Is America Burning - a Forum To Discuss Issues

All comments welcome, pro or con. Passionate ok, but let's be civil. ...Pertinent comments will be published on this blog. Air your viewpoints.

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Skyline - Houston, Texas

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween

The Old Woman is still kinda sick, really feeling punk. Today's post is for Halloween.
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Soiled Sheets




An extremely modest man was in the hospital for a series of tests, which had left his bodily systems extremely upset. Upon making several false alarm trips to the bathroom, he decided the latest episode was another and stayed put.

He suddenly filled his bed with diarrhea and was embarrassed beyond his ability to remain rational. In a complete loss of composure he jumped out of bed, gathered up the bed sheets, and threw them out the hospital window.

A drunk was walking by the hospital when the sheets landed on him. He started yelling, cursing, and swinging his arms violently trying to get the unknown things off, and ended up with the soiled sheets in a tangled pile at his feet. As the drunk stood there staring down at the sheets, a hospital security guard who watched the whole incident walked up and asked,

"What the heck is going on?"

The drunk, still staring down, replied:

"I think I just beat the crap out of a ghost."



COMMENTS:


Blogger The Future Was Yesterday said...

I can emphasize!!

Saturday, November 01, 2008 3:36:00 AM

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Monday, October 27, 2008

For Animal Lovers.....

The Old Woman is sick. I don't have any ideas for posts. The politics, economy, etc.. are sickening and I don't have anything more to say on these subjects. Nothing printable, anyway. Old Worried would have my scalp if I published what I really think.

I've been prowling through her various blogs. She has a shit pot full of them on all sorts of subjects. It's like touring a museum. I'm posting a great picture from one, a welcome break from all the news crap recently. I like it. Click on photo for enlargement.

She has it titled "Serengeti Madonna".


Comments:
Blogger The Future Was Yesterday said...

I'm sorry to hear of Worried's sickness. The current cluster duck is enough to make anybody sick.

I've loved the National Geographic documentaries about animals since I was a child. Dad used to tell us we were going to a movie. NG specials were ran in theaters for free back then. We'd pop up a huge bag of popcorn (you could take it in with you then), and us kids would sit on the edge of our seats, with eyes the size of silver dollars!:) It was the biggest of treats! To this day, I'm spellbound by their specials on TV.

Friday, October 31, 2008 12:33:00 AM

Gadfly: Family movie going wasn't a part of my life growing up and the only National Geographics I ever saw back then were the mags that had photos of nude natives in them. But I discovered Ntl Geo as an adult and in later years enjoyed the documentaries. I like critters of the world. It's a damned shame we're killing off so many of them. The Old Woman is an animal lover and is partial to cheetahs. She has lots of photos of them, more than the other big cats. Unlike lions, Cheetahs are single moms and bear the burden of cub rearing alone. Lots of human single moms can relate to that.


Delete
Blogger Granny said...

Hey there WA. Get better soon.

Friday, October 31, 2008 2:30:00 AM


Gadfly: Thanks Granny. I'll tell her, or she might check the blogs later.Delete

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Friday, October 17, 2008

Best Political Cartoon Ever?



Possibly. If not, it's up there in the top ten.

Sorry about the size.

The caption reads (Jefferson speaking):

"I keep thinking we should include something in the Constitution in case the people elect a f**king moron."

Thanks again to my local buddy and our mutual friend who sent it all the way from Taiwan.

COMMENTS:
Blogger Gadfly said...

They knew that there would be morons like Bush? "Prophetic" cartoon. :)

Sunday, October 19, 2008 4:52:00 AM

Delete
Blogger fjb said...

Priceless!:)

Sunday, October 19, 2008 10:50:00 AM

Delete
Anonymous Kvatch said...

They knew that there would be morons like Bush?

But really, could anyone really predict someone **THAT** bad? Oh whoops...sorry. Forgot about Palin.

Monday, October 20, 2008 2:53:00 PM

Delete
Blogger Worried American said...

The cartoon accurately depicts the mindset of our forefathers. They DID expect moronic, corrupt leaders and TRIED to warn future generations with many wise statements and with a very good Constitution - that our current leader regards as a g-d "piece of paper" and has violated it horribly.

Check the marquee in the header. Does that also describe our current leaders?

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 10:39:00 PM

Delete

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Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Foreign Affairs Expert





Hi y'a'll. My local friend just passed this on to me and I couldn't resist.

Glad to see my Texas buddies safe and sound once again. Gadfly, you're not the only one who has messed up WA's template. There are some things that obviously you and I should never touch.

WA, huge congratulations on the latest addition to your family. That's wonderful news.

I'm finally sticking a toe back in the water, politically speaking. My friend and I just returned from the grand opening of the Democratic headquarters here. It's the most organized I've seen the Dems in years.

Yesterday, we attended a rally at the University of California, Merced campus (I still love typing that name). We had heard there were to be two rallies; one Republican, one Democrat. About 50 of us showed up in the middle of the day along with two lonesome Republicans, taking turns carrying their sign.

I'll probably be doing a little phone work or precinct walking over the next couple of weeks. We're not taking anything for granted here in California. I'm campaigning for the Presidential election of course but I'm more concerned about Proposition 8, the religious right's attempt to lock restriction of civil rights into our Constitution. As most of you know, our State Supreme Court narrowly voted last year to allow same sex marriage in this state. They were immediately countered by Prop 8, a state Constitutional amendment which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Their major funding comes from a few wealthy religious denominations and they seem to be winning, at least here in the San Joaquin Valley. We've begun fighting back of course but the outcome is uncertain. The local ads have been ugly, untrue, and play on people's fears.

So, while I'll help a little with the national election, my primary focus will be Prop 8. My son Tim has met somebody, it appears to be the real thing. They were talking marriage ahead of our elections (while they still could) but decided not to be pushed into it before they were sure. If Prop 8 passes, the decision will be taken out of their hands.

Once again, separate is not equal. The domestic partners and civil union laws enacted by many states, including my California, do not go far enough. I was re-reading Loving v. Virginia (the Supreme Court decision which outlawed the miscegenation laws in the United States) the other day. The arguments in Loving seem to apply although I'm no lawyer.

We also have Proposition 4 (parental notification) back on the ballot for the 3rd time. It's been voted down twice so far and it's received less attention than I expected.

At least our Congressman is running unopposed and our Senators don't come up until 2010 and 2012. Senator Boxer already has 2010 campaign buttons reading "elections have consequences", a phrase borrowed from the Republicans when they were still riding high.

Merced remains a small, barely blue enclave amidst a sea of red.

Son Jim called me this morning from someplace in Iraq. His job description has changed. What was supposed to be basically an administrative job in a relatively secure compound has been changed. He is now flying hither and yon doing something and next week will be spending a few days in beautiful, downtown Baghdad. I'm back to chewing my fingernails again. Please keep a thought for his safety and for all the rest of our kids serving all over the world.

One final word (or 500) on the elections. I sat out the primaries on this blog; partly because of computer problems, the heat in this tiny room, Ray's health, and my own fatigue. Mainly though, I was waiting for the dust to settle. I could add nothing to what had already been said. Also, I knew some of my opinions might be controversial (even considered cowardly) and out of step with the majority of progressive bloggers. I didn't want to add to the infighting. I would prefer to find common ground when possible.

I realize there are many who were not enchanted with the top two contenders for the nomination. They weren't my first choices either; Dennis Kucinich was. However, I'm a realist. The two major independent candidates - Barr (Libertarian) and Nader (Peace and Freedom) are holding their debate this coming Sunday. It will be broadcast on C-SPAN. I know this because I read about it on a blog; not because it was featured by the MSM. As far as I know, the candidates representing the Green and American Independent parties are receiving no coverage at all. So much for an uprising. I voted for a third party candidate once. He was defeated and so was the Democrat running for President. My vote didn't matter in California but the outcome may have been affected in other states and there was no way a third party candidate would win. There still isn't. We can't do anything about it between now and November 4th. We can, however, start working on November 5th.

Some would say, and I even say to myself, if I had the courage of my convictions I'd vote for the Green Party candidate, Cynthia McKinney. I won't, not this year. The idea of a Palin/McCain presidency (and no, I didn't get that backwards) is enough to make me run screaming for the Canadian border. We've had eight of the worst years in my memory. I don't think I could survive four more. There was a time when I respected Senator McCain even when I disagreed with him. No more. And don't get me started on Governor Palin.

Could I boycott the election or write in Donald Duck? Sure, but the Republicans who are still clinging to Senator McCain won't do that. If he wins, it shouldn't be by default.

So I'm crossing my fingers and casting my lot with Senator Obama. We are never going to find the perfect candidate and, until we fix our broken electoral process from the ground up, we're stuck with a two party system.

The long primary brought out the best and the worst in people. It's time to put the worst behind us and concentrate on winning all three branches of government. Without the Presidency and the Senate, we will lose the Supreme Court. Alito, Scalia, Thomas, and Roberts will reign. We've already seen some of the damage they've caused. Without 60 votes in the Senate, most progressive legislation will be stalled by the threat of filibuster. Without 66 votes, we can't overturn a veto (although that may not be an issue with a Democrat in the White House).

We cannot win if we continue to follow the time honored tradition amongst the Democrats of destroying from within.

The best of people? This campaign has brought out the young voters as well as many citizens who have never voted before. I've talked to some of them. They're full of ideas and energy which brings me back to fixing the system. It can be done and we should begin the day after the election. I've written before of the changes that could be made and I'll dig out my old posts and start writing about them again.

Have a good weekend and take care everyone.

COMMENTS:
Blogger Worried American said...

Absolutely GREAT post, Granny. I have more comments but too rushed right now. Cheers.

Friday, October 17, 2008 1:49:00 AM


Blogger Granny said...

Thanks WA. I know your life must have almost unmanageable this past month or so.

I'm surprised you're finding time to even leave a comment.

Friday, October 17, 2008 2:20:00 AM


Blogger The Future Was Yesterday said...

Welcome back Ann, and I'm glad everybody's ok out there!

" I sat out the primaries on this blog;"
Those were Primaries? I thought they were multiple assassination attempts!! Those primaries cost me my faith in bloggerville, and dramatically changed the way I read...when I bother to read. The left wing of the Republican party, called Democrats in Congress, ways and methods have seeped down to the grass roots level.

"I could add nothing to what had already been said. Also, I knew some of my opinions might be controversial (even considered cowardly) and out of step with the majority of progressive bloggers. I didn't want to add to the infighting. I would prefer to find common ground when possible."
That absolutely infuriates me!! Not what you said, but the very thought thought that any F'ing idiot could be so STUPID as to call any opinion cowardly! The fact you had to consider that is proof positive the DP is full of Nancy Pelosi's! Cowardice personified is the PUMAS. They should be stripped of Citizenship and deported!
"This campaign has brought out the young voters as well as many citizens who have never voted before."
I was just commenting in an email exchange with Betmo how the stories of voter fraud, registration fraud, vote machine discrepancies, and more, have been almost identical since 2000, in every election. Run it out there, get them used to it.... America accepts, even expects fraud in a election now!! I honestly believe both Parties are dishonestly purging voter rolls to ensure "only the right" people vote.

I wish I still shared your optimism. I once did. Not anymore.

Friday, October 17, 2008 10:46:00

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Sunday, October 12, 2008

GADFLY: ANSWER YOUR PHONE!!

Photobucket YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??

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Photobucket I'M SORRY! i'M SORRY! I PROMISE I WON'T DO THAT NO MORE!
Your bestest friend, Gadfly :( Please forgive me!!?? Don't be mad?

COMMENTS:
Blogger Worried American said...

Your life is spared. I found the place on that accursed Layout mess to revert to Classic Template.Good thing. The template for Layout is a load of crap.
Now I have to delete a lot of sidebar stuff so readers won't have a hard time clicking on.

Sunday, October 12, 2008 11:17:00 PM

Sigh! You are forgiven, ofcourse, you heifer!!
Blogger betmo said...

i am glad that gadfly will be amongst us for a while longer yet :) curiosity in this culture should be commended and applauded :) and your patience and kindness too worried :)

Monday, October 13, 2008 7:01:00 AM

Blogger Worried American said...

Someone said that curiosity is a sign of intelligence. If that is true, The Gadly is a genius!! You would not believe the escapades and trouble her curiosity has led her into over the years!!

Monday, October 13, 2008 3:30:00 PM

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HELP!!

SH*T A BRICK! I AM DOOMED!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!! WORRIED IS GONNA KILL ME!!

Everybody knows that me and Granny are Team Members and also co-administrators on this blog, but it belongs to old WORRIED AMERICAN. She manages the details of the blog's appearance. Since being forced to convert to the Dastardly Duo's new improved Blogger, she has steadfastly refused to switch from Classic Template to Layout. One thing is this message:

"By upgrading, you will lose many of the changes you previously made to your template. However, we will save a copy of your current template so that you can access it later." She says she worked too long to lose stuff she's done.

Another things is, like many old people, she doesn't like change and she is content with her blog's workings like it is. She examined Layout, said "phooey" and made it go back to Classic Template.

I'm a Team Member on Dan'l's blog so it shows up on my dashboard along with Is America Burning. Recently I noticed a itty bitty green icon of a human bust beside his blog name with the message "1 follower". Later one showed up on IAB's blog name with "2 followers". Curious, I clicked on the little icon on Dan'l's blog title to see what the hell is this. It took me to a page and I clicked on something else to see what it was. Then I did the same to IAB. It led to a different page than Dan'l's and I clicked on different messages to find out what I could.

Curiosity killed a cat and it's gonna kill me. Checking the blogs later, that "follower" stuff is now posted on the sidebars and IAB's template is now changed to "Layout". I can confess my meddling misdeeds to Dan'l and I'm sure he can fix anything he doesn't like. BUT old Worried is going to have a conniption fit about the template change to Layout and anything that has been lost. She crams so much crap on the sidebar she probably won't mind the followers stuff, but she WILL mind the template change and losing her stuff (whatever it loses - Blogger doesn't say but all her sidebar stuff is GONE!!).


Somebody PUHLEEZE help me!! before Worried discovers what I've done!! I gotta get that sh*t back like she had it!!






COMMENTS:
Blogger betmo said...

gadfly- the only things lost are the extra things like pictures, videos, etc. if you have the other template saved- you should be able to get the codes and stuff to put them back. all of the posts and content and links should still be here. it's just the header, etc. that need to be replaced. it isn't anything to worry about- it will just take a little time to put the stuff back where it was- and truth be told- the less stuff you have- the quicker load time for folks to read the blog. less is more :) email me or dan'l for any specifics- i am sure we will do what we can.

Sunday, October 12, 2008 8:08:00 PM

Thanks Betmo, but I don't know how!! I don't know if she has an updated copy of her template. I don't know nothing about all that template stuff! I'm dead meat.
Blogger Worried American said...

I haven't the vaguest idea where to begin. That Layout page is Greek to me. My template copy is old and out of date. Anyway, even though Blogger said it would save a copy my old template, they do NOT tell you how to access it. Typical of Blogger's efficiency. I HATE THAT DAMNED LAYOUT THING!! It took me forever to learn how to do the classic template and all thos HTMLs, and now this drag and drop crap on Layout! No clue as to how to get what you want on your template. I am of a notion to delete the whole damned blog!!

Sunday, October 12, 2008 10:50:00 PM

I found Blogger's copy of my old template and copied it to storage.
I did not know that all that sidebar stuff made the blog slow to loead for readers. It loads just fine for me. I am sorry for any inconvenience. If I get classic template back, I will delete a lot of that sidebar material.

Blogger The Future Was Yesterday said...

Ole Gadfly's got her tits in a wringer - again! I'd laugh, except she does things just like I do - "Hmmm!! Wonder what this does and where it goes?" I got so many teeth marks on my ass from when that jumped up and bit me......

I see things are back to normal now and Gadfly came out of the doghouse!:) I emailed both of you, but for anyone reading this: there is cheap, fail proof, three second insurance.

Simply put the mouse cursor anywhere in your blog's HTML, left click once, press Ctrl-A (select (highlight) all), then press Ctrl-C (copy all you just highlighted.) Open notepad, press Ctrl-V (paste what you just copied), and bingo. You have a complete copy of your template. Save that file, and you're good to go. Note: like any document that is changed/updated, you should go thru that entire sequence again to save the latest updates.

I can't resist a jab at my pardner: This uh...works best if you do it BEFORE you change anything!:P

I too fought going to layout, but now that I've used it, I love it. It is ten times as easy to change the look of a blog as it was in classic. I don't think IAB has anything to worry about as far as load speed. That's mostly affected by really really large pictures on the side bar, and video's on the side bar.

Monday, October 13, 2008 3:34:00 AM

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Think Before You Vote - Don't Trust Campaign Crap

Just Like On Earth !

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you." "No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity." "Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator.

"I'm sorry but we have our rules." And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a club and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is very happy and in evening dress.

They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that, before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises. The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the head of state joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns. "Well then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then the senator answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

"I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and club, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says,

"Yesterday we were campaigning ... Today you voted."


COMMENTS:
Blogger David Cho said...

Perfect!

Sunday, October 12, 2008 4:06:00 PM

Blogger Gadfly said...

Yup! Just like on earth.

Sunday, October 12, 2008 4:14:00 PM

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Thursday, October 09, 2008

What's wrong with Blogger?? Does anyone else have this problem??

UPDATE _ Oct. 12 : Knock on wood, cross fingers, hold lucky rabbit foot, etc.. So far Blogger is publishing without a jillion tries. FAQs and other sources tried suggested dumping cache and cookies and restarting browser that MAY help. Since I had just cleaned out cache and cookies a few days before, didn't think that relevant, and I restart browse every time I log on to internet. (I frequently share computer with the Gadfly, Wild Child and Jeannie)>But I just turned off the computer for several hours. When it was back on again, Blogger published on first try. Either shutting down fixed the problem or Blogger actually acted on the complaints of at least 11 other people than me.


Blogger Won't publish. After innumerable tries and getting the message below, Blogger will FINALLY publish . It does it on a number of my Blogs and sometimes even on Gadfly's. Getting help from Blogger is an exercise in futility. HELP! ANYONE??

.............................................................................

We're sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.

When reporting this error to Blogger Support or on the Blogger Help Group, please:

  • Describe what you were doing when you got this error.
  • Provide the following error code and additional information.
bX-pier7a

Additional information

blogID: (deleted)
host: www.blogger.com
postID: 2305641623267281256
uri: /publish-confirmation.g

This information will help us to track down your specific problem and fix it! We apologize for the inconvenience.

Find help

See if anyone else is having the same problem: Search the Blogger Help Group for bX-pier7a
If you don't get any results for that search, you can start a new topic. Please make sure to mention bX-pier7a in your message.

COMMENTS:

Blogger The Future Was Yesterday said...

Not to get alarmed about I get the same msg from time to time. It's Google's way of saying "we're all F.U right now!!" It's like heartburn....comes and goes....

Thursday, October 09, 2008 5:52:00 AM

Blogger Worried American said...

Thanks Dan'l. I'm sorry that you are suffering the same aggravation and frustration but--I suppose misery loves company. :-) That is, it is a relief to know that Gadfly and I aren't the only ones Blogger tortures. I hope Blogger gets un-F.U. soon. I am still running my old buns off with Family stuff and have limited time to mess with the computer, so crap like this really drives me up the wall. I have little patience with the Dastardly Duo anyway.Think Pepcid AC will help?

Thursday, October 09, 2008 11:49:00 AM

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