Saturday, July 29, 2006
Bad Day...
Yesterday, Cheryl and I had to take our little cat, Babie Kitty, to the vet and wait while her life drained out of her. She had become sick, the vet suspects cancer, in the last couple of weeks . She wasn't in her normal hangouts and she had started acting different. It broke our hearts to put her down. We've been expecting to lose Mr. Mann, who is diabetic and has been in poor health over the years, but we never thought we'd lose our Babie Kitty.
Babie Kitty, along with Mr. Mann, was given to me by a friend who could no longer take care of them. He needed to move and couldn't keep the cats, so at three years of age, Mr. Mann and Babie Kitty entered my life.
From the beginning, Babie Kitty established herself as the top cat. She ruled our roost. She would great me at the door and once she accepted Skywalker -- four years ago -- it became okay for Mr. Mann to accept him, too. She entertained us with her antics and her little ways of doing things. She liked to sit out in the sun, but she didn't like her paws to touch grass. She loved shrimp, but wouldn't eat it if we gave it to her. After we discovered her knack for stealing shrimp, we began placing a peeled shrimp on the table just for her. She would stick her head up and check the the coast was clear. Then, after hiding back down below the table, we would see this little paw come up and bat at the shrimp until it was knocked to the ground, where she would gobble it up.
I've always had cats, but to Cheryl being owned by a cat was a new experience. Babie Kitty taught Cheryl about being a cat lover. She brought a joy to our lives that will be so missed that I'm crying just thinking about it.
It should be noted that she hated car rides and did not like the vet. Even yesterday, when she couldn't lift her head and could no longer walk, she growled and hissed at Dr. Fulmer.
Godspeed, little gal. You will be missed more than you will ever know.
God Bless
Friday, July 28, 2006
American Idols and the President...
Joy Behar stated, "Doesn't Bush have more to do? Isn't he busy with Hezbollah that he now has to deal with American Idol?"
To which that great brain, Elizabeth Hasselbeck responded, "He wants to keep a perspective on what's going on. It's huge. More people voted for American Idol probably than in the election."
When Joy said, "I can't believe you're defending him in this too," Elizabeth answered, "I'm just saying this is something that's big. Just as big."
Oh, that is so wrong on so many levels.
I'm just saying.
God Bless
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Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Senate Removes Abortion Option for Young Girls - New York Times
Now, all of you know that I am pro-life and anti-abortion, BUT what is this going to do to that underage girl who's parents are going to absolutely flip if they find out she's pregnant? Answer me that. If she is so fearful of her parents that she doesn't discuss her pregnancy with them, what makes you think she's going to come clean about the abortion? What makes you think that she will give birth to a happy and healthy baby and all will end well? This isn't an after school special -- this is real life -- and either she'll kill the kid after she gives birth or it'll grow up knowing that it wasn't really wanted. Not many kids give their babies up for adoption.
So, thanks US Senate for wasting your time on a doesn't do much bill and, if you're pregnant with no where to turn and don't want the baby -- don't abort. Drop it off at my house. I'll raise it as my own.
God Bless
Richard Hatch -- Sent to Prison...
I mean, who is this guy? Yeah, yeah, he won the first survivor, but that doesn't make him a public figure, does it? So, what, he won a game show -- a tough show I'm not sure I could win, but still it is just a game show. Why are we making these nobodies our new heroes. At least with actors they have a craft and with the kids from American Idol, they have a talent we can for which we can admire them, but Survivor casts? I don't get it.
Why did the View hire Elizabeth Hasselbeck? Because of Survivor. Does that really qualify her to co-host a talk show? I don't think so, but then, maybe I would feel differently if I watched Survivor.
What do you think?
God Bless
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Dennis Troha -- Bad Mob Impressionist?
Yeah, like I believe that. Isn't this the man who said that you need to know how to swing the bat to do business in Kenosha? Who the hell does this guy think he is Tony Soprano? I swear, this guy is the guy who gives Italians a bad name!
Also according to the JS article, Troha said: "Anybody who is a friend of the project, a friend of the governor's, is a friend of mine." Really? Now, he sounds like Pacino in Scarface.
I've seen a lot of money poured into Milwaukee and Wisconsin from the Potawatomi tribe and I think casinos are good for the economy to a point, but I have plenty of objections.
First, I'm not backing anything that still has Dennis Troha's name attached to it. He was a lousy owner and employer when he owned ATC Leasing/Dallas and Mavis and I'm sure he will still suck big time at a casino. The man is a union buster and rarely gave decent raises to his employees while he lives high on the hog. And, hired his family members to help siphon off the profits into the family's hands.
Second, a "Connecticut-based Mohegan tribe is partners with the Menominee tribe of Wisconsin" and I don't believe for one minute that a Connecticut tribe is going to give a rat's ass about the people of Wisconsin. They only want to make money.
Finally, I'm really sick of Kenosha anyway. They don't have to pay for the stupid baseball stadium that those of us in Racine have to pay for. If there is going to be a casino in the Racine/Kenosha area, it should be ours, not theirs. I could care less if their dog track folds. Too many jerks from Illinois have moved into Kenosha and ruined it for the rest of us.
Well, that's all I got to say about that.
God Bless.
Electric Cars...
I didn't until I started seeing information on a movie that should be out soon called "Who Killed My Electric Car?"
Doesn't that just get your panties in a bunch while you pay $3.17 a gallon for gas that you might have been able to purchase an electric car that would cost you many dollars less to run?
It starts mine bunching up. How hard would it be to eventually switch us all from our dependency on oil? If the car companies would just build the cars, we would all move over sooner or later.
For the sake of the world and our country, it should be sooner than later.
God Bless
Hold on to your hats...
He's right.
As a kid, I spent a lot of time in the Great Lakes Naval Hospital. Whether it was the flu, broken finger, broken collar bone or stitches that I needed, there was usually a Navy Corpman or Corpwoman who was not from around here attending to me. I met people from the Philippines, as well as other nations, who were serving our country in the Navy and serving it well.
With all this talk about immigration and I hear a lot about how they should just go home, our country couldn't and wouldn't be here today without the immigrants.
As the song says, "Anytime that flags unfurled, they're coming to America."
And we should keep them coming.
God Bless
PS. I'm taking this quote (as the rest came) from the NY Times story. Thought it was cute and wanted to make sure my readers saw it.
"
As in the past, Mr. Bush said in his remarks Monday that the United States “can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time.’’ He said this was “a joyful day’’ for himself and for the three soldiers: Specialist Noe Santos-Dilone, 21, originally from the Dominican Republic and now of Brooklyn, and two natives of Mexico, Specialist Sergio Lopez, 24, of Bolingbrook, Ill., and Pfc. Eduardo Leal-Cardenas, 21, of Los Angeles.
All were seriously wounded — two lost limbs — by homemade bombs in Iraq. Mr. Bush said he had met one of them, Specialist Santos-Dilone, at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington this year.
“He grabbed my hand, and he said, ‘I’m not a citizen of the United States, and I want to be,’ ” the president recalled, adding, “Now here’s a man who knows how to take it directly to the top.’’"
Monday, July 24, 2006
New T-Shirts...
First, there is:
Next, there is:
Which, also, can be found at my CafePress site.
I have one last dig on Ann Coulter that I just couldn't resist:
which, is at my CafePress site.
Finally, I have more designs being offered, see the Zazzle Store or click the links above!
Thanks for helping support my site!
God Bless!
Friday, July 21, 2006
Republican Rep. Steve Nass thinks he speaks for taxpayers
But, I think our government made a lot of mistakes. I think our government knew more about the attacks then they say they did. And, I think the House of Representatives did us wrong on November 14, 2002, when they voted down an independent commission to investigate the 9/11 attacks.
Also, I believe that Barrett has the right to belief what he believes and say what he wants to say, just as I do.
I, also, do not believe he should lose his job because of his beliefs anymore than I believe I should lose my job for my beliefs.
But, without really getting into the whole debate, because I would need to hear both sides of the issue, I do take offense -- but I support his right to say it -- to Republican Representative Steve Nass when he stated:
"When 61 legislators condemn a decision by U.W.-Madison and demand the dismissal of Kevin Barrett, the leadership of the U.W. System operates at its own peril if it continues to ignore views of the taxpayers."
First, just what in the world does he mean, "operates at its own peril?" Is he threatening the school? Will our Republican controlled Legistlature take away funding and harm thousands of students enrolled at UW-Madison because of one teacher -- and a PART TIME teacher at that? Is that what he's saying?
Second, since when does the legistlature get to say who becomes an instructor and who doesn't?
Finally, ummm, which taxpayers' views are being ignored? Because I noticed that the REPUBLICANS in the Wisconsin State Legistlature seemed to IGNORE this TAXPAYER'S VIEWS quite a bit last year. They voted for the anti-gay amendment, they never got the insurance bill I wanted passed out of committee and the list can go on and on. So, who is Representative Nass to say that when he and 60 other Representatives sign a paper condeming "a decision by U.W.-Madison" that he is speaking for the taxpayers in Wisconsin?
Because, he isn't speaking for me.
God Bless
The World has lost its Collective Mind...
But, hey, it's Friday and I don't.
The artist, Donny Johnson, is serving three -- that's 3 -- life sentences. He and "two friends had stabbed an acquaintance to death after a party in San Jose, in a dispute over the sale of cigarettes laced with PCP." Later, while in prison, Johnson killed a guard.
Now, he paints using the dye from M&Ms and his work, which can be seen on the NY Times Website is very colorful. It really isn't my kind of art.
At first, I was totally appalled that 500 people attended a man who is in prison for life art show.
I mean, the guy is a murderer for pete's sake! Why are we paying attention to him.
And, then, after viewing the slideshow and reading the whole story, I'm thinking, this might not be a bad thing. First, the guy didn't start doing these to end up in an art gallery. He did it to prevent himself from going mad while living in an 8-by-12-foot concrete cell and having no human contact. The fact that some people think enough of them to buy them, well, that's not my fault.
Second, since he is not allowed to profit while in prison, "he intends to donate the money to the Pelican Bay Prison Project, a nonprofit group that will use it to help the children of prisoners." I'm all for giving money to charity, as you know. Plus, if there is a way to prevent the children of prisoners from ending up like there locked up parents -- I'm all for that, too.
Finally, I think about Jesus and what He would teach. One, he teaches forgiveness and, while I don't believe it is up to me to forgive him, I think about how Jesus would forgive him. Two, Jesus said we should visit those in prison.
God Bless
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
First Major League Black Coach Denied Hall of Fame
John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil is Major League Baseball's first Black Coach -- The first, that means no one did that BEFORE HIM! So just what the hell is wrong with the National Baseball Hall of Fame special 12-member panel who have denied the 94 year old man a spot in the Hall?
What are they thinking?
Read the story here.
God Bless
Monday, July 17, 2006
President Bush Said a Bad Word...
I agree with the President that these people over there need to "stop doing this s___". I, also, agree with him that Israel has the right to defend itself. I wouldn't send "Condi", like he suggests, but that's just me.
It's really too bad that our military is stretched so thin because of the war in Iraq. We could send American military to Israel and show that we are standing behind our friend. That would make the Hezbollah sit up and take notice.
And, I disagree with Bush in his saying, "we're not blaming the Lebanese government." Sorry, they let this group in, they need to control it, so I do blame the Lebanese government.
God Bless
Friday, July 14, 2006
Dennis Troha -- Bad for Kenosha Bad for WI
Personally, I don't see the need for yet another casino in the state, least of all one that won't benefit Racine. Also, I don't see the need for any business that will benefit Dennis Troha and I encourage my fellow Wisconsinites to call the governor and Paul Ryan and say, "Hey, we don't want another casino."
I know a lot of good, upstanding citizens who work for ATC Leasing -- none of them make a decent living. We don't need casino workers to be in the same spot as the people who worked for Troha in the past.
BTW, this is Dennis Troha's idea of what you need to do business in Kenosha: "If you're coming into Kenosha, you have to know who would have the baseball bat - and I know how to use the baseball bat."
Do you want this man running a billion dollar industry?
I don't.
God Bless
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Maybe they aren't grouging us...
Here's some more research -- Please note, the Barrel Prices comes from the Energy Information Administration and the prices for the gallons come from my own record (yes, I'm anal and I keep track of gas prices all the way back to 2002. I'm sure if I looked hard enough, I could find my notebook for before 2002).
Here's what I found:
I tried to use data from around the sametime -- I picked June because that's when gas prices start their rise. Also, this is for gas purchased at stations located between Milwaukee and Racine, WI. Also, I did not adjust any of these numbers for inflation. I don't figure that factors too much in since we're only talking about a four year span.
The PricePerGallon is what I paid on the dates listed. The Barrel amounts are what the price of a barrel was during the same week. Now, the bad part of this is that the gas I'm pumping on 6/3/2002 wasn't created from the barrel purchased at the same time, so the oil companies do make a little more off of the gas then they probably should, but I think it actually works out, as the prices at the pump drop when the price of a barrel drops -- admittedly not as much.
Now, the % raise gas and the % raise Barrel is how much the gallon or barrel went up in price between the dates. You'll notice that the Barrel raised at a higher % than the price of gas in each situation, if the oil companies "kept us even", we would be paying a lot more for gas than we are. That's the PriceRaised column. I took the price of gas and raised it using the % amount that the barrel was raised. According to my figures, on 6/1/2006, when I paid $2.99 a gallon -- I was paying the correct amount. I don't like it, but I think it was correct. (Of course, we could always argue that the price is off to begin with, but I still don't know how much refining costs on a barrel of oil.)
I mean, I would hate to think that their profits really do come from the fact that more gas is sold, but I think what the oil companies are telling us just might be true.
And, isn't that a kick in the rubber parts?
God Bless
Oil and Gas Prices
I figured I'd get to the bottom of all of this. I want to know exactly why I paid $3.12 a gallon today when I filled up my tank. Afterall, the barrel price of $67.64 (as of 7/7/2006 -- check the www.eia.doe.gov for more information) won't be refined and in my tank for at least 3 months and maybe even 6 months. So, why am I paying such a high rate now?
The answer is -- I don't know. I think I almost have this all figured out, but I cannot find one place that will tell me exactly how much it costs to refine the barrel of oil (42 gallons) into the 20 gallons of gasoline. (I've seen different numbers for how many gallons of gas come out of a barrel of oil. One website stated that 55% of a barrel of oil becomes gasoline.)
I'm going to keep digging, but if anyone knows how much it costs to refine one barrel of oil -- and remember, other products come out of that oil, so it isn't all about gas -- please pass it on to me. Otherwise, I might be researching this forever!
God Bless
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Housecleaning...
Second, remember the Ann Coulter t-shirt, well, it violates some copyright laws, so Zazzle won't let me sell it and I'm not going to try CafePress, because I'm pretty sure I'd get in trouble there, too. But, all is not lost, I offer alternatives:
Ann Coulter is a Godless Bitch -- sold here.
I'm too Smart to read Ann Coulter -- sold here.
and -- this one's good --
My dog is smarter than Ann Coulter -- sold here.
So, I'll fix the site and come up with more shirts, mugs, etc. Gotta earn enough to pay for this site somehow! And, yes, I know it isn't very Christian of me, but I never said I was perfect.
God Bless
Mark Green -- WI Governor? No Way!
President Bush supports Mark Green for Governor of our great state of Wisconsin. There's one reason not to vote for him.
President Bush thinks Mark Green would be good for Wisconsin. Like Bush was good for Texas?
Mark Green supported an Eight Billion dollar subsdizing of the oil industry -- the same industry that's charging me $3.17 a gallon and raking in the dough to the tune that ExxonMobil could pay their outgoing CEO 400 million dollars.
And, now, Mark Green thinks he'd be good for the state? And, President Bush agrees.
Let me just say this...
Bush announced that the deficit is going to be less than they originally thought and we're suppose to celebrate this. Well, I would if the deficit was going down, not up.
Also, Bush's tax cuts for the rich -- they didn't help the economy -- the rich save extra money, they don't spend it and put it back into the economy.
And, the Fed is wrong about raising rates to combat inflation, but I don't have time to go into it right now -- just trust me. I'll explain later.
God Bless
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Star Jones Reynolds
But, today, I don't feel like discussing serious issues and everyone deserves at least one day of fluff discussion, so here goes...
Has Star Jones lost her mind? The woman has a brain, for pete's sake, but she has truly lost her mind. I'm sorry that last April ABC decided to not renew her contract. I think since she's been on the show since the start that she deserved a little better send off than what she got, but maybe, she was going to get one.
According to Barbara Walters, the agreement was that Mrs. Reynolds could take the time to find another job and announce anything she wanted. ABC has decided to take the show in another direction, so Mrs. Reynolds lost her job, but MS Walters and Mr. Gedde didn't want Star to lose face. They were allowing her an out. Makes me wonder if Meredith Vieira took the job at the Today Show for the same reason. We're not going to renew your contract, but we don't want you to lose your credibility, go find another job and MS Vieira found a home at the Today Show. -- I should note that I have absolutely no knowledge of this as being true, it just makes me wonder. It, also, makes me wonder if Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck's contracts have been renewed. How much of a different direction does ABC want the show to go?
Anyway, I like Star Jones Reynolds. I enjoyed listening to her views, some I agreed with, some I didn't, but she has always been the best at articulating her views and when she announced -- two days before the show had planned -- that her contract wasn't renewed, I totally disagree with her. It was like committing job suicide. Not only has she been removed way before her contract is completely up from the View's cast, but who is going to hire her now? I think will hurt her chances of moving on.
I pray that she lands on her feet and all goes well with her. I just think taking the bow and walking off head held high would've been the smarter thing to do.
God Bless
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Happy Independence Day!
Today's the day the entire nation stops and takes a minute or more to remember just what it is about this country that makes it so great!
Umm, or not.
Apparently, places like Wal-Mart, Jewel, Family Video and Blockbuster all seem to think it is okay to have their people working on a holiday.
Remember when no one was working on a holiday?
Too bad those days are gone.
If we really, truly believe in family values, let's make every company give their employees -- with the exception of emergency needed personnel -- Sundays and holidays off. Every one should be able to spend time with family members at least once a week and on every major national holiday. Otherwise, we are just blowing smoke about caring about families in this country.
God Bless -- Happy 4th of July!
Monday, July 03, 2006
Is this for Real?
Here's a part of it:
"There's one company now you can sign up and you can get a movie delivered to your house daily by delivery service. Okay. And currently it comes to your house, it gets put in the mail box when you get home and you change your order but you pay for that, right.
But this service isn't going to go through the interent and what you do is you just go to a place on the internet and you order your movie and guess what you can order ten of them delivered to you and the delivery charge is free.
Ten of them streaming across that internet and what happens to your own personal internet?"
So, I'm left wondering, is this for real? Is there really a Senator who is so dumb that he doesn't understand ANYTHING about the Internet? I'm not expecting an elected official to understand things like bandwidth, but he should know that the Internet is both free and commercial (read the whole post to understand).
Tim, the author of the post on Ctrl-Alt-Delete, lists the site from where he received the Senator's words, so I should too. It is http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/?entry_id=1512499. This would be a good time for the good folks of Alaska to start thinking about voting for a different Senator. We can only hope that they decide to do so. If I lived in Alaska, I certainly wouldn't want this man representing me in Washington.
I did a little research on the dear Senator and it turns out that he has held this seat since 1968 and he is 83 years old. The man will be in office forty years come his next election cycle in 2008! I could hope for retirement, but I'm sure that won't be happening! My late grandmother understood more about the Internet than this guy and she was older than him!
This is the same guy who threatened to resign if the famous "Bridge to Nowhere" wasn't funded, along with another bridge in Alaska. BTW, the town to where this 250 million dollar bridge was to be built has 50 residents. (Hey, maybe, if I lived in Alaska I would vote for this guy, at least he makes sure that the pork comes home to rest!) He actually said, "I don't kid people. If the Senate decides ... to take money from our state, I will resign from this body."
Interesting. Last I knew, the government approved the bridge, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!
Here are some facts about Federal Spending in Alaska you should think about:
"Federal government spending has figured prominently in Alaska’s history and is still a major force today. The federal fiscal
year (FFY) runs from October 1 through September 30, and in FFY 2003 (the most recent data available) the federal
government spent $7.9 billion in Alaska.
(1)
Part of that spending came from the activities of the various federal agencies,
part was in the form of grants to state and municipal governments, and still another part came in payments to individuals.
In FFY 2003, Alaska taxpayers received $1.89 in federal outlays for every $1 paid in federal taxes." -- taken from: http://www.tax.state.ak.us/sourcesbook/2005/spr2005/federal.pdf
Hey, Alaska! I want my money back!
God Bless
Senator Tom Coburn -- Oklahoma
And, like what happens in Washington D.C., the good idea is suddenly being ruined into a bad idea. This past June the House actually passed the bill to create the database, but (you knew there would be a but, didn't you?) the database "would omit contracts, which typically go to businesses, but would include about $300 billion in grants, which usually go to nonprofit groups." The argument made by Thomas M. Davis III from Virginia said, "Contracts are awarded in a much more competitive environment That makes them more self-policing."
Uh-huh.
The truth is that this will take non-profit grants and place them center stage while leaving out the contracts awarded to big businesses. Doesn't the American public have the right to know just what companies are awarded what contracts? Shouldn't we be able to see just how much a toliet in NASA costs?
Apparently, not.
Leave it to Washington to come up with an idea that unites the conservatives and the liberals, screw the whole thing up and piss off everybody!
God Bless
Sunday, July 02, 2006
War Bonds...
Seems like a sound idea to me -- perhaps, Ms. Coulter could team up with Rush Limbaugh and travel the country selling war bonds, like the movie stars in the 40's did for WWII?
God Bless