Continuing Saga

Well, at least it is a saga in my mind. There is a house down the block with a double lot. About a year ago, a family with two kids moved in. I have seen these children a grand total of TWICE in the year. And, one of those times, the kids were walking from the car to the house. I think that's kind of strange. There are still two cars in the driveway, so divorce would appear not to be the reason the children, and the wife I might add, are NEVER outside.

One day, I was walking by, and I could have SWORN the side window's curtain was pushed aside, and a woman was waving at me. The curtains are always drawn on all the windows, front and side, another fact which I think is really strange.

As I mentioned, the house sits on a double lot (oh, the things I could do with a double lot.) This man (I say man, since he is the only member of the family I ever see), had decided to take only minimal care of the exterior of his house; no flowers and often the grass is two weeks behind in lawn mowing. To make matters worse, he had a beautiful tree smack dab in the middle of the lot. He didn't cut it down, he just cut all the upper branches off, leaving the trunk and lower limbs there as a mockery of it's former elegance.

To continue with this - he isn't very friendly. My "hello's" often get met with a cold stare. Once, he was speaking with a friend of mine from church, a very attractive black woman. She was soliciting votes for an upcoming election at the time - and he was pretty gregarious with her. She introduced me to him, and his reaction was odd. Forced politeness. . The man, himself, is black, so I'm going to make the leap that he's a racist. If he is a racist (I have a feel for these things), he's going to be disappointed in my friend, she is married to a white man.

To review; cold, possibly racist man, who doesn't take care of the exterior of his nice house, and doesn't allow his wife or children outside. PLUS, he has a dog, which in only occasionally allows outside to be chained up (when he moved in there was a fence, which he has haphazardly taken down.)

Last night, though, I learned one more piece to this puzzle. He's a preacher! Oh, my mind is going a thousand miles a minute now.

To run or not to run

There is no way I'm gonna run the Chicago Marathon, Ana! LOL. Cheer from the sidelines, I can do that.

I might try to do a half-marathon here in Detroit (in the fall.) But, since the surgery, I've had a hard time getting my "run" back on. I just haven't been able to build up my strength and endurance to the point that I can enjoy my runs.

I thought I would post this right up top, instead of buried in comments. I was pretty much offline all weekend.

What the ...?

I I just got an email sending me to this site. History book titles include the following :

Between Borders: Essays on Chicana/Mexicana History by Adelaida de Castillo
Cinco de Mayo: A Symbol of Mexican National Resistance by R. Cabello-Argandoña
The Druglord by Peter Neissa
Mexican Los Angeles by Antonio Ríos-Bustamante
Oscar Zeta Acosta: Love and Riot in Los Angeles by Roger Moore
Regions of La Raza by Antonio Ríos-Bustamante

They don't sound like books I read. How the heck did I get subscribed to this email list?

Propaganda hypersensitivity

A PS 3 game being developed, Mercenaries2: World in Flames, uses Venezuela as it's setting for an oil dispute with a "power hungary tyrant." From GameSpot :

Supporters of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, an outspoken critic of American policy, are not amused. "[Mercenaries 2] sends a message to Americans: You have a danger next door, here in Latin America, and action must be taken," said lawmaker Gabriela Ramirez. "It's a justification for an imperialist aggression." Ramirez also said that Mercenaries 2 could be banned from the country by laws intended to protect children from violent games.

Chavez isn't actually in the game, but those loyal to him believe the game intends to mar his image and that of the country by portraying it as a war-torn battle zone mired in chaos.

"I think the US government knows how to prepare campaigns of psychological terror so they can make things happen later," said Venezuelan congressman Ismael Garcia.

This isn't the first time game designers' pursuit of realistic situations has angered a foreign government. Ubisoft's Ghost Recon 2 was called "propaganda" by a government-run newspaper in North Korea. "This may be just a game to them now," the article read, "but a war will not be a game for them later. In war, they will only face miserable defeat and gruesome deaths." Ubisoft's development went on as planned, and North Korea eventually banned the game.

Problem is, this game isn't being developed by the US government. Ubisoft's headquarters is in France, and it's CEO is a man named Yves Guillemot. Not exactly a member of the Bushitler/Rovian propaganda machine. But, even more shocking to me than the assertion that the US government is using video games in a modern day version of Goebbels weekly articles for Das Reich, is the thought that they actually have video games in North Korea. They don't have lights but they have Playstations?

Regardless, the idea that children would have their image of Venezuela and Chavez marred by a video game would have a bit more validity if the kids could 1) locate Venezuela on a map, and 2) match up the unnamed "power hungary tyrant" character with Chavez. Given that one-third of American (or, excuse me, United Stater) kids can't locate Louisiana on a map, even after a major disaster, I'm betting that the numbers who can find Venezuela might be in the single digits.

All the news that's fit to slant

And, if you work for Reuters, you can have a far reach.

Here's a conspiracy for you

Every so often I get an email from Amazon, suggesting a few books I may be interested in buying. Yesterday, I got a note saying that since I had bought a book by Peter Schweizer, I might now be interested in buying Bill Bennett's new book America: The Last Best Hope (Volume I).

Why yes, I would be interested in that book. I thought as I grinned to myself at the prospect of buying yet another conservative book from that bastion of liberalism, Amazon.

I eagerly clicked on the link, anxious to see how the hordes of faux "reviewers" had trashed the book. But, surprisingly, the link didn't take me to the Bennett book. Instead,it took me to the Amazon welcome page. The other links on the email worked correctly, but not the Bennett book. Is this JUST a conspiracy involving Amazon commie workers? Or is there also a connection with Opes Dei? Should I keep my eyes open for an albino?

Perhaps I should just get a grip, and assume the numnuts at Amazon made an innocent mistake.

Nah.

Poll supports my long-held assertion

My assertion has been that here is a sizable portion of our society who are simply too stupid to be allowed to vote. A survey was taken in which the respondents were asked about 9/11:

In the telephone survey of 1200 individuals, just 47% agreed that "the 9/11 attacks were thoroughly investigated and that any speculation about US government involvement is nonsense." Almost as many, 45%, indicated they were more likely to agree "that so many unanswered questions about 9/11 remain that Congress or an International Tribunal should re-investigate the attacks, including whether any US government officials consciously allowed or helped facilitate their success."

Forty-five percent?!? Conspiracy nuts used to exist on both ends of the political extremes, but this study seems to suggest that the monkeys are in charge of the zoo on the liberal side of the isle:

This rough balance in opinions is itself a striking finding. It suggests that doubts about the officials accounts of 9/11, far from representing an extreme fringe position, have become a standard component of anti-establishment attitudes.

When asked specificially if they thought there had been a government coverup of evidence that contradicts the official story, the results were again not far from an even split, with 48% rejecting the idea of a deliberate coverup and 42% supporting it. Belief in a coverup was the majority position among Democrats, 18-29 year olds, and a few other groups.

If you think 9/11 was an American plot, or that the US government was in any way involved, you are probably too stupid to be allowed to vote. Possibly, your driving privileges should be revoked as well. And, Lord, PLEASE don't breed.

Update: Malkin does a good wrap-up on the Macbeth story. Anyone who believed his claims that he killed 200 innocent people, or attacked a mosque filled with people praying, or that he "took out" children who threw rocks at the troops can be added to my list of people who shouldn't vote.

Chinese deny involvement

But, really, what would you expect?

More on the Dixie Chicks

I like the title of his blog-post: Dixie Chicks Learn the Difference Between Censorship and Capitalism.

I'm confused

I thought Iran only wanted nuclear power?

Today, Iran has mastered the entire nuclear fuel cycle, from start to finish, thanks to young Iranian scientists," the president said in a speech in the southwestern border town of Khorramshahr.
"The enemies are looking to plot and want to create differences among Iranians to stop us getting our rights," Ahmadinejad said.
"But if they do the slightest damage to the Iranian people, if they commit the slightest aggression, they will receive an historic slap."

Oh, don't worry, I know the drill. This is simply more Bushitler/Rovian bedwetting. We have more to fear from "the Bushies" than we do Ahmadinejad. As for the JOOOOOS, well, they can take care of themselves, thankyouverymuch.. Did I forget anything?

Quandry

The owners of my favorite local restaurant, La Shish, have been charged with four counts of tax evasion, and ties to the terrorist group Hizballah.

I'm torn, because charged does not mean convicted. But, it makes me sick to my stomach that my patronage might have contributed to terrorism.

And, I don't know where else to get good kibbee.

The owners deny supporting terrorism, of course. But, whether or not they skimmed money to support terrorism (they apparently did send money to Lebanon) or orphans, the facts appear to support that they did skim money. So, for that fact alone I guess I should find a new source for kibbee.

I thought only Rethuglians were corrupt?

But, truth be told, I keep $90,000 in my freezer too, so I'm sure he's innocent.

And, I'm not ready to listen to their music

This just in from the Dixie Chicks:

Natalie Maines isn't kidding when she sings, "I'm not ready to make nice."
In a new interview with Time magazine, posted online Sunday, the Dixie Chicks firebrand takes back the apology she extended to President Bush three years ago.
"I apologized for disrespecting the office of the President," Maines says in Time. "But I don't feel that way anymore. I don't feel he is owed any respect whatsoever."

I read the Time interview yesterday, to learn that Maines went to Berkley (go figure!) and that she dropped out of three colleges before she joined the Dixie Chicks. You mean, she wasn't a poli-sci major? Learn something new every day.

What I find endlessly humorous about this is the indignation, by stars such as Maines, when their words have consequences. Consequences, such as plummeting record sales; their current single "stalled" at #36 on the Billboard's Country chart. Entertainers are given a forum in which to spew their political ideas - they are granted freedom of speech but with a bullhorn. But, Joe Q. Pulbic's only available response to the bullhorn is to refuse to buy their product. When Maines, or Sean Penn, or Matt Damon use the celebrity they gained through artistic talent to rant politically, the public's only recourse is refuse to "purchase" their artistic output.

The most ironic thing is that when they are hit financially, many cry "censorship." Silly dip$hits, they aren't being censored; they can say whatever they want.

To their ever-dwindling audience.

I'm here, just not "here"

My mind is on my garden and my house. Nice weather finally appears in Detroit.

The American Royalty

I might just be in a bad mood, but who do these @ssholes think they are? I hope they don't think they are clever, funny, or classy. The only "quality" they have is rich by birth, which is not something to brag about since it was through no achievement of their own. The best thing wealthy parents can do for their kids is to cut them off.

You got to be 'effen kidding me.

Is it time to be concerned YET?

Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.

"This is reminiscent of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis."
****
Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth.

I know, I know, nothing to see here. Keep moving. Just more Bushitler fear-mongering/bedwetting.

Einstein's with me

122507
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Another movie to skip

Sean Penn as Richard Clarke.

Here's an idea- how about someone makes movies with engaging characters, and interesting plot lines? I'm done with entertainers trying to "teach" me something. I prefer to get my information from people who "know stuff" versus high school drop-outs, and drama majors.

And another thing, I want music that is GOOD, not something with a message. I know, Young, and Springsteen, and Pearl Jam, and the Dixie Chicks all have a lot to say, but I'm just not interested in a one-way rant about how evil Bushitler went to war for oil.

Lemme know with "artist" are interested in their "art" and not the art of politics.

Oh, good Lord

On May 24, 2006, 1,500 Beverly Hills High School students will be boarding 30 gas-guzzling buses across town to see Al Gore's new global warming film 'AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH' at the Arclight Theatre in Hollywood, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Sarah Utley, a science teacher at Beverly Hills High School, explained in an e-mail to staff and students: "This field trip has been funded by a very generous alum!... You get to see the film for free!!!"

Anyone who wants to learn more about home schooling, just email me.

Maybe it's just me

But I think Katherine has a screechy voice. AI is dead to me.

AI

For those who miss Chris.

Last night I voted for Elliot. It was actually my second attempt -ever- to vote (maybe third, a few seasons ago I tried voting for Fantasia a few times), and the first time I actually got through.

Snicker

“Class is part of the futility of reality,” says Lacan; however, according to Geoffrey[4] , it is not so much class that is part of the futility of reality, but rather the defining characteristic of class. Sartreist absurdity suggests that sexual identity has intrinsic meaning. Therefore, the subject is contextualised into a dialectic dematerialism that includes narrativity as a reality.

Discuss...

Mother's Day

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Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Thought I'd share what I got from my kids:) Isn't it beautiful?

Names in the News

Last week Gail had a nice long list of "names" we use to disparage each other politically. But she missed (and I didn't mention) my most hated term: Fundie. From what I can gather, it apparently applies to anyone who votes Rethuglian and attends a Christian church on a regular bases.

I was reminded of it as I read dKos.

Update: While I don't care for fundie I can't get enough of the word moonbat. For Moonbats in their full glory go here.

Update 2: From the commenters at Atrios I can think of one... no two, no wait a minute, THREE people I would wish cancer on. Where's the Peace and Love?

Survey Says

A sign that people are not good judges of what passes as a reliable source for information :

People are now twice as likely to believe Jesus Christ fathered children after reading the Dan Brown blockbuster and four times as likely to think the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei is a murderous sect.

"An alarming number of people take its spurious claims very seriously indeed," said Austin Ivereigh, press secretary to Britain's top Catholic prelate Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.

"Our poll shows that for many, many people the Da Vinci Code is not just entertainment," Ivereigh added.

Fact, fiction, who cares anymore? It is not as if Brown's book was a serious theological work; it was just a silly thriller tale. Yet, the reaction of some readers was as if they'd read a weighty academic piece. Which reflects poorly on what they consider "serious" work. Or, what passes for a "provocative" argument.

Just write a book, and claim that you "thoroughly researched" the subject, and people will believe anything. God help us if Brown's next "highly researched" book is on the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Warning, adjust your recording devices accordingly

24 will be on at 10 pm this evening, due to the presidential address at 8 pm Central.

Tip du Jour

Two words : Summer Phlox.

Love it. Plant it. Every year, I've neglected to put more in (Ionly have two small clumps in my garden.) I seized the moment, and bought another today. Pink. I can hardly wait.

So, what's your favorite flower/plant?

Islam, religion of Peace II

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Who pays taxes?

For anyone who has ever uttered the words "tax cuts for the rich."

h/t Bill from INDC

This is disturbing

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Someone alert my cousin (who lives in Fla)

No jogging near OR (more importantly) dangling feet in alligator-infested canals.

h/t Gail

Islam, religion of Peace

I stepped in it last night at Bob's place. I should know better. And, really when this statement was made, I should have just called it a night;

The Bushies are in league with the genocidal Sudanese government.

True moonbattery (I know Gail hates this phrase) is occurring when absolutely everything is attributed to "the Bushies."

The issue, though, is whether or not it is simply Bushitler fear-mongering (fascism) that we discuss concerns over an Islamic Caliphate. The spread of radical Islam? Nothing to see here, folks, keep moving.

But, then there is Asia. And Africa. Where the spread of radical Islam is exactly what is happening. Christian girls decapitated on their way to school. And Darfur. If it looks like a duck, it's the spread of radical Islam. And whether or not they actually could unite under one "Caliphate" is beside point. Says Bob:

Anyway, this global conquerin' Islam is the same Islam that's made up of  warring factions that make the protestants and catholics in Northern Ireland look like two Lutheran churches joinin' up for a bigger potluck. This is the same Islam that exists almost entirely in third world nations where planning and organizing to take over the world comes right after, oh let's see, maybe feeding and clothing their masses.  This is the same Islam that lives in nations that despise each other (Saudi Arabia and Iran, for example).

So we shouldn't fear them because (I'm trying hard to find his point here) there was a "religious war" between the Protestants and Catholics ''? Or because it is occurring in poorer nations? Hizb ut-Tahrir of the "Party of Liberation" has plans, and they have their eyes on Europe:

[President] Bush says that we want to enslave people and oppress their freedom of speech," says Abu Abdullah, a senior member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Party of Liberation. "But we want to free all people from being slaves of men and make them slaves of Allah."
Hizb ut-Tahrir says that Muslims should abolish national boundaries within the Islamic world and return to a single Islamic state, known as "the Caliphate," that would stretch from Indonesia to Morocco and contain more than 1.5 billion people.

Could they unite the Islamic world? Doubtful. Could they undermine democracy in the Middle East? You betcha. If the following doesn't sound like converting at the sword, I don't know what does :

"Islam obliges Muslims to possess power so that they can intimidate - I would not say terrorize - the enemies of Islam," says Abu Mohammed, a Hizb ut-Tahrir activist. "In the beginning, the Caliphate would strengthen itself internally and it wouldn't initiate jihad."
"But after that we would carry Islam as an intellectual call to all the world," says Abu Mohammed, a pseudonym. "And we will make people bordering the Caliphate believe in Islam. Or if they refuse then we'll ask them to be ruled by Islam."
And after that? Abu Mohammed pauses and fiddles with his Pepsi before replying.
"And if after all discussions and negotiations they still refuse, then the last resort will be a jihad to spread the spirit of Islam and the rule of Islam," he says, smiling. "This is done in the interests of all people to get them out of darkness and into light."

Of course, as a woman, once I'm in that light, I"m going to be promptly covered with a sheet. Radical Islam is the enemy. We should fight the spread of it wherever it occurs, even if it is in a third world country.

How AWFUL!

I just got this urgent email:

You may be surprised to receive this letter since you don't know me personally, I am Mrs.MONICA KOFFI, the wife of late Dr.ALFRED KOFFI, who was recently murdered in the land dispute in Zimbabwe. I got your contact through South African Information exchange (S.A.I.E) here in Johannesburg and I decided to write for an assistance.
My late husband was among the few blacks Zimbabwe rich farmers murdered in cold blood by the agents of the ruling government of President Robert Mugabe for his alleged support and sympathy of the Zimbabwean opposition party controlled by the whites. Before his death, he took me and my son MARK to Johannesburg to deposit the sum of US$13.5 Million Pounds)in MARK's name as the beneficiary with a private Security and Finance Company as if he foresaw the looming danger in Zimbabwe.The money was deposited to the security company to avoid seizure ...

Email me if you'd like details on how to help Mrs. Koffi out, she asked that we keep this confidential. But, I'm sure she won't mind me telling you guys!.

I'll be back this afternoon

My basement flooded. Much tossing of (now) trash and cleaning and disinfecting to occur over the next few hours.

I believe the proper music for cleaning raw swage from my floor would be Anthrax, or Metallica, or - perhaps - System of a Down.

Update: this sucks. I've got that bleach smell in my nose.

Update II: if I EVER needed more comments, it's NOW! Without people to play with, I'm going to be forced to go back to the mess. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, don't make me go back there.

That's it

I'm done with Idol.

Et tu, Einstein?

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Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Make your own here.

Thanks Krista!

Man ....

... I sure could use some sushi tonight.

Announcement

As of today, the lower portion of my scar is a tad less pouffy, and less numb.

That is all.

quick poll

I don't know if I *can* do it, but I'm really sick and tired of cleaning up my children's playroom/schoolroom/my computer area. REALLY SICK. So- what say you - can I make it a week without tidying up, so they can see what a disgusting pile of filth the room becomes EVERY day?

Help a brother out

I'm a little late on this, but word is Jeff is running out of kibble money for that Armadillo.

Update: Ack, it's worse than I thought.

The new "FREE TIBET"

Mark Steyn really nailed why I'm annoyed with Hollywood's newly discovered tragedy that is Darfur:

Free Tibet. Every college in the US has a Free Tibet society: There's the Indiana University Students for a Free Tibet, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Students for a Free Tibet, and the Students for a Free Tibet University of Michigan Chapter. Everyone's for a free Tibet, but no one's for freeing Tibet. Idealism asinertia is the hallmark of the movement.

George Clooney has discovered that there is a genocide occurring in Darfu, and he is urging action:

Is the American government slow to act? Of course we're slow to act, we always are," Clooney said, referring to prior U.S. intervention in Rwanda and the Balkans.
"It's something that has to start today," Clooney said. "If we don't get to work on it today, there's a few thousand people who will be dead by the end of the week."

So, Clooney is urging action? What action is he urging? I guess we really need to get started on those bumper stickers. It's funny, because before the invasion of Iraq, Clooney had this to say:

"Are we going to try and talk to Saddam Hussein...without jumping in and killing people first?" he said.
"I don't believe we're going to wait until the last resort to do it. That's what bothers me."

Clooney was an outspoken critic for the Iraqi war (to say the least), and back then he argued that action should be the last resort. Yet, now he's being critical that we don't take action quickly enough.

But, let's be honest here - what type of action (besides the mass production of bumper stickers) would he support? Financial aid for the suffering, for sure, but anything tangible that would stop the violence? What happened to the liberal line "It's a civil war, it's none of our business"? We won't hear that one until if, and when, America steps-in to put a stop to the violence. The innocents in Darfur are not going to be saved by a bunch of bumper stickers OR financial aid. Nothing short of a well-armed military is going to save them.


H/t; Gail, who posted a link to the Styne article, but I decided I need a bit more room than is prudent in comments.

Baby, you're a rich man

Forbes estimates Fidel is worth $900 million. Not bad for a dictator having to deal with an embargo, huh? At least he shares it with his people. And by "his people" I mean himself, and the Holllywood stars that visit to faun all over him. As for the "little people" who inhabit the island with him, well, he did give them all rice steamers or something a few years ago.

Babalu Blog has an open letter to ENCASA, a group of Castro apologists who are asking Bush to remove the sanctions against Cuba. The letter, by [edit- to correct attribution ]Henry Gomez , outlines 8 stipulations necessary to warrant a lifting of the sanctions. Stipulations that Castro would never agree to because, well, look how rideculous they are:

1. That all Cuban political prisoners and prisoners of conscience be released immediately and granted an unconditional amnesty.
2. That all Cubans be allowed to move freely within the country.
3. That the existing system of apartheid-like segregation be eradicated immediately, specifically that all Cubans be treated as equals to their foreign counterparts, such as “prominent scholars and artists” from abroad.
4. That all Cubans be granted access to all sources of uncensored information, whether in broadcast, print, or Internet immediately.
5. That all Cubans be granted the freedom to express their opinions freely without fear of repercussions.
6. That all Cubans be allowed to travel abroad freely.
7. That all Cubans be allowed to live, work, and seek a better life for themselves as they see fit.
8. That all Cubans be allowed to elect their leaders through verifiable, transparent democratic elections as allowed for in Cuba’s last legitimate constitution, the Constitution of 1940.

The problem is, you give these people an inch, they're going to ask for a mile.

The open letter brings up another issue that gnaws at my craw; the tourist business in Cuba:

Additionally, ordinary Cubans are not permitted to openly mingle with foreigners so as to avoid their being “corrupted” by outsiders. We denounce anyone from any country that visits Cuba as a tourist. We feel that it is cruel and inhumane to enjoy beaches and other recreational facilities that are off limits to Cuba’s own citizens which have essentially become a slave labor force.

That, in addition to the fact that the tourist dollars do nothing but prop up the inhuman elements of Cuba - namely, Castro.

Names in the News

"Kennedy", drunk, car accident.

Who's surprised?

Round and round it goes

We can't move because we don't have enough money. I can't get a job to make money, because I home school. I home school because the public schools (really really) suck where I live. I can't move to a better district because we don't have enough money. I can't get a job to make money because I home school. I home school because the schools suck in my district ...

QOTD

What is Jack going to pull out of his man bag tonight?

Blog-brag

Scott has an image of my mad culinary skillz over on his blog.

Speaking of Scott, I just ordered a six-pack of his Survival Spice from Amazon. Too cool.

RIBS THIS WEEKEND!!! Woot-woot.

Ask, and ye shall recieve

DSC00542
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Here's a better dress shot, in front of the baptismal font. Ethan is doing some sort of Irish jig.

Yesterday

DSC00536
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

First Communion, daughter #1, and alter serving for firstborn. He wouldn't be serious for the photo shoot, so, this is what you get.