Facetious Muse

Paltalk News Network

2010-01-30T00:19:00.003-06:00

Well guys I know I have been sorely missed, like a old toothache lol. I just wanted to let everyone knows that I am back to blogging again and I want to thank everyone that kept encouraging me to return to blogging. Although the last yr or so has been challenging at times, it also was a good yr.

This year I started out with blogging again. As many of you know I use paltalk for chat and chatrooms and this year I started to blog at Paltalk News Network. I will try to keep this blog updated as well. Again Guys thank you for all your support.

Make sure to stop by and say hi to me on paltalk also on mac.

Always Me

Transparency of Loans

2009-02-23T19:30:00.001-06:00

Most people think that an appraisal; any type of appraisal, is some kind of value for your home. In a perfect world it is, but there are many factors here. For those not use to or understanding of the finance market. look at it this way, you go to a bank, the banker is working for.......... himself. the more he closes the more he makes. The banker wants to get you into a loan like a car salesmen wants to get you into a car. once you drive off the lot they do not give an iota if you make the payments or not. The bankers hire appraisers to value your home, the more they value the home for vs the loan amount the easier it is to push through a loan.

Now the appraiser if he/she keeps pushing values that are low, the banker does not hire this so called independent person. The appraiser knows where his bread is buttered and since everyone wants to make money the appraisers gives the banker what they want.

Now in a hot market you may get a good appraisal, but in the current market you get an appraisal that doesn't even match your mortgage cost no less matching the value the banker's appraisers gave you.

What one needs to do to get a true appraisal prior to agreeing to any loan amount, is to hire their own not linked to a loan department appraiser. Then bankers will do what is called an 80/20 loan, the standard 80% loan and then tack on a 20% home equity loan to have a 100% loan on a home. This is just one of the areas that are putting people in the foreclosure line.

Another one of the problems is that in the early 2000's the bank rate was extremely low, which caused bankers to become very generous with their guidelines, which sold lots of homes. As the industry grew, mortgage bankers were hired by the tens of thousands and there training was to fill out a mortgage application and nothing more.

When prices were rising 5-10 percent a year, the 0 down loans, ARM/home equity financing, etc... real estate became a growth industry. Some of those in the game early were able to buy a home and then get a bigger home within a few years. However, most did not have any equity built up and were buying with 95-100% financing. Today we are paying for that practice.

Let's say one has an $125,000 mortgage and a $90,000 house, then they are upside down in equity. Their choices are not good, foreclosure will give one a bad credit score for several years, a "Short Sale"; where the bank agrees to let you sell for less than the mortgage price, is an option and the last is to call you lender and try to get them to renegotiated the rate. Sometimes they are willing to compromise because the last thing a bank wants to do is own another home.

Sadly quite a few borrowers didn't know that they had the power to determine how high they wanted their loan amounts to be, whether they took a fixed or adjustable interest rate. I highly doubt 3 different appraisers would today come up with the same value for the same property. Remember in 2005-2006, AVM (automated valuation model) was done which is not really a realistic appraisal, and loan amounts bankers wanted closed on were based on AVM's. Remember the higher the appraisal the better chance the banker can get the loan closed on and the more money the banker pockets.

This was just one way home costs were inflated, which also is contributing to the economically crisis. Another way homes' values were inflated were large assignment fees paid to third parties. In 2007, FBI started investigations of dozens of Pinellas County homes sold at inflated prices for just the reasons, and then you always have speculation.

If you are looking at who to place blame on, there isn't just one culprit, it starts all the way from the top of government (pushing for first time home owners)to the banks and ending at home owners. This isn't just black and white, there is much gray area is the why's and who's of the housing crisis. Although we need to know the reasons how this happen to take measures to make sure it doesn't happen again, we now need to focus on a solution and I believe transparency of loans is part of a solution.

Just my thoughts.

Dreama

FHA Mortgage Guide

FBI Investigations

Bye Bye W

2009-01-16T02:13:00.001-06:00

I know many if not all how heard the goodbye Bush song put with the tune of the song Bye Bye Love, which is funny. But this is the best goodbye song I have heard. The tune, lyrics are written by this youtube user (jmayland) He also sings the song and the video it funny as can be.

If you only see one video this year it has to be this one.

Get ready America for on January, 20, 2009 we celebrate, The nightmare is almost over, didn't I tell you we would survive him ;o)

Now I bring you
BYE BYE W
by youtuber jmayland

for those that want to fave it at your youtube accounts click here

US Largest Embassy to Date

2009-01-15T14:12:00.001-06:00

“My agent promised me a job in Dubai as a caterer,” said Mohammad Ashraful, 36. “But he seized my passport from a Dubai hotel and forced me to go to Iraq,” he told Reuters.

January 5, 2009 the US opened it's American Embassy in Iraq, not only is this the largest US Embassy; about ten times larger than any other US embassy, this is also one of the most expensive embassy in US history. The cost of the completed construction of the US Embassy was a wee bit over 700 billion dollars and it's estimated yearly cost of 1 to 2 million to operate with 1000 to 3000 employees. One US official said the cost of running the new complex is expected to be so exorbitant that the US will be forced to rent out part of the space. Times Online UK

A fortress-like compound, the Iraqi-US Embassy is located in the 'heart of the green zone' and is what some in the US government refer to as the most noticeable, visual sign to 'a new chapter in US and Iraq relationship'. One would think this is the story, but there is another story buried deep beneath the construction of the Embassy which involves US, Kuwait and Bangladesh, not a tale most know of nor one that mass media is likely to cover in any depth. A dirty little smear on the newly built Embassy, and not the fact that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki did not attend the opening ceremony of the embassy due to his travels to Iran even though Ambassador Ryan Crocker said that since 2003 invasion, "perhaps no single week has been more important than this past week."

This little secret is about the sweat of Bangladesh (South Asia) and Filipino workers 'tricked' into working on the Embassy, a story that once again proves fact is stranger than fiction.

Of course everyone that has been following the construction of the Embassy in Iraq already knows that the US did in fact outsourced the construction of the embassy and it was outsourced to a Kuwaiti company, First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting. The private construction company in 2008 declined repeatedly to provide safety inspectors with reports on fire protection systems at the embassy and according to a past Guardian article, the Bush administration blocked inquiries into the construction of the world’s largest US embassy in Baghdad, citing that the embassy suffers from basic flaws in its water, kitchen and fire alarm systems. Yet there is still more to be learnt about First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting and their ethics, such as forced labor and mistreatment of 'employees'.

There have been rumors of forced labor in Iraq by the company First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting for several years, but U.S. government officials in the past had discounted such allegations by workers from Nepal and the Philippines in the past, even as the company continued to rack up contracts now totaling several billion dollars from the Pentagon and U.S. State Department. Late in 2006 several U.S. citizens also said they boarded separate chartered jets in Kuwait loaded with work crews from the Philippines, India, Pakistan and Africa holding boarding passes to Dubai, but the planes then flew directly to Baghdad.

In 2007 an U.S. citizen told IPS that he was told by workers from Ghana on the embassy site that they thought they would have jobs in Dubai but were then taken to work in Iraq, of course First Kuwaiti's general manager, Wadih al Absi, flatly dismissed the accusations as unfounded and false. Since getting the US Embassy in Iraq First Kuwaiti has won additional contracts worth roughly 200 million dollars more for embassy projects in Africa, India and Indonesia, even while the company has been under some; if slack, investigation of forced labor.

Workers from Bangladesh and Filipino; who in some cases paid an agent to find them jobs, were told they were going to work on a project in Dubia. When the worker got to Dubia their passports were taken and since the Bangladesh closed its embassy in Iraq in 2003, the undocumented Bangladesh workers were left with little choice than to work and hope for a return home after the job was completed.

A well known story conspiring this is about a medic named Rory Mayberry, who was contracted by First Kuwaiti to work on the embassy project, his story broke in 2007 and was reported by NBC in summer of 2007. The State Department Inspector General, Howard J. Krongard, says he did a "limited investigation" after Mayberry's complaint and found no wrongdoing. But then added that the company had three months notice that he was coming. Had Krongard visited earlier and unannounced, he may have witnessed something very different then what his memorandum related. "Most of the allegations (from the U.S. citizens) were true before he arrived," claims Juvencio Lopez, who says he was a high-level project manager under the U.S. State Department over the course of two years.

Barbara Slavin of USA Today writes that the U.S. Senate wanted more Iraqis to be hired for the construction of the embassy, if the Kuwaiti lead contractor, First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting, could get them “properly screened.” There was bad blood between Iraqis and Kuwaitis even before Desert Storm.

Yet, Mayberry was not the first whistleblower, in 2005 Trina Flowers, an American actively working for those expatriates whose basic human rights are routinely violated by the Kuwaitis was arrested by the Kuwaiti authorities for threatening to expose First Kuwait and the PM of Kuwait in 2005 for claiming that First Kuwaiti was violating the rights of foreign workers from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and many other poor countries. (Trina was hired by the University of Kuwait to teach English and when her contract was up she was hired by another technical institute.)

There are many sited accusations that First Kuwaiti is still continuing their abusive ways to foreign workers and one can't help but wonder is this truly the way to start a fresh and new relationship between Iraq and the US. Can the US embassy in Iraq be a place of healing when it's smeared with doubts and cheap, forced labor?

Even though Iraqi President Jala Talabani stated at the dedication ceremony, as reported by Fox News, “The building of this site would not be possible without the courageous decision by President Bush to liberate Iraq. This building is not only a compound for the embassy but a symbol of the deep friendship between the two peoples of Iraq and America.” The citizenry of Iraq may disagree and maybe they are right.

First Kuwaiti's KBR (Halliburton Subsidiary) subcontracts

First Kuwaiti's US Army contracts

First Kuwaiti's website

NBC's report

Nightly News report on the Embassy with Brian Williams

The Australian Report

Trina Flowers

Reuters

Thank You

2008-11-05T15:06:00.001-06:00

I waited till the day after the election before putting my hand to pen. I wanted to make absolutely sure that there wasn't going to be any type of recount or court involvement, as we know that has happened before.

It is official Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States of America and already he has started keeping his campaign promises. Obama promised that the democratic map would expand and it did. There weren't riots in the streets, quite the opposite there was joy and hope in the streets. The American people got back something they have been missing, their belief that their voices did matter, they relearn that we the people do in fact hold the power as long as we are willing to work for it.

I wanted to get some facts out there before all the bullshit starts in hopes that maybe this will stop a handful of scared, hateful people in their tracks. First fact I wanted to put out there is; unlike what some are already saying, it was not one group that elected President Obama it was the voices of many from all demographics. Obama won popular vote 53% to 47% and I'm going to break that down a bit. African-Americans made up 13% of the vote, voters under 30 (this included first time voters and the young vote) made up 18% of the vote. Now if you add all this together that is 31% of the vote leaving 22% which did NOT fall into young or African-American vote.

These are the facts, we the American people elected Obama, people from all races, religions, gender, and age. We came together and spoke with a united voice, we all want a better country for our children and grandchildren to come. We wanted to show the world that no matter what affliction comes our way we can and we do come together to expand on the very principals of our country, equality, freedom and justice.

I have always said it is the American people I have hope for and believe in and now I hope the world can understand why Americans are proud of their country and why they think the US is the best system out there. Is it perfect, of course not but that is part of the beauty to know we had a solid foundation to build upon and that we can always move our country towards a more perfect union.

As President Obama said in his acceptance speech last night, this is our victory. Every single person that made calls, knocked on doors, donated $5.00, helped at the polls and voted, this is your victory, this is America's victory and the world's.

Although there are already many saying President Obama isn't their president, that is ok because you are his fellow Americans and he will be a president for all, even to those that disagree with him or refuse to call him their President. He will be a servant of the people as is the duty of the president, he will not dictate to us, he will not try to be King Obama, he will work tireless for all Americans, even you.

To every single American I want to thank you for all you have done, and to ask you to not slack off now. There is a hell of a lot of work ahead and it will be a long and sometimes a rough road, but it will always be a road worth travelling.

YES WE CAN & YES WE DID

Where Is Our Thank You?

2008-10-22T11:51:00.001-05:00

700 BILLION dollars, we the tax payers has given to corporate America, where is our Thank You? Also what happened to the world as we know it will collapse if the bail-out hadn't happened? Not one item of the bail out has been implemented and yet it seems that our credit cards, ATM cards and checks are still working.

Is corporate America feeling the pinch, of course they are, but Main Street has been feeling the pinch for over a year now and the government didn't seem to care then. Maybe since most of government is invested in corporate America , they didn't care that Joe and Jane American couldn't afford health insurance, college for their children, house payments, or the fact that Mr. & Mrs. American's retirement was flying out the window as corporate America's CEO's were making millions if not billions as rewards for screwing over Mr. & Mrs. American and their children.

Is it too much to ask for a Thank You? Just a 3 second Thank You Americans for bailing us out when we were all for letting you sink. How hard can that be?

Demand your Thank You, its the least they could do for 700 billion we gave them, don't you think?

~~~~~Forever A Facetious Pain~~~~

In Memory of George Carlin

2008-06-23T23:01:00.001-05:00

By now many have heard that George Carlin died Sunday, June 22, 2008. George was 71 and was at a show as recently as last week in Nevada.

Many have no clue that George Carlin was in the U.S. Air Force, he was first a suit and tie comedian and he even appeared on 'The Tonight Show' when Jack Paar was the host.

What I believe George was best known for were the seven "Filthy Words" that eventually lead George Carlin to the Supreme Court.

And in memory of George I would like to list those seven words.

The Original 'Seven Filthy Words':

shit,

piss,

fuck,

cunt,

cocksucker,

motherfucker,

and tits.

And for those of you that would like to read the direct quote from the Supreme Court Decision of FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION v. PACIFICA FOUNDATION, 438 U.S. 726, 98 S.Ct. 3026 (1978), you can here

George Carlin is one person that I looked up to for the simple fact he held the U.S. Constitution dear to his heart; especially the First Amendment, and he refused to allow all American's rights to be dismissed.

George I hope you're enjoying your after-life in which you are watching the decline of civilization on a "heavenly CNN." (comment by George Carlin to Playboy in 2005) We all know you were looking forward to it, and could you keep a seat warm for us?

George Dennis Carlin

May 12, 1937 - June 22, 2008

A Great American

McCain Endorses Bush's 3rd Term

2008-06-12T19:51:00.002-05:00

I know we have all heard that through McCain, Bush is going to have his third term. With me just not being one to go with the hype, I ignored those comments until...

I was watching the news, they were showing clips of Bush & McCain in the background, I noticed something that made me do a double-take.

What grabbed my attention was when Bush's was approaching the mic at a McCain event and to my astonishment, Bush help up THREE fingers and the he continued to repeat this gesture and McCain gave Bush the THUMBS UP!!! I still wasn't convinced until.... as Bush drawing close to McCain to shake his hand, once again held up THREE fingers!!!

Imagine my shock, I couldn't believe my eyes and I knew right away this had to be known, I couldn't kept this to myself!!!

I knew my Readers would want to see this and since my Readers always want proof, I found the video and placed it here for you all to see. (For those of you that want it short and sweet, Bush's three finger salute starts at 3:38 through 3:52 on the video)

I gave this some more thought and I came up with two options for Bush's three finger salute:

A. Bush was letting all know; including McCain, that he (Bush) was in fact by proxy was going to have a third term or...

B. Instead of putting up two fingers in a sign of peace, Bush was putting up three fingers in a sign of war

I leave it you; my dear Readers, to decide.

They don't call me Facetious Muse for nothing

Let's All Do The Media Twist

2008-06-07T11:31:00.009-05:00

Let's all do the Media Twist, it's a simple move anyone can do it. All it takes is an 5 second sound-bite, laziness and a twist.

Let's take the latest Media Twist on Obama's so called flipping and flopping on Israel.

How many times in the last 18 months have you heard Obama was anti-Israel? How many times in the last week have you heard that Obama has flipped flopped on his so called anti-Israel views?

Many otherwise well educated people have fallen for this latest Media Twist without no knowledge what and why the media has thrown that out there for us all to eat without checking for spoilage.

How did the Media Twist start with Obama was anti-Israel? How many of you know that answer? Don't worry this isn't a quiz, this is one of the few times I believe giving you the facts are more important than teaching you to research for yourself ((but for those of you that want to research try wiki for a start and one with cited sources you can check).

In March of 2007 Obama said to a small group of democrats in Iowa "Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people,... If we could get some movement among Palestinian leadership, what I'd like to see is a loosening up of some of the restrictions on providing aid directly to the Palestinian people."

Of course this was all it took to start the Media Twist (what do you want to bet that Faux Noise made the first dance move).

Of course through out Obama's campaigning all his critics can find is what associations of his have said like Rev. Wright, who some claim is anti-Israel, but if one takes the time to look at Obama and his actions, they would be surprise to find out that Obama's voting record is far from anti-Israel.

So let's take a break from the Media Twist and look at some facts.

January 2006, Obama denounced Hamas while praising former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Obama stated that Sharon's role in the conflict had always been "absolutely important and constructive."

Obama was also a co-sponsor of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, which in part calls on "members of the international community to avoid contact with and refrain from financially supporting the terrorist organization Hamas until it agrees to recognize Israel, renounce violence, disarm, and accept prior agreements, including the Roadmap."

Obama defended Israel's response to the killing of eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapping of two others near the border with Lebanon, telling NBC's Tim Russert on August 22, 2006, "I don't think there is any nation that would not have reacted the way Israel did after two soldiers had been snatched. I support Israel's response to take some action in protecting themselves."

2006 Israel-Hezbollah War Obama said, " don't fault Israel for wanting to rid their border with Lebanon from those Katyusha missiles that can fire in and harm Israeli citizens, so I think that any cease fire would have to be premised on the removal of those missiles."

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee on 2 March 2007, Obama called Israel "our strongest ally in the region," and stated: "We must preserve our total commitment to our unique defense relationship with Israel by fully funding military assistance and continuing work on the Arrow and related missile defense programs." On the Palestinian Authority's new unity government, Obama said: "We should all be concerned about the agreement negotiated among Palestinians in Mecca last month."

Obama has also discussed in more general terms his views about the Palestinians tête-à-tête the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On June 4, 2007, he stated that:

...resolution [to the conflict] and a better life for all people... is something that can be achieved, but it's going to require some soul-searching on the Palestinian side. They have to recognize Israel's right to exist; they have to renounce violence and terrorism as a tool to achieve their political ends; they have to abide by agreements. In that context, I think the Israelis will gladly say, "Let's move forward negotiations that would allow them to live side by side with the Palestinians in peace and security."

And lastly but not leastly Obama denounced former President Jimmy Carter for meeting with Hamas. Obama said "Hamas is not a state, Hamas is a terrorist organization."

Now that you have the facts, can you really say Obama's record shows him being anti-Israel?

Just remember that the media is ran by fallible people that can be controlled, brought and coerced, I now return you to enjoy the latest top hits of Media Twist.

They don't call me Facetious Muse for nothing

Just a heads up I do have the sources to back everything I just said (*;*)

McCain has Problems

2008-05-14T20:53:00.002-05:00

Does McCain really have a chance in this year's election seems to be a question even the die-hard republicans are having to ask themselves.

Putting aside McCain's age which some pundits have had a grand ole time with, let discuss some real hard facts that is harmful to the republican party in general.

Let's start with the war in Iraq, from a poll by Polling Report when the question "In general, how would you say things are going for the U.S. in Iraq: very well, moderately well, moderately badly or very badly?" was asked 59% said the war was going moderately badly or very badly opposed to the 39% that said the war was going very well or moderately well.

It's has gone beyond if we should be in Iraq to how's the war progressing and as polls are showing more Americans believe the war in Iraq is going badly. Add that to the majority of Americans don't even think we should still be in Iraq, McCain has a problem.

McCain has been quoted as saying we might be in Iraq for an hundred years; and although he might be right, has a lot of Americans in an uproar. McCain's attempts to distanced himself from Bush are hindered by McCain's own spoken word that he will keep us in Iraq and has no exit plan what-so-ever.

Yet, the war in Iraq isn't the pressing issues most Americans are worried about now, it's the economy and McCain's support of Bush tax cuts isn't sitting good with most Americans. With the cost of food hitting is highest increase in a month in 18 years, the cost of gas and insurance rates going unchecked, McCain has a problem.

With some Americans believing that Obama must follow at least some of Rev Wright's ideologues, you might say 'aha McCain going to get the vote', but not so quick McCain has been getting a pretty stress free ride so far but when the campaigning for general elections go into full swing Haggis's words will be associated with McCain. Remember McCain actively sought Hagee’s support and appeared on stage with him, McCain has a problem.

Now let's take a little walk down memory lane when the famous words "It's the economy, stupid" were spoken. It was a phrase widely used during Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against George H.W. Bush. For a time, Bush was considered unbeatable because of foreign policy developments such as the end of the Cold War and the Persian Gulf War. The phrase, coined by Clinton campaign strategist James Carville, refers to the notion that Clinton was a better choice because Bush had not adequately addressed the economy, which had recently undergone a recession.

When ever the economy becomes the upmost concern of the citizens, there is a party change in the house and since no one can deny the economy is a huge issue by-passing the war Iraq, McCain has nothing but problems.

Voters Beware

2008-05-07T13:12:00.001-05:00

A little history lesson: If you don't know the answers make your best guess. Answer all the questions before looking at the answers.

1) We're are going to take things away from you, on behalf on the common good.

A. Marx
B. Hitler
C. Stalin
D. none above

2) "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few and to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity."

A. Lenin
B. Mussolini
C. Idi Amin
D. None of the Above

3) "(We)...can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people."

A. Nikita Khrushev
B. Josef Goebbels
C. Boris Yeltsin
D. None of the above

4) "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own... in order to create this common ground."

A. Mao Tse Dung
B. Hugo Chavez
C. Kim Jong Il
D None of the above

5) "I certainly think the free-market has failed."

A. Karl Marx
B. Lenin
C. Molotov
D. None of the above

6) "I think it's time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched."

A. Pinochet
B. Milosevic
C. Saddam Hussein
D. None of the above

Are Indiana and NC voters aware that Hillary has voted to allow the government to take our guns in case of a 'national emergency'?

It's not Annie get your gun, it's Annie get OUR guns.

July 13, 2006 Hillary voted against amendment 4615 to H.R. 5441:

“To prohibit the confiscation of a firearm during an emergency or major disaster if the possession of such firearm is not prohibited under Federal or State law.” (you can see the bill here)

Now I know there are some die hard Hillary fans, and that is cool, but I don't understand why you want her for president.

Most voters, no matter their party, say it's very important for the next president of the United States to be able to cross party lines, and even though Obama has a proven voting record that he can, will, and does cross party lines when it is in the best interest of the country you still have people wanting Hillary.

Although Hillary does have more bills on say, health care she has not one single supporter, unlike Obama's bill on health coverage.

Although Hillary has already promised 100% of the tax she says she will impose on oil corps to the research and development of alternative fuel sources, she has promised in the last month or so that exact same tax on the oil corps (if she is elected, if she can get it passed, etc...) to cover the cost of highway repairs.

Why would she do this, you ask? Well see, she has jumped on the temp halting of the summer gas tax band-wagon and as we all should know the gas tax is to go for the cost of highway repairs and if the gas taxes are halted for a while, well those highway repairs will need to be paid for somehow. Of course Hillary hasn't shared with us her plan for the 300,000 jobs that would be lost if in fact the summer gas tax is halted and all for a whopping savings to the average American of $25 for the entire summer.

Hillary supporters seem to either forget or not know that Hillary Rodenhurst Clinton used her position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to push legislation that outsourced thousands of U.S. jobs in the telecommunications industry to India, the Philippines, and China in 2006. She did this by helping to relax requirements that aided the investments of General Electric Company and former CEO Jack Welch.

So again, I really would love to know reasons for voting for Hillary besides "she is a female and so am I," or "it will get Bill back into the White House." Can anyone give me three reasons?

No I didn't forget to give you the answers, I was just helping you be honest and not cheat. And the long awaiting answers are:

(1) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/29/2004
(2) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 5/29/2007
(3) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(4) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(5) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(6) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 9/2/2005

They don't call me Facetious Muse for nothing

thanks to snopes for quiz

PALPUBLICANS SAY GOD IS BIAS

2008-04-25T18:51:00.000-05:00

I never cease to be amazed at palpublicans and their strange egoistic attitudes. Palpublicans go as far as to speak for God, letting all know that God only blesses America & It's allies.

Whenever a palpublican is cornered in a debate with facts, they resort to name calling and 'God-speaking', never failing to say God Bless US or America is blessed by God.

I'm confused, isn't God to be the father of all mankind and he loves all of mankind equally? Isn't the Christian version of God a loving, compassionate, fair and all forgiving God? Now if this is true, doesn't logic tell us God blesses all of mankind, no matter what region of the world they live in?

Well don't trying telling any of that to peppermint1172, for God speaks to and through her as she has informed us by this statement:

peppermint1172: America is the greatest Nation on all the Eart besides Israel we are blessed by God

DangerRus: Do you really think GOD endorses political unions Peppermint?

DangerRus, kudos to you for speaking up and asking that very important question. Although I will admit I fear the answer, if it is yes then insanity might be an issue for peppermint, if it's no then it confirms that palpublicans lie and attempt to control people through their faith.

Maybe if I try logic geared towards the religious palpublicans that they swear by; the bible, and I graciously turn to the Gospels; particularly to the parable of the rich man and his servants, I can get the palpublicans to listen. The parable of the rich man and his servants in essence says--to those who are given much, much is expected.

No one can deny that we; Americans, have been given much--arguably more than any nation in the world's history--but what are we doing with our abundant resources? We squander them on war and preparations for war even as those preparations destroy our environment. We spend $18 billion a year caring for nuclear warheads we house--enough warheads that we could target every country on earth with 10 warheads. We have the equivalent stockpile of 155,000 Hiroshima-sized bombs, and Mr. Bush wants more. How could an all loving God bless a country that delights in war and apathy and turn his back on all other countries?

This religious 'ideologic' of palpublicans, does NOT make sense and in fact goes against the principal of Christianity and it's benign God, as I understand it.

I feel as though I need to close this post with some positive words of Christians, for not all Christians feel they are the only loved children of God and I wouldn't want to leave the impression all Christians are like palpublicans.

Oh, oh I got it, this should work:

"It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens. - "Baha'u'llah,

oopps did an 19th century Persian say that?

They don't call me Facetious Muse for nothing

IT'S REALLY HAPPENING

2008-04-21T18:24:00.003-05:00

It's finally happening, the world as we know it will soon cease to be. Yes, you heard me right after all the lies and broken promises of the last 7 1/2 years, even the hardest core neocons are willing to think and make their votes be something more than clannish. Even tommyjohnson44 is seeing the light.

tommyjohnson44: zen at this point i will take obama

Did tommy actually say this, of course he did. The question you should be asking yourself is 'How did tommy mean this'.

This is a prime example of how the republican party and the mass media take a partial sentence, repeat it out of content and get the public in an outrage.

Now many that go to SI rooms and know tommy more than likely knew if tommy said such a thing he was being facetious, but someone that doesn't know tommy and his views on paltalk would think that tommy is 'bitter and frustrated' enough to vote outside his party for Obama. You know like the mass media does.

This tactic has been used on the America people since at least 1928 when Edward L. Bernays took the ideas of his famous uncle Sigmund Freud, and applied them to the emerging science of mass persuasion. The only difference was that instead of using these principles to uncover hidden themes in the human unconscious, the way Freudian psychology does, Bernays studied these same ideas in order to learn how to mask agendas and to create illusions that deceive and misrepresent, for marketing purposes. And it has been going on ever since in the America's media propaganda.

When it comes to a discussion of what's going on in the world, the honest individual must admit that he has almost no idea. When was the last time George Bush invited you into the Green Room for a private chat with Cheney and Ashcroft about the future of big oil? When did Bill Gates last invite you up to his Redmond digs for a wine and cheese brainstorming session about the next Big Thing? Or when did your neighbor who lives three houses away from you call you up to tell you about the unfulfilled plans of his father who just found out he's dying of cancer? How many life stories of the world's six billion people do you know anything about? This is to say nothing of fluid events which are coming in and out of existence every day between the nations of the world. What do you really know about what is really going on?

Most only know what they have been told by the candidate, mass media, their political party or family & friends. Sound-bites, edited and omission to place the spin that is desired.

So for now on you can call me the Faux Noise of Paltalk, for I will do what the politicians and mass media has been doing for years and use snippets, partials and editing to hopefully teach the ignorant; such as tommyboy, how easily it is for ones words to be manipulated, misrepresented, distorted and then be fabricated, spinned, or rendered to have a totally different meaning than was intended.

So tommy let me be the first one to welcome you to the dark-side.

They don't call me Facetious Muse for nothing

HILLARY, A TRUE PATRIOT OR A POWER HUNGRY ELITIST

2008-04-14T19:51:00.000-05:00

Is this a legit question to ask, I bet many of you are asking or rolling your eyes thinking here we go again another neo-con dissing the Clintons, sorry I'm a liberal.

I know there has been much talk in the past about the Clinton's criminal behavior and nothing has ever came from it. Myself, I thought through-out the years it was just a bunch of BS for the republicans to spin to 'control' the Clinton's rise. Yet, this is different, our country cannot handle another 4 years of lies and power-tripping leaders. I hope that you will watch this video, goodness only knows how much Hillary doesn't want you to.

First I want to thank Isabellah-1 for telling me about this video and being courageous enough to speak about it out loud, for lately it seems if you are a woman in the US that isn't for Hillary, you are a traitor to your gender(well won't be the first time those with open minds and intelligence get called that lol).

What I want to talk about is who Hillary's largest donor was in 2000 (Peter Paul) and how she had misspoke about who it was (a felony, according to the Justice Department).

Hillary’s seven years of misspeaking was defined to be a felony as the law was applied to Hillary’s finance director, according to DOJ Prosecutor Dan Schwaber. He said to the jury in May, 2005 at the trial of Hillary’s finance director David Rosen, that it was a crime “to deny the public’s right to know that Peter Paul personally gave more than $1.2 million to Hillary’s national campaign”.

Yet, both the government and the media both know Hillary has personally denied that right since August 2000 through personal statements published in the Washington Post and official statements under oath in Paul v Clinton and to investigators with the DOJ and FEC.

Sen. Clinton's actions are in violation of the following U.S. Statutes:

2 U.S.C. Sec 441a (a)(7)(B)(I) provides:

Expenditures made by any person in cooperation, consultation, or concert, with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, his authorized political committees, or their agents, shall be considered to be a contribution to such candidate. (Therefore Peter Paul's expenditures cannot be deemed to be a "soft money" contribution)

(f) No candidate shall knowingly accept any contribution in violation of the provisions of this section...

(a)(1)(A) No person shall make contributions... to any candidate with respect to any election for Federal office which, in the aggregate, exceed $2,000.

2 U.S.C. Sec 437g(d)(1)(A)(I) provides:

Any person who knowingly and willfully commits a violation of any provision of this act which involves the making, receiving, or reporting of any contribution, donation, or expenditure (I) aggregating $25,000 or more during a calendar year shall be fined under Title 18, or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both...

So forgetting about Hillary's voting record (bankruptcy bill, Iraq war, Iran), her 'borrowing' of Reagan's joke and her 'misstatements' about Bosnia, Hillary is proving herself to be an elitist and out of touch with the America people. I say this because only an elitist could avoid federal prosecution and think themselves above the law and more importantly think themselves above the US Constitution.

So before you rah rah for Hillary remember how the last 7 1/2 years have been with a leader that has thought exactly like Hillary, that he too is above the law and the US Constitution

Facts about Fair Tax Plan

2008-04-03T18:58:00.002-05:00

The FairTax plan is devised to be revenue-neutral for the first year of operation. It will raise the same amount of revenue as is raised by current law. After the first year, revenue is expected to rise because of the growth generated by this plan. At that time the American people, Congress, and the President will have to decide whether to lower the tax rate or to spend the additional revenue.

When it comes to the IRS, whatever replaces the IRS under the Fair Tax would not resemble one another much at all. Any tax collection scheme must necessarily have collectors who collect the tax, and it will almost necessarily have auditors to determine who didn't pay the amount levied against him. The only alternative is to have NO taxation whatsoever, which would either rely on voluntary funding of government, or no government. The Fair Tax is designed to simplify the tax code, increase compliance, and make the government more efficient at collecting taxes. It is not about reducing the overall tax burden one cent. First, greater efficiency in tax collection implies lower costs. Therefore, almost the entire budget of the IRS could be reallocated to other areas or returned to the People.

Although the Fair Tax Plan would eliminate Social Security and Medicare taxes, it would not eliminate the programs. The Fair Tax will ensure funding of Social Security and Medicare, under the Fair Tax, Social Security will operate exactly as it does today, except that its funds will come from the Fair Tax. And, research shows that consumption is a more stable revenue source than income.

With Fair Tax a single rate, single-stage tax will be applied to the sale of all new consumer goods and services at the final point of consumption. This will result in 23% of a purchase being represented by tax. you will keep 100% of your paycheck-there will be no more income, capital gains, self-employment, gift or corporate taxes. Under the Fair Tax, no American will pay taxes on necessities., this leads us to prebate.

With the prebate it functions the same as the standard deduction and personal exemptions do under the current income tax. The prebate is not a “handout”. It is the refund of taxes paid (albeit, in advance). The Fair Tax has no exemptions so the prebate funds the tax on spending up to the poverty up front. Everyone believes that life’s necessities should not be taxed. The prebate is a more efficient method of not taxing necessities than having complicated rules about what constitutes a necessity. The prebate makes the Fair Tax a progressive tax because it untaxes the poor. While everyone pays the same tax at the retail counter, when you take into account the prebate, the effective tax rate is 0% for those at the poverty level ($26,400 for a two adult/two children family), 11.5% for the same family at twice the poverty level ($52,800), and 17.3% for the same family at four times the poverty level ($105,600). Only legal residents of the United States can qualify for the prebate; illegal immigrants cannot, but they will not be exempt from paying taxes under the Fair Tax. The gross revenue raised by the Fair Tax would supposedly remain neutral, however, each taxpayer would see his percentage reduced because of the addition of new taxpayers such as prostitutes, drug dealers, those who work 'under the table' and the illegal aliens who work with fraudulent or non-existent identities. Currently these people do not pay federal taxes because there is no record of their incomes.

Ok I have went on enough and even though I have tried to keep to only the facts I'm sure I have injected my personal thoughts in this matter so I will try to do a quick review of most points of the Fair Tax:

A single rate, single-stage tax will be applied to the sale of all new consumer goods and services at the final point of consumption. This will result in 23% of a purchase being represented by tax. you will keep 100% of your paycheck-there will be no more income, capital gains, self-employment, gift or corporate taxes. Under the FairTax, no American will pay taxes on necessities.

The Fair Tax empowers those with low incomes. Under the Fair Tax plan, no American will pay taxes on necessities. Every household will receive a rebate that is equal to the Fair Tax paid on essential goods and services, and wage earners will keep 100% of their paycheck.

Middle-income earners will benefit greatly under the Fair Tax. They will receive a rebate based on household size, just as will those in all other income brackets.

The wealthy will get a rebate based on household size, just as those in other income brackets will

It lets every worker keep their entire pay check-no payroll or income taxes

It allows those at/below the poverty level to have zero or negative taxes

It lets retirees keep their full pension or Social Security checks-untaxed

It lets everyone keep their capital gains and investment income-untaxed

It eliminates gift and inheritance taxes

It taxes spending of gifted and inherited wealth more fairly

It has a lower cost of enforcement

It makes the federal tax rate very visible, and therefore, politically risky to increase

It ends all personal and corporate income tax filings

It frees the $250 Billion tax accounting/law industry for more productive employment

It eliminates tax loopholes-no filings, no exemptions, no loopholes

The Fair Tax will allow people to make charitable contributions out of pre-tax dollars.

The Fair Tax will dramatically reduce the costs of goods and services by as much as 20 to 30%. All goods and services already contain the embedded costs of the current tax system in their prices. When these embedded taxes are removed, prices will come down.

The Fair Tax will ensure funding of Social Security and Medicare.

Retail businesses will collect the tax from the consumer-45 states already have a sales tax system, and the Fair Tax will simply be an additional line on the current sales tax reporting form. In rare cases, businesses that produce products or services that are not currently taxed under state sales tax codes will have to begin collecting the Fair Tax for the first time

.
The focus of the Fair Tax concept should not be its supporters, but the idea itself, and as a side point, the Fair Tax did NOT begin as a project of the Church of Scientology at a time when it was seeking tax-exempt status.

Hope I did semi-justice to explaining Fair Tax Plan.

God Bless America

2007-04-10T10:38:00.000-05:00

Talk about Islamic fundamentalists. Christian fundamentalists are just as bad and where are they 'harbored' (to coin a phrase of George Dubya Bush)…..America of course.

Read the article below. On one hand you have to laugh, on the other hand you have to cry. America done a good job of keeping separation between religion and constitution but recently, maybe its down to 2 consecutive Republican administrations, they have really started to worry me from this whole push to intermingle God and religion back into their culture on all levels.

This is a bad mix because it not only blurs the truth, it breeds hate, fear and resent. As Yoda once said "Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to suffering". Wise words from the green fellow.

WE ONLY SPY ON TERRORISTS...AND PROTESTERS

2007-01-30T22:52:00.000-06:00

President Bush and VP Cheney have repeatedly said that domestic spying is only done to catch terrorists and their communications in the US. They have defended their domestic spying practices as ‘vital to national security’ and have gone to great lengths to defend even the illegal activities they have undertaken.

But they’re just trying to keep America from being attacked right? And they’re only going after terrorists, right?
Wrong.

According to documents obtained by the ACLU, at least 186 anti-war protests have been monitored by the Pentagon’s domestic surveillance program, collecting nearly 3000 reports on American citizens who are neither terrorists nor doing anything illegal. In fact, the groups being actively monitored are primarily groups that are against the Bush War in Iraq. Groups like Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Military Families Speak Out. Groups filled not with berserker jihadists, but instead filled with honorable American former service members and their families. People who have fought for this country or lost family members in this stupid and ill-fated war in Iraq.

And despite Pentagon officials claims that they aren’t interested in domestic groups (uh-huh), and that they aren’t monitoring them any more (yeah, right), other federal agencies like the DHS and FBI are keeping a watchful eye on these most dangerous of Americans.

Add this to the phone tapping and e-mail mining, library record checking, and postal surveillance, and by golly, we’re right there in that Orwell novel. Meanwhile, the real terrorists are living and planning in the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Yeah, they’re only spying on the terrorists…it’s just that this administration considers anyone not falling in line with their idiocy to be a terrorist, a group that now includes over 60% of all Americans.

Boy, I feel safer everyday.

Two Models Of Helping

2007-01-26T16:29:00.000-06:00

There are two principle models of what it means to help others.

In the first model, someone comes to us and asks for assistance with a problem, and we do what we can to assist them to resolve their problem - allowing them to define the problem themselves and also what an acceptable resolution of the problem would be, for them.

In the second model, people with specialized knowledge and expertise in some field define what they perceive to be "a problem" in people's lives and devise various means to acheive resolution of the perceived problem in a manner which is acceptable to the helpers. If the people whom the helpers perceive to possess this problem don't see their situation as being a "problem" for them, the helpers devise means and measures to ensure that these people will come to perceive their situation as a problem, just as the helpers do.

The first model is the basis of all true charity, whether between individuals or between governments/non-profit organizations and individuals.

The second model is the basis of all social engineering, nanny-statism and interventionist foreign policy. Its pretence to being charitable is false and fraudulent, as it frequently has ulterior motivations.

Which kind of helper are you, in your own life?

And then she said...

2007-01-26T10:00:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to jot down (okay, copy & paste from my Kookie Jar) all my quotes/taglines that deal with religion, witchcraft, etc. in one place...none of this is intended to offend anyone. Quotes are attributed whenever possible. Please have a sense of humor; I'm pretty sure God does -- just look at the platypus!

A Christian relies on faith above everything else. A Wiccan relies on it only when nothing else is left.

A cult is a religion with no political power.--Tom Wolfe

A cult is someone ELSE's religion.

A good witch harms no one. A better witch laughs at the good witch.

A minimum good action is better than a maximum of good intentions.--Mahatma Gandhi

A ouija board is a waste of money if it doesn't work — and a waste of time if it does.

A religious war is like children fighting over who has the best imaginary friend.

A witch on time is an hour early for the Sabbat.

A witch rides a broom because nature abhors a vacuum.

A woman with PMS & ESP is a bitch who knows everything.

Abstinance makes the church grow fondlers.

"Accept the Prince of Peace as your personal savior or I'll kill you!" ... Excuse me? Why would I want anything to do with THAT idea?

According to Dianetics you start at 0 with life-death(?) and move up to the twenties before there occurs a miraculous leap up to the forties, the hundreds, practical sainthood and absolute universal connection. That was probably the clearest sign we got that this was scarier than we thought: it was a religious-philosophical belief founded on an *incorrect* number line.

"Air, Fire, Water, and Earth - Elementary, my dear Watson!"--Sherlock Holmes, the Pagan edition

ALL FANATICS MUST DIE!

All God's children are not beautiful. Most of God's children are, in fact, barely presentable.--Fran Lebowitz

All the wild witches, those most noble ladies.--Yeats

Allah loves you. Here's your dynamite.

An idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it.

And God said: Let there be vodka! And He saw that it was good. Then God said: Let there be light! And then He said: Whoa - too much light.

And God said to the cat: Go forth, and adopt a human pet.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.--Arthur C. Clarke

"As above, so below", they tell us. Then why do our gods look so much cooler than we do?

As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.

At first there was nothing. Then God said, "Let there be light!" Then there was still nothing. But you could see it!

Atheist achieving orgasm: "Oh Random! Oh, Chance!"

Attention Muslims: Fundamentalists are hijacking your religion. Attention Christians: Ditto!

Be original - cast a square!

Be tolerant of Christians - they only have *one* god.

Best thing about Pagan friends? They worship the ground you walk on!

Beware the man of one book.--St. Thomas Aquinas

Bin Laden supports school prayer.

Black magic is any magic that works for you, but not for me.

Blasphemy: When a religious person dares to think.

Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.

Blood rituals to dark gods are best performed in private.

Blood sacrifice is sex magic without the fun.

Bob is my copilot.

Bored? Recopy the Bible substituting your name for God.

Born again? Have you been potty trained again?

Born again? My Goddess got it right the first time!

Born again? Why, didn't your mother do it right the FIRST time?

Call my religion violent again, and I'll kill you!

Can't you see the Chairman of the Board for Microsoft walking up to Bill Gates and saying, "Sorry Bill, but quarterly profits are down and if things don't improve by Lammas we'll need to sacrifice a sacred King to renew the company...."

Christmas is weird. It's the only time of year when we love to sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of our socks.

Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it.--George Bernard Shaw

Christians are supposed to be God's ambassadors, not His policemen.

Christians believe in the Father. Pagans believe in the whole family.

Come, mistah Crowley-man, talley me Khabbala...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.--The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

Copyright (c) 1993 Oregon Network Of Religious Deviants

Creationism, 'eh? So, when do the book burnings start?

Creator not found: (E)volve (S)in (P)arty ?

Cthulhu saves! (He might get hungry later.)

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers!

Deity for hire, inquire within.

Discordianism: Where reality is a figment of your imagination

Diversity is God's way of amusing herself.

Do I believe in the Bible? Hell, I've even SEEN one!

Do not call up that which you cannot put on hold.

Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.--Hebrew proverb

Do you get repossessed if you don`t pay your exorcist?

Don't bother God. He's got his own problems - everything he makes dies.

Elder Gods, Old Ones? Bunch of malarky! Hastur, Hastur, Hastur... See? Nothing hap--

Eternal hell awaits those who question God's unconditional love!

Ever notice how Christians think freedom of religion is only for them?

Evolution is just a theory - kind of like gravity.

Facts are attempts to explain magic through logic.

Faith Healing Network - Killing children in the name of Jesus!

Faith is good, but scepticism is better.--Giuseppe Verdi

Fine, fine, fine - but do you have to save me right now?

First lesson for Pagans: If you're hungry, invoke for food. If you're sick, invoke for health. If you're poor, invoke for money. If you're lonely, invoke for love. If you're sad, invoke for happiness. Then you can start invoking to save the rain-forest.

For every Pagan who actually gets it, there are two who could get it but don't want to bother, three who'd never get it if they tried, and four who can't hear you above all the talking and loud music.

Forsake Her not, and She shall preserve thee; love Her and She shall keep thee.--Proverbs 4:6

Found Jesus? If nobody claims Him in 30 days, he's yours!

Freya, Goddess of Love and War: "If ya can't lay 'em, slay 'em!"

Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.--George Carlin

Fundamentalism: Fund (give cash); a-mentalism (without brains).

Fundamentalists are more mental than fun.

Fundies for Ceridwen! Join Today!

Gays don't recruit children, but Christians sure do!

Give me that Old-Time Religion: Hail Odin!

God gave man Truth...and the evil among them helped turn it into religion.

God is an iron.--Spider Robinson

God loves you. (Some restrictions apply.).

God made the cat so that we might caress the tiger.

God was my copilot, but we crashed in the mountains and I had to eat him.

Greet Jehovah's Witnesses with a cheery, "Hail Satan!"

GURU: One who knows more jargon than you.

Happiness is a warm stone circle.

Have I found Jesus? Why? Did you lose him?

Have my priestess call your priestess...we'll do circle.

Have you ever wondered where people in Hell tell each other to go?

Having studied Christianity, I became Pagan.

Heck is a place for people who don't believe in Gosh.

Hey, relax! I've read two books on magick...what could go wrong?

Hi Mom! I've joined the Neo-Druid Dead Puppy Cult!

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.--Han Solo

How appropriate that the Bible refers to Christians as sheep.

How come the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are called "The ONE True God?"

How many fish do I have to put on my car before it's born again?

How to name it Heaven, if my cats are not there?

Humans: proof that Intelligent Design cannot possibly be true.

I am an agnostic pagan. I doubt the existence of many gods.

I asked God, and She said She is pro-choice!

I asked if I could be born again, but my mother refused.

I bet Jesus would have used HIS turn signals!

I bet you didn't believe in reincarnation last time either.

I can already sense you're going to be a major obstacle on my path to enlightenment.

I considered atheism, but there weren't enough holidays.

I don't believe in reincarnation, but I did in a past life.

I don't need a new religion, I haven't used up the old one yet!

I found Jesus, and he said, "Tag, you're it!"

I found Jesus! (He was behind the couch the whole time...)

I found Jesus, now it's my turn to hide.

I gave up Christianity for Lent.

I give evolution two opposable thumbs up!

I got your jihad right here...

I tried to follow Christ, but I got arrested for stalking.

I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.--Marcus, Babylon 5

If God is within, I hope he likes enchiladas.

If religious groups want to get into politics, they should pay taxes.

If the Wiccan Rede was created, as some suggest, to alleviate the fears of non-Pagans, it appears not to have worked.

If you are going through hell, keep going.--Winston Churchill

If you believe in magic, you have the universe at your command.

If you gathered together all the known pieces of the True Cross, you could build a house big enough to hold all the authentic Gardnerian Books of Shadows!

If you want divine justice, die.

Ignorance: Making people feel righteous for over 2000 years.

I'll have no truck with psychiatry...there are some arts too black for even a witch!

I'm an atheist, thank God.

In a society less decadent than ours, Neo-Paganism wouldn't have a chance - but genuine Paganism would flourish.

In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.--Douglas Adams

Instead of praying: "Dear God, bring me someone fabulous," try: "Dear God, make me into someone fabulous."--Marianne Williamson

It is bad luck to be superstitious.

It is easier, and more humane, to bake a sacrificial harvest-loaf, than to tear apart a live goat with your bare hands. But which makes the most lasting impression?

It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.--Albert Einstein

It's a 3rd degree secret of the Star Trek Trad, Next Generation branch.

It's all fun and games until someone gets sacrificed to Satan.

It's easier to be Born Again than to grow up.

Jahweh, promoting unprotected sex for 4,000 years!

Jesus is coming! Hide the porn.

Jesus is coming...no, wait... he's just breathing heavy.

Jesus is coming. On three, everyone yell "Surprise!"

Jesus is coming! Quick, look busy!

Jesus is coming. Should I spit or swallow?

Jesus is coming - soon to a theater near you.

Jesus loves me...but I make him wear a condom.

Jesus loves you, but he might not respect you in the morning.

Jesus loves you, but he's not ready for a commitment.

Jesus loves you - but then again, so does your dog.

Jesus loves you...just not in that way.

Jesus is cool - but some of his followers give me the creeps.

Jesus must be in jail; that's where everyone seems to find him!

Jesus must be so proud to see how much money people are making off his crucifiction.

Jesus saves and takes half damage.

Jesus saves, but Moses invests.

Jesus saves...by shopping wisely and using double coupons!

Jesus saves, Moses invests - but Cthulhu forecloses!

Jesus saves sinners... and redeems them for cash and valuable prizes.

Jesus saves sinners... he must have a lot by now.

Jesus to His followers: "You did WHAT in My Name?!?"

JIHAD: Jealousy Intolerance Hatred And Destruction

Join the Cthulhu Corps; it's not just a job, it's a higher position under an elder god.

Judgment and punishment, or some such silly conservative Christian hoopla.

Just doing my part to annoy right-wing conservative Christians.

Kill a Christmas tree for Jesus.

Killing people is bad. Unless it's in self defense. But not if it's euthanasia for someone in uncontrollable pain. Unless they're on death row. But not if it's a fetus. Unless it's during war or if they're gay or Islamic.

Last time we mixed politics with religion, people got burned at the stake.

Lead me not into temptation, for I can damned well find it myself.

Let's just say that if complete and utter chaos was lightning, he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting, 'All gods are bastards.'--Terry Pratchett

Lions: 5, Christians: 0.

Little Bunny Cthulhu hopping through the forest
Scooping up the field mice and sucking out their souls.
--Elder God Nursery Rhyme

Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today, it's called golf.

Love is the Law. Lust is a subordinate clause.

Madness in the name of God is still only madness.

Magic is seldom spectacular because it seldom needs to be.

Magicians and scientists are, on the face of it, poles apart. Certainly, a group of people who often dress strangely, live in a world of their own, speak a specialized language and frequently make statements that appear to be in flagrant breach of common sense have nothing in common with a group of people who often dress strangely, speak a specialized language, live in ... er ...--Terry Pratchett

Many an ancient lord's last words had been, "You can't kill me because I've got magic aaargh." Magic armour is not all it's cracked up to be.--Terry Pratchett

Many have quarreled about religion that never practiced it.--Benjamin Franklin

Many Neo-Pagans are just Creative Anachronists with a bit more sincerity.

Many people are drawn to Paganism for what it isn't. Those who stay with Paganism appreciate what it is.

Many wish to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity.

May the entity of your choice smile kindly upon you.

Maybe God is a kid playing The Sims.

Maybe the Rapture already happened, and nobody got taken.

Maybe this world is another planet's Hell.--Aldous Huxley

Meddle not in the affairs of witches, for [POOF!] croak croak

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.--Pascal

Merry Meet, and Merry Part, and Mary Tyler Moore

Morality is doing what is right no matter what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told no matter what is right.

Morality? Like Psalms 137:9?

Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.--Mark Twain

Mother Nature doesn't care if you are having fun.--Larry Niven

Mother is the name for God on the lips of all children.

My creation myth is better than your creation myth.

My cultlike following is accepting applications.

My guardian angel probably has a drinking problem.

My guru said there would be lifetimes like this.

My husband and I divorced over religious differences - he thought he was God and I didn't.

My karma ran over my dogma.

My next life will be normal.

My other car is a broom!

My path? C:\Pagan\Eclectic\Wiccan

My psychic advisor just keeps laughing.

My psychic girlfriend dumped me before we met.

My religious preference is freedom.

My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed.--Christopher Morley

Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams.--Mary Kelly

Nature draws the line, and I just keep crossing that sucker.

Never expect a police officer to understand the ritual nature of your athame.

Never forget that there are genuinely good Christian people in the world, and that their religion may have something to do with it.

Never give your real address to entities you've just met on the astral plane.

Never invoke the gods unless you really want them to appear. It annoys them very much.--Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Never mind the star, just get those camels off the lawn!

Never say, "Things couldn't get any worse." God takes that as a personal challenge.

Never sing 'Onward Christian Soldiers' during the Great Rite.

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione. (I'm not interested in your dopey religious cult.)

No, I'm not a cultist. I just sacrifice virgins for fun.

No magic is ever truly destructive. For what is destruction, except creation with an agenda?

No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.

No, no, chocolate goes in the North. Massage oil goes in the West!

No, Wiccans don't sacrifice people...although we might make an exception for you!

No witch stands so tall as when she stoops to clean the litter-box.

Nothing personal, but God told me to set you on fire.

Nowadays I am suspicious of any spiritual teaching that lacks humor.--Gerald May

Odin loves the little Vikings \ All the Vikings of the world.

Of course I'm a witch. I've got a tall pointy hat!

Of course the meek will inherit the earth! Did you think they were going to take it by force?

Of course you can cast a perfectly fine circle with a kitchen knife. But there's something about a two-hundred dollar hand-forged designer athame that makes you want to cast it more often.

Only 666 more shopping days before Armageddon!

Our god's the FUN god! Our god's the SUN god! Ra! Ra! Ra!

Pagans and heathens and witches, oh my!

Pagan gatherings would be a lot more restrained if participants thought they'd ever have to meet again in the real world.

Pagans do it in a circle.

Pass the Lord and praise the ammunition!

People who used magic without knowing what they were doing usually came to a sticky end. All over the entire room, sometimes.-- Terry Pratchett

People who want to share their religious views with you rarely want you to share yours with them.

Place blood sacrifice on keyboard to continue.

Playing Dungeons & Dragons actually is a lot like witchcraft - but don't tell anybody.

Please, Lord, let me prove that winning the lottery won't spoil me!

Practice random acts of intelligence & senseless acts of self-control!

Probably the toughest part of being good at a rain dance is getting thrown out of nightclubs.

Putting a Jesus fish or magnetic yellow ribbon on your car doesn't let you ignore basic traffic safety.--SomethingPositive.net

Quoting the Bible doesn't count as thinking.

Reality doesn't give a damn about your beliefs.

Religion is a fashionable substitute for faith.

Religion is what you're told; spirituality is what you learn.

Religion without a Goddess is halfway to atheism!

Religions revolve madly around sexual questions.

Remember, God gave you a brain, not a Bible!

Remember, kids, Satan loves you!

Remember that the customs of your tribe are not laws of nature.

Remember, your body is your temple; however, it's also your dancehall and bowling alley!

Repent or be damned! (If you've already repented, please disregard this notice.)

Roman Catholic: The world's most successful cult

Route 666 - Highway of the Beast

Sacred cows make the best hamburger.--Mark Twain

Satanism is Christianity for rebels with no imagination.

Saved? For what, a rainy day?

Saying "God told me" is no excuse for stupidity.

Science has done more for Western Civilization in 100 years then Christianity did in 1800 years.--John Burroughs

Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without any proof.--Ashley Montague

Sex - Does God have a sense of humor or what?!

Sex is one of the nine reasons for reincarnation...the other eight are unimportant.--Henry Miller

Shoot a televangelist for Jesus!

Short summary of every Jewish holiday: They tried to kill us, we won, let's eat.

Shout louder! Maybe your god is busy.

Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily.--Robert A. Heinlein

Since God is watching us, the least we can do is be entertaining.

So, basically you're saying God planned this shit?

So charmingly heathen, your skin is like a teardrop on a popsicle.

Some people practice what they preach, others just practice preaching.

Someone's gotta tell the Volcano God that we're all out of virgins!

Sometimes I lie awake at night and ask "Why me?" Then a voice answers, "Nothing personal; your name just happened to come up.--Charlie Brown

Sometimes the garbage disposal gods require a sacrificial spoon.

Sorry I missed church, I've been busy practicing witchcraft and becoming a lesbian.

Spanish witch causes a brujaja.

Spiritual truth through superior weapons!

Study demonology with an enemy this Sunday.

Supporting America's Militant Agnostics: we don't know, and you don't either!

Support prayer in schools, but only if my kid can lead Wiccan rituals in school, too!

Sure, there's a downside: moaning at all hours, blood flowing into the yard and demons maniacally shrieking. Still, the "Hellish Potato Salad" he brings to the block parties makes it worthwhile to be Satan's neighbor.

Thank you for not trying to raise my conciousness.

The Bible does NOT say, "Love thy neighbor, unless he's gay."

The church is near
But the road is icy.
The tavern is far
But I will walk carefully.
--Ukranian proverb

The family that prays together is brainwashing the children.

The first time Adam had a chance, he laid the blame on a woman.--Nancy Astor

The Goddess Loves You! (Just don't push it till she's had her coffee.)

The Goddess loves you - everyone else thinks you're an idiot.

The gods are not crazy - they're higher than kites!

The magic of the tongue is the most dangerous of all spells.--Bulwer-Lytton

The most radical notion in Wicca is that religion can be fun.

The original Pledge of Allegiance, 1892: I pledge allegiance to the flag and the republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The plural of "witch" is "argument".

The Road to Enlightenment is long and difficult...bring snacks and a book to read.

The words of the Magus are to know, to will, to dare, and one other I could remember if everyone would shut up a moment.

There is an angel inside of me whom I am constantly shocking.

There is more black magic in one day on Wall Street than in a decade of Wiccan Sabbats.

There once was a time when everyone feared God and the Church reigned supreme. It was called the Dark Ages.

There you are, getting on with your life, and Jesus is waiting just 'round the corner with a baseball bat.

This isn't hell, but I can see it from here.

This isn't hell. This is where you get sent when you've been bad in hell.

Those students who have become one with the universe will be allowed to go on and become two with the universe.

Those who don't believe in evolution are the ones who need it most.

Thou shalt not shove your religion down my throat.

Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light, I have loved the stars too fondly To be fearful of the night.--Sarah Williams

Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this.

True gods were never meant to be worshipped, only absorbed.

Truly, the road to enlightenment is like unto half a mile of broken glass.

Trust in God, but question religion.

Unitarian prayer: "To whom it may concern..."

Unpopular Bible Fact: Adultery merits the death penalty. (Lev. 20:10)

Unpopular Bible Fact: Blended fabrics are forbidden. (Lev. 19:19)

Unpopular Bible Fact: Body/ear piercings are forbidden. (Lev. 21:5)

Unpopular Bible Fact: Christians should not judge others. (Mt. 7:1-5)

Unpopular Bible Fact: Crossbreeding cattle is forbidden. (Lev. 19:19)

Unpopular Bible Fact: Don't plant a variety of crops. (Lev. 19:19)

Unpopular Bible Fact: God forbids people to get tattoos. (Lev. 19:28)

Unpopular Bible Fact: Public prayer is wrong. (Matthew 6:1-6)

Unpopular Bible Fact: Rebellious kids are to be killed. (Lev. 20:9)

Want a taste of religion? Bite a minister.

Want a taste of religion? Lick a witch!

We apologize for the inconvenience.--God's final message

We are all Children of Cthulhu - especially the ones with lots of tentacles.

What would Freya do?

When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.--Sinclair Lewis

When God created man, She must have been drunk and horny!

When Jesus said, "Love your enemies," I'm pretty sure he meant don't kill them.

When men speak of the future, the gods laugh.--Chinese proverb

When religion ruled the world, they called it the Dark Ages.

When the gods choose to punish us, they merely answer our prayers.--Oscar Wilde

When we talk to God it's called prayer. When God talks back it's called schizophrenia.

When you have come to the edge of all the light you know, and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, Faith is knowing one of two things will happen--there will be something solid to stand on...or you will be taught how to fly.

Why do Christian Fundamentalists object to single parents on earth, yet have no problem accepting one in heaven?

Why should we assume God is good?

With magic, you can turn a frog into a prince. With science, you can turn a frog into a Ph.D and you still have the frog you started with.--Terry Pratchett

Y chromosomes: the Goddess' way of keeping things mildly interesting.

Ye shall know them by their fruits - look, there's one now!

Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.

Yes, I found religion. I found it to be completely worthless.

Yes, I've found Jesus. He's locked in my trunk.

You can order anything thou wilt at Aleister's Restaurant.

You toyed with unnatural forces. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't punish you?--Joyce, BTVS

Your God, our Nation. Learn the difference.

ZenCrafters -- Total enlightenment, in about an hour.

THOSE DAMN PAGANS AT IT AGAIN

2006-12-21T20:32:00.000-06:00

I think most know that back in May, Bay Buchanan (conservative talk show guest and pundit, and sister of former conservative Presidential aspirant Patrick Buchanan) had an interesting take on the Gulf Coast disasters of last year, you know the neo-nut take, tired of hearing about it.

I agree with Bay, I am also tired of hearing about it, I am sick of hearing how the federal government failed to appropriate the money needed to shore up the levee system, and how what money was appropriated to New Orleans in particular was wasted to such a large degree by the state of Louisiana and city of New Orleans, that the end result was not only the failure of the levees, but the simultaneous failure of the pumps that could have otherwise pumped the water out of the New Orleans flooded areas realitively quickly.

I am sick of hearing about how Bush and his Administration denied the scope of the disaster in public, while every day the mainstream media conveyed images of the horror and disasters.

I'm sick of hearing Republican apologists constantly defend the incompetence of the Bush Administration. I am sick of hearing so many people engage in blaming the victims for not getting out of the area, even though many of them had no place to go, and no way to leave if they had a place. I am sick of hearing them being accused of purposely staying behind for purposes of looting, or out of hopes of filing lawsuits. I am sick with the knowledge, that, in reality, most of them had no way out.

I'm sick of hearing of how Bush and other politicians have promised New Orleans will be rebuilt, yet the reality seems to be no money is being made available for this effort, I am sick of so much it is hard to keep track of all of it. But the thing I am most sick of, Bay Buchanan, is people like yourself.

People who go have a listening audience and say things such as "It's those pagan we need to watch out for", yes Bay said that today on Situation Room on CNN. the topic was about that ever so bias US Rep. Virgil Goode Jr., R-Va saying "The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district, and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran."

Notice the age old trick of neo-nuts, one of their own spews racist BS and instead of the neo-nuts demanding Virgil Goode to apologize or denouncing what Virgil Goode said they instead try coyly to redirect. With Bay Buchanan's insult a geared towards all pagans with her stand offish comment, it shows how the neo-nuts really think. Neo-nuts do in fact believe in racism and allows it's use, when it serves their needs.

There are those of the Pagan faith that have died serving their country, yet they still are treated as jokes, as people that don't matter. Bay's remark was not anymore outrageous than Goodes' but I bet there will be no media coverage of Bay's insult to those of the pagan faith, there will be no group demanding accountability for Bay's words. The prejudice has the same destructive powers no matter how it is used.

Yet, I would wage that most would not see the revilement attitude presented in Bay's state "It's those pagans we need to watch out for". People will say Bay was joking and since she is a neo-nut it is ok for her to joke unlike Kerry.

Many will say (liberals and conservatives alike) that what Goode said was much worst than Bay's remark about pagans, I strongly disagree. What Goode said was an attack against Islam, a religion, faith, belief, what Bay said was an attack against Paganism, a religion, faith, belief. What Goode said portrays hate borne out of fear, what Bay said portrays hatred born from ignorance.

After thousands of years on this planet you would think that humans would grow the hell up and quit attacking others due to fears, when will people see that it the long run it really doesn't matter what your religious beliefs are or what color you skin is. Reality is, we are all the same, we all bled if cut, feel pain if hurt, experience love if lucky, and we all are capable of growing into mature adults. Unfortunate not so many care to grow into mature adults as one can see from the lowest to the highest of the land(s).

In today's time I find it even more important than ever to cry out against hate in any form. It seems that with 9-11 and Bush admin, the witch hunts and communists scare is back and in a big way. Now-a-days its ok to say you 'distrust' a person just because they are of the Islamic faith, hell some would even say it is understandable for one to say they hate. Since when has hate been productive, when did it become ok to replace blame instead of being held accountable? When did it become ok to preach hate and fear, oh wait now I remember when. It happened when Bush & his cronies came into power and people like Goode and Bay were proclaimed 'Great Americans'.

So now you know there is nothing to fear from people of the Islamic faith, Bay Buchanan told us it is 'Those pagans we need to watch out for'. So happy Bay cleared that all up for us, I guess that only leaves one unanswered question, when is the war against Pagans to start?

Now for some very (cough, cough) wise comments from well-known neo-nuts, and paltalkians thought they had the corner market on flip-flopping
RUMSFELD: It Would Be A Short War "Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that" "Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things." –Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on looting in Iraq after the U.S. invasion, adding "stuff happens," April 11, 2003 BUSH: days before the November elections, declared, "Absolutely, we're winning." Dec 19th "We're not winning, we're not losing," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. BUSH: "Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties." —discussing the Iraq war with Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson, as quoted by Robertson. BUSH: "F**k Saddam, we're taking him out." –President Bush to three U.S. Senators in March 2002, a full year before the Iraq invasion DICK CHENEY: "I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency." June 20, 2005.

~~~~~~Yes, I'm always a Facetious Pain~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~Smile, it confuses people~~~~~~~

Also Goode refuses to apologize for his comments about Muslims.

America is Not Doomed

2006-12-16T04:04:00.000-06:00

America will never be doomed if it has faith that shows us the love of respect, honor, truth, compassion, and equality that holds the hands of the people of the United Stated, where Conservatives, Liberals, and others are patriots to the Constitutional Freedom and Democracy of the Declaration of Independence, singing with our nation anthem, in the red, white, and blue spirit, where Free Speech of diversity is a birthright. We are not a nation of one religion but one of all religions that must unite in respect that must honor humanity in love over war, as prime ingredient of our own divine Liberty. We can never let our country become a Corporation, for our roots are in our people from the lower caste to the Billionaire who has one vote. We employ Washington in votes as stockholders of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin proclamation that no form of royal cast will dictate Executive Privilege.

No, we are not doomed, we just need politicians, who walk our streets to feel its heart come alive, not fraternities parties that want to segregate us with a special ticket, so that they call get their five star meal ticket benefits. My ticket was born inside me, and with a divine gift of Free Speech that declares secrecy null and void. That Washington’s closets of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell must account to its people, not to power brokers of green-blooded secret agendas.

We must do our homework, before we commit our troops upon the Truth, not Creative Fiction. That is why it is President Bush’s turn to step up to the plate, for somehow he may the best solution to the insanity that the future may bear if we find no good solution. He avoided the Vietnam War, but this one will draft him to the frontlines for a solution. It is not about being Republican or Democrat, but an American thing that must have all on board for a peaceful solution to the Iraq bloodbath. So blame me if you must, then add the majority of this nation in one way or another. But it is one and one making two multiplied by each state uniting together as a nation than a nation dividing with labels of blame.

I ask all to remember our troops that will be celebrating the holidays away from home. For no matter what party you belong to, I think we can all agree on this one issue, our troops deserve the best wishes from us all. Take a moment to send a Christmas and/or Holiday card (Send an ecard to the troops) to those who shine, the fathers & mothers, sons & daughters, who cannot be home. Let them all know no matter your views on the war, we wish them all back home safe and sound. Let them know we have not, nor ever will forget them, that forever they will be in our hearts.

Merriest Christmas & Happiest Holidays to all

Any Soldier Inc is a great place to get addy of troops.

Another one is A Million Thanks, FYI it is religious based, for those that care about that silly stuff ;)

Operation Band Aid it's to show your support for our wounded soldiers at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), Germany.

One more is Annie's "Write to the Troops" Page it has items such as "Thanks a Soldier a week" & "Send Christmas Mail to Our Troops" Page

Remember this is about SUPPORT, not just STUFF!

A LETTER,from you, your children, the kids at church or school, is THE BEST THING to send. A show of personal support is far better than spending a bunch of money that you don't have.

A soldier in Iraq can't see your ribbon,
Or the flag at your front door.
But a letter they hold in their hands,
To them means so much more.

Hope this is a help Voxy

RAS

2006-11-27T20:57:00.000-06:00

So many try to say the African-Americans keep racists alive with wanting to remember history and making sure that history is written factually. Others complain that African-Americans want to have everything handled to them on a silver platter due to what their ancestries endured at the hands of others, this also amazes me.

How hard is it for people to realized that for years the balance of equality, simply did not exist. Certain races were allowed to improve themselves without restriction, while other races could lose their life just for learning how to read. The playing field was (some might say still) NOT fair nor level in any stretch of the imagination. How can people not understand that years of being held back by injustices hinders the ability for one to succeed. How can a person succeed when at every turn they are being denied basic rights? If one is not ALLOWED to read, how can they get a high paying job? If one is not ALLOWED try, how can they be successful?

So often I hear some say that African-Americans cause the damage to their race. Some will quote affirmative action and reparations,this lead me to ask the question, should the US gov't pay reparations to black people? There are plenty of decent-enough arguments for paying black people reparations, but my favorite one is the fact that we're already paying reparations to other groups.

For example, the US is already paying reparations to the Japanese that were interned during World War II, similarly, and quite obviously, none of the Arabs currently locked up in Gitmo and possibly other secret prisons around the world (where torture is still legal) flew any planes into the World Trade Center. Assuming they aren't members of al Qaeda, wouldn't they have just as much claim to reparations as the Japanese interned during World War II? Think about that: In 20 years from now, you and I might be cutting a check to someone who could've been a spy for Osama bin Laden, but black people who's ancestors worked for free for 400 years can't get shit.

I say the above to point out the context in which I generally find myself during conversations regarding race and politics. It usually goes something like this: I ask someone a question about their feelings regarding reparations, affirmative action, racial profiling, or the like, and they usually respond with a sharp, racist statement against black people. An example would be something like the following:

Me:

So what do you think about social welfare?”

Their answer:

Blacks already have enough handouts as it is! Why should my money go to someone who’s going to waste it on Jordans and having three kids by three men???!!! I’m not being racist either man, but I’m also not being politically correct. I’m being real about it.”

You see what’s happened here? Somehow a genuine, concerned question that pertains to all of America and beyond turns into black people being vilified. All I asked was about social welfare, in any nation. And what I got was why black people are worthless.

These types of conversations happen on a daily basis with me. I ask a question and typically receive an answer that has absolutely nothing to do with the question. And the same goes for affirmative action. The conversation degenerates into praise and blame, rather than discussing say, the meanings of these findings by Princeton University. I’ve got to say folks, the elitism and self righteousness (and selfishness) that I find really sickens me.

Final thought: if you’re against race-based politics, cool. But be civil with it, and quit with the racism shit. That “Culture of Poverty” associated with black people is really starting to get on my fucking nerves. If you’re against affirmative action, reparations, or whatever it is, talk about stats, figures, theories. Don’t talk about Ray Ray down the block who’s on crack with a pacifier in his mouth. As Angry Asian Man would say, that’s racist! Or, if you’re me, that’s some RAS (racist-ass-shit).

It is time for everyone to cry out against racism, in any form, to do any less would be an insult to humanity.

Check out Paltalk Court

2006-11-22T06:34:00.000-06:00

Paltalk Court is now in session, give it a try you never know you just might like it. Paltalk Court

What the hell It's Halloween Time :o)

2006-10-14T06:09:00.000-05:00

About 6 years ago in Indiana, Jessica Smith was pushed down a sewer opening by 5 girls in her school, trying to embarrass her in front of her school during a fire drill. When she didn't submerge then police were called. They went down and brought up 17 year old Jessica Smith's body, she broke her neck hitting the ladder, then hit her side on concrete at the bottom. The girls told everyone she fell ... They believed them.

FACT: 2 months ago, 16 year old Ron Anderson read this post and didn't repost it. When he went to take a shower he heard laughter from his shower, he started freaking out and ran to his computer to repost it, He said goodnight to his mom and went to sleep, 5 hours later his mom woke up in the middle of the night cause of a loud noise, Ron Anderson was gone, that morning a few hours later the police found him in the sewer, his neck broke and his face skin peeled off

If you don't repost this saying

"She was pushed"
or "They Pushed her down a sewer"

Then Jessica will get you, either from a sewer, the toilet, the shower, or when you go to sleep you'll wake up in the sewer, in the dark, then Jessica will come and kill you.

Now just for those that might freak out about this here's the facts from Urban Legends

Origins: In October 2006, the spooky story about a teen killed by a fall into a sewer after five other girls shoved her began circulating in e-mail and on
MySpace.

No adolescent girl named Carmen Winstead or Jessica Smith died in such fashion, in Indiana, or in any other U.S. state "about six years ago." We searched for news reports about such a death and found none. This is a fiction, a typical chain letter of the sort favored by pre-teens. Its key difference lies in its recommended mode of transmission: rather than imploring recipients to mail (or e-mail) it to others, it requires them to post it on their MySpace pages.

As is common with "luck generation" or "ill luck avoidance" chain letters, a specific dire outcome is promised those who do not speed the tale on its way (the ghost of the murdered girl will seek them out and kill them), with proof of the danger being flirted with provided via the included news about the sorry fate that befell someone who failed to heed those instructions (his dead body discovered in the sewer, "his neck broke and his face skin peeled off"). We discuss two other examples of this type of chain letter: one ("Bed Reckoning") uses a seemingly spooky photo; the other ("Skinned Flick") builds upon a fictitious Instant Message exchange.

Enjoy Halloween time, it's the only time of the year everyone cn be excused for be a child at heart :o)

Iraq for sale

2006-10-03T23:56:00.000-05:00

ys, with the help of binky the full verision of the movie Iraq for Sale can be seen for free online. Here is the link for anyone that wishes to see it. Iraq for Sale

I am sure this will go down as my shortest thread ever :) Please take time to watch this and share it with your friends.

Unclaimed Territory - by Glenn Greenwald: The legalization of torture and permanent detention

2006-09-29T06:10:00.000-05:00

Unclaimed Territory - by Glenn Greenwald: The legalization of torture and permanent detention

Facetious Muses

2006-09-27T10:14:00.000-05:00

Facetious Muses

Every...

2006-09-27T10:08:00.000-05:00

Video showing the harm that humanity does to each other within an hour. Please take a moment to watch.

Thank you

News Analysis: Campaign 2006: The Issues, the Stakes, the Prospects

2006-09-22T12:06:00.000-05:00

Scare the hell out of the American people. That, in a nutshell, is the Republicans’ fall congressional campaign strategy. If you doubt it, consider the following: George W. Bush launched a propaganda offensive in the run-up to the 9/11 anniversary with a speech in which he called Islamic terrorists “successors to fascists, to Nazis, to communists and other totalitarians of the 20th century”; Donald Rumsfeld in turn likened administration critics (read Democrats) to those who appeased Nazi Germany in the 1930s; Dick Cheney, appearing on Meet the Press, accused opponents of the war of inviting more violence; Rep. Peter Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee in August released a hyped report on the supposedly grave threat to US national security posed by Iran—one strikingly similar to the hyped intelligence documents the administration used to build its case for war in Iraq.
I could go on, but you get the idea: The GOP is dusting off a strategy that’s worked wonders for them these past five years—one single-mindedly and cynically designed to increase public fear of terrorism.

Republicans running for the House and Senate in marginal districts and swing states have a problem. They’re just like Tony Blair, fatally weakened in Britain and derided in Europe as “Bush’s poodle” for rolling over for the US president’s every policy demand. Republicans in Congress, however much they may try now to distance themselves from a deeply unpopular president, are in trouble for having stood on their hind legs and jumped through hoops every time the White House has fed them a new policy biscuit. Thus, the policies of George Bush and his administration are—and well should be—the defining issue of this campaign.

No wonder the White House and Congressional Republicans are so desperate and have gone on the offensive: they read the August opinion polls, which demonstrated that the American people had finally come to believe that Mr. Bush’s war of choice—which has killed nearly 2,700 Americans, wounded and maimed many more, cost our national treasury over $420 billion, killed or wounded tens of thousands of Iraqis, and seems to degenerate each day—might just be a mistake, and one to be corrected at the voting booth.

In fact, in the mid-August polls, just prior to the Bush administration’s spin offensive, 53 percent of Americans were convinced that “going to war was a mistake,” 62 percent believed that “events were going badly in Iraq,” and 58 percent “disapproved of [Bush’s] handling of the economy.”

Republicans will do almost anything to keep control of Congress. And no wonder. As long as they hold a thin majority in the House, they have the absolute power of chairing all committees, power they’ve used to freeze out the Democrats. The Republican chairs hire staff, set legislative priorities, issue subpoenas, decide on the issues, and determine when to hold investigations, press conferences, and hearings. The White House wants to keep it that way. Hoekstra, for example, would no more undertake a serious investigation of the White House’s manipulation of flawed intelligence since the run-up to the Iraq war than he would turn down a fat corporate campaign contribution.

Legislative oversight and accountability under GOP leadership has become a wink, a nod, and a whitewash. Hoekstra happens to represent a safe district, but he knows only too well, as does the president, that if Republicans lose the House he will lose his chairmanship to a Democrat. There will be hearings and investigations of executive policies, just as there will be by other committees: Armed Services, Homeland Security, Financial Services, Government Reform, and Judiciary. This is downright scary to an administration that has turned executive secrecy and abuse of power into an art form, with the collusion of a cover-up Congress.

Bush, the Republican leadership, and Karl Rove are convinced that fear of terrorism is their best—indeed their only—trump card. It won the midyear elections for them in 2002 and the White House in 2004. They’re counting on using it to win again. What else do they have to run on? Not their handling of Hurricane Katrina, not health care, not education, not urban policy, not Social Security, not energy policy, not the environment, and certainly not jobs and economic security.

The political prospects

From now until Nov. 7, the American people can count on a high-stakes and brutal battle for control of Congress. This is undoubtedly the most important midterm election in a generation. If the Republicans win and maintain control of Congress, the nation will be faced with another two years of Bush’s policies. If the Democrats win the House, the Senate, or both, these policies will come under serious scrutiny and some might well be reversed.

In the Senate, the Republicans now have a 55-44 advantage, with one Independent who caucuses with the Democrats. Though the odds favor the Republicans retaining control of the Senate—18 Republican-held seats, 15 Democratic-held seats, and one open seat are up for re-election—Democrats have a long shot at gaining control. They have a good chance of winning seats in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Montana, and Ohio. They then have to pick up two additional seats in tougher races in Tennessee, Virginia, Missouri or Arizona to gain a majority.

The House is where the Democrats have the best shot at winning. Democrats must pick up 15 additional seats to win control of the House, where all 435 seats are up for grabs. At present, the composition of the House is 231 Republicans, 201 Democrats, one Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, and two vacancies.

In the upcoming election, only about 40 House seats are in play. Because of recent redistricting, most incumbents have safe seats. If the election were held today, of the 40 contested seats, the Democrats would likely pick up 28—mostly in the Northeast and Midwest—and the Republicans 12. That would give the Democrats a razor-thin two-vote majority. But it would be enough to change the dynamics of national politics and put the White House on the defensive.

It comes down to this: If the Democrats keep the election focused on the Iraq debacle and economic insecurity, they will win. If unforeseen events occur and the Republicans can frame the debate nationally around terror and/or the hot-button issue of immigration, the outcome could change.

The issues

For the past five and a half years, the president and his party have cooked up the ultimate recipe for keeping political power. A nation in a constant state of anxiety—over the threat of terrorism, or at war—is a nation off balance. And that insecurity is the perfect cover to divert public attention from the country’s serious domestic problems and the administration’s reactionary political agenda.

The “Bush doctrine” opens the door to a series of preemptive wars against “evil” regimes. The ostensible goal is to protect the United States and bring security, stability, safety, and democracy to the citizens of Damascus, Tehran, and Pyongyang, as the president claims to be doing in Baghdad and Kabul. Meanwhile, the administration and Republican congressional leaders show little or no concern for the security, stability, and safety of the citizens of New Orleans, Los Angeles, New York City, Cleveland, or thousands of other cities and small towns across America, who are facing enormous economic and social difficulties.

Just like in The Wizard of Oz, when we finally get to see who is operating the smoke-puffing machine, we find a consummate pitchman. In Bush’s case, the man behind the screen is a flag-waving, antiterrorist smear- and fear-monger who labels his opponents anti-patriotic. Bush has done a clever job of manipulating the mass media, but in reality his smooth imagery and down-home personality are severely undermining America’s values. While he composes hymns to patriotism, individualism, Sunday piety, trickle-down economics, “staying the course,” and family values, he is trying to gut every program providing for social, economic, and environmental justice. America’s families need less pious rhetoric, and more policies geared toward a healthy economy, secure jobs, decent health care, affordable housing, quality public education, renewable energy, and a sustainable environment. Bush seems unable, or unwilling, to grasp that the government has an important leadership role in this. In fact, providing tax giveaways for the rich and for corporate America is the only policy that seems to energize Bush and the Republicans in Congress.

At present, an air of suspended belief hangs over the radical changes of the past five and a half years. That is because Bush’s economic policy has been obscured by the events of September 11, the nation’s focus on terrorist alerts—which seem to occur whenever Bush takes a nosedive in the polls—and the Iraq war. But layoffs, shutdowns, cutbacks, outsourcing, gas prices, local tax hikes, and reduced paychecks are taking a huge toll. Bush’s economic policy, which in turn determines social policy, is much like the iceberg waiting in the path of a steaming Titanic.

Bush does not seem to understand that, while it is not a sin to be born to privilege, it is a sin to spend your life defending it. John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt understood that. They knew the narrowness privilege can breed. This administration, despite its early pledges of “compassionate conservatism,” has in fact adopted policies that amount to a war against the poor and the middle class.

The Bush tax and budget cuts were not made in order to jump-start the economy or balance the budget; they were simply massive cash transfers. Social programs are being slashed to pay for the war in Iraq, tax giveaways for the wealthy, and new defense contracts for arms makers who just happen to be big Republican campaign contributors.

Moreover, the administration has not provided the American people with a strategic vision as to how the war in Iraq and this excessive and bloated arms buildup fits into our larger defense, antiterrorist, and foreign policy. Is it in the national interest to relegate our most precious assets—our human, natural, and financial resources—to the junk pile? Is it in the national interest to throw more lives and money into the quagmire in Iraq? To increase the pace of an arms race where overkill has long been achieved and is useless, militarily, in land wars?

Thomas Jefferson warned us that we could be free or ignorant, but not both. We have not taken that warning to heart. We have not had a serious national debate about the Bush administration’s policies, because the Republican leadership in Congress has engaged in a massive cover-up and the mass media have treated politics—as well as economic and social policy—as entertainment: a combination of hype and palliative. The moral, political, and economic life of this country has suffered. As a consequence, we have lost our moral compass, as well as our intuitive sense of what is significant in both our national and public institutions.

Foreign policy: the Iraq war and national security

Since Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Bush want to invoke history, let’s look at real-world history, instead of the mindless drivel they are peddling. The Bush spinmeisters desperately want to undermine the simple truth that most Democrats understand history and complexity, particularly in regard to the most important decision a president can make: that of taking our country to war, with all its drastic consequences in terms of human lives and the expenditure of national treasure.

Bush does not seem to understand that those who do not learn from history are condemned to make the same mistakes. Both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, in leading the victorious WWII allies in the war against fascism, understood the suffering, the human costs, and the scourge of war. (Note that Bush kicked off his propaganda offensive with a speech at an American Legion convention. One wonders if there were any Vietnam vets in the audience who thought to themselves, “Oh yeah, this guy has a lot of experience in fighting for freedom. While I was getting shot at and dragging my sorry ass through the muck and mire of Vietnam jungles, he was doing drugs, getting drunk, and practicing his golf swing at Houston country clubs. Ditto for that freedom-fighting draft-dodger Cheney.”) Roosevelt and Churchill understood only too well the need for international cooperation, both diplomatic and military. They understood the critical need for the exchange of intelligence and multinational action by and among traditional allies. They understood the need for strategic alliances that every single president since then, Republican and Democrat, has understood, with the glaring exception of Bush. That’s why he is dangerous and why we need a Democratic Congress to hold him accountable.

Roosevelt, before his death, was quite clear. He said that the United Nations was the place to go not to end wars, but to end the beginnings of wars. And Churchill was just as explicit when he warned us, “The United Nations is an imperfect institution that is a reflection of an imperfect world. Its purpose is not to lead us into an ascent to heaven but to prevent us from going into a descent to hell.” Those words are just as true and prescient today as they were in the aftermath of WWII. The Democrats understand what they mean. Bush either isn’t interested, or he’s too arrogant to grasp their meaning.

Saddam Hussein was a despicable tyrant, but overthrowing him and invading Iraq did not lessen the threat of terror; it increased it. It did not strengthen American military capability; it weakened it. It did not make Americans at home or abroad safer; it had the opposite effect of increasing recruitment and support for Al Qaeda and other anti-American militant groups throughout the world. Invading Iraq did not increase international cooperation for antiterrorist efforts or the respect for America’s diplomatic leadership that is indispensable to the war on terror; it diminished them.

For five and a half years, I have listened carefully to the president and his chief advisers. All of it has reminded me of a passage in The Heart of Darkness. Joseph Conrad put it this way: “Their talk was the talk of sordid buccaneers: it was reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage; there was not an atom of foresight. . .in the whole batch of them, and they did not seem aware these things are wanted for the work of the world.”

Conrad’s words capture the political machinations of the Bush administration’s years in Washington. They reflect the mood and the moral nullity of the reactionary enterprise that seeks to tear apart the public good at home and to promote the neoconservative fantasy of world domination that led us into a risky and tragic preemptive war in Iraq. The Bush administration just doesn’t get it. No country can sustain itself, much less grow, on a political fare of one-liners, secrecy, rerun ideas, deliberate distortions, arrogance, paranoia, and official policy pronouncements borrowed from Orwell’s 1984—where recession is recovery, war is peace, and a social policy based on aggressive hostility is compassion.

The stakes

Finally, let me leave you with 25 reasons as to why this election is important and why you should get involved. They are:

1. Iraq.

2. Woman’s choice.

3. Global warming.

4. Public education.

5. Civil liberties.

6. Decent jobs at livable wages.

7. Affordable housing.

8. National health insurance.

9. Torture and human rights abuse.

10. Separation of church and state.

11. Soaring federal deficits.

12. The Supreme Court and federal judges.

13. Increase in poverty and homelessness.

14. Assault weapons back on the street.

15. Social Security.

16. Consumer protection.

17. Huge national debt.

18. Preemptive wars and national security.

19. Mercury and acid rain.

20. Disaster preparedness and Hurricane Katrina.

21. Maldistribution of wealth.

22. Resumption of nuclear testing.

23. Homeland security—ports, mass transit, and chemical plants.

24. Renewable energy and gas prices.

25. Pervasive corruption, cronyism, manipulation and incompetence.

You could probably add a number of reasons of your own. What’s of paramount importance though, is that the issues are basic, the choices are stark, the stakes are high, and the consequences could be devastating.

It’s your country! Have a comment, click here.

~~~~~~Forever A Facetious Pain~~~~~~
~~~~~~Hopeful Smiles~~~~~~

Arthur I. Blaustein is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he teaches community development, public policy, and politics. His most recent books are Make a Difference: America’s Guide to Volunteering and Community Service and The American Promise: Justice and Opportunity. He served on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities under Bill Clinton and was chair of the President’s National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity under Jimmy Carter.

Reprinted with permission of the author.

They wouldn't lie to me, would they? Peace on Earth

2006-09-21T07:03:00.000-05:00

UNWINNABLE WARS OF THE REPUBLICANS: PART 1

2006-09-19T21:45:00.000-05:00

As I sat watching C-Span a thought occurred to me, how many more unwinnable wars will the republicans back? We had the Vietnam War, War Against Drugs, Desert Storm and now the newest failure of republicans choice of wars, War Against Terrorism. Now I'm going to address each one of these one by one.

Unwinnable Wars of The Republicans part one
Vietnam War:
Let's start with some historic facts, shall we?

The Vietnam War was a conflict in which the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV or North Vietnam) and its allies fought against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN or South Vietnam) and its allies. By its end in 1975, the Vietnam War had claimed between two and four million lives. It is also known as Vietnam Conflict, the Second Indochina War and colloquially as Vietnam, The ’Nam or simply ’Nam. Vietnamese Communists have often referred to it as the American War or Kháng chiến chống Mỹ, the Resistance War Against America.

North Vietnam’s allies included the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. South Vietnam's main allies included the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea; South Vietnam's allies deployed large numbers of troops. American combat troops were involved from 1959, but not in large numbers until 1965. They left the country in 1973. A large number of civilian casualties resulted from the war, which ended on April 30, 1975, with the capitulation of South Vietnam.

Now that we got the history out of the way, let's break this down. In 1959 Dwight David Eisenhower was president of the US, in fact he was president until 1961 and was a republican with Richard M. Nixon as his vice president. On 20th January, 1953 Eisenhower became the first soldier-President since Ulysses Grant (1869-77). Eisenhower left party matters to his vice-president, Richard Nixon (we all know his story).

Eisenhower's government was severely concerned about the success of communism in South East Asia. Between 1950 and 1953 they had lost 142,000 soldiers in attempting to stop communism entering South Korea. The United States feared that their efforts would have been wasted if communism were to spread to South Vietnam. Eisenhower was aware that he would have difficulty in persuading the American public to support another war so quickly after Korea. He therefore decided to rely on a small group of Military Advisers' to prevent South Vietnam becoming a communist state.

In foreign affairs during this period he relied heavily on Richard Nixon and his secretary of state, John Foster Dulles. During the Suez Crisis President Dwight Eisenhower refused to support the Anglo-French action against Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt. Afterwards his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, became concerned about the growing influence of the Soviet Union in the Middle East.

In January 1957 made a speech in Congress where Eisenhower recommended the use of American forces to protect Middle East states against overt aggression from nations "controlled by international communism"(my, how views have changed for the middle east). He also urged the provision of economic aid to those countries with anti-communist governments. This new foreign policy became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine.

As one can easily see here Eisenhower relied deeply on Nixon for most matters, while in the White House. Now I know that 'Ike' went down as one of the favorite presidents of the United States, but here is some info most don't know or simply refuse to 'remember'.

President Eisenhower is viewed by some Americans as having little or no interest in eliminating racial discrimination and segregation in American society. Others believe that he did very little to promote equal treatment for minority Americans during his presidency. In an entry from Ike's diary addresses his thought about segregation and

I quote

"Dwight D. Eisenhower, diary entry (24th July, 1953)
A few days ago I had luncheon with Governor Byrnes of South Carolina, my great friend, a man in whose company I always find a great deal for enjoyment.

He came to talk to me about the possibility of a supreme court ruling that would abolish segregation in public schools of the country. He is very fearful of the consequences in the South. He did not dwell long upon the possibility of riots, resultant ill feeling, and the like. He merely expressed very seriously the opinion that a number of states would immediately cease support for public schools.
During the course of this conversation, the governor brought out several times that the South no longer finds any great problem in dealing with adult Negroes. They are frightened at putting the children together.

The governor was obviously afraid that I would be carried away by the hope of capturing the Negro vote in this country, and as a consequence take a stand on the question that would forever defeat any possibility of developing a real Republican or "opposition" party in the South.

I told him that while I was not going to give in advance my attitude toward a supreme court opinion that I had not even seen and so could not know in what terms it would be couched, that my convictions would not be formed by political expediency. He is well aware of my belief that improvement in race relations is one of those things that will be healthy and sound only if it starts locally. I do not believe that prejudices, even palpably unjustified prejudices, will succumb to compulsion.

Consequently, I believe that federal law imposed upon our states in such a way as to bring about a conflict of the police powers of the states and of the nation, would set back the cause of progress in race relations for a long, long time."

As one can see within the highlighted part 'Ike' was against the possibility of a supreme court ruling that would rid the US of segregation, but hey he was a likable type of guy.

Here are some quotes from people of that era about Eisenhower:

"The incredible dullness wreaked upon the American landscape in Eisenhower's eight years has been the triumph of the corporation. A tasteless, sexless, odorless sanctity in architecture, manners, modes, styles has been the result. Eisenhower embodied half the needs of the nation, the needs of the timid, the petrified, the sanctimonious and the sluggish."--Norman Mailer, The Presidential Papers

"The trouble with Eisenhower is he's just a coward. He hasn't got any backbone at all. Ike didn't know anything, and all the time he was in office he didn't learn a thing."--Harry S Truman, 1961

"I doubt very much if a man whose main literary interests were in works by Mr. Zane Grey, admirable as they may be, is particularly well equipped to be chief executive of this country--particularly where Indian affairs are concerned."--Dean Acheson

Eisenhower also set the record for running up more debt than any earlier president, primarily to serve the requests of what Republican President Eisenhower had, with alarm, termed the "military- industrial complex." this record being broken only by Reagan and George W Bush, both who are/were republican.

Let's look a little further back into Einenhower's past, Hey how about what he wrote during his military career
"God, I hate the Germans..." (Dwight David Eisenhower in a letter to his wife in September, 1944.

Wonder how many know about 'Eisenhower's Death Camps' and how horrible they were and how injustice, yet 'Ike' was a nice guy, Americans bend backwards to be nice and friendly among ourselves as well as with foreigners. In our zeal to retain the image of nice guyism, we go to extremes rarely witnessed in other societies and give rise sometimes to very amusing, if not ludicrous, situations. The defeat many years earlier of the eminent intellectual Presidential candidate, Adlai Stevenson, at the hands of a grin-gifted Gen. Eisenhower, was nothing but a reflection of the preference of the people for a friendly, nice guy to an erudite, awesome intellectual.

Now that I have bored you to tears the point is, the Vietnam War was NOT won in any sense of the matter, I know many will try to disagree with this statement and I challenge them to explain how the Vietnam War was won. We were engaged in the Vietnam War earlier than most know and it was under the presidential ruling of a republican.

I would strongly suggest the reading of 'Eisenhower's Death Camps': A U.S. Prison Guard's Story. I think if one takes the time to read this, they will easily see the similarities of Unwinnable Wars of The Republicans.

~~~~~~Forever A Facetious Pain~~~~~~
~~~~~~Sweet Smiles~~~~~~

This is only part one of a five part series in the Unwinnable Wars of the Republicans, stay turn for more, same facetious channel, same facetious time.

PEACE IS PATRIOTIC

2006-09-08T04:51:00.000-05:00

Just a shortie, hope you enjoy.

If you would like to bookmark or share this video here's the link

Peace is Patriotic, Iraq War Is Not

Dubya

2006-09-01T18:27:00.000-05:00

I thought I would try my hand at shorties. I hope you all enjoy. ;o)

~~~~~~Forever A Facetious Pain~~~~~
~~~~~Sweet Smiles~~~~~

I AM SO SORRY

2006-08-04T04:38:00.000-05:00

I am so sorry that I didn't stop the pain.
I tried as hard as one person could.
I believed in the kindness of others.
So sorry I made that fatal mistake.
Goodwill towards man was what I was taught,
I thought others would come to your aide.
All they needed was to know that you needed help,
Again I apologize for trusting in humanity.
I took pen to paper, I shouted your carks.
I wrote with my heart, my soul.
I just knew that someone would hear, would care.
I was so wrong, so very wrong.
I can only beg for your forgiveness,
I can only make promises of truth.
I can only tell you I'll always hear you,
I can only tell you I'll always help you.
I've heard that if you are poor, homeless,
Alone you will stay, none open their eyes to you.
Never will I turn a blind eye to you,
I refuse to become as the masses.
Hatred may come my way for my beliefs.
Pain many may try to cause me.
Fret not, I'll not walk away from you.
I'll never stop yelling the truth till it's heard.
I feel only pity for the masses,
The ones that see nothing.
The ones that believe all they read in the newspaper,
The ones that blame you for being poor & alone.
I'll gladly take every dig with pride.
I'll be happy to have those hate me.
I'll rejoice with each and every hate mail.
I'll then know rather they do or not, I'm reaching them.
Till the time comes that the masses see the pain,
Till the sun shines for all I'll not rest.
Till the rich become as the poor, I'll fight.
I'll battle the ignorantness, the cecity.
Till the battle is won know this,
Forever will I be your friend.
Never will I mind the filth you're forced into,
Never will I walk away in disgust.
One thing that I'm certain of,
Is that I rather have you by my side,
Than the masses with their blinders on.
I'm sorry they're too shallow to care.
Never will I rest till the truth comes out.
All must know the pain that you feel.
Know the disgrace they make you feel.
Till they learn how to care

The Silent Screams

2006-07-31T19:23:00.000-05:00

The lone child shaking at the screams
Soon the day will end bring the night
As the night will surely fall
The screams will become louder
No one hears the screams but the child
She alone can hear them, Oh how she hears them
The screams do not come from only one
They are the screams of millions
Souls that have lost their way
Demons that play for keeps
Angels that cry for the loss
Children that fear the night
These are some of the owners
The owners of screams so sad
Screams of anger, pain and remorse
Screams that most ignore
The child sits on her bed
She is awaiting the screams chorus
The song of despair and hopelessness
The tawdry voice of fury
No way to stop the screams
For this child alone cares
Cares for the souls, demons, angels & children
She feels the pain of all
She has been cursed to see the evil
The evil all possess within themselves
The evil many use against another
The stench is strong
She is the forgotten child
The one all fear
For she is not like the rest
No sound does she make
She never speaks a word
Never has a smile passed her lips
No tears have fallen from her eyes
Not even a sigh does she make
She has been written off
Diagnose as insane
Although she is only fourteen
Many fear her silent ways
They locked her away
In a place 'for her own good'
For if she does not speak
One cannot know what she is thinking
The truth is there, the fear is real
She does not speak
For at the tender age of six
She told the tale of truth
She dared the world with her words
Telling all that if humanity did not change
Only the depraved and mephistophelean would live
She spoke only the truth
Her repayment was a room with bars
To forever keep her quiet
Many tests did they run
On this child of six
What they found scared them all
She was not like them
She had no anger
None could provoke her
She had no demands to be met
She loved them all
No matter their wickedness
This cannot be allowed
They all thought
So away she went to protect us don't you know
Many of the things she said
Have came true to the doctors dismay
Now the scientists come into play
More tests they demanded
We must find her secret
For if we do we will be the most powerful
Try as they might
No secret did she tell
No magic did she show
As she stopped talking
Slowly they went away
Shaking their heads in dismay
Now she knew their secrets each and everyone's
She saw their fear and their fates
Yet never again will she talk
For when she told them all their dirty secrets
When she cried tears of blood
When she refused their deals
They had to do it, or so they say
They locked in a padded room with a lock
Then they took her tongue & sealed her eyes
No more secrets will she say
No more tears of blood will she shed
She will never refuse us again
Yet they will never know
This child all alone
Could and would destroy them all
So with every scream she hears
With every tear she must hide
Her secrets are told to those insane

A Poet Writes from the Heart

2006-07-10T16:06:00.000-05:00

Misery loves company, so I am told
Yet many wonder why I write so dark
In my heart the tears never stop

For cruelty and pain are rampant
Seeing someone smile is out of the norm
Hearing laughter is so scarce

I do not know if I became a poet
To express my pain inside
Maybe it was to give a voice to all that can't

The poor, the weak and the young
They all need someone to speak
For everyday to them is a battle

So weary are they
There is no energy to fight
So now I speak on behalf of all

I am a poet {so I am told}
A poet that writes from the heart

Founding Fathers Christian, Fact or Myth?

2006-07-10T00:32:00.000-05:00

No one disputes the faith of our Founding Fathers. To speak of unalienable Rights being endowed by a Creator certainly shows a sensitivity to our spiritual selves. What is surprising is when fundamentalist Christians think the Founding Fathers' faith had anything to do with the Bible. Without exception, the faith of our Founding Fathers was deist, not theist. It was best expressed earlier in the Declaration of Independence, when they spoke of "the Laws of Nature" and of "Nature's God." :

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation, ." The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.

Still in doubt I know, so I am going to place some quotes from some of the founding fathers themselves on this matter. Let's start with Thomas Jefferson:

"I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth." SIX HISTORIC AMERICANS,
by John E. Remsburg, letter to William Short.

One more by Thomas Jefferson:

"The clergy converted the simple teachings of Jesus into an engine for enslaving mankind and adulterated by artificial constructions into a contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves...these clergy, in fact, constitute the real Anti-Christ'" (don't attack me I'm only quoting)

How about George Washington, the first president of the United States, never declared himself a Christian according to contemporary reports or in any of his voluminous correspondence. Washington Championed the cause of freedom from religious intolerance and compulsion. When John Murray (a Universalist who denied the existence of hell) was invited to become an army chaplain, the other chaplains petitioned Washington for his dismissal. Instead, Washington gave him the appointment. On his deathbed, Washington uttered no words of a religious nature and did not call for a clergyman to be in attendance:
George Washington and Religion by Paul F. Boller Jr., pp. 16, 87, 88, 108, 113, 121, 127 (1963, Southern Methodist University Press, Dallas, TX)

John Adams: "Where do we find a precept in the Bible for Creeds, Confessions, Doctrines and Oaths, and whole carloads of other trumpery that we find religion encumbered with in these days?" Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli. Article 11 states: The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.

Now on to Thomas Jefferson, third president and author of the Declaration of Independence, said:"I trust that there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die a Unitarian." He referred to the Revelation of St. John as "the ravings of a maniac" and wrote: The Christian priesthood, finding the doctrines of Christ leveled to every understanding and too plain to need explanation, saw, in the mysticism of Plato, materials with which they might build up an artificial system which might, from its indistinctness, admit everlasting controversy, give employment for their order, and introduce it to profit, power, and pre-eminence. The doctrines which flowed from the lips of Jesus himself are within the comprehension of a child; but thousands of volumes have not yet explained the Platonism engrafted on them: and for this obvious reason that nonsense can never be explained,": Thomas Jefferson, an Intimate History by Fawn M. Brodie, p. 453 (1974, W.W) Norton and Co. Inc. New York, NY) Quoting a letter by TJ to Alexander Smyth Jan 17, 1825, and Thomas Jefferson, Passionate Pilgrim by Alf Mapp Jr., pp. 246 (1991, Madison Books, Lanham, MD) quoting letter by TJ to John Adams, July 5, 1814.

Ethan Allen, whose capture of Fort Ticonderoga while commanding the Green Mountain Boys helped inspire Congress and the country to pursue the War of Independence, said, "That Jesus Christ was not God is evidence from his own words." In the same book, Allen noted that he was generally "denominated a Deist, the reality of which I never disputed, being conscious that I am no Christian." When Allen married Fanny Buchanan, he stopped his own wedding ceremony when the judge asked him if he promised "to live with Fanny Buchanan agreeable to the laws of God." Allen refused to answer until the judge agreed that the God referred to was the God of Nature, and the laws those "written in the great book of nature" :Religion of the American Enlightenment by G. Adolph Koch, p. 40 (1968, Thomas Crowell Co., New York, NY.) quoting preface and p. 352 of Reason, the Only Oracle of Man and A Sense of History compiled by American Heritage Press Inc., p. 103 (1985, American Heritage Press, Inc., New York, NY.)

Finally let's hear from James Madison: "What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had on civil society? In many instances they have been upholding the thrones of political tyranny. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty, does not need the clergy." Madison also objected to state-supported chaplains in Congress and to the exemption of churches from taxation. He wrote: "Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together."

These founding fathers were a reflection of the American population. Having escaped from the state-established religions of Europe, only 7% of the people in the 13 colonies belonged to a church when the Declaration of Independence was signed. They knew no religion is capable of handling political power without becoming corrupted by it. Even .the original Pledge of Allegiance—meant as an expression of patriotism, not religious faith—also made no mention of God. The pledge was written in 1892 by the socialist Francis Bellamy, a cousin of the famous radical writer Edward Bellamy. Its wording omitted reference not only to God but also, interestingly, to the United States:

"I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

The key words for Bellamy were "indivisible," which recalled the Civil War and the triumph of federal union over states' rights, and "liberty and justice for all," which was supposed to strike a balance between equality and individual freedom. By the 1920s, reciting the pledge had become a ritual in many public schools. The words "my flag" were changed to "the flag of the United States of America" in the 1920s. Congress added the words "under God" in 1954, when the greatest threat to the United States was the "godless" Soviet Union.

Now I just provided you all with some facts of history not well know, but I will leave it up to you the reader. The Founding Fathers, Christian? Fact or myth?

Just In One of Those Moods

2006-07-08T05:45:00.000-05:00

Ancient Dance

Light, a dim soft glow,
Reaches through the night,
Reflecting in eyes that know,
That dance with giddy delight,

A touch, supple and sure,
Caresses the waiting skin,
Sensation real and pure,
To glorious to be sin,

Meeting in sensual embrace,
Inner fires burn and flair,
Moving with ancient grace,
Cries pierce the air,

Magnificent release,
Inevitable end of the start,
One last delicate kiss,
As ancient lovers part.

For Those of Us that Love to Laugh

2006-06-27T01:49:00.000-05:00

Well I did say at the beinging of this blog that sometimes I would try to include some humor. Not wanting to disregard that posting here you go. YOu never know where a plane might land, so better safe than sorry huh. Just for you all that enjoy bit of humor in their lives.
Airplane Landing

History: Fact or Fiction?

2006-06-02T13:19:00.000-05:00

Yes I am about to write about some wondrous history that isn't exactly complete facts. Now we all know about the historic ride of Paul Revere, what most don't know is that Paul Revere only got about 19 miles before he was captured. So who was it that really rode a horse through-out the eastern states yelling 'the British are coming!!' Well the man's name that truly did make the ride to warn the new Americans was Israel Bissell. Now why is it most of us were taught (and still is being taught) that Paul Revere made that ever so important ride? Simply put an fictional author wrote the Paul Revere's Ride, can you guess who this author was? Well before I give you the name of this famous author I will list some of his other works. See one well known work of this author is 'The Song Of Hiawatha' and 'Evangeline'. He also wrote the first American translation of Dante Alighieri's 'Inferno'. Any questions who this author was yet? Yes you are correct it was in fact Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Now you might ask yourself why would Henry Wadsworth Longfellow write of Paul Revere as one who completed that historic ride... well have catchy does the name Israel Bissell sound (makes one think of a vacuum cleaner).(Paul Revere's Ride)

Through out history legends are not exactly facts, hence term legend. Take Alexander Graham Bell (Bell) we all know what he is famous for, right? He was the inventor of the telephone...wrong. It is true that in March 7, 1876, the U.S. Patent Office granted Bell a patent for a communication device for "transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically." So what do I mean wrong, read on my friend. On September 25, 2001, the United States Congress officially recognized Antonio Meucci as the inventor of the telephone, denying Bell's claim to its invention. Seems that Antonio Meucci demonstrated his "teletrofono" in New York in 1860, made him the inventor of the telephone in the place of Bell, who had access to Meucci's materials and who took out a patent 16 years later. Yet still children are taught that Bell invented the telephone. (Antonio Meucci)

Well that is all for this fact or fiction history class (lol) Next time perhaps we will talk about The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and what changes Washington Irving made to history with his writing or maybe we will talk about how not all the Founding Fathers were Christian. Till later remember history at times is a work of fiction :)