Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Not Working...
Taken off the Army Times website, even those that are fighting the war, have friends, family, and people they care about in the middle of the war don't see that Bush's "surge" is working. Below is the survey asking how well the surge is working. Big surprise, just like the administration, people think it's not working.
Salee...
It's amazing that people still "glorify" the war we started in Iraq. Yes there are some high times where our soldiers are walking and playing with the kids around Iraq, but for the majority of people who live in this hell hole, it's not a happy time.
From the website where this video is posted:
"In this video you'll learn first hand what happened to Salee and her family, about the November day when a US missile took Salee's legs and killed her brother and one of her best friends.
The failure of the media to tell stories such as Salee's has deprived the American people of the ability make informed judgments about US foreign policy. The rest of the world, and particularly people in the Middle East, see these stories every day on the evening news. The information deficit in the United States has had disastrous consequences. Democracy cannot function when citizens don't know what's happening.
But there is reason to hope. A progressive Christian community in South Carolina learned about Salee and made a commitment to help her. Similar projects could generalize in the U.S., and communities all over the country could mobilize to help war-injured Iraqi children.
Despite the failure of the media to cover the human side of the war in Iraq, nearly two thirds of the American people oppose it. If stories like Salee's were being covered with anything like the attention they deserve, remaining support for the war would evaporate."
One of the reasons that our president says we are doing in Iraq is to spread democracy. Watch the video below and see what we are truly spreading. At what cost do we have to "win" this war? How many kids needs to lose their lives, limbs, families for us to call this fiasco a success?
July 23rd Salee Story
From the website where this video is posted:
"In this video you'll learn first hand what happened to Salee and her family, about the November day when a US missile took Salee's legs and killed her brother and one of her best friends.
The failure of the media to tell stories such as Salee's has deprived the American people of the ability make informed judgments about US foreign policy. The rest of the world, and particularly people in the Middle East, see these stories every day on the evening news. The information deficit in the United States has had disastrous consequences. Democracy cannot function when citizens don't know what's happening.
But there is reason to hope. A progressive Christian community in South Carolina learned about Salee and made a commitment to help her. Similar projects could generalize in the U.S., and communities all over the country could mobilize to help war-injured Iraqi children.
Despite the failure of the media to cover the human side of the war in Iraq, nearly two thirds of the American people oppose it. If stories like Salee's were being covered with anything like the attention they deserve, remaining support for the war would evaporate."
One of the reasons that our president says we are doing in Iraq is to spread democracy. Watch the video below and see what we are truly spreading. At what cost do we have to "win" this war? How many kids needs to lose their lives, limbs, families for us to call this fiasco a success?
July 23rd Salee Story
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sugar, the Two-Legged Dog...
From the producer of this video:
"Sugar is a two-legged miracle dog who was found here in Taiwan more dead than alive as a puppy. She overcame abuse, pneumonia, a badly broken legs, an unsuitable adoption family, brain damage and ensuing paralysis from being left on a rooftop without any shade.
Sugar was rescued by www.AnimalsTaiwan.org, gave her a wheelchair, and just found her a new family. After all she's been through, Sugar has nothing but love to give. Love for humans and for the other animals in our family. With this video, which has now AIRED ON CNN, we want to share the puppy love and spread the word about www.AnimalsTaiwan.org . Strays like Sugar need Animals Taiwan, a fully volunteer-driven organization based in Taipei. Animals Taiwan needs you to please help us help more animals like Sugar. You may donate through Paypal at http://www.animalstaiwan.org"
__________
If dogs had attitudes, this one has a very very good one. And kudos to the organization that rescued her and the family that's taking care of her.
P.S: I put "Lab" & "Labrador" as tags. I am not sure this dog is but he/she sure looks like one. Tell us if you know.
"Sugar is a two-legged miracle dog who was found here in Taiwan more dead than alive as a puppy. She overcame abuse, pneumonia, a badly broken legs, an unsuitable adoption family, brain damage and ensuing paralysis from being left on a rooftop without any shade.
Sugar was rescued by www.AnimalsTaiwan.org, gave her a wheelchair, and just found her a new family. After all she's been through, Sugar has nothing but love to give. Love for humans and for the other animals in our family. With this video, which has now AIRED ON CNN, we want to share the puppy love and spread the word about www.AnimalsTaiwan.org . Strays like Sugar need Animals Taiwan, a fully volunteer-driven organization based in Taipei. Animals Taiwan needs you to please help us help more animals like Sugar. You may donate through Paypal at http://www.animalstaiwan.org"
__________
If dogs had attitudes, this one has a very very good one. And kudos to the organization that rescued her and the family that's taking care of her.
P.S: I put "Lab" & "Labrador" as tags. I am not sure this dog is but he/she sure looks like one. Tell us if you know.
Iraq...
My dad and I see things differently when it comes to the Iraq war. I think I am right, but so does he. He recently sent me pictures of American soldiers paying with Iraqi children. Some of the pictures are below.
Of course I couldn't let this be since I have a strong opinion about many people dying. Here is my first response to him:
Did you see this. If we are going to glorify the war we need to look at both sides:
Click on the picture below to see video and listen to our soldiers talk about their third thirteen month rotation and the things they see and do over in Iraq.
The Guardian's award-winning photographer and filmmaker Sean Smith spent two months embedded with US troops in Baghdad and Anbar province. His harrowing documentary exposes the exhaustion and disillusionment of the soldiers.
I couldn't let this one go, so I added this:
The part of our conversations that I am trying to figure out is why is that pictures of American soldiers holding Iraqi children and playing with the kids make KILLING people OK. There are more than 3600 American soldiers DEAD in a war that should never have been started. Another thing you brought up in an earlier email was:
Its ironic that the majority of the " Cut and run Democrats" voted to go to war but when it doesnt fit their political aspirations they want to QUIT.
The interesting part of this statement that you never seem to bring up is the fact that their LEADER LIED to the so-called "Cut and Run Democrats". Tell me that if you were told something at your job from your boss and had to make a quick
decision and then found out it was falsified you wouldn't question your boss and even ask for an investigation if it involved the DEATH of many people?
Its also amazing that this administration has gotten away with so much shit and they don't stink one bit. You mentioned that Clinton is a murderer, but what is Bush when we lose over 3600 soldiers and more than 655,000 Iraqi civilians (according to the Washington Post). The approval rating of this president has been lower than ANY other president EVER. So what your telling me is that most of the country is WRONG. Remember that anywhere from 55-66% are not all Democrats - these are the people that DISAPPROVE of his job.
Now we have ANOTHER questionable incident under his command. The suspicious death of Pat Tillman. An all America NFL star that started to speak out about the war was suddenly killed. Here is an excerpt from Army Times:
SAN FRANCISCO — Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman’s forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former professional football player’s death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
“The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as described,” a doctor who examined Tillman’s body after he was killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2004 told investigators.
The doctors — whose names were blacked out — said the bullet holes were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down by an M16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.
The Pentagon and the Bush administration have been criticized in recent months for lying about the circumstances of Tillman’s death. The military initially told the public and the Tillman family that he had been killed by enemy fire. Only weeks later did the Pentagon acknowledge he was gunned down by fellow Rangers.
Among other information contained in the documents:
Not only was it a blatant and admitted cover-up that he died of friendly fire, but now that too may have been a cover-up, when in fact he was murdered. The shots to his head were so close together that they could have only come from about 30 feet away, not far enough for friendly fire to make any sense since they weren't in a close range firefight, and he was apparently gaining quite a reputation in his unit as a critic of the Iraq War, a supporter of Kerry, and one who even had plans to meet with Chomsky, perhaps to try to figure out some sort of way where he could use his influence and moral stature within the military and as a post 9/11 cultural icon to speak out against the Bush regime, right in the middle of the campaign!!! If true, and if the Bush Administration knew this, and nothing comes of it, then one must really stop and question the cliche "straw that broke the camel's back." How much more will it take?
Seems to me like if this scandal evolves into a clear cover-up by the Bush Administration for the sake of their own political ambitions in 2004, this could be the one (out of countless) outrages that will put impeachment on the table for real. The American people need clear, simple scandals before their politicians will take action, just look at Monica Lewinsky (that had NOTHING to do with perjury or obstruction of justice, we all know that). Yellow cake Uranium, Scooter Libby, Alberto Gonzalez, FISA, these scandals are too nuanced, ambiguous, and boring for the average American to do anything but grow cynical. But a murder cover-up of Pat Tillman, a remarkable hero and patriot, the martyred symbol of so much that is still good about America post 9/11 -- all I can say is Wow. I am both disgusted and emboldened by the idea. It is suspicious that Bush mentioned Tillman's name in a speech invoking patriotism soon after his death, but made no mention of the cause of his death, and no one in the Administration is willing to provide the documentation explaining what they knew about the matter and when. If Rove was behind this one, too, I wouldn't be at all surprised.
Of course I couldn't let this be since I have a strong opinion about many people dying. Here is my first response to him:
Did you see this. If we are going to glorify the war we need to look at both sides:
Click on the picture below to see video and listen to our soldiers talk about their third thirteen month rotation and the things they see and do over in Iraq.
The Guardian's award-winning photographer and filmmaker Sean Smith spent two months embedded with US troops in Baghdad and Anbar province. His harrowing documentary exposes the exhaustion and disillusionment of the soldiers.
I couldn't let this one go, so I added this:The part of our conversations that I am trying to figure out is why is that pictures of American soldiers holding Iraqi children and playing with the kids make KILLING people OK. There are more than 3600 American soldiers DEAD in a war that should never have been started. Another thing you brought up in an earlier email was:
Its ironic that the majority of the " Cut and run Democrats" voted to go to war but when it doesnt fit their political aspirations they want to QUIT.
The interesting part of this statement that you never seem to bring up is the fact that their LEADER LIED to the so-called "Cut and Run Democrats". Tell me that if you were told something at your job from your boss and had to make a quick
decision and then found out it was falsified you wouldn't question your boss and even ask for an investigation if it involved the DEATH of many people?Its also amazing that this administration has gotten away with so much shit and they don't stink one bit. You mentioned that Clinton is a murderer, but what is Bush when we lose over 3600 soldiers and more than 655,000 Iraqi civilians (according to the Washington Post). The approval rating of this president has been lower than ANY other president EVER. So what your telling me is that most of the country is WRONG. Remember that anywhere from 55-66% are not all Democrats - these are the people that DISAPPROVE of his job.
Now we have ANOTHER questionable incident under his command. The suspicious death of Pat Tillman. An all America NFL star that started to speak out about the war was suddenly killed. Here is an excerpt from Army Times:
SAN FRANCISCO — Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman’s forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former professional football player’s death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
“The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as described,” a doctor who examined Tillman’s body after he was killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2004 told investigators.
The doctors — whose names were blacked out — said the bullet holes were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down by an M16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.
The Pentagon and the Bush administration have been criticized in recent months for lying about the circumstances of Tillman’s death. The military initially told the public and the Tillman family that he had been killed by enemy fire. Only weeks later did the Pentagon acknowledge he was gunned down by fellow Rangers.
Among other information contained in the documents:
- In his last words moments before he was killed, Tillman snapped at a panicky comrade under fire to shut up and stop “sniveling.”
- Army attorneys sent each other congratulatory e-mails for keeping criminal investigators at bay as the Army conducted an internal friendly-fire investigation that resulted in administrative, or noncriminal, punishments.
- The three-star general who kept the truth about Tillman’s death from his family and the public told investigators some 70 times that he had a bad memory and could not recall details of his actions.
- No evidence at all of enemy fire was found at the scene — no one was hit by enemy fire, nor was any government equipment struck.
Not only was it a blatant and admitted cover-up that he died of friendly fire, but now that too may have been a cover-up, when in fact he was murdered. The shots to his head were so close together that they could have only come from about 30 feet away, not far enough for friendly fire to make any sense since they weren't in a close range firefight, and he was apparently gaining quite a reputation in his unit as a critic of the Iraq War, a supporter of Kerry, and one who even had plans to meet with Chomsky, perhaps to try to figure out some sort of way where he could use his influence and moral stature within the military and as a post 9/11 cultural icon to speak out against the Bush regime, right in the middle of the campaign!!! If true, and if the Bush Administration knew this, and nothing comes of it, then one must really stop and question the cliche "straw that broke the camel's back." How much more will it take?
Seems to me like if this scandal evolves into a clear cover-up by the Bush Administration for the sake of their own political ambitions in 2004, this could be the one (out of countless) outrages that will put impeachment on the table for real. The American people need clear, simple scandals before their politicians will take action, just look at Monica Lewinsky (that had NOTHING to do with perjury or obstruction of justice, we all know that). Yellow cake Uranium, Scooter Libby, Alberto Gonzalez, FISA, these scandals are too nuanced, ambiguous, and boring for the average American to do anything but grow cynical. But a murder cover-up of Pat Tillman, a remarkable hero and patriot, the martyred symbol of so much that is still good about America post 9/11 -- all I can say is Wow. I am both disgusted and emboldened by the idea. It is suspicious that Bush mentioned Tillman's name in a speech invoking patriotism soon after his death, but made no mention of the cause of his death, and no one in the Administration is willing to provide the documentation explaining what they knew about the matter and when. If Rove was behind this one, too, I wouldn't be at all surprised.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Matt Damon - Bourne...
I am not sure when the obsession started with Matt Damon, but it has not subsided in any way. Now "The Bourne Ultimatum"hits theaters August 3. The Bourne movies (have not read any of the books yet) have, for me, redefined what an action movie should be. The mystery that comes with Bourne makes me want more. Who is Bourne, what did he do in his past life that makes so many people want him dead? Hopefully these questions will not be answered in the latest movie because if they are the mystery has ended. once the mystery ends, the movies become the old same rehash of Die Hard or movies by Arnold and Stallone. I personally have had enough of them.
So what happen in the next movie. Here is a synopsis from the book:
From Publishers Weekly
The literary faults and stylistic excesses that characterized The Icarus Agenda , The Gemini Contenders and other of Ludlum's works are present in his latest mammoth thriller, but fans will nonetheless cheer the return of his most popular character, David Webb, aka Jason Bourne, the assassin who never was. When the international terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal penetrates his civilian identity, Webb must again assume the Bourne persona to protect his wife and small children. In their renewed struggle, the two master assassins uncover the revived existence of Medusa, the sinister alliance that originally led to the establishment of the Bourne identity. In action that moves from the U.S. to Montserrat to Paris before concluding in Moscow, Bourne and his allies prove incredibly inept, barely escaping the Jackal's traps and failing in their repeated attempts to ambush him. The Ludlum trademarks are present: improbable bloodbaths, repetitive action, stilted and off-the-point conversations and--most annoying--the use of italicized words or entire paragraphs to simulate passion. This is formula writing that delivers even less than its meager promise.
Below is the explosive movie trailer - enjoy:
So what happen in the next movie. Here is a synopsis from the book:
From Publishers Weekly
The literary faults and stylistic excesses that characterized The Icarus Agenda , The Gemini Contenders and other of Ludlum's works are present in his latest mammoth thriller, but fans will nonetheless cheer the return of his most popular character, David Webb, aka Jason Bourne, the assassin who never was. When the international terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal penetrates his civilian identity, Webb must again assume the Bourne persona to protect his wife and small children. In their renewed struggle, the two master assassins uncover the revived existence of Medusa, the sinister alliance that originally led to the establishment of the Bourne identity. In action that moves from the U.S. to Montserrat to Paris before concluding in Moscow, Bourne and his allies prove incredibly inept, barely escaping the Jackal's traps and failing in their repeated attempts to ambush him. The Ludlum trademarks are present: improbable bloodbaths, repetitive action, stilted and off-the-point conversations and--most annoying--the use of italicized words or entire paragraphs to simulate passion. This is formula writing that delivers even less than its meager promise.
Below is the explosive movie trailer - enjoy:
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Life Support...
It’s 2:44 in the morning and I just finished feeding and putting Mikayla back down. During her feeding, I read some news and found out that Tammy Faye Messner has died. Now this would normally not have been a point of writing, but I started to think and I couldn’t stop. People die on a daily basis for one reason or another, and if one is in pain (constant pain as Tammy mentioned), don’t they have the right to take that pain away?
As I said, I just put my little girl done to sleep again and noticed that Eva, our 13 year old dog was not in the room with us. I noticed that she was in the hall and she was lying there alone. She is a bigger dog and being thirteen, she is not the puppy that Mark has so many timed told me about and I wish that I could have meet. There are times thatr I see the youth in her eyes, but I also see the confusion because she doesn’t understand why her body isn’t working the way it used to. Now we, as humans, have the ability to help our companion animals pass from this earth with grace, love, and care. Why then can’t we help our loved ones do the same?
I have always been part of the crowd that believed in assisted suicide. I hate that term, lets call it assisted life choice. It’s more PC for the people that don’t feel comfortable with death. I think I have the right to decide what to do with my life. Not the government, not my family, not even Mark, my partner. I have the right. If I am in constant medical pain and there is nothing that can be done for me, then I have the right to take that pain away. I have the right to decide when I should go. I have the right to my life.
I have already told Mark that if I am in the hospital with tubes and wires keeping me alive, PULL THE PLUG! First, what kind of life is it if I am just waiting for my life to slip away? Second (and most important) what kind of life is it for Mark? If the doctors know that I am going to die and if they know that keeping me on “life support” will do nothing but keep my brain active, I then have to ask why? I don’t want my partner and my daughter to have the last memories of me lying in a hospital bed waiting to die. I don’t want to have their lives taken from them as well. They are alive and should stay that way. Not to lose it in endless visits that do nothing accept make the Christian right feel good about themselves because they “saved another soul”.
I was talking with my mother not long ago and we got on the subject of my grandfather (her father) and the last memory that I have of him. The memory started when my mom got a call from my grandmother. I remember that she started to cry and my father jumped in the car and took off. He raced out of the driveway and when I found out that it was my grandfather, I took off in my car trying to keep up with my dad. He was much faster than I was and I lost him on the way. I then started to think about my mother and that she was alone. I turned around and went back to the house. When I got there, mo was in tears with keys in her hand ready to take off as well.
She told me that he (my grandfather) was taken to the hospital and that she needed to have me drive her there because she didn’t think she could make it on her own. When we got to the hospital most of the immediate family was there. The hospital had put us in a small room. This room was right next door to where the doctors were working on my grandfather. He was in emergency and my family was right next door. The room was getting stuffy and people were crying and I needed to get some fresh air. This I should not have done. I walked by the room where my grandfather was. The room had a window that you could barly see throough, but I saw more than enough when a nurse went in.
Tubes were running out of my grandfather’s body. Fluid was being pumped in to help stabilize him. A tube was coming out of his mouth to help him breath. Doctors and nurses gathered around him beating on his chest to try to get his heart started. Needles being stuck in his arm and chest. All to make him live again. Doctors frantically trying to start this man’s heart and then nothing. It suddenly all stopped. I didn’t hear the doctor call time, but I did see my grandfather’s body lay there limp and lifeless. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Then the worst thing anyone could have done or said happened. The doctor who was working on my grandfather came out and told me he had passed, but that wan’t the worst. He then said that they needed to “clean him up”, but if I wanted to “I could go in and see him”. I could go in and see my grandfather lying on the hospital table with tubes and wires still sticking out of his chest, arm and mouth. I could go say my final good byes to a man that I know was no longer there. I could have the last and final memory of my grandfather lying dead on a table looking like a plastic doll that doctors use in school. So I walked in and saw this body that used to be my grandfather. This is my last memory of my grandfather and it will live with me. No matter how many times I try to remember when we all went to see “Good Morning Vietnam” and laughed so hard. Or all the Christmas time and the gathering of the family and his smile. No matter how hard I try to rip that image from my mind – it’s there and always will be.
So back to my first rant. I don’t want my family to be burdened with memories of me in constant pain, hooked to tubes and gadgets not awake and will never be again. I want to be able to decide what to do. I want to know that MY wishes are being carried out, not some republican bureaucrat whose ideas are not his own, but the many of thousands who think they talk to god. We al have to remember that not all people follow the same religions and again – IT’S MY LIFE. Let me decide when I should be out of pain.
As I said, I just put my little girl done to sleep again and noticed that Eva, our 13 year old dog was not in the room with us. I noticed that she was in the hall and she was lying there alone. She is a bigger dog and being thirteen, she is not the puppy that Mark has so many timed told me about and I wish that I could have meet. There are times thatr I see the youth in her eyes, but I also see the confusion because she doesn’t understand why her body isn’t working the way it used to. Now we, as humans, have the ability to help our companion animals pass from this earth with grace, love, and care. Why then can’t we help our loved ones do the same?
I have always been part of the crowd that believed in assisted suicide. I hate that term, lets call it assisted life choice. It’s more PC for the people that don’t feel comfortable with death. I think I have the right to decide what to do with my life. Not the government, not my family, not even Mark, my partner. I have the right. If I am in constant medical pain and there is nothing that can be done for me, then I have the right to take that pain away. I have the right to decide when I should go. I have the right to my life.
I have already told Mark that if I am in the hospital with tubes and wires keeping me alive, PULL THE PLUG! First, what kind of life is it if I am just waiting for my life to slip away? Second (and most important) what kind of life is it for Mark? If the doctors know that I am going to die and if they know that keeping me on “life support” will do nothing but keep my brain active, I then have to ask why? I don’t want my partner and my daughter to have the last memories of me lying in a hospital bed waiting to die. I don’t want to have their lives taken from them as well. They are alive and should stay that way. Not to lose it in endless visits that do nothing accept make the Christian right feel good about themselves because they “saved another soul”.
I was talking with my mother not long ago and we got on the subject of my grandfather (her father) and the last memory that I have of him. The memory started when my mom got a call from my grandmother. I remember that she started to cry and my father jumped in the car and took off. He raced out of the driveway and when I found out that it was my grandfather, I took off in my car trying to keep up with my dad. He was much faster than I was and I lost him on the way. I then started to think about my mother and that she was alone. I turned around and went back to the house. When I got there, mo was in tears with keys in her hand ready to take off as well.
She told me that he (my grandfather) was taken to the hospital and that she needed to have me drive her there because she didn’t think she could make it on her own. When we got to the hospital most of the immediate family was there. The hospital had put us in a small room. This room was right next door to where the doctors were working on my grandfather. He was in emergency and my family was right next door. The room was getting stuffy and people were crying and I needed to get some fresh air. This I should not have done. I walked by the room where my grandfather was. The room had a window that you could barly see throough, but I saw more than enough when a nurse went in.
Tubes were running out of my grandfather’s body. Fluid was being pumped in to help stabilize him. A tube was coming out of his mouth to help him breath. Doctors and nurses gathered around him beating on his chest to try to get his heart started. Needles being stuck in his arm and chest. All to make him live again. Doctors frantically trying to start this man’s heart and then nothing. It suddenly all stopped. I didn’t hear the doctor call time, but I did see my grandfather’s body lay there limp and lifeless. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Then the worst thing anyone could have done or said happened. The doctor who was working on my grandfather came out and told me he had passed, but that wan’t the worst. He then said that they needed to “clean him up”, but if I wanted to “I could go in and see him”. I could go in and see my grandfather lying on the hospital table with tubes and wires still sticking out of his chest, arm and mouth. I could go say my final good byes to a man that I know was no longer there. I could have the last and final memory of my grandfather lying dead on a table looking like a plastic doll that doctors use in school. So I walked in and saw this body that used to be my grandfather. This is my last memory of my grandfather and it will live with me. No matter how many times I try to remember when we all went to see “Good Morning Vietnam” and laughed so hard. Or all the Christmas time and the gathering of the family and his smile. No matter how hard I try to rip that image from my mind – it’s there and always will be.
So back to my first rant. I don’t want my family to be burdened with memories of me in constant pain, hooked to tubes and gadgets not awake and will never be again. I want to be able to decide what to do. I want to know that MY wishes are being carried out, not some republican bureaucrat whose ideas are not his own, but the many of thousands who think they talk to god. We al have to remember that not all people follow the same religions and again – IT’S MY LIFE. Let me decide when I should be out of pain.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Support Our Troops...
I laugh when I come across a republican (my father usually) that tells me that since I am against the war and our president, then I am not supporting our troops. Well this is somewhat true and I will explain that in another post. This post has to deal with the Republican government that sent our troops to Iraq. They tell us "we are fighting them there so we won't have to fight them here". The thing that I like about this war is all the catchy little marketing and branding propaganda.
But I digress. I keep my mind open when it comes to the news. I think we have to since most of the news is bought and sold by the highest bidder. One of the things I read is the Army Times. This is a website/newspaper put out by the Army. The people that we are supposed to support. One article caught my eye: Department of Defense Balked at Pleas for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP).
I was intrigued so I read on, but before we go any further lets look at what an MRAP really is. A Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle is a family of armored fighting vehicles designed to survive improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and ambushes. This sounds like something that our troops need. But the Pentagon has decided that Humvee's would be sufficient enough for our troops and the jobs they are doing to protect this wonderful nation of ours. So lets see if you think this is enough protection for our troops. Let me know if you would like to die this way:
Pfc. Aaron Kincaid, 25, had been joking with buddies just before their armored Humvee rolled over the bomb. His wife, Rachel, later learned that the blast blew Kincaid, a father of two from outside Atlanta, through the Humvee’s metal roof.
Through the Humvee's metal roof. How can we sit here and let this happen to our people. First of all we need to get them out of there, but we also need to hold the Assholes responsible for neglecting our troop responsible. When the Army investigators did their song and dance they stated, “There was no way short of not going on that route at that time [that] this tragedy could have been diverted.” Is this a fact, then why did an outside source find something different:
But I digress. I keep my mind open when it comes to the news. I think we have to since most of the news is bought and sold by the highest bidder. One of the things I read is the Army Times. This is a website/newspaper put out by the Army. The people that we are supposed to support. One article caught my eye: Department of Defense Balked at Pleas for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP).
I was intrigued so I read on, but before we go any further lets look at what an MRAP really is. A Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle is a family of armored fighting vehicles designed to survive improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and ambushes. This sounds like something that our troops need. But the Pentagon has decided that Humvee's would be sufficient enough for our troops and the jobs they are doing to protect this wonderful nation of ours. So lets see if you think this is enough protection for our troops. Let me know if you would like to die this way:Pfc. Aaron Kincaid, 25, had been joking with buddies just before their armored Humvee rolled over the bomb. His wife, Rachel, later learned that the blast blew Kincaid, a father of two from outside Atlanta, through the Humvee’s metal roof.
Through the Humvee's metal roof. How can we sit here and let this happen to our people. First of all we need to get them out of there, but we also need to hold the Assholes responsible for neglecting our troop responsible. When the Army investigators did their song and dance they stated, “There was no way short of not going on that route at that time [that] this tragedy could have been diverted.” Is this a fact, then why did an outside source find something different:
A USA Today investigation of the Pentagon’s efforts to protect troops in Iraq suggests otherwise.
Years before the war began, Pentagon officials knew of the effectiveness of another type of vehicle that better shielded troops from bombs like those that have killed Kincaid and the 1,500 other soldiers and Marines.
But military officials repeatedly balked at appeals — from commanders on the battlefield and from the Pentagon’s own staff — to provide the life-saving Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, or MRAP, for patrols and combat missions, USA Today found.AMAZING! The government that wants us to support our troops will have nothing to do with their protection. This government is so screwed up that the only way to help get our troops safely home is to stand up and tell them that we are tired of losing our men and women in a war that was fabricated in the beginning. First Bush sends young men and women into harms way because Hussein tried to have his Daddy killed. He said the Iraqi leader's "hatred" was largely directed at the United States and added: "After all, this is the guy who tried to kill my dad." He wanted revenge and now Bush has the death of more than 3600 American men and women on his hands and more than 655,000 Iraq civilians.
The only way to support our troops is to get this madman out of office. I know that they said they wouldn't impeach, but lets look at the facts. Clinton lied and all he did was get a action in the Oval Office and made a little stain on a dress. Bush lied and he gets more and more people killed and we still haven't gotten bin Laden - and they know where he is - that again is another post.
To read the article on the MRAP's click below:
Department of Defense Balked at Pleas - Army TimesTuesday, July 17, 2007
Hatred...
In my Shaping of the Modern World class this term, I had to defend my thoughts that all religions have extreme fundamentalist (Jewish, Christianity, and Islam - Muslims). My professor asked this question:
You seem to be arguing for the moral equivalence of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish "extremists" in that you say there is "no difference" within the fact that "There are extreme radicals in all parts of all religions." I want to ask you, how would you justify this claim given that most Christian fundamentalists aren’t killing civilians to advance their agenda (except for the tiny number of abortion clinic bombers), and neither are most Jewish fundamentalists (except for the occasional nutjob like Dr. Baruck Goldstein, who in 1994 killed 29 Muslims worshiping at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Israel).
I think I answered this with great intelligence. I say this with out any response from my professor at the time of this post. I had written my response three days ago. The reason I write this post is to yet again explain why we live in Vermont and how the “extreme Christian fundamentalist” are using hatred to advance their agenda. We now turn our attention to the one and only Crazy Man himself, Mr. Fred Phelps. If you do not know of him, then you have had your head in a hole for many years. His website is “God Hates Fags” and he pushed the envelope when it comes to HATE. He is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) and the venom that he is spewing is amazing. From the WBC website:
“GOD HATES FAGS, FAGS HATE GOD, AIDS CURES FAGS, THANK GOD FOR AIDS, FAGS BURN IN HELL, GOD IS NOT MOCKED, FAGS ARE NATURE FREAKS, GOD GAVE FAGS UP, NO SPECIAL LAWS FOR FAGS, FAGS DOOM NATIONS, THANK GOD FOR DEAD SOLDIERS, FAG TROOPS, GOD BLEW UP THE TROOPS, GOD HATES AMERICA, AMERICA IS DOOMED, THE WORLD IS DOOMED, etc.”
So now the King of all hatred has come up with a new idea to push his agenda. He has decided to renew his push for a “Mathew Shepherd In Hell” monument that he hopes will be set alongside other monuments "honoring the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, the Mayflower Compact, the Bill of Rights and the Magna Carta, the 13th-century law edict that restricted the powers of England's monarchs."
According to the Casper Star Tribune, he's back pushing for the Matthew Shepard monument again: "Phelps said he would be willing to make his monument resemble the six others and would include a picture of Shepard and the engraving: "MATTHEW SHEPARD, Entered Hell October 12, 1998, at age 21, in Defiance of God's Warning: 'Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination.' Leviticus 18:22." Mayor Kate Sarosy said she had not received Phelps' letter Monday evening and said she would speak with the city attorney and the other council members. 'Mr. Phelps' message is full of hate and not in the spirit of the monument plaza,' Sarosy said."
So you may ask, Why am I acknowledging this man? Because he speaks hatred and if hatred is allowed, then who is safe. We need to make it apparent that this type of hatred from people like him is not allowed. We need to stand up and speak out against people like him. Think it's only "fags" that he hates. Here is the opening of a PDF that he has on his website that is titled, "The God Loves Everyone, The Greatest Lie Ever Told":
“God loves everyone” is the theology that is touted by every major so-called “Christian” religion in the United States (U.S). Of the more than 600,000 churches and synagogues in the U.S. most, if not all, prescribe to this view of God. It is the hue and cry of this sinful and corrupt generation and the single idea and value that binds the religious community of the U.S. together. Even people who do not attend church and who are not religious agree on this point, so that it unites “believers” and “unbelievers.” Without a doubt “God loves everyone” is universally believed in the Christian world, to the exclusion of all other ideas.
So remember the poem by Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me--
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
You seem to be arguing for the moral equivalence of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish "extremists" in that you say there is "no difference" within the fact that "There are extreme radicals in all parts of all religions." I want to ask you, how would you justify this claim given that most Christian fundamentalists aren’t killing civilians to advance their agenda (except for the tiny number of abortion clinic bombers), and neither are most Jewish fundamentalists (except for the occasional nutjob like Dr. Baruck Goldstein, who in 1994 killed 29 Muslims worshiping at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Israel).
I think I answered this with great intelligence. I say this with out any response from my professor at the time of this post. I had written my response three days ago. The reason I write this post is to yet again explain why we live in Vermont and how the “extreme Christian fundamentalist” are using hatred to advance their agenda. We now turn our attention to the one and only Crazy Man himself, Mr. Fred Phelps. If you do not know of him, then you have had your head in a hole for many years. His website is “God Hates Fags” and he pushed the envelope when it comes to HATE. He is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) and the venom that he is spewing is amazing. From the WBC website:
“GOD HATES FAGS, FAGS HATE GOD, AIDS CURES FAGS, THANK GOD FOR AIDS, FAGS BURN IN HELL, GOD IS NOT MOCKED, FAGS ARE NATURE FREAKS, GOD GAVE FAGS UP, NO SPECIAL LAWS FOR FAGS, FAGS DOOM NATIONS, THANK GOD FOR DEAD SOLDIERS, FAG TROOPS, GOD BLEW UP THE TROOPS, GOD HATES AMERICA, AMERICA IS DOOMED, THE WORLD IS DOOMED, etc.”
So now the King of all hatred has come up with a new idea to push his agenda. He has decided to renew his push for a “Mathew Shepherd In Hell” monument that he hopes will be set alongside other monuments "honoring the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, the Mayflower Compact, the Bill of Rights and the Magna Carta, the 13th-century law edict that restricted the powers of England's monarchs."
According to the Casper Star Tribune, he's back pushing for the Matthew Shepard monument again: "Phelps said he would be willing to make his monument resemble the six others and would include a picture of Shepard and the engraving: "MATTHEW SHEPARD, Entered Hell October 12, 1998, at age 21, in Defiance of God's Warning: 'Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination.' Leviticus 18:22." Mayor Kate Sarosy said she had not received Phelps' letter Monday evening and said she would speak with the city attorney and the other council members. 'Mr. Phelps' message is full of hate and not in the spirit of the monument plaza,' Sarosy said."
So you may ask, Why am I acknowledging this man? Because he speaks hatred and if hatred is allowed, then who is safe. We need to make it apparent that this type of hatred from people like him is not allowed. We need to stand up and speak out against people like him. Think it's only "fags" that he hates. Here is the opening of a PDF that he has on his website that is titled, "The God Loves Everyone, The Greatest Lie Ever Told":
“God loves everyone” is the theology that is touted by every major so-called “Christian” religion in the United States (U.S). Of the more than 600,000 churches and synagogues in the U.S. most, if not all, prescribe to this view of God. It is the hue and cry of this sinful and corrupt generation and the single idea and value that binds the religious community of the U.S. together. Even people who do not attend church and who are not religious agree on this point, so that it unites “believers” and “unbelievers.” Without a doubt “God loves everyone” is universally believed in the Christian world, to the exclusion of all other ideas.
So remember the poem by Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me--
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Monday, July 16, 2007
New Baby Daughter...
I know this is old, but here goes - It’s a girl!!! Just wanted to let you know that we have adopted a little baby girl. Her name is Mikayla and she was born 4/18/07 at 12:53 am in White Plains NY. She weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and was 19 inches long. She has a full head of hair and is showing us the meaning of sleep deprivation. Let me back track here a little. In July of last year, Mark had a dream that we were going to be adopting a new born, African-American baby girl sometime in March or April. We also told the adoption organization that we were using. They laughed a little, but have probably heard the story many times before. The only difference was that we told people last July/August.
Jump to April. We had just moved in to our new house, right across the street from our old one (another story for a different day). I am still doing school, working part-time, while Mark is working full-time, doing freelance at night and starting his Masters. Our lives were a little full so of course God said hey lets have some fun. On Wednesday morning (the 18th) the phone rings and the number is listed as Private – so I ignore thinking that it’s our vet. I take the dogs out and listen to the message when I get back in the house. It’s from Lisa at Friends In Adoption asking for one of us to call here. We were in the process of redoing our profile so I thought she had a question about that. The phone rings again and its Mark. Before he says anything I told him that I heard the message and I will call her soon. He cut me off saying that there was a baby born in White Plains, NY and that Lisa had a couple of questions and wanted to know if we wanted our profile sent to the birth-mother. I started shaking.
I called Lisa and talked to her a little and told her that we would love to have our profile sent and that I talked with Mark and we OK with everything. She then recounted that she remembered the dream that Mark told her about last year. The offices of FIA went crazy trying to find our profile. She told me that we may not know anything until later in the evening (it was 10 am), but she will keep us posted. Mark and I talked many times throughout the day – taking deep breaths and trying not to go crazy.
I had made an appointment with the vet to take the dogs in at 3pm. If we were chosen we needed to kennel the dogs and leave to NY right away. I called Lisa and asked if she heard anything. Nothing. I told her I was leaving to the vets and that if anything happened, call Mark. I didn’t have a cell phone. I rounded up the dogs and left for the vets. The drive there is 45 minutes and my mind was going 100 mph. When I walked in the door, Deb (the vet tech) handed me the phone and told me to call Mark it’s very important. Mark got on the phone and said, “She chose us!!” My heart stopped and I started to tear up and I think a little scream went out as well.
I then took the dogs to the kennel and Mark went home to pack. We started out that night in two separate cars since we didn’t know if one of us would have to come back early. Although she picked us, we had to stay in NY for up to three weeks awaiting the interstate transfer paper. We had to wait only five days. I remember turning onto the exit that read “White Plains” and I started to feel light-headed, I started to sweat, and I thought for sure I was going to throw up. This is what a panic attack feels like. Now remember that I was driving in a separate car – not good. I knew this was going to happen and it scared the hell out of me. We got to meet Mikayla on Thursday morning. Mark was the first to hold here. He was so delicate and when he looked at me, his eyes were full of tears. After a while I got to hold her as well and whenever Mark and I looked at each other we would start to cry again. She was heaven sent.
We left the hospital after many hours to go shopping. We had nothing for a little baby and we need to get everything. We also went out to have our last nice meal at a restaurant for many years. We then went back to the hospital and spent more time with the little one. I was out talking with a nurse and when I came back (I don’t think Mark knew I was there) Mark was looking at Mikayla and said, “How could I fall in love with something so fast, but I do love you” and he kissed her on the head. We then left for the hotel without Mikayla and that night was our last night of uninterrupted sleep for many years.
On Friday she was released from the hospital but we could not leave New York until the interstate transfer papers were filed. This could take anywhere from two days to three weeks. We decided to stay in a hotel in Albany, NY (close to Vermont) and await the call from our social worker letting us know that we could take her home. I ran back to Vermont to get the dogs and bring them to us so they wouldn't have to be kenneled for weeks possibly. Then on Tuesday April 23, we got the word that we could bring her home. Mark too the rest of the week off and I am now a stay at home dad. School is kinda hard since I have to do it between sleeping and eating and changing, but it is all worth it.
There was a thirty day period that the birth mother could change her mind. We made it through that. Mikayla is now almost three months old and learning so much. She is a delight to be around. She hardly ever cries, but when she does - WATCH OUT. There have been days where the crying will not stop. These are the days I am thankful for chocolate. Now we have to wait for our next home study and then we go to New York to do the birth certificate. This should happen no later than August. Will follow up later. Once we have the birth certificate and she is legally ours, we will set up a meet and greet (otherwise known as a baby shower).
Harry Potter Fans...
For those of you who love Harry Potter, this is something that our friends daughter found. I have watched it twice. Stupid humor makes me laugh. I think with all the Hell that is going on in the world, we need stupid things toi get us through. Well I hope you enjoy:
Potter Puppet Pals in "The Mysterious Ticking Noise"
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Fox News...
I wanted to tell you about something pretty outrageous.
Fox News convinced the Democratic Party to let Fox host a nationally-televised Democratic presidential primary debate this summer in Nevada!
But Fox isn't even a legitimate news channel! It's a right-wing mouthpiece like Rush Limbaugh—dedicated to smearing Democrats. (Recently, Fox falsely claimed Sen. Barack Obama attended a terrorist school!)
There's a growing backlash of people demanding that Democrats drop Fox. Can you help out by signing this petition to the Democratic Party of Nevada? It's really easy—just click this link:
http://civic.moveon.org/foxdebate/?referring_id=-7978432-NiyPvP&taf=1
Below is the attacks on Barack Obama.Monday, February 5, 2007
Snickers' Homophobia...
If you missed the Super Bowl last night, you may not have seen the Snickers ad that ran. From Towelroad:
It was inevitable there was going to be one lame gay joke during the Super Bowl commercials. I'm just shocked that it didn't have anything to do with Brokeback Mountain.
I wasn't too offended by the commercial itself, mainly because it makes the mechanics out to be social Neanderthals. However, take a look at the Snickers site, which features four versions of the commercial with different endings, along with players from the Colts and the Bears reacting to the commercials.
Here's the real stinker, the "Extras" at the bottom of the page. If you want to know why a football player in the NFL might be hesitant to come out of the closet, take a look at the players' reactions to the kiss. Shame on Snickers for promoting homophobia in professional sports. These are 'role models', folks!
Bears Tight End Desmond Clark: "Did they actually have to kiss like that? I hope they got paid a lot of money to do that."
I have written a letter to the Snickers company telling of my disgust. Below is that letter. If you find this as upsetting, I ask that you send a letter to the company as well. Here is their website: http://www.snickers.com/contact.asp
My letter:
In this day and age I find it morally incomprehensible that a company such as yours will allow homophobia to run rampant on your website, not to mention that when your marketing department did their research, being homophobic is key to selling our candy bars. Then to have a couple of players that show their disgust for something that I find natural baffles me. If your marketing department has not done their after Super Bowl research, you might want to check and see how many people are upset with the way your throw our lifestyle around. You may also feel that we, as gay men and women, are not important enough to your company and for that I am sorry.
If you had made fun of African Americans, Jews, Asians, or Muslims and then had someone sitting around looking disgusted by what they saw would be uncalled for and then rejected by your company. Then you take it further by airing their comments such as the comment by Bears Tight End Desmond Clark, "Did they actually have to kiss like that? I hope they got paid a lot of money to do that." How do you think it makes me feel when I hear something like that? How do you think it makes all the kids who are homosexual that have committed suicide because people feel it is alright to laugh at them and hurt them.
The gay myth that homosexuals don’t play, like, or attend sporting events is a good reason to rethink your stance. Young adults, gay or straight, look up to athletes. When these young people see their “roll models” laughing with disgust at their lifestyle, you get a certain rejection that can affect a life in such a drastic way. If you don’t believe this to be true, why did Nike sell so many shoes by using athletes as their spokesperson?
Studies have shown consistently high rates of suicide attempts by homosexual youths. Then we also have to look at “gay violence” and hate crimes. How can anyone forget Matthew Wayne Shepard who was robbed, severely beaten, tied to a fence and left to die? The reason for this was the fact he was gay. The mentality that Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, the killers, had was nothing more than homophobic bigotry.
This is the same mentality that your website is producing. It’s fun to laugh in disgust of other people’s lives. Snickers need to ask itself if this is the image that you want to project? Is this how you want people to see you? Why is hatred OK with one group of people while others cannot be touched? It should be that no group of people should ever be made fun of. We are a country that was founded on freedoms, Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. How can we be happy if the industry is creating hate filled people who only want to see us gone like Mathew Shepard?
I would like to see the website retooled or what is on there taken down. I am wondering how many gay employees work for Snickers and if they feel comfortable being out or do they feel they need to keep their personal life private for fear of retaliation from a bigoted company. Do they feel that working for a company that sees them as nothing but a joke is a good thing?
I am refusing to buy anymore of your product and have emailed everyone I know to let them know what type of homophobic company you truly are.
It was inevitable there was going to be one lame gay joke during the Super Bowl commercials. I'm just shocked that it didn't have anything to do with Brokeback Mountain.
I wasn't too offended by the commercial itself, mainly because it makes the mechanics out to be social Neanderthals. However, take a look at the Snickers site, which features four versions of the commercial with different endings, along with players from the Colts and the Bears reacting to the commercials.
Here's the real stinker, the "Extras" at the bottom of the page. If you want to know why a football player in the NFL might be hesitant to come out of the closet, take a look at the players' reactions to the kiss. Shame on Snickers for promoting homophobia in professional sports. These are 'role models', folks!
Bears Tight End Desmond Clark: "Did they actually have to kiss like that? I hope they got paid a lot of money to do that."
I have written a letter to the Snickers company telling of my disgust. Below is that letter. If you find this as upsetting, I ask that you send a letter to the company as well. Here is their website: http://www.snickers.com/contact.asp
My letter:
In this day and age I find it morally incomprehensible that a company such as yours will allow homophobia to run rampant on your website, not to mention that when your marketing department did their research, being homophobic is key to selling our candy bars. Then to have a couple of players that show their disgust for something that I find natural baffles me. If your marketing department has not done their after Super Bowl research, you might want to check and see how many people are upset with the way your throw our lifestyle around. You may also feel that we, as gay men and women, are not important enough to your company and for that I am sorry.
If you had made fun of African Americans, Jews, Asians, or Muslims and then had someone sitting around looking disgusted by what they saw would be uncalled for and then rejected by your company. Then you take it further by airing their comments such as the comment by Bears Tight End Desmond Clark, "Did they actually have to kiss like that? I hope they got paid a lot of money to do that." How do you think it makes me feel when I hear something like that? How do you think it makes all the kids who are homosexual that have committed suicide because people feel it is alright to laugh at them and hurt them.
The gay myth that homosexuals don’t play, like, or attend sporting events is a good reason to rethink your stance. Young adults, gay or straight, look up to athletes. When these young people see their “roll models” laughing with disgust at their lifestyle, you get a certain rejection that can affect a life in such a drastic way. If you don’t believe this to be true, why did Nike sell so many shoes by using athletes as their spokesperson?
Studies have shown consistently high rates of suicide attempts by homosexual youths. Then we also have to look at “gay violence” and hate crimes. How can anyone forget Matthew Wayne Shepard who was robbed, severely beaten, tied to a fence and left to die? The reason for this was the fact he was gay. The mentality that Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, the killers, had was nothing more than homophobic bigotry.
This is the same mentality that your website is producing. It’s fun to laugh in disgust of other people’s lives. Snickers need to ask itself if this is the image that you want to project? Is this how you want people to see you? Why is hatred OK with one group of people while others cannot be touched? It should be that no group of people should ever be made fun of. We are a country that was founded on freedoms, Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. How can we be happy if the industry is creating hate filled people who only want to see us gone like Mathew Shepard?
I would like to see the website retooled or what is on there taken down. I am wondering how many gay employees work for Snickers and if they feel comfortable being out or do they feel they need to keep their personal life private for fear of retaliation from a bigoted company. Do they feel that working for a company that sees them as nothing but a joke is a good thing?
I am refusing to buy anymore of your product and have emailed everyone I know to let them know what type of homophobic company you truly are.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Man Down...
There was an article in January 29th New York Times. It is a story that we don't hear enough from the Iraqi War. This is a heart breaking story of a man who was shot while trying to help the Iraqi's take back their country. The country that we so violently raped. While reading, pay close attention near the end on how the Iraqi soldiers behave. After reading this article, ask yourself again why we are there. We have spent more than $362,150,916,304 on this clusterf@#k. We are now sending more men and women to die for our just cause. When will this President realize that he made a terrible mistake, admit to it and get us out of this mess. We have lost more than 3080 soldiers (this has toppled the attacks on the World Trade Centers) and more than 655,000 Iraqi civilians have died. The people that support this asshole keep telling yourself its the right thing to do.
Here is the story:
Man Down, When One Bullet Alters Everything
Here is the story:
Man Down, When One Bullet Alters Everything
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Car Chase & Arrest...
On Saturday January 6, 2007, as we were heading down to see Mark’s mother, somewhere between White River Junction and Springfield, two Acuras passed us on the left hand side. We were traveling around 70 miles and hour. The first car was a light metallic (possibly green/grey). The car following it was a black. Both had spoilers on them.
When they passed us, the lighter car moved into the right lane. The black car moved to its side and they started to drive side by side for a while – one in the left lane and one in the right lane. Then the two Acuras began to slow their speed together. We had to slow as well. The car in the left lane (black) looked like he was going to pass the lighter colored car, so we moved over to the left lane indicating that we wanted to pass as well.
While we were in the left lane (with about 2 car lengths between us and the black car), both cars began to get slower. They came down to around 60mph. Something didn’t seem right so I called 911 to let them know what was happening.
Since neither car was allowing anyone to pass and there was standing water on the road, we backed off more. We had about 2 car lengths between the black car and us when, before we could move to the right lane, a light colored sedan with New York plates passed us on the right and moved to the left to cut us off. This sedan started to tailgate the black car. We could see the break lights of all three cars going on and off. The Acuras refused to let the sedan pass.
The sedan was swerving from the left lane to the right lane trying to find any opening it could. At one point the sedan thought he could pass between the two cars (in the middle), but the Acuras closed in not allowing the sedan in between them. At no time were either the Acuras or the sedan using their signals to change lanes. Remember we are traveling around 60mph.
As this started to escalate, we backed off more. The roads were still wet and with the three cars in front of us, water was shooting off the road. We were certain that an accident was going to happen. I told Mark to pull over and let them move on. I felt that there was going to be an accident.
Before we could move over, we came to an entrance ramp where the sedan thought it could pass. From the left lane he swerved all the way over to the on ramp on the right (lucky no one was entering) and passed the lighter Acura and then sped up. The lighter Acura then swerved to the on ramp, sped up and passed the sedan and then slowed down. The black car moved in behind the sedan. All three cars were traveling down the highway swerving from one lane to another and sometimes going on the shoulder. The sedan somehow got out of the sandwich and made a break for it. All three cars took off at a high rate of speed and were soon out of our vision. We were sure they were going about 100mph.
A few minutes later we came over a rise and saw all three cars in the distance but then they were out of sight again. We traveled along thinking how these people never get caught and we started to get pissed. Then we came around a corner and sitting on the side of the road was all three cars with the state trooper. A little while later I got a call from the state trooper asking me what happened. From what I understand they were all arrested and Mark and I had to write up depositions about the event. Have not heard anything since.
The two Acuras were clearly working with each other. All three vehicles were being driven in a manor that could have endangered our lives and those of other divers on the highway. There was a time that I feared so much for my safety that I wanted Mark to pull over and let them get far ahead of us.
When they passed us, the lighter car moved into the right lane. The black car moved to its side and they started to drive side by side for a while – one in the left lane and one in the right lane. Then the two Acuras began to slow their speed together. We had to slow as well. The car in the left lane (black) looked like he was going to pass the lighter colored car, so we moved over to the left lane indicating that we wanted to pass as well.
While we were in the left lane (with about 2 car lengths between us and the black car), both cars began to get slower. They came down to around 60mph. Something didn’t seem right so I called 911 to let them know what was happening.
Since neither car was allowing anyone to pass and there was standing water on the road, we backed off more. We had about 2 car lengths between the black car and us when, before we could move to the right lane, a light colored sedan with New York plates passed us on the right and moved to the left to cut us off. This sedan started to tailgate the black car. We could see the break lights of all three cars going on and off. The Acuras refused to let the sedan pass.
The sedan was swerving from the left lane to the right lane trying to find any opening it could. At one point the sedan thought he could pass between the two cars (in the middle), but the Acuras closed in not allowing the sedan in between them. At no time were either the Acuras or the sedan using their signals to change lanes. Remember we are traveling around 60mph.
As this started to escalate, we backed off more. The roads were still wet and with the three cars in front of us, water was shooting off the road. We were certain that an accident was going to happen. I told Mark to pull over and let them move on. I felt that there was going to be an accident.
Before we could move over, we came to an entrance ramp where the sedan thought it could pass. From the left lane he swerved all the way over to the on ramp on the right (lucky no one was entering) and passed the lighter Acura and then sped up. The lighter Acura then swerved to the on ramp, sped up and passed the sedan and then slowed down. The black car moved in behind the sedan. All three cars were traveling down the highway swerving from one lane to another and sometimes going on the shoulder. The sedan somehow got out of the sandwich and made a break for it. All three cars took off at a high rate of speed and were soon out of our vision. We were sure they were going about 100mph.
A few minutes later we came over a rise and saw all three cars in the distance but then they were out of sight again. We traveled along thinking how these people never get caught and we started to get pissed. Then we came around a corner and sitting on the side of the road was all three cars with the state trooper. A little while later I got a call from the state trooper asking me what happened. From what I understand they were all arrested and Mark and I had to write up depositions about the event. Have not heard anything since.
The two Acuras were clearly working with each other. All three vehicles were being driven in a manor that could have endangered our lives and those of other divers on the highway. There was a time that I feared so much for my safety that I wanted Mark to pull over and let them get far ahead of us.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Don't Ask, I'll Tell...
It has been reported in Stars and Strips that 1 in 4 servicemen know of a gay or lesbian serviceman is in their unit. As the article says, this shows that the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy isn't working. Gays and lesbians are not allowed to tell anyone of their sexual orientation. Britain and Israel allow gays to serve side by side in their military. Why can’t the American government see that we are people too? We have families, we pay taxes, and we love and care for the people in our lives. We want to defend our country, but our government has decided that if gays are acknowledged the world will end. Take note of my previous posting about My Rights… I have a list of all the countries that allow gays to live life. Not hide the life they live.
The military wants to fight what they are calling the war on terror. I have a different explanation, but that is for later. So the war on terror needs people who can translate Arabic. There are few people who can do this much-needed job. Since a lot of the Arabic translators are gay, the government who wants to protect us tosses these people out of the service because they will not live a lie. Tell me that this is truly a government for the people. Tell me they want to protect us, me. If this is true, why are they putting us in harms way with pettiness concerning gays?In the U.K. they are looking for gay servicemen. The Navy has put a recruitment advertisement in one of the gay and lesbian paper. Why is it that the world power (according to some) has problems that other civilized countries don't seem to have? I think in George W's head that gayness is still a mental disease. If this is so, I wonder what people would call his disease - oh yeah cocaine addict and alcoholic, but its all OK that he has found god!
Read the complete article from Stars and Strips.
Read about Gay Linguist.
Royal Navy Searching for Gay Recruits
Home Study...
A home study can take anywhere from 3-6 months – depending on many factors. Our home study consisted of two visits our social worker. There is a minimum of two visits, but could go to many more if the social worker felt she needed them. The first visit we had been at the adoption agency. The second was at our home where the social worker could see our home, our neighborhood, and tell us of any dangers that they feel needs to be fixed.
Since Mark and I were ready to go forward with the adoption, we set up a meeting while we were at the “Get Acquainted Weekend”. We took home some papers that we had to fill out. They consisted of various questions that pertained to our past (any problems, concerns, arrest), both of our family’s history (any abuse, substance abuse, and how we got along with them), and what we were doing today and how we plan on raising our child. The first part of our first interview deals with Mark and I as a couple. Did Mark know everything about me and vise versa. How we felt about each other and what problems we foresee with adopting.
The first part of the first meeting lasted about and hour and then she separated us. We each had to talk with our social worker on an individual basis, which lasted around an hour each. She asked us questions about our family life, home life, how we felt about the other and what kind of parent we felt we would make. She also asked how we felt about the other’s parenting abilities. Mark and I had no concerns about any of this. We have talked many hours about our concerns, problems we would/may face and how we see each other as a parent.
The second meeting was at our home. The agency is not doing a white glove test (thank god – we would never pass with four animals); they want to check out the home you intend to share with this new life. This meeting lasted about two hours. She looked checked out every room as well as the yard. Then she sat and talked with us again. We went over everything that we talked about during the first meeting. She did tell us that we needed to fix some things in the house and outside. She thanked us and told us that she needed to write it up and she would send it to us to proof and we should be done.
This all happened in May and June. We got the report from her sometime in the fall and yes we did request it from her many times. When we got it both Mark and I sat down and read it over the weekend. We emailed it back to her and waited. And waited. And waited. Around November we finally got the final Home Study (with some mistakes – grammar), but we had it. We gave the OK and sent it back. The next step on this ride was waiting for our social worker to get nine copies notarized and three sent back to us.
Why three you may ask. Well there are some states (around 45) that will not recognize Mark and my relationship. They will only adopt to married couples. Even though Mark and I have a civil union in Vermont, these states don’t see us as a couple. We would not be allowed to adopt together. So there are three Home Studies, Mark’s, mine and ours.
We redacted all three and sent them to the agency for our files. These redacted copies will be given to the birth mother and her lawyers if requested. So all together our home study took more than eight months. So with our home study done, we are now ready to go live – Nope, not just yet. We need to do our profile.
Since Mark and I were ready to go forward with the adoption, we set up a meeting while we were at the “Get Acquainted Weekend”. We took home some papers that we had to fill out. They consisted of various questions that pertained to our past (any problems, concerns, arrest), both of our family’s history (any abuse, substance abuse, and how we got along with them), and what we were doing today and how we plan on raising our child. The first part of our first interview deals with Mark and I as a couple. Did Mark know everything about me and vise versa. How we felt about each other and what problems we foresee with adopting.
The first part of the first meeting lasted about and hour and then she separated us. We each had to talk with our social worker on an individual basis, which lasted around an hour each. She asked us questions about our family life, home life, how we felt about the other and what kind of parent we felt we would make. She also asked how we felt about the other’s parenting abilities. Mark and I had no concerns about any of this. We have talked many hours about our concerns, problems we would/may face and how we see each other as a parent.
The second meeting was at our home. The agency is not doing a white glove test (thank god – we would never pass with four animals); they want to check out the home you intend to share with this new life. This meeting lasted about two hours. She looked checked out every room as well as the yard. Then she sat and talked with us again. We went over everything that we talked about during the first meeting. She did tell us that we needed to fix some things in the house and outside. She thanked us and told us that she needed to write it up and she would send it to us to proof and we should be done.
This all happened in May and June. We got the report from her sometime in the fall and yes we did request it from her many times. When we got it both Mark and I sat down and read it over the weekend. We emailed it back to her and waited. And waited. And waited. Around November we finally got the final Home Study (with some mistakes – grammar), but we had it. We gave the OK and sent it back. The next step on this ride was waiting for our social worker to get nine copies notarized and three sent back to us.
Why three you may ask. Well there are some states (around 45) that will not recognize Mark and my relationship. They will only adopt to married couples. Even though Mark and I have a civil union in Vermont, these states don’t see us as a couple. We would not be allowed to adopt together. So there are three Home Studies, Mark’s, mine and ours.
We redacted all three and sent them to the agency for our files. These redacted copies will be given to the birth mother and her lawyers if requested. So all together our home study took more than eight months. So with our home study done, we are now ready to go live – Nope, not just yet. We need to do our profile.
Back...
Things have gotten out of hand here and I have not been able to post as often as I would have liked. We went to Michigan for Christmas and New Years. This was wonderful. Got to see my family and talk about the adoption with them. They all had questions that I was excited to answer. They all gave us wishes of good luck.
Then i got sick. I am blaming this on my nephew. He had the sniffles and decided that he wanted to share his little cold with me. I was doing fine with the cold until we started to head back home. Oh I forgot - seventeen hours to get to my family SEVENTEEN!!! So we decided to stay with some friends who live in Ohio and cut off at least five hours from our trip. When we got back home my body decided that it had had enough and my system just crashed. Major head cold that then went into my chest. This is when Mark loves me all the more because I cough and cough and cough. Nothing seems to help. We got home on Tuesday and I start to rest.
Like I said my body crashes and starts to take care of itself. I am starting to feel better and then Saturday morning comes and we head down to see Mark's mother. Another trip n the car (three hours this time) and a new place. The trip to his mother's gave us another story, which will be later. So I am feeling better at Mark's moms house and then on Sunday we head back home. When I get here I crash again, but I have school, laundry, the dogs and many other things that I didn't do.
Mark was wonderful. He took good care of me and this is how I know that he will make a great father. His concern has been for my health and he took on all the responsibilities. He made me dinner and cleaned up as well as making sure I ate healthy food. He made tea for me, which is a new interest for him (I will comment on this later).
Then we got a grinder. We feed our dogs raw food. I will talk about this later as well. The grinder weighs around 80lbs and I think I pulled something in my back. With all the sitting while driving for those many hours, I think my back decided that it needed a rest as well. So for almost three weeks I have had severe back pain. I was unable to sit in my seat at the computer for very long. I was only able to get school work done and then would have to lie down to relax my back. So not much time to keep this updated, until now.
Then i got sick. I am blaming this on my nephew. He had the sniffles and decided that he wanted to share his little cold with me. I was doing fine with the cold until we started to head back home. Oh I forgot - seventeen hours to get to my family SEVENTEEN!!! So we decided to stay with some friends who live in Ohio and cut off at least five hours from our trip. When we got back home my body decided that it had had enough and my system just crashed. Major head cold that then went into my chest. This is when Mark loves me all the more because I cough and cough and cough. Nothing seems to help. We got home on Tuesday and I start to rest.
Like I said my body crashes and starts to take care of itself. I am starting to feel better and then Saturday morning comes and we head down to see Mark's mother. Another trip n the car (three hours this time) and a new place. The trip to his mother's gave us another story, which will be later. So I am feeling better at Mark's moms house and then on Sunday we head back home. When I get here I crash again, but I have school, laundry, the dogs and many other things that I didn't do.
Mark was wonderful. He took good care of me and this is how I know that he will make a great father. His concern has been for my health and he took on all the responsibilities. He made me dinner and cleaned up as well as making sure I ate healthy food. He made tea for me, which is a new interest for him (I will comment on this later).
Then we got a grinder. We feed our dogs raw food. I will talk about this later as well. The grinder weighs around 80lbs and I think I pulled something in my back. With all the sitting while driving for those many hours, I think my back decided that it needed a rest as well. So for almost three weeks I have had severe back pain. I was unable to sit in my seat at the computer for very long. I was only able to get school work done and then would have to lie down to relax my back. So not much time to keep this updated, until now.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Bailey...
We need to sing praise today sine it is Bailey’s birthday. She turns three today. She is our big little girl. Even though she has the manners of a doll, she is in league with Phoebe for the top position of our little pack.When I first saw bailey she was sitting behind the chain-link cage at the humane society. I had just lost Jules (who needed to be put down at the age of 12) and I was just starting my new job as “kennel help”. I had told myself that I was going to be fine dealing with all the homeless animals that I would be seeing on a daily basis. Little did I know that one would steal my heart!
I didn’t think I was, but when I saw this little bundle of fur sitting there looking at me while her brothers and sisters were all around her playing I knew that I had to take her home. She was one of a litter of six and one of two that were yellow. Her mom was a pure black lab (she was in the shelter as well) and didn’t have the best demeanor.
On a daily basis, I would go over to the cage, bend down and get my little puppy kisses from her. I would open the door and pick her up, holding her to my chest and taking in the smell of poop. Any other place the smell of a puppy would have been the best, but have you ever been in a shelter with puppies? Poop is everywhere and they have no concept of what they are walking through.
The “new own
er” had put her name on this little one. At Central Vermont Humane Society, they do temperament test to find out what type of home each dog should go in to (if at all). When Bailey’s test was done, we called the prospective adoptive mother to come down and we could talk with her. There were still two other pups from the same litter that had not been adopted as of yet. We told the possible adopter that Bailey would be a very hard dog to train. She was going to be a handful. This is what they believed at the time.She asked to see all three possible pups that were from the same litter. We sectioned off an area for her to play with them and I left for a while. When I came back I asked her if she was still interested in the longed haired yellow one. She had no idea of how I felt. My heart was beating a mile a minute. I know I had to be shaking, but I was still trying to keep my composure. She grabbed Bailey and handed her to me and said, “If she is going to be hard to train, then I am not ready for her.” I grasped Bailey to my chest and headed up stairs and told my boss, “She’s mine. I want to adopt her!!”
I was out of work by 4 p.m. that night and headed home with the little one sitting on the passenger seat (which is the only place she wants to be when we are driving) looking at me. I still had not told Mark what I had done, but I wasn’t worried. I knew all would be well. Then again I forgot about Eva. We almost lost Bailey that night because Eva was being her dominant self. She didn’t want anything to do with this new little menace in HER house. I didn’t know dog behavior at this time so I was in fear for Bailey’s life. Eva growled (never heard that before), bit at, and tried to get rid of her.
I called and left a message for Mark at work. I was taking this puppy back to the shelter. Luckily I took the cell phone because Mark called when I was pulling into the shelter parking lot. He told me I had better not take the puppy back and that Eva will get over it. She was just being Eva. Mark talked to me for a while and I felt better so I headed home. Now she is celebrating her third birthday!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAILEY!!!!
Monday, January 8, 2007
My Rights...
My parents keep trying to get me to move back to Michigan and be near them, but over many months I have been shinning a little light on what Michigan holds for two gay people and their (soon to be) adopted child. Many people don’t seem to understand that the only places we fill comfortable in is in the North East. In Vermont, we have a civil union (as close as we can get to a marriage). This civil union allows for certain things in Vermont, but not in other parts of the country. As of this moment there are only a handful of states that will allow Mark and myself to be who we are.
Vermont allows us to have a civil union. Since 2004, Massachusetts allowed same sex people to marry, but that is in question now. The lawmakers are trying to overturn a law that allowed more than 8,000 people to get married. Imagine if one day all the married people who have been paying taxes and working for a living, caring for their children or spouses, or planning on getting married were told that what they have is no longer legal. It amazes me that people are so caught up in the “gay” thing that they can’t see good or bad any longer.
We are supposed to be the most advanced country in the world (which I feel is falling slowly), but lets look at other countries that have not fallen of the face of the Earth or exploded because gay people have rights. Here is a list of countries/states currently allowing same-sex registered partnerships / civil unions.
• Denmark, 1989.
• Norway, 1996.
• Sweden, 1996.
• Iceland, 1996.
• France, 1999.
• Vermont, USA, 2000.
• Germany, 2001.
• Finland, 2002.
• Luxembourg, 2004.
• New Zealand, 2004.
• Connecticut, USA, 2005.
• Britain, 2005.
Here is a list of countries/states that allow same-sex marriage – and again they have not fallen into ruin.
• The Netherlands, 2001.
• Belgium, 2003.
• Massachusetts, USA, 2004.
• Canada, 2005.
• Spain, 2005.
• Peru, 2006
So now Mark and I are planning on bringing a baby into our lives. We have so much love to give and the Christian Right (who claim love) seem to have so much hate. What are we doing wrong? Nothing! We are living our lives for each other and making the best of what we have. Why can’t we have the same right that all committed people have?
Did you know when Mark and I adopt in Vermont we are both on the birth certificate, but not all states recognize this “official” form. We were told that if we travel with our child through any states that we should have our paperwork with us. In the mind of most people from the conservative states, why would two men be traveling with a child? They could detain us and possibly take the child away. Here is a taste from Oklahoma: “In a federal lawsuit, Lambda Legal sought to overturn an Oklahoma law so extreme that it left children adopted by same-sex couples in other states orphans in the eyes of the law when the families are in the state of Oklahoma.” This is what we are up against.
Vermont allows us to have a civil union. Since 2004, Massachusetts allowed same sex people to marry, but that is in question now. The lawmakers are trying to overturn a law that allowed more than 8,000 people to get married. Imagine if one day all the married people who have been paying taxes and working for a living, caring for their children or spouses, or planning on getting married were told that what they have is no longer legal. It amazes me that people are so caught up in the “gay” thing that they can’t see good or bad any longer.
We are supposed to be the most advanced country in the world (which I feel is falling slowly), but lets look at other countries that have not fallen of the face of the Earth or exploded because gay people have rights. Here is a list of countries/states currently allowing same-sex registered partnerships / civil unions.
• Denmark, 1989.
• Norway, 1996.
• Sweden, 1996.
• Iceland, 1996.
• France, 1999.
• Vermont, USA, 2000.
• Germany, 2001.
• Finland, 2002.
• Luxembourg, 2004.
• New Zealand, 2004.
• Connecticut, USA, 2005.
• Britain, 2005.
Here is a list of countries/states that allow same-sex marriage – and again they have not fallen into ruin.
• The Netherlands, 2001.
• Belgium, 2003.
• Massachusetts, USA, 2004.
• Canada, 2005.
• Spain, 2005.
• Peru, 2006
So now Mark and I are planning on bringing a baby into our lives. We have so much love to give and the Christian Right (who claim love) seem to have so much hate. What are we doing wrong? Nothing! We are living our lives for each other and making the best of what we have. Why can’t we have the same right that all committed people have?
Did you know when Mark and I adopt in Vermont we are both on the birth certificate, but not all states recognize this “official” form. We were told that if we travel with our child through any states that we should have our paperwork with us. In the mind of most people from the conservative states, why would two men be traveling with a child? They could detain us and possibly take the child away. Here is a taste from Oklahoma: “In a federal lawsuit, Lambda Legal sought to overturn an Oklahoma law so extreme that it left children adopted by same-sex couples in other states orphans in the eyes of the law when the families are in the state of Oklahoma.” This is what we are up against.
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