Dog Adopts Tiger Cubs in Kansas Zoo

. Thursday, July 31
3 comments

The good news is...

Born Sunday at the Safari Zoological Park, three white tiger cubs were abandoned by their mother after a difficult delivery.  This Golden Retriever, who recently weaned her own litter of pups, took over the care of the tiger cubs. They say the dog doesn't know the difference.

Former Bush Aid Pushed War in Iraq for Oil

. Tuesday, July 29
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Meet Richard Perle. Up until 2004, Perle was a top aid to US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and chairman of the influential Defense Policy Board. He was a strong, "hardline backer" of the invasion of Iraq.

It seems that Perle is now negotiating a deal to drill for oil in the Kuridstan region of Iraq via a consortium led by Turkish AK Group International. This very lucrative deal in the works appears to be solid evidence of the real motivation driving the US invasion of Iraq, at least from Perle's standpoint.

Cuil New Search

. Monday, July 28
2 comments

In the news today is an announcement about a new search engine setting its sights on rivaling the giant Google. "Cuil" (pronounced "cool") and its technology will attempt to better understand a site's meaning beyond the links to it, and the terms people use to find information. Search results are displayed in magazine style instead of list, and Cuil will not keep track of the search terms.  We'll have to see how it goes...

http://www.cuil.com

Obama's Prayer

. Friday, July 25
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"Lord, protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will."

Obama stuffed his prayer note in a crack in the Western Wall in Jerusalem, only to have it pulled by a seminary student and delivered to a newspaper.

The media interprets the prayer to mean that Obama is lonely, struggling, challenged and seeking divine intervention.  I'd agree if he hadn't mentioned "me" five times in that prayer.  This rock star fanfare - minus any modicum of humility - doesn't quite fit the image you'd expect of a potential president of the United States.  It's all getting in the way of the issues.

Drunk Shoots Lawnmower

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I couldn't pass this one up.  I can't tell you how many times I've cursed and cussed lawnmowers and weedeaters. And kicked and slapped.

Keith Walendowski, charged with felony possession of a short-barreled shotgun and misdemeanor disorderly conduct while armed said, "I can do that, it's my lawn mower and my yard so I can shoot it if I want."  He was drunk.

If convicted, he could face an $11,000 fine and six years in prison.  I think he looks like he could handle the prison time, but the fine...?

Come on, fellow Polacks, how about keeping a little lower profile, ok?  Jeesh.

Inbox: 3.5.2000 Gas Prices

. Thursday, July 24
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Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 from Vegas overshot the runway at Burbank. The plane crashed through the airport fence, careened across the street and ended up with collapsed landing gear, right next to a gas station.

The facts are unverified and undocumented, but that's not the point. I think I was complaining about gas prices back then too. Who'd' a thunk?

Bush: "Wall St. Got Drunk"

. Wednesday, July 23
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It looks like Bush is going out the same way he came in. He was arrested for drunk driving yet still voted into the White House because people thought he'd be a man to 'belly up to the bar' with. Now, this same level of reasoning is behind today's financial woes:
“There’s no question about it. Wall Street got drunk,” Bush said at a private event in Houston on Friday. “It got drunk and now it’s got a hangover. The question is, how long will it sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments?” (MSNBC)
By the way, there's no housing slump in Houston or Dallas because his wife is now there buying a house. Yep, that says it all.

Parents Criminal When Kids Skip School

. Sunday, July 20
5 comments

The good news is...

If you live in Los Angeles and your child skips school, you will be criminally charged "with one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one count of violating the state education code," KTLA reports. Under CA state law, full time education is mandatory from kindergarten to grade 12. What a novel idea!

Research has led the LA authorities and educators to conclude that kids that skip school are likely to join gangs. Perhaps this is true for LA, but that isn't the only place where truancy is a problem, and the laws are different everywhere. In NY, for instance, the law requires full time school only up to age 16. Once a kid turns 16, it is up to the school whether that kid will be allowed to attend. Ages 16-18 is a proverbial black hole.

What are the education laws where you live? Does your area have a truancy problem?

Racism: Time for a Reality Check

. Thursday, July 17
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I'll tell you straight up - I don't understand racism. I just don't. It's not logical, it's not right, and it certainly isn't just. What racism really is, what fundamental human flaw it highlights, is judgementalism.

I bring this up today because of yet another article of supposed news we can't live without about more of what Jesse Jackson said about Barak Obama, behind the scenes, off-air, during a break in taping an interview. Jackson used the forbidden reference: "Jackson is reported to have said Obama was talking down to black people, and referred to blacks with the N-word when he said Obama was telling them how to behave."

Of course, what he actually said is still not fully revealed, even though it must be on tape for prosperity's sake. Yet once again, we hear about this little incident, as though it is new news.

The implications and insinuations become more clear when you take into account that the point of Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, a civil rights organization, is to rally the entertainment industries and the public to discourage and boycott the use of the N-word across the board. True morals and values wouldn't allow room or energy for this lip-flapping, tongue-wagging hypocrisy. It just wouldn't be a part of a person's way of being. Mr. Jackson, you are a hypocrite.

Contrast this to the words of Bill Cosby, who has been vocal about his interpretation of black people's role in furthering the concept of racism. According to Cosby, it is poor educational achievement, sexual irresponsibility, lack of parental control, lack of respect, and lack of personal responsibility that is behind the perpetuation of racial inequality. Is this obvious difference between the two public figures only because Cosby is a comedian and Jackson a reverend? Cosby lives what he preaches.

What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, at the root of it all, is the difference between sheep and herders; neither of which is all that preferable. Sheep blindly follow the crowd, do what everyone else does, like what everyone else likes and build their lives without a sole thought of their own. Herders follow the crowd, do what everyone else does, like what everyone else likes, but through a random thought here and there, climb to the top of the heap to become the trend setters. It is all shallow and superficial and juvenile - and the root of judgementalism.

What we need to promote is abstract, analytical, critical thinking across the board. Define right and wrong and cause and effect.

And, we need to think about this now, today, without delay. As soon as Obama takes the White House, the US and the rest of the world will sink into yet another of mankind's Holy Wars if we fail in this task. What an oxymoron, this concept of "holy" war. Yet, this is where we are headed, people.

We all have the personal responsibility to change - before it's too late.


Satire From the Left

. Tuesday, July 15
3 comments

First Door on the Left found this David Horsey cartoon this morning in response to yesterday's The New Yorker cover. This one is supposed to be funny, while apparently, yesterday's was not.

Let the mud slinging begin with no holds barred!

Obamas on The New Yorker Cover

. Monday, July 14
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The July 21 issue of the New Yorker magazine features a cover by Barry Blitt that's intention was to satirize all the attacks on the Obamas since the election process started, said the AP this morning.

The cover "depicts Barack Obama wearing traditional Muslim garb — sandals, robe and turban — and his wife, Michelle — dressed in camouflage, combat boots and an assault rifle strapped over her shoulder — standing in the Oval Office."

The New Yorker claims it's spirit was to combine in one image all the "fantastical," obvious distortions about the Obamas, and to bring out the hateful and absurd.

If all these 'hateful and absurd' rumors are widespread enough to make it to the cover of a national magazine, then perhaps it's all worth another, deeper look.

Free Horse - When Beauty is Dangerous

. Sunday, July 13
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Meet Champ

Just look at those beautiful eyes! How could you not fall in love with a pair of eyes like that?  Champ is a Palomino Appaloosa, he's 2 years old, he's broke to ride and has the sweetest temperament you could ever wish for.  Champ is about as perfect a horse as you can get. In fact, his sire was the one used by Breyer as the pattern for one of their model horses.

Champ can be yours today, for free.

Yes, you heard me right. He can be yours for nada, zip, zilch, zero! You come get him or have him hauled to you, and he's yours. Actually, if you don't take him, he will be "put down." Yep. This beautiful, perfect horse is on his way to be euthanized, destroyed, put to sleep, killed.

But, Why?

I'm so glad you asked! It's not an easy thing to accept, and it's not any easier to talk about. You see, Champ has a genetic disease called HYPP. This genetically dominant disease is well known in the Quarter Horse world and is directly traced to a specific sire called Impressive. Impressive was the most sought after sire for those breeding Halter Show horses, and the line is well known for perfect conformation and heavy musculature.

However, all that perfection with muscles caused an anomaly in the way the horse's system rids itself of excess potassium. It collects in the muscles and causes seizures and paralysis, and this can happen at any time for no reason.  When a horse seizes or becomes paralyzed, it literally drops to the ground and goes into a full body seizure or just doesn't move. If the episode of paralysis includes the lungs or heart, the horse dies. Just like that.

Because of the sudden, unpredictable nature of the disease and the lack of a cure or treatment, it is very risky handling a horse with HYPP. A 1200 pound horse seizing and falling down on top of you, whether you are walking beside it or riding it, means you are likely to become very injured - or dead. This beautiful horse is very dangerous to be around. What's worse, he could be found dead one day, just like that. It's heartbreaking.

The current owner bought this horse two weeks ago, and was told the reason he was available was because the horse was not registered. After a few rides, there was a noticeable roar to the colt's breathing, and you could watch the muscles over the rib cage spasm. The colt was taken to the vet and tested for HYPP, and the results came back P/P. This means that both parents were positive for HYPP, and the two were knowingly bred anyway. It also means that this colt is "hot" and definitely has active HYPP.

Knowing all this, if you still want him, he is yours.

This post is a direct result of the intense discussion about the ban on horse slaughter in the US going on right now on A Different Menu at the Olympics.

Planes Up and Down Nearly Collide

. Saturday, July 12
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A plane that aborted landing to go into a go-around pattern came within 600 feet of a plane taking off from a perpendicular runway at JFK yesterday, the second such incident within a week. The FAA has ordered changes in how landings and takeoffs on perpendicular runways are sequenced in order to avoid crossing flight paths of planes. "We've been trying to change that for the last 12, 13 years. It's been an accident waiting to happen," said an air traffic controller. At least the FAA is taking action before strike 3.

A Different Menu at the Olympics

. Friday, July 11
13 comments


Olympic attendees can expect to be discouraged from ordering dishes made from dog meat, the "fragrant meat" eaten in China, a short AP article today reports. If a restaurant is designated as an official Olympic eatery, then the servers will "patiently suggest other options to diners who order dog." Dog is eaten in Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines and Laos, to name a few. This little warning is prudent considering the recent US ban on horse slaughter that effectively shut down the export of horse meat to those same countries.

Jackson's Support of Obama Includes Testicular Assault

. Thursday, July 10
2 comments

Yesterday, mainstream news wouldn't say exactly what Jesse Jackson said during a commercial break on a Fox News show. The news got out there anyway, and now there's no doubt that Jackson feels that Obama is haughty, talks down to blacks and wants to be white. Jackson would like to "cut off his nuts" for having such a horrific attitude. Thumbs up to Jackson for telling it like it is instead of phrasing his statement in a politically correct way. Too bad he apologized for his honesty and Obama accepted the apology. With supporters like Jackson, the US will have its first eunuch presidential candidate.

Under Sharia Law

. Tuesday, July 8
4 comments

This photo shows a woman just before she will be stoned to death in Tehran, Iran per Sharia Law. I have been haunted by this photo since seeing it for the first time. Under Sharia law, the death penalty is the sentence for drug trafficking and insulting Islam - and is now the sentence freely given for "online crimes" such as promoting corruption, prostitution and apostasy, and subversive activities against national security, spying and separatist propaganda.

I am horrified by the overt devaluation of life and living and of God. The human race is supposed to be evolving!

Gas Prices Never Coming Down

. Sunday, July 6
8 comments


OPEC's president, Chakib Khelil sealed the fate of the price of oil today by saying that the price will never decline for several reasons.  It has "nothing to do with supply and demand," he said, and a lot more to do with the devalued dollar as a result of lowered interest rates in the US.

Oil has gained 50 percent, "driven partly by the tensions over Iran's nuclear program, plus expectations that global oil supplies will not cope in the long term with strong demand growth from newly industrializing China and India."

Where it's at is where it will stay.

Balloon Lawn Chair Arrives

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A viable alternative transportation method it is not.  Yesterday, Kent Couch filled his 150 balloons, tied them to a lawn chair and flew from Bend, OR to Cambridge, Idaho.  To land, he shot balloons with a BB gun. The 235 mile trip took nine hours to complete.  His total cost - $6,000. Ouch.

Alternative Trasportation: Lawn Chair?

. Saturday, July 5
0 comments

It's not a bird or a plane, and it sure isn't faster than a speeding bullet, but it is a Kent. Of sorts. This is Kent Couch, who took a lawn chair instead of a couch, tied 150 helium-filled party balloons to it, strapped on a parachute and took off. His flight plan - fly from central Oregon to Idaho. The last time he tried, he made it 193 miles, with this morning's launch his third try. If this is what gas station owners are trying, what should the rest of us do?

Inbox: Political Spin

. Friday, July 4
5 comments

Sometimes, what comes into my Inbox is just too good not to share. Though this one may be past its prime, it does highlight the ways a few select words can change the meaning behind a story. Enjoy.

Judy Wallman, a professional genealogical researcher, discovered that Hillary Clinton's great-great uncle, Remus Rodham, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889.

The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture is this inscription: 'Remus Rodham; horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1883, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted, and hanged in 1889.'

Judy e-mailed Hillary Clinton for comments and Hillary's staff sent back the following biographical sketch:

"Remus Rodham was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad.

Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave in 1887 to resume his dealings with the railroad. Subsequently, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor, when the platform on which he was standing collapsed.'

And that is how it's done, folks!