Politics and other strange bedfellows

How to end the Drug War in 500 words or less

2007-02-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

CHI-OMEGA=BETA

THERE ARE ONLY TWENTY FOUR LETTERS IN THE GREEK ALPHABET.

CROSS REFERENCE ANY LOCAL UNION SCREEN ACTORS GUILD DUE PAYING MEMBER IN THE GREATER NEW YORK AREA WITH THE LEGAL AGENCY REPRESENTING THE PERSON.
CROSS REFERENCE THIS LIST TO FIRMS IN LOS ANGELOS.
[BERN SWITZERLAND] ALL PERSONS THAT WERE IN RECEIPT OF WAGES AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 FROM THE GUILDS AND WERE MEMBERS OF SIGMA ALPHA MU FRATERNITY AND CHI OMEGA SORORITY BETWEEN 1992 AND JANUARY 2000.
APPLY PROCESS TO DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS, ARMED FORCES DOCTORS AND NURSING, NOTING ALL FRENCH SPEAKING NATIONALS THAT RENEWED PASSPORTS DURING SAME PERIOD. ISSUE DISCHARGES ACCORDINGLY.

SUCH A LIST IS INDICATIVE OF ANY NON VETERANS.

PLEASE PAY [IT] FORWARD THEN BY RESTORING MY CREDIT RATING.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

To All the Faggots I Have Loved Before from University of Iowa Chi Omega Spring 1989

2007-02-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

[m. jagger/k. RICHARDS]

I saw her today at the reception

A glass of wine in her hand

I knew she would meet her connection

At her feet was her footloose man

No, you can't always get what you want

You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometime you find

You get what you need

We went down to the demonstration

To get your fair share of abuse

Singing, "we're gonna vent our frustration

If we don't we're gonna blow a 50-amp fuse"

You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometimes well you just might find

You get what you need

I went down to the chelsea drugstore

To get your prescription filled

I was standing in line with mr. jimmy

And man, did he look pretty ill

We decided that we would have a soda

My favorite flavor, cherry red

I sung my song to mr. jimmy

Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was "dead"

I said to him

You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometimes you just might find

You get what you need

You get what you need--yeah, oh baby

I saw her today at the reception

In her glass was a bleeding man

She was practiced at the art of deception

Well i could tell by her blood-stained hands

You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometimes you just might find

You just might find

You get what you need

You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometimes you just might find

You just might find

You get what you need

I CAN'T SEEM TO GET TO YOU THROUGH THE US MAIL.

The Miseducation of Lauren Hill

2007-02-24T22:01:00.000-08:00

IS TONY CHILD OR TONI BRAXTON AFRICAN AMERICAN?

Please clue me in George Plimpton. I am dying to know.

BILL-Y, CRYSTAL METHAMPHETAMINE

TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU

2007-02-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

http://ebay.com http://overstock.com

Your trips to Pennsylvania for Bethlehem Steel with your younger Mormon assistant, that went on to work for Wally Herger and hinder REAL welfare reform for single moms in 2001 because Barbara would not let you whore her out as a babysitter to him during the Clinton administration.
How you came home after I was already in bed while in elementary school, woke me up after issuing orders to Barbara, and then said, "this is just between you and mommy, okay?"
How you did not listen to Barbara and hired a German au pair instead of a student at American University down the street as Barbara suggested and then called her desperate for help when Daddy started an affair with the au pair.
How you talk about your sister the manager at Hallmark, Debbie's nervous breakdown in front of the women you hired to watch me while you traveled.
How whenever you cannot find your clothes you blamed the weekly maid, Hilde, from South America for stealing them.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Temporarily Disconnected

2007-02-24T14:58:00.000-08:00

Temporarily Disconnected©®

Beaten from age six on by Daddy,
Molested at age nine.
Brainwashed at 19,
raped at twenty

....and three abortions later:
"We're sorry, but this number is no longer in service".

Written on a beverage napkin 16 NOVEMBER 1998 10:00 E.S.T.
Dedicated to the em en dash fairy.

[alt+control+c alt+control+r alt+control+t alt+control+num- control+num-]

For Ayaan Hirsi Ali

2007-02-18T12:16:00.000-08:00

JUST ONE WORD

They say waiting is the hardest part,
waging one's soul against one's heart.

A million thoughts collide
like the bluest sky to the darkest clouds of grey
before the first drop falls.
A chill so cold can run up a spine on the hottest day.

Days, weeks, years could pass and people sustain.
It's that split second of icy prickles
that's feared more than any other pain.
Like the hesitation before "Hello" from a lover gone by
it's the battle of a heart of whether or not to try.

It's the moment of inspiration and the memory of all wrongs and mistakes in the past.
The moment of decision, this shiver, it makes some run and other hold fast.

There is no knowing when, no stopping it's way.
No one is immune, no one strong enough on any day.

A sixth sense can tell it's coming, but never know just when-
it's force is more spontaneous, more scintillating than any sin.

To capture it would be my goal, however may it seem absurd-
to find a peace of mind and be loved
in just one word.
Copyright notice 19 May 1993©

Remember the Alamo, My future is in your hands

2007-02-17T23:53:00.000-08:00

The Presidents in order of appearance by number of administration west to east while facing northward:

[1] G. Washington [3] T. Jefferson [26] T. Roosevelt [16] A. Lincoln

Mount Rushmore is largely composed of granite. The memorial is carved on the northwest margin of the Harney Peak granite batholith in the Black Hills of South Dakota, so the geologic formations of the heart of the Black Hills region are also evident at Mount Rushmore. The batholith magma intruded into the pre-existing mica schist rocks during the Precambrian period about 1.6 billion years ago.[22] However, the uneven cooling of the molten rock caused the formation of both fine and coarse-grained minerals, including quartz, feldspar, muscovite, and biotite. Fractures in the granite were sealed by pegmatite dikes. The light-colored streaks in the presidents' foreheads are due to these dikes.

The Black Hills granites were exposed to erosion during the late Precambrian, but were buried by sandstones and other sediments during the Cambrian Period. The area remained buried throughout the Paleozoic Era, but was exposed again to erosion during the tectonic uplift about 70 million years ago.[22] The Black Hills area was uplifted as an elongated geologic dome which towered some 20,000 feet (6 km) above sea level, but erosion wore the area down to only 4,000 feet (1.2 km).[23] The subsequent natural erosion of this mountain range allowed the carvings by stripping the granite of the overlying sediments and the softer adjacent schists. The contact between the granite and darker schist is viewable just below the sculpture of Washington.

Borglum selected Mount Rushmore as the site for several reasons. The rock of the mountain is composed of smooth, fine-grained granite. The durable granite erodes only 1 inch (2.5 cm) every 10,000 years, indicating that it was sturdy enough to support sculpting.[7] In addition, it was the tallest mountain in the region, looming to a height of 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.[3] Because the mountain faces the southeast, the workers also had the advantage of sunlight for most of the day.

SOURCE:

"Mount Rushmore." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 16 Feb 2007, 02:15 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 18 Feb 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mount_Rushmore&oldid=108505760>.

In Memory of Bruce, the Brother in Arms that Cradled My Childhood

Mount Rushmore is controversial among Native Americans because the United States seized the area from the Lakota tribe after the Black Hills War in 1876–77. The Treaty of Fort Laramie from 1868 had previously granted the Black Hills to the Lakota in perpetuity. The Lakota consider the hills to be sacred, although historians believe the Lakota also gained control of the hills by force, displacing the Cheyenne in 1776. Members of the American Indian Movement led an occupation of the monument in 1971, naming it "Mount Crazy Horse." Among the participants were young activists, grandparents, children and Lakota holy man John Fire Lame Deer, who planted a prayer staff atop the mountain. Lame Deer said the staff formed a symbolic shroud over the presidents' faces "which shall remain dirty until the treaties concerning the Black Hills are fulfilled."[15]

The Monument remains controversial among Native Americans, even after the appointment of Gerard Baker, the first Native American superintendent of the park, in 2004.[16] The Crazy Horse Memorial is being constructed elsewhere in the Black Hills to commemorate a famous Native American leader and as a response to Mount Rushmore. It is intended to be larger than Mount Rushmore and has the support of Lakota chiefs; the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation has rejected offers of federal funds.

SOURCE:

Mount Rushmore. (2007, February 16). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 0

8:02, February 18, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mount_Rushmore&oldid=108505760

Chief Crazy Horse

It was begun in 1948 by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who had worked on Mt. Rushmore under Gutzon Borglum. In 1939, Mr. Ziolkowski received a letter from Chief Henry Standing Bear, which stated in part "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes, too." [1] The sculpture portrays the warrior Crazy Horse, who led the Lakota at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

Crazy Horse resisted being photographed, and was deliberately buried where nobody would find his grave. Ziolkowski, however, envisioned the monument as a metaphoric tribute to the spirit of Crazy Horse and Native Americans. "My lands are where my dead lie buried," supposedly said by Crazy Horse, is the intended interpretation of the monument's expansive gesture. While Ziolkowski's motives may have been sincere, many traditional Lakota and Native Americans oppose this memorial. In a 2001 interview, the activist and actor Russell Means stated their objections to the memorial this way: "Imagine going to the holy land in Israel, whether you're a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim, and start carving up the mountain of Zion. It's an insult to our entire being." In a 1972 autobiography, Lame Deer, a Lakota Medicine Man had this to say: "The whole idea of making a beautiful wild mountain into a statue of him is a pollution of the landscape. It is against the spirit of Crazy Horse." To this day, the memorial remains controversial within the Native American community.

The memorial is to be the icon of a huge educational and cultural center that will include the University and Medical Training Center for the North American Indian and the Indian Museum of North America. The current visitor complex will anchor the center. The entire complex is owned by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, and Ziolkowski's wife and several children remain closely involved with the work, which has no fixed completion date.[2] The face of Crazy Horse was completed and dedicated in 1998, with a view to aiding fundraising. The monument is being built with no public money and is primarily supported by visitor fees (more than one million people visit annually, bringing in millions of dollars).[1] Much of the earth-moving equipment used is donated by corporations.

As a non-profit undertaking, the memorial receives no federal or state funding. Ziolkowski was offered $10 million from the federal government on two occassions, but he turned the offers down. Mr. Ziolkowski felt the project was more than just a mountain carving, and he feared that his plans for the broader educational and cultural goals for the memorial would be left behind with federal involvement.[3]

The Foundation sponsors Native-American cultural events and educational programs. Annually in June, the Memorial hosts a Volksmarch, which is the only time that the public is permitted onto the mountain. Attendance has grown to as many as 15,000.
The Memorial began its first national fund drive in October 2006.[4]

SOURCE:
"Crazy Horse Memorial." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 10 Feb 2007, 22:49 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 18 Feb 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crazy_Horse_Memorial&oldid=107179252>.

Three Pence and Nunn the Richard

2007-02-14T06:40:00.000-08:00

Another Stupefying Valentines Day

No Car. No Income. No food. No life. Thank you America.
Glad to have been of service. Please shut the door on your way out.

This number is no longer in service.

Thanks Uncle Sam.

Amy, did you have to let it linger?

As he lay dying, I counted his breathes and thought this...

2007-02-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

His pitch was true.

Goodsearch Earns League of Women Voters Funds

2007-02-12T16:02:00.000-08:00

When you plan to search the internet, use Good Search
and mark the League of Women Voters Missouri as the charity to earn funds each time you use it. Jo Sapp and the League office earned the organization $1.29 in January 2007 and says, "if each member did it, the funds would really add up quickly."

Donors Choose Website

2007-02-11T22:27:00.000-08:00

Teaching Students Philanthropy

From Lincoln, Nebraska, to the Bronx, New York, groups of young people have pooled donations and collectively chosen projects to fund at DonorsChoose. For example, a group of 1st graders in Brooklyn held a bake sale and used the proceeds to fund "Big Floor Puzzles" for a classroom in North Carolina.

The generosity of these young people prompted DonorsChoose to develop a student grant-making program. When large contributors want DonorsChoose to allocate their gifts, we often turn to students from the schools we serve. With directions from the funder, these student grant-makers read through all the proposals to decide which projects will most benefit their peers. The funder is invited to meet the student grant-makers who were entrusted with the contribution, and the students explain their rationale for selecting particular projects.

Student grant-making not only delivers valuable resources to schools in need, but also provides important lessons in philanthropy, decision-making, and community to the students involved. If you are interested in sponsoring a student grant-making program, please contact reyna@donorschoose.org

And she was looking at her life, and it was looking like a movie...

2007-02-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Blagojevich earned her bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She currently is a licensed real estate broker and appraiser, and owns her own real estate company on Chicago's North Side.

She and Governor Blagojevich are the proud parents of their two young daughters, Amy and Annie.

Pruned any roses lately Hillary?

Please remember that John Denver died in a plane crash. Annie, his first wife, filed legal charges against him for abuse. The song was published in 1974 by Hal Leonard during the reign of the 38th President of the United States, Gerald R. Ford. Yes, a Hallmark movie was made about the relationship.

The romance novel by Catherine Anderson entitled with the same name as the song by John Denver about a deaf woman is available for sale on Amazon.com.

In loving memory of Kathy Anderson, class of 1989.

The Major was a Suffragette

2007-02-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

Today this blog was visited by the following address:

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IP Address
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Region
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City
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ISP [INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER]
The Salvation Army

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THE PRIMARY JAVA CODER FOR CHECKAGAIN SYSTEMS AT THE TIME OF MY SUMMER OF 1998 EMPLOYMENT WAS A GRADUATE OF HARVARD NAMED ERICA DeJONG. HER MOTHER VISITED HER. A DOG WAS ALLOWED IN THE OFFICE BY A LATER HIRE. PROPRIETORY SOFTWARE WAS TAKEN FROM AT&T BY JOHN MCNALLY AND ABE ABROMOWITZ UPON THEIR DEPARTURE FROM WORKING AT&T AS DATABASE ANALYSTS.

I SHARED HOUSING AT 1300 HUDSON IN ARLINGTON OWNED BY BRIAN CLARK AN ATTORNEY WHEN WORKING AT FEDERAL REPORTS ON VERMONT AVENUE NW.

JOHN MCNALLY OF CHECKAGAIN WAS THEN MARRIED TO BARBARA THAT WORKED AT AMERICA ONLINE IN 1998. THE PRESIDENT OF CHECKAGAIN SERVICES DISPUTED MY CLAIM FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE. MY FATHER WAS ALIVE DURING THAT TIME AND ASKED HIM IF HE, TIM, THOUGHT THAT WAS HIGH HANDEDNESS.

I have no vehicle at present. See posting of last week about vehicle impoundment.

Refer to posting of "Happy Birthday Slick Willy" about Tim, the President of CheckAgain, a licensed pilot in 1998 with his own craft.

[AT 0800 MIERCOLES SIETE FEB CERO SIETE I INTERVIEWED WITH HEIDI FOR A JOB AS SHELTER MONITOR IN QUINCY ILLINOIS.
ROSS, A SEMINARIAN GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI WAS PRESENT AT THE INTERVIEW]

THE GADSEN PURCHASE OF 1853 INCLUDED SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA.

ONLY ONE OF THE ORIGINAL 13 COLONIES WAS NOT PRESENT AT THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS IN 1773 IN PHILADELPHIA.
56 DELEGATES ATTENDED.

CAROLINA IS THE LATIN FORM OF GEORGE, AND THE REASON BEHIND THE NAMING OF THE CAROLINAS
IN HONOR OF KING GEORGE II THE KING OF ENGLAND FROM 1860 - 1865.

COPYRIGHT 1997-2004 WEBSIDESTORY,INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. U.S.PATENT No. 6,393,479B1.
MORE INFO:http://websidestory.com/privacy

Al Jolson foundation in Sedalia Missouri. Festival the first week in May with Paid Venues. Knock yourself out Hillary Swank.

How long do I have to dance for you Mister Bojangles?

Will my blood resurrect the daughter murdered in Hannibal while her mother tended drinks for patrons of local burlesque dancers?
Will the blood of playing the Entertainer for you acquit David Steven Glass of murder in the Illinois court of appeals of the night manager of the Hannibal Inn?

Will Jane Inge Negrey ever stop catering to French Montreal Doom programmers and male frat boys in Arlington Virginia?

I paid for my sins in cash.
Copyright notice 2007©
http://www.politicsofbabsbunny.blogspot.com

How does one swim across the Atlantic?

2007-02-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

Today I again applied for an advertized position with the local Red Cross.

I would very much like to renew my Water Safety Instructor Certification or SCUBA, however the daughter of the town where I live appears to be the local Aquatics Director at the Young Male Christian Association that charges for membership and the classes. In addition her mother, Gayle Viorel is currently the elected Public Administrator and lives west of me on the same street where I reside.

Does this reak of collusion to anyone else?

SSDD.

A Day in the Life

2007-02-01T14:51:00.001-08:00

Dear Editor:

I am writing to you to express my complete disgust at my treatment from Aloha Net Technology located on Highway 36 West. In September 2006, I initially contacted Brian Flood of Aloha Net Technology to assist in routine maintenance of my laptop. I was charged $75 for this service. I paid in cash that exhorbitant sum.

At my second contact with Aloha Net Technology I requested how I might utilize the wireless service of my ISP and was instructed to purchase a wireless router and card [not available there at that time].

Subsequently, I purchased these and took them again to Aloha Net Technology for installation. I was then phoned within 48 hours that all of my files had been destroyed during reformatting of the computer. This included numerous undergraduate and graduate college research papers.

Brian Flood stated he would have an employee scan in the files to PDF format if I had additional copies of the lost research in paper format. [Unbeknownst to him, I had made a backup of my files prior to giving Aloha Net Technology the laptop for service]. Concurrently, I asked were it possible to tranlate my electronic files to PDF format. I was instructed that such programs were available for sale at an additional cost, of course. Res ipsa loquitor.

Finally, within three weeks of my second contact, the laptop expired. In complete frustration I returned to Aloha Net Technology to be repaired where I met again with a young male employee who stated he was receiving no federal monies to attend Hannibal LaGrange College, and later renigged on this statement saying he did receive financial subsidies and was studying computer science. He sounded perplexed when I asked if he had a commonly known certification standard for that industry. I made a note of the additional paintball vendors pricing of the nitrous cartridges sharing the same office. This appears a common practice of computer services in the greater Hannibal city area. One would wonder how many of the local dentists in the city limits approve and collude with these computing technicians lacking industry certification to the chagrined dismay of the underserved children with parents unable to afford dental dental care in Marion and Ralls county. Again, the digital divide deepens littered with the teeth of greedy men. Milton's paradise lost in real time...

I returned a fourth time within a week to pick up the laptop. I met with a new male this time that stated Aloha Net Technology would not help me and was now going to refuse me service.

I find this noteworthy for the following reasons:

1. I am a veteran with experience on both Macintosh and DOS platforms since the early 1980s.
2. I served on Capitol Hill during the Anthraxx attacks to ensure child care subsidies and adequate representation for our community in attaining federal monies for our youth seeking higher education.
3. The Representative I worked with died in December 2002 of a viral infection. She represented Hawaii's 2nd District.
4. The curt response I received was later discovered to me only part of the deception that happened that day.

Not only had this company potentially stolen and destroyed the equivalent of thousands of dollars of capital investment and education by my family and myself, they took the wireless router card and replaced it with one of a different platform. The card had a value of more than $54 dollars plus tax. I still have the receipts and the card that was switched.

My complete resume was on the laptop serviced along with personal references that indicated I had worked with legal professionals involved with capital investments in national security issues in the District of Columbia throughout the 1990's.

Citizens of Hannibal, is this the kind of service you expect from young businesses and entrepreneurs? Is this normal for this town?

Do the young men get to steal from women their senior, lie to them, and then avoid public military service concurrently?

It is indeed a sad day in mudville.

Sincerely,
Barbara A. Looney

Matchpoint

2007-01-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

DAY 21 NO FUME, TODAY OF COURSE, MY CAR WAS IMPOUNDED AND A LOCAL PHYSICIAN USED THE INTERNET HERE AT THE LIBRARY AS I TYPED THIS IN. C'EST LA VIE ON THE WILDSIDE. CONTINUALLY CLEAN AND SOBER, UNSURE WHAT FUNCTION THAT HAS FOR ME IN LIEU OF THE FOLLOWING FACTS.™

How come the American Civil Liberties Union only gives my opinion merit if I agree to become the statistical empty set?®

TWELVE SINNING DISCIPLES LESS SEVEN GREEDY DWARVES EQUALS THE WAR OF JUDAS.™

Juego Andre Agassi on sept queso courts with shoes formed of the skin of my hide.©

WOULD THE POLICEMAN THAT TOOK THE SECOND FAMILY BIBLE I RECEIVED AS A CHILD PLEASE RETURN IT TO ME WITH THE RIFLE MY FATHER LEFT TO ME? THEY BOTH WERE PAID FOR FULLY IN CASH. TRENT REZNOR AND RON ARTESTE WILL ATTEST TO THAT.

How does it feel Dylan Thomas dancing with thirteen veils around Peter and kissing Salome during Paul's orations? Did he buy the definitive collection?

Jan Hall of Hamilton Illinois wants to know if Arsenio Hall is still African American.

Since you asked, Jeff Tweedy, I'd like to thank you all for nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing at all.

I'd do anything for you, dear, anything..

2007-01-30T14:41:00.000-08:00

Toni Braxton reveals son autistic UPI Songstress Toni Braxton broke down during a recent New York telecast of "The View" as she revealed her 3-year-old son, Diezel, was diagnosed with autism.

What the Union Label means to me.

2007-01-29T11:53:00.000-08:00

THE NAMES OF THE SEVEN DWARVES

Bashful

Doc

Dopey

Grumpy

Happy

Sleepy

Sneezy

REJECTED DWARF NAMES

Baldy Stubby

Burpy Stuffy

Deafy Wheezy

Gabby

Jumpy

Nifty

Puffy

In Memory of Billie Jean Moffat King and Arthur Ashe

2007-01-29T10:50:00.000-08:00

!Dia diez y nueve no fume!

Shytown Queen Barrabus Nonah Jone’s Epitaph©

Pealed albino flesh eats agate pink stone,
Vermillion eyes weep in vane?
Mocking Byrd’s silent scream.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the final analysis, my pet peeve is redundant catch phrases. ™

Yo no tengo secretario.

How much is your pet worth? I would like to be valued. ™

Virginia Agricultural Research:276-944-2200 12326 Vpi Farm Rd Glade Spring, VA 24340, US

Blacksburg, VA, Montgomery County, US
Blacksburg, VA, Rockbridge County, US
Blacksburg, VA, Washington County, US

Today my car is scheduled for towing by the local police department due to improper licensing per Officer Collier. How is it that each time I receive promotional music from a musician, I meet someone in the local police department with the same surname? ™

Yo no tengo secretario.

How much is your pet worth?

I would like to be valued.

Is my health not worth as much as a horse's?®
Copyright notice 2007©

The following was revised at 1300 New Hampshire Avenue Northwest Washington 6th Floor on Thursday, August 15, 1996. I wrote it originally and enclosed it in a sympathy card to my uncle when his wife Shirley Phillips Looney died in Baton Rouge Louisiana. It was originally written on April 2, 1993.

A Rememberance

The mystery of your spirit enshrouds my mind, taunting me
the thin enigma of a fate that tied your
thick cajun blood to my name.
You gave up a heritage rich and alive,
a basin as wide as the atchafalaya, and as
twisted through the crooked turns of a bayou tree root-
turns too numerous to have predicted.

Was it your knowledge or instinct that guided you back home?
Your silent strength moved the waters of conversation like a gator's gaze before feeding.
How did you master the art of timing to perfection from a place where time stood still?
Wit that closely resembled sugar praline icicles-
brittle, but melting in the moist Louisiana air to leave a sweet tast on the tongue.
C'est bonne.

Dormes bonne mon petite tant.

Copyright notice 1996©

Being the child left behind

2007-01-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

As I type this entry, the former First Lady of the United States is enroute from East High School in West Des Moines Iowa to Cedar Rapids Iowa.

She spoke today at a town hall meeting in Des Moines where she stated she had been raised in Chicago (near Lakeshore Drive no doubt) and poured accolades onto a young girl at the meeting who asked her opinion of Global Warming. She stated this was an excellent question. I concur. I read the Senator's biography while she was a first lady in 1992 where I purchased it in the LAX airport. I read of her work on Capitol Hill during Watergate, and her work with the Children's Defense Fund as a lawyer in the 1970's.

I was raised in the poorest per capita county in Iowa in the 1980's. I attended public school systems there and then public colleges in Maryland and Virginia. I became a confirmed Catholic in 2004, and completed a graduate degree from a private school in Missouri.

The great flood of the midwest occurred in 1993 and devastated my parents' and my place of origin. Simultaneously, Hillary's daughter attended private schools in the District with Al Gore's son. The reader may recall the tree at Saint Alban's school and the male student there that was struck by lightening in the 1990's. Last year, 2006, Chelsea Clinton finished a private graduate education in the United Kingdom. Neither her, her mother, nor her father ever served in the United States Military.

How will this family explain the next natural disaster to the residents of the midwest? Please explain that to me.

The following are facts left to me at my place of residence near Capitol Hill during the Anthraxx attacks in 2002 regarding children and pre kindergarten and kindergarten funding. The report comes from a pink bound report entitled Education For All Young Children: The Role of States and The Federal Government in Promoting Prekindergarten and Kindergarten by Anne W. Mitchell. It is time stamped as received in deceased Representative Patsy Mink's office at 16:13 pm EST on August 13, 2001.

"To date, 42 states (including DC) invest in prekindergarten either by funding their own program, supplementing the federal Head Start program, or both. Forty states fund their own prekindergarten programs, including Oregon, Ohio, and Delaware that have a distinct state funded prekindergarten program that follows Head Start Performance Standards.

In Addition, 19 states add state funds to supplement the federal Head Start program. Only 9 states invest NO state funds in either prekindergarten programs or Head Start. These are Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, North dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. The Governor of Indiana has proposed to spend $50 million in the fiscal year 2001 state budget for full day kindergarten, preschool programs and supplementing federal Head Start".

Does the reader suppose that Indiana's governor is proficient in the Germanic language? Has Chelsea read Frank Baum's version of The Wizard of Oz in Deutsch?

Stay tuned to more election coverage to find out.

Amaze and dazzle your friends. Reread these posts-

WMD's and Iraq
and the bridge came tumbling down
isn't it ironic
on being labeled a terrorist, and finally
Happy Birthday Slick Willy.

What like a bullet can undeceive?

2007-01-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

A Geisha forgotten

We wed thee o sea;
silver Doge union,
shattered but not blind.

Written in loving memory of Charlotte Halstead of Keokuk Iowa.

For those curious
Lunes, 22 ENERO 07 I received the philatelic catalog, dies dias postales.

Being a Tacitus Army of One

2007-01-23T12:01:00.000-08:00

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.

Thanks to Charlotte Nash Halstead, Josephine Miles, and Hilda Doolittle for the reason and punishment of Columbus.

John xi. 1-44

The Deaths of James Brown Ahmet Ertegun and Art Buchwald

2007-01-18T13:57:00.000-08:00

Ahmet Ertegun, 83, who helped define American music as the founder of Atlantic Records, a label that popularized the gritty R&B of Ray Charles, the classic soul of Aretha Franklin and the British rock of the Rolling Stones, died Dec. 14 at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Mr. Ertegun was at an Oct. 29 concert by the Rolling Stones at the Beacon Theatre in New York where he fell, suffered a head injury and was hospitalized. He later slipped into a coma.

Mr. Ertegun, a Turkish ambassador's son, started collecting records for fun but would later became one of the music industry's most powerful figures with Atlantic, which he founded in 1947.

Ahmet Ertegun, Died 29 Octobre 2006 Aged 83

A colored is a very frightened-to-death Afro-American. A Negro is one that makes it in the system, and he wants to be white. A nigger, he's loud and boisterous, wants to be seen. Nobody likes a nigger. A black man has pride. He wants to build, he wants to make his race mean something. Wants to have a culture and art forms. And he's not prejudiced. I am a black American man. Now you go ahead and print it.

James Brown, 1982 Died 25 Deciembre 2006 Aged 73

Posted Jan 10, 2007 11:56 AM Rollingstone.com Both verified in print edition issue 1018: 25 Enero 2007

NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST ART BUCHWALD DIES OF KIDNEY FAILURE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Art Buchwald, 81, the newspaper humor columnist for more than a half-century who found new comic material in the issues that come up at the end of life, died of kidney failure last night at his son's home in Washington, his family announced today.

To John Slosar with love,
Janis Joplin

By Joe HolleyWashington Post Staff WriterMonday, January 1, 2007; Page B05

DEFINITION OF SOCIAL WORK FOR CATHOLIC PHILANDERING XENOPHOBIC HOMOPHOBE PROFESSORS PROSLETYZING ON SOCIAL POLICY TO THE CHAGRIN OF THEIR WIFE:

Mrs. Duffy, known as "Maggie," was born in Madison, Tenn., and grew up in Brentwood, Tenn. Her passion for volunteerism developed at an early age when she emulated her mother and grandmother by knitting washcloths for soldiers wounded in World War I. She was a student at Ward Belmont Junior College (now Belmont University), Vanderbilt University and the University of Tennessee School of Social Work.

During the Depression, she was a social worker in Tennessee, with a caseload of some 500 clients. During a devastating flood on the Cumberland River, she was lent to the American Red Cross as a caseworker because many of her clients lived in the flooded area. She soon joined the Red Cross as director of the Home Services Department, serving in that position during the early years of World War II.

In September 1943, she was appointed assistant field director for military welfare overseas and traveled on a troop ship to the Pacific theater with 15,000 GIs. During the next few years she served in Australia, the Philippines, Japan and Korea.

From 1947 to 1949, she was part of a seven-person team assigned to the health and welfare section of the supreme commander of the Allied powers in Tokyo, assisting the Japanese and Korean Red Cross Societies to develop community health programs for the people of those war-torn nations.

"My special assignment was that of introducing volunteerism, for which there was no word at that time in the Japanese language," she recalled years later in a publication called Tennessee Volunteer Heroes. "So the Society and the Health and Welfare sector made a new one -- hoshidan, meaning 'service groups.' "

During the Korean conflict, she was the Tokyo area field director. In addition to her regular duties, she developed an organization of 2,000 volunteers to assist in the care of the thousands of wounded soldiers en route to the United States through Tokyo as well as to attend to the needs of any family members based in Japan. Her plan became the model for Red Cross volunteer programs at all overseas military installations.

Mrs. Duffy returned to the United States in 1952 and became field director at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. From 1954 to 1958, she served at European America Red Cross headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, where she expanded volunteer efforts with U.S. military dependents at installations in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

In 1958, she became executive director of volunteers in the eastern area, based in Alexandria. She soon moved to national headquarters as director of the office of volunteer personnel.

She retired in 1977 but continued as a Red Cross consultant. She also served as a volunteer liaison with the Japanese embassy to encourage Japanese citizens living in the United States to volunteer with the Red Cross.

In 1991, Mrs. Duffy moved to Nashville, where she served on the board of directors of the local Red Cross chapter. That year the emperor of Japan conferred on her the Order of the Precious Crown, Butterfly, for "the contributions in promoting volunteerism in Japan and in strengthening the friendship between the people of Japan and the United States through activities of the American Red Cross."

Mrs. Duffy's husband, Eugene Barstow Duffy, died in 1974.

Survivors include a stepdaughter, Margaret D. Beyersdorfer of Bethesda; three grandchildren; and two great-granddaughters.

The USPS site

2007-01-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

This site states that:

"All orders are carefully packaged and shipped Priority Mail."

I ordered a Philatelic Catalog: Item No. 023007 on Tuesday 10 ENERO 2007.

I still have not received it.

In addition, within the last 365 days, the previous Philatelic Catalog I obtained from the Post Office located at the northeast junction of Route 50 West and Route 237 Pickett Road where I purchased a complete set of 1941-1945 stamps from as a Christmas present for my father has been taken from my residence.

So glad to be of assistance to your campaign and daughter's education, Senator Clinton. Best wishes,

Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer
aka Dorothea Dix
aka Dorothea Day
aka Dear Abigail Kisling

Flies to the feces

2007-01-17T11:00:00.000-08:00

FUR ELISE SUSAN MILLER ANGELICA RUGRAT

There once was a trust fund baby

that found nails to be very shady.

So she raised up a brad

for to nail sixteen lads,

Now all of Briton deems her a Lady!

1700 MARTES 16 ENERO 2007

NO FUME!

Finding the Courage to Create, again

2007-01-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

ODE TO ERYMANTHUS
[KILLER OF BEAR IN ARCADIAN MOUNTAINS]

SOLAMENTE CORDERITOS PODES DETENAR BOSQUE FIEROS.

DOMINGO 1800 C.S.T. 14 ENERO 2007

Posted dais numero seis sans fume.

Internet Pedophilia

2007-01-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

According to a U.S. Department of Justice study, of the estimated 24 million child Internet-users, one in five has received unwanted sexual solicitations, with teen girls being the primary target.

SOURCE: National Ad Council Public Service Announcement's website

"In marble walls as white as milk..."

2006-12-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

In marble walls as white as milk,
Lined with a skin as soft as silk,
Within a fountain crystal clear,
A golden apple doth appear;
No doors there are to this stronghold,
Yet thieves break in and steal the gold.

(An egg.)

"This is the house that Jack built..."by Mother Goose

2006-12-27T08:14:00.000-08:00

This is the house that Jack built.

This is the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the farmer sowing his corn,
That kept the cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

My Musings for Sir Elton John

2006-12-21T07:55:00.000-08:00

Thomas R. Lounsbury, ed. (1838β€“1915). Yale Book of American Verse. 1912.

Ralph Waldo Emerson. 1803β€“1882

47. Sacrifice

THOUGH love repine, and reason chafe,
There came a voice without reply,β€”

"'T is man's perdition to be safe,
When for the truth he ought to die."

Presenting Ms. Katherine Gray

2006-12-19T10:26:00.000-08:00

How big are your balls, Ms. Gray? Are you able to see them yet?

Do your ears hang low?

Do they wobble to and fro?

Can you tie them in a knot?

Can you tie them in a bow?

Can you throw them over your shoulder,

like a continental soldier?

Do your ears hang low?

Was it a red violin, Ms. Holly Hunter?

2006-12-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

Hey diddle diddle,

the cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon,

The little dog laughed to see such sport,

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Casey At The Bat by Ernest L. Thayer

2006-12-18T14:19:00.000-08:00

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day,
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair.
The rest clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast.
They thought,
"if only Casey could but get a whack at that. We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat."

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake;
and the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake.

So upon that stricken multitude, grim melancholy sat;
for there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all.
And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball.

And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,
there was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.
Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
it rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
it pounded through on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat;
for Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place,
there was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face.

And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
no stranger in the crowd could doubt t'was Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt.
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.

Then, while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.
And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
and Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.

Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped --
"That ain't my style," said Casey.
"Strike one!" the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people,
there went up a muffled roar, l
ike the beating of the storm waves on a stern and distant shore.

"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand,
and it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity,
great Casey's visage shone, he stilled the rising tumult,
he bade the game go on.He signaled to the pitcher,
and once more the dun sphere flew, but Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two!"

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands,
and echo answered "Fraud!"

But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold,
they saw his muscles strain,
and they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer has fled from Casey's lip, the teeth are clenched in hate.
He pounds, with cruel violence, his bat upon the plate.

And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
and now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright.
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.

And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout,
but there is no joy in Mudville --
mighty Casey has struck out.

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat Edward Lear

2006-12-18T14:11:00.000-08:00

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea

In a beautiful pea-green boat.

They took some honey, and plenty of money

Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,

And sang to a small guitar,

"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,What a beautiful Pussy you are,

You are,You are!

What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!

How charmingly seet you sing!

O let us be married!

too long we have tarried:

But what shall we do for a ring?"

They sailed away,

for a year and a day,

To the land where the Bong-Tree grows,

And there in a wood

a Piggy-wig stood,

With a ring at the end of his nose,

His nose,His nose!

With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear Pig, are you willing

to sell for one shilling

Your ring?"

Said the Piggy, "I will."

So they took it away,

and were married next day

By the Turkey who lives on the hill.

They dined on mince, and slinces of quince,

Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand

They danced by the light of the moon,

The moon,The moon,

They danced by the light of the moon.

Fireflies author Carolyn Hall

2006-12-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

Little lamps of the dusk,
You fly low and gold
When the summer evening
Starts to unfold.
So that all the insects,
Now, before you pass,
Will have light to see by,
Undressing in the grass.
But when the night has flowered.
Little lamps agleam,
You fly over treetops
Following in a dream.
Men wonder from their windows
That a firefly goes so far-
They do not know your longing
To be a shooting star.

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

2006-12-18T13:56:00.000-08:00

Baa, Baa, black sheep,

Have you any wool?

Yes, sir, yes, sir,

Three bags full.

One for my master,

One for my dame

One for the little boy

That lives in the lane.

Baa, Baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?

Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full.

Puss in Boots

2006-12-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

THERE was a miller1 who left no more estate to the three sons2 he had than his mill,3 his ass,4 and his cat.5 The partition was soon made. Neither scrivener6 nor attorney7 was sent for. They would soon have eaten up all the poor patrimony.8 The eldest had the mill, the second the ass, and the youngest nothing but the cat.9 The poor young fellow was quite comfortless at having so poor a lot.

"My brothers," said he, "may get their living handsomely enough by joining their stocks together; but for my part, when I have eaten up my cat,10 and made me a muff of his skin,11 I must die of hunger."

The Cat, who heard all this, but made as if he did not, said to him with a grave and serious air:12
"Do not thus afflict yourself, my good master. You have nothing else to do but to give me a bag13 and get a pair of boots14 made for me that I may scamper through the dirt and the brambles, and you shall see that you have not so bad a portion in me as you imagine."

The Cat's master did not build very much upon what he said. He had often seen him play a great many cunning tricks to catch rats and mice,15 as when he used to hang by the heels, or hide himself in the meal, and make as if he were dead; so that he did not altogether despair of his affording him some help in his miserable condition. When the Cat had what he asked for he booted himself very gallantly, and putting his bag about his neck, he held the strings of it in his two forepaws and went into a warren16 where was great abundance of rabbits. He put bran and sow-thistle into his bag, and stretching out at length, as if he had been dead, he waited for some young rabbits, not yet acquainted with the deceits of the world, to come and rummage his bag for what he had put into it.

Scarce was he lain down but he had what he wanted. A rash and foolish young rabbit jumped into his bag, and Monsieur Puss, immediately drawing close the strings, took and killed him without pity.17 Proud of his prey, he went with it to the palace and asked to speak with his majesty.18 He was shown upstairs into the King's apartment, and, making a low reverence,19 said to him:

"I have brought you, sir, a rabbit of the warren, which my noble lord the Marquis of Carabas"20 (for that was the title which puss was pleased to give his master) "has commanded me to present to your majesty from him."

"Tell thy master," said the king, "that I thank him and that he does me a great deal of pleasure."
Another time he went and hid himself among some standing corn, holding still his bag open, and when a brace of partridges ran into it he drew the strings and so caught them both. He went and made a present of these to the king,21 as he had done before of the rabbit which he took in the warren. The king, in like manner, received the partridges with great pleasure, and ordered him some money for drink.

The Cat continued for two or three months22 thus to carry his Majesty, from time to time, game of his master's taking. One day in particular, when he knew for certain that he was to take the air along the river-side,23 with his daughter, the most beautiful princess in the world,24 he said to his master:

"If you will follow my advice your fortune is made. You have nothing else to do but go and wash yourself in the river, in that part I shall show you, and leave the rest to me."

The Marquis of Carabas did what the Cat advised him to, without knowing why or wherefore. While he was washing the King passed by, and the Cat began to cry out:

"Help! help! My Lord Marquis of Carabas is going to be drowned."

At this noise the King put his head out of the coach- window, and, finding it was the Cat who had so often brought him such good game, he commanded his guards to run immediately to the assistance of his Lordship the Marquis of Carabas. While they were drawing the poor Marquis out of the river, the Cat came up to the coach and told the King that, while his master was washing, there came by some rogues, who went off with his clothes, though he had cried out:

"Thieves! thieves!" several times, as loud as he could.

This cunning Cat had hidden them under a great stone. The King immediately commanded the officers of his wardrobe to run and fetch one of his best suits25 for the Lord Marquis of Carabas.
The King caressed him after a very extraordinary manner, and as the fine clothes he had given him extremely set off his good mien (for he was well made and very handsome in his person), the King's daughter took a secret inclination to him, and the Marquis of Carabas had no sooner cast two or three respectful and somewhat tender glances but she fell in love with him to distraction. The King would needs have him come into the coach and take part of the airing. The Cat, quite overjoyed to see his project begin to succeed, marched on before, and, meeting with some countrymen, who were mowing a meadow,26 he said to them:

"Good people, you who are mowing, if you do not tell the King that the meadow you mow belongs to my Lord Marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as herbs for the pot."27

The King did not fail asking of the mowers to whom the meadow they were mowing belonged.

"To my Lord Marquis of Carabas," answered they altogether, for the Cat's threats had made them terribly afraid.

"You see, sir," said the Marquis,28 "this is a meadow which never fails to yield a plentiful harvest every year."

The Master Cat,29 who went still on before, met with some reapers,30 and said to them:

"Good people, you who are reaping, if you do not tell the King that all this corn belongs to the Marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as herbs for the pot."

The King, who passed by a moment after, would needs know to whom all that corn, which he then saw, did belong.

"To my Lord Marquis of Carabas," replied the reapers, and the King was very well pleased with it, as well as the Marquis, whom he congratulated thereupon.

The Master Cat, who went always before, said the same words to all he met, and the King was astonished at the vast estates of my Lord Marquis of Carabas.

Monsieur Puss came at last to a stately castle, the master of which was an ogre,31 the richest had ever been known; for all the lands which the King had then gone over belonged to this castle. The Cat, who had taken care to inform himself who this ogre was and what he could do, asked to speak with him, saying he could not pass so near his castle without having the honor of paying his respects to him. The ogre32 received him as civilly as an ogre could do, and made him sit down.

"I have been assured," said the Cat, "that you have the gift of being able to change yourself into all sorts of creatures you have a mind to;33 you can, for example, transform yourself into a lion, or elephant, and the like."

"That is true," answered the ogre very briskly; "and to convince you, you shall see me now become a lion."34

Puss was so sadly terrified at the sight of a lion so near him that he immediately got into the gutter, not without abundance of trouble and danger, because of his boots, which were of no use at all to him in walking upon the tiles. A little while after, when Puss saw that the ogre had resumed his natural form, he came down, and owned he had been very much frightened.

"I have been, moreover, informed," said the Cat, "but I know not how to believe it, that you have also the power to take on you the shape of the smallest animals; for example, to change yourself into a rat or a mouse; but I must own to you I take this to be impossible."

"Impossible!" cried the ogre; "you shall see that presently."

And at the same time he changed himself into a mouse, and began to run about the floor. Puss no sooner perceived this but he fell upon him and ate him up.35

Meanwhile the King, who saw, as he passed, this fine castle of the ogre's, had a mind to go into it. Puss, who heard the noise of his Majesty's coach running over the draw-bridge, ran out, and said to the King:

"Your Majesty is welcome to this castle of my Lord Marquis of Carabas."

"What! my Lord Marquis," cried the King, "and does this castle also belong to you? There can be nothing finer than this court and all the stately buildings which surround it; let us go into it, if you please."

The Marquis gave his hand to the Princess, and followed the King, who went first. They passed into a spacious hall, where they found a magnificent collation,36 which the ogre had prepared for his friends, who were that very day to visit him, but dared not to enter, knowing the King was there. His Majesty was perfectly charmed with the good qualities of my Lord Marquis of Carabas, as was his daughter, who had fallen violently in love with him, and, seeing the vast estate he possessed, said to him, after having drunk five or six glasses:37

"It will be owing to yourself only, my Lord Marquis, if you are not my son-in-law."

The Marquis, making several low bows, accepted the honor which his Majesty conferred upon him, and forthwith, that very same day, married the Princess.38 Puss became a great lord,39 and never ran after mice any more but only for his diversion.40

By Charles Perrault
Lang, Andrew, ed. "Puss In Boots." The Blue Fairy Book. New York: Dover, 1965. (Original published 1889.)

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house

2006-12-14T14:38:00.000-08:00

:) Salaam. :)

Seasons' Greetings, and best wishes for all the good little mice and men in the world,

especially those Okies in Wiscokie!

HOLLY WREATHS

1 box of Corn Flakes

1 container marshmellow cream

1 container red hot candies

Heat ingredients, save candies. Add coloring and candy for decorative touch.

;) They're GREAT!

The Song I Played on Guitar the Night of 17 November 1998 in my Falls Church Apartment

2006-11-05T15:17:00.000-08:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: This song I had learned to play guitar to and was in the Alvarez guitar with other songs purchased from Fox Music Store on Lee Highway that I left with the homeless man at Dupont Circle named "BP". I recently found the tablature from it at a website posting below. I had then a guitar pick with vocalist Kasey Crowley's image on it from her Anchorless album that I obtained from a sack of Dorito's. That guitar pick was the only thing I was later able to keep from being taken from me while involuntarily hospitalized. It has since vanished from my home.

From:
B51MC - view profile
Date:
Sat, May 3 1997 12:00 am
Email:
b51mc@aol.com (B51MC)
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"It's Too Late" - Carole King & Toni Stern (1971)
Am7 D6 Stayed in bed all morning just to pass the time Am7 D6 There's something wrong here there can be no denying Am7 Gm7 Fmaj7 One of us is changing or maybe we've just stopped trying
Bbmaj7 Fmaj7 And it's too late baby now it's too late though we Bbmaj7 Fmaj7 really did try to make it. Bbmaj7 Fmaj7 Something inside has died and I can't hide Dm7 Fmaj7 E7sus Em7 Am7 D6 Am7 D6 (last time to coda) And I just can't fake it
Used to be so easy living here with you You were light and brezy and I knew just what to do Now you look so unhappy and I feel like a fool...(chorus)
There'll be good times again for me and you But we just can't stay together don't you feel it too Still I'm glad for what we had and how I once loved you...(chorus)
*Coda (D6) Dm7 Fmaj7 G7sus G7 Cmaj7 Fmaj7 .....and I just can't fake it. It's too late, ba-by Cmaj7 Fmaj7 Cmaj7 It's too late now darling, it's too late.
Am7 x02010 D6 xx0202 Gm7 xx3333 Fmaj7xx3210 Bbmaj7 x1323x E7sus xx2435 G7sus xx0011 Cmaj7 x32000
...hope this helps...
...Bob

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//-->
Reply

Unproven meth, cocaine β€�remedyβ€™ hits market

2006-11-01T20:43:00.000-08:00

Researchers debate quick fix: Is it good medicine or just marketing?
By Kari Huus
Reporter
MSNBC
Updated: 3:14 p.m. CT Nov 1, 2006

A drug cocktail that backers say is the first effective treatment for methamphetamine and cocaine addiction is dividing substance abuse experts into two hostile camps β€” those who say they have seen it work wonders and those who say it has been rushed to market without any scientific testing.
The strident debate over the "Prometa protocol," manufactured by the Hythiam Corp., is complicated by the checkered Wall Street career of the company's CEO, Terren Peizer, who previously championed an anti-AIDS drug that has yet to make it to market.
Hythiam, which is based in Los Angeles, launched Prometa in 2003 in private clinics, where meth and cocaine addicts, as well as alcohol abusers, pay $12,000 to $15,000 for a one-month outpatient treatment.
Now the company is aggressively pushing Prometa for the mass market, and asking governments and insurers to foot the bill. Already, four county and municipal programs have launched pilot programs and are offering powerful testimonials for the treatment.
The company has a huge receptive potential customer base in health and law enforcement officials in countless small communities that have been broadsided by the costly and seemingly intractable meth and "crack" cocaine epidemics. And it has big ambitions in this grim landscape.
β€�We believe strongly that one day Prometa will be a standard of care, and should be available to everyone,β€� Peizer said.
But critics note that the field of addiction treatment is littered with "miracle cures" that ultimately failed or, in a few cases, caused harm to test subjects. And they warn that Prometa has never been subjected to double-blind, placebo-controlled testing β€” the gold standard for determining whether therapies are safe and effective.
β€�It preys on ... desperate patientsβ€™β€�The marketing is way ahead of the science,β€� said Lori Karan, a physician-researcher at the Drug Dependence Research Laboratory at the University of California San Francisco. β€�It preys on the needs of desperate patients, sets unreasonable hopes and expectations and takes advantage of scarce economic resources.β€�
"Whatβ€™s being touted here is what people have always wanted for addiction ... something dramatic that is going to fix their brain," agreed Peter Banys, director of substance abuse programs at the VA Medical Center in San Francisco. "I would never recommend that someone spend $15,000 on this with the current state of data (and) I think itβ€™s improper to spend public money on this product at this time."
Prometa has made its way to consumers quickly because of an exception in FDA regulations that allows physicians to prescribe drugs β€�off-labelβ€� β€” that is, for purposes other than the one for which they were originally approved. For example, Botox, best known as a wrinkle eraser, originally was approved as a treatment for an eye muscle problem but is used off-label to treat migraine headaches.
However, Hythiam is exploring new territory by grouping three FDA-approved drugs for off-label purposes in Prometa. The company doesn't own or produce the three drugs β€” flumazanil, gabapentin and hydroxyzine β€” but claims ownership of the process by which they are delivered into a patient's system along with nutritional supplements. It licenses the protocol to individual doctors and clinics, grants franchise rights and administers the treatment at its Prometa centers.
The company, which is seeking a U.S. patent on its β€�proprietary dosing algorithm,β€� is secretive about the specific details of the treatment. But it broadly describes it as a process in which patients receive about one hour of intravenous infusion for three straight days, followed by about a month of oral medications and nutritional supplements. Near the end of the month the patient returns for two more IV infusions. The formulation varies, depending on whether it is being used to treat meth, cocaine or alcohol dependency.
Hythiam's doctors aren't sure how Prometa works, but they hypothesize that it repairs the damage to neurotransmitters in the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor complex β€” the part of the brain that inhibits or calms β€” caused by extended drug and alcohol abuse. The effect, they believe, is to halt cravings for the drug and allow addicts to think clearly enough to concentrate on changing their lifestyles.
β€�It resets the receptors and they stay reset,β€� Matthew Torrington, medical director of the flagship Prometa Center in Los Angeles, told a group of Washington state and local legislators at a recent presentation. By quelling the cravings, he said, "It intensifies the prowess of psychosocial treatment."
Try it now, prove it laterHythiam is now conducting double-blind studies at UCLA and the University of South Carolina in an effort to establish the efficacy of Prometa and rule out the β€�placebo effect,β€� where patients who believe they are receiving a treatment for a medical condition show improvement even when they are given an inert substance.
But those results may not be final until 2008, and the company argues that the results of its field trials are so compelling that use of Prometa should not wait.
β€�Counties donβ€™t care about double-blind placebo-controlled data," said Peizer. β€�Whatβ€™s interesting about Prometa is that out in the field β€” in the counties, justice systems, private centers β€” the clinical relevance is being shown daily."
Already, according to Hythiam, more than 1,000 people have undergone treatment with Prometa, with providers reporting unheard of abstinence rates of between 60 percent and 80 percent. Thousands more will receive the treatment in the next year in private settings alone, it says.
The company also is making inroads in the government sector.
Fulton County, Ga., which has a cocaine epidemic and an emerging meth problem, announced in October that it was launching a Prometa pilot program for its parole and probation programs in an effort to curb high recidivism rates.
That comes on the heels of a pilot programs in Pierce County, Wash., and Gary, Ind., where local officials said they saw such dramatic results in meth and cocaine addicts that they are seeking to make Prometa a standard offering. Idaho and Maricopa County, Ariz., also are considering testing the Prometa regimen.
The company is pressing its case on two fronts. Hythiamβ€™s senior officers are talking to investors in U.S. financial centers while doctors employed by the company shop Prometa at anti-drug conferences in meth-blighted areas.
β€�We are in constant dialogue with providers to government and state agencies and third-party payers and we expect to land initial licensing relationships that will contribute to our 2007 revenues,β€� Peizer said in the companyβ€™s second quarter conference call in August. β€�Keep in mind, each 400 treatments at the government rate of $2,500 will result in $1 million in revenue. At these levels, even initial volumes can accrue quite rapidly.β€�
A message from beyond the grave The company also triggered a controversy early this year with an ad campaign that appeared to be directed at the public at large. Billboards and television and radio ads referred to "Saturday Night Live" comic Chris Farley, who died of an overdose of cocaine and morphine in 1997, and highlighted the Prometa label under the slogan, β€�The problem is physical, the solution is medical.β€�
Media reports at the time focused mainly on whether or not it was in poor taste to use Farley's image for a posthumous endorsement.
In addiction treatment circles, it was the direct appeal to consumers that raised eyebrows, since FDA rules do not allow off-label drug uses to be advertised.
Peizer dismisses the criticism from both quarters.
β€�The Chris Farley campaign was not about advertising, it was about creating awareness," he said. "We only did it to create awareness of the disease.β€�
Responding to a query from MSNBC.com, a press officer said the FDA was not prepared to comment on whether the ads violated its regulations "without the agency looking further into this."
The spark that led to the creation of Prometa came from a Spanish addiction researcher, Juan Jose Legarda, who in 2003 sold his drug-based approach to Peizer's new company, Hythiam. Peizer quickly gained access to investment capital by gaining listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange through a reverse-merger with a shell company.
Financial juggler The financial maneuver was nothing new for Peizer, who first became known in the investment world as a junk-bond salesman working for Michael Milken in the 1980s. Peizer was compelled to testify in the sentencing phase of Milken's securities fraud trial, and was granted immunity from prosecution.
In 1991, Peizer was a major investor and CEO of the company that made Candieβ€™s shoes, but he quickly sold his shares when the firm was sued for cheating on its customs duties. He was named in one of two lawsuits alleging insider trading, but was not prosecuted.
Also in the early 1990s, he invested in a company called Urethane Technologies, which made extravagant claims about a no-flat tire it was developing for the vast bicycle market in China. Peizer prospered β€” reportedly earning some $6 million when he sold his shares in 1993 β€” but the company never delivered and wobbled into bankruptcy in 1997.
A more-celebrated deal came in 2000, when he bought 10 percent of tiny Seattle-based Tera Computer and then orchestrated that company's purchase of Cray Research, the business unit of the bankrupt supercomputer giant. Afterward, the Seattle company changed its name to Cray Inc., and has has parlayed its famous name and computing strengths into profit.
Peizer served briefly as chairman of the board, but left the company in December 2000 when he couldn't get a timely security clearance required because of the firm's classified government work. He remains a large stockholder.
One executive involved in a deal with Peizer described him as an eloquent vagabond.
β€�Heβ€™s smooth and a bit of a showman. He can talk to different folks at different levels,β€� said the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. β€�Heβ€™ll peddle a story, and then heβ€™ll move on.β€�
AIDS drug flopsPeizer's first foray into healthcare came in the late 1990s, when he invested in Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals and got the biotech startup listed on the Nasdaq through a reverse merger. The company's shares soared on hopes for its AIDS-fighting compound Immunitin, despite scant clinical research.
''This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. We have something special,'' he told the New York Times in February 1998, referring to Immunitin.
Peizer abruptly left the company in 1999, and Immunitin is still in the research phase.
Peizer sounded a similar note in describing his excitement over the Prometa protocol, telling MSNBC.com that bringing it to market would be the most important thing he had done in his career, even if the company never becomes profitable.
Peizer owns 35 percent of Hythiam, now capitalized at $340 million. Shares are up more than 60 percent in the last three months.
Using drugs to fight drug dependenceMost addiction specialists agree that medical intervention can help treat drug dependence, and several drugs have won FDA approval for treating addiction, though none for stimulants like methamphetamine and cocaine.
Buprenorphine (sold as Suboxone or Subutex) was approved to alleviate withdrawal symptoms in heroin recovery, and it is used for sustaining abstinence. And Naltrexone (brand-name Vivitrol), is approved for use in relapse prevention for heroin and alcohol addictions.
But these drugs went through decades of rigorous testing and tens of millions of dollars before being cleared by FDA and marketed to the public, notes Richard Rawson, professor of psychiatry at UCLA and an outspoken critic of Prometa.
β€�(Hythiam is) trying to have it both ways,β€� he said. β€�Theyβ€™re trying to say (Prometa) shouldnβ€™t require testing because weβ€™re using these (FDA approved) medicines off label. ... But they canβ€™t say theyβ€™ve tested it β€¦ to demonstrate that it is a safe of effective procedure.β€�
His arguments don't sway converts to Prometa, who say the pilot results, although not scientific, cannot be ignored because they are so striking and because counseling has had such poor results among meth users.
Among them is Terree Schmidt-Whelan, director of the Pierce County Alliance, a non-profit treatment center in Tacoma, Wash. Pierce County has one of the highest rates of methamphetamine addiction in the country and all the crime, domestic violence, child neglect and other tragedy associated with meth use.
After being approached by Hythiam, her agency started a pilot program in March with 40 addicts she describes as "the worst of the worst," mostly hard-core meth users.
β€�Phenomenalβ€™ resultsThe results? "Phenomenal," she said.
"I've been in this field for 30 years, and to see people change their lives in a week, and so dramatically, itβ€™s just wonderful," she says.
Pierce County offered the experimental treatment through its family and felony drug courts, which allow those who successfully complete a drug or alcohol treatment program to have their penalties reduced or regain custody of children placed in foster homes.
Schmidt-Whelan says many of the subjects who took part in the trial had failed repeatedly in drug court β€” missing therapy sessions, or showing positive urinalysis β€” until they received the Prometa protocol.
The week after their initial infusions, she said she saw a stunning change in their demeanors.
"They would arrive at the door looking completely different than the week before. It was like they had looked in the mirror for the first time in years," she said. "They had shaved, done their hair, stood taller."
She said 37 of the original 40 subjects are now quickly progressing through the drug court program. Of more than 700 urinalysis tests on the group, only 12 have come back positive.
"All (subjects) report an increased ability to focus on the treatment rather than focusing on getting high," said Schmidt-Whelan. "That is huge. It allows people to go out and find jobs, focus on what the therapist has to say, and to focus on the issues that led them to drugs in the first place."
One of those finding a new way to live is 26-year old Suzanne Younker, a three-year meth user who had a $100-to-$200-a-day habit before the Prometa program. Now, after more than six months without drugs, she has a job and is working to gain custody of her son, year-old Kingston.
β€�Youβ€™d have thought that would be motivation enough,β€� she said, recalling how Kingston was taken from her at birth in the hospital after they both tested positive for meth.
Loss of child strengthened drug's holdInstead, she sank deeper into the drugβ€™s thrall, getting high every day for about three months until she was arrested, holed up in a hotel room with her two pit bulls.
It wasn't until after Prometa that she could think about something other than her next fix: β€�I had a maternal instinct that I should have had before,β€� she said.
Another convert is Harold Urschel, a psychiatrist at Research Across America, a Dallas-based company that runs studies on new therapies.
Urschel gave Prometa to 50 chronic methamphetamine addicts β€” again, with no control for placebo effect β€” in a 12-week trial that ended in April. He reports that overall meth usage plummeted for the duration of the study. Thirty-one of the subjects completed the 12-week program.
"I was amazed," he said. β€�Thatβ€™s nothing like what I see in clinical practice. Weβ€™re talking about getting chronic meth users who had tried to stop numerous times, and the longest they could be sober was 2-3 days, many just one.β€�
He plans to recommend it to all his patients.
β€�The scientists who are naysayers have a right to their opinion. But if youβ€™re in the trenches out there β€¦ itβ€™s a no-brainer.β€�
Cautionary taleDespite such accolades, the National Institute on Drug Abuse does not agree with Hythiam's marketing-first approach.
"If we had a vote in this, and we donβ€™t, we would say they shouldnβ€™t be doing this," said Frank Vocci, the head of pharmacology at the NIDA, a branch of the National Institutes of Health. "We want evidence-based procedures and medicine to be practiced."
He also cites a litany of cures, from copper bracelets to brain surgeries, that have proved in controlled testing to have no more than placebo effect.
One recent cautionary tale in the addiction field is anesthesia-assisted "ultra rapid detox" for heroin addicts. This method, billed as a fast, painless way to get through withdrawal from heroin and other opiates, became popular in the late 1990s.
One version of this process was developed by Juan Jose LeGarda, the Spanish researcher whose theories led to Prometa.
But in August 2005, a study published in the issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the treatment can be life-threatening, is not pain-free and has no advantage over other methods in keeping people drug free in the long run.
That reversal comes as no surprise to NIDA's Vocci.
β€�In the absence of well-controlled studies β€¦ people may swear that they feel better,β€� he said. β€�(But) that doesnβ€™t mean there is anything about the procedure that works.β€�

Β© 2006 MSNBC.com

2006-11-01T20:12:00.000-08:00

Please do your job.---

"Ward, Patricia" <Patricia.Ward@dss.mo.gov> wrote:>

Barbara, I talked with Dr. Aamoth today and stated> that he wasn't able> to complete the interview with you. Also you failed> to sign the release> he needed. Without this interview the Medical Review> Team will not be> able to approve your application for Medicaid.> I will have to contact the MRT and tell them that I> don't have the> completed psychiatric consultation.> Let me know what you want me to do.> Pat > ********************************> >

CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT: This electronic> communication is from the Department of Social> Services (DSS) and is confidential, privileged, and> intended only for the use of the recipient named> above. If you are not the intended recipient or> agent responsible for delivering the information to> the intended recipient, unauthorized disclosure,> copying, distribution or use of the contents of this> transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have> received this transmission in error, please notify> the sender and delete all copies from your system.

Author Dorothy Parker AKA Helen Wheels 1893-1967

2006-10-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

Re'sume'

Razors pain you;

Rivers are damp;

Acids stain you;

And drugs cause cramp.

Guns aren't lawful;

Nooses give;

Gas smells awful;

You might as well live.

Written 1926

One Perfect Rose

A single flow'r he sent me, since we met.

All tenderly his messenger he chose;

Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet-

One perfect rose.

I knew the language of the floweret;

"My fragile leaves," it said, "his heart enclose."

Love long has taken for his amulet

One perfect rose.

Why is it no one ever sent me yet

One perfect limousine, do you suppose?

Ah no, it's always just my luck to get

One perfect rose.

Source: The Norton Anthology of Poetry

ISBN 0-393-95224-X

A Rose By Any Other Name Would Not Smell So Sweet.....

2006-10-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

EDITOR's NOTE: The following blog posting is a prime example of how memory can be associated very powerfully to certain particular senses such as smell. Smell, one of the oldest human senses, is processed in the most primal part of human brains. This part of the brain responsible for our 'fight or flight' instincts, is located in the brain stem and is part of the limbic system. That is to say, associations between the sense and memory occur and generate feelings automatically.

Hence, such movies as "The Scent of a Woman" or "Cinderella Man", or even the UK's "Chariots of Fire" may illustrate the magnified power of emotions in a manner VERY identifiable to troops. Such films may be useful in assisting to motivate and inspire soldiers facing tests of endurance by lessening his/her pain of isolation particularly over long periods of separation from loved ones.

These movies, and reflections of them, may acutely resonate with military personnel in times of dire stress and cause for contemplation. They may provide relief by illuminating and normalizing such efforts required to pay the high price past generations of veterans have undertaken in seeking similar goals.

Our military is acutely aware of the exhorbitant cost to guarantee freedom and liberty in a way that many civilians may unfortunately take for granted and forget all too often.

The following Websites May Be of Assistance to Military Families Experiencing Interpersonal Conflicts:

Up To Parents at Http://www.UpToParents.org
Proud To Parent at Http://www.ProudToParent.org
While We Heal at Http://WhileWeHeal.org

"Things Forgotten" Blog Posting By Chief Warrant Officer Bert Stover
Courtesy of the Washington Post Online

The other night I was doing my job, as we do 24 hours a day, seven days a week, when it hit me: Memories of home were eluding me. I could no longer recall details I once took for granted, such as the subtlety of a scent. The sensation blindsided me and the rest of the crew as we flew over Iraq. We all reflected on what we've forgotten for having been away so long.

I was doing some paperwork and checking the systems and external lighting, while our crew chiefs were loading bags and passengers for the next portion of our flight. All of a sudden my nose sensed a familiar odor that reminded me of the U.S. I could not place it, but it was 180 degrees from the usual whiffs we get in the cockpit -- of exhaust or the musty smell of the dust stirred up by the large fan turning over our heads. We also endure the ever-present smell of Army equipment. If you've ever been in the service, you know what I'm talking about. It smells like old canvas stored for a decade in a hot, dirty, wet storage bin with no air circulation.

As I caught the soft sweet scent again, I started to think about the norm here, which, by contrast, made this particular smell so inviting. There is the occasional sharp body odor of some of the locals we encounter. There is the smell of burning trash at every installation, marked by the pungency of smoldering plastic. Even recent Al Asad visits, though only 15-minute passings-through, reveal the smell of sulphur from the natural spring there. After the biting "clean" laundry to the rancid port-o-johns and trailer bathrooms, where the urinals are freshened with moth balls because the plumbing lacks traps, we sniff out with keen awareness things that remind us of home.

The smells I miss most? Those of freshly cut grass, burning leaves of fall, fresh laundry and rain. But the one that night was better even than those. I could not see her, for the darkness of the moonless night and the seating arrangement, but for the ride from TQ to Fallujah, I inhaled deeply. Oh the simple things ...

Clinton's Iowa Visit May Serve Wife's Aims

2006-10-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

AN EXCERPT FROM "Former President Rallies Democrats, Reaching Voters Where She Has Been Absent"

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff, Monday, October 16, 2006; Page A04

"DES MoINES Oct. 15 -- Former president Bill Clinton entered the Hy-Vee Hall here on Saturday night like an aging rock star, striding up a red carpet, wearing a big smile, his arms outstretched to touch the hands of Democratic admirers lined up along his walkway to the stage.
Clinton came to rally Democrats three weeks before critical midterm elections. But his visit may have served another purpose as well. Alone among prospective Democratic presidential candidates for 2008, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has not set foot in the state all year, and the futures market in Clinton political stock here has been suffering."

Bill Clinton greets supporters as he arrives in Des Moines. Clinton outlined an agenda that could be used by his wife if she chooses to run for president. (Photograph By Steve Pope -- Associated Press)

"DES MOINES, Oct. 15 -- Former president Bill Clinton entered the Hy-Vee Hall here on Saturday night like an aging rock star, striding up a red carpet, wearing a big smile, his arms outstretched to touch the hands of Democratic admirers lined up along his walkway to the stage.

Early polls by the Des Moines Register have shown former North Carolina senator John Edwards, the Democrats' 2004 vice presidential nominee, to be more popular among Democratic activists than the New York senator. A more recent survey of Iowans showed her running weaker than Edwards, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) in a series of hypothetical general election matchups against prospective Republican candidates.

The senator's political advisers dismiss those numbers and perhaps for good reason. Clinton has chosen to focus on her own reelection in New York, they note, and so has not spent time in a state where voters insist on getting to know the candidates before they make a commitment to support them. If she decides to run, say her advisers, attitudes will change.

But Iowa Democrats said Clinton's standing reflects more than her absence. They say there is general unease within the party about her ability to win a general election. Beyond that, some Democrats are troubled by her support for the war in Iraq long after other Democratic politicians such as Kerry and Edwards had renounced their votes for the congressional resolution that authorized President Bush to launch the invasion.

Attitudes in Iowa are important in part because the state holds the opening caucuses of the nomination battle every four years. But Iowa also is a small but significant Midwestern swing state, one that swung to the Republicans in 2004. Any Democrat running for president will need to convince voters that he or she can win Iowa."

BLOG EDITOR's NOTE: Did I stutter? History repeats itself. Please refer to August archive blog post dated 16 August 2006 on site about the former Bill Clinton's birthday party entitled "Happy 60th Birthday Slick Willy" ----->

A Secret in the Line of Succession

2006-10-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

An Excerpt of the Article Written
By Charles Babington Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, October 16, 2006; Page A19

"House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) shows no sign of resigning over the Mark Foley-House page scandal. But the mere suggestion that he might do so raises an intriguing political and constitutional question: Who would replace him while Congress is in recess?
The answer, it appears, is on a piece of paper locked away in the House clerk's office.

In a little noticed action taken nearly four years ago, the House amended its rules dealing with the "continuity of Congress" in emergencies and the succession of speakers. The rule, cited recently in Roll Call, directs the speaker to "deliver to the Clerk a list of Members in the order in which each shall act as Speaker pro tempore . . . in the case of a vacancy in the office of Speaker."'

How the Rich get Richer and Poor Get Poorer Via Ethics Violations

2006-10-16T07:31:00.000-07:00

I am a social worker living on a VERY limited income. How can I convert PDF files to WAV format for my client that has physical impairments.

I am trying to convert my research papers in PDF files available for download from: http://www.420megs.com/users/jessicarabbit_63468/ to .WAV files for blind clients who may find the information useful.

Additional Details
2 minutes ago

Problems such as this are why I cannot EMPOWER people with disabilities such as the DEAF or BLIND. (author of Blog at http://www.politicsofbabsbunny... )

0 seconds ago
These issues of cost of tools (also known as investment capital) for my job as a social worker are also why the "Digital Divide" grows larger between the haves and have nots in the USA, and while working for deceased Representative Patsy Mink I investigated the members listed on the caucus for such concerns during the 107th Congress in the House of Representatives, 2nd session in 2002.
6 days ago - 1 day left to answer. - 7 answers

Security Park - Identity theft and fraud: learning from the USA

2006-10-16T04:20:00.000-07:00

Identity theft and fraud: learning from the USA

A new report is recommending all consumers be given access to one free credit report per year in order to combat identity theft, one of the UK's fastest growing crimes. Identity theft is facilitated by the ease with which offenders can gain information and personal documentation about people. Given that millions of items of mail are lost each year, the dangers are clear.

The report http://www.equifax.com

For the Hearing Impaired to Report Fraud at Experian dial 1-866-478-0030 TTDY

Free Executable Download of Browser to assist in identity protection from Torpark

Non Profit Group to assist Identity Theft Victims

??Reporting agency for ID Theft??

Check up on your credit!! (Equifax www.equifax.com AT 1-800-525-6285 AND/OR Experian at http://www.experian.com/ or 1-888-397-3742 AND/OR Transunion at 1-800-680-7289 www.transunion.com)

Hotline in US for Reporting ID Theft: 1-877-ID-Theft (1-877-438-4338)

Blog author Thomas Cullins on Credit Repair

BBC NEWS | Business | One in four 'touched' by ID fraud

2006-10-16T03:36:00.000-07:00

One in four 'touched' by ID fraud

Identity theft could lead to theft from your bank account. A quarter of UK adults have had their identity stolen or know someone who has fallen victim to ID fraud, a Which? magazine survey has suggested. Nevertheless, only one in three people said they shredded bills or used different passwords for every account.

ID thieves access accounts, run up bills, launder money, carry out benefit fraud and take out fraudulent loans. ID fraud is one of the UK's fastest-growing crimes, with criminals netting an estimated Β£1.3bn last year.

The survey of 975 people found seven out of 10 favoured compulsory ID cards as a way to fight fraud.

Refuse hazard

Even a simple step taken by industry to stop accepting mother's maiden name and place of birth as default passwords would be a good start
Malcolm Coles, editor

Q&A: Protecting your identity

Fraudsters use a host of methods to steal people's identities. Methods range from the high-tech, such as sending emails containing viruses that access information on people's computers to rooting around in refuse to find old till receipts and bank statements.

????? advises consumers to take care in how they dispose of their personal documents, guard their passwords and to check their bank accounts and credit files regularly.

Easy theft

To highlight how easy it can be to steal a person's ID, Which? researchers decided to try to steal the identity of a volunteer.

By accessing public documents and posing as the volunteer, the researcher managed to get hold of the volunteer's birth certificate, mother's maiden name, place of birth, mortgage details and even how often they went to the gym.

How to avoid ID theft

Do not use your mother's maiden name or place of birth as a security password
Check your credit record annually
If you move, make sure you let your bank know
Shred or rip-up post before throwing it in the bin
Never use the same password for all your accounts
Do not carry address details in your wallet
Source: ?Which?

Three BBC News website readers explain what happened to them when their ID was stolen.

Vikki Anderson suffered after having her bag stolen
Laura McDonald's old address came back to haunt her
Nasir Ahmed fell for a telephone ID scam

Vikki Anderson, 29, bank worker from Uxbridge

When Vikki Anderson had her handbag stolen last July, she knew she was in trouble.
She was moving home and her passport and key personal documents were in the stolen bag.
"I cancelled everything that day, including my passport and reported the theft to the police. But I was still worried about the possibility of ID theft."

Vikki's nervousness was justified when she received a call from a car loan broker asking her when she would like her new loan repayments to start.

Vikki had not bought a car.

I still fear that the fraudsters will strike again, even though I have done everything I can to stop it from happening

"I told them that whoever had applied for the loan was not me and decided to check my credit record immediately."

Vikki found that a fraudster had used the stolen ID to obtain car loans worth more than Β£20,000 in her name.

Vikki also found that two direct debits had been set up on her bank account without her knowledge.

After a month, the loan company concluded that a fraud had taken place and told Vikki that she would not be liable for the loan.
"The fraudsters have caused a serious amount of damage. I was recently turned down for a credit card because my credit rating has been damaged."

Vikki is trying to get the two major credit reference agencies, Experian and Equifax, to amend her credit record.

"The whole process is not something I would want to repeat, I have spent hundreds of hours trying to sort everything. I still fear that the fraudsters will strike again, even though I have done everything I can to stop it from happening."

However, according to Vikki, one good thing has come of the experience:

"The day that the fraud emerged my boyfriend bought me a shredder which we now use."

Laura McDonald, 40, an accounts administrator from Edinburgh

Laura McDonald suffered four months of stress and heartache after a fraudster stole her ID.

"The first I knew of what was going on was when a letter from a debt collector landed on my doormat."

The debt collector was chasing up a recent Β£235 debt from a mail order company.
I was recently refused credit at a High Street retailer, I am sure the fraudulent mail order and book club debts are to blame."

But the debt related to an address that Laura had left more than four years ago.
Laura had fallen victim to a not too sophisticated but still highly-effective fraud.

"The housing association had left my nameplate up outside my old address. The fraudster had simply seen my name and decided to obtain goods using it."

Laura soon discovered that the mail order debt wasn't the only cloud on the horizon.
"My name was used to obtain books from a book club and I am currently dealing with that debt."

In order to prove that she wasn't the person responsible, Laura has had to make dozens of phone calls and send a copy of her birth certificate and utility bills to debt collectors and credit reference agencies.

Unfortunately, Laura has found that her credit rating has been hit by the fraud.
" I was recently refused credit at a High Street retailer, I am sure the fraudulent mail order and book club debts are to blame. I am currently trying to get the credit reference agency to correct my file."

Laura reported the fraud to the police and was surprised at their response.

"They told me that they would not investigate because I am not the victim of the crime, it is up to the mail order firm and book club to complain. What the law does not realise is that I am a victim. I have spent at least a week sorting this mess out and the whole experience has been very stressful indeed."

Nasir Ahmed, 43, IT engineer from London

Nasir Ahmed fell for an increasingly common type of ID fraud.

It started in September 2004 when he received a call at home apparently from his bank.

The caller told Nasir that someone was trying to carry out a fraudulent transaction on his account and that to stop it they needed to confirm his personal details.

"Where does a person go for help? The police said it was a matter between me and the credit card company."

Eager to fight the fraudsters, Nasir confirmed to the caller his name, address, date of birth, place of birth - everything, in short, needed to perpetrate a sophisticated ID fraud.

Nasir heard nothing for a month, then on opening his credit card statement he found that more than Β£11,000 had been taken, mostly to buy flight tickets and travellers cheques.

"It was a real shock and I called my credit card company straight away who agreed to freeze my account and investigate. It took them three months to sort this out and credit the account. All that time I worried that they would say that they thought it was me who had spent the money, how would I find Β£11,000?"

"Where does a person go for help? The police said it was a matter between me and the credit card company."

Nasir was struck by the professional nature of the fraud.

"The initial call was very plausible and they even changed my account details, including the password with the intention of carrying on with the fraud.

"I urge people not to disclose any personal details over the phone."

An attempt to access the volunteer's credit card account failed but only because the volunteer had not told his bank that he had recently changed address.

Editor Malcolm Coles called on banks and institutions to take greater care with people's details.

"Even a simple step taken by industry to stop accepting mother's maiden name and place of birth as default passwords would be a good start," Mr Coles said.

"It's too easy for fraudsters to get hold of this basic information, which is where the process of stealing an identity begins."

VA's Mental Health Caseload Surges

2006-10-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

By Lolita C. Baldor
Associated Press
Friday, October 13, 2006; Page A27 Washington Post

More than one-third of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars seeking medical treatment from the Veterans Health Administration report symptoms of stress or other mental disorders -- a tenfold increase in 18 months, according to an agency study.

The dramatic jump in cases -- coming as more troops face multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan -- has triggered concern among some veterans groups that the agency may not be able to meet the demand for care. More than one-third of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars seeking medical treatment from the Veterans Health Administration report symptoms of stress or other mental disorders -- a tenfold increase in 18 months, according to an agency study.'

Veterans and Defense Department officials said the increase in soldiers complaining of stress or symptoms of mental disorder may suggest that efforts to reduce the stigma of such problems are working and that commanders and medical personnel are more adept at recognizing symptoms.

"It's definitely better than it was in past generations," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs say they have increased funding for mental health services, have hired at least 100 more counselors and are not overwhelmed by the rising demands. "We're not aware that people are having trouble getting services from us in any consistent way or pattern," said Michael J. Kussman, acting undersecretary for health and top doctor at the VA.

Nearly 64,000 of the more than 184,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who have sought VA health care were found to exhibit potential symptoms of post-traumatic stress, drug abuse or other mental disorders as of the end of June, according to the latest report by the Veterans Health Administration. Of those, close to 30,000 had possible post-traumatic stress disorder, said the report, which was completed in August and recently obtained by the Associated Press.

Kussman said the number of troops reporting symptoms of stress probably represents a "gross overestimation" of those actually suffering from mental health disorders. Most of the troops who return from Iraq have "normal reactions to abnormal situations," such as flashbacks or trouble sleeping, Kussman said.

The VA, he said, has designated $300 million for post-traumatic stress disorders for 2005-06, and is seeking another $300 million for 2007.

Veterans groups don't have data on the number of veterans encountering problems with the VA, but they said veterans are reporting long delays for appointments at the agency's medical centers.

One soldier in Virginia Beach, who said he was having a hard time sleeping after returning from Iraq was told he would have to wait 2 1/2 months for an appointment at the VA facility, Rieckhoff said.

Rieckhoff said the Buffalo veterans medical center gave his organization a "wish list" of needed supplies and other expenses, including wheelchairs, rehabilitation equipment and medical monitors.

The Defense Department has made mental health assessments and education programs mandatory for active-duty service members returning from war. Several dozen combat stress teams are working with military units to prevent and identify stress or other mental health concerns. The department has also provided self-assessment screening on the Internet so military members can evaluate their symptoms.

Joyce Adkins, the Pentagon's director of stress management programs, said the number of service members reporting mental health problems or symptoms has increased slightly.
"We've done a lot of education for service members at multiple times, to help them understand . . . the common problems associated with deployment, the symptoms they might experience and what that might mean," she said.

Papa need a brand new bag???

2006-10-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

*Wednesday: August 16, 2006

STEPHON MARBURY; SHOES FOR UNDERPRIVILEGED KIDS

Knicks star Stephon Marbury is putting his name behind a pair of $15 basketball shoes that heβ€™s hoping will give underprivileged kids the chance to wear sneaks fit for the pros.
The black high tops drew rave reviews yesterday from the critics who matter most - young hoopsters.

β€�Theyβ€™re comfortable,β€� said Mylique Owens, 13, a seventh-grader from midtown, after he tried on a pair of the sleek kicks at the famed basketball court on W. Fourth St. yesterday. Owens couldnβ€™t believe his ears when told the price of the lightweight sneakers. β€�Fifteen? Not 5-0? 1-5?β€� he asked, incredulously. β€�This shoe could easily go for $70 to a $100.β€�

Produced in China, the shoes are constructed using the same materials as the other top-end basketball sneakers on the market, said Howard Schacter, chief partnership officer for Steve & Barryβ€™s.

Bureaucracy, what bureaucracy???

2006-10-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:19:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: FCCInfo@fcc.gov View Contact Details Add Mobile Alert
To: An American Citizen
Subject:
CIMS00000177614 - Fwd: Complaint re Sprint PCS to KC BBB listed in your system as IC #06-R121151

You are receiving this email in response to your inquiry to the FCC.
Disputes between customers and cellular, paging, PCS, and other wireless services are generally resolved based on the contractual agreement entered into by the parties. The service contract usually dictates rights and obligations of both parties (complainant and company.) There are no FCC regulations on how a cellular provider handles their business practices.

However, since wireless providers are licensees of the FCC, we may
serve them with a notice of receiving a complaint through our informal
complaint process. This has been done and a response has been received from the provider. Therefore, your complaint is now considered to be
closed.

If a complainant is not satisfied with the results of their informal
complaint filed, they may file a formal complaint with the FCC. Please see
information below on filing such a complaint.

The Communications Act of 1934, as amended, SEC. 207. [47
U.S.C. 207] RECOVERY OF DAMAGES. Any person claiming to be
damaged by any common carrier subject to the provisions of this
Act may either make complaint to the Commission . . . or may
bring suit for the recovery of the damages for which such common
carrier may be liable under the provisions of this Act, in any
district court of the United States of competent jurisdiction;
but such person shall not have the right to pursue both such
remedies.

A FORMAL complaint amounts to a legal action at the FCC. The Commission
resolves this type of complaint in a manner similar to a court proceeding.
Typically, corporations file this type of legal action against telecommunications
carriers.

Since the requirements for pleading and prosecuting a formal complaint
tend to be quite complex, it may be advisable to retain an attorney for
representation in the formal complaints process.

Formal complaints must be in the format prescribed in FCC Rules Section
1.720 through Section 1.736, and must show facts which, if true, establish
that a violation of the Communications Act, or a Commission rule or policy has
occurred.

Formal complaints are subject to dismissal for procedural defects upon
motion of the party against whom the complaint is made, or upon motion of the
FCC.

Complainants must use FCC Form 485 - Formal Complaint Intake Form,
available online at www.fcc.gov/formpage.html

A filing fee of $180.00 applies to each formal complaint filed with
FCC. (Reference: Rule 1.1106 (Formal Complaint Filing Fee)

You may file a formal complaint with the FCC even though you did not
first file an informal complaint.

To file a formal complaint, file the following:

* FCC Form 485

* FCC Form 159

* Written correspondence.

(Forms available at: www.fcc.gov/formpage.html

Payment type code - CIZ (item 24a on Form 159)

Lockbox 358120 (item 1 on Form 159)

* Fee $180.00

Where to File a Formal Complaint

Formal Complaints must be served on each of the following
entities on the date of commencement of the formal complaint:
1. The Mellon Bank: The original of the formal complaint may
be mailed using overnight delivery to the following address:
Federal Communications Commission, Enforcement, P.O. Box 358120,
Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5120

Alternatively, the original of the formal complaint, along with
the appropriate filing fee(s), may be hand delivered to:

Federal Communications Commission
c/o Mellon Bank
Mellon Client Service Center
500 Ross Street, Room 670
Pittsburgh, PA 15262-0001

2. The Office of the Commission Secretary

File three copies of the complaint with the Office of the
Commission Secretary.

3. Depending on the nature of the complaint, copies should be
served as follows:

(a) If the complaint is filed against a carrier concerning
matters within the responsibility of the Wireline Competition
Bureau (see 47 C.F.R. Sec. 0.291), serve two copies to:
Chief, Market Disputes Resolution Division
Enforcement Bureau
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554

(b) If the complaint is filed against a wireless telecommunications
carrier concerning matters within the responsibility of the Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau (see 47 C.F.R. Sec. 0.331), serve two
copies
to:
Chief, Telecommunications Consumers Division
Enforcement Bureau
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
Thank you for your inquiry.
Rep Number : TSR24

Allen, Webb in Slashing, Wide-Ranging Debate - washingtonpost.com

2006-10-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

Allen, Webb in Slashing, Wide-Ranging Debate - washingtonpost.com:

"'Very few of these leaders are willing to invest their own loved ones in this effort,' he said of the war in Iraq. 'America needs leaders who understand these divisions and want to repair them, leaders whose experience in foreign policy is formed by experience, not by sound bites.'"

Editor's Note: Please see most recent photo added to 360 profile in yahoo under id name: jessicarabbit_63468. The photo was taken in Bethel Missouri in October 1979. (Click on following link).

Experts want to rename schizophrenia - Yahoo! News

2006-10-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

Experts want to rename schizophrenia - Yahoo! News: "Experts want to rename schizophrenia By Patricia Reaney
Tue Oct 10, 9:12 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Mental health experts called on Monday for the term schizophrenia to be dropped, saying it has no scientific validity, is imprecise and stigmatizing.
ADVERTISEMENT

'It is a harmful concept,' said Professor Marius Romme, a visiting professor of social psychiatry at the University of Central England in Birmingham.
He added that symptoms such as delusions, hearing voices and hallucinations are not the results of the illness but may be reactions to traumatic and troubling events in life.
Speaking at a news conference, Richard Bentall, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Manchester, said the concept of schizophrenia is scientifically meaningless.
'It groups together a whole range of different problems under one label -- the assumption is that all of these people with all of these different problems have the same brain disease,' he added.
Schizophrenia affects about 1 percent of people in the United States and Britain. Treatments such as atypical antipsychotic drugs focus on eliminating the symptoms. But the drugs can cause side effects such as weight gain, an increased risk of diabetes and sexual dysfunction.
Paul Hammersley of the University of Manchester who recently helped launch The Campaign for the Abolition of the Schizophrenia Label (CASL), said there is no agreement on the cause of the illness or its treatment.
CASL argues that the term schizophrenia is extremely damaging to those to whom it is applied and implies unpredictability, being dangerous, unable to cope and someone in need of life-long treatment.
'It is like cancelling someone's life,' said Hammersley. 'We generally believe this word "

Marine Takes Bids on New Name

2006-10-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

By Associated Press

October 8, 2006, 9:51 PM EDT

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. -- Hoping to raise money for his family and an orphanage, a 29-year-old Marine is running an online auction in which the winning bidder will get to give him a new name -- and he promises to make it legally binding.

"I've always thought about different cool inventions and neat ideas like this," said Sgt. Cody Baker, an Alabama native who was most recently stationed in Japan but is transferring to Camp Lejeune this month. "It's just the way my mind works. Most of them are off the wall like this. They just sound ridiculous."

The bidding at Baker's Web site, http://www.choosemyname.com, began July 20, with a $5 offer to name him Mr. Clean.

Later bids supporting such names as George Bailey of Bedford Falls and Mr. Right gave way to a $26,333.31 offer from an online coffee vendor that wants the name tape on Baker's uniform to display its slogan, "Finest Freshest Fastest."

"It will be my name, legally on paper," he said. "I guess everything that comes with the name Cody Baker will transform into whatever my name becomes."

Baker said the money will help support his wife and infant son while he goes to college after leaving the Marine Corps in a year and a half.

Some of the proceeds will also go to Im Jai House, an orphanage in Thailand that Baker has supported during his six-year career in uniform.

"Whatever his name is, we'll put him to work doing what the Marine Corps does best: accomplishing missions," said Lt. Philip Klay, a spokesman for Baker's future unit at Camp Lejeune.

HERE NSA....READ THIS IM, (again) lol

2006-10-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

british friend: shit ! abused ? how you mean ?
jessicarabbit_63468: hiya
jessicarabbit_63468: im home today
jessicarabbit_63468: :)
british friend: hi
british friend: yes i gathered :-)
jessicarabbit_63468: i walked out of work
jessicarabbit_63468: called the owner and the general manager who had been home sick previous 2 days
jessicarabbit_63468: and told them i was leaving, and did
british friend: what happened ?
jessicarabbit_63468: made sure drawers were clear and clean 1st and walked
jessicarabbit_63468: cash, that is
jessicarabbit_63468: maintenance man jim gilbert came in yesterday
jessicarabbit_63468: and started yelling at me, and swearing
jessicarabbit_63468: so i told him (who had been sitting on his ass for days doing nothing)
jessicarabbit_63468: "you can do it ALLLLLL by urself then"
jessicarabbit_63468: and i called the absentee gay black owner, and per usual, he wouldn't answer phone so i left message
jessicarabbit_63468: then called general manager (12 years my junior with NO college degrees, but a small child
jessicarabbit_63468: and spoke to her husband the policeman handling my stolen inheritance and told him where i was leaving the cash register drawer keys
jessicarabbit_63468: and i left
jessicarabbit_63468: as i went to my car, jim gilbert yelled at me across the parking lot where are the keys?
jessicarabbit_63468: and i said they are safe
jessicarabbit_63468: he replied "fook u"
jessicarabbit_63468: i then got in my car, to drive home and again called the general manager who was still at home
jessicarabbit_63468: her policeman husband answerred
jessicarabbit_63468: and i told her should she need to reach me she could at my cell phone #
jessicarabbit_63468: and that was that
british friend: bloody hell
jessicarabbit_63468: i frankly dont give a damn anymore
jessicarabbit_63468: im completely fed up with this town and country
jessicarabbit_63468: i would rather die than live here any longer than necessary
jessicarabbit_63468: and that, is the truth
jessicarabbit_63468: the governor of my state is younger than me and attended same school/uni as me
jessicarabbit_63468: and is pouring accolades on my former employers who wont hire me back, and the president is visiting their work site as well (see http://www.pfh.org)
jessicarabbit_63468: but because i let a single mom named kim goodheart stay at my home when she asked to because she was too drunk and stoned to drive
jessicarabbit_63468: and she told me at that time about her affair with the county mental health coordinator, then named Mick Robinson
jessicarabbit_63468: who was married
jessicarabbit_63468: and still is i believe with his own children
jessicarabbit_63468: she wouldn't hire me back and bad mouthed me to the admin
jessicarabbit_63468: when i tried to get a job after working on capitol hill
jessicarabbit_63468: during anthrax, and finished my graduate (2nd) college degree
jessicarabbit_63468: she must have thought me to be a potential threat to her career
jessicarabbit_63468: so..............
jessicarabbit_63468: ironically
jessicarabbit_63468: when i was involuntarily committed for walking my golden retriever a few years ago
jessicarabbit_63468: and wound up on the local psych ward at the local hospital
jessicarabbit_63468: guess who wound up being my assigned therapist?
jessicarabbit_63468: LOL the former mental health coordinator she had been fooking who was married, Mick Robinson
jessicarabbit_63468: i've had it.
british friend: lol
british friend: isn't it ironic, don't you think ....
jessicarabbit_63468: go ahead. put me on the dole forever and color me insane
jessicarabbit_63468: ffs
british friend: a little too ironic
jessicarabbit_63468: ya think?!?!?!
british friend: it's like rain on yr wedding day
british friend: or a free ride, when you already paid
jessicarabbit_63468: ya thinnk she would go down on him in a theatre?? hmmm
british friend: that's a different song :-)
jessicarabbit_63468: i know
british friend: but a great line anyhow
jessicarabbit_63468: same artist though
jessicarabbit_63468: did i mention kim goodheart is anorexic as well
jessicarabbit_63468: and i saw her in st louis while she was supposed to be "working" for pfh
jessicarabbit_63468: on campus waiting for mick robinson who was then attending my grad school uni for a law degree?
jessicarabbit_63468: on a few different occassions
british friend: can i ask you if you think anyone is picking up this message apart from me ?
jessicarabbit_63468: more than likely yes
british friend: is that why you are using the names like i should know them >
british friend: ?
jessicarabbit_63468: thats why i have tried and released and posted my health information which is supposedly protected by federal law
jessicarabbit_63468: yes
jessicarabbit_63468: if my government wants to deem me "insane" and unable to work
jessicarabbit_63468: than i want the truth told
jessicarabbit_63468: capiche?
british friend: capiche

West Point Cadet Found Guilty of Rape

2006-09-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

By Associated Press

September 29, 2006, 1:15 AM EDT

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- A cadet at the U.S. Military Academy was found guilty of rape Thursday -- the first cadet to be convicted of rape since women were admitted to West Point in 1976.

Lonnie Story, 22, was sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty of rape and attempted rape in a case involving two former female cadets.

'(He) hasn't just ruined his own reputation,' said Army prosecutor Capt. Tom Song. 'He tarnished the reputation of West Point, where trust, loyalty, honesty and respect are supposed to mean the world.'

David Sheldon, Story's civilian lawyer, said his client would appeal.

'We have to shake our heads at the decision,' he said. 'You really have to wonder if you can get a fair trial' at West Point.

Story will be held in confinement until his appeal, most likely at Fort Knox, Ky., Sheldon said.

The jury of five senior military officers deliberated for more than 10 hours before finding Story guilty.

Story, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., was on leave when the incidents happened in January 2005 and October 2005, military officials said.

The two women left West Point without graduating.

The nation's military academies have been under scrutiny since 2003, when women at the Air Force Academy in Colorado began coming forward with accusations that they had been sexually assaulted by fellow cadets over the previous decade and were ignored or ostracized by commanders when they spoke out.

Since then, sexual assault allegations have also rocked the campuses of the Naval Academy and Coast Guard Academy.

In 2nd NSA Wiretap Case, Judge Sounds Concerns

2006-09-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

By Paul Kiel - September 6, 2006, 8:39 AM

In addition to the ACLU's suit against the NSA filed in Michigan, which recently resulted in a (temporarily delayed) injunction to shut down the agency's warrantless wiretapping program, the Center for Constitutional Rights is pursuing a separate case challenging the program in New York.

Arguments were heard yesterday in that case, and it appears that skeptical of the government's position.

The administration's lawyer brought out the big guns ("Suppose for example the president obtains intelligence that a nuclear bomb was planted ... right there in Washington, and the only way he was going to find out whether that was going to happen was to grab the person and interrogate him....Would that be in his constitutional authority? I would say so."), but to no great effect, it seems.

The back and forth between Judge Gerard Lynch and government attorney Anthony Coppolino sounds like good theater:

The judge also discounted the argument that a 2001 Congressional authorization to use military force granted the president the power to violate the surveillance act. β€�Iβ€™m not too impressed by that one,β€� he said.
Judge Lynch pressed Mr. Coppolino with a series of questions on the limits of presidential power in the face of Congressional prohibitions.

β€�So he can build a B-1 bomber if he wants to?β€� the judge asked. β€�If the president feels it necessary to break into a psychiatristβ€™s office to find out what Al Qaeda is up to, he can do that?β€�
Mr. Coppolino did not offer direct responses to those questions, but he was willing to say that the executive branch was sometimes entitled to take extraordinary steps. Asked if an American lawyer who had communicated with Al Qaeda could be grabbed on the street and interrogated about it, Mr. Coppolino responded, β€�I would say it is possible, depending on the scenario that is at stake.β€�

Judge Lynch did not appear persuaded. β€�Itβ€™s pretty uncharted ground that youβ€™re asking me to get on,β€� he said. Then, apparently recalling the governmentβ€™s state-secrets argument, he added, β€�Or, youβ€™re asking me to stay off of it.β€�

Summing up, Judge Lynch said: β€�Weβ€™re debating a rather abstract but rather vital issue. Does the president have the power to do something despite the fact that Congress said β€�thou shalt not have this powerβ€™?β€�

He added, β€�I have no idea at this point how Iβ€™m going to come out on this.β€�

Lynch could issue his ruling any time.

Anti-war = Fascism, Mr. President Bush? Please...

2006-08-31T17:25:00.000-07:00

Today the news media reported live coverage of President #44, George Bush in Salt Lake City, Utah in front of a group of retired veterans at the American Legion there. In his remarks, he compared those opposed to the war in Iraq to "fascists" and "20th Century totalitarians like Hitler". Please.......

I just have one question. With all due respect, Mr. President, were Ollie North and John Poindexter acting like fascists when they allowed and propagated the sale of arms to Iran during the Republican Administration of now deceased President Reagan in the 1980's? I am just curious. I mean, afterall, Iran didn't comply with the U.N. threats today. That is, they did not agree to stop nuclear proliferation.

You can let me know. I'll be watching. (Incidentally, I waited tables at the Ice House Cafe in Herndon Virginia for Ollie North when he was running for office for Virginia in the 90's. He was a moderate tipper as I recall.)

Oh, by the way, I got that information from a book entitled "The Nightingale's Song" by Robert Timberg about 5 former USNA grads including a former Chief of Naval Operations who happens to be running on the Democratic ticket for Senate in Virginia against incumbant Republican George Allen. His name is Webb. You know the guy. (The one Nancy Reagan objected to showing her former husband's image on his campaign ads?) Incidentally, the Republican he is running against, Senator Allen, is the man who called an attendee at his fundraiser a "macaca". Is that another example of non-fascism, too?

1st, Kill All the Lawyers.....

2006-08-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

NSA: Blogs Are Media Too
By Justin Rood - August 30, 2006, 12:28 PM

In a recent directive to its employees, the National Security Agency explains that "the media," in its opinion, includes bloggers.

The document defines "media" as "any print, electronic, or broadcast outlet (including blogs) where information is made available to the general public."

The NSA directive orders the secretive agency's 45,000 employees to report "unauthorized media disclosures" of classified information. That is, leaks.

It raises an interesting question: do bloggers enjoy the reporter's privilege of protecting their sources in court?

In a landmark case from 2004, Apple computer argued that bloggers aren't journalists because they aren't professional, and therefore aren't protected by "shield laws." Such statutes keep law enforcement from forcing reporters to reveal confidential sources. The company lost the original ruling -- and lost on appeal this May.

NSA's point of view appears to bolster bloggers' standing as journalists. If anybody who can disseminate information -- that is, receive and broadcast a leak -- is a member of the media, then that means us bloggers are in the club. "I thnk that's becoming increasingly obvious," Kurt Opsahl, a blogging-rights expert and counsel to the California-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, told me. "There's no principled way to distinguish between the various media."

(Courtesy dickarmitage.blogspot.com. No, just kidding. via Secrecy News)

Update: An earlier version of this post cited an article on the case of Josh Wolf, a California blogger currently in prison for refusing to turn over videotapes to a federal grand jury.

However, at the federal level, California's shield law did not apply; federal prosecutors did not take a stance on Wolf's reporter status. Jurt Opsahl, a blogging-rights expert and counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told me he is not aware of a case in which the federal government has asserted bloggers are not journalists.

EDITOR's POSTSCRIPT: I have been trying desperately to correct a problem with my sole phone service provider now for over a month to no avail: SPRINT PCS. I have written and issued complaints to my state's attorney general office, the FCC, the Better Business Bureau, and the DEA. Still no solution or phone service. Please contact me by email through this blog.

In additon, I have been trying to publish and make available for download an article entitled "The Adoption Safe Families Act in Missouri" in which I quote from transcripted taped interviews perceptions of the implementation of the Act in Missouri from an adoptive father with a master's degree in social work, a state senator, a family services judge, and a local family services worker. The paper identified problems in effective implementation of the law in Missouri in four areas. I distributed it to key congressional committee member's offices on capitol hill in 2001 and 2002 while seeking placement as a congressional fellow. Via the transcripts of the interviewees (the judge and caseworker primarily), it portrayed them as ignorant of the purpose and implementation of that law on their part and cited an appendix of a court document of a gulf war veteran's family in which they acted negligently in its implementation.

However, since that point in time when I distributed that paper on Capitol Hill, later in 2003, I was AGAIN involuntarily hospitalized (see blog posts dated August 2nd and 19th for other involuntary hospitalization) for nearly a month and made to stand a competency hearing (Adminisrative Law Judge hearing) at which, COINCIDENTALLY, Judge Mobley presided as well. Of course, he deemed me insane and committed me based on the testimony of Dr. Lyle Clark from Hannibal Regional Hospital who had NO prior history of my case whatsoever released to him consentually as required under the HIPPA law for medical records. Dr. Lyle Clark has a Juris Doctor (law degree) as well as a medical degree. That is a very specific and rare combination for a psychiatrist in such a rural area as Hannibal, population 17,000. Dr. Clark recently left the hospital. That combination of degrees would be most beneficial to market as a "professional witness for the court system" in a much more populated area.

And the Bridge Came Tumbling Down.......

2006-08-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

Today, CNN reported on its news ticker that a widely used bridge in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is to be demolished tonight. That bridge is the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, named after former 28th U.S. President Woodrow Wilson.

I would like to illuminate any young women who may be reading this blog about that former President. I have personally visited his home in the Dupont Circle area of NW Washington, D.C. It is lovely. He is widely credited with ending WWI and establishing the United Nations subsequently. (Incidentally, the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, today is asking Hezbollah to release to the Red Cross the 2 captive Isreali soldiers.)

I applied to the Red Cross office in D.C. in 2002. Apparently, despite me being the head Water Safety Instructor in a county in Iowa for a number of years, and teaching swim lessons at the YMCA in Bethesda Maryland, I was not qualified for any administrative positions.

Back to topic, though. Woodrow Wilson was not that great of a man. In fact, my mentor, the former Dr. Alice Paul disliked him immensely. Probably because he threatened to throw her into an asylum for the mentally insane at the beginning of the 20th century for advocating for women to have the right to vote. This past Saturday, August 26, 2006 marked the anniversary of the fruition of her effortsβ€¦β€¦the implementation of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution endorsing womenβ€™s right to vote.

Many of you will have no idea prior to reading this of Dr. Alice Paul. Ironically, during 20 years of education, her name was never mentioned in my curricula.

May I make a humble suggestion? Rename the new bridge after Dr. Alice Paul. She has done more for me as a role model than Rosslyn Carter, who has a metro station and suburb across Key Bridge in Georgetown named after her. Recognition of this remarkable woman is WAY past due.

She is the reason I felt compelled to sit down out of utter frustration in the spring of 2002 in front of the AFL-CIO building that also housed the NEA. That passive protest of the apathy of our congress after passing the Patriot Act in 3 days under the guise of being "emergency" legislation, effectively stripping Americans of 1st and 4th Amendment rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution through Sections 213 and 215 of the Act, rather than to implement urgently needed welfare reform in our country. My protest sitting quietly by the AFL/CIO and NEA building on Massachussetts Avenue in D.C. led me to be involuntarily hospitalized at Saint Elizabeth's hospital, where the former President Reagan would be assassin resides, John Hinckley, Jr.

It was a miracle I ever got out.

Just thought you should. HISTORY DOES REPEAT ITSELF. Democracy IS NOT A SPECTATOR sport.

APPENDUM OCHO FEB CERO SIETE: 1656 CST

FOR ANYONE LEFT BREATHING, I WAS SHOT WITH MACE FROM THE BALCONY OF BLACKIE'S HOUSE OF BEEF IN SPRINGFIELD VIRGINIA IN THE SUMMER OF 1992. I DANCED THROGH ALL MY TEARS AS IT BURNED MY SKIN.

For Roger Rabbit

2006-08-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

Wish You Were Here (Waters, Gilmour) 5:17

So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue skys from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you to trade
Your heros for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?

How I wish,
how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl, Year after year,
Running over the same old ground. What have we found?
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

On Being Labeled a Terrorist

2006-08-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would mention that I was charged with "Terrorism" in 1988 stemming from riding with four other 17 year olds to a local state university visit. One of the people in the car had a pellet gun. Unmarked police stopped us at the nearest Hardees and the local newspaper was there taking pictures as we went into the police station in Fairfield, Iowa in 1988. The pellet gun belonged to a friend, Tim Bradfield, a year younger than me also on the visit. Within a matter of weeks, I receieved my congressional appointment to attend the prep school for the Naval Academy.

If any of you are interested in the Congressional Report on Iran that came out this week on Wednesday, it can be found at the website below.

http://intelligence.house.gov/Media/PDFS/IranReport082206v2.pdf

"and All the King's Horses, and All the King's Men..."

2006-08-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, enough is enough. Let's keep it simple, folks.

I just finished my weekly dose of Sunday morning political pundits, and I am thoroughly disgusted, again. YEARS of a single party in power, and simultaneous single party leadership in both the legislative and executive branches, and still no solutions. That is unacceptable for elected officials. Either lead, follow, or get the hell outta the way. It's past time for a sense of urgency. We are at war, remember? Our death toll in military action has exceeded now our total number of casualties from the Thursday, September 11, 2001 attack in the first place. DO YOUR JOBS!

Let me simplify for Congress the main issues facing our nation in my humble opinion at present in our post 9/11 world.

QUESTION 1:
---->"Does America want to be seen as a "uniter" or a "divider" globally in the war on terrorism post 9/11?"

ANSWER:
Define the problem. Is this war about oil, revenge, differing religious ideology, or drugs? If it's about oil, I'll go out on a limb here, but I think I speak for millions of Americans who would gladly pay over $5 a gallon for gas if it meant saving American's blood from being spilled.

If it is about revenge, we need to revisit our Judeo Christian beliefs and the idea of "turning the other cheek" before we go pointing fingers. This means treating our own the way we wish to be treated before policing other nations and their various religious view. The Golden rule is applicable here.

If it is about drugs, (the leading cash crop in Afghanistan is Opium), then SAY SO! "Just say No" was never a solution in the first place. Let's address the problem in our nation first before dictating imperialism on others. It didn't work for Britain, it shouldn't work for us.

QUESTION 2:
---->"How do we 'solve' the Iraq/Iran/Syrian problem of extremist fundamentalism leading to religion as law of the land? And, if it is not possible, how do we retreat gracefully?"

ANSWER:
Simply put, we lead by example. We practice what we preach. We either adhere to our 1st Amendment principles that the USA was founded on, that of freedom of religion, or we revise it accordingly by congressional action.

As per "withdrawal" in a graceful sense, that is an oxymoron. War is hell. It is particularly hellatious when propagated by a singular political family in power over years with a vindictive streak. Yes, it sucks Mr. President to have people not like your daddy. It is not however a reason to attack a nation already crippled economically by years of UN sanctions. We should look at our own domestic policies critically first before trying to expand democracy in foreign areas. Leadership is most effective when practiced and exemplified by modeling.

Remember the Monroe Doctrine? How long will the "war on poverty" exist in the most bountiful country in the world? There is no graceful way to retreat and admit wrongdoing. If it is deemed necessary, a date NEEDS and SHOULD be set immediately for COMPLETE withdrawal in order to prevent as many more American casualties from occuring, IMEDIATELY. Not tomorrow, or the next day, but NOW! MESSAGE TO GARCIA, GET A SENSE OF URGENCY MATES!

Lastly, stop making it more complicated as a solution than it is. Listen to our children, they are our future. Treat them with respect and empower them financially, in education and skill building. Build them up by meeting their families' basic needs, adequate childcare, training, education, housing, healthcare and food. These are basic and fundamental Democratic ideals. It's time they became the staple of that party's platform and implemented effectively. That means, praise those that are doing so publicly in their efforts, and remove those elected officials that are not.

In closing, remember the following from a nursery rhyme. Wisdom comes from the mouths of babes:

"The noble Duke of York,
he had 10,000 men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill,
and he marched them down again.
When you're up, you're up,
and when you're down, you're down,
and when you're neither halfway up, you're neither up nor down."

GOD SAKES people, how much longer will one political family commit genocide against my generation via war? With all due respect, Mr. President, either take a shiite, or get off the pot! Fully fund the supplies and number of soldiers needed for this war, if you feel it in our best interest as a nation. Plan thoroughly and effectively.

One is either part of the solution, or part of the problem. Do your civic duty as a citizen of the most free nation in the world. PLEASE VOTE IN NOVEMBER!

Happy 60th Birthday "Slick Willy"

2006-08-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

Well happy 60th firkin birthday Mr. Ex President of the United States (POTUS) William Jefferson Clinton. You probably don't remember me. Let me refresh your memory....

I was that wacko outside the White House on November 16th, 1998 who threw her attorney friend's GAP denim jacket over the fence while you and Al Gore were talking on the patio. You had me arrested and brought me in via the secret service for questioning and made me wait in a small white room with a video camera in it while your African American female staff member searched my purse. I am sure she found my note that read, "the president called me a whore" in it. However she never mentioned it at the time. (The note was to remind me to recant that to the EEOC office where I had been in the process of filing a complaint against a former employer, CheckAGAIN!, where I had been terminated without just cause after helping them initiate and create software to ACH bank accounts of bad checkwriters. The president of that company, Tim Burgan, had said to me at a staff meeting once that I was a "whore".) I worked endless hours there on tasks for that company, and on weekends creating a pet project website I had reserved the name "DC Tunes" for musicians and local songwriters in Washington, D.C. at the time prior to my dismissal. I also had with me my organizer, which I believe was inside my purse at the time and had a note in it stating the following: "Baby Boomers who have not served, should not be running our country."

I recall waiting to be questioned and the words from former Seniors from USNA running through my head re the Geneva Convention at that time. I stood up, flipped off the video camera, and told the questioners nothing but my name and social security number when questioned. I was then escorted through various tunnels and release in the building where the Farraqut West Metro station is located on Connecticut Avenue, NW. Res Ipsa Loquitor. (Latin translation, 'the thing speaks for itself"......see August 2nd posting on this blog entitled "WMD and Iraq- the least common denominator between Lewinsky, Clinton, Jordan & Bush?").

It seems recently that history is repeating itself a lot. I recall two recent news events reported of disturbances at the White House from private citizens. One involved an ex NBA player, the other a woman wielding a machete. I was much more tame.

I thought you might be interested what I did the next day, November 17th, 1998, following that episode at your then place of residence. Afterall, you sent the secret service to my apartment on the 7400 Block of Lee Highway in Arlington to come question me. I recall hiding in the bathroom deliberately stripped down and naked and listening through its door as they searched my apartment until they left. The next morning I penned the following poem:

Temporarily Disconnected
Beaten from age six on by Daddy,
Moested at age nine.
Brainwashed at 19,
raped at twenty
....and 3 abortions later:
"we're sorry, but this number is no longer in service".
Copyright notice 2007©

I noticed that a biography of Hillary Clinton I had purchased in the early 1990's was missing following the secret service's departure.

Then, I actually went back to my old law firm, Akin Gump, and tried to get some assistance with my EEOC claim. I spoke to the human resources director, Laurel Digweed briefly. She wished me well.

Then I came back that night and drove my car onto the sidewalk in front of the building next to the Front Page restaurant where the District of Columbia police later had it impounded. I got out, and I sat down next to the clear glass lobby entrance and held up a document signed by several ex presidents including Carter, Ford, and other esteemed men from America called the Williamsburg Charter. The police came. I gave the document to them pleading with them to give it to a museum. I told the officer it was a a national treasure and belonged in such a place.

Why did I have it? I had kept it up until that point as "insurance" if anything were to happen to me. I had no savings. I had no assets at the time. I acquired it while working for a closeted gay man with a PhD in theology from Harvard. He had me close down the office that worked on distributing materials to public school teachers on how to teach religion as part of history in the public schools without offending various different religious dogmas. It was signed by representatives from B'nai B'rith to Muslims. It reaffirmed the notion of religious liberty in the USA as documented in the 1st Amendment to our Constitution, originally predicated on that of the state of Virginia's by George Mason, the silent statesman. You would again, Mr. Ex POTUS, within 15 months, hear about George Mason at your impeachment hearings in the media.

I then got in a cab, and asked to be taken to Fox News building on Connecticut Avenue, NW. When I got there, I got out with all my documents, including a client list from Akin Gump, and went to the guard's booth to ask to speak to a Journalist. Within minutes, a man who was either Bill O'Reilly of the "No Spin Zone" on Fox News, or someone who looked nearly identical to him came to the outside guard booth and queried me. He stated he had also been a NAPster (attended the Naval Academy Prep School in Newport, R.I.). He then complimented me on my record keeping, and connected me to a homeless shelter via phone.

I then attempted to call my then boyfriend to come and pick me up (Doug Hoekstra), but he had no vehicle and was unwilling to ask his roomates at the time to borrow theirs. SO.... I got into a cab (driven by an intoxicated Arab cabbie) and returned to Dupont Circle area to try to retrieve my 1989 tan Ford Escort. It was already impounded. While there, with a legal file containing documents to substantiate my claims, and a guitar in hand, I was befriended by an African American man claiming to be a Vietnam Vet that was homeless. I promised one day to write his story. He would not tell me his name, but said only to call him "backpack". He allowed me to stay the night in his sleeping bag in the alleyway next to the Strauss Building.

I decided to give back that document to the people then for 2 reasons. One, my father, who was dying, had told me to do so. He had received an implanted defibrillator for his heart prior to FDA approval. He was in essence a guinea pig. He was able to sign on for a heart transplant, but declined to do so because he didn't want to increase healthcare premiums for other teachers in the school district where he had just retired from as Superintendent. He also didn't want to be forced to move to another town, or pay over a quarter million for medications yearly following a transplant. He wanted me to return that document. So I did.

Secondly, I returned it because I wasn't sure it belonged with the closeted gay man who entrusted it to me, then only an undergrad student at the time. Afterall, you had endorsed a "don't ask, don't tell" policy Mr. ex POTUS, in stark contradiction to your 1992 campaign promises to homosexual friends who helped elect you. I thought maybe your opinion meant something in that sense. I already knew you felt your wife's opinion didn't matter to you as evidenced by her failure in health care reform, and your subsequent national humiliation of her via your affair with someone close to your daughter's age.

(Incidentally, the current Vice President Dick Cheney has a defibrillator too.)

I wonder sometimes if he had to have it implanted via opening his chest twice as my dad did, because the physician couldn't color match the wires. (Thanks Dr. Ha from Hannibal Regional Hospital. Your peer physician, Dr. Flaker, had the cahones to tell the truth to us eventually.) Please excuse me Mr. ex President if I don't feel sorry for your statement today on ABC World News of "I could have died from my heart problem. But I didn't-- I got another shot at life." My dad did not.

The next morning I awoke at dawn, and left my cumbersome guitar, and walked to Arlington, Virginia. I left my guitar with "Backpack" who was still sleeping for obvious reasons of portability on foot. Later, when I returned in the day, it and "Backpack" were no where to be found. In the alley instead was a 6 foot high mound of dirt.

While walking just before dawn that day to Arlington, VA, I dropped my organizer into a mailbox in Rosslyn, VA, and went up Wilson Blvd. to a discount Cigarette Store where I purchased some clove cigarettes, and the day's New York Times. I sat in front of that store with the paper in front of me with a sign that read, "fraternization happens". A black limousine pulled up shortly thereafter and had the Virginia vanity license plates that read, I believe, "3 Bros". I thought this odd at the time. During this period, another white homeless man came and sat next to me and recanted information to me concerning the Clinton's relationship with Willy Nelson of Farm Aid fame. Shortly thereafter the local police department came and told me to "move on".

You may still be wondering why I was so frustrated enough at you to throw over that jacket, since you are so empathetic in nature and able "to feel my pain". You may also be curious as to why I am a registered democrat as well. Let me illuminate you.

First, I spent approximately one month in 1993 prostituting myself as a call girl in the building next door to the Watergate Hotel in DC on Virginia Avenue, NW. I had started as a "bookmaker" on the phones making $5 for each sucessful appointment, but my credit cards became overwhelming and I needed more money to stay afloat. I was simultaneously attending a community college full time, working full time as a nanny, and weekends as a babysitter for acquaintances. I was also a waitress at a comedy club in the Ramada Inn in Bethesda. Even with these three jobs and attending school with a full courseload I still couldn't afford my bills from charges to spend private time with my then boyfriend, a midshipman at the Naval Academy.

He certainly couldn't afford it either, not on military pay at the time. Yes, he had been my platoon leader when I was at the Prep School in 1988. Yes I loved him. Then, I had loved him enough to compromise my values, integrity and pride to be with him. He only recently learned of this when I told him this year.

However, at the time I threw that denim jacket over the White House fence, I had not talked to him in years. Why? Because he dumped me for someone I only knew as "Valerie", who was, per him, a diplomat's daughter whose family lived in Alexandria, VA. During 1998, prior to the day of the jacket throwing, I had to move alone four times in a period of ten months.

I had no money, no security, and no assistance at all. My sister and her NSA cryptographer husband were having their own personal World War in their house, and I could not depend on her for help. In fact, when able I was spending gas money I earned to go babysit for them for free so that they might have time together to work through their differences.

They could barely afford to live themselves on base housing on an enlisted man's salary with three children, one with autism and the same first name as the officer I loved.

I have not always made the best decisions in my life. However, I have always followed my conscience and tried to do the right thing. Have you?

Is that why you engaged in a high handed relationship based on lust with an intern from the Beverly Hills 90210 zipcode while in elected office?

It doesn't really matter now. I just want you to understand my frustration at the time. I even called the Washington Post numerous times, most notably the day of my rape by Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, AND reported the rape to the manager of my apartment building at 7481 Lee Highway, Falls Church, VA, but you didn't seem to care about the stuff I was going through those days in November 1998.

It seemed so blatant to me at the time that your efforts apparently out of the blue against Iraq were an example of the tail wagging the dog. In fact, the evening I turned over that document as I left the 1300 block of New Hampshire Avenue, NW by taxi, the driver told me of the debut of Gene Hackman and Will Smith's new movie about the NSA occurring at the Uptown Theatre in town: Enemy of the State.

The platoon leader I loved, incidentally is now married to someone else entirely with children. Me? I am still looking for a job and income. I can forward my resume if you like, or to your golf buddy who covered your ass by lying under oath in front of the grand jury probably much as you did to your wife and the country. Let me know.

Oh yeah, why am I still a democrat? Because I believe in the power of the people.

One of my former platoon mates, who was hazed out of the Naval Academy after his plebe year, Peter Malizia, sent me the money to pay my credit card bills from jail in Florida where he was incarcerated for shooting point blank a guy who date raped one of his ex girlfriends on a family vacation. Peter hadn't even had a speeding ticket prior to that.

He kept and prevented me from ever having to prostitute myself again or since. Perhaps that is why I went onto get a Masters in Social Work, provide therapy to chronically mentally ill people, substance abusers, and developmentally disabled peoples from three different states in the the midwest, and worked for now deceased Representative Patsy Mink of the second district in Hawaii during the anthrax attacks to work on welfare reform. While working for her, my capitol hill apartment was broken into at least 3 times. I reported this to the District of Columbia Police.

Representative Mink died in December 2002.

By the way. Please do my a small favor.

You seem to have visited my small hometown of Hannibal, MO [population 17,000] several times since this incident. Could you maybe refrain from that in the future? I would greatly appreciate it. Also, please give my regards to Chelsea. She is the one from your family that impresses me the greatest. Please enjoy your party tonight with Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. They do write catchy songs. One lyric in particular comes to mind, "heartbreaker, with your .44, I want to tear your world apart." Maybe they will play that for you.

Sins of Emission

2006-08-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following poem was written after walking several miles home in the snow after staying overnight following a blizzard in DC in 1995 at a friends following dancing at a live music show. It had been one helluva night. I thought it was appropriate re the news today concerning the warrantless wiretapping ruling. There is so much we never say at the time of crisis and we never even realize.....

If you'll hold me close tonight and
As I'll feel the rise and fall of your chest,
We'll swim in the synchrony of our delusionβ€¦
And pretend to forget any hint of tomorrow
And it's impending confusions.

This brief history of our time may already be
Condemned to the back drawer memory of a
History each of us has conveniently created,
But just for now we can wish it aside..
--at least until we've procreated.

So slide on up to my shoulder
And lay your head down upon my breast--
If only for an instant,
Just this moment, you're mine.
So please, dear, lay all fears aside,
And come help me with my dress.

Judge Nixes Warrantless Surveillance

2006-08-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

By SARAH KARUSH
Associated Press Writer

EDITOR'S NOTE--My former brother in law, (sister recently divorced him) was a spook/crypto at NSA for Navy until retired. The Judge's complete ruling which has already been appealed today by the Federal Governemnt can be found online at http://www.mied.uscourts.gov/eGov/taylorpdf/06%2010204.pdf

August 17, 2006, 12:10 PM EDT

DETROIT -- A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs. They believe many of their overseas contacts are likely targets of the program, which involves secretly taping conversations between people in the U.S. and people in other countries.

The government argued that the program is well within the president's authority, but said proving that would require revealing state secrets.

The ACLU said the state-secrets argument was irrelevant because the Bush administration already had publicly revealed enough information about the program for Taylor to rule.

Isnt it Ironic? Able to be attend Prep school for Naval Academy in 1988.....

2006-08-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: Below is the exact email I received from a military recruiter, denying me entrance into the U.S. Army in August of 2006. Following it is an AP Article of note about the U.S. Army that was published on February 8th, 2006 issue of the 2006 Washington Post regarding the Army's new initiative on 'How not to marry a jerk'. Wish they'd had these briefings in the Navy in 1988....

EMAIL

From: Wilson, Michael A SFC USAREC
To: Barbara Looney

Subject: RE: Trying to reach me by phone?

Barbara, I was hoping to speak to you in person. The news isnβ€™t good; youβ€™re medically unable to join the Army due to several issues. Youβ€™re epilepsy, asthma, and medication for depression prevents you from being able to join. There are no exceptions to these disqualifications.

The Army's Marching Orders on Marriage: Jerks, No; Acronyms, Yes
Wednesday, February 8, 2006; Page A17

They are the Pentagon's new "rules of engagement": U.S. Army chaplains are trying to teach troops how to pick the right spouse, through a program called "How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk."

The matchmaking advice comes as military family life is being stressed: Defense Department records show that more than 56,000 people in the Army -- active-duty, National Guard and reserve -- have divorced since the campaign in Afghanistan started in 2001.

Maj. John Kegley, an Army chaplain, shows the "no jerks" salute to Pfc. Julie Romero and others. (By Jeff Chiu -- Associated Press)

Officials partly blame long and repeated deployments that started after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and stretched the service thin. Troops also are coming home with life-altering injuries.

"Being in the military certainly raises the stakes when you choose a mate," said Lt. Col. Peter Frederich, head of family issues in the Pentagon's chaplain office.

The program is also called "PICK a Partner," for Premarital Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge.

It advises the marriage-bound to study a partner's FACES -- family background, attitudes, compatibility, experiences in previous relationships and skills they would bring to the union. It teaches the them to pace themselves with a RAM chart -- the Relationship Attachment Model, which basically says not to let your sexual involvement exceed your level of commitment or level of knowledge about the other person.

Maj. John Kegley, a chaplain who teaches the program in Monterey, Calif., throws in the "no jerks" salute: One hand at the heart and two fingers at the brow is a signal to use your heart and brain when choosing.

The program was created by former minister John Van Epp of Medina, Ohio, who has a doctorate in psychology and a private counseling practice. He teaches it to Army chaplains, who teach it to troops. It also is used by social service agencies, prisons, churches and other groups.

Commanders once discouraged troops from starting a family while serving. Thus the old saying "If the Army wanted you to have a wife, it would have issued you one." Today, the military supports families more than any other employer, Frederich said. The Bush administration proposes to spend $5.6 billion in the next budget year for quality-of-life services for troops and their families.

Despite such support, Army spokeswoman Martha Rudd said, "not everybody is cut out" to marry into the military.

The Army hopes the "no jerks" program will help couples decide if they are ready for a long-term commitment and can cope with the unique stresses of military life.

"Settings like military bases are incubators," Van Epp said. "They try to hatch . . . relationships extremely fast," leading to higher divorce rates and more domestic violence.

The program teaches troops not to cave in to the pressure of a ticking clock -- such as rushing to marry before shipping out for a deployment, or too soon after homecoming.

Last month, Van Epp sent 200 program workbooks to troops in Iraq.

-- Associated Press

WMD and Iraq: The Phoenix from the Flames

2006-08-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

All things considered, Lindsay Lohan. [Garrison Keilor is the voice behind Lake Woebegone]

It is not easy to write about these events, but I believe in the power of the written and spoken word. I also believe in telling the truth, no matter how sordid it can be.

My rape by Kyle Dusty Foggo occurred on the 18th of November 1998, before impeachment proceedings originated in the House of Representatives. I remember exactly what I was wearing that early morning from running back to my apartment. I was mortified from hearing the blasts of low flying aircraft so near the pentagon that morning and ran back to the apartment building in Falls Church, Virginia.

I wrote out a journal in longhand because I had no tools or computer save my used car a 1986 Ford Escort with sawed off locks and no horn from impoundment on M Street NW Washington D.C. where I handed the document of consensus on religious liberty to a policeman from which to table the events of the 72 hours after my rape by Kyle Dusty Foggo, and before I went to stay at my sisters base housing residence in Fort Meade, MD. I gave the journal to her.

My parents to retrieved the car from impoundment from the police in the District in Columbia after I was hospitalized. My sister refused to allow me to return and stay there.

I find it very ironic that my peaceful protest on base at the National Security Agency by sitting cross legged on a street led to my involuntary commitment to a psychiatric unit in November of 1998 and extending through early December of that same year. You will recall the Americans With Disabilities Act was enacted in July of 1992. The news of November had reported that we were engaged in an international conflict dubbed http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/desert_fox/timeline.html. This was justified by the former President Clinton as being necessary due to continued conflict between Iraq and our nation http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmdfence/453/45306.htm.

During the third week of November 1998, the USA began serious war threats against Iraq, under the auspices of the build up by Iraq of potential weapons of mass destruction http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/1998/981216-iraq02.htm, and the USA began bombing Baghdad, Iraq the next month. Subsequent to that point in history, the United States of America had implemented a foreign diplomatic policy which prohibited the assassination of foreign leaders. An obvious example of this was the sustained acceptance of Castro as a leader of Cuba post the Bay of Pigs Crisis.

The leader in Iraq in 1998 was Saddam Hussein. Iraq at that time had been under harsh sanctions http://www.gpoaccess.gov/duelfer/index.html for several years imposed by the UN that had resulted in the oppression of Iraq's general population. Iraqis were starving to death. Their leader, Hussein was under pressure, and knew Iraqis could not drink petroleum from the earth they called home. European Anglo countries needed access to land under Sharia rule to funnel fuel as cheaply as could be done from Soviet States to meet homeland needs.
"http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/1998/981216-impeach.htm

I was fired from the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld, L.L.P. on Monday, December 8, 1997 [roughly 11 months prior to the rape]. I recall the date , because it was the day after the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and my sister's family was living in Hawaii at that time in the Navy.

Jordan later testified to the grand jury after my departure and subsequent to the involvement of Monica Lewinsky in the Paula Jones suit against then President Clinton to the Grand Jury on March 3, 1998 that he had no meeting with Lewinsky until Thursday the December 11, 1997. I know this to be patently false from my eyewitness account sharing the elevator up to the ninth floor with her shortly after noon on Monday, December 8, 1997 to pack my belongings from my desk.

That day, I left the offices on the 9th floor where Former President Bill Clinton's golfing buddy, also had an office as a Senior Partner in the law firm at approximately 1300 POST MERIDIAN EASTERN STANDARD TIME. The floor was of note because his oil portrait hung in the passageway. I shared the elevator to the ninth floor that day as I left the building at 1333 New Hampshire Street NW in Washington, DC [now called the Strauss Building] with an attractive younger woman who appeared distressed. I later identified that woman to be Monica Lewinsky. She was on her way to see Vernon Jordan about a job.

I had, while employed at Akin Gump, been assigned as a floater secretary for attorneys and was approached by paralegals handling Vernon Jordan prior to permanent placement as a legal secretary for a pro bono partner and another associate who had been working at the US State Department "http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/erc/biographies/christopher.html" at that same firm. He left shortly thereafter and a female attorney younger than me with no typing skills assisted the pro bono partner that worked on insurance fraud.

When I was in the secretarial pool as a replacement for absent employees, I was given in the summer of 1996 a printout of an agenda for entrances and departures of Vernon Jordan from the Whitehouse during the Christmas Season of 1995 for the government shutdown. She informed me of her need of an electronic file for him. Concurrently I recall seeing paralegals exchange stock certificates. This was the only time I had seen a bill of trade for a stock firsthand.

I later learned from published reports that during the winter of 1995 Lewinsky and Clinton began their pizza encounters in the daily editions of the newspaper. Oddly enough, also during my stay, there was an African American woman with the same surname as Mr. Jordan there and her son briefly. Shortly thereafter a woman from the Ivory Coast was admitted. I left and stayed with them, the Mfumes, and was forced to take what my family doctor that had treated my paternal grandmother for cancer in 1971, [an Army veteran] described as a chemical restraint dosage of Respirdal [three milligrams BID listing the prescriber of the medication as dimensions healthcare]. No physicians name was listed.

I was unable to speak and exhibited Parkinsonian like symptoms from the dosage level prescribed to me. Upon admission to Prince George's Hospital the female nurse that sedated me stated her brother flew helicopters for then POTUS Clinton in the presence of Fort Meade authorities, as she had him strip off my clothes and subcutaneously injected a sedative into my body.

The next day I awoke in a hospital gown isolated on a stainless steel bed with the back cover of a magazine showing a cigar on the cover. I was transferred by ambulance that day on Wednesday, the 18th of November, 1998, against my sister's wishes to Anne Arundel Hospital.

Kemi, an African American immigrant, whom I met as another inpatient on the psychiatric unit and allowed me to read her poem entitled 'The Comfort that You Seek'. She was released from Anne Arundel within hours.

I was unable to speak and exhibited Parkinsonian like symptoms from the dosage level prescribed to me. Upon admission to Prince George's Hospital the female nurse that sedated me stated her brother flew helicopters for then POTUS Clinton in the presence of an NSA military policeman, as she had him strip off my clothes and subcutaneously injected a sedative into my body.

The next day I awoke in a hospital gown isolated on a stainless steel bed with the back cover of a magazine showing a cigar on the cover. I was transferred by ambulance that day on Wednesday, the 18th of November, 1998, against my sister's wishes to Anne Arundel Hospital. Kemi, an African American immigrant, whom I met as another inpatient on the psychiatric unit and allowed me to read her poem entitled 'The Comfort that You Seek'. She was released from Anne Arundel within the next seventy hours.

At Anne Arundel Hospital I was seen a total of three times by two different doctors. One female doctor of what I presume was Indian [Bombay, India] descent was named Alfatooni. I was the only one listed with her as a primary physician in the entire ward and have the carbon copies from the red plastic identification cards made by nurses on the ward yet to this day to prove it.

I noticed each chart for each patient on the unit at that time stated D.O.A. on the spine of the binder kept at the nurses' station. While there, I was also seen by a local psychiatrist named Dr. Peter Campbell who saw me a total of one time shortly after my admission and transfer to that hospital from Anne Arundel Hospital. He became visibly shaken when I asked him if he was a Mason and explained to him my father was.

All my identification, my driver's license, my social security card, and palm pilot were stolen while in that hospital. I expended due diligence to protect them, due to warnings I received from the homeless Vietnam Vet that declared himself to be Backpack that I had met less than a week earlier.

I have the journal I kept of that time in the ward that I begged for paper to write on, from the nurses. I recall hearing screams during the night, watching the news about the tobacco industry lawsuit being decided on the television, broadcasts about a Bill of Rights for patients and reading a Time magazine article of Linda McCartney's death from breast cancer.
I noted the medications and dosages prescribed to me, and refused them except for an antibiotic for a sinus infection.

I was later charged for numerous doctor consultations later on the subsequent billing I knew full well upon receipt was health insurance fraud. Unable to go to my sister's base housing where she resided with her husband and three underage children, and not wanting to concede defeat to a corrupt administration, I left and stayed the next week after my release from the hospital with a family of African immigrants from Ghana in the Emerald City Apartments near the base in Jessup Maryland until the conditions became so deplorable I decided to leave.

I recall reading an article while staying with the Mfume's in the Washington Post telling of Bill Cosby visiting the Clintons at the White House and yelling out the number 44 at the time.

Christopher Mfume and I met because he had a sister in the Anne Arundel hospital ward concurrently. In that same paper, a recount of what Hillary Clinton wore to the Kennedy Center Honors was written in the Style section. She wore a black velvet dress.

I attended a local church with Christopher Mfume of Ghana [where the major religions are Tribal, Christianity, and Islam] near the National Security Base and recall being surrounded with adults that claimed to work for the Central Intelligence Agency. This happened the same weekend that Vice President Al Gore's father died. I told them during that adult Sunday School lesson that I believed in the Sermon on the Mount, and the Beatitudes found in the book of Matthew chapters five through seven.

During my stay in the Emerald apartments, I had all my things in the used 1986 Escort my father and mother got out of the impoundment lot while I was hospitalized. The wool double breasted dress I had with me in the car I found covered with white pubic hairs in the back seat while I stayed at the Mfume family apartment from Ghana indicating to me yet again that I had no safeguarding of my own.

That day I drove to a local women's shelter to seek alternate safe housing. Without success, I then drove to a local shopping center parking lot where I approached a local policeman and I recall at that time asking him if he knew who Sandy Berger was. He answered, "No."

There were more shelters for abused pets than humans in our country then. After being sedated, strip searched, and forced to attend a church where I had no affiliation, and had every possession of mine violated, I finally drove to a local fire station whose American flag was at half mast.

They called the police in Laurel, MD, and an officer took me by an asynchronous transfer machine to withdraw money from a bank account and then to a nearby motel where I checked in and contacted Marilyn Harris Dabaghi. She instructed me to try to get a flight home on Southwest Airlines. I then called my sister and she expressed surprise when I told her that I had Trans World America airline points. Incredulous at this reaction from two women I thought cared about me, I sat in the dark and cried. Shortly thereafter, my parents called me.

That year, in the days before Christmas upon my return to my parents home of retirement, my bank account was frozen. The NSA also banned the hip toy, the Furby, from the bases. I remember because I wanted to get them as presents for my nieces and nephew living there at the time. However, I was unable to withdraw any money at the nearest bank to buy my parents or them presents. It was a Christmas I will not ever forget. Bombings in Iraq filled the news along with calls from Patrick Hyde of Pennsylvania to impeach the POTUS. [I shared an elevator ride with him in the Rayburn Building in 2002 working for deceased Representative Patsy Mink].

Obviously, I would have preferred to spend the last Christmas I had with my father before his death under other circumstances. I recall watching in sustained awe the explosions broadcasted on CNN with my father, terminally ill with the same heart condition and ailment as the current Vice President, Dick Cheney.

All my identification, my driver's license, my social security card, and palm pilot were stolen while in that hospital. I expended due diligence to protect them, due to warnings I received from the homeless Vietnam Vet named Backpack I had met less than a week earlier when I gave the Williamsburg Charter to the policeman at Dupont Circle.

I have the journal I kept of that time, and begged for paper to write on, from the nurses in the wards yet today. I recall hearing screams during the night, watching the news about the tobacco industry lawsuit being decided on the television, broadcasts about a Bill of Rights for patients and reading a Time magazine article of Linda McCartney's death from breast cancer. patient escape the ward only later to be returned.

I noted the medications and dosages prescribed to me, and refused them except for an antibiotic for a sinus infection.

I was later charged for numerous doctor consultations later on the subsequent billing I knew full well upon receipt was health insurance fraud. Unable to go to my sister's base housing where she resided with her husband and three underage children, and not wanting to concede defeat to a corrupt administration, I left and stayed the next week after my release from the hospital with a family of African immigrants from Ghana in the Emerald City Apartments near the base in Jessup Maryland until the conditions became so deplorable I decided to leave.

I recall reading an article while staying with the Mfume's in the Washington Post telling of Bill Cosby visiting the Clintons at the White House and yelling out 44 at the time. Christopher Mfume and I met because he had a sister in the Anne Arundel hospital ward concurrently. In that same paper, a recount of what Hillary Clinton wore to the Kennedy Center Honors was written in the Style section. She wore a black velvet dress.

I attended a local church with Christopher Mfume of Ghana [where the major religions are Tribal, Christianity, and Islam] near the National Security Base and recall being surrounded with adults that claimed to work for the Central Intelligence Agency. This happened the same weekend that then Vice President Al Gore's father died. I told them during that adult Sunday School lesson that I believed in the Sermon on the Mount, and the Beatitudes found in the book of Matthew chapters five through seven.

Subsequently during my stay in the Emerald apartments, the wool navy double breasted dress I had with me in the car I found covered with white pubic hairs in the back seat of the Ford while I stayed at the Mfume family apartment from Ghana indicating to me yet again that I had no safeguarding of my own.

That day I drove to a local women's shelter to seek alternate safe housing. Without success, I then drove to a local shopping center parking lot where I approached a local policeman and I recall at that time asking him if he knew who Sandy Berger was. He answered, "No." There were more shelters for abused pets than humans in our country then. After being sedated, strip searched, and forced to attend a church where I had no affiliation, and had every possession of mine violated, I finally drove to a local fire station whose American flag was at half mast.
They called the police in Laurel, MD, and an officer took me by an asynchronous transfer machine to withdraw money from a bank account and then to a nearby motel where I checked in and contacted Marilyn Harris Dabaghi.

She instructed me to try to get a flight home on Southwest Airlines. I then called my sister and she expressed surprise when I told her that I had Trans World America airline points. Incredulous at this reaction from two women I thought cared about me, I sat in the dark and cried. Shortly thereafter, my parents called me.

That year, in the days before Christmas upon my return to my parents home of retirement, my bank account through NFCU was frozen. The NSA also banned the hip toy, the Furby, from military bases. I remember because I wanted to get them as presents for my nieces and nephew living there at the time. However, I was unable to withdraw any money using my ATM card at the local machine in Missouri to buy my parents or them presents. It was a Christmas I will not ever forget. Bombings in Iraq filled the news along with calls from Patrick Hyde to impeach the William Jefferson Clinton.

I would have preferred to spend the last Christmas I had with my father before his death under other circumstances. I recall watching in sustained awe the explosions broadcasted on CNN with my father, terminally ill with the same heart condition and ailment as the current Vice President, Dick Cheney, and chronicled in the movie, "http://www.iamjohnq.com/".

Within days, I witnessed a Monica Lewinsky all over the national media, and with a full spread in Vanity Fair. Amazingly, history repeats itself, the violence against women act is renewed. A rape occurs every 30 seconds. Yet, our country has more pet kennels than shelters for battered women.

In retrospect, I learned two main things from this experience:

One, not everyone who craps on you is your enemy. All of us are ignorant at one time or another.
Secondly, when one is up to the shoulderboards in manure, its wise to keep your mouth shut.

I would like to be able to take credit for those lessons. I cannot. I read them in a parable rephrased told aloud to help create the Department of Education as written in the book "Cabinetmakers" by R. Heffernan dedicated to the woman who's adopted daughter I cared for as an undergraduate. The tome is worth a read.

My wish is that someday I will not remember this. I did my best on Capitol during the Anthrax attacks to help women. I worked for caucus development to span poverty the best way I knew how. I made a framework in advance, I stated objectives, and I asked for names. I tried my best to square more than two caucuses together so that no woman would have to beg for a piece of paper in a hospital again.

Yes, I am a legacy. I am an American.

What Republicans Accomplished in Social Welfare Reform Post 9/11

2006-08-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

Fries are French again on Capitol Hill

GOP had led 2003 push in House cafeteria to rename them β€�Freedom Friesβ€™

Updated: 11:30 a.m. CT Aug 2, 2006

Call it a fry rapprochement.

Three years after now-embattled Rep. Bob Ney, along with Rep. Walter Jones, led the effort to rename french fries "Freedom Fries" in an attempt to strike back at France for not contributing to the Iraq war effort, the basement cafeteria of the House of Representatives has quietly reverted to using the original name, the Washington Times reported in Wednesday editions.

Now, Republicans have distanced themselves from Jones after he made a lonely call for withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.

For his part, Ney has been forced from the chairmanship of the committee in charge of running House operations after former aides tied to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff have pled guilty of bribery.

A spokesman for Ney's replacement, Rep. Vern Ehlers, told NBC News, "It's no big deal. ... It's not news."

NBC's Michael Viqueira in Washington contributed to this report.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14152281/

EDITOR'S POSTSCRIPT: On Monday, August 28, 2006 the Colbert Report on Comedy Central Network aired this story. Stephen Colbert suggested to those viewer's that would like to do so, one may "personalize" a Heinz catsup bottle and send it to one's member of congress. The website he referenced where this is possible is: http://www.myheinz.com

2006-07-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

Carl Brashear

EDITOR'S NOTE: RIP Mr. Brashear.

I had the honor of speaking to Carl Brashear on the phone in the summer of 2001 before 911 while I was working for the public policy department of Child Welfare League of America (CWLA). At the time, I was garnerring advocacy and support for their agenda on families and child welfare. July 25,2006, this hero passed. He was an inspiration and hero to millions.

References:
Stillwell, Paul. The Reminiscences of Master Chief Boatswain's Mate Carl Brashear. Annapolis, MD: United States Institute. 1998.

BMCM Carl Brashear along with Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the set of Men of Honor.Carl Maxie Brashear (born on January 19, 1931) was the first African-American to become a United States Navy diver, in the early 1950s. On January 17, 1966, he suffered an accident while on duty, which left him without a leg. After a long struggle, he became the first amputee to be certified as a diver, in April 1968.

He was born in Tonieville, Larue County, Kentucky (USA). Brashear retired from the U.S. Navy in 1979 as a Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9) and master diver. He then served as a civilian employee for the government and retired in 1993 with the grade of GS-11.

In 2000, Brashear's military service was portrayed by Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the film Men of Honor.

Decorations and medals
Navy and Marine Corps Medal
Navy Commendation Medal
Navy Achievement Medal
Navy Good Conduct Medal (w/1 silver and 2 bronze service stars)
National Defense Service Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
China Service Medal
Korean Service Medal
Navy Occupation Service Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
United Nations Service Medal
Korean War Service Medal

1:10 men and 1:6 women are sexually abused

2006-07-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

I have wrestled with this fact over and over in my head. After many hours of sleepless nights I wish to submit the following to whomever may be interested.

On Wednesday 11/18/98 I was taken by van from the 7-11 convienience store in the 7400 Block of Lee Hwy in Falls Church Virginia in the early morning hours and raped by a man I knew at that time only to be "in the chain of command" and "involved with the CIA".

Within the last 2 months I have recognized that man by his picture in the news as recently resigning and having his home and office searched. I believe that man to have been Kyle "Dusty" Foggo.

Please direct any further inquiries re this, and my subsequent strip search at NSA and involuntary hospitalization and transfer between hospitals to my email listed in my profile. I have a diary of the names of doctors, patients, and schedule along with personal notes timed and dated corresponding to this period of time which reiterate my claims.

Semper Fi. I did my best.

Equality per the Republican Party

2006-06-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

"Congress Barely Defeats Race-Based Government Bill
The concept of e pluribus unum holds that the diverse peoples of the various states are bound together in a government that protects the rights of all. In 1959 the people of Hawaii voted decisively in favor of statehood, with 94.33 percent marking their ballots β€�Yesβ€� to become part of the United States."

---Taken verbatim from Dick Armey's email action alert entitled "Freedom Update: June 16th"

There is no single thing that the Republican Party and Administration does that irritates me more than proselytizing to me the ideals of true "American Values".

I served as a Congressional Fellow to deceased Representative Patsy Mink (D-HI) in 2002 during the Anthrax attacks in DC. She later died in December of 2002 of a reported "viral infection".

While working for her on her bill, HR 3113 , the only bipartisan bill at the time in the 107th Congress to reauthorize TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families aka "welfare"), see also State of Missouri Concurrent Resolution, that addressed "access barriers" to recipients of TANF that hindered their abilities to find full time employment and/or become self sufficient; I learned several things. Among them are the following:

1) The Republican Party and administration felt the answer to welfare reform post the leadership of Newt Gingrich was in "Marriage Initiatives" to unwed mothers.

2) The Republican Party and administration was committed to engaging a greater partnership between welfare recipients and the sacred religious community. To this end they funded partnerships and encouraged it through legislation, in direct contrast to the first amendment of the US constitution.

3) Vernacularism, (or the "native phrase or expression from a country or region, esp. as distinct from literary language" e.g. "aloha") might be viewed by some of these same Republican lawmakers and administration as misinterpreted to "anti-Americanism" or "reverse discrimination", due to their inability to master the meanings and definitions of English.

4) Right wing fundamentalism was seen by the Republican party and administration as the "best" solution to the age old issue of Poverty in America.

5) Having anything other than a view of "us v. them" in the Republican Party was viewed as unpatriotic. In other words, inclusion and appreciation of diversity were not seen as complimentary to the Republican platform.

I ask you, is e pluribus unum really the right phrase Dick Armey should use in his email letters?

2006-06-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

Pigtails & Pearls

---perhaps I am the reincarnate of Rudyard Kipling, sitting here in my cubicle of purgatory in the middle of a cement jungle, watching the rollicking rhinos in their Brooks Brother suits walk by, bucking their horns against each otherβ€¦.

---it's a crisp, sunny, October day today, the kind made for hay rides into glowing embers of Indian summer sunset,
but I sit here instead, shackled to the pixels of a screen in a barrister's barn.
Yep, I must have been Rudyard, and am repenting his bestialities.

My mind is full of mayhem today, the chaos of my ideas is playing a tournament game of Pong on an outdated RCA of my brainβ€¦..

Ping ping
Ping Ping!

Ping.

But then againβ€¦
Maybe I'm just a restless, cheeky misplaced Gibson girl in the nineties, with the heart of a dame, and the frolicking ghost drinking pals of Grover Cleveland---

I came her chock full of guilt to start public reform, the legacy image of Wilhem Dafoe running across a Cineplex Odeon screen to the helicopter in "Platoon"β€¦
I've stayed, through the lonely nights, using the slaying eyes of Christopher Walken for the beaus who tried to tame me into submission.

I've learned the moral obligation of Bukowski, in femme form.

Ping? Ping.
Ping! Ping
Ping.

..all these things, the parables of Pooh, Zoom, the plots of One Day at a Time, Schneider, Logan's Run, Alice Cooper hosting the muppets, nursed me through childhood--
and spawned a celluloid baby of Bowie.

Yep, pigtails & pearlsβ€¦..Now I'm all grown up.
The freshest new recipe from a kitchen of ladykillers.