Freedom! Lakota Sioux Indians Declare Sovereign Nation Status
Threaten Land Liens, Contested Real Estate Over Five State Area in U.S.West Dakota Territory Reverts back to Lakota Control According to U.S., International Law
WASHINGTON, DC - December 20 - Lakota Sioux Indian representatives declared sovereign nation status today in Washington D.C. following Monday's withdrawal from all previously signed treaties with the United States Government. The withdrawal, hand delivered to Daniel Turner, Deputy Director of Public Liaison at the State Department, immediately and irrevocably ends all agreements between the Lakota Sioux Nation of Indians and the United States Government outlined in the 1851 and 1868 Treaties at Fort Laramie Wyoming.
The rest of the article is here
I want to say congratulations to the Lakota people. The obstacles they face out there are many and sometimes subtle. Imagine working for people that call you plains-nigger. Those are the people who would hire you if you go off the reservation to find a job. That is, if they would hire you at all. This leads to people being dependant on food subsidies. The food subsidies that the US Government (USG) sends to the Lakota are high in sugar. This would not mean much but for the fact that Native Americans have a much higher rate of Diabeties than the white population.
Diabetics shouldn't have high sugar food, it tends to end up in blindness and losing a foot or two then ultimately death. The average life expectancy for men on the reservation is 44 years old. That is the lowest life expectancy in the WORLD if you exclude HIV/AIDS. This is happening right here in America.
I can't describe very well what this means to me, someone who is of Cherokee descent. It is exciting and a little scary. I see this as another time for freedom but I also know that the US Government and especially this administration does not look kindly on uppity people. They prefer to have people quietly go into death.
I am praying that they have peace and hope and LIFE.
Here is the link to the Republic of Lakota webpage. http://www.republicoflakota.com/
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Fucking Verizon
Just as a reminder. Verizon is one of the telecom companies asking Congress for immunity for handing over phone and other records to the Department of Homland Security WITHOUT a warrent.
Original story was posted here http://www.network.bestfriends.org/pennsylvania/news/20944.html
Verizon Disconnects 2 Lives
Phone company's foot-dragging stymies police, owner in search for dog's torturers
by Stu Bykofsky, Philadelphia Daily News.
THE LAST TIME Bill Whiting heard his little brown dog, she was screaming in pain as t wo miserable bastards tortured her. Whiting heard this over the phone as the two monsters demanded money to return the Beagle mix.Her name was Edna, and she was so gentle that Whiting took her to hospitals, where patients cheered up as they petted her. Edna had pointed bunny ears, warm brown eyes and was Whiting's "constant companion" since he adopted her a decade ago. She had never known anything but kindness from human hands. Whiting made sure that Edna always wore her collar. Attached to her collar were her vaccination tags, showing she was a healthy dog, and her name tag with Whiting's information, showing she was a loved dog.
When Edna walked, her tags jingled.Whiting heard the jingling over his Verizon phone as Edna screamed in pain. Terrorized, he couldn't imagine what the savages were doing to his little brown dog. He just wanted it to stop - and when he wanted help from Verizon, it came very slowly and at a steep price.Edna disappeared on Halloween night. A Center City resident, Whiting was visiting a friend in the Italian Market area, and he brought Edna along, because Edna went everywhere with him.That evening, with the doorbell being rung every few minutes by trick-or-treaters, Edna somehow slipped out, maybe to follow some children, because she was a friendly and trusting dog.When Whiting noticed she was missing, he frantically ran up and down the narrow South Philly streets, whistling and calling her name. The next morning he put up fliers with her picture, his cell-phone number and the promise of a $500 reward for her return. Whiting hoped anyone finding her would call, either out of the goodness of his heart or desire for the reward.He waited vainly for 10 days, heart-sick and physically sick over Edna.
Then, late at night on Nov. 10, the phone rang and he could hardly believe what he heard. He heard two voices that sounded male and young. The first said he was 16, his brother was 9 and they had his dog. He wanted Whiting, 57, who works for the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, to talk with his brother.At first, Whiting says he could barely understand the younger boy, speaking in what he described as "American ghetto slang." Whiting slowly realized the boy wanted $600 to ransom Edna. "I was to bring cash, by myself," at midnight to a location Whiting could not decipher.Whiting agreed to pay the money but not to a midnight meeting. "They said they wanted the money now, and told me they'd kill the dog, repeating, 'You don't believe me, Mister, let me hurt it so you can hear.' "Whiting heard Edna yelp in pain. When he heard the jingling of her tags, Whiting knew they had his beloved little brown dog."I couldn't believe how evil he was," says Whiting. "He said, 'You know, Mister, I want to kill your dog.' "Whiting pleaded with them not to hurt Edna, offering to give them even more than $600 if they would keep Edna safe until the morning. The line went dead. Whiting immediately called 911 and Philadelphia police took the complaint seriously, entering it as extortion.A few hours later, at 3 a.m., Whiting got a second call from one of the monsters. "I've killed your dog, it's dead," he said. The call came in on Whiting's land line, which was listed on Edna's name tag but not on the fliers he had posted everywhere.Later that morning, Whiting tried to find the phone number the extortionists had used. He called his service provider, Verizon, to tell them to release his phone records to police, but it wasn't that simple."I made about five calls and kept getting people who were good at passing the hot potato," Whiting says.
He was told police know the procedure.The detective working the case, who asked me not to use his name, says he got a search warrant and faxed it to Verizon on Nov. 16, but it took 12 days before he got a list of calls made to Whiting. The city was charged $150 for the search.
Verizon charged police $150?
In most cases, says Verizon spokesman Lee Gierczynski, "the company charges no fee or a nominal one," but in a "very small percentage of cases, Verizon will charge reimbursement fees for gathering information it does not routinely maintain."The fee covers some of Verizon's costs and it makes no profit, he says. In a wired world, I find both the slow service and the high cost hard to swallow. A crime has been committed. Another police source tells me the service is no better for other crimes, such as kidnapping, when time is crucial.In Edna's case, the detective says, he must now get another search warrant to connect the phone numbers he has to subscribers. He couldn't say what the charge would be or how long it would take. More delay and more expense.
Bill Whiting believes Edna was heartlessly killed by the savages who called him. (You see her picture. If you recall seeing someone with the dog, call police detectives at 215-686-3093 or -3094.) Whiting will live for a long time, maybe forever, with the pain of hearing his little brown dog tortured. But he doesn't want Edna to have died in vain. As her legacy, he wants the phone companies to act faster and cheaper. He thinks telecommunications companies should provide free assistance to police "as a public service. It's not like they have a narrow profit margin." He's right. Who'll get the ball rolling? Another story on Edna was also posted on the South Philly Review website.
A video of Bill speaking about the situation was posted on ksn.com
Contact the Mayor of Philadelphia to express your concerns about the situation and how the Mayor intends to address it.
Executive Office of the Mayor
Room 215 City Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-686-2181
E-mail: mayor@phila.gov
Contact the Police Department of Philadelphia to express your concerns about how the Police have handled this case so far.
Sylvester M. Johnson, Police Commissioner
Philadelphia Police Department
One Franklin Square
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-686-1776215-686-3053
Managing Director, Loree Jones, 215-686-3480
Barbara Kopecki, Assistant Managing Director 215-686-3482
Contact Verizon to express your concerns about their policies.
Ivan Seidenberg, Chairman & CEO
Verizon Communications
140 West Street
New York, NY 10007
800-621-9900
William B. Petersen, President Verizon - Pennsylvania
1717 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
or
Jim Reed, Director - External Affairs, Southeastern (Counties: Philadelphia)
Verizon-Pennsylvania
215-466-4838
james.a.reed@verizon.com
Original story was posted here http://www.network.bestfriends.org/pennsylvania/news/20944.html
Verizon Disconnects 2 Lives
Phone company's foot-dragging stymies police, owner in search for dog's torturers
by Stu Bykofsky, Philadelphia Daily News.
THE LAST TIME Bill Whiting heard his little brown dog, she was screaming in pain as t wo miserable bastards tortured her. Whiting heard this over the phone as the two monsters demanded money to return the Beagle mix.Her name was Edna, and she was so gentle that Whiting took her to hospitals, where patients cheered up as they petted her. Edna had pointed bunny ears, warm brown eyes and was Whiting's "constant companion" since he adopted her a decade ago. She had never known anything but kindness from human hands. Whiting made sure that Edna always wore her collar. Attached to her collar were her vaccination tags, showing she was a healthy dog, and her name tag with Whiting's information, showing she was a loved dog.
When Edna walked, her tags jingled.Whiting heard the jingling over his Verizon phone as Edna screamed in pain. Terrorized, he couldn't imagine what the savages were doing to his little brown dog. He just wanted it to stop - and when he wanted help from Verizon, it came very slowly and at a steep price.Edna disappeared on Halloween night. A Center City resident, Whiting was visiting a friend in the Italian Market area, and he brought Edna along, because Edna went everywhere with him.That evening, with the doorbell being rung every few minutes by trick-or-treaters, Edna somehow slipped out, maybe to follow some children, because she was a friendly and trusting dog.When Whiting noticed she was missing, he frantically ran up and down the narrow South Philly streets, whistling and calling her name. The next morning he put up fliers with her picture, his cell-phone number and the promise of a $500 reward for her return. Whiting hoped anyone finding her would call, either out of the goodness of his heart or desire for the reward.He waited vainly for 10 days, heart-sick and physically sick over Edna.
Then, late at night on Nov. 10, the phone rang and he could hardly believe what he heard. He heard two voices that sounded male and young. The first said he was 16, his brother was 9 and they had his dog. He wanted Whiting, 57, who works for the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, to talk with his brother.At first, Whiting says he could barely understand the younger boy, speaking in what he described as "American ghetto slang." Whiting slowly realized the boy wanted $600 to ransom Edna. "I was to bring cash, by myself," at midnight to a location Whiting could not decipher.Whiting agreed to pay the money but not to a midnight meeting. "They said they wanted the money now, and told me they'd kill the dog, repeating, 'You don't believe me, Mister, let me hurt it so you can hear.' "Whiting heard Edna yelp in pain. When he heard the jingling of her tags, Whiting knew they had his beloved little brown dog."I couldn't believe how evil he was," says Whiting. "He said, 'You know, Mister, I want to kill your dog.' "Whiting pleaded with them not to hurt Edna, offering to give them even more than $600 if they would keep Edna safe until the morning. The line went dead. Whiting immediately called 911 and Philadelphia police took the complaint seriously, entering it as extortion.A few hours later, at 3 a.m., Whiting got a second call from one of the monsters. "I've killed your dog, it's dead," he said. The call came in on Whiting's land line, which was listed on Edna's name tag but not on the fliers he had posted everywhere.Later that morning, Whiting tried to find the phone number the extortionists had used. He called his service provider, Verizon, to tell them to release his phone records to police, but it wasn't that simple."I made about five calls and kept getting people who were good at passing the hot potato," Whiting says.
He was told police know the procedure.The detective working the case, who asked me not to use his name, says he got a search warrant and faxed it to Verizon on Nov. 16, but it took 12 days before he got a list of calls made to Whiting. The city was charged $150 for the search.
Verizon charged police $150?
In most cases, says Verizon spokesman Lee Gierczynski, "the company charges no fee or a nominal one," but in a "very small percentage of cases, Verizon will charge reimbursement fees for gathering information it does not routinely maintain."The fee covers some of Verizon's costs and it makes no profit, he says. In a wired world, I find both the slow service and the high cost hard to swallow. A crime has been committed. Another police source tells me the service is no better for other crimes, such as kidnapping, when time is crucial.In Edna's case, the detective says, he must now get another search warrant to connect the phone numbers he has to subscribers. He couldn't say what the charge would be or how long it would take. More delay and more expense.
Bill Whiting believes Edna was heartlessly killed by the savages who called him. (You see her picture. If you recall seeing someone with the dog, call police detectives at 215-686-3093 or -3094.) Whiting will live for a long time, maybe forever, with the pain of hearing his little brown dog tortured. But he doesn't want Edna to have died in vain. As her legacy, he wants the phone companies to act faster and cheaper. He thinks telecommunications companies should provide free assistance to police "as a public service. It's not like they have a narrow profit margin." He's right. Who'll get the ball rolling? Another story on Edna was also posted on the South Philly Review website.
A video of Bill speaking about the situation was posted on ksn.com
Contact the Mayor of Philadelphia to express your concerns about the situation and how the Mayor intends to address it.
Executive Office of the Mayor
Room 215 City Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-686-2181
E-mail: mayor@phila.gov
Contact the Police Department of Philadelphia to express your concerns about how the Police have handled this case so far.
Sylvester M. Johnson, Police Commissioner
Philadelphia Police Department
One Franklin Square
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-686-1776215-686-3053
Managing Director, Loree Jones, 215-686-3480
Barbara Kopecki, Assistant Managing Director 215-686-3482
Contact Verizon to express your concerns about their policies.
Ivan Seidenberg, Chairman & CEO
Verizon Communications
140 West Street
New York, NY 10007
800-621-9900
William B. Petersen, President Verizon - Pennsylvania
1717 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
or
Jim Reed, Director - External Affairs, Southeastern (Counties: Philadelphia)
Verizon-Pennsylvania
215-466-4838
james.a.reed@verizon.com
Friday, November 23, 2007
Ten Years
What were you doing ten years ago?
I had just driven from Chicago to Washington DC to join up with my parents before continuing on to North Carolina for a Thanksgiving family reunion.
That trip to DC would change my life forever…
Before that trip I was a conservative Fundamentalist Christian. Now… well, if you have read my blog before you know what I believe today.
I went to DC having no idea that I would step over a line I had drawn for myself and end up setting myself free.
“Freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose”
Janice Joplin
Janice baby you spoke the truth.
Ten years ago today I kissed a woman for the first time. My fate really was sealed with a kiss. How many of you can say that?
Leading up to that was an entire evening of talking. Talking to her about how I wanted to kiss her. How she wanted to kiss me. How scared we were. What did it mean to each of us? What would happen?
Then, after hours and hours of talking it to death we went for a walk. On that walk, I finally decided to just do it. I stopped us and on a sidewalk on Capitol Hill we kissed.
Lest you think it was full of birds singing and other romantic things let me tell you it was scary.
and
Wonderful.
It was “Holy SHIT! I am kissing a woman. What the hell am I doing?” and “I don’t care that I am kissing a woman” with a smidge of “Oh my God this is awesome!” tossed in for good measure. All happening at the same time.
In that decision to cross that line, I knew I was turning a corner. I knew nothing would be the same. No matter if I went back into the closet I would still have done it. I would still have tried it. God would know.
I prayed that God would forgive me.
She explained to me later that there was nothing to forgive. This is the path I was to be on.
So, here I am Ten years later, sitting in a lesbian coffee shop in St. Louis writing this.
Fucking wow!
During these last ten years I have been through experiences and changes that I could not have even imagined ten years and two days ago. I lost my daughter but after waiting a few years I gained a beautiful young lady. I lost my lover but gained a partner. I lost my family but gained people who love me for me, not expectations (including some I am related to by blood). I lost a GOD but gained a relationship with Spirit. I lost my mind but found my freedom. I lost “everything” and gained so much more.
I am stuck today looking back. I see what lead up to that moment ten years ago, on a sidewalk in DC. I look at the following years with their crushing, heart breaking pain and wonder to myself why I waited so long. I understand that time and place come together to create an event. I get that. However, I still ask why I waited (read suffered) so long. Suffering for the beliefs of others that I had imbibed.
Ten years ago I believed that homosexuality was nearly the worst sin I could commit. I believed that it was wrong, a choice, perversion, and of the devil. I believed that it was a direct path to a miserable life and ultimately ends up with a permanent separation from God. I hated fags. I would drive through Dupont Circle in Washington DC and despise the fags and queers that congregated there. I supported churches that actively worked to limit the “spread” of homosexuality.
I also knew in the farthest, darkest bottom back corner of my heart I was gay.
“Freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose”
Janice Joplin
I decided that I had nothing left to lose that day. Thank Spirit that I decided that!
So, today, the day after Thanksgiving 2007, I sit here thankful. Heart exploding thankfulness for freedom, love, passion, comfort, care, support, laughter, tears and HOPE. Things are not perfect but, I appreciate how much BETTER they are these ten years later…
I had just driven from Chicago to Washington DC to join up with my parents before continuing on to North Carolina for a Thanksgiving family reunion.
That trip to DC would change my life forever…
Before that trip I was a conservative Fundamentalist Christian. Now… well, if you have read my blog before you know what I believe today.
I went to DC having no idea that I would step over a line I had drawn for myself and end up setting myself free.
“Freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose”
Janice Joplin
Janice baby you spoke the truth.
Ten years ago today I kissed a woman for the first time. My fate really was sealed with a kiss. How many of you can say that?
Leading up to that was an entire evening of talking. Talking to her about how I wanted to kiss her. How she wanted to kiss me. How scared we were. What did it mean to each of us? What would happen?
Then, after hours and hours of talking it to death we went for a walk. On that walk, I finally decided to just do it. I stopped us and on a sidewalk on Capitol Hill we kissed.
Lest you think it was full of birds singing and other romantic things let me tell you it was scary.
and
Wonderful.
It was “Holy SHIT! I am kissing a woman. What the hell am I doing?” and “I don’t care that I am kissing a woman” with a smidge of “Oh my God this is awesome!” tossed in for good measure. All happening at the same time.
In that decision to cross that line, I knew I was turning a corner. I knew nothing would be the same. No matter if I went back into the closet I would still have done it. I would still have tried it. God would know.
I prayed that God would forgive me.
She explained to me later that there was nothing to forgive. This is the path I was to be on.
So, here I am Ten years later, sitting in a lesbian coffee shop in St. Louis writing this.
Fucking wow!
During these last ten years I have been through experiences and changes that I could not have even imagined ten years and two days ago. I lost my daughter but after waiting a few years I gained a beautiful young lady. I lost my lover but gained a partner. I lost my family but gained people who love me for me, not expectations (including some I am related to by blood). I lost a GOD but gained a relationship with Spirit. I lost my mind but found my freedom. I lost “everything” and gained so much more.
I am stuck today looking back. I see what lead up to that moment ten years ago, on a sidewalk in DC. I look at the following years with their crushing, heart breaking pain and wonder to myself why I waited so long. I understand that time and place come together to create an event. I get that. However, I still ask why I waited (read suffered) so long. Suffering for the beliefs of others that I had imbibed.
Ten years ago I believed that homosexuality was nearly the worst sin I could commit. I believed that it was wrong, a choice, perversion, and of the devil. I believed that it was a direct path to a miserable life and ultimately ends up with a permanent separation from God. I hated fags. I would drive through Dupont Circle in Washington DC and despise the fags and queers that congregated there. I supported churches that actively worked to limit the “spread” of homosexuality.
I also knew in the farthest, darkest bottom back corner of my heart I was gay.
“Freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose”
Janice Joplin
I decided that I had nothing left to lose that day. Thank Spirit that I decided that!
So, today, the day after Thanksgiving 2007, I sit here thankful. Heart exploding thankfulness for freedom, love, passion, comfort, care, support, laughter, tears and HOPE. Things are not perfect but, I appreciate how much BETTER they are these ten years later…
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Our way of life
I realized this morning that we in the US have always expected something for nothing.
Up till the mid 19th century we had “free” labor in the form of slaves.
From the mid 19th century through the 20th century we had “free” labor in the form of cheep and plentiful fuels to replace the slaves.
In the latter part of the 20th century into the beginning of the 21st, we have “free” labor in the form of immigrants from south of the border.
This has given all of us a sense of “something for nothing” and for a select few “entitlement.”
However
The direct cost of slavery was high. Higher than any of us alive today can fully appreciate. We can read about it, we can empathize to an extent, but we cannot fully know. Thank God for that. We have been paying the price for slavery for a long time now, but some of us don’t really feel it. Some of us who live in the white world are not even aware that the cost is still going on. That we are not entirely free of slavery. The chains have just faded. The chains these days are now prison bars, subtle racism that most do not realize they have, sequestered neighborhoods were poverty is encouraged and hope killed at every opportunity, the inability to say “I love you“ to people you love. The sounds of the chains clanking are the sound of car doors locking when a proud black man walks by, the lack of color in management of corporate US, the attitude of fear. Yet, slavery doesn’t exist anymore…
The cost of cheep and plentiful fuels are beginning to be felt. The missing fall weather, the drowned Polar Bears, the loss of entire species, the asthma, the deserts. We all grew up in an age where things were easy. It didn’t cost much to run your car, heat your home, cool your home, and read late at night. We separated ourselves from the earth in doing these things. Our feet did not touch mother earth, our bodies did not experience the climate directly, and we have divorced ourselves from natural rhythms of wakefulness and rest.
The cost of exploitation of our southern brothers and sisters will be felt later. I don’t know what form that is but it is coming.
We are looking for ways to continue our way of life when the fuel runs out. This is a mistake. The idea of “continuing our way of life” lead to devastating results in the mid 19th century that we STILL haven’t fixed. Jim Crow laws, lynching to keep the uppity niggers in line, less pay for equal work, and separate but equal “education” are all ways they came up with to continue their way of life.
We cannot continue our current way of life because this was built on “something for nothing” and that doesn’t exist. “Our way of life” is exploitative and must change.
Please do not get the impression that I am excluding myself from the above. I am just as guilty of these things and I enjoy my comforts. However, each day I become more aware of the cost I am asking others to pay for MY comforts. The lower cost vegetables at the grocery store because the workers were not paid a living wage, the cost to the environment of having comfort in my home and a solitary commute some days, the beauty of the buildings here in DC that were built by slave hands without thanking the slaves for their work are all ways that I fall short.
I hope that just being aware is enough for now. I sincerely hope that I will learn to live without my “comforts” by choice before it is a necessity and that I don’t fall into the trap of continuing our way of life.
Up till the mid 19th century we had “free” labor in the form of slaves.
From the mid 19th century through the 20th century we had “free” labor in the form of cheep and plentiful fuels to replace the slaves.
In the latter part of the 20th century into the beginning of the 21st, we have “free” labor in the form of immigrants from south of the border.
This has given all of us a sense of “something for nothing” and for a select few “entitlement.”
However
The direct cost of slavery was high. Higher than any of us alive today can fully appreciate. We can read about it, we can empathize to an extent, but we cannot fully know. Thank God for that. We have been paying the price for slavery for a long time now, but some of us don’t really feel it. Some of us who live in the white world are not even aware that the cost is still going on. That we are not entirely free of slavery. The chains have just faded. The chains these days are now prison bars, subtle racism that most do not realize they have, sequestered neighborhoods were poverty is encouraged and hope killed at every opportunity, the inability to say “I love you“ to people you love. The sounds of the chains clanking are the sound of car doors locking when a proud black man walks by, the lack of color in management of corporate US, the attitude of fear. Yet, slavery doesn’t exist anymore…
The cost of cheep and plentiful fuels are beginning to be felt. The missing fall weather, the drowned Polar Bears, the loss of entire species, the asthma, the deserts. We all grew up in an age where things were easy. It didn’t cost much to run your car, heat your home, cool your home, and read late at night. We separated ourselves from the earth in doing these things. Our feet did not touch mother earth, our bodies did not experience the climate directly, and we have divorced ourselves from natural rhythms of wakefulness and rest.
The cost of exploitation of our southern brothers and sisters will be felt later. I don’t know what form that is but it is coming.
We are looking for ways to continue our way of life when the fuel runs out. This is a mistake. The idea of “continuing our way of life” lead to devastating results in the mid 19th century that we STILL haven’t fixed. Jim Crow laws, lynching to keep the uppity niggers in line, less pay for equal work, and separate but equal “education” are all ways they came up with to continue their way of life.
We cannot continue our current way of life because this was built on “something for nothing” and that doesn’t exist. “Our way of life” is exploitative and must change.
Please do not get the impression that I am excluding myself from the above. I am just as guilty of these things and I enjoy my comforts. However, each day I become more aware of the cost I am asking others to pay for MY comforts. The lower cost vegetables at the grocery store because the workers were not paid a living wage, the cost to the environment of having comfort in my home and a solitary commute some days, the beauty of the buildings here in DC that were built by slave hands without thanking the slaves for their work are all ways that I fall short.
I hope that just being aware is enough for now. I sincerely hope that I will learn to live without my “comforts” by choice before it is a necessity and that I don’t fall into the trap of continuing our way of life.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Scary, so scary that this is true...
To anyone who has met me in person and knows what my coworkers, friends and landlady call me (ok, my legal name) this is beyond funny!
Froggie's wife took this (via phone) and here are her results. Scary! Very Scary!!! :-)
| The Most Amazing Qu--Hey, Look, Candy! Your Result: Polka Dotted Sasquatch You are seriously polka dotted. And fuzzy. Actually extremely fuzzy. You should probably buy a razor. You're starting to freak me out here. And I don't know how to spell your name. | |
| Purple Sofa | |
| Emerald Rain | |
| Flaming Feather | |
| Swirling Vortex | |
| Pickled Jellyfish | |
| The Most Amazing Qu--Hey, Look, Candy! Make Your Own Quiz | |
Froggie's wife took this (via phone) and here are her results. Scary! Very Scary!!! :-)
| The Most Amazing Qu--Hey, Look, Candy! Your Result: Purple Sofa You're nice and squishy, and people like you a lot. In fact, I think everyone likes you. Plus you're purple. Everyone likes purple, and everyone likes sofas. Except guys don't like purple as much. Samuel L. Jackson likes purple. That's why he has a purple lightsaber. Only I don't know if that's his actual name. So it goes. | |
| Emerald Rain | |
| Swirling Vortex | |
| Flaming Feather | |
| Polka Dotted Sasquatch | |
| Pickled Jellyfish | |
| The Most Amazing Qu--Hey, Look, Candy! Make Your Own Quiz | |
No Homosexuals in Iran
This is from The Borowitz Report courtesy of Undeniable Liberal.
OMG is it funny!!
http://undeniableliberalism.blogspot.com/2007/09/early-friday-funny.html
OMG is it funny!!
http://undeniableliberalism.blogspot.com/2007/09/early-friday-funny.html
Matthew Shepard Act
The Matthew Shepard Act has been passed by both the House and the Senate. In case you are not familiar with this it is:
"The measure would give the federal government more leeway to investigate and prosecute hate crimes and increase federal jurisdiction on such crimes. More important, it would expand the groups protected under current law to include such categories as disability, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity. " - ABC News (http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3659768&page=1)
It is amazing that this is moving forward. FINALLY, some federal protection from rape, beatings, and murder because of my orientation. It is strangely comforting to know that if the worst does happen to me that something would be done about it instead of it dissappearing in the haze of some backward town's sheriff department.
However...
The president has vowed to veto this act. Go fucking figure. Wonder what lord Cheney thinks about that? Course he wouldn't need to give a flying shit about it cause he can always afford to hire protection for his little angel or pull strings to make sure she doesn't get fired.
Unlike the rest of us.
Anyhoo...
I do have something for those who voted against protecting MY freedom. (Hat tip to Ru for sending me this a while ago.)
"The measure would give the federal government more leeway to investigate and prosecute hate crimes and increase federal jurisdiction on such crimes. More important, it would expand the groups protected under current law to include such categories as disability, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity. " - ABC News (http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3659768&page=1)
It is amazing that this is moving forward. FINALLY, some federal protection from rape, beatings, and murder because of my orientation. It is strangely comforting to know that if the worst does happen to me that something would be done about it instead of it dissappearing in the haze of some backward town's sheriff department.
However...
The president has vowed to veto this act. Go fucking figure. Wonder what lord Cheney thinks about that? Course he wouldn't need to give a flying shit about it cause he can always afford to hire protection for his little angel or pull strings to make sure she doesn't get fired.
Unlike the rest of us.
Anyhoo...
I do have something for those who voted against protecting MY freedom. (Hat tip to Ru for sending me this a while ago.)
Monday, September 24, 2007
Do your tits hang low?
I was bitching to my wife the other day about how my poor boobies are headed down to my waist.
This (other than shit keeps breaking) is probably the biggest thing that gets me about getting older. It sucks. I miss my perky boobies. I don’t think I can do the surgery thing cause, you know, that would be joining in with the superficial snobs of the world and who the hell wants to join them?
Bitch, whine, moan….
My wife’s response?
She started singing this song. You should be able to guess the tune.
Do your tits hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie 'em in a knot?
Can you tie 'em in a bow?
Can you throw them over your shoulder like a Continental Soldier?
Do your tits hang looooow?
I would have called her a bitch for that but I was laughing too hard.
This (other than shit keeps breaking) is probably the biggest thing that gets me about getting older. It sucks. I miss my perky boobies. I don’t think I can do the surgery thing cause, you know, that would be joining in with the superficial snobs of the world and who the hell wants to join them?
Bitch, whine, moan….
My wife’s response?
She started singing this song. You should be able to guess the tune.
Do your tits hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie 'em in a knot?
Can you tie 'em in a bow?
Can you throw them over your shoulder like a Continental Soldier?
Do your tits hang looooow?
I would have called her a bitch for that but I was laughing too hard.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Subjective
“What is real?”
Morpheus in Matrix.
All of reality is subjective.
My reality is not your reality and vice versa. What I perceive as a warm day is cold to others. Just look at Floridians who come up here to visit. My experience of living in a colder climate has conditioned me to feel 70 degree weather as warm. I am sure that you can come up with other examples for yourselves.
There are those who believe that all of reality is the same for everyone.
Universal.
Static.
Solid.
Not according to my experience. You know, solid, is not really solid at all.
Science has proven that there are tiny, sub-microscopic spaces between apparently “solid” matter. The keyboard I am using to write this has space between the molecules that make up the plastic that make up the parts to the keyboard. What we perceive as “solid” is really the electromagnetic repulsion of the molecules that my hand is composed of being pushed away from the molecules of the plastic in the keyboard. In a way, I am not really touching the plastic of the keys.
Still with me?
Lets go a step further.
“What is Truth?”
My truth, just like my reality, is colored by my experiences. What is true for me is not the same truth for you.
There are those who believe that there is only one universal truth.
I am less and less inclined to believe that.
I believe that there are many universal truths. I believe that the ones I connect with are just a true as the ones you connect with. However, I believe that those that are true for you, are not necessarily truth for me.
The truth in my universe is not the same as the truth in your universe.
Makes for an interesting view of the world…
Morpheus in Matrix.
All of reality is subjective.
My reality is not your reality and vice versa. What I perceive as a warm day is cold to others. Just look at Floridians who come up here to visit. My experience of living in a colder climate has conditioned me to feel 70 degree weather as warm. I am sure that you can come up with other examples for yourselves.
There are those who believe that all of reality is the same for everyone.
Universal.
Static.
Solid.
Not according to my experience. You know, solid, is not really solid at all.
Science has proven that there are tiny, sub-microscopic spaces between apparently “solid” matter. The keyboard I am using to write this has space between the molecules that make up the plastic that make up the parts to the keyboard. What we perceive as “solid” is really the electromagnetic repulsion of the molecules that my hand is composed of being pushed away from the molecules of the plastic in the keyboard. In a way, I am not really touching the plastic of the keys.
Still with me?
Lets go a step further.
“What is Truth?”
My truth, just like my reality, is colored by my experiences. What is true for me is not the same truth for you.
There are those who believe that there is only one universal truth.
I am less and less inclined to believe that.
I believe that there are many universal truths. I believe that the ones I connect with are just a true as the ones you connect with. However, I believe that those that are true for you, are not necessarily truth for me.
The truth in my universe is not the same as the truth in your universe.
Makes for an interesting view of the world…
Monday, September 17, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Ah, more quizzes
| You Are a Yellow Crayon |
 Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors. You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius. Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way. While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme. Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth. |
Love'n internet at home.
| You Are Animal |
 |
http://www.blogthings.com/themuppetpersonalitytest/
Monday, September 10, 2007
Got this in an email and
Just too good not to share!
Texas Car Wreck . . . Play by Play
You've got to listen to this! It's a phone call from a man in Texas who witnessed a car accident involving 4 elderly women. It was so popular when they played it on CHUM FM (a radio station in Canada) that they had to put it on their site. The intro says the man called his friend to tell him about the accident, but it sounds like the man was in the midst of leaving amessage on his friend's machine when the accident happened and he stayed on the phone to give a play-by-play.......hilarious! Click onthe link & turn up the speakers!!
Click here:
http://www.chumfm.com/MorningShow/bits/march24.swf
Texas Car Wreck . . . Play by Play
You've got to listen to this! It's a phone call from a man in Texas who witnessed a car accident involving 4 elderly women. It was so popular when they played it on CHUM FM (a radio station in Canada) that they had to put it on their site. The intro says the man called his friend to tell him about the accident, but it sounds like the man was in the midst of leaving amessage on his friend's machine when the accident happened and he stayed on the phone to give a play-by-play.......hilarious! Click onthe link & turn up the speakers!!
Click here:
http://www.chumfm.com/MorningShow/bits/march24.swf
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Back to light and fluffy
I am finally getting the answers to all those things I have wondered about all these years and I feel like I am picking things up from long ago.
For example I had looked for a a copy of the song "Groove is in the heart" by Deee-lite back when the song first came out. I just today finally found one on CD.
Do you remember the song "When I think of you, I touch myself"? I heard that song long ago when I was in college (and about 8 years before I admitted I am gay). I heard about the video to that song and I really wanted to see it. Couldn't find it then. I have always wondered about that video cause what I heard about it... well, if you remember the song, you can imagine what the video looks like.
I, just 6 minutes ago, finally, after waiting 16 years, saw the video.
DAAAAMMNNNN.
After picking my jaw up off the floor I remembered when this was released and I thought about how I was at that time. I was so heavily closeted that I would not admit, even to myself, that I am gay. Gay was a choice, and more importantly, of the devil.
*Hanging head* Yes, secret is out. I come from a fundamentalist Christian background and was very into it till not too long before I came out to myself. I call myself a "recovering Southern Baptist."
But, I digress...
After watching this video I waited 16 years to see, I had a realization. I am really, reeeeally, glad I couldn't find it then. I was so heavily closeted (such a shame) that had I seen this when it first came out, I would have had a seizure and my head would have imploded from the sheer...
Uh
Aw shit. I can't describe it. Y'all watch it and tell me what you think.
:-)
Thank God for YouTube!
For example I had looked for a a copy of the song "Groove is in the heart" by Deee-lite back when the song first came out. I just today finally found one on CD.
Do you remember the song "When I think of you, I touch myself"? I heard that song long ago when I was in college (and about 8 years before I admitted I am gay). I heard about the video to that song and I really wanted to see it. Couldn't find it then. I have always wondered about that video cause what I heard about it... well, if you remember the song, you can imagine what the video looks like.
I, just 6 minutes ago, finally, after waiting 16 years, saw the video.
DAAAAMMNNNN.
After picking my jaw up off the floor I remembered when this was released and I thought about how I was at that time. I was so heavily closeted that I would not admit, even to myself, that I am gay. Gay was a choice, and more importantly, of the devil.
*Hanging head* Yes, secret is out. I come from a fundamentalist Christian background and was very into it till not too long before I came out to myself. I call myself a "recovering Southern Baptist."
But, I digress...
After watching this video I waited 16 years to see, I had a realization. I am really, reeeeally, glad I couldn't find it then. I was so heavily closeted (such a shame) that had I seen this when it first came out, I would have had a seizure and my head would have imploded from the sheer...
Uh
Aw shit. I can't describe it. Y'all watch it and tell me what you think.
:-)
Thank God for YouTube!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Yeah. This is a good reason to stay in Iraq.
Porter ties U.S. withdrawal from Iraq to $9 gasoline
WASHINGTON -- Gasoline prices could rise to about $9 per gallon if the United States withdraws troops from Iraq prematurely, Rep. Jon Porter said he was told on a trip to Iraq that ended this week.
Read the rest here: http://www.lvrj.com/news/9466252.html
WASHINGTON -- Gasoline prices could rise to about $9 per gallon if the United States withdraws troops from Iraq prematurely, Rep. Jon Porter said he was told on a trip to Iraq that ended this week.
Read the rest here: http://www.lvrj.com/news/9466252.html
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Once again
Bush opted for business over safety.
Efforts to crack down on lead paint thwarted by China, Bush Administration
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/19070.html
Efforts to crack down on lead paint thwarted by China, Bush Administration
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/19070.html
Sunday, August 26, 2007
I have never maxed out a scale before.
Kinda neat to do so though...
| What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Science/Math Nerd (Absolute Insane Laughter as you pour toxic chemicals into a foaming tub of death!) | |
| Social Nerd | |
| Literature Nerd | |
| Gamer/Computer Nerd | |
| Musician | |
| Artistic Nerd | |
| Drama Nerd | |
| Anime Nerd | |
| What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace | |
Friday, August 24, 2007
Ok, really, I am going to bed now...
And my therapist didn't believe me.
| What mental disorder do you have? Your Result: ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) You have a very hard time focusing, and you find it difficult to stay on task without your mind wandering. You probably zone in and out of conversations and tend to miss out on directions because you cannot focus | |
| Manic Depressive | |
| OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) | |
| GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) | |
| Paranoia | |
| What mental disorder do you have? | |
Ok, I need to get out more...
You Are 73% Strange!
You are pretty darn strange. You're quirky and odd, and definitely not normal. But that's great--it makes you an interesting person. You aren't exactly as strange as they come, but congratulations on being quite unique!
How Strange Are You?
Quizzes for MySpace
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Internet, Internet, where shall I go on the internet
I have internet access that does not involve my office!
Woo Hooo!
Last night was the first night I have had the ability to just surf the internet. No worrying about the boss seeing me.
I sat in front of my computer after waiting all day to surf to my hearts content.
Then.
I drew a blank.
Where the hell do I want to go?
I sat for a little while then realized how fucking funny this was. I waited two years for unlimited guilt free surfing and now I had no idea where I wanted to go.
I wonder if they sell maps to the internet?
Woo Hooo!
Last night was the first night I have had the ability to just surf the internet. No worrying about the boss seeing me.
I sat in front of my computer after waiting all day to surf to my hearts content.
Then.
I drew a blank.
Where the hell do I want to go?
I sat for a little while then realized how fucking funny this was. I waited two years for unlimited guilt free surfing and now I had no idea where I wanted to go.
I wonder if they sell maps to the internet?
Monday, August 20, 2007
What do you get when you combine:
A sleep deprivation induced altered state of consciousness
A liberal amount of coffee
and
A good music mix CD from the 60’s and 70’s rock?
One hellofa fun day at work.
Sing along with me!
When the moon is in the seventh house
and Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planet
and love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius...
Leeeet the sunshine
leeeeet the sunshine in
The suuuun shine iiiinn.
A liberal amount of coffee
and
A good music mix CD from the 60’s and 70’s rock?
One hellofa fun day at work.
Sing along with me!
When the moon is in the seventh house
and Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planet
and love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius...
Leeeet the sunshine
leeeeet the sunshine in
The suuuun shine iiiinn.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Never Forget that Stupidity Really Does Kill
The picture you see here is from August 2001. In the picture you see Harriet Myers giving President Bush an urgent report from the CIA titled "Bin Laden Determined To Attack America."The CIA felt that this was so important they took the unusual step of interrupting his vacation and sent people down to his ranch to discuss the report in person. His response?
“All right, you’ve covered your ass now.”
Click here to read more about this
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Priceless - Part 2
I OWN THE TRUCK!!!
No more riding the bus for-fucking-ever to go 11 miles for a doctor appointment.
No more getting up at 5:30 am for a 9:30 am appointment.
No more freezing my ass off waiting for the bus or on the open platform of the Metro in the middle of winter.
No more asking "is this metro accessable" when thinking about going someplace.
I can go to the woods, and commune with nature, at the drop of a hat.
I can listen to my music as loud as I want with the windows open while commuting TO WORK!!!
(really to ANYWHERE!)
She isn't much to look at but I tell ya, she is great.
Pictures to come soon.
No more riding the bus for-fucking-ever to go 11 miles for a doctor appointment.
No more getting up at 5:30 am for a 9:30 am appointment.
No more freezing my ass off waiting for the bus or on the open platform of the Metro in the middle of winter.
No more asking "is this metro accessable" when thinking about going someplace.
I can go to the woods, and commune with nature, at the drop of a hat.
I can listen to my music as loud as I want with the windows open while commuting TO WORK!!!
(really to ANYWHERE!)
She isn't much to look at but I tell ya, she is great.
Pictures to come soon.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Frogies Priceless
Used pick up truck - $1,500
Insurance - $140 a month
Gas - up to $100 a month
No longer having to get up at 4:30 in the morning to make a 7:30 MRI appointment that is only 11 miles away - Priceless
Insurance - $140 a month
Gas - up to $100 a month
No longer having to get up at 4:30 in the morning to make a 7:30 MRI appointment that is only 11 miles away - Priceless
Thursday, February 15, 2007
What my life is like
Hello all,
This is a neat slideshow about what my life and countless others lives are like.
http://news.yahoo.com/page/gay_marriage;_ylt=A0WTUewj.NNFDAIAqzes0NUE
The first couple is lucky. They can afford the legal fees entailed in getting the paperwork done.
I cannot.
The second couple is also lucky. They have custody of their children.
I do not.
If I lived in the state of Virginia it would be illegal for me to draw up the paperwork to protect property inheritance, hospital visitation and joint property ownership. In a lot of states even if I did have the paperwork I am not guaranteed simple hospital visitation.
Can you imagine what it is like to pack for a simple vacation? I, and countless others, make sure we bring the medical power of attorney paperwork with us. This is just to simply be able to sit with our partner in the treatment room if our partner gets sick, instead of being forced to wait in the waiting room with no information given to us because we are not related.
Sometimes, in the fight about what to call it, we lose sight of what it all really means...
Thanks,
Frog
This is a neat slideshow about what my life and countless others lives are like.
http://news.yahoo.com/page/gay_marriage;_ylt=A0WTUewj.NNFDAIAqzes0NUE
The first couple is lucky. They can afford the legal fees entailed in getting the paperwork done.
I cannot.
The second couple is also lucky. They have custody of their children.
I do not.
If I lived in the state of Virginia it would be illegal for me to draw up the paperwork to protect property inheritance, hospital visitation and joint property ownership. In a lot of states even if I did have the paperwork I am not guaranteed simple hospital visitation.
Can you imagine what it is like to pack for a simple vacation? I, and countless others, make sure we bring the medical power of attorney paperwork with us. This is just to simply be able to sit with our partner in the treatment room if our partner gets sick, instead of being forced to wait in the waiting room with no information given to us because we are not related.
Sometimes, in the fight about what to call it, we lose sight of what it all really means...
Thanks,
Frog
Monday, February 05, 2007
Bloody Hell!
Ok, here I am at work. We are planning to shuffle the entire 9th floor of my building around. In other words 42 office moves. Forty-Two people will be changing offices. Forty-Two. Not just moving to another floor. That would be too easy. No, we are moving them around. Just. around. from office to office.
So, myself and two of my co-workers just spent two and a half hours figuring out how we can do this, based on the (initially incomplete, didn't get the whole one till we found problems with the first one) list of who goes where. The reason is, some people are going into offices that other people need to vacate first. Only 4 instances have people moving into actual empty offices. So, doing the math... that leaves 38 moves that are in some way dependant on each other. Five of these instances actually have more than three office moves needing to take place before the last person can move in. Anyone familiar with the term Charley Foxtrot?
As far as I can tell most of these moves are not based on helping operations be more efficient or to save space. I asked, multiple times, about the need to move all of these people a lot of whom have moved offices in the last 10 MONTHS. An answer could not be given. Eventually it came down to TPTB (The Powers That Be) want to do this.
In all of my years of working for that most illogical organization, then for the organization that made a twisted sort of sense, doing so many things that I didn’t understand, I don't think I have ever said the words I said to my boss right before we got out of the planning session...
"This is stupid."
So, myself and two of my co-workers just spent two and a half hours figuring out how we can do this, based on the (initially incomplete, didn't get the whole one till we found problems with the first one) list of who goes where. The reason is, some people are going into offices that other people need to vacate first. Only 4 instances have people moving into actual empty offices. So, doing the math... that leaves 38 moves that are in some way dependant on each other. Five of these instances actually have more than three office moves needing to take place before the last person can move in. Anyone familiar with the term Charley Foxtrot?
As far as I can tell most of these moves are not based on helping operations be more efficient or to save space. I asked, multiple times, about the need to move all of these people a lot of whom have moved offices in the last 10 MONTHS. An answer could not be given. Eventually it came down to TPTB (The Powers That Be) want to do this.
In all of my years of working for that most illogical organization, then for the organization that made a twisted sort of sense, doing so many things that I didn’t understand, I don't think I have ever said the words I said to my boss right before we got out of the planning session...
"This is stupid."
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Ahhhhh... Smell the bullshit.
This quote from the President's State of the Union speech sounds like this may be the President’s way of getting around the unbelievably stupid policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” without offending those conservatives who believe that the only good queer is in the closet, or even better, dead.
“A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. It would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time.”
I mean really, would it be that bad to let honest, hard working, dedicated, massively patriotic people serve our country? I guess it is a problem if that person happens to have a difference that is so small, so inconsequential, so not having anything to do with the ability and the quality of service, that unless you ask or they tell you… you wouldn’t even know.
The United Kingdom has had “integrated” (read Gays and Lesbians serving openly) services for a long time now. That country didn’t fall into the ocean. No rain of Holy Fire or lightning came down. In fact in a quote from The Sunday Times of London on August 28th 2005 Captain Guy Sutcliffe one of the officers working at the Army’s recruiting booth at a gay pride festival said: “We are actively recruiting anyone. We reflect society irrespective of sexuality, gender or religion.” Sutcliffe said the army had “no idea” how many gay soldiers there were within its ranks. “It’s not relevant,” he said. “It’s not something we monitor.”
Contrast that thought with what General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley said in 1998 about the court decision allowing gays to serve openly.
“The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the British Armed Forces are obliged to enlist avowed homosexuals. Wittingly or otherwise, this decision will strike at morale and discipline.
The court's assumption is that military employments are much the same as others. But they are not.
The services are recruited and trained for war fighting. In this function death or wounds are a regular outcome. Those engaged are obliged to operate in close groups for long periods; comradeship is the binding factor. Ata a time when homogeneity is essential, sexual squabbles will be disruptive. Perhaps fatally so. “
Amazing that one of our closest allies, who previously used the same arguments to ban queer personnel as we do today, is so concerned about gays in the military that seven years after the General's argument for exclusion they don’t even bother to find out how many are serving.
Course, I can’t tell the difference between the President’s suggestion above and the currently existing system of hiring government contractors.
Unless, what he really means is mercenaries…
“A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. It would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time.”
I mean really, would it be that bad to let honest, hard working, dedicated, massively patriotic people serve our country? I guess it is a problem if that person happens to have a difference that is so small, so inconsequential, so not having anything to do with the ability and the quality of service, that unless you ask or they tell you… you wouldn’t even know.
The United Kingdom has had “integrated” (read Gays and Lesbians serving openly) services for a long time now. That country didn’t fall into the ocean. No rain of Holy Fire or lightning came down. In fact in a quote from The Sunday Times of London on August 28th 2005 Captain Guy Sutcliffe one of the officers working at the Army’s recruiting booth at a gay pride festival said: “We are actively recruiting anyone. We reflect society irrespective of sexuality, gender or religion.” Sutcliffe said the army had “no idea” how many gay soldiers there were within its ranks. “It’s not relevant,” he said. “It’s not something we monitor.”
Contrast that thought with what General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley said in 1998 about the court decision allowing gays to serve openly.
“The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the British Armed Forces are obliged to enlist avowed homosexuals. Wittingly or otherwise, this decision will strike at morale and discipline.
The court's assumption is that military employments are much the same as others. But they are not.
The services are recruited and trained for war fighting. In this function death or wounds are a regular outcome. Those engaged are obliged to operate in close groups for long periods; comradeship is the binding factor. Ata a time when homogeneity is essential, sexual squabbles will be disruptive. Perhaps fatally so. “
Amazing that one of our closest allies, who previously used the same arguments to ban queer personnel as we do today, is so concerned about gays in the military that seven years after the General's argument for exclusion they don’t even bother to find out how many are serving.
Course, I can’t tell the difference between the President’s suggestion above and the currently existing system of hiring government contractors.
Unless, what he really means is mercenaries…
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Gotta See to Believe...
This is for those out there who like me prefer the non-PC, gonna piss people off flip side of religion.
http://ruachx.blogspot.com/search/label/Sorta%20almost%20makes%20Benedict%20worth%20it
http://ruachx.blogspot.com/search/label/Sorta%20almost%20makes%20Benedict%20worth%20it
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Story from the Associated Press via Yahoo!
First off here is the link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070102/ap_on_fe_st/o_hare_ufo_sighting
Second off here is the story since Yahoo tends to discontinue the links after a while...
BTW... the last line is priceless...
A UFO at O'Hare? Some pilots thought so
Mon Jan 1, 7:02 PM ET (Associated Press)
CHICAGO - Federal officials say it was probably just some weird weather phenomenon, but a group of United Airlines employees swear they saw a mysterious, saucer-shaped craft hovering over O'Hare Airport last fall.
The workers, some of them pilots, said the object didn't have lights and hovered over an airport terminal before shooting up through the clouds, according to a report in Monday's Chicago Tribune.
The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged that a United supervisor had called the control tower at O'Hare, asking if anyone had spotted a spinning disc-shaped object. But the controllers didn't see anything, and a preliminary check of radar found nothing out of the ordinary, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said.
"Our theory on this is that it was a weather phenomenon," Cory said. "That night was a perfect atmospheric condition in terms of low (cloud) ceiling and a lot of airport lights. When the lights shine up into the clouds, sometimes you can see funny things."
The FAA is not investigating, Cory said.
United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said company officials don't recall discussing any such incident from Nov. 7.
At least one O'Hare controller, union official Craig Burzych, was amused by it all. "To fly 7 million light years to O'Hare and then have to turn around and go home because your gate was occupied is simply unacceptable," he said.
Second off here is the story since Yahoo tends to discontinue the links after a while...
BTW... the last line is priceless...
A UFO at O'Hare? Some pilots thought so
Mon Jan 1, 7:02 PM ET (Associated Press)
CHICAGO - Federal officials say it was probably just some weird weather phenomenon, but a group of United Airlines employees swear they saw a mysterious, saucer-shaped craft hovering over O'Hare Airport last fall.
The workers, some of them pilots, said the object didn't have lights and hovered over an airport terminal before shooting up through the clouds, according to a report in Monday's Chicago Tribune.
The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged that a United supervisor had called the control tower at O'Hare, asking if anyone had spotted a spinning disc-shaped object. But the controllers didn't see anything, and a preliminary check of radar found nothing out of the ordinary, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said.
"Our theory on this is that it was a weather phenomenon," Cory said. "That night was a perfect atmospheric condition in terms of low (cloud) ceiling and a lot of airport lights. When the lights shine up into the clouds, sometimes you can see funny things."
The FAA is not investigating, Cory said.
United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said company officials don't recall discussing any such incident from Nov. 7.
At least one O'Hare controller, union official Craig Burzych, was amused by it all. "To fly 7 million light years to O'Hare and then have to turn around and go home because your gate was occupied is simply unacceptable," he said.
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