Beloved

Thought I'd put up a pic of my Beloved
We were playing with some of the effects in Paint Shop and came up with this.

Democracy

3 years of fighting, dying and all around kicking arse and what have we accomplished? We are bringing democracy to muslim nations. Fat lot of good that is doing anyone.

Has anyone been paying attention? Democracy is NOT a good form of government. It ALWAYS leads to despotism/tyranny. Always. Say it with me now... "Democracy is not my friend."

"Western-style democracy" and "democratic reforms" are condemning an Afghani Christian to death because he converted from Islam. If everyone had been paying attention in class they would have known this was coming. If the world was paying attention now they would know that such things are not long in coming to Iraq.

And then the class would come to the conclusion "Hmmm, America has been transformed into a democracy too, so maybe bad things will happen here as well?" Rather, the class would come to that conclusion were they not all alseep.

8th Grade Science

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

The real question here is can the writer of this test pass 8th grade spelling? And just what IS the electrical charge of a neuron?

That Is What I Have Been Talking About!

Cop shoots and kills handcuffed man, people are asking for clemency/pardon.

Details of the case
2 cops arrive shortly after criminal kills his girlfriend, Cop 1 goes around to the back gets shot and is killed, Cop 2 in front of the house puts three bullets into criminal and then handcuffs him. Cop 2 finds Cop 1 dead then goes and executes wounded and handcuffed criminal. Cop 2 gets one year prison.

Clear case. Use of deadly force was in no way justified at the time of execution. Are we now to excuse him because he was acting for the state? Is "Executioner" part of the job description? Cop 2 knows the law, he has been a cop for 31 years. He knows quite well when use of force is justified and when it is not.

Sgt. Billy Anders stepped over the line from law enforcement to criminal. There can be no clemency for such an offender. Law enforcement is to be held to a higher standard or how else can the populace trust them. Anders faced a 7 year sentence but was given the lightest possible under New Mexico law of 1 year.

The world is a better place without Flippen (the criminal) but we slid right back and perhaps even worse when we allow those who are charged with upholding the law to cross it with no real consequence.

Fantastic Photography

Max Lyons the man who pioneered Gigabyte Photography with his photo of Bryce Canyon has some incredible photography available on his website. If you are looking for some art for the house this might be what you are looking for.

Check out the his galleries.

I can't decide which gallery is best, but I am leaning towards the Canadian Rockies


I set my background to this one

New WonderDrug

Apparently the FDA is stalling on this fantastic new wonder drug. It is an all-purpose drug to assist with psychologically influenced mental conditions and has no side effects.



Certainly a better deal than this drug.

Little Bear

I thought I would treat you all to a quick peak at my Little Bear. Here he is guarding his pacifier. The second pic is from his first day out of the womb, still at the hospital.

MPAA lawsuits coming to a town near you!

Movie Attendance down.

No doubt this is due to piracy and evil people downloading movies from the internet! It certainly has nothing to do with declining quality and overplayed storylines/plots. In fact this is very similar to declining sales for music. Again, nothing to do with declining quality.

MPAA lawsuits coming to a town near you!

Moon Landing a Hoax!

Google has this absolutely fantastic new tool. It is moon.google.com and with this tool you can prove there there never was a moon landing! Really. Check it out for yourselves. Just select any one of the selected points and then zoom in on that till it wont zoom anymore and you will see the proof for yourself!

Moon.Google.Com

Also available is Mars.Google.Com

P 86: Subject To Change

Relent, to the terror that distances you
Retreat, to the habitual grins
Regress to the deception, quiet and tame
Once was transformed, now exactly the same

Remember when you nearly plunged into embrace?
But instead you've chosen to keep it all at bay

it's tough to admit and admit and admit that
Your fate's still undecided

Return
Return
Return

From the latest album "...And The Rest Will Follow"

A good deal of their songs do call for us to "return" and, personally, I can't hear that message too much.

I've seen the face of redemption
And He isn't you
I'm through indulging the tastes of
My cruelest nature
So I think this blade better suits you [hinrance/heresy]

Since we're the ones
Who occupy this temple
We'll be the ones
Who'll show you out

Flesh Eating Bacteria

Last night I mentioned that I wanted to look this up and blog on it today. Lo and behold, here is a news article on it. Sharon Bishop died just three days after contracting an infection of the rare invasive form of group A streptococcal bacteria. Her initial wound was only a jammed thumb.

The diagnosis is Necrotizing Fasciitis and is usually caused by the invasive form of group A Strep but can be a combination of bacteria. Deadly in about 20% of the cases and tissue must always be removed, anything from skin to limbs and sometimes more.

What are the symptoms? The symptoms are varied, but often include:

EARLY SYMPTOMS (usually within 24 hours) :

1. Usually a minor trauma or other skin opening has occurred (the wound does not necessarily appear infected)
2. Some pain in the general area of the injury is present. Not necessarily at the site of the injury but in the same region or limb of the body
3. The pain is usually disproportionate to the injury and may start as something akin to a muscle pull, but becomes more and more painful
4. Flu like symptoms begin to occur, such as diarrhea, nausea, fever, confusion, dizziness, weakness, and general malaise
5. Intense thirst occurs as the body becomes dehydrated
6. The biggest symptom is all of these symptoms combined. In general you will probably feel worse than you've ever felt and not understand why.

When should I seek medical attention?

Any time all of the early symptoms are present, go to a doctor at once, and insist that this be ruled out. The vast majority of cases are misdiagnosed. People have been told that they had fallen, when they didn't, they have had casts put on bones that were not broken, have been given Tylenol for flu and been told to come back the next day; they have been told they have an ingrown toenail, they've been told they have arthritis; they've been accused of burning themselves...many of these people have gone back to the hospital two days later and died. Insist that this be ruled out if you have all of the early symptoms.

Why are so many cases of NF misdiagnosed?

Because the beginning symptoms look like so many other minor afflictions. None of the symptoms are exclusive to this, and until the patient is so ill that they are critical many health care workers don't consider NF. Although the disease is on the increase worldwide, it is still considered uncommon, so many emergency rooms may never have seen a case before.

More information can be found at the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation. The info above is from there Facts Page

Living Fossils

Came across this site today. Lots of great info about the Coelacanth ("see-la-kanth") which is was once thought to have died out 65 million years ago. It was rediscovered in 1938 with the second sighting not until the 1950s.

Go visit www.Dinofish.com and before you leave dont forget to visit their souvenier shop here and here

Abortion Ramblings

Remember this picture? Little Samuel (a letter from his mother at the end of the page) was 21 weeks old when surgery was done to correct his Spina Bifida. Only halfway to birth and gripping the hand of the surgeon. This picture caused a ruckus when it came out as the Pro-Choice crowd wanted it supresses as it might push the undecided masses towards a pro-life stance.

The Pro-Choice (death) camp seems to make a fuss any time something like that comes up. The Laci Petersen Law comes to mind. Also the various attempts by the states to add laws that require information be given to a woman before an abortion or parental consent laws for minors (quick rant: Why is it the law allows a 16 year old girl to get an abortion but not to get her ears pierced? How ridiculous is that?) Anyways, no real point or coherent thoughts. Much too tired at the moment, I just felt that this pic should be posted.

*** Update ***
The Photographer of the Samuel pictures was Michael Clancy. He explains how this pic happened on this page. Mr. Clancy allows this picture to be reprinted for use "If the picture will be used in a respectful manner that does honor to the image" e.g. for counseling those seeking an abortion. Clancy continues by saying "[M]ake however many copies you want to hand out. [A]nd help me tell the story of how Samuel reached out of his mother's womb.

Project 86 Coming Back To Denver

They're back! Or well, they will be.
April 22nd at the Bluebird Theater.
Project 86 headlining with The Showdown and August Burns Red joining the show.

Can't imagine missing it, now to find a babysitter...

P.S. Heidi, P86 will be in Portland April 18th.

Brahminy Blind Snake

Came across this little critter in my wanderings. It looks like it is made of quicksilver. The snake is the only entirely female snake in the world (known I should say) and as such reproduces asexually (poor things)

Some pics here

Freedom To Fascism

Aaron Russo's new film is about to come out. In fact it is being previewed across the nation at the We The People's meetings. A trailer of the video can be found at the Freedom To Fascism site. If you are wanting to understand a bit more about the Tax Honesty movement this will give you an insight.

Sherry Jackson sums it up nicely with the question "Where is the law? Show me the law."

Bush Against Abortion Ban

Bush is against the abortion ban that South Dakota is now pushing in an attempt to topple the infamous Roe v. Wade. Bush is against it in part because he wants three exceptions to the ban, for 1) rape 2) incest and 3) life of the mother. The South Dakota ban gives an exception for the life of the Mother.

1) Rape
Arielle has posted on the issue of aborting the child of rape, as well as a letter she recieved from just such a child. She has done a fine job on those, so go read it.

2) Incest
What is incest? Sex between close familial relations. What is it about this that makes the child so monstrous? Is there a higher incidence of mutation/defect? yes. But realistically the risk isn't any higher than a (now common) 40 year old woman bearing children. And the other objection is that incest is forced, I mean, everyone knows that right? Where do people get that? Incest is either consensual or it isnt. If it isnt than it is rape. If it is rape then it falls under the rape argument which Arielle has already discredited. If it is consentual then who is to say that that child is unloved or unwanted? Or that the child of a consentual act deserves death? I am not sure a reasonable argument can be put forth for killing this child.

3) Life of Mother
Bush has this one right. Saying the "health" of the mother is simply to ambiguous. The way such things are interpreted today that could mean just about anything including the potential for post-partum depression. At the very least there needs to be a clear and compelling threat to the mother for any 'justification' of infanticide.

Thanks to Astrosmith for this item

Death and Rembrance of a Slain Cop

An observance. Officer killed midday Feb 22nd. The 6 following days, there are 8 articles on it, 6 of those on the front page the other two at the top of the Metro (News) section. To top it all off we had letters to the editor saying how it was a quasi-orgasmic "life-changing" event just to happen to see the funeral procession pass by. This of course has nothing to do with a different level of value being placed upon a cop's life.


Day 1: Three Front Page articles (Articles One, Two, Three)
Day 2: Front Page article
Day 3: Metro Page 1 article
Day 4: Metro Page 1 article
Day 5 Front Page article
Day 6 Front Page article

March 1st Letter to the editor (fourth down). In her words "I cannot fully describe how emotional, even life-changing, this experience was for me." Her experience? Watching the procession pass by.

Right to Petition Update and Primer

I have recieved quite a few hits so far today for the "Right to Petition For Redress of Grievance" so I figured I would add some more info on this site. Either there was a news article or broadcast I am not yet aware of, or Google moved me to the top of the search. Whatever the reason, I am posting a primer on the Right to Petition lawsuit.

The group leading the way is We the People. Spokesman Bob Schulz is a man dedicated to fighting to keep Government at all levels to their Constitutional bounds. Schulz has and is still fighting his local government and is a pro se litigant in the current RTP lawsuit at the Federal level. There are 1700+ other named litigants and literally thousands unnamed.

On November 8th, 2002, every single member of both the House and the Senate were served with four (4) Petitions For Redress of Grievance. On Nov. 12th the President (G.W. Bush) was served with these same four (4) Petitions. The Petitions address specific constitutional grievances relating to: 1) the War Powers Clauses of the Constitution and the Iraq Resolution; 2) the privacy, due process and free speech clauses of the Constitution and the USA Patriot Act; 3) the money clauses of the Constitution and the Federal Reserve System; and 4) the tax-related clauses of the Constitution and the federal Income Tax system.

As no substantive response has been recieved to date, the Petition that was furthest along, the Federal Income Tax Petition, has gone forward in the Courts. As of this writing this Petition is before the U.S. District Court of Appeals as case #04CV01211 (this was the case# at the District Court, I am assuming it stays the same for the Appeal.) WTP has already filed its Brief and the Department of Justice, representing the Government, has until March 24th to respond to the Brief. WTP will then have until April 7th to file a Reply Brief. From there the case will go forward. Regardless of who wins this case it will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court so a resolution is still a ways off yet.

The four (4) petitions can be read and signed here
Here are the 537 Questions that the Goverment has refused to answer. (PDF File)

Full color full page ads that have been placed in both the New York Times and USA Today can be found here. As a bonus if you had the money and wanted to take action you could submit them to your local paper.

Sexchange Teacher To Teach Again

Lily McBeth, previously William McBeth, will be allowed to teach again after a 4-1 vote by an Eaglewood Township NJ school district. 'Ms.' McBeth will be substitute teaching at an elementary. Seeing as it is an elementary school there are parents who seem quite upset about this turn of events. I would ask this question... How many of the parents would go to the 'extreme' step of pulling their students out of the school and either put them in private school or homeschool them?

I am willing to bet that the elementary school will not see a noticable change in enrollment from this decision.