tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172130452024-03-14T03:23:50.099-05:00Is America Burning - a Forum To Discuss IssuesAll comments welcome, pro or con. Passionate ok, but let's be civil. ...Pertinent comments will be published on this blog. Air your viewpoints.Gadflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785noreply@blogger.comBlogger2130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-11954950693564325672012-06-11T08:54:00.001-05:002012-06-11T08:54:13.118-05:00I wonder if anyone else is still around. Just took a look at the last post and much has changed in the last couple of years.
DADT is history and DOMA has been declared unconstitutional by several District Courts. More states have legalized same sex marriage but all are under attack. CA Prop 8 was overturned by the State Supreme Court which was upheld on appeal.
On a sour note, Republican Governors have been busy stripping rights away as quickly as they can. One recall vote was defeated (Wisconsin); however, Ohio voters repealed a power grab by their Governor. Women's rights are under attack and the Affordable Care Act is before the Supreme Court.
We're out of Iraq (sort of) and winding down in Afghanistan. European economy is in free fall. The USA is climbing back slowly in spite of a do nothing Congress which knows nothing buy obstruction.
Five months until elections and fighting against the mega millions being poured in as a result of that obscenity, Citizens United. I am doing a one person boycott of the Koch Bros. paper products and anything else they're involved with. It's symbolic just as are the cloth bags I use for shopping and the energy light bulbs but makes me feel better.
And on a personal note:
Elcie is now 19, a high school graduate, and back in town with her own little apartment close to me. Rebecca & Rochelle are 16 and 17 and will be seniors next year. Elcie is here almost every day; often for dinner and her sisters show up every other weekend. Rochelle will be 18 in January and I'm concerned about what's next for her. A pallet on my computer room floor? We'll see what happens. Ray and I muddle along; still planting a small garden. Our first tomatoes will be on the dinner table tonight. We still have cats of course.
Son Jim safely home from Iraq for good this time but not without some service connected disability. At least he's here. Tim and Juan are doing great - Tim is back in college. My 99 year old adoptive mom died a few weeks ago back in New York. She was two months shy of 100 and her health had been failing.
I'm as political as ever but do much more from home and not so much outside. My City has a small Occupy group which is busy with foreclosure work; especially in protecting innocent tenants from eviction. Petitions are circulating. PFLAG still going strong.
And I'm easily findable on FB as some of you know. Ann Adams - Merced CA
Granny (not spam - honest)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-84682402844761577292010-01-04T10:06:00.000-06:002010-01-04T10:06:22.260-06:00Uganda and The Beam in Our EyeOur good friend Dan'l emailed me this morning and sent me <a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04uganda.html?partner=rss&emc=> this from yesterday's NYT.</a><br />
<br />
Briefly (although you really should read the Times article), Uganda has been encouraged by some of our religious right, several who hold government office, to propose a new anti-gay act, complete with life imprisonment and possibly the death penalty. <br />
<br />
Here, possibly slightly edited, is what I replied to him.<br />
<br />
From the article:<br />
<br />
"“That’s horrible, absolutely horrible,” he (one of the preachers) said. “Some of the nicest people I have ever met are gay people.”"<br />
<br />
Every time I hear "some of my best friends are", I know I'm talking to a bigot although they would never admit it.<br />
<br />
California and Maine have both overturned their marriage equality laws. Other states (New York for one) have refused to enact them (and New Jersey is dragging its feet). Gays can't adopt in some states and in some cases, teens are hung on fences to die.Too many states have still not even gone so far as extending anti-discrimination laws to LGBT citizens and some laws actually prohibit such legislation.<br />
<br />
On the federal front, we still have DOMA and Don't Ask, Don't Tell. We barely passed the new Hate Crimes Act (by sneaking it into the defense budget) and it certainly wasn't thanks to the religious right Senators who voted, in a body, against it.<br />
<br />
Fred Phelps is still spreading his particular brand of hatred at funerals across the United States.<br />
<br />
The threat, though, doesn't come from maniacs like Phelps. Most "reasonable" people knew he was nuts when he started attacking the families of servicemen. The threat comes from the "some of my best friends" folk whose white sheets are hidden under their suits and whose hatred is carefully concealed by their smiles and their "hate the sin, love the sinner" garbage.<br />
<br />
I've been keeping up with Uganda on almost a daily basis through Rachel Maddow on MSNBC and the emails I receive from several gay rights groups. I've signed petitions and written letters. Did you know Uganda had one of the best records in Africa on AIDS prevention until the evangelicals got into the act? Now, those same evangelicals are wringing their hands. They can't seem to understand that they create the climate for hatred; especially in a country which has a long history of violence against its people. This is just one more example. At least they seem to have taken the death penalty off the table.<br />
<br />
Too late for the hand wringing, the mea culpas, and the apologies. We continue to attack the mote in another's while ignoring the beam in our own. <br />
<br />
The difference between us (as individual citizens, states, country) and the Ugandans is one of degree. We elect a gay mayor here (congratulations Texas - Houston if I remember correctly), a councilman or woman there, a Speaker of the Assembly in California, and pat ourselves on the back. The capital city of one of the reddest of the red states enacted an anti-discrimination law. We appoint a few to visible government positions and Barney Frank probably owns his seat in Congress. Meantime, that lesbian mayor in Texas, the gay Speaker in California, the LGBT citizens of that capital city, and even good old Barney, once he leaves Massachusetts, are still deprived of many basic rights.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure there's much we, as a country, can do about Uganda until we clean up our own act.<br />
<br />
On a lighter note, I hope everyone had a good holiday season, whatever you prefer to call it. Mine was a mix. Son Tim and hubby Juan are doing fine. Son Jim may be headed for Afghanistan in May. I had lunch with two of my great-granddaughters right before Christmas. Hard to believe they're all teens; two high school freshmen and one junior. We saw several of the family for Christmas and Tim and Juan came in for Thanksgiving. To top it off, my grandson, who I haven't seen it over 20 years and had all but given up on locating, found us on FaceBook. Joyous family reunion two days after Christmas.<br />
<br />
Sorry I've been so out of touch. Most of you know I'm hanging out some on FaceBook, MySpace (although I hardly ever use it) and Twitter (same thing).<br />
<br />
Gadfly, drop me a line when you get a chance. I'd like to know how you all in the Lone Star state are doing.<br />
<br />
Happy New Year to all.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-36246237497087841502009-12-17T11:00:00.017-06:002009-12-24T14:40:19.754-06:00Regrow Human Limbs and Body PartsRecently there have been news articles about research into growing/regrowing penises lost to injury, disease, or deformity, and others about regrowing women's breasts (not implants but real tissue) after amputations. See:<br /><a href="http://www.livescience.com/health/091109-artificial-penis-tissue-rabbits.html">Regrow Penises</a><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5AB0AZ20091112">Regrow Breasts</a><br /><br />Now there is news about research into regrowing human limbs and body parts like the salamander does and how lizards regrow a tail. If perfected, this will be a miraculous boon to humankind.<br /><br />http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214121434.htm<br /><br /><h1 id="headline" class="story">How Do Salamanders Grow a New Leg? Protein Mechanisms Behind Limb Regeneration</h1><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqwX5TCn7r1rA4BvjEnWPHJdqw4-tIdS-7tDfWvGdGIge13toEkXFR-DSbHmFN1TVHdIADQUnoIjJPDHQuFEnC-dHQVY3_E-L7Ptex4ODUaCahD20xGI1_8SrWQGNR1aNfHKq/s1600-h/salamander.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqwX5TCn7r1rA4BvjEnWPHJdqw4-tIdS-7tDfWvGdGIge13toEkXFR-DSbHmFN1TVHdIADQUnoIjJPDHQuFEnC-dHQVY3_E-L7Ptex4ODUaCahD20xGI1_8SrWQGNR1aNfHKq/s400/salamander.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416863199740974258" border="0" /></a><br /><em>A female wild-type axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum). The most comprehensive study to date of the proteins in a species of salamander that can regrow appendages may provide important clues to how similar regeneration could be induced in humans. (Credit: iStockphoto/Armin Hinterwirth)<br /><br /></em><p id="first"><span class="date">ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2009)</span> — The most comprehensive study to date of the proteins in a species of salamander that can regrow appendages may provide important clues to how similar regeneration could be induced in humans.</p> <p>Researchers at the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and colleagues investigated over three hundred proteins in the amputated limbs of <em><em>axolotls</em></em>, a type of salamander that has the unique natural ability to regenerate appendages from any level of amputation, with the hope that this knowledge will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms that allow limbs to regenerate. </p> <p>"In some ways this study of the axoltol's proteins was a fishing expedition. Fishing expedition can be a derogatory term in biology but for us it was positive, since we caught some important "fish" that enable us to formulate hypotheses as to how limb regeneration occurs," said David L. Stocum, Ph.D., professor of biology and director of the Indiana University Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine, both in the School of Science at IUPUI, who led the study.</p> <p>"Comparison of these proteins to those expressed in the amputated frog limb, which regenerates poorly, will hopefully allow us to determine how we might enhance limb regeneration in the frog and ultimately in humans, Dr. Stocum said.</p> <p>With few exceptions -- notably the antlers of moose, deer and their close relatives, the tips of the fingers and toes of humans and rodents, and the ear tissue of certain strains of mice and rabbits -- the appendages of mammals do not regenerate after amputation.</p> <p>Limb regeneration in the axolotl occurs when undifferentiated cells accumulate under the wound epidermis at the amputation site, a process known as the establishment of a blastema. These cells are derived by the reprogramming of differentiated cells to a less specialized state, and from resident stem cells.</p> <p>"We found proteins that point to several areas that need to be studied closely to give us vital information about the mechanisms that operate to form a blastema that then goes on to regenerate the missing parts of the limb," said Dr. Stocum, an internationally respected cell and developmental biologist who has studied limb regeneration for over three decades.</p> <p>Investigating the proteins found in the axolotl limb, the researchers noted three findings that appear to have significance in reprogramming cells to grow new limbs:</p> <ol><li>Quantities of enzymes involved in metabolism decreased significantly during the regeneration process.</li><li>There were many proteins that helped cells avoid cell death. Because amputation is very traumatic, this is critical.</li><li>A protein which appears to keep cells from dividing until they are fully dedifferentiated and reprogrammed to begin forming a new limb was expressed at high levels throughout blastema formation.</li></ol> <p>Findings were published online in the journal Biomedical Central Biology on November 30 (<em>BMC Biology</em> 7:83, 2009). Co-authors of the study, which was funded by the W. M. Keck Foundation, are Nandini Rao, Ph.D. and graduate student Behnaz Saranjami of the School of Science; graduate student Deepali Jhamb and Mathew Palakal, Ph.D. of the IU School of Informatics; Fengyu Song, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D. of the IU School of Dentistry; Mu Wang, Ph.D. and Michael W. King, Ph.D. of the IU School of Medicine; Bingbing Li, Ph.D. of Central Michigan University; S. Randal Voss, Ph.D. of the University of Kentucky; and Derek J. Milner, Holly L. D. Nye and Jo Ann Cameron, Ph.D. of the University of Illinois. All except the final four are also affiliated with the IU Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine.</p> <p>The School of Science, IU Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine, IU School of Dentistry, IU School of Informatics, and IU School of Medicine are all located on the IUPUI campus.</p><h2 class="block">Related Stories</h2> <hr style="margin-bottom: 0pt;"> <div id="relatedstories"> <div><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080728221236.htm"><img src="http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2008/07/080728221236-thumb.jpg" alt="" class="floatLeft" border="0" width="66" height="50" /></a> <strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080728221236.htm" class="blue">Lost An Appendage? Grow Another</a></strong> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">(July 30, 2008)</span> — Cut off one finger from a salamander and one will grow back. Cut off two and two will grow back. It sounds logical, but how the salamander always regenerates the right number of fingers is still a ... > <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080728221236.htm" class="red"><em>read more</em></a></div> <div><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701131314.htm"><img src="http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2009/07/090701131314-thumb.jpg" alt="" class="floatLeft" border="0" width="75" height="50" /></a> <strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701131314.htm" class="blue">Salamanders, Regenerative Wonders, Heal Like Mammals, People</a></strong> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">(July 2, 2009)</span> — The salamander is a superhero of regeneration, able to replace lost limbs, damaged lungs, sliced spinal cord -- even bits of lopped-off brain. Based on experiments on genetically modified axolotl ... > <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701131314.htm" class="red"><em>read more</em></a></div> <div><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061119114814.htm"><img src="http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2006/11/061119114814-thumb.jpg" alt="" class="floatLeft" border="0" width="60" height="50" /></a> <strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061119114814.htm" class="blue">Scientists Regenerate Wing In Chick Embryo</a></strong> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">(Nov. 19, 2006)</span> — Chop off a salamander's leg and a brand new one will sprout in no time. But most animals have lost the ability to replace missing limbs. Now, a research team at the Salk Institute for Biological ... > <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061119114814.htm" class="red"><em>read more</em></a></div> <div><strong></strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"></span><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070926143355.htm" class="red"><em><br /></em></a></div> <div><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061102125512.htm"><img src="http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2006/11/061102125512-thumb.jpg" alt="" class="floatLeft" border="0" width="32" height="50" /></a> <strong><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061102125512.htm" class="blue">How To Mend A Broken Heart: Zebrafish Hold Key To Regeneration</a></strong> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">(Nov. 3, 2006)</span> — When a portion of a zebrafish's heart is removed, the dynamic interplay between a mass of stem cells that forms in the wound and the protective cell layer that covers the wound spurs the regeneration ... > <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061102125512.htm" class="red"><em>read more</em></a></div> </div><br /><h4>1 Comments:</h4> <ul><li id="c2984256271223861123"><a name="c2984256271223861123"></a> <p class="comment-data">At <a class="comment-data-link" href="http://isamericaburning.blogspot.com/2009/12/regrow-human-limbs-and-body-partslimbs.html#c2984256271223861123" title="comment permalink"> Saturday, December 19, 2009 5:58:00 PM </a>, <span style="line-height: 16px;" class="comment-icon blogger-comment-icon"><img src="img/b16-rounded.gif" alt="Blogger" style="display: inline;" /></span> <a href="profile/15126750605069711353" rel="nofollow">Thomas</a> said...</p> <div class="comment-body"> <p>Some other interesting information on this subject:<br /><br />http://www.ted.com/talks/alan_russell_on_regenerating_our_bodies.html</p> <span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1287865617"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=2984256271223861123" title="Delete Comment"><span class="delete-comment-icon"> </span></a></span> </div> </li></ul><br /> <div style="padding: 0px 0pt 2px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/request.py?contact=abg_afc&url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214121434.htm&hl=en&client=ca-pub-1787672658759074&adU=www.texasheart.org&adT=Stem+Cell+Study+-+Heart&adU=www.xcell-center.com&adT=Stem+Cell+Therapy+Germany&adU=www.Chemotherapy.com&adT=Cancer+and+Chemotherapy&adU=www.downstate.edu/grad/&adT=Molecular+%26amp%3B+Cell+Biology&adU=www.PlateletRxInfo.com&adT=Heart+Attack+Drug.&adU=www.cba.arizona.edu&adT=PhD+in+Cell+Biology&adU=cordblood.com&adT=Are+you+Pregnant%3F+Act+Now&adU=MCW.edu/GraduateSchool&adT=Online+Clinical+Bioethics&gl=US" class="black"><br /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-84574971170783048982009-12-11T18:20:00.002-06:002009-12-24T14:37:12.138-06:00OBAMA - Peace and War<a href="http://s183.photobucket.com/albums/x203/gadflyrefuter/?action=view&current=peace-war.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x203/gadflyrefuter/peace-war.gif" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a><br /><br />COMMENTS:<br /><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a> <dl id="comments-block"><dt id="c3818743359135082618"> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/15106980850825103337" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">danielpagano</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Gods mill grinds slow but sure<a href="http://cam5320.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam5320.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam5320.com/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam530.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam530.com/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam520.net/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam520.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam333.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam333.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam258.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam258.com/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam222.net/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam222.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam176.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam176.com/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam080.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam080.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam080.com/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam0204.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://cam0204.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kisssex.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kissroom.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kissnice.net/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kissnice.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kissnice.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kisslive.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kissjp.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kissjp.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kisshi.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kisshi.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kiss104.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kiss0401.net/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kiss0401.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kiss0401.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.cam0401.net/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.cam173.net/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.cam173.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.cam173.com/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kissfree.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.kissfree.info/" rel="nofollow">.</a></p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Sunday, December 13, 2009 8:57:00 AM</p></dd></dl>Gadflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-46860015795499552442009-12-07T07:17:00.005-06:002009-12-08T21:06:47.343-06:00Chaplain Joins the Fray and Coins a Battlecry.<big><strong></strong></big><br /> <b>Chapel services were in progress at 7:55 a.m. on the morning of December 7, 1941 when Japanese bombs began raining on Pearl Harbor. Dedicated chaplains did their best to care for the wounded and comfort the dying. Aboard the cruiser <i>New Orleans</i> Chaplain Howell Fogey joined the human chain passing ammo to keep the big guns firing back. When one enemy Zero began to fall from the sky he paused long enough to echo what would become a national battlecry: <i>"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition."<br />click on link below for brief news item re: Chaplain Fogey<br /><br /></i></b><big><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/audio/11179/praise_the_lord_and_pass_the_ammunition.html">Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i219/worriedamerican/?action=view&current=5_praise.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i219/worriedamerican/5_praise.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></span></span></strong></big><b><i><br /></i></b>Gadflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-7748533893354834872009-12-07T05:19:00.005-06:002009-12-07T05:59:35.477-06:00Pearl Harbor - 68 Year AnniversaryCross posted at <a href="http://thefuturewasyesterday.blogspot.com/">http://thefuturewasyesterday.blogspot.com</a><br /><br /><h3 class="post-title entry-title"> </h3> <div class="post-body entry-content"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1-rJnS-F5HT9qK8jJ0BL3t3JVfHIOXkvQDzh4BMpwHiyWrvw7kAYNSY3An6HUpzrWzNeW0d7M2WpbDGh1-5lXpqzf79uEL4DDJDCW0Blaa4CAmd3sEFeg81WrIzs9mKR85gtDg/s1600-h/USSArizona_PearlHarbor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 317px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1-rJnS-F5HT9qK8jJ0BL3t3JVfHIOXkvQDzh4BMpwHiyWrvw7kAYNSY3An6HUpzrWzNeW0d7M2WpbDGh1-5lXpqzf79uEL4DDJDCW0Blaa4CAmd3sEFeg81WrIzs9mKR85gtDg/s400/USSArizona_PearlHarbor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412409529503780722" border="0" /></a>The USS Arizona burns, mortally wounded in attack on Pearl Habor by Japanese warplanes.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgto9W5v5MCHVvztCa0ejaScOXtefu6p6WVgM3HpI3b8OVXFsS3aRufPf4cbbuNsq3lxhpwtl91jbT6os5qDp2oPfLdPgsdpEH33YGPjy8iLxnf-Eyc2XDnv8gn0KAtDXWaGG0tmw/s1600-h/PearlHarborMemorial.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgto9W5v5MCHVvztCa0ejaScOXtefu6p6WVgM3HpI3b8OVXFsS3aRufPf4cbbuNsq3lxhpwtl91jbT6os5qDp2oPfLdPgsdpEH33YGPjy8iLxnf-Eyc2XDnv8gn0KAtDXWaGG0tmw/s400/PearlHarborMemorial.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412408719782127650" border="0" />Memorial, built over her sunken body, grave to the men who went down with her. 68 years later she still lies bleeding - large globs of oil, her life blood, rise to the surface now and then. </a><br /><br />To those Americans of a proper age to remember that awful "day of infamy", the anniversary is always an emotional time, dredging up the wounds to psyches that remain raw and painful beneath the surface, and reinjured during the terrible events of 9-11. I know Pearl Harbor only as history but my best friend and her peers were old enough to recall the attack and the reactions of the citizenry, how it affected the nation. I have seen my friend rock and weep on anniversaries and/or news reports, remembering old pains and griefs, and as she wept during 9-11 I asked her if that was like Pearl. She nodded wordlessly. There is more but it is not my story to tell.<br />........................................................................................................................<br /><br /><div class="img"> <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/pearl-harbor-artifact-rediscovered-68-years-after-attack-17010971;_ylt=AvSd.kLvRPoDfINlHJ1ILSyz174F;_ylu=X3oDMTE0bW9ucG1uBHBvcwMxBHNlYwNNd1ZpZGVvSHViQnJvd3NlBHNsawN0aHVtYg--" title="Pearl Harbor artifact rediscovered 68 years after attack" class="thumb yltasis"> <img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/i/bcst/associatedpress/apfree/262/98297340.jpg" class="ymg-17010971" alt="Pearl Harbor artifact rediscovered 68 years after attack" width="92" height="69" /> </a> <p class="now-playing-overlay"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/pearl-harbor-artifact-rediscovered-68-years-after-attack-17010971;_ylt=Ak3XMtUV7I0lOpZauGmsc6Kz174F;_ylu=X3oDMTE5NDJob2V1BHBvcwMxBHNlYwNNd1ZpZGVvSHViQnJvd3NlBHNsawNub3dwbGF5aW5n" title="Pearl Harbor artifact rediscovered 68 years after attack">Now Playing--click on thumbnail or title below to play video. Video has excerpts from news of that day. </a><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/pearl-harbor-artifact-rediscovered-68-years-after-attack-17010971;_ylt=AgoNoobUTCxetNxWgZxNhXGz174F;_ylu=X3oDMTE0amhjbW5jBHBvcwMxBHNlYwNNd1ZpZGVvSHViQnJvd3NlBHNsawN0aXRsZQ--" title="Pearl Harbor artifact rediscovered 68 years after attack" class="yltasis"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></a></p><p class="now-playing-overlay"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/pearl-harbor-artifact-rediscovered-68-years-after-attack-17010971;_ylt=AgoNoobUTCxetNxWgZxNhXGz174F;_ylu=X3oDMTE0amhjbW5jBHBvcwMxBHNlYwNNd1ZpZGVvSHViQnJvd3NlBHNsawN0aXRsZQ--" title="Pearl Harbor artifact rediscovered 68 years after attack" class="yltasis">Pearl Harbor artifact rediscovered 68 years after attack</a></p> </div> <p>Sun Dec 6, 3:53AM PT</p><p>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>></p><p>The extraordinary heroics performed by the man caught unawares by the sneak attack on that peaceful Sunday morning demonstrates how they rose bravely to their duty, how fiercely they battled, and some willingly, knowingly sacrificed their lives in the service of their comrades, their ships, and their country. There are too many to publish on a blog but the url below is to a site that briefly tells a few.<a name="SAWARN1d646ci" id="SAWARN1d646ci" original_name="" original_id="" real_href="http://www.homeofheroes.com/pearlharbor/pearl_6nevada.html" target="_blank" href="http://www.homeofheroes.com/pearlharbor/pearl_6nevada.html"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1260176207_0"> </span></a><span><a name="SAWARN1d646ci" id="SAWARN1d646ci" original_name="" original_id="" real_href="http://www.homeofheroes.com/pearlharbor/pearl_6nevada.html" target="_blank" href="http://www.homeofheroes.com/pearlharbor/pearl_6nevada.html"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1260176207_0">http://www.homeofheroes.com/pearlharbor/pearl_6nevada.html</span></a></span></p><p><span><a name="SAWARN1d646ci" id="SAWARN1d646ci" original_name="" original_id="" real_href="http://www.homeofheroes.com/pearlharbor/pearl_6nevada.html" target="_blank" href="http://www.homeofheroes.com/pearlharbor/pearl_6nevada.html"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1260176207_0"><br /></span></a></span></p></div>Gadflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-32849562119510496302009-11-30T03:12:00.012-06:002009-12-03T22:19:08.018-06:00Nazi Prison Guard Prosecuted -- Ballsy Kucinich<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6y3sKCJQ5F81eOKMhqjLfMpKiJs9XoYOhedwdrgKMet125w3GB3wg6lXKxk-DxQImI02dsT7d8FLlbVQFUOlSOs1shuK6xOTZE9v8t-hsSZ5xlVAbR84V_-wbtrrhAJIEI9o/s1600/Kucinich.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6y3sKCJQ5F81eOKMhqjLfMpKiJs9XoYOhedwdrgKMet125w3GB3wg6lXKxk-DxQImI02dsT7d8FLlbVQFUOlSOs1shuK6xOTZE9v8t-hsSZ5xlVAbR84V_-wbtrrhAJIEI9o/s400/Kucinich.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409826409419464402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Congressman Dennis Kucinich<br /><br />Cross Posted at <a href="http://thefuturewasyesterday.blogspot.com/2009/11/is-it-never-too-late-is-there-still.html">http://thefuturewasyesterday.blogspot.com/2009/11/is-it-never-too-late-is-there-still.html</a><br /><br />89 year old war crimes prison guard finally brought to trial. Accused of murdering 27,000 Jews of 250,000 in camp in 1943..<br /><br />Question: will Bush and Cheney ever be brought to trial for their war crimes? Will anyone ever have the balls to prosecute ?<br /><br />Will there be another Congressman Dennis Kucinich? He has had the guts to repeatedly try to get Bush and Cheney impeached.<br /><br /><h4 class="total"> Comments</h4> <span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a><span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/01720402367200293982" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">lacyjpyburn</a></span> said...<dl id="comments-block"><dd><p><a href="http://18gy.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://18jack.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://18tw.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://18xx.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://2010.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://168.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://13060.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://1007.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://www.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://007sex.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://0204.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://0401.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://0401a.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://0509.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://080.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://080cc.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://080ut.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://0951.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://24h.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://34c.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://66k.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://69.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://69vip.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://6k.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://777.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://adult.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://aio.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://bb.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://buty.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://chat.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://666.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://5403.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://5320.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://3d.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://3y3.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://45av.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://4h.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://4qk.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://4u.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://520.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://520sex.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://520show.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a><a href="http://5278.chatdx.me/" rel="nofollow">.</a></p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Monday, November 30, 2009 7:06:00 AM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=3159637901352654399" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c1828703007353615393"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/17283823157675990935" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6794/1635/1600/granny2.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="Granny" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="49" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/17283823157675990935" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Granny</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Grayson of Florida doesn't seem to be afraid of much.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Monday, November 30, 2009 7:39:00 AM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=1828703007353615393" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c8427774212318668297"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/434/lightning1be5.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="YELLOWDOG GRANNY" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="60" width="45" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">YELLOWDOG GRANNY</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>not as long as obama is kissing the generals asses..</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Monday, November 30, 2009 1:13:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=8427774212318668297" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd></dl>Gadflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-56832116048936071222009-11-25T02:13:00.018-06:002009-12-03T22:22:23.969-06:00Thanksgiving Greetings<span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Happy Thanksgiving from Is America Burning </span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrY4UALTgqqZWPZst1frkrci6JBCm0_ts8NOEbORJdIAK9yINH4_oWWlNPqdOPsAInC9o8SaC8BNOjv4w8wD4N96Jm_MX5NkCJvLBSkSoykplQB2MaUxvEOpwhfrOVy8-PBaqo/s1600/gd59.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 400px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407193251595630082" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrY4UALTgqqZWPZst1frkrci6JBCm0_ts8NOEbORJdIAK9yINH4_oWWlNPqdOPsAInC9o8SaC8BNOjv4w8wD4N96Jm_MX5NkCJvLBSkSoykplQB2MaUxvEOpwhfrOVy8-PBaqo/s400/gd59.gif" border="0" /></a>Comments:<br /><a name="comments"></a><br /><dl id="comments-block"><br /><dt id="c3169160697426551646"><br /><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow"><img class="profile" title="YELLOWDOG GRANNY" alt="" src="http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/434/lightning1be5.jpg" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="60" width="45" /></a></span></div><img class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" /> <span dir="ltr"><a onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow">YELLOWDOG GRANNY</a></span> said...</dt><br /><dd><br /><p>and to you ...Goddess bless you..</p><br /><p class="comment-timestamp">Wednesday, November 25, 2009 7:22:00 PM</p><span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" title="Delete Comment" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=3169160697426551646"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" alt="Delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" /></a></span> </dd><br /><dt id="c3229123761100738369"><br /><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785" rel="nofollow"><img class="profile" title="Gadfly" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZ2OGEpDlH33wtTqOY2ew62z1IrfPKAcG-cd9Ot3Wyx_WbVW9dsrr0vH_vOW_POGKbDC8YieCtY4jE2dZI2lNBzbBRD_gHZ9SG0Bi9_NR5TmGnniuN2kFhmN8znDJQ7Q_JKA/s220/tz3.gif" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="45" width="60" /></a></span></div><img class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" /> <span dir="ltr"><a onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785" rel="nofollow">Gadfly</a></span> said...</dt><br /><dd><br /><p>Thank you, Yellowdog Granny.</p><br /><p class="comment-timestamp">Thursday, November 26, 2009 8:34:00 PM</p></dd><dt id="c2756962138182897149"><img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/13980058154838873164" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">The Subversive Librarian</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to you. I'm grateful for another one clean and sober.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Friday, November 27, 2009 12:56:00 AM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=2756962138182897149" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c8963431074207981442"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/17283823157675990935" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6794/1635/1600/granny2.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="Granny" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="49" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/17283823157675990935" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Granny</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>I'm belated too. We're having our Thanksgiving tomorrow because it was the only time both boys could make it. Jim is stationed with the Guard in LA and Tim will probably be moving there soon since that's where Juan's work is. Jim tells me he'll probably be headed for Afghanistan around July.<br /><br />"Subversive" - me too. If I stay out of trouble until December 26, I'll have 30 years.<br /><br />Take care, everybody.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Friday, November 27, 2009 8:23:00 AM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=8963431074207981442" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd></dl><br /><p class="comment-timestamp"></p><br /><p><span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" title="Delete Comment" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=3229123761100738369"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" alt="Delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" /></a></span></p>Gadflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-44866248459608370062009-11-15T10:14:00.006-06:002009-11-19T17:09:35.880-06:00Groan! Our fearless leader!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0XcKSNY2_qEH_os9gB5U7EHttq50ZeSPgWmKnTm5zRa-Xa7nuXmN5l5Ti5E0h0GHZhW630biSRnpC_oql9lTeLscnzS0vwQiOjQ_RVnIzcROxi0mEk764bnXi4cY8AyUFFTC5Q/s1600-h/nick+anderson+cartoon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0XcKSNY2_qEH_os9gB5U7EHttq50ZeSPgWmKnTm5zRa-Xa7nuXmN5l5Ti5E0h0GHZhW630biSRnpC_oql9lTeLscnzS0vwQiOjQ_RVnIzcROxi0mEk764bnXi4cY8AyUFFTC5Q/s400/nick+anderson+cartoon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404364642318374098" border="0" /></a>From the Chronicle's resident cartoonist; Nick Anderson. Nove. 15, 2009<br />Houston, Chronicle.<br /><br />COMMENTS:<br /><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a> <dl id="comments-block"><dt id="c2112340818623636524"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/434/lightning1be5.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="YELLOWDOG GRANNY" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="45" height="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">YELLOWDOG GRANNY</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>'good hair' perry strikes again..just when you think he can't say anything dumber...? he does it again..</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Sunday, November 15, 2009 12:48:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=2112340818623636524" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c2184405954443479468"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/17283823157675990935" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6794/1635/1600/granny2.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="Granny" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="49" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/17283823157675990935" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Granny</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>If I weren't so fond of my TX friends, I would have suggested he not let the door hit his ass on the way out.<br /><br />I know most of you are sane but why does he remain so popular?<br /><br />Not that TX has the market cornered of course. We have our own share of freaks right in sunny CA.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Sunday, November 15, 2009 1:44:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=2184405954443479468" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c3661338936363752491"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZ2OGEpDlH33wtTqOY2ew62z1IrfPKAcG-cd9Ot3Wyx_WbVW9dsrr0vH_vOW_POGKbDC8YieCtY4jE2dZI2lNBzbBRD_gHZ9SG0Bi9_NR5TmGnniuN2kFhmN8znDJQ7Q_JKA/s220/tz3.gif" class="profile" alt="" title="Gadfly" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="45" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Gadfly</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Yellowdog Granny: Amen! Be so glad to be rid of him. Just hope his replacement isn't equally bad.<br /><br />Granny Ann: It's a mystery to me. Everybody you talk to swears they didn't vote for him but SOMEBODY voted that dork into office!!</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Tuesday, November 17, 2009 6:10:00 PM</p></dd><dd><br /></dd><dd><span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=3661338936363752491" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c6713494515418288520"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/04849342568392852434" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://blognonymous.com/images/kvatch.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="Kvatch" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/04849342568392852434" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Kvatch</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p><i>If I weren't so fond of my TX friends, I would have suggested he not let the door hit his ass on the way out.</i><br /><br />Why not? Though the real fireworks will come when Senator 'Helmet Hair' meets Perry in the Republican primary. I'm going to sell tickets...now that I'm, once again, a resident of the state of my upbringing.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Thursday, November 19, 2009 3:05:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=6713494515418288520" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c2214448699667002301"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/17283823157675990935" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6794/1635/1600/granny2.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="Granny" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="49" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/17283823157675990935" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Granny</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Hey, Kvatch<br /><br />If enough of you move back, possibly you can restore the state to sanity.<br /><br />Gadfly<br /><br />Yep and we were dumb enough to vote for the governator - twice. I don't generally approve of term limits but in our case I was grateful.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Thursday, November 19, 2009 3:35:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=2214448699667002301" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dd><span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=3661338936363752491" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span></dd></dl>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-52155376060062520732009-11-12T00:49:00.013-06:002009-11-12T12:39:38.750-06:00Murdered Soldiers - and a WWI Survivor.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgTW-Ivc-mrYhLYSj1qdEd2UeidSgmFhfpSlBX9g55aDHnJKv1xzFnKwGLe0vMqPbD6nCdGvZRjefo0KcOZKgxkiIwPlP3VjoXu9gp-k5TNxYZLoid7SBUNsvfKe95ihbU0kmEQ/s1600-h/poppies_bottom.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgTW-Ivc-mrYhLYSj1qdEd2UeidSgmFhfpSlBX9g55aDHnJKv1xzFnKwGLe0vMqPbD6nCdGvZRjefo0KcOZKgxkiIwPlP3VjoXu9gp-k5TNxYZLoid7SBUNsvfKe95ihbU0kmEQ/s400/poppies_bottom.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403111228514972370" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Re: the murdered at Fort Hood, Texas.<br /><br />Yellowdog Granny at: <a href="http://yellowdoggrannie.blogspot.com/">http://yellowdoggrannie.blogspot.com</a> has posted a thumbnail bio on each of the victims where they come alive to us as people instead of just names. Read her post at the above address, scroll down to the following post:<br /><h2 class="date-header">"Tuesday, November 10, 2009</h2> <!-- Begin .post --> <a name="462591964210833875"></a> <h3 class="post-title"> GODDESS BLESS YOU ONE AND ALL" </h3><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgTW-Ivc-mrYhLYSj1qdEd2UeidSgmFhfpSlBX9g55aDHnJKv1xzFnKwGLe0vMqPbD6nCdGvZRjefo0KcOZKgxkiIwPlP3VjoXu9gp-k5TNxYZLoid7SBUNsvfKe95ihbU0kmEQ/s1600-h/poppies_bottom.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgTW-Ivc-mrYhLYSj1qdEd2UeidSgmFhfpSlBX9g55aDHnJKv1xzFnKwGLe0vMqPbD6nCdGvZRjefo0KcOZKgxkiIwPlP3VjoXu9gp-k5TNxYZLoid7SBUNsvfKe95ihbU0kmEQ/s400/poppies_bottom.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403111228514972370" border="0" /></a><br /><br />and take the opportunity to wish her a happy 66th birthday for November 11th.<br /><br />..................................................................................................................<br />A World War I Survivor... passed away in 1992 at age 93. My Father.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyR3J1gECJ-4S-nRH0o4IFEaEvHb1aIs00oGu4PXP74ZCaUHopccI3O7_azh9ruHf_XakgBgou7tM5vXFdTHYxtmwf96db6Vcuel53AL-koNvjw9yrGsXDhfU43oI3MWaB4mUGOg/s1600-h/img019.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyR3J1gECJ-4S-nRH0o4IFEaEvHb1aIs00oGu4PXP74ZCaUHopccI3O7_azh9ruHf_XakgBgou7tM5vXFdTHYxtmwf96db6Vcuel53AL-koNvjw9yrGsXDhfU43oI3MWaB4mUGOg/s400/img019.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403111232890880578" border="0" /></a>(Photo taken from my daughter's family album. This is my father: J.L.W. - WWI - US Army - Wagoneer. He suffered a knee injury when firing a Knee Mortar, an obsolete weapon now.)<br /><br />November 11th was also my father's birthday. During WWI he and other soldiers were in a field near camp digging some thing when they heard shouting, gunfire and a huge hullaballoo. The camp had just received word of the Armistice --the war was over. One of his comrades wondered aloud what was going on. My father casually joked, "I guess they're celebrating my birthday".<br />The grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren get quite a laugh about the uniform but we tell them it is the man inside that matters, not military fashion of the day. The only physical injuries he suffered was the knee injury but he was plagued by horrific memories for many years. All wars are terrible.<br /><br />COMMENTS:<br /><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a> <dl id="comments-block"><dt id="c8017545388139366976"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/02936191114678131655" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHFUdPnbj33F8FsoycfUkMJ506wvgE5CrEVOa_QFliWQe0LfRT68TxpCX5WPjumQL8DP_QtMRPAjbnZPt6yAqSz03YQlp15ph0hjvetAnWnFwXyyeJKeB1Bz7gkOW3BV8PkN2/s220/rose12.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="Dusty Rose" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="45" height="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/02936191114678131655" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Dusty Rose</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>It was good of Yellowdog Granny to post all those bios. The memorial service was really moving.<br /><br />I'm glad you posted this about Grandpa. I used to laugh at his uniform but I don't any more. I love and respect the man inside that uniform. He was a hell of a man!</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Thursday, November 12, 2009 2:21:00 AM</p></dd><dd><dl id="comments-block"><dd><span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=8017545388139366976" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c8440072174299691866"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/434/lightning1be5.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="YELLOWDOG GRANNY" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="45" height="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">YELLOWDOG GRANNY</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>thanks..I thought it was important for everyone to know who they were..not just the 13 that got killed...</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:50:00 AM</p></dd></dl> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=8017545388139366976" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span></dd></dl>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-329609888934738582009-11-10T13:57:00.012-06:002009-11-11T20:11:30.729-06:00Honor our Veterans. Remember Those We Have Lost.<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">"A country needs to be reminded that warriors have died, and that Memorial Day and Veterans' Day are not just days for picnics at the beach."</span></span></span><br /><br />Tribute to Our Vets from Revolutionary War to Present<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wAX9pA8pgZA&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wAX9pA8pgZA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />..............................................<br />Like a Rock<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nZfRE2GqQPk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nZfRE2GqQPk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />..................................<br /><br />Ten years, twenty years, fifty years, a hundred years - it doesn't matter. Time and the march of our warriors stretch back and back into the mists of time. Every generation has its heroes, hard bodied, beautiful, strong young bodies going to war and as they age, they recall their youthful years. We see some in their 80s and 90s, frail, white haired, but looking past the ravages of time we see them as they once were, "arrow straight, bearing the weight" of the duties and responsibilities thrust upon them. We owe them. Our nation owes them. We owe them debts that can never be paid. The very least we can do is honor them and remember them and thank them.<br /><br />Comments:<br /><h4 class="total"> 2 Comments:</h4><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a> <dl id="comments-block"><dt id="c706322966352168831"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/434/lightning1be5.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="YELLOWDOG GRANNY" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="45" height="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">YELLOWDOG GRANNY</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>goddess bless them one and all.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Wednesday, November 11, 2009 3:48:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=706322966352168831" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c3866743068507226120"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOVNhJ4qU9iEjoXo5lWAP9yINR78ZdqSW-skDnfLPn45tsyBp7FSrC8qXgk4hr62hmTGQIj7J15xnpEa_VCATC_IcXPNs9ViCgzd17yOSxE7LMUIBM-leeadpuRLdMPb70rYj7g/s220/ty.gif" class="profile" alt="" title="Worried American" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="56" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Worried American</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>May it be so, for every one of them.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Wednesday, November 11, 2009 8:10:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=3866743068507226120" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd></dl>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-910070121530311932009-11-05T00:33:00.006-06:002009-11-10T08:34:53.850-06:00SH*T HAPPENS!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7xLarF6JdDFNgz-KdaoBa8rnc5T8iiic-vvnrylEf7AZrSJWLesyln9EZZ6vU3haDsTpz_xPrOQG4V2wy2Uu9Tzfor1wIWEm4XwMU99IUbNQ5dOs0Xml609NJ5H8TkO-KpX9PA/s1600-h/shthap-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7xLarF6JdDFNgz-KdaoBa8rnc5T8iiic-vvnrylEf7AZrSJWLesyln9EZZ6vU3haDsTpz_xPrOQG4V2wy2Uu9Tzfor1wIWEm4XwMU99IUbNQ5dOs0Xml609NJ5H8TkO-KpX9PA/s400/shthap-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382706554029671826" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9Edj_Z-RJyhm-ikzz6lOPhxP8ZZDUzEyR0uNdXo-zRhg1_iJrJVYFR_u31YJf4nkN3Aqy7LbZ9K0MQY7nNBYeyaVDJWGtpu4ie0q28FUja2LuZORZ0AUQMrl2QQxoGQ9hBNBHg/s1600-h/shthap-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9Edj_Z-RJyhm-ikzz6lOPhxP8ZZDUzEyR0uNdXo-zRhg1_iJrJVYFR_u31YJf4nkN3Aqy7LbZ9K0MQY7nNBYeyaVDJWGtpu4ie0q28FUja2LuZORZ0AUQMrl2QQxoGQ9hBNBHg/s400/shthap-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382706392313681570" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5_CN65g4be0mQ84-7l6ouleuNkBYmJPOFmk-TBNBmHAoa6ErR6cEPprpNF_aSUPy6YxhWbY5uY6hFe-NnRoXA3NPTpO7JyCX-_a6kX9uvTzhppgpkiD6ho0hajD1n4kliVzpMw/s1600-h/shthap-3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5_CN65g4be0mQ84-7l6ouleuNkBYmJPOFmk-TBNBmHAoa6ErR6cEPprpNF_aSUPy6YxhWbY5uY6hFe-NnRoXA3NPTpO7JyCX-_a6kX9uvTzhppgpkiD6ho0hajD1n4kliVzpMw/s400/shthap-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382706373184994066" border="0" /></a>Uh Oh!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Ams3pVOsky1rvPvME34xuSP75xSnuE25TT4EBMLzy5wST9T9XWuFaUEZcfa_ANGExatiecYUfyEf_UL_rX5qlw6WSNxO9AkknrPy0_l3CwrMVws1O9utuoPUdTPiE7vihU3WsQ/s1600-h/shthap-4a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Ams3pVOsky1rvPvME34xuSP75xSnuE25TT4EBMLzy5wST9T9XWuFaUEZcfa_ANGExatiecYUfyEf_UL_rX5qlw6WSNxO9AkknrPy0_l3CwrMVws1O9utuoPUdTPiE7vihU3WsQ/s400/shthap-4a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382706370596767250" border="0" /></a>Definitely an "Aw Shit!" moment.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYlhN_VgkQbotd4MRWlWeGZ3tE8BjiDY7ffQ2Ml9Bhphn1hR0EF7X2kaqRVeKKI1Mtc6Qo2vVIXKlC4CC46UIfEdJwxPHIgF4-JpuVRcvU8JKQZJ39boOCmbad0_LEetja_KHkA/s1600-h/shthap-4b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYlhN_VgkQbotd4MRWlWeGZ3tE8BjiDY7ffQ2Ml9Bhphn1hR0EF7X2kaqRVeKKI1Mtc6Qo2vVIXKlC4CC46UIfEdJwxPHIgF4-JpuVRcvU8JKQZJ39boOCmbad0_LEetja_KHkA/s400/shthap-4b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382706359905836274" border="0" /></a>How in hell did they manage THAT?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQS4xNH-O0z_5ZdGJYDOTg7cVyYtFSIxw9GM5KT_4kuLxLERrMqD_AGI8HOqi76m09kRmQMv-3JlzdQH1AqYxebDq4vEQuIvI-U1Ix_6F6yb1Mm827G4Cf2JFD994gSBrnJh8dA/s1600-h/shthap-5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQS4xNH-O0z_5ZdGJYDOTg7cVyYtFSIxw9GM5KT_4kuLxLERrMqD_AGI8HOqi76m09kRmQMv-3JlzdQH1AqYxebDq4vEQuIvI-U1Ix_6F6yb1Mm827G4Cf2JFD994gSBrnJh8dA/s400/shthap-5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382706346212369362" border="0" /></a>Or THIS?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVepGkqD12h2sdWB7sEQkhcrwjucsWagAMuQE0RDvP43sSy3sPOcC-U5xS47rCWpInum6_heU4KP5awXDi_wSe5GTCPDNv50adXnaz03pxxJQ2hBHoNQ8Wj9xjCUmiuK7BYhQ_BQ/s1600-h/shthap-6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVepGkqD12h2sdWB7sEQkhcrwjucsWagAMuQE0RDvP43sSy3sPOcC-U5xS47rCWpInum6_heU4KP5awXDi_wSe5GTCPDNv50adXnaz03pxxJQ2hBHoNQ8Wj9xjCUmiuK7BYhQ_BQ/s400/shthap-6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382705607147186386" border="0" /></a>OMG! Gonna come right through the windshield!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcCo7wwr6T6rUmzxgnTsNIKlCQi8xigGs7mbwgGo0Z_dl2DGjjFAXF0YGwrDF4TmhHLDRIQB-bC1XjncBjdlGjTWqpwouzn_JXMlAicu84B5V5jThiE1YK6AmDaoIf7bYTM2HvIw/s1600-h/shthap-7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcCo7wwr6T6rUmzxgnTsNIKlCQi8xigGs7mbwgGo0Z_dl2DGjjFAXF0YGwrDF4TmhHLDRIQB-bC1XjncBjdlGjTWqpwouzn_JXMlAicu84B5V5jThiE1YK6AmDaoIf7bYTM2HvIw/s400/shthap-7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382705591447404018" border="0" /></a>Back your stupid asses up very carefully until you're back on land. If that flood rises a few more inches you're gonna get swept off that causeway. Idiots!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yMLX0G44Arz8YqFew_r_9gvnfnrVgR1kyPGqmjsRHCQ0uUyl3VsNZgpEBg1lKVXA32ODMJKViuLfCzUo7xOVou4vHpp9wEm1_O-CQ6M0lEjxWB4br-lwXxbknvmAdH9YG-r21A/s1600-h/shthap-8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yMLX0G44Arz8YqFew_r_9gvnfnrVgR1kyPGqmjsRHCQ0uUyl3VsNZgpEBg1lKVXA32ODMJKViuLfCzUo7xOVou4vHpp9wEm1_O-CQ6M0lEjxWB4br-lwXxbknvmAdH9YG-r21A/s400/shthap-8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382705579497094594" border="0" /></a>Say, Buddy, you put your underwear on backwards.Besides which, you're in a world of shit!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivK5A9vfJN1iLJlpKOntIt4zu5AzBVZCovCvtiRuxmTclmv-gs9bGibixFv8P852zhJufmTa3NtaFJ5_qc2SgXUAH1UqYoS4k3QD5ICA0i55b6EQTQFeKe046BG7JF_DOM67noHQ/s1600-h/shthap-9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivK5A9vfJN1iLJlpKOntIt4zu5AzBVZCovCvtiRuxmTclmv-gs9bGibixFv8P852zhJufmTa3NtaFJ5_qc2SgXUAH1UqYoS4k3QD5ICA0i55b6EQTQFeKe046BG7JF_DOM67noHQ/s400/shthap-9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382705569361252754" border="0" /></a>OOPS!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnwm0Jqta4F2UjOdlEAgs7Kp5PRxWH9IK9fpx87qDxRUMSRlfIq6n7zU_yr8ClK1tDRr_YdM9aF9H5hvFyeU9aPuv5LbbrFSwEJQibVRImqzOISu9mOn7Pzi-T8G_hKbYhPWSOQ/s1600-h/shthap-10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnwm0Jqta4F2UjOdlEAgs7Kp5PRxWH9IK9fpx87qDxRUMSRlfIq6n7zU_yr8ClK1tDRr_YdM9aF9H5hvFyeU9aPuv5LbbrFSwEJQibVRImqzOISu9mOn7Pzi-T8G_hKbYhPWSOQ/s400/shthap-10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382704969929137730" border="0" /></a>Humans= 0 Bull=100<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0kbVW4fks9qbruPUPn9wBCeDW2DQMZaEsZFwsHnPd3cD_1ulaAnZge6ekDKJkr-TU4JwMx0MPXMAE3vS7-LembXLS47v_hZfeO2xmj3gPL7gjmdLi37ka6IlNJ5nbpuGt8jdUg/s1600-h/shthap-11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 338px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0kbVW4fks9qbruPUPn9wBCeDW2DQMZaEsZFwsHnPd3cD_1ulaAnZge6ekDKJkr-TU4JwMx0MPXMAE3vS7-LembXLS47v_hZfeO2xmj3gPL7gjmdLi37ka6IlNJ5nbpuGt8jdUg/s400/shthap-11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382704959492540562" border="0" /></a>Hey Guy! You're supposed to hang onto the handle bars! Ba-a-a-d landing ahead!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeALvmam3XrCYA4GDP85-Dvv5lujaDRhHWsz97Wx5Ahyphenhyphen5k3eQsJE-DrW8SahKnkzLnErEcnPCSfx3-MxdF-I3nhXUiZE5v7DdO7Ly2FnCINDa5fgrmUFSzURmYp3fYzLVt9OgJA/s1600-h/shthap-12.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 344px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeALvmam3XrCYA4GDP85-Dvv5lujaDRhHWsz97Wx5Ahyphenhyphen5k3eQsJE-DrW8SahKnkzLnErEcnPCSfx3-MxdF-I3nhXUiZE5v7DdO7Ly2FnCINDa5fgrmUFSzURmYp3fYzLVt9OgJA/s400/shthap-12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382704952046420978" border="0" /></a>Um...you got a little close to film the action, didn't you, Buddy?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdWG4RqgisrXgbQtt5RyFfMO_sYBCk7mCHV8H7PZuFsOUo4FtOnB7t4fP7dhWYWxti3u3QsCKQArFIfQu-GSCSuuyWS5tD_nEw7hRpipDS8NqlFS_VntRrv0fyTlkdkluKW816w/s1600-h/shthap-13.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 316px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdWG4RqgisrXgbQtt5RyFfMO_sYBCk7mCHV8H7PZuFsOUo4FtOnB7t4fP7dhWYWxti3u3QsCKQArFIfQu-GSCSuuyWS5tD_nEw7hRpipDS8NqlFS_VntRrv0fyTlkdkluKW816w/s400/shthap-13.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382704937377224770" border="0" /></a>YeeHaw! Ride 'em Cowboy! A dedicated player will go to great lengths to make the basket.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbzPnwQ9IdFP3f46MfsAb9RiB4dbo4RuEATEVFkgWArg7rv15fmWV4hWsba3h5Tuw-QHQ4b6mAguXrPsznrELhDW_eLbr-jGaW9vSwBAvzJP46GtLNXksbz4lUyB87eot7_SiKcw/s1600-h/shthap-14.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbzPnwQ9IdFP3f46MfsAb9RiB4dbo4RuEATEVFkgWArg7rv15fmWV4hWsba3h5Tuw-QHQ4b6mAguXrPsznrELhDW_eLbr-jGaW9vSwBAvzJP46GtLNXksbz4lUyB87eot7_SiKcw/s400/shthap-14.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382704928561513250" border="0" /></a>If he was backing up to get a good shot, he might have gotten a good snap of the water hitting his face.<br /><br />COMMENTS:<span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=3188193483740328277" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span><dl id="comments-block"><dd><br /></dd><dt id="c8119165749816243504"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/434/lightning1be5.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="YELLOWDOG GRANNY" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="45" height="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14906624317290990109" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">YELLOWDOG GRANNY</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>cracked me up..</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Sunday, November 08, 2009 1:49:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=8119165749816243504" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c4458529288027938758"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOVNhJ4qU9iEjoXo5lWAP9yINR78ZdqSW-skDnfLPn45tsyBp7FSrC8qXgk4hr62hmTGQIj7J15xnpEa_VCATC_IcXPNs9ViCgzd17yOSxE7LMUIBM-leeadpuRLdMPb70rYj7g/s220/ty.gif" class="profile" alt="" title="Worried American" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="56" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Worried American</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Good Heavens! Some of these events undoubtedly ended in tragedy!! Scary!</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Monday, November 09, 2009 3:42:00 AM</p></dd><dd><br /></dd><dd><dl id="comments-block"><dd><span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=4458529288027938758" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c5327538813848305356"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/13980058154838873164" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/911/1056/1600/librarian1.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="The Subversive Librarian" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="50" height="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/13980058154838873164" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">The Subversive Librarian</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Oh, my!</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Monday, November 09, 2009 2:10:00 PM</p></dd></dl> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=4458529288027938758" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span></dd></dl>Gadflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-77271317275014569042009-11-01T05:30:00.012-06:002009-11-02T23:39:52.448-06:00Obama meets military death plane, speaks with grieving families<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtawV5IdGnN-eTucAHK-XSg20zZalbrFxnh6sVe758cqlk6LPurnS3opAKX3WZ801MyMawAFHDn4njy-F6XOfBkeBtfnH66AlL0BGis6HkjS0EewSY3LYDvTIZjClY45FhCtd/s1600-h/obama-dover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtawV5IdGnN-eTucAHK-XSg20zZalbrFxnh6sVe758cqlk6LPurnS3opAKX3WZ801MyMawAFHDn4njy-F6XOfBkeBtfnH66AlL0BGis6HkjS0EewSY3LYDvTIZjClY45FhCtd/s400/obama-dover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399741242310905874" border="0" /></a>President Barack Obama and Army Assistant Judge Advocate Maj. Gen. Daniel Wright salute as an Army carry team transports the case containing the remains of Sgt. Dale R. Griffin of Terre Haute, Ind., at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Del.<div id="TixyyLink" style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-stretch: inherit;" valign="top"><div id="yiv521178978"><br /><br /><div class="kicker"><nyt_kicker>Editorial</nyt_kicker></div> <h1> <nyt_headline version="1.0" type=" "> The Commander's Duty Done</nyt_headline></h1>In his midnight mission to honor the returning war dead, President Obama did more than personally extend the nation’s condolences to grieving families gathered at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Without uttering a public word, Mr. Obama erased President George W. Bush’s shameful attempts to hide the pain of war from Americans and to shield himself from paying public tribute to the thousands who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.<br /><br /><nyt_text> <p>The long-overdue <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/us/30obama.html?ref=world" title="The Times's article on Mr. Obama's visit to Dover AFB">display of national gratitude</a> and regret by the commander in chief rekindled a note of most solemn ritual that the country owes sons and daughters in uniform sacrificed in war. The president was restoring a post-Vietnam tradition that included the graphic embraces and wrenching words personally extended by President Ronald Reagan to the families of the 241 soldiers, sailors and Marines who perished 26 years ago in the bombing of the Marines' camp in Lebanon.</p><p>The Bush policy was to prohibit any news media coverage of the returning war dead and to never show the president within a camera-lens' length of the dolorous homecomings. Under Mr. Obama, the Pentagon reversed the no-coverage policy in February. On Thursday, the president himself took the necessary next step.</p><p>He silently saluted in the morning darkness as the remains of 18 Americans killed this week in Afghanistan were transferred from a military transport. He spent close to two hours talking in private with stricken families. One of them gave approval for the news media to show the nation its loved one's arrival before the president and assembled officers. Within minutes, of course, bloggers were reacting. Some were grateful. Others denounced Mr. Obama for photo-op exploitation even as they demanded he hurry up and decide whether to send tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan. </p><p>The true cost of war must never be denied by the nation or its leader. Mr. Obama's visit was entirely appropriate as he faces the decision of what comes next in Afghanistan. The pity is President Bush never dared as much.</p><nyt_update_bottom> </nyt_update_bottom> </nyt_text> <div class="nextArticleLink clearfix"> <a onclick="s_code_linktrack('Article-MoreArticlesBottom');" href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html">More Articles in Opinion »</a> <span>A version of this article appeared in print on October 30, 2009, on page A30 of the New York edition.<br />................................................................................<br /><br /></span><h3><a href="http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0Kjq7N7v.9KAA8BGOcPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTExNmlyNXFkBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDNARjb2xvA3NwMQR2dGlkAwRsA1dTMQ--/SIG=12h9n2djg/EXP=1257312507/**http%3A//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33526742/ns/politics-white_house/" target="_top"><span class="highlight">Obama</span> calls <span class="highlight">Dover</span> visit a 'sobering reminder' - White House <span class="highlight">...</span></a><a id="LXPLSS_1861527800"><img style="visibility: hidden;" onmouseout="HideFlyover(event)" onmouseover="PopupFlyover(event,'','','')" id="XPLSS_1861527800H" src="chrome://searchshield/content/unknown.gif" border="0" hspace="5" /></a> </h3> <p class="snippet">President Barack <span class="highlight">Obama</span> says the sight of 18 cases holding the remains of Americans killed in <span class="highlight">Afghanistan</span> can't help but influence his thinking about sending more <span class="highlight">...</span></p> <em class="yschurl">www.<span class="highlight">msnbc.msn.com</span>/id/33526742/ns/politics-white_house<br />...................................................................................................<br /><br />Think about it, Mr. President. Bring the rest home while alive and well and don't send any more over there.<br /></em> </div><br /><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-45262581252648147962009-11-01T04:08:00.004-06:002009-11-02T22:53:51.094-06:00Fall Back - Day Light Savings Time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RTxFvUqDzCmx4RkG5dYrqaXZfuyvbvz-M_x0y64Rqm4GcNETIJiWZJ_GhiKT3qy_nUsoH2aPvuO_kJsKSJOvP2B3s1faF-yP7dEPgEL-KYbNKL9fgMTbpI8NzJVrZzuLpl6QRQ/s1600-h/sundaylightsavingstime.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RTxFvUqDzCmx4RkG5dYrqaXZfuyvbvz-M_x0y64Rqm4GcNETIJiWZJ_GhiKT3qy_nUsoH2aPvuO_kJsKSJOvP2B3s1faF-yP7dEPgEL-KYbNKL9fgMTbpI8NzJVrZzuLpl6QRQ/s400/sundaylightsavingstime.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399011815396504226" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Fall Back -<br /><br />Comments:<br /><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a> <dl id="comments-block"><dt id="c4295241101956456545"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06515544130113138363" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7Djs6TV-htw/SUtAWqPEegI/AAAAAAAAAes/_ykkLeCgr4I/S220/Dogshit1.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="The Future Was Yesterday" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="43" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06515544130113138363" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">The Future Was Yesterday</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>I have a question - who in hell gets up a 2 A.M. to turn back their clocks?<br /><br />Other than Texans, I mean.:)</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Monday, November 02, 2009 12:29:00 AM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=4295241101956456545" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c3569149823940695025"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZ2OGEpDlH33wtTqOY2ew62z1IrfPKAcG-cd9Ot3Wyx_WbVW9dsrr0vH_vOW_POGKbDC8YieCtY4jE2dZI2lNBzbBRD_gHZ9SG0Bi9_NR5TmGnniuN2kFhmN8znDJQ7Q_JKA/s220/tz3.gif" class="profile" alt="" title="Gadfly" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="45" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Gadfly</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Hell fire. SHE was still up. I don't think I was; I think I might've been passed out on my neighbor's lawn.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Monday, November 02, 2009 10:52:00 PM</p></dd></dl>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-84038140210273915952009-10-30T21:26:00.002-05:002009-10-30T21:28:27.247-05:00Health Care Bill - Ted Poe - Videos<h2>I am not fond of Ted Poe but sometimes he makes some valid points, or poses pertinent questions.<br /> </h2><h2><br /></h2><h2>Congressman Ted Poe on the Health Care Bill</h2> <div id="playnav-video-play-uploads-1-s0i21YXOk4U" class="playnav-item playnav-video"> <div style="display: none;" class="encryptedVideoId">s0i21YXOk4U</div> <div class="content"> <div class="playnav-video-thumb link-as-border-color"> <div class="v90WideEntry"><div class="v90WrapperOuter"><div class="v90WrapperInner"><a id="video-url-s0i21YXOk4U" class="video-thumb-link" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0i21YXOk4U" onclick="playnav.playVideo('uploads','1','s0i21YXOk4U');return false;" rel="nofollow"><img title="Constitutional Issues in Health Care Bill 10-29-2009" src="http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/s0i21YXOk4U/default.jpg" class="vimg90 yt-uix-hovercard-target" alt="Constitutional Issues in Health Care Bill 10-29-2009" /></a></div></div></div> </div> <div class="playnav-video-info"> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0i21YXOk4U" class="playnav-item-title ellipsis" onclick="playnav.playVideo('uploads','1','s0i21YXOk4U');return false;" id="playnav-video-title-play-uploads-1-s0i21YXOk4U"><span>Constitutional Issues in Health Care Bill 10-29-2009</span></a> <div class="metadata"> 28 views - 20 hours ago </div> <div style="display: none;" id="playnav-video-play-uploads-1">s0i21YXOk4U</div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="playnav-video-play-uploads-2-a4Si3HzUrPI" class="playnav-item playnav-video"> <div style="display: none;" class="encryptedVideoId">a4Si3HzUrPI</div> <div class="content"> <div class="playnav-video-thumb link-as-border-color"> <div class="v90WideEntry"><div class="v90WrapperOuter"><div class="v90WrapperInner"><a id="video-url-a4Si3HzUrPI" class="video-thumb-link" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4Si3HzUrPI" onclick="playnav.playVideo('uploads','2','a4Si3HzUrPI');return false;" rel="nofollow"><br /></a></div></div></div> </div></div> </div> <div id="playnav-video-play-uploads-3-Cw9eELp3TR8" class="playnav-item playnav-video"> <div style="display: none;" class="encryptedVideoId">Cw9eELp3TR8</div> <div class="content"> <div class="playnav-video-thumb link-as-border-color"> <div class="v90WideEntry"><div class="v90WrapperOuter"><div class="v90WrapperInner"><a id="video-url-Cw9eELp3TR8" class="video-thumb-link" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw9eELp3TR8" onclick="playnav.playVideo('uploads','3','Cw9eELp3TR8');return false;" rel="nofollow"><br /></a></div></div></div> </div></div> </div> <div style="display: none;" class="encryptedVideoId">eYX-063H0Dw</div> <div class="playnav-video-thumb link-as-border-color"> <div class="v90WideEntry"><div class="v90WrapperOuter"><div class="v90WrapperInner"><a id="video-url-eYX-063H0Dw" class="video-thumb-link" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYX-063H0Dw" onclick="playnav.playVideo('uploads','4','eYX-063H0Dw');return false;" rel="nofollow"><img title="HALLOWEEN HEALTH CARE BILL 10-27-2009" src="http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/eYX-063H0Dw/default.jpg" class="vimg90 yt-uix-hovercard-target" alt="HALLOWEEN HEALTH CARE BILL 10-27-2009" /></a></div></div></div> </div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYX-063H0Dw" class="playnav-item-title ellipsis" onclick="playnav.playVideo('uploads','4','eYX-063H0Dw');return false;" id="playnav-video-title-play-uploads-4-eYX-063H0Dw"><span>HALLOWEEN HEALTH CARE BILL 10-27-2009</span></a> <div class="metadata"> 57 views - 2 days ago </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-19824092601390839022009-10-26T20:30:00.003-05:002009-10-26T20:49:53.829-05:00Spider Mystery Solvedhttp://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2008/jan/ed_2/<br /><br />I enjoy camping out by the lakes but although I appreciate this phenomenom as a scientific curiosity, my personal curiosity is not stirred sufficiently to entice me to view it. I don't like spiders and have no desire to get close to such a population explosion of them. Brrr! Gives me the shudders to think of it. The Old Woman (Worried American) is fairly tolerant of spiders and was curious about this explosion when the news first broke. she didn't make the drive to view it. I have noted that her spider tolerance has limits, however. Once when we were returning from Corpus Christi and crossed a bridge over a body of water, she spotted thick stands of the pest water hyacinth growing at the water's edge. She wanted a few specimens to float in one of her patio fountain bowls so waded through the knee high weeds to get some. Once there, she finally noted that practically every weed sported a web of a baby golden orb weaver spiderling, a spider of which she is NOT fond. Damn! I didn't know the old woman could move so fast -- uphill, too! She tore it up getting back to the car, without the water hyacinths. :)<br />........................................................................................................................<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHc2RTdypGwx5-H1ZTFPlMX01l9h-qibR62wFlT4k6ouAKIC-gUVH8YFt6LY0swJa_TGGeZqd5sO4UVuNOuF3v_V4Nxgi8xpz4pt4SXaY3uZVQgOKzSKoTlqqqHWVVmGsS8aYWQ/s1600-h/spiderwebs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHc2RTdypGwx5-H1ZTFPlMX01l9h-qibR62wFlT4k6ouAKIC-gUVH8YFt6LY0swJa_TGGeZqd5sO4UVuNOuF3v_V4Nxgi8xpz4pt4SXaY3uZVQgOKzSKoTlqqqHWVVmGsS8aYWQ/s400/spiderwebs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393397071303820994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhyBxNfsKlkFrtxK9BTcine5zool2he50Bh5s8ZSPaUoYdahjHWSC5knjYhsBX2ALRKrQzTXyK5FueeyGiB0STYpEvYudrLA7sHlZt5p3hlePy2F-By9fQHnol_uzsjT0MjCAqQ/s1600-h/longjawedspider-close.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhyBxNfsKlkFrtxK9BTcine5zool2he50Bh5s8ZSPaUoYdahjHWSC5knjYhsBX2ALRKrQzTXyK5FueeyGiB0STYpEvYudrLA7sHlZt5p3hlePy2F-By9fQHnol_uzsjT0MjCAqQ/s400/longjawedspider-close.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393397068338659090" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfUZN6N8YMd488xrvChOc5ExQiPXPUQ_dCgo1rbwkw_UXdN0Z94G_yLC7Uw8ZjmmEd4rrdy-QSr_QhDL_N3l-nYauOlUQ8_iEnW8kthJcJkeAOY8OEI35mqz0RZw2NpSx8aBG_dA/s1600-h/tetragnatha_versicolor_male_above.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 331px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfUZN6N8YMd488xrvChOc5ExQiPXPUQ_dCgo1rbwkw_UXdN0Z94G_yLC7Uw8ZjmmEd4rrdy-QSr_QhDL_N3l-nYauOlUQ8_iEnW8kthJcJkeAOY8OEI35mqz0RZw2NpSx8aBG_dA/s400/tetragnatha_versicolor_male_above.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393397056561009106" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQfk5XJxHBpoG7S0PprJ0yi7poGHaXUWXNsekDTnlvmoMgI-pc-9YywVqOx-I-TGQ80ngev84MWW16svvtLBgSVzy8_T6K5J1GGBXYEoTuk0XXfV6wFLRF_0k14Zki2lboS8i7w/s1600-h/giantspiderwebs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQfk5XJxHBpoG7S0PprJ0yi7poGHaXUWXNsekDTnlvmoMgI-pc-9YywVqOx-I-TGQ80ngev84MWW16svvtLBgSVzy8_T6K5J1GGBXYEoTuk0XXfV6wFLRF_0k14Zki2lboS8i7w/s400/giantspiderwebs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393397051156162674" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3_EclAkQNXtwrR8EveZyMTEAf9q0uZB0XtrivS7jXKLZi1XWP0vJWnnMrR5LEVPx2RCaXJjh3rz6yJHhXxnjknGucF8tTsy8wX7SaX86_eJCjQMhwA6KQZf5MIrVZpL8KqfW4w/s1600-h/spidersinweb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 366px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3_EclAkQNXtwrR8EveZyMTEAf9q0uZB0XtrivS7jXKLZi1XWP0vJWnnMrR5LEVPx2RCaXJjh3rz6yJHhXxnjknGucF8tTsy8wX7SaX86_eJCjQMhwA6KQZf5MIrVZpL8KqfW4w/s400/spidersinweb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393397040608470722" border="0" /></a><br />http://texasento.net/Social_Spider.htm<br />..............................................<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXM3ssWgeaI5ihZahqwvk4NWatzvhItecR8MdA7i063m0qOh9gyC5GDR2-zcJ34oQB7RuyDFUpAj5U-RGRqev5o60sSG790aTxWqSs2aATHMs2_v3q9VgmF8HJW7a5nU9ujVAj5A/s1600-h/spiderwebs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXM3ssWgeaI5ihZahqwvk4NWatzvhItecR8MdA7i063m0qOh9gyC5GDR2-zcJ34oQB7RuyDFUpAj5U-RGRqev5o60sSG790aTxWqSs2aATHMs2_v3q9VgmF8HJW7a5nU9ujVAj5A/s400/spiderwebs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393392958534151250" border="0" /></a><br />http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2008/jan/ed_2/<br /><br /><div id="hdrbanner"><h1><a id="maincontent" name="maincontent"><span class="issue">January 2008</span></a></h1></div><br /><h2>Web Mania!</h2> <p class="leader">Spiders spin a mysterious masterpiece at Lake Tawakoni - and ignite a media frenzy.</p> <p class="biline">By Sheryl Smith-Rodgers</p> <p>As soon as the news made headlines across Texas - and around the globe - I fired off an e-mail: I want this assignment! Though sent as a joke, I was serious, too. Imagine my surprise when I read the reply: Hightail it up there! The next morning, long before sunrise, I jumped in my car and hurried north to Lake Tawakoni State Park east of Dallas, where massive amounts of spiderwebs enshrouded trees and other vegetation on a remote hiking trail.</p> <p>Along the way, I followed Mike Quinn, an invertebrate biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, who'd been watching the webs via online photos. He wanted to look at the scene firsthand and collect specimens. Like other biologists and arachnologists, he was baffled. Had scores of spiderlings tried to disperse? Or had social spiders taken up residence in the park? Why had so many spiders - which by nature are normally solitary - congregated in one area? What species would he find?</p> <p>As for myself, I couldn't wait to see the web. Spiders have long fascinated me. Several years ago, I bought a plethora of spider books and read all I could. I'd kept an assortment of live spiders, raised three tarantula spiderlings and shared my passion with anyone who'd listen. Today - the last day of August - I would witness a genuine spider phenomenon that had the whole world talking.</p> <h3>Remarkable discovery</h3> <p>No one's quite sure when construction began on the park's giant web. But Kim Feuerbacher of Rockwall and her son Trent saw something in early summer. While biking on a trail on the park's north side, they braked when they came upon thousands of silvery strands, strung high and glistening in several post oaks. "It was beautiful, but we couldn't get off that trail fast enough!" recalls Feuerbacher, who mentioned what they'd seen only to her husband.</p> <p>In the following weeks, endless rains and muddy conditions kept most visitors off the trails. Finally, a dry spell came August 6, which meant park ranger Freddie Gowin could get back on a mower. While on a nature trail, he rounded a curve, then gaped dumbfounded. "The web was plumb across the trail and all over the trees!" he says. "I had to drive through it to finish mowing."</p> <p>Nine days later, superintendent Donna Garde photographed what she called a "white fairyland" of gossamer that enveloped six trees, underlying vegetation and the ground. The photos were e-mailed August 24 to TPWD biologist Mike Quinn and other entomologists. Stunned and befuddled, he forwarded the startling images to several more spider experts across the nation.</p> <p>Reponses boomeranged back. Some speculated that the web belonged to a social cobweb spider (Anelosimus studiosus) known to coexist in colonies, where females cooperatively capture prey and care for young. Others theorized that spiderlings had attempted a "mass dispersal," behavior associated with "ballooning" (when spiderlings release strands of silk into the air and float away to a new location).</p> <p>Meanwhile, news of the web broke August 29 in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Quickly, other print and broadcast media from across the country - and around the world - jumped on the story. Reporters as well as curious visitors streamed into the park; staff fielded relentless inquiries by phone. Over Labor Day weekend, more than 3,300 people hiked the trail to see the web, damaged by recent rains but still active with spiders.</p> <h3>Spiders collected</h3> <p>The media frenzy had slowed only slightly by the time Mike Quinn and I arrived Friday, August 31. A newspaper reporter who'd made the quarter-mile trek (one way) numerous times led the way. He escorted us down the dirt trail, which cut across a small grassy prairie, then through thick woods. The path continued across a clearing; from there, we could see Lake Tawakoni. We rounded a clump of shrubs, then joined a small group of people standing beneath an eerie canopy. Around us, foliage drooped beneath dark gauze littered with debris and bug bodies. Brown and deteriorated, some long, thick webs hung like Spanish moss. Sunshine filtered through holes and tears in the webs, casting a hazy light on the strange scene.</p> <p>Beneath hackberries, junipers and post oaks that reached at least 25 feet high, more webs covered saplings, vines, grass and fallen limbs. The musty odor of decay permeated the hot, humid air. "This is like nothing I've seen before!" Quinn declared. Then he and Joe Lapp, a spider enthusiast from Austin, examined web after web, identifying spiders and insects as they worked. "The predominant species is definitely a long-jawed orbweaver," Quinn concluded.</p> <p>Indeed, countless numbers of tetragnathids - a long-legged spider with an elongated body - clustered within inches of one another in the dense webs. I looked up and saw more on loose, tangled webs strung high between branches and from tree to tree. Many were folded in a characteristic lengthwise position, their bodies silhouetted against the blue sky.</p> <p>Typically, tetragnathids singularly spin and catch prey in round "orb" webs, often built horizontally near water and in close proximity to other long-jawed orbweavers. As its name suggests, this species has a long pair of jaws (chelicerae) equipped with fangs that inject venom to paralyze insects. (Only the venom of black widows and brown recluses is harmful - but not fatal - to humans.)</p> <p>At Lake Tawakoni, though, tetragnathids had changed their behavior. Very few had built normal orb webs. Why? Experts would later try to answer that question and more.</p> <p>"There's certainly a lot of food here," Lapp observed as he peered at one tangled web. </p> <p>"Look, that jumping spider got a cricket!" Everywhere, carcasses of grasshoppers, mosquitoes, gnat-like midges and other insects - including live ones and dead spiders, too - stuck to the webs. Excessive rains had evidently caused an explosion in mosquito and midge populations.</p> <p>Other spiders inhabited the area, too. In some poison ivy, I spotted a female wolf spider carrying a mass of tiny spiderlings on her back. Within a jungle of high weeds, a yellow garden spider hung upside down on her orb web. Tubular-shaped webs on tree limbs indicated the presence of funnel weaver spiders. Numerous species of jumping spiders - which stalk their prey like a cat - lurked nearly everywhere.</p> <h3>Experts weigh in</h3> <p>After several hours, I headed home, exhausted. Quinn and Lapp, though, stayed until well past dark, collecting spiders and observing their behavior. On Saturday, Quinn delivered 250 specimens to Allen Dean, a research assistant in the Texas A&M University Insect Collection. Dean, who specializes in spider taxonomy, spent most of the next day analyzing spiders under a microscope. His findings: tetragnathids - specifically Tetragnatha guatemalensis - comprised 60 percent of the sampling. Jumping spiders accounted for 18.4 percent and orbweavers, 7.6 percent. In all, Dean identified 12 different families and at least 16 genera.</p> <p>"Since the world was waiting to find out what spiders were there, I took my time because I had to be certain of the identifications," says Dean, who later visited the webs in September. "Once you release a list, you can't make corrections." By Monday (Labor Day), Garde had hard data to share with reporters and visitors alike.</p> <h3>Solving the mystery</h3> <p>Bolstered by the identifications and activity reports from the site, experts could better explain Lake Tawakoni's giant web. According to John Jackman, professor and extension entomology specialist at Texas A&M, a bumper crop of bugs can trigger massive webbing and even affect spider behavior.</p> <p>"It seems to be documented in the literature that if you have an abundance of food, spiders throw out additional webbing and even crawl into each other's webs," says Jackman, author of A Field Guide to Spiders and Scorpions of Texas. "Then they just sit there and eat the abundant food, so they're not regulating each other by feeding on spiders. We've had other reports similar to this, and they seem to occur near a lake or a light."</p> <p>Norman Horner, emeritus biology professor and spider expert at Midwestern State University, visited the state park September 14 with assistant biology professor Roy Vogtsberger. Like Jackman, Horner believes that food plays a key role in understanding spider dynamics at Lake Tawakoni.</p> <p>First of all, ample food at the start of a spider's life cycle can lead to higher spider numbers. That's because females lay hundreds of eggs within a sac, but only a few survive, Horner says. In nature, they're eaten by one another or by larger spiders and other predators. If there are more food sources to go around, then more spiderlings survive and molt into adults (spiders "grow" by shedding their hard exoskeletons).</p> <p>High survival rates coupled with still abundant food kept long-jawed orbweavers (and other species) busily spinning at Lake Tawakoni. "Normally, tetragnathids are a solitary spider that will get in close association to one another but not share a web," Horner says.</p> <p>"Spiders will feed on one another, even if they're the same species. But we didn't notice any cannibalism there at all. Based on what I saw, these tetragnathids have moved from a solitary existence into a semi-social communal web."</p> <p>Another observation: "Interestingly enough, it appeared that the spiders at the state park were not using the webs to trap prey but to grab it as it came by," Horner says.</p> <h3>Worldwide attention</h3> <p>Quinn - who posted and regularly updated a Web site on the giant spiderweb - was not only intrigued by the rare phenomenon but also how the story and related photographs fascinated the entire world. Media called and e-mailed from Australia, England, Norway, Germany, China and even the Middle East. American markets ranged from Time, Today Show, CNN and National Public Radio to Ranger Rick, Scholastic News and Martha Stewart's TV show. On the New York Times Web site (August 31), the Texas web ranked "number one e-mailed story of the day."</p> <p>In subsequent weeks, other researchers, too, spent long hours at Lake Tawakoni. Though the spiders and web have since died off, forthcoming documentary programs, scientific papers and magazine articles will keep interest stirred. "I love how this is bringing a lot more data into the scientific community," Garde says. "And the publicity for our park has been incredible."</p> <h3>How unique was the Texas web?</h3> <p>"That was a big question people asked," Quinn reflects. "The fact that the story went wall to wall (around the world) and few reports came back on similar occurrences, well, that says something!"</p> <p>As for the future, "It will be interesting to see what happens next summer," Horner muses. "Nature has a way of bringing things back in line."</p> <h3>Epilogue</h3> <p>The saga continued October 1 when reports came of similar webs spread across trees at Wind Point Park across Lake Tawakoni. While surveying the state park site that day, Joe Lapp and Hank Guarisco (adjunct curator of arachnids at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas) drove to the privately owned park. There they found mostly long-jawed orbweavers but also social cobweb spiders, too.</p> <p>Three days later, Lapp confirmed another large tetragnathid web - this one near Lake Travis. For a detailed timeline, and ongoing updates, visit texasento.net/Social_Spider.htm. For more information about this web and similar webs around Texas, see a multimedia journal at Joe Lapp's Web site, www.SpiderJoe.com.</p> <div class="infobox"> <h3>On the Night Watch</h3> <p>Spiders became more aggressive - even cannibalistic - after dark.</p> <p>I spent about 10 days camping in Lake Tawakoni State Park during September and October, observing the giant web and its resident spiders. The main actor in this somewhat surrealistic arachnid play was a species of long-jawed spider (Tetragnatha guatemalensis), which was often found in great numbers resting in the web during the day.</p> <p>Although I saw mating and prey capture during the day, the real action on the giant spiderweb began after the sun went down. After dark, three supporting actors - other species of orbweaving spiders that remained hidden while resting in the vegetation during the day (Larinioides cornutus, Metazygia wittfeldae and Neoscona crucifera) - came on stage and joined in the hurried web-building activity of the female long-jawed spiders. Each spider built a circular orb web to catch the hordes of small flies that rose into the trees after sunset. Space was limited, so the spiders attached their webs to any available structure, including their neighbors' webs. Under normal conditions, they are very protective of their personal space, but with the almost unlimited food supply, they became much more tolerant of one another.</p> <p>As male long-jawed spiders wandered in search of food and females, they frequently invaded the outer edges of newly constructed orbs without triggering aggressive reactions from their owners, which were usually too busy eating to mind the disturbance. As food became scarcer, however, this arachnid play took a darker turn. The densely packed long-jawed spiders became very aggressive and scenes of cannibalism became commonplace on the giant web. Females attacked other females, males and juveniles. Spiders became an important part of their diet at this stage.</p> <p>One of the three supporting actors (Neoscona crucifera) was responsible for some of the large silk streamers suspended among the trees. This spider built large orb webs in open spaces between trees that are often 15 to 20 feet apart. Before sunrise, the spider ate its own orb web but left the framework of silk suspended between the trees. Long-jawed spiders and others traveled across this silken "super highway," laying down their own dragline silk as they went. Eventually, the heavy traffic created a wide silk band between the trees. </p> <p>- Hank Guarisco</p> </div>Gadflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-43955859498957374232009-10-20T23:32:00.005-05:002009-10-26T04:10:19.815-05:00India Asteroid - Cause Deccan Traps-Final Dino Demise?india asteroid - caused deccan traops??<p><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2009/10/091016-asteroid-impact-india-dinosaurs.html?sms_ss=email">http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2009/10/091016-asteroid-impact-india-dinosaurs.html?sms_ss=email</a></p><p> <!-- end header --> </p><h1 class="newsTitle">India Asteroid Killed Dinosaurs, Made Largest Crater?</h1> <div class="inlinedate">Ker Than<br />for <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/">National Geographic News</a><br /></div> <div class="inlinedate">October 16, 2009</div> <p class="intro"> <!--- startbody --> <b>The dinosaurs' demise may have been due to an asteroid double-whammy—two giant space rocks that struck near <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_mexico_cntry.html">Mexico</a> <i>and</i> <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_india.html">India</a> a few hundred thousand years apart, scientists say.</b> </p><p> For decades one of the more popular theories for <a href="http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/dinosaur-extinction.html">what killed the dinosaurs</a> has focused on a single <a href="http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/asteroids-comets-article.html">asteroid</a> impact 65 million years ago.<!--- deckend --> </p> <div id="storyInlineBox"> <p> <!-- GOING_NEWSCHOOL_ENLARGE --> <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/bigphotos/65951327.html"> <img class="photo" src="http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/images/thumbs/091016-asteroid-impact-india-dinosaurs_170.jpg" alt="Shiva crater picture" border="0" height="113" width="170" /> </a> </p> <p> </p><p><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/bigphotos/65951327.html">Enlarge Photo</a></p> <p class="caption"> </p> <p><br /></p><ul class="boxContent"><li><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2008/04/080410-sea-meteorites.html">"Dinosaur Killer" Asteroid Was Half the Size Predicted?</a> </li><li><a href="http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/dinosaur-extinction.html">Dinosaur Die-Off: Pictures, Facts, More</a> </li><li><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2007/09/070905-asteroid-crash.html">Far-Flung Crash May Have Created Dinosaur-Killer Asteroid</a> </li></ul> <!-- end rel stor subtemplate --> </div> <p> A six-mile-wide (ten-kilometer-wide) asteroid is thought to have carved out the Chicxulub crater off Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, triggering worldwide climate changes that led to the mass extinction. </p><p>But the controversial new theory says the dinosaurs were actually finished off by another 25-mile-wide (40-kilometer-wide) asteroid. That space rock slammed into the planet off the western coast of India about 300,000 years <i>after</i> Chicxulub, experts say. </p><p> "The dinosaurs were really unlucky," said study co-author Sankar Chatterjee, a paleontologist at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. </p><p>Chatterjee thinks this second asteroid impact created a 300-mile-wide (500-kilometer-wide) depression on the Indian Ocean seafloor, which his team began exploring in 1996. </p><p> His team has dubbed this depression the Shiva crater, after the Hindu god of destruction and renewal. </p><p> "If we are correct," Chatterjee said, "this is the largest crater known on Earth." </p><p> <b>Dinosaur-Killer Asteroid Boosted Volcanoes?</b> </p><p> The Shiva asteroid impact was powerful enough to vaporize Earth's crust where it struck, allowing the much hotter mantle to well up and create the crater's tall, jagged rim, Chatterjee estimates. </p><p>What's more, his team thinks the impact caused a piece of the Indian subcontinent to break off and drift toward Africa, creating what are now the Seychelles islands (<a href="http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/map-machine#s=r&c=9.795677582829732,%2071.85058593750001&z=4">see map</a>). </p><p> The Shiva impact may also have enhanced volcanic eruptions that were already occurring in what is now western India, Chatterjee added. </p><p>Some scientists have speculated that the noxious gases released by the Indian volcanoes, called the Deccan Traps, were crucial factors in the dinosaurs' extinction. </p><p> (Related: <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061030-dinosaur-killer.html">"'Dinosaur Killer' Asteroid Only One Part of New Quadruple-Whammy Theory."</a>) </p><p> "It's very tempting to think that the impact actually triggered the volcanism," Chatterjee said. </p><p> "But that may not be true. It looks like the volcanism was already happening, and the [Shiva] impact just made it worse." </p><p> <i>Research to be presented next week at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America in Portland, Oregon.</i> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> <table border="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td width="55%"> <div class="teaser2colLeft"> <!-- begin recent vins - last generated at Thu Sep 24 12:26:01 EDT 2009 - by recent_vins_two_point_oh.pl--> <div class="Pick"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2009/09/090923-australia-red-dust-video-ap.html"><br /></a> </td> <td valign="top"> <br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <div class="Pick"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2009/09/090921-brazil-bizarre-fish-video-ap.html"><br /></a> </td> <td valign="top"> <br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <div class="Pick"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2009/09/090918-mexico-golfina-turtles-video-ap.html"><br /></a> </td> <td valign="top"> <br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <!-- end recent VINS --> </div> </td> <td> <!-- start 'relatedsites' subtemplate --> <div class="boxHeader"> SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES </div> <ul class="boxContent"><li><a href="http://www.geosociety.org/" target="_ ">Geological Society of America</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.depts.ttu.edu/gesc/Fac_pages/chatterjee/index.html" target="_ ">Texas Tech University: Sankar Chatterjee</a></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-14712461582643168712009-10-12T01:13:00.009-05:002009-10-16T01:28:32.205-05:00Sharing a few Minutes of BeautyTaking a break from all the bad news with which we are bombarded daily. Sharing a page from the blog of one of our fellows. I recommend reading his <a href="http://spadoman-roundcircle.blogspot.com/">Round Circle</a> blog for interesting pages from his life story. Earlier posts were fascinating accounts of his travels that I experienced by proxy, now that my wings are clipped and I am grounded.<br />......................................<br />julie andrews - sound of music.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7EYAUazLI9k&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7EYAUazLI9k&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br />..........................................<br /><a href="http://spadoman-roundcircle.blogspot.com/2009/09/some-good-in-world.html">Some Good In World</a><br /><br />From Spadoman's blog: "Round Circle". A post from an email he received.<br /><br />"This video was made in the Antwerp , Belgium Central (Train) Station on the 23rd of March 2009.<br />. . . with no warning to the passengers passing through the station at 08:00 am a recording of Julie Andrews singing 'Do, Re, Mi' begins to play on the public address system.<br /><br />As the bemused passengers watch in amazement, some 200 dancers begin to appear from the crowd and station entrances.<br /><br />They created this amazing stunt with just two rehearsals!"<br /><br />COMMENTS:<br /><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a> <dl id="comments-block"><dt id="c832465503312048522"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/08348919163462907583" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://api.ning.com/icons/profile/768340?default=768340&width=188&height=188" class="profile" alt="" title="GDAEman" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="60" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/08348919163462907583" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">GDAEman</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Nice to be nudged out of the daily routine.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Thursday, October 15, 2009 6:30:00 AM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=832465503312048522" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c671980285424229143"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/13980058154838873164" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/911/1056/1600/librarian1.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="The Subversive Librarian" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="60" width="50" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/13980058154838873164" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">The Subversive Librarian</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>I love this video!</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Thursday, October 15, 2009 9:20:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=671980285424229143" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c5014696810284763139"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOVNhJ4qU9iEjoXo5lWAP9yINR78ZdqSW-skDnfLPn45tsyBp7FSrC8qXgk4hr62hmTGQIj7J15xnpEa_VCATC_IcXPNs9ViCgzd17yOSxE7LMUIBM-leeadpuRLdMPb70rYj7g/s220/ty.gif" class="profile" alt="" title="Worried American" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="56" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Worried American</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>I'm glad you enjoyed it, GDAEman and Subversive Librarian. I get tired of the same old bad news. It is good to stop and smell the roses sometimes and access the beauty in this home planet of ours.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Friday, October 16, 2009 1:26:00 AM</p></dd></dl>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-38590799797830818892009-10-09T17:47:00.004-05:002009-10-09T18:00:12.447-05:00Democracy and ConquestThis video was made as a campaign ad when Ron Paul was running for president. But the bits about our founding fathers are right one! Bush claimed we invaded Iraq to spread democracy and to protect our freedoms. Bull crap! Democracy isn't spread by bombs and tanks and civilian slaughter. The Iraqi War was a war of conquest, pure and simple, to get control of their oil. The US can claim it wasn't conquest but the installation of the Iraqi government is a puppet government, basically run by US and allies. <br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p774eENRP_4&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p774eENRP_4&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Gadflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-47995294268122982682009-09-30T02:44:00.011-05:002009-10-06T13:20:40.487-05:00Cheney- Scaremongering
<br /> <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27705.html">http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27705.html</a>
<br />
<br /><h1>Generals: Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney are scaremongering</h1><h1>cheney - hype about closing gitmo
<br /></h1>
<br /><div id="storyTop" class="clearfix"> <div id="storyMeta"> <div class="byline">By <a href="http://www.politico.com/reporters/JoshGerstein.html">JOSH GERSTEIN</a> | 9/29/09 3:39 PM </div> </div><!--/storyMeta--> <!--/adjustTextSize--> </div><!--/group--> <div class="story-wrapper"> <div class="story-supplement"> <dl class="story-image"><dt><img src="http://images.politico.com/global/news/090929_gitmo_ap_297.jpg" alt="Guards watch over Guantanamo Bay detention facility." height="206" width="274" /></dt><dd>Guards watch over Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Retired generals and admirals say Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney are trying to instill fear about Gitmo closing. <cite> Photo: AP </cite></dd></dl> <div class="vote-for-story"> <h3><span class="hidden">
<br /></span></h3></div> <div class="story-text KonaBody"><p>About a dozen retired generals and admirals, trying to add momentum to President <a target="_blank" href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27648.html">Barack Obama’s effort</a> to close the Guantanamo Bay military prison, are accusing former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz of scaremongering about the dangers of closing it. </p><p> </p><p> “It’s up to all of us to say these arguments advanced by Cheney and his acolytes are nonsense and that really what they’re doing is undermining our national security by delaying the date at which <a target="_blank" href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27240.html">Guantanamo is closed</a>,” retired Brig. Gen. James Cullen, a former chief judge of the Army’s Court of Criminal Appeals, told POLITICO Tuesday. </p><p> </p><p> “Some of the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26228.html">fear issues</a> that are being raised in this are really unfortunate. It gets people excited about things they shouldn’t be excited about and impedes doing what is critical to this country. Get that damn symbol off the table,” said retired Gen. David Maddox, a former Army commander-in-chief for Europe. “We take a setback every time somebody, whether it’s the vice president or his daughter comes out and says the things that they say….We have to get out there again and just keep pounding.” </p><p> </p><p> The former vice president and his daughter declined comment on the criticism.</p><p> </p><p> The former military officers, whose Washington visit was organized by Human Rights First, argued rather bitterly that the Cheneys have exaggerated the risks of bringing Guantanamo prisoners from Cuba to the United States. </p><p> </p><p> “Can you imagine getting a terrorist from Guantanamo convicted and put in a federal penitentiary in your town?” Maddox asked. “Have you ever checked who the hell’s in there already? Have any of them gotten out? The person who we’re putting in is probably a heck of lot less dangerous than most of them who are already in there.” </p><p> </p><p> Administration officials recently acknowledged that Guantanamo may not be closed by Obama’s deadline of Jan. 22. But retired Army Maj. Gen. Tony Taguba, who investigated the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq, said the president was smart to set a mark. </p><p> </p><p> “It forces us to have an end state,” Taguba said. “It cannot be open in perpetuity because we’re having this so called long war against terrorism.” </p><p> </p><p> The retired officers met Monday with Attorney General Eric Holder and planned to confer later with Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn. </p><p> </p><p> Holder gave no indication of when the administration might settle on a U.S. site to relocate Guantanamo prisoners, the former military leaders said. </p><p> </p><p> Obama announced the one-year-closure plan on his second full day in office. But the administration lost control of the legislative process in April when the Senate voted 90-6 against funding for the closure. Democrats joined Republicans, who argued that it was a foolish risk to bring suspected terrorists into the United States. </p><p> </p><p> “Closing Guantanamo is of a strategic value,” Taguba said. “Seeing people in orange jumpsuits and whatever have you creates such an excitement for people to be jihadists and terrorists…It’s not helping us.”</p><p>COMMENTS:</p><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a> <dl id="comments-block"><dt id="c1479000188121093588"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/13980058154838873164" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/911/1056/1600/librarian1.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="The Subversive Librarian" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="60" width="50" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/13980058154838873164" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">The Subversive Librarian</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>I'm glad you all are still at it. I'm now blogging regularly. For the moment, anyway. Great post!</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Monday, October 05, 2009 7:55:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=1479000188121093588" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c2963674609070907195"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZ2OGEpDlH33wtTqOY2ew62z1IrfPKAcG-cd9Ot3Wyx_WbVW9dsrr0vH_vOW_POGKbDC8YieCtY4jE2dZI2lNBzbBRD_gHZ9SG0Bi9_NR5TmGnniuN2kFhmN8znDJQ7Q_JKA/s220/tz3.gif" class="profile" alt="" title="Gadfly" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="45" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Gadfly</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Thank you for stopping by for a visit. You're always welcome. It's great that you're back online. Best of luck!!</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Tuesday, October 06, 2009 1:18:00 PM</p></dd></dl></div><div id="TixyyLink" style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div><div class="in-story-banner"> <script type="text/javascript"> <!-- OAS_AD('x11'); //--> <!--/.story-supplement--> <div class="story-text KonaBody"><p>About a dozen retired generals and admirals, trying to add momentum to President <a target="_blank" href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27648.html">Barack Obama’s effort</a> to close the Guantanamo Bay military prison, are accusing former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz of scaremongering about the dangers of closing it. </p><p> </p><p> “It’s up to all of us to say these arguments advanced by Cheney and his acolytes are nonsense and that really what they’re doing is undermining our national security by delaying the date at which <a target="_blank" href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27240.html">Guantanamo is closed</a>,” retired Brig. Gen. James Cullen, a former chief judge of the Army’s Court of Criminal Appeals, told POLITICO Tuesday. </p><p> </p><p> “Some of the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26228.html">fear issues</a> that are being raised in this are really unfortunate. It gets people excited about things they shouldn’t be excited about and impedes doing what is critical to this country. Get that damn symbol off the table,” said retired Gen. David Maddox, a former Army commander-in-chief for Europe. “We take a setback every time somebody, whether it’s the vice president or his daughter comes out and says the things that they say….We have to get out there again and just keep pounding.” </p><p> </p><p> The former vice president and his daughter declined comment on the criticism.</p><p> </p><p> The former military officers, whose Washington visit was organized by Human Rights First, argued rather bitterly that the Cheneys have exaggerated the risks of bringing Guantanamo prisoners from Cuba to the United States. </p><p> </p><p> “Can you imagine getting a terrorist from Guantanamo convicted and put in a federal penitentiary in your town?” Maddox asked. “Have you ever checked who the hell’s in there already? Have any of them gotten out? The person who we’re putting in is probably a heck of lot less dangerous than most of them who are already in there.” </p><p> </p><p> Administration officials recently acknowledged that Guantanamo may not be closed by Obama’s deadline of Jan. 22. But retired Army Maj. Gen. Tony Taguba, who investigated the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq, said the president was smart to set a mark. </p><p> </p><p> “It forces us to have an end state,” Taguba said. “It cannot be open in perpetuity because we’re having this so called long war against terrorism.” </p><p> </p><p> The retired officers met Monday with Attorney General Eric Holder and planned to confer later with Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn. </p><p> </p><p> Holder gave no indication of when the administration might settle on a U.S. site to relocate Guantanamo prisoners, the former military leaders said. </p><p> </p><p> Obama announced the one-year-closure plan on his second full day in office. But the administration lost control of the legislative process in April when the Senate voted 90-6 against funding for the closure. Democrats joined Republicans, who argued that it was a foolish risk to bring suspected terrorists into the United States. </p><p> </p><p> “Closing Guantanamo is of a strategic value,” Taguba said. “Seeing people in orange jumpsuits and whatever have you creates such an excitement for people to be jihadists and terrorists…It’s not helping us.”</p></div></div><div id="TixyyLink" style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27705.html#ixzz0SpDUqbZP">http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27705.html#ixzz0SpDUqbZP</a><br /></div><div id="TixyyLink" style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27705.html#ixzz0SpDUqbZP">http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27705.html#ixzz0SpDUqbZP</a><br /></div><div id="TixyyLink" style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27705.html#ixzz0SpDUqbZP">http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27705.html#ixzz0SpDUqbZP</a><br /></div><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27705.html#ixzz0SpDUqbZP">http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27705.html#ixzz0SpDUqbZP</a><br /><br /> <br /> </script></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-8251795811796434032009-09-26T20:17:00.006-05:002009-10-18T06:36:02.045-05:00What is a VeteranGranny, Gadfly and I don't get many comments on our posts these days but I do still get emails from readers now and then. The following is from an email I received.<br /><br /><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-stretch: inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;" valign="top"><div><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;" ><span style="font-size:x-small;">What Is a Veteran?<br /></span></span></span> <div style="text-align: left;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;" ><span style="font-size:x-small;">Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking.<br /><br />What is a vet?<br />He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.<br /><br />He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.<br /><br />She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for 12 solid months in DaNang.<br />He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.<br /><br />He is the Quantico drill instructor that has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.<br />He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.<br /><br />He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.<br /><br />He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.<br /><br />He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being, a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs. He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.<br /><br />So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.<br /><span style="font-weight: 700;">Author Unknown<br />.........................................................................<br />Excerpt from "Sacrificed For Empire", march, 2007<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyonqNMGbp24oPpJUFEGozbeXIqjA-fgLjsw_j0aaTkHDcIXUdeJ0MXljKpflfjjYznolfHOWisEoJb-wQdNXk02EdcOZ5i89XQWrr3ji1fcXyQM3ENkIIfkxC2v90_tHf1bM_tQ/s1600-h/Generations+of+Valor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyonqNMGbp24oPpJUFEGozbeXIqjA-fgLjsw_j0aaTkHDcIXUdeJ0MXljKpflfjjYznolfHOWisEoJb-wQdNXk02EdcOZ5i89XQWrr3ji1fcXyQM3ENkIIfkxC2v90_tHf1bM_tQ/s400/Generations+of+Valor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385949678914432658" border="0" /></a></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size:85%;">Veterans Day 2004 - World War II veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor, Houston James, emotionally embracing Iraq War veteran, Marine Sgt. Mark Graunke, Jr., who lost a hand, leg, and eye when defusing a bomb in 2003.</span></b><br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;" ><span style="font-size:x-small;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><br />"</span></span></span>I have posted the above photo before and will probably post it again. It is a poignant reminder of the cost of war and what we as a nation owe our warriors. This old veteran of WWII Pearl Harbor and the young Iraqi War marine symbolize the generations of men and women who have gone off to war at the behest of our government, served honorably and well, and all too often were ignored once their service was completed."<br /><br />Comments:<br /><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a> <dl id="comments-block"><dt id="c1364122827839457195"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/13278412000787656405" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://www.dennismansker.com/blogimages/farnsworth.gif" class="profile" alt="" title="Farnsworth68" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="55" width="52" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/13278412000787656405" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Farnsworth68</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Thank you.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Sunday, September 27, 2009 1:16:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=1364122827839457195" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c8799708321916949488"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOVNhJ4qU9iEjoXo5lWAP9yINR78ZdqSW-skDnfLPn45tsyBp7FSrC8qXgk4hr62hmTGQIj7J15xnpEa_VCATC_IcXPNs9ViCgzd17yOSxE7LMUIBM-leeadpuRLdMPb70rYj7g/s220/ty.gif" class="profile" alt="" title="Worried American" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="56" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Worried American</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>You are very welcome, Farnsworth. And THANK YOU!!</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Monday, September 28, 2009 12:12:00 AM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=8799708321916949488" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c9143095321371778819"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4H3WojfCu8pFbocQodGZTjuwEUzDeTAFxeoR1oHeiZdlnY3ij9PeHJXfIB6-tyGdBFBukqM_fiFVNpuaV1oYlX4qxmr03QNtokqnvJuXRuNnleDLo4snQfjham2jcxLEGUEy4/s220/Spadomanon+Bike.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="Spadoman" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="42" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Spadoman</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Thanks.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Monday, September 28, 2009 5:32:00 AM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=9143095321371778819" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c1723957633802493093"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOVNhJ4qU9iEjoXo5lWAP9yINR78ZdqSW-skDnfLPn45tsyBp7FSrC8qXgk4hr62hmTGQIj7J15xnpEa_VCATC_IcXPNs9ViCgzd17yOSxE7LMUIBM-leeadpuRLdMPb70rYj7g/s220/ty.gif" class="profile" alt="" title="Worried American" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="56" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Worried American</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Spadoman; thank you for visiting us and Thank You. I have commented on your blog. I don't visit you often but always enjoy your traveling narratives.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Tuesday, September 29, 2009 8:26:00 PM</p></dd><dd><p>Spadoman; thank you for visiting us and Thank You. I have commented on your blog. I don't visit you often but always enjoy your traveling narratives.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Tuesday, September 29, 2009 8:26:00 PM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=1723957633802493093" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c9218366753040077635"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4H3WojfCu8pFbocQodGZTjuwEUzDeTAFxeoR1oHeiZdlnY3ij9PeHJXfIB6-tyGdBFBukqM_fiFVNpuaV1oYlX4qxmr03QNtokqnvJuXRuNnleDLo4snQfjham2jcxLEGUEy4/s220/Spadomanon+Bike.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="Spadoman" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="42" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Spadoman</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>No, Thanks to you.<br /><br />Remember <a href="http://spadoman-roundcircle.blogspot.com/2007/04/warrior.html" rel="nofollow"> THIS</a></p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Saturday, October 03, 2009 5:15:00 AM</p></dd><dt>Worried: Do check out Spadoman's link above. Excellent piece.<br /></dt></dl><br /></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-71774214492945171902009-09-19T00:37:00.001-05:002009-09-19T00:38:17.114-05:00Our ConstitutionOur Constitution means little to some people, including our former President who called it a "god damn piece of paper", but I think it means a lot to most Americans. Some might not even know what it says but it is meaningful to them anyway. I'm suspicious and distrustful of most of our elected leaders but I love my country, warts and all, and would like for it to be a decent nation once again. I can be a mean assed old bitch but I honor the Constitution. It means something to me.<br />.........................................................................................<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbAiy5ziPnjxkVnzbuIR6_ygbRNh1TZ__D2piMg-nlaJQRN0TPmpsgtt9HXIbj0nW224IckgCJl_mffvOFyecJDYvRKxcfJgqhNQ5BAnl3vYFLVrjiSPiPe2VC-Wx-6qwtzkjag/s1600-h/constitution-preamble.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 329px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbAiy5ziPnjxkVnzbuIR6_ygbRNh1TZ__D2piMg-nlaJQRN0TPmpsgtt9HXIbj0nW224IckgCJl_mffvOFyecJDYvRKxcfJgqhNQ5BAnl3vYFLVrjiSPiPe2VC-Wx-6qwtzkjag/s400/constitution-preamble.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383011020490085458" border="0" /></a>Excerpt from:<br /><br />http://open.salon.com/blog/saturn_smith/2009/09/17/happy_constitution_day<br />by Saturn Smith<br /><br />[...] (Sept. 17) is of special import for me. It's Constitution Day. Two hundred and twenty-two years ago, on September 17, 1787, the new Constitution of the United States of America was adopted by the Constitutional Convention, signed by the 39 delegates, and sent out to the states for ratification. The National Archives, where the original text still lives, headlines it as "a model of cooperative statesmanship and the art of compromise," and that has continued to be true throughout its history. We may not agree upon its meaning, always, or its deployment, but Americans almost to a person seem to agree upon its value. Our stability as a country -- and we are a <span style="font-style: italic;">shockingly</span> stable union -- rests most firmly upon the survival of this document.<br /><br />That's not to say that the Constitution is a stony, implacable thing. In fact, for all the stability it's inspired, it's hard to mark even a concrete date of its birth. It would take another three years before the Bill of Rights were added, in 1791, and it's been amended another 17 times since then. Even now, there are several proposals for amendment before Congress, and 11,000 amendments have been proposed over time. Sure, it's been used for good and for ill, to justify moments of greatness and horrible errors, but it's still there, binding us to a common set of purposes. Is it outdated? Moldy in language and, certainly, in its descriptions of who should be a citizen? Absolutely. But what do you expect from the <a href="http://www.constitutioncenter.org/ncc_progs_10_Fast_Facts_on_the_Constitution.aspx">oldest</a> written national constitution in the world? Perfection? No -- never in our Constitution. It is a document notable for its mistakes, but also for its ability to rise above them, to amend its own content without changing its real purpose. It is a truly American thing.<br /><br />So -- go forth and celebrate like it's 1787. Lift an ale (Sam Adams, maybe?), try the <a href="http://www.constitutioncenter.org/FoundersQuiz/">Which Founding Father Are You?</a> quiz (I'm James Madison), take a stroll about your free and enduring country, and meditate on the meaning of<a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html"> the document still holding us together</a>:<br /><div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><em><span>We the People </span> of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.</em></div>Gadflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-27366272531454447912009-09-11T00:05:00.019-05:002009-09-18T22:31:07.668-05:00Remember 9/11 2001Please read Granny's post below. Readers may post on comments their experiences and thoughts on September 11, 2001. If you wrote about it on your blog, please leave your url to your post and we will publish all comments.<br /><br />I am a night owl and often sleep late in the mornings. On September 11, 2001 I was awakened to the hysterical, terrorized screams of my youngest daughter and the loud cries of fear, grief and rage from my eldest. I leaped from my bed and turned on the TV. All day I watched the repeated broadcasts, answered the constantly ringing phone and attempted to calm and comfort my children, even as I, too, wept in grief and horror. To people of my generation it was a reminder of Pearl Harbor. The dastardly, sneak attack, the murder of thousands of innocents, the desperate heroism, the senseless destruction.<br /><br />Today I taped a small American flag to my apartment door above a little black wreath and mentally dared Management to chastise me for violating their rule against flammable objects on our doors. I asked Management to lower our flag to halfmast in the circle of the driveway in honor of the ones who perished. It was all I could do to answer civilly when the receptionist gave me a puzzzled look and asked, "Why?" How can any American forget?<br /><br />My eldest daughter and I support Firemen and Police. Her favorite photos of 9/11 are the following of the young fireman mounting the stairs of the WTC as civilians are fleeing downward.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrarn8KjWY8O54ogBqKfW5FOn4Y0uvmnyPLKVbRA4m61AFohJvB0R28uZJSsNR9p06b_QYZSkHhB3ASygoSKWcgdzGZVVh3kLs3z2Id2LlNtCwt7tVKseEu0sV1rc4wZLamghPaQ/s1600-h/firefighteronstairs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrarn8KjWY8O54ogBqKfW5FOn4Y0uvmnyPLKVbRA4m61AFohJvB0R28uZJSsNR9p06b_QYZSkHhB3ASygoSKWcgdzGZVVh3kLs3z2Id2LlNtCwt7tVKseEu0sV1rc4wZLamghPaQ/s400/firefighteronstairs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380078798955308978" border="0" /></a>and the famous photo of the firemen raising our flag at ground zero.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2IkvxPtSU1Tix-Fz91xGJtLElNaUB7ZR3yPNPNFznnWCpNtb6yMqi5O3-6wseUSgJdtdGuDjlL1ZfF3HZ-D_xyK7eZcbMT5h9Qj6aZFclg9OeVIiSVVQCKR6C3QEFvUtRCvUtA/s1600-h/ground_zero_spirit.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2IkvxPtSU1Tix-Fz91xGJtLElNaUB7ZR3yPNPNFznnWCpNtb6yMqi5O3-6wseUSgJdtdGuDjlL1ZfF3HZ-D_xyK7eZcbMT5h9Qj6aZFclg9OeVIiSVVQCKR6C3QEFvUtRCvUtA/s400/ground_zero_spirit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380080307389375858" border="0" /></a><br />Lest we forget....<br /><br />Comments:<br /><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win">(These comments properly added to Granny's post below.)</span><a name="comments"></a> <dl id="comments-block"><dt id="c26011168212667580"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/05763778255535640633" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkb46_Z8c0kD9U8FC-7LMsYiv4cyMm20aL0luh8xwZRFwdkwnYbhLDXsi5nN4SuQCjoGW0lqJlg_msgeqn-vM4PXNG_ZytdWrkhULf2W6kUakoxuzdTu-0uGFwxn0WEnhYMAW/s220/001a.JPG" class="profile" alt="" title="Merle" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="45" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/05763778255535640633" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Merle</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Dear Ann ~~ Great posts and videos<br />about that awful time. I think I cried for a week, glued to the TV.<br />I hope you and Ray are keeping well<br />and the girls visit often.<br />Much love, dear friend, Take care,<br />Merle.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Friday, September 11, 2009 8:07:00 AM</p></dd><dd><dl id="comments-block"><dd> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=26011168212667580" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c7488617765817335665"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/07794666789389658646" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/inzs_stars/083a8941.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="audrey`" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="45" height="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/07794666789389658646" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">audrey`</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>The pictures of 9/11 are still very fresh in my memory. SAD! So many innocent lives were lost on that tragic day.<br /><br />Take care, my dear friend (((HUGS))) Ann.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Sunday, September 13, 2009 8:37:00 AM</p></dd><dd><span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=7488617765817335665" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c5505554354092442083"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4H3WojfCu8pFbocQodGZTjuwEUzDeTAFxeoR1oHeiZdlnY3ij9PeHJXfIB6-tyGdBFBukqM_fiFVNpuaV1oYlX4qxmr03QNtokqnvJuXRuNnleDLo4snQfjham2jcxLEGUEy4/s220/Spadomanon+Bike.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="Spadoman" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="42" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Spadoman</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>9/11, a terrible act wrought upon America. I also am remembering the carnage wrought upon the world in Iraq and Afghanistan, as if killing more people changes anything.<br /><br />Check out this moving post about the individual lives of those lost at the WTC on that fateful day.<br /><br />http://katherine-claire.blogspot.com/<br /><br />Peace.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Wednesday, September 16, 2009 4:53:00 AM</p></dd><dd><span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=5505554354092442083" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c4821361671580082286"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOVNhJ4qU9iEjoXo5lWAP9yINR78ZdqSW-skDnfLPn45tsyBp7FSrC8qXgk4hr62hmTGQIj7J15xnpEa_VCATC_IcXPNs9ViCgzd17yOSxE7LMUIBM-leeadpuRLdMPb70rYj7g/s220/ty.gif" class="profile" alt="" title="Worried American" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="56" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15025693881754554346" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Worried American</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Merle and Audrey: Thank you for your comments. I have posted them here and also on Granny's post below.<br /><br />Spadoman: So good to hear from you. You are so welcomed. Thank you for stopping by.<br /><br />I have been offline for awhile since I had a small stroke and now post rarely. Gadfly has been carrying the burden of keeping the blog going, for the most part. Do come by again. I will check out the url you left us.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Friday, September 18, 2009 10:29:00 PM</p></dd><dt><br /></dt></dl> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=26011168212667580" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd></dl>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-84326871426811726042009-09-10T08:12:00.006-05:002009-09-13T22:18:34.839-05:00September 11, 2001I probably would have let tomorrow's date go unremarked but then I read my first non-political blog of the day. My friend Chris at Rude Cactus who lives near Washington, DC, said what stays with him is how blue the sky was that day.<br /><br />Then he asked us what we remembered and I started writing. Here's what I said:<br /><br />========<br /><br />"It's been 8 years now and it's still, in some ways, like yesterday. We never forget where we were and what we were doing.<br /><br />It was just after dawn on the west coast and I had begun getting the great-granddaughters ready for school when I heard the first report. It didn't seem that serious - they said it was a small plane. A few minutes later we all knew what was happening. I called my sons (oldest in Army National Guard) and continued watching it become more unreal. By then I'd decided to keep the girls out of school for the day. It wasn't fear as much as it was wanting them close.<br /><br />I don't think there was anyone who wasn't affected in some way. The company I retired from (sort of - it was bought after I retired by a larger company located in the WTC) lost over 300 people.<br /><br />And it's trivial compared to the deaths and the destruction but it was the day my then 6 year old great-granddaughter became afraid of the planes she'd previously loved. She's over most of it but still cringes once in a while.<br /><br />I thought I'd lived through the worst with the assassinations and attempted assassinations of the 60's and 70's. Events have proven me wrong."<br /><br />========<br /><br />And events continue to do so and yet I still hope for a brighter future; if not for me, then for that same great-granddaughter and all the other kids of the world.<br /><br />COMMENTS:<br /><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a> <dl id="comments-block"><dt id="c26011168212667580"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/05763778255535640633" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkb46_Z8c0kD9U8FC-7LMsYiv4cyMm20aL0luh8xwZRFwdkwnYbhLDXsi5nN4SuQCjoGW0lqJlg_msgeqn-vM4PXNG_ZytdWrkhULf2W6kUakoxuzdTu-0uGFwxn0WEnhYMAW/s220/001a.JPG" class="profile" alt="" title="Merle" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="45" width="60" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/05763778255535640633" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Merle</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Dear Ann ~~ Great posts and videos<br />about that awful time. I think I cried for a week, glued to the TV.<br />I hope you and Ray are keeping well<br />and the girls visit often.<br />Much love, dear friend, Take care,<br />Merle.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Friday, September 11, 2009 8:07:00 AM</p></dd><dd> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=26011168212667580" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c7488617765817335665"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/07794666789389658646" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/inzs_stars/083a8941.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="audrey`" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," height="60" width="45" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="profile/07794666789389658646" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">audrey`</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>The pictures of 9/11 are still very fresh in my memory. SAD! So many innocent lives were lost on that tragic day.<br /><br />Take care, my dear friend (((HUGS))) Ann.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Sunday, September 13, 2009 8:37:00 AM</p></dd></dl>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17213045.post-4669094718866954782009-08-31T11:29:00.014-05:002009-09-29T20:38:10.292-05:00US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,337<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ku9BjRphG2lAe0q0BjfDO9TKIHTV-qXaBLUH2i_fdfVo0HWbkgNA5dkgltEwHT06gYg5PQ6n3SV_9hEUWJZm42ZJheTe5jPayfw2swNKYcQi3_4fHA9n9WGIKgtZvKbhPnsi/s1600-h/Us-Iraqi-grief.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378086584024788274" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ku9BjRphG2lAe0q0BjfDO9TKIHTV-qXaBLUH2i_fdfVo0HWbkgNA5dkgltEwHT06gYg5PQ6n3SV_9hEUWJZm42ZJheTe5jPayfw2swNKYcQi3_4fHA9n9WGIKgtZvKbhPnsi/s400/Us-Iraqi-grief.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><p>Bush's Wars, now Obama's, have pretty much taken a back seat to the economy, repossessed homes, lost jobs, swine flu maybe becoming a pandemic, possible forced vaccinations, etc. etc. and people have too much to worry about to fret about the wars. But It ain't over and our military are still dying or getting wounded. So they're going to start bringing them home. Yeh--after they send and keep on sending them to Afghanistan and other hot spots on the globe instead of home to the US. Oh yeh, they'll send SOME home so people can see "our troops are coming home" but more will be transferred to hot spots. </p><p>The U.S. must keep up its efforts to be Master of the World, the Military Industrial Complex must keep on raking in billions and mega corps like Haliburton et al also must maintain their billions in profits from wars.... and the OIL, ofcourse. </p><p>But people, don't forget the sons and daughters of America dying and wounded for money and power of the above.<br /><a href="http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2009/08/30/us_military_deaths_in_iraq_war_at_4337/?s_campaign=8315">http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2009/08/30/us_military_deaths_in_iraq_war_at_4337/?s_campaign=8315</a><br /><br />US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,337<br />By The Associated Press<br />August 30,2009<br /><br />As of Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009, at least 4,337 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.</p><p>The figure includes nine military civilians killed in action. At least 3,466 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.<br />The AP count is equal to the Defense Department's tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.<br />The British military has reported 179 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia and Georgia, three each; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand and Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan and South Korea, one death each.<br /><br />------<br />On the Net:<br /><a href="http://www.defenselink.mil/news/">http://www.defenselink.mil/news/</a></p><p>COMMENTS:</p><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a> <dl id="comments-block"><dt id="c8023683765148535001"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06515544130113138363" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7Djs6TV-htw/SUtAWqPEegI/AAAAAAAAAes/_ykkLeCgr4I/S220/Dogshit1.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="The Future Was Yesterday" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="43" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06515544130113138363" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">The Future Was Yesterday</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>"Bringing them home", only to rest for two weeks, then it's off to another war. Of course, the fawning press ignores that part. Obama is Bush from another angle, a.k.a "more of the same."</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Sunday, September 06, 2009 1:58:00 AM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=8023683765148535001" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dt id="c8360787634313424314"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZ2OGEpDlH33wtTqOY2ew62z1IrfPKAcG-cd9Ot3Wyx_WbVW9dsrr0vH_vOW_POGKbDC8YieCtY4jE2dZI2lNBzbBRD_gHZ9SG0Bi9_NR5TmGnniuN2kFhmN8znDJQ7Q_JKA/s220/tz3.gif" class="profile" alt="" title="Gadfly" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="45" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06974330477668544785" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Gadfly</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Yes, and even those mentally wounded, suicidal, suffering from PTSD and other mind wounds are being declared fit for duty and being deployed to Afghanistan. The more things "change" (a la Obama), the more they stay the same.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Monday, September 07, 2009 7:15:00<br /></p></dd><dd><span onclick="window.close();" class="close-win"></span><a name="comments"></a> </dd><dt id="c8023683765148535001"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06515544130113138363" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><br /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"></span><br /></dt><dt id="c8540421144198885060"><div class="profile-image-container"><span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4H3WojfCu8pFbocQodGZTjuwEUzDeTAFxeoR1oHeiZdlnY3ij9PeHJXfIB6-tyGdBFBukqM_fiFVNpuaV1oYlX4qxmr03QNtokqnvJuXRuNnleDLo4snQfjham2jcxLEGUEy4/s220/Spadomanon+Bike.jpg" class="profile" alt="" title="Spadoman" onload="'setAttributeOnload(this," width="60" height="42" /></a></span></div> <img src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" class="comment-icon blogger-comment" alt="Blogger" /> <span dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341" rel="nofollow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">Spadoman</a></span> said...</dt><dd><p>Seems like years since I've been around here. I'm sorry about that. But I made the journey in these wee hours. I am sleepless for the very reason you wrote about, the fact that people are putting the war aside in the midst of all the other problems.<br /><br />I honestly believe that if we solve the war problem, we'll solve a lot of other problems along with it. Many are about money and the war eats up money faster than anything.<br /><br />I'm not sure what I'll be doing about it directly, but I did start blogging on the Ashland Peace Blog again. Remember, I started a peace vigil in my hometown, then moved to another town, but I didn't do anything. I kept the blog, and now I am searching my soul for a way to work for peace, again.<br /><br />Your blog is still on my side bar. I'll try to get over here more often. It's been a busy life these days with Grandkids and family, some road tripping in there too this past summer.<br /><br />Hope all is good with you folks.<br /><br />Peace to all.</p> <p class="comment-timestamp">Tuesday, September 08, 2009 4:03:00 AM</p> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=8540421144198885060" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd><dd> <span class="item-control"><a style="border: medium none ;" href="https://www.blogger.com/delete-comment.g?blogID=17213045&postID=8360787634313424314" onclick="window.open(this.href, 'deleteWindow', 'height=370,width=750'); return false;" title="Delete Comment"><img style="border: medium none ;" class="icon_delete" src="https://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Delete" /></a></span> </dd></dl><p>____________________________________________________________<br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3