potential outcome proves unfounded, the years of uncertainty and sheer legal expenses would be costly and unnecesary. Florida voters should be hesitant to support the vague and untested language in Amendment 2. Adding such a provision to our Constitution is unwise, especially when adoptiong the amendment will not alter our state's current laws banning 'same-sex marriage.'


VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT 2

IF YOU'RE STILL UNDECIDED

As this election starts to come to a close, there's one thing that sticks out more than anything. And that is you almost can't watch the news channels, listen to the ads, or even pay to much attention to the debates since they are controlled rigidly by the news media. What you have to do is get out to see a candidate when he comes to your area. History always repeats itself. Before television, Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, had to campaign directly to the people for the most part. Yes there were newspapers but, sometimes the news was weeks old before the people actually received it. But, in my opinion, we really need to go back to those days if we want to hear what a candidate is really saying because it's not only the words he/she uses but his/her posture and demeanor.

This election has certainly been the poster child for how an election SHOULDN'T BE CONDUCTED. Outright lies, distortions and negatism by the Republicans has been beyond shameful. It certainly cannot bolster or entice democracy around the world. Watching rallies where masses are gathered and someone shouting 'kill him', why it's a dictator's worst nightmare.

Former President Clinton recently said, " We have to elect a President who will rebuild the American dream, repair a badly shattered financial system, and restore American's standing in the world. And that's the job. Every four years when the American people elect a President they not only vote for a person, they say what they believe the job is. That IS the job. And this country is in a mess. Almost no new jobs, incomes declining, health care cost is doubled, college cost up 75 %, credit card debt going through the roof, home mortgages cratering, home values cratering, the price of gasoline, food and utilities going up. And look at the mess that we have in our finacial system. Compare that to what happened before. It wasn't like this... This is not accidental folks. You know, where I grew up in Arkansas we had a saying that, if you find a turtle on a fence post, chances are it didn't get there by accident. It did not have to be this way. It matters who the President is, it matters what the decisions are, it matters what the policies are...."

And to my way of thinking, the choice should be clear. Barack Obama is the only candidate that can effect changes that will correct the wrong decisions made these past eight years.

Gee, What a Surprise!

I took the Personality Defect Test from the link on Jess I Am's page. Thanks.

Your result for The Personality Defect Test...

Class Clown

You are 29% Rational, 57% Extroverted, 71% Brutal, and 86% Arrogant.

You are the Class Clown. This means you wear grease paint and have a big, red nose...

I really need to stop thinking so literally...

Anyway, I MEANT to say that you are the Class Clown, and this means that you are extroverted, mean, and arrogant. You are not very rational, so you gravitate towards things that produce feelings or emotions over thoughts (like fart jokes or spitballs, for instance). You are also an extrovert and rather full of yourself, so of course you want constant attention for yourself and think you are somehow better than others. (Upon hearing the expression "you are full of yourself", you probably also slyly feel the need to ask women if they would like to be "full of yourself" too. I am assuming you have a penis. I often make that assumption, being fond of the penis.) You can also be a bit mean-spirited, and like a class clown you wouldn't hesitate to make a joke at someone else's expense, no matter how terrible it would make them feel. A lot of people probably find your antics annoying, sophomoric, and desperately histrionic. Like some sort of crack-taking hyperactive monkey, you'd do anything, mock anyone, just to get someone to pay attention to you for five seconds. So your personality defects are that you have to be the center of attention, that you don't care about others, and that you are rather irrational and motivated by intuitions. Now stop walking around with those books on your head and sit down this instant! Or else I'll be forced to stand here, hands on my hips, doing nothing once again!

To put it less negatively:

1. You are more INTUITIVE than rational.

2. You are more EXTROVERTED than introverted.

3. You are more BRUTAL than gentle.

4. You are more ARROGANT than humble.

Compatibility:

Your exact opposite is the Robot.

Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Schoolyard Bully, the Smartass, and the Brute.

*

*

If you scored near fifty percent for a certain trait (42%-58%), you could very well go either way. For example, someone with 42% Extroversion is slightly leaning towards being an introvert, but is close enough to being an extrovert to be classified that way as well. Below is a list of the other personality types so that you can determine which other possible categories you may fill if you scored near fifty percent for certain traits.

The other personality types:

The Emo Kid: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Starving Artist: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Bitch-Slap: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Brute: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hippie: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Televangelist: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Schoolyard Bully: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Class Clown: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Robot: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Haughty Intellectual: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Spiteful Loner: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Sociopath: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hand-Raiser: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Braggart: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Capitalist Pig: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Smartass: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

Be sure to take my Sublime Philosophical Crap Test if you are interested in taking a slightly more intellectual test that has just as many insane ramblings as this one does!

About Saint_Gasoline

I am a self-proclaimed pseudo-intellectual who loves dashes. I enjoy science, philosophy, and fart jokes and water balloons, not necessarily in that order. I spend 95% of my time online, and the other 5% of my time in the bathroom, longing to get back on the computer. If, God forbid, you somehow find me amusing instead of crass and annoying, be sure to check out my blog and my webcomic at SaintGasoline.com.

Take The Personality Defect Test at HelloQuizzy

Diana Ross and Ru Paul - I Will Survive

This is the sexiest Diva out there!! Diana Ross not Ru Paul. lol I love this woman!!

JOHN MCCAIN PLEASE SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP

Tonight's debate shows one thing. It shows that McCain shamelessly stands behind the hideous and disgusting slurs that he and his running mate Sara Palin have become known for at their rallies. What is more incredulous is that they would have the audacity to expect an apology from Senator Obama all the while standing by their actions and those that brought their rallies to the attention of the news media. If anything costs McCain the election, he need only read this to know why. The American people are tired of slur politics. A president should always take the high road of a gentleman and a leader. A road he apparently doesn't have the tact to walk.

And Senator Obama, I wish you would have been less of a gentleman. It's one thing for a bully to kick dirt in your face and ignore it. But when that same bully has the nerve to come back with the beach patrol and ask YOU to apologize for having your face in the way of his foot.....well I say, GET HIM!!!

What Obama should have said:

John, no one likes to raise taxes but, thanks to this war that your administration started, we don't have any choices. I am just not going to raise it on the working people and small businesses of this country. And John, for you to say you aren't going to raise taxes makes me wonder if you're going to pay for the entire war out of your wife's purse.

John, no one cares if your feelings are hurt. You sit here with that snarky smile and thug glint in your eyes when you know you deliberately allowed my middle name to be mocked in a deragatory way, my religion deliberately misstated, and my very life threatened without so much as a peep from you or your running mate. And now you want to ask me to apologize for responding to those slurs? It's true you do have the balls of a Maverick. Unfortunately you don't have the clear mind and eyesight cause it's not going to happen. The news channels have done nothing but show your running mate's silence as well as that of your own during those rallies. I'm sure there were many decent people at your rallies and I hope every one of them wised up and left when they saw the extent to how low the McCain/Palin team will sink.

John, I didn't have to run against the Bush administration four years ago. I'm doing it now thanks to you.

John, I don't have to take on my party. That was your job since you were busy supporting your own party.

John, if I wanted you to speak for me at this debate, I would have paid you to be my stand in. Since I didn't, let me be perfectly clear. I AM GOING TO BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

That is all.

Would Jesus Discriminate? The 21st Century Question

On National Coming out Day and in honor of the recent victories in California and now Conneticut, it seems appropriate to reflect on the fact that Love is what is important. To be afraid that the human race will disappear if gays and lesbians are allowed to marry is just plain stupid. Obviously, there are more people now than ever before and we've always been here. So lighten up world and let us love.

TO MANY LIS PENDENS YOU THINK?

Rattlesnake In New Tampa Mailbox Bites Letter Carrier
By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 10, 2008

Updated: 01:57 pm

TAMPA - A letter carrier reaching into a New Tampa mailbox was bitten by an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake about 11:40 this morning, according to Tampa Fire Rescue and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The 66-year-old carrier drove himself back to the New Tampa post office at 16350 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., where 911 was summoned. He was taken to University Community Hospital on Fletcher Avenue in good condition, Tampa Fire Rescue said.

His identity was not available.

Thank John McCain - support @ TruthandHope.org

Question

Today I received an email with a list of gift items wanted for someone's birthday. I hate it! I don't see how anyone has the balls to send out a list on someone's behalf with a note attached that reads: This is what so and so told me they want for their birthday. Well, bully for them! What ever happened to being thrilled that someone thought enough of you to buy you something in the first place and graciously accept whatever it is? I am always amazed at how self centered people have become. Is it me? Am I the only one out here that feels the same way? Everyone wants high ticket items but, get real. Times are tough. Besides, I don't want to buy 99% of the crap on the list.

LAWS OF ATTRACTION APPLIED TO POLITICS

I don't know how much you know about the Law of Attraction or if you've ever heard of it. But surely you've heard of the phrase, "What you resist persists." The more we don't want something the more it finds us. For example- the more we fight drugs, the more they seem to be here. So I'm asking you to humor me. Stop fighting against McCain and Palin, and start working "for" Obama Biden. Stop driving yourselves crazy with all of the little details you can find about them and start remembering all of the wonderful reasons we want Obama. Volunteer if you can, but at least take my challenge.

My challenge to you: Take 30 seconds right now. Close your eyes and imagine exactly what our country will feel like with President Obama. Imagine how good it will feel. Imagine whatever it is about him that you desire. Imagine the pride. Imagine the diplomacy. Imagine the peace. Imagine the wind mills and the clean cars. Imagine the citizen groups. Imagine whatever it is that drew you to support Obama. Imagine what your life will look like. Just 30 seconds. Do it several times a day. We can shift and change the vibration of this country with positive visions just like this. It's only 30 seconds a few times a day. Surely you can find the time. It will feel good. Just try it and keep doing it.

Then pass this on to all of your Obama supporter friends. If we all take 30 seconds several times a day to shift into this positive vibration, it will work. You wait and see!

YES WE CAN

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article4392846.ece

He ventured forth to bring light to the world

The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers

From The Times, written by Gerald Baker

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow.

When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of Chicago, arguing the finer points of community organisation with the Prophet Jeremiah and the Elders. And the Elders were astonished at what they heard and said among themselves: "Verily, who is this Child that he opens our hearts and minds to the audacity of hope?"

In the great Battles of Caucus and Primary he smote the conniving Hillary, wife of the deposed King Bill the Priapic and their barbarian hordes of Working Class Whites.

And so it was, in the fullness of time, before the harvest month of the appointed year, the Child ventured forth - for the first time - to bring the light unto all the world.

He traveled fleet of foot and light of camel, with a small retinue that consisted only of his loyal disciples from the tribe of the Media. He ventured first to the land of the Hindu Kush, where the

Taliban had harboured the viper of al-Qaeda in their bosom, raining terror on all the world.

And the Child spake and the tribes of Nato immediately loosed the Caveats that had previously bound them. And in the great battle that ensued the forces of the light were triumphant. For as long as the Child stood with his arms raised aloft, the enemy suffered great blows and the threat of terror was no more.

From there he went forth to Mesopotamia where he was received by the great ruler al-Maliki, and al-Maliki spake unto him and blessed his Sixteen Month Troop Withdrawal Plan even as the imperial warrior Petraeus tried to destroy it.

And lo, in Mesopotamia, a miracle occurred. Even though the Great Surge of Armour that the evil Bush had ordered had been a terrible mistake, a waste of vital military resources and doomed to end in disaster, the Child's very presence suddenly brought forth a great victory for the forces of the light.

And the Persians, who saw all this and were greatly fearful, longed to speak with the Child and saw that the Child was the bringer of peace. At the mention of his name they quickly laid aside their intrigues and beat their uranium swords into civil nuclear energy ploughshares.

From there the Child went up to the city of Jerusalem, and entered through the gate seated on an ass. The crowds of network anchors who had followed him from afar cheered "Hosanna" and waved great palm fronds and strewed them at his feet.

In Jerusalem and in surrounding Palestine, the Child spake to the Hebrews and the Arabs, as the Scripture had foretold. And in an instant, the lion lay down with the lamb, and the Israelites and Ishmaelites ended their long enmity and lived for ever after in peace.

As word spread throughout the land about the Child's wondrous works, peoples from all over flocked to hear him; Hittites and Abbasids; Obamacons and McCainiacs; Cameroonians and Blairites.

And they told of strange and wondrous things that greeted the news of the Child's journey. Around the world, global temperatures began to decline, and the ocean levels fell and the great warming was over.

The Great Prophet Algore of Nobel and Oscar, who many had believed was the anointed one, smiled and told his followers that the Child was the one generations had been waiting for.

And there were other wonderful signs. In the city of the Street at the Wall, spreads on interbank interest rates dropped like manna from Heaven and rates on credit default swaps fell to the ground as dead birds from the almond tree, and the people who had lived in foreclosure were able to borrow again.

Black gold gushed from the ground at prices well below $140 per barrel. In hospitals across the land the sick were cured even though they were uninsured. And all because the Child had pronounced it.

And this is the testimony of one who speaks the truth and bears witness to the truth so that you might believe. And he knows it is the truth for he saw it all on CNN and the BBC and in the pages of The New York Times.

Then the Child ventured forth from Israel and Palestine and stepped onto the shores of the Old Continent. In the land of Queen Angela of Merkel, vast multitudes gathered to hear his voice, and he preached to them at length.

But when he had finished speaking his disciples told him the crowd was hungry, for they had had nothing to eat all the hours they had waited for him.

And so the Child told his disciples to fetch some food but all they had was five loaves and a couple of frankfurters. So he took the bread and the frankfurters and blessed them and told his disciples to feed the multitudes. And when all had eaten their fill, the scraps filled twelve baskets.

Thence he travelled west to Mount Sarkozy. Even the beauteous Princess Carla of the tribe of the Bruni was struck by awe and she was great in love with the Child, but he was tempted not.

On the Seventh Day he walked across the Channel of the Angles to the ancient land of the hooligans. There he was welcomed with open arms by the once great prophet Blair and his successor, Gordon the Leper, and his successor, David the Golden One.

And suddenly, with the men appeared the archangel Gabriel and the whole host of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and singing: "Yes, We Can."

THEY GROW UP SO FAST

My Grandson Jullian got another haircut Saturday. Thought I would post some pictures since it has been a while.

Goodbye Roy

My neighbor across the street passed away this morning. He wasn't very old at all. He was like 64. He use to sit out on his porch, drink beer and holler over at me if I was outside. I use to hate it because I couldn't understand his mumbling after he had been drinking. That and he would repeat himself a lot. It's funny how now I am going to miss that.

He woke up this morning and said he wasn't feeling well. His wife after a while, went to check on him to see why he hadn't left for work. He had gone down in some room and his body was blocking the door and she couldn't get in. Don't know the details just that when someone did get to him, he was already cold. The Paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead. That was around ten this morning. Then the police came and finally the coroner about one o'clock and took him away. His family went through a lot today. I hope he rests in peace. I liked him.

A Letter from someone who knows Sarah Palin

A note to all by {the Author}

Dear friends,

So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the
last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .

Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in
common: their gender and their good looks.

You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts
with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on
any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .

[ This was already posted on Washington Independent comments area,
with a controllable hotmail account, and was obviously meant by the
author to be read. ]

Thanks,

Anne

ABOUT SARAH PALIN

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a “babe”.

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months.

She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby.
There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out
there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She’s smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
(at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will
make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s
surplus, borrow for needs.

She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated”
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t
fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded
for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew
her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit,
exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to
nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state
initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.

CLAIM VS FACT
•“Hockey mom”: true for a few years
•“PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
•“NRA supporter”: absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
•“Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
•“Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla’s history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen
when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because
few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out
of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no
fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100
or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s
attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust
for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible
for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are
swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The
day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the
current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was
5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to
2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.

McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare

DEL MARTIN RIP

This obituary saddened me. What a tremendous loss for our side. My heart goes out to her partner Phyllis. I am so thankful that they were able to be married in June after 55 years of PMS'ing together. What a couple!!

Del Martin

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pioneering lesbian rights activist Del Martin, who married her longtime partner in June on the first day same-sex couples in California gained that right, died Wednesday, August 27, 2008. She was 87.

Martin died at a hospital two weeks after a broken arm exacerbated health problems, said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Her wife, Phyllis Lyon, was with her.

Along with six other women, they founded a San Francisco social club for lesbians in 1955. The group evolved into the nation's first lesbian advocacy organization.

Martin in 1970 wrote an influential article in the Advocate magazine that criticized what she saw as the gay rights movement's persistent chauvinism. She and Lyon together wrote "Lesbian/Woman," a 1972 book that argued lesbians should be seen for more than their sexuality and simultaneously offered a frank, no-nonsense account of lesbian relationships.

A year later, Martin became the first out lesbian to serve on the board of directors of the National Organization for Women.

What were they thinking?

REGARDING: BIG FOOT

They claim their hoax was not for profit, but Atlanta residents Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer received $50,000 from a California Bigfoot tracker who now plans to sue to get the money back.

The two Georgia men’s tale of having found a Bigfoot carcass in the North Georgia woods really started to stink when California Bigfoot enthusiasts finally examined the body and found it was just a costume.

::sigh:: some of us are devasted by this news.

News of the day, week, month, I got it all.

Haven't blogged in a while. Has anyone noticed? I've been busy doing a whole lot of nothing. Pool finally finished so I try to take a dip in between the thunder storms that seem to frequent EVERY SINGLE DAY!! You'd think with our water shortage, our elected officials would be out every day with buckets collecting some of it but, tis not the case.

Haven't seen our water bill yet. It should be ridiculous. Did I mention we had a leak in the bathroom? It is fixed now to the tune of a few hundred. I should have been a plumber. He wasn't even here an hour. ::grrrr::

Went to my dear friend Heather's Buccaneer Bridal Shower today. Boy was that fun!! And talk about the haul!! She made out like a real Buccaneer!! It almost makes getting married look appealing. (almost) She got the coolest set of glasses; they look like they are melting. Be great for Mojito's. lol

Went to the surgeon for my checkup last week. I'm down a total of 63lbs so far. Maybe by the time the next 63 comes off, it will be super noticable. People say it is now but, truthfully, other than my face, I don't see it. I sometimes wonder if I ever will. I mean, I had this weight for ten years. I didn't think it affected my psyche but, you can never tell. (I see fat every where.) lol

I notice we are awaiting a hurricane down here. Gee, this is just so thrilling. They can't tell us yet how STRONG it will be or where it will make LAND FALL but, we have to prepare. For us that means, thinking about bringing in the dog's crates to the kitchen and maybe boarding some windows. The thing that always struck me funny about the later is that most of the time people loose their roofs. So having a window boarded up really doesn't do much to keep the rain and wind out once the old roof is gone. Hopefully the hurricane straps they used on our house when it was built will hold. Although the cheap bastages probably used inferior screws so the roof could take flight with the straps. That would surely not make my day.

My neighbors to the south, invested in fairly expensive covers for their windows even though their house is at least 20 plus years old and in need of a roof. Go figure. Actually, my concern is a reservoir we have in this county. They've been talking on the back pages of the newspaper about the cracks in it and how all the rain we have had is only making the condition worsen. Can you imagine what a hurricane packing torrential rain and 110 plus mile an hour winds would do? Huge flood. I don't know where this thing is but, I'm pretty sure I'm not close to it. I worry about my son and his wife though.

So far the baby kittens we rescued are doing superbly. All are litter trained and eating dry chow now. Unfortunately we are all hooked on them. This is why I hate getting involved with animals. I am such a target. I need to live in the country with a barn. Then it wouldn't matter.

Okay, this concludes my monthly update. I didn't mention all the trips to take my mother for bloodwork, pace maker check, cardiologist appointments, eye appointments, etc., Yep, we live at the doctor's offices these days. The only saving grace is that some of them actually have up to date magazines. Oh, and I forgot to mention that once you turn 50 you get to look forward to having your first colonoscopy. Lovely. Makes turning half a century all the more memorable. I managed to put it off for a year but, my doctor called me on it so now, I get to 'meet' with that doctor the end of this month. Apparently I will have to drink something different rather than the usual upteen gallons they normally require since I had gastric bypass and in no way could I drink that much. Lucky me, huh? As if THAT were the part of the ordeal one would be concerned about. And they say blondes have more fun...

I KNEW IT WAS JUST A MATTER OF TIME

BIGFOOT BODY FOUND - EVIDENCE AND DNA DETAILS TO BE PRESENTED AT A PRESS CONFERENCE ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 15th FROM 12 N00N TO 1:00PM AT THE CABANA HOTEL-PALO ALTO IN PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA
A body that may very well be the body of the creature commonly known as "Bigfoot" has been found in the woods in northern Georgia.
DNA evidence and photo evidence of the creature will be
presented in a press conference on

Friday, August 15th from 12 Noon to 1:00pm at the Cabana Hotel-Palo Alto at 4290 El Camino Real in Palo Alto, California, 94306. The press conference will not be open to the public. It will only be open to credentialed members of the press.
Here are some of the vital statistics on the "Bigfoot" body:
*The creature is seven feet seven inches tall.

*It weighs over five hundred pounds.
*The creature looks like it is part human and part ape-like.

*It is male.
*It has reddish hair and blackish-grey eyes.
*It has two arms and two legs, and five fingers on each hand and
five toes on each foot.
*The feet are flat and similar to human feet.
*Its footprint is sixteen and three-quarters inches long and five
and three-quarters inches wide at
the heel.
*From the palm of the hand to the tip of the middle finger, its
hands are eleven and three-quarters inches
long and six and one-quarter inches wide.
*The creatures walk upright. (Several of them were sighted on the
same day that the body was found.)
*The teeth are more human-like than ape-like.
*DNA tests are currently being done and the current DNA and photo
evidence will be presented at the press
conference on Friday, August 15th.

The creature was found by Matthew Whitton (AKA Gary Parker) and Rick Dyer (residents of Georgia) in the woods in northern Georgia. (The exact location is being kept secret to protect the creatures.)

Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer will be flying in from Georgia to be at the press conference. Also present at the press conference will be Tom Biscardi, CEO of Searching for Bigfoot, Inc.

Whitton is a local, Georgia, police officer, who is currently on administrative leave after being wounded in the course of duty pursuing an alleged felon. Dyer is a former correctional officer. Whitton and Dyer are co-owners of bigfoottracker.com and Bigfoot Global LLC., a company that offers Bigfoot expeditions. Whitton and Dyer are working with Bigfoot hunter, Tom Biscardi, and Biscardi's Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., to present and conduct the scientific study of the evidence and information on this body.

A few weeks ago, Whitton and Dyer announced the finding of the body on the "Squatch Detective" radio show, an internet based radio show hosted by Steve Kulls. While on that show, the commentator asked Rick Dyer "Would you allow one of our people to come down and verify the body?" Dyer replied, "The only person we would allow to come down and verify the body was 'the real Bigfoot Hunter,' Tom Biscardi." The next day, the producer of the Squatch Detective show contacted Biscardi with pertinent information on how to contact Dyer and Whitton.

Extensive scientific studies will be done on the body by a team of scientists including a molecular biologist, an anthropologist, a paleontologist and other scientists over the next few months at an undisclosed location. The studies will be carefully documented and the findings will be released to the world, according to Biscardi.

Biscardi is known as "the real Bigfoot Hunter" because of his extensive investigations out in the field. He has been searching for Bigfoot since 1971 and over the past several years, he has been criss-crossing the United States and Canada tracking down the hottest leads on Bigfoot sightings.
Videography on the studies will be done under the supervision of Scott Davis, an independent producer and owner of TV Biz Productions in Phoenix, Arizona.

Currently, Tom Biscardi and his Searching for Bigfoot Team, in conjunction with Bigfoot Global LLC., are preparing to capture another of these creatures alive. That expedition will start very soon. The dates and the locations are being kept confidential.

The body that is currently being studied is being referred to as the "RICKMAT" creature, a name derived from the names of Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton.

Last year, a film that Biscardi produced about his investigations, called "Bigfoot Lives," won first place in the Documentary category at the Pocono Mountains Film Festival. Biscardi also hosts a Bigfoot oriented internet radio show that can be heard on Wednesday nights from 7:00pm to 8:00pm PDT at www.bigfootliveradioshow.com. The show is heard in over thirty countries.

Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. has exclusive rights to all publishing rights, photo rights, television and film rights, production and distribution rights and other commercial opportunities related to the discovery and findings regarding this body and these creatures. Interested parties may contact Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., in writing, at their mailing address;

Searching for Bigfoot Inc.
1134 Crane St., Suite 216
Menlo Park, California 94025.


Additional information about Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. is available at http://www.searchingforbigfoot.com. For additional information, and to arrange an interview with Tom Biscardi, Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton, contact the Searching for Bigfoot headquarters at; 650-566-4001.




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

ONE WORD

Thanks Tina for the idea.


1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Your significant other? argumentative
3. Your hair? dry
4. Your mother? gone
5. Your father? deceased
6. Your favorite time of day? noon
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your favorite drink? tea
9. Your dream goal? wealth
10. The room you're in? computer
11. Your ex? psycho
12. Your fear? lonliness
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happier
14. What you are not? working
15. Your Favorite meal? missing
16. One of your wish list items? flatscreen
17. The last thing you did? text
18. Where you grew up? TPA
19. What are you wearing? clothes
20. Your TV is? off
21. Your pets? fat
22. Your computer? mine
23. Your life? complex
24. Your mood? resigned
25. Missing someone? always
26. Your car? Grey
27. Something you're not wearing? bra
28. Favorite store? Bed, Bath and Beyond
29. Your summer? Rainy
30. Your favorite color? Black
31. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
32. When is the last time you cried? forget
33. Your health? improved
34. Your children? happy
35. Your future? evolving
36. Your beliefs? grounded
37. Young or old? middle
38. Your image? young
39. Your appearance? improving
40. Would you live your life over again knowing what you know? Perhaps

On the Home Front

Remember the refrigerator fiasco with Sears? Well, Lori decided while I was gone, to cut the plug off the old one and wire it to the new part and plug it in. It works. She swears she wrapped it with enough electric tape. I'm just sayin........Lord help me.

Moving on.....we decided to change out the pool liner. (The Dobermans tried to swim in it and ripped it. We have patched it so many times and it still has slow leaks. Plus it is aproximately 14 years old and very light blue.) Well, turns out the walls were rusted pretty bad and in one place almost a crack...need I say more? Yep, we are slowly building another pool here. Lori has worked on it for two days. Wish me luck. I'm not saying she isn't smart enough....I'm just saying, it takes a certain degree of skill. It remains to be seen if she possess this. I know one thing. I don't possess the patience to watch. My back yard looks like a missle testing site and we are arguing over the color of the frickin sand. She said it was black under the liner. Well, I watched the men pour the white sand in when it was built because it stops grass, etc from growing up through your liner. My guess was that the black dirt got washed under there because of the leaks in the liner. She's telling me the installers had to have used black dirt. Again, she wasn't here 16 plus years ago but, that doesn't seem to matter. I wonder if other people go through this? It so makes me look forward to family projects.Bahahahahahahaha

S Carolina is back-ass-wards ..

...but so is most of the old South. Beleive it or not, I shortened the following article:



A state employee has resigned and officials have disavowed an international advertising campaign that led to calls for an investigation of tourism posters proclaiming “South Carolina is so gay.”

Similar ads were posted for Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Washington, D.C., none of which reported any negative backlash. But in South Carolina, reaction to the posters — dubbed “the gayest ever mainstream media advertising campaign in London” by Out Now, the Australian advertising firm that designed the promotion — was swift.

The tourism department quickly said it was canceling payment of its $5,000 fee for the posters, which it said were approved by a low-level state worker who did not run the idea by senior officials. The employee, who was not identified, resigned last week, the agency said.

A spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford, who has been mentioned as a possible running mate for the Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, said the governor agreed that the posters were “inappropriate.”

“From where we sit, and for all our many customers, being described as ‘so gay’ is not a negative thing at all. We think it is just great to be so gay,” said Andrew Roberts, (chief executive of Amro Worldwide, the travel agency that commissioned the ads) who called the campaign a success, having reached more than 2 million people in London.

Oran Smith, president of the Palmetto Family Council, a conservative activist group in Columbia, the state capital, said that at first he thought the ads were an Internet hoax.

“I think with today’s economy, we have to be really smart with our tourism dollars, and South Carolina’s market, very clearly, is the family-friendly market,” Smith said. “So if we want to spend our dollars in a way that’s wise, we need to go after our market, and our market is families.”

Said Ventphis Stafford of Charleston: “We’re so gay? Nah. Wrong state. Go to California.”

Eddie Walker, principal of Irmo High School, in suburban Columbia, announced that he was quitting rather than approve the creation of a Gay-Straight Alliance at the school, one of the state’s largest.

“Our sex education curriculum is abstinence based,” Walker wrote in a letter to the school. “I feel the formation of a Gay/Straight Alliance Club at Irmo High School implies that students joining the club will have chosen to or will choose to engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, opposite sex, or members of both sexes.”

Such attitudes remain prevalent in the state, said Warren Redman-Gress, executive director of the South Carolina Alliance for Full Acceptance, a gay and lesbian advocacy group.

He stated: I wish the folks at the tourism board had done a little more of their homework. I get calls regularly, people want to know before I come and spend my hard-earned money, my souvenir dollars in South Carolina, is it a place where it is OK for me to be gay? The answer is yes and no. You live on the edge with the simple fact that you can come to South Carolina, spend your money getting here, and someone can come in and say, ‘I’m sorry; you can’t stay here because you’re gay.’”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oobi DVR challenge

My Grandson will stop whatever he is doing and stare at this show. He loves it. To the point that when he would start to get cranky or restless on vacation, we would start singing the song and he would stop, listen, smile and clap.

Oobi DVR challenge

A few more pictures of St Pete Pride Festival

We are about to have another one of those afternoon thunder storms that Florida is known for so, I am going to try and post as many pictures as I can before the lightening knocks me off of here.

Here come my peeps! MCC of Tampa and MCC King of Peace joined together to do the 'Would Jesus Discriminate' Float




Rev Dr. Kathy in the cap and white WJD shirt.


This is where I got my hard hat. LOL



Riding with the Dykes on Bikes was this. Now that's the way to travel!!

My life this week........

Well, we finally have it up and running! The Wii that is. Lori actually was awarded one like months ago for having the highest sells. Turns out, they were on back order and so she had to wait to get it. In the meantime, we picked up a Wii Fit (which was hard to do since EVERY place is out and they seem to disappear about ten minutes after the retailers get them). We had been calling daily to about seven different stores and finally on Friday got lucky. So we picked up the console yesterday, created our little Wii Mee's and played tennis last night. Haven't tackled the Wii Fit yet. I'll probably be in traction once I do.

I go this week to have my hips x-rayed. Been having a lot of problems with them lately. The pain wakes me up at night and I can't sleep on either side for very long. Not sure if the herniated disc is pulling my muscles and tendons out of alignment or if I have just over stressed my joints. As usual, with me, it could be half a dozen of one thing and six of the other. I also have my yearly (as Lori puts it, my eight-yearly exam) appointment with the gynecologist. I hate that more than a rootcanal! I'm not really sure why. I'm not modest or anything but, I think it's more of a mental thing. The fear that they will find something always freaks me out. Kind of like with a mammogram. Although, I do those regularly, so go figure.

Also, Lori bought a cage for our handicapped cat Luna. She was deprived of oxygen as a kitten and well, she isn't all there if you know what I mean. As she gets older, she seems to be having memory issues. Unfortunately, the cage wasn't big enough. It was like three levels, on wheels even and very pretty. Black with bright green shelves. Unfortunately, it was more for a ferret than a grown cat, so back it goes. This distresses me because I really wanted to get the whole Luna situation taken care of. She has missed the litter box so many times, I am going to have to tile our hallway.

Picked up the chest of drawers we had ordered from Ashley Furniture on Friday as well. I am now totally rearranging the closet and it has bled over into redoing the drawers in the wall cabinets on the bed. Basically the bedroom looks like a bomb went off in it. From the looks of it, we should have bought TWO chest of drawers.


The hospital where I had my surgery, (by the way, saw my doctor last Monday before I left town and I am down 54 pounds) collected the money up front from me for my share of everything including anesthesia. Only thing is, they never PAID the Anesthesiologist. So I have been after them since the second week in April to send me a refund so I could pay them. The Anesthesiologist's office was very nice and said this happens all the time. Whew! Good thing because most are ready to send a person to collections after about 90 days. But, the check finally arrived last week while I was gone so now their check is in the mail. But can you believe it took at least two phone calls a week every week since about April 7th to get a frickin over payment returned?! Yet if I had owed the hospital that money, I would have been served with papers by the end of May! Unbelievable.

I was reading about there being a new trend out there called CASH CARE. Apparently this is where the hospitals are asking for upfront payments from patients with long term, costly conditions such as cancer or heart disease that may be life-threatening but aren't classified as medical emergencies. In the article, this guy had learned he had a mass in his neck and that it was malignant. His doctor sent him to a local cancer center where they told him it would take like $30,000. worth of treatment and they needed $20,000. upfront. He didn't have it because he had just shelled out over $273,000 in out of pocket costs for his wife's care for ovarian cancer. His insurance didn't cover it because she had cancer when he enrolled her. Basically, he lost all his money trying to save her and she passed away. He doesn't qualify for charity care because he has about $10,000. in a 401k. So he is basically as of the writing of the article, out of luck. Oh, and he had already lost his home and was living in a trailer on a friend's property. Nice future, eh? This is scary stuff. I mean, when is it going to change? Something needs to be done to get some laws passed that prevent these insurance companies from collecting outrageous premiums and then giving minimal care. The fact that people in this country can actually die because they can't pay for care that is available (which is over priced so the doctor's can become rich) is a national disgrace. Not to mention the poor woman who died in the ER from a blood clot last week after waiting for 24 hours to be seen. You need about two hundred doctors in an ER setting so that when people come in they are rushed right in to see A doctor. Kind of like in China and other places where doctors are expected to do their jobs and not focus on the dollar sign. Maybe that is the answer. Just have everyone do what they are suppose to do in the first place. Treat the sick, the dying and the infirmed.

What I've been up to

WHOA!! Well, I see that my blogger is fixed! I have been unable to blog because my entire toolbar, etc., was missing. I know, makes no sense but, it was gone. Okay, so where to start??!

Saturday June 28th was Gay Pride Festival in St Petersburg. Lori had to work so I drove over real early so I could get a close place to park. I was there so early that I watched the vendors freaking over things like power cords, extension cords, booth space, etc., Then one of Dane's friends met up with me and we waited in front of the booth my church MCC of Tampa was sharing. They didn't put up a booth on their own which was what I thought they were doing but, it worked out great. They joined with the two other churches and had a float in the parade. It was titled: Would Jesus Discriminate. They also had T-shirts with that on them, of which I bought one. Thought it would come in handy at some point.

There was a crowd of protestors. I think the newspaper said it was a small group. They left off how loud they were. Very conservative evangelical types. Telling us we were all going to burn in hell and were damned. Then they called some us names which I didn't hear but heard others saying that it wasn't right for them to do that and call themselves Christian, etc., I pretty much ignored them. I mean, they are their own kind of freak. Most conventional churches would probably call them extreme as well. Rev Phyllis Hunt said at the Sunday service the following day, that a lot of people approached the float and thanked the church for being there and how they handled the protestors. I mean, that float and shirt said a lot without literally saying it. The only issue I had was with this one protestor who was seperate from the others. He looked like a war veteran. He didn't have any legs, was riding in a motorized wheel chair with an American Flag flying, carrying a giant sign that said "Gay WHAT?" I don't know but that bothered me most of all. I've always heard from breeders how we are suppose to thank these men and women in the armed services for protecting our rights here. And I've always done that. Now here comes this one guy and it was as if he were saying, I didn't do this for any of you because you don't deserve it. I didn't talk to him and he didn't speak that I know of. Just kept riding up and down by the vendors.


I did take a few pictures. I thought I would take a lot but, I turned into a beads whore and well, you just can't do both. Also, I am computer challenged and I still haven't figured out the whole 'post a shitton of pics' capability yet.


The Dykes on Bykes

I have tried to finish this post numerous times and thanks to the lightening strikes, it has been a slow process.

I went with my son and his family on a short mini vacation last week and was able to spend real quality time with my Grandson Jullian. I have to say that guy has energy! He is now 16 months old and walks with a little attitude. Totally cracks me up. We spent all day Thursday at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon and he actually liked the wave pool. Of course he was near the shore and we held him but, he wasn't scared or anything. His bad habit is that he has become a screamer. A high pitched screamer. This is not out of anger mind you. He just likes to scream. Unfortunately, my ears can no longer duplicate that particular pitch. It's not as high as a little girl but it could break glass if left to continue. lol I came home Thursday night just in time to attend a concert at church by the MCC of San Francisco Chorus. They were making history and on their way to Miami to compete in GALA. The first gay and lesbian chorus to be chosen to compete. They were truly amazing.

Let's see, what else. Oh, we finally bought a chest of drawers and had it delivered yesterday. And Lori was able to fix the fan on the frig by herself with the part Sears sent. She swears the house isn't going to burn down with her wiring skills.

We also bought a cage for our retarded cat Luna. Oh, and I saved this for last because I know SOME people will say mean things and I feel safe that they won't read this far...Someone hit a cat in our neighborhood. Turns out it was a mother cat and her four babies were in the backyard of the vacant house next to us so guess what? We have been feeding them with an eye dropper and they are now prety fat little balls of fur. I'm not going to say anything more about them least I incriminate myself but, I will say their names are Cali, Tiger Lily, Keeko and Socks.

The black and white one is Socks and the one in the back is Keeko


This is Cali- very passive and purrs a lot.


And last but not least is Tiger Lily.

Okay, well, this has become ridiculousy long so, I am going to go to bed pretty soon here. I will try to post more tomorrow but, then, you know how I am. It may be a week from tomorrow.

The State of My Existence

Listening to the news today, I went from being very happy and hopeful about the gay and lesbian marraiges to being enraged! Among some of the things I heard:

'You can't force a church to marry two people of the same sex. Churches operate under the protection of the constitution.' BULLY FOR THEM! I always thought the original constitution was written for the PEOPLE. Obviously I am wrong. Apparently some church in California refused to marry a couple so the couple sued them and won. CNN was real quick to add that THE ONLY reason they were successful with their law suit was because of the new law allowing these marraiges. 'But this could end ANY minute.'

NEXT!

Some comment about Gays and Lesbians who marry in California may find they could be prosecuted in their own states. What the heck is that about?! I briefly heard this on CNN. Unbelievable the extent some groups are going to, to keep these married people from going home and celebrating. Shhhhssh! Don't be loud!

I just don't understand how you can quote the BIBLE as a source that marraige is between a man and a woman and then base laws on that. There is no seperation of church dogma then from state law. I think laws should be enacted by the will of the populace and governed by the people in the form of THEIR chosen leaders. I don't believe that really happens in this country. I just can't believe there are that many haters out there.

I am happy for those who are getting married but, I don't have enough faith due to this homophobic planet, to think that any of this really matters. It will be stopped or over turned. And that is why I am peehonk angry!!!!!!! Does anyone see the injustice in all of this?

Scientology Sucks and This is Why

As I have mentioned before, my cell phone is being blown up by the Church of Scientology. I have been getting calls from them now since April. I have to Google the numbers to find out who it is because out of all the calls and numbers appearing on the phone,only four left messages and a name. Granted, trying to find "David" out of a gazillion Scientologists is like finding a specific flea on a camel but, that is what I am dealing with.

I have told them that they had a wrong number. My wife has called and given them her cell phone number and it hasn't done any good. I am posting these numbers to show you what I am talking about. I have it on NO RING so truthfully I guess they can keep this up forever. It's just a good example though of why I think they are all a bunch of fanatic freakazoids.

If you have any ideas about how to shut them down without my having to change a phone I've had for over three years, let me know. I'll be glad to listen.


4/21/2008 4:06 pm 727-683-9114 David extension course at FLAG
4/22/2008 7:44 pm 727-431-4100
4/23/2008 8:31 pm 727-689-9114 Jill concerning extension course
4/24/2008 11:57 am 727-657-2652 Sara from Chaplain's ofc @ FLAG (this is her cell)
4/25/2008 9:17 pm 727-431-4100
4/26/2008 10:18 am 727-657-2652
4/26/2008 10:28 am 727-657-2591
5/6/2008 4:26 pm 727-683-9114
Text messaged Sara Seymour at Flag. Told they have wrong number.
She texted back asking if I knew "who" was calling. Gave phone numbers
and names of the three who left messages: David-Jill-Sig and her.
5/17/2008 12:02 pm 727-214-5862 Sig extension course. Call ext course hotline 866-983-6762
5/17/2008 12:17 pm 727-214-5862
5/17/2008 1:51 pm 727-683-9114
5/17/2008 3:36 pm 727-683-9114
5/17/2008 6:24 pm 727-683-9114
5/18/2008 9:43 am 727-683-9114
5/20/2008 2:42 pm 727-683-9114
5/21/2008 9:19 am 727-683-9114
5/21/2008 8:39 pm 727-683-9114
My wife has called to let them know that she had changed her cell phone
number,gave them her new number and asked them to remove the old number since
it is no longer hers.
5/23/2008 2:52 pm 727-214-5862
5/23/2008 3:18 pm 727-214-5862
5/23/2008 6:26 pm 727-214-5862
5/23/2008 8:34 pm 727-214-5862
5/23/2008 9:12 pm 727-214-5862
5/24/2008 8:29 pm 727-214-5862
5/24/2008 9:04 pm 727-214-5862
5/24/2008 9:21 pm 727-214-5862
5/25/2008 6:19 pm 727-214-5862
5/25/2008 7:52 pm 727-214-5862
5/25/2008 8:08 pm 727-214-5862
5/26/2008 4:37 pm 727-683-9114
5/26/2008 5:16 pm 727-683-9114
5/27/2008 4:37 pm 727-683-9114
5/27/2008 5:16 pm 727-683-9114
5/28/2008 4:56 pm 727-683-9114
5/30/2008 7:07 pm 727-467-5213 church mailing dept
5/31/2008 4:34 pm 727-467-5213
5/31/2008 5:21 pm 727-467-5213
6/1/2008 5:42 pm 727-467-5213
6/2/2008 5:54 pm 727-467-5213
6/4/2008 8:42 pm 727-467-5212 church mailing dept
6/5/2008 2:10 pm 727-467-5212
6/6/2008 9:04 pm 727-467-5212
6/9/2008 10:05 am 727-467-5212
6/9/2008 2:31 pm 727-467-5212
6/9/2008 5:26 pm 727-467-5212
6/10/2008 8:37 pm 727-467-5212
6/11/2008 11:03 am 727-467-5212