Pink Floyd, on "The Wall" CD, played the following song:
"Goodbye cruel world,
I'm leaving you to-day.
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
Goodby all you people,
There's nothing you can say,
To make me change my mind,
Goodbye...."
So I bid farewell to Tblog and all the interesting people that hang out here ...
Goodbye!
My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: "Just wait until your father gets home."
My Mother taught me about RECEIVING:. "You are going to get it when we get home!"
My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE: "What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you...Don't talk back to me!"
My Mother taught me LOGIC: "Because I said so, that's why." & "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE: "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."
My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD: "If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job."
My Mother taught me ESP: "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you're cold?"
My Mother taught me HUMOR: "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT: "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
My Mother taught me about SEX: "How do you think you got here?"
My Mother taught me about GENETICS: "You're just like your father."
My Mother taught me about my ROOTS: "Do you think you were born in a barn?"
My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE: "When you get to be my age, you will understand."
My Mother taught me about JUSTICE: "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you'll see what it's like."
My mother taught me RELIGION: "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
My mother taught me FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
My mother taught me IRONY: "Keep crying and I'll *give* you something to cry about."
My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS: "Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"
My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM: "Will you *look* at the dirt on the back of your neck!"
My mother taught me about STAMINA: "You'll sit there until all that spinach is finished."
My mother taught me about WEATHER: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."
My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS: "If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you, would you listen then?"
My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY: "If I've told you once, I've told you a million times: Don't Exaggerate!!!"
My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: "Stop acting like your father!"
My mother taught me about ENVY: "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"
My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: "Just wait until your father gets home."
My Mother taught me about RECEIVING:. "You are going to get it when we get home!"
My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE: "What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you...Don't talk back to me!"
My Mother taught me LOGIC: "Because I said so, that's why." & "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE: "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."
My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD: "If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job."
My Mother taught me ESP: "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you're cold?"
My Mother taught me HUMOR: "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT: "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
My Mother taught me about SEX: "How do you think you got here?"
My Mother taught me about GENETICS: "You're just like your father."
My Mother taught me about my ROOTS: "Do you think you were born in a barn?"
My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE: "When you get to be my age, you will understand."
My Mother taught me about JUSTICE: "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you'll see what it's like."
My mother taught me RELIGION: "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
My mother taught me FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
My mother taught me IRONY: "Keep crying and I'll *give* you something to cry about."
My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS: "Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"
My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM: "Will you *look* at the dirt on the back of your neck!"
My mother taught me about STAMINA: "You'll sit there until all that spinach is finished."
My mother taught me about WEATHER: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."
My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS: "If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you, would you listen then?"
My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY: "If I've told you once, I've told you a million times: Don't Exaggerate!!!"
My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: "Stop acting like your father!"
My mother taught me about ENVY: "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"
My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: "Just wait until your father gets home."
My Mother taught me about RECEIVING:. "You are going to get it when we get home!"
My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE: "What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you...Don't talk back to me!"
My Mother taught me LOGIC: "Because I said so, that's why." & "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE: "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."
My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD: "If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job."
My Mother taught me ESP: "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you're cold?"
My Mother taught me HUMOR: "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT: "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
My Mother taught me about SEX: "How do you think you got here?"
My Mother taught me about GENETICS: "You're just like your father."
My Mother taught me about my ROOTS: "Do you think you were born in a barn?"
My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE: "When you get to be my age, you will understand."
My Mother taught me about JUSTICE: "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you'll see what it's like."
My mother taught me RELIGION: "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
My mother taught me FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
My mother taught me IRONY: "Keep crying and I'll *give* you something to cry about."
My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS: "Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"
My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM: "Will you *look* at the dirt on the back of your neck!"
My mother taught me about STAMINA: "You'll sit there until all that spinach is finished."
My mother taught me about WEATHER: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."
My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS: "If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you, would you listen then?"
My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY: "If I've told you once, I've told you a million times: Don't Exaggerate!!!"
My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: "Stop acting like your father!"
My mother taught me about ENVY: "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"
The following arrived in my email inbox this morning. The sender did not source this material so I cannot determine the accuracy of the information it contains. In his political life John Glenn has been somewhat of a liberal Democrat, so some of the remarks below seem unlikely to be his. For what's it worth, here is the message:
JOHN GLENN - WELL SAID Things that make you think a little.
1. There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq during the month of January.....
In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January.
That's just one American city, about as deadly as the entire war torn country of Iraq.
2. When some claim President Bush shouldn't have started this war, state the following:
FDR...led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us: Japan did.
From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per year.
Truman...finished that war and started one in Korea, North Korea never attacked us.
From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of 18,334 per year.
John F. Kennedy. .started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us.
Johnson...turned Vietnam into a quagmire.
From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 per year.
Clinton...went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent, Bosnia never attacked us.
He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing.
Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.
3. In the two years since terrorists attacked us:
President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.
The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking, but...It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation.
We've been looking for evidence of chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.
It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick killing a woman.
Wait, there's more....................:
Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the armed services do what they do for a living. This is a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of our military.
JOHN GLENN ON THE SENATE FLOOR:
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 11:13
Senator Howard Metzenbaum to Senator Glenn: "How can you run for Senate when you've never held a real job?"
Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program.
It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank. I ask you to go with me ... as I went the other day... to a veteran's hospital and look those men - with their mangled bodies - in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job!
You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee... and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their Dads didn't hold a job.
You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags.
You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job? I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum; you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men - SOME MEN - who held REAL jobs. And they required a dedication to a purpose - and a love of country and a dedication to duty - that was more important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what made this country possible.
I HAVE held a job, Howard! What about you?"
For those who don't remember - During W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA.
If you can read this, thank a teacher.... If you are reading it in English thank a Veteran.
ARE YOU A PARENT? TAKE THE QUIZ TO BE SURE! by Tim Bete
You might ask, "Isn't it obvious if you're a parent? You know if you have kids, don't you?"
That's an excellent observation since most moms and many dads were present at the birth of their children. I have a faint recollection of sitting next to a hospital bed in which my wife had complete authority over the television remote control for 18 straight hours and I was forced to beg her to turn back to Little House on the Prairie so I could see if Michael Landon saved the neighbor girl who had fallen into a well. I even have a videotape of the experience. The episode of Little House, not the birth.
But, in my estimation, 98 percent of parents forget they have children. If you don't believe me, just look at the kids raiding the candy bin at the local grocery store checkout and the adults pretending those kids are someone else's progeny. My quiz will help jog your memory.
The Catholic church made a great choice by elevating Cardinal Ratzinger to Pope. Anyone the liberals seem to hate so much must be an excellent choice! I wondered how long it would take for the mainstream media to associate Benedict XVI with Nazi Germany ... From the Ratzinger Fan Club web page (Their web site appears to be down at the moment):
Was Cardinal Ratzinger a Nazi?
Good grief. No, Virginia, Cardinal Ratzinger was not a Nazi.
The Ratzinger Fan Club normally doesn't indulge in the muck and mire of such rumors, but you'd be suprised how many people write inquiring about this malicious rumor.
The story that Ratzinger was a member of the Hitler Youth is true. It's a biographical fact that seems to have circulated on many a mailing list, and seems to surface at precisely opportune times when the Prefect finds himself in the media's spotlight. From the way it has been presented, one might assume this is one of those skeletons the Cardinal keeps tucked away in his closet (next to his executioner's axe and the token heads of Hans Kung, Matthew Fox, Leonardo Boff & Charles Curran).
The truth is that as Ratzinger mentions himself in Milestones: Memoirs: 1927 - 1977, he and his brother George were both enrolled in the Hitler Youth (at a time when membership was compulsory), and discusses family life under the Third Reich in chapters 2-4 of his autobiography.
Likewise, John Allen Jr., journalist for the National Catholic Reporter and author of 2002's biography of the Cardinal The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith, -- supplies the historical details sorely lacking in one of his many articles on the Cardinal:
As a seminarian, he was briefly enrolled in the Hitler Youth in the early 1940s, though he was never a member of the Nazi party. In 1943 he was conscripted into an antiaircraft unit guarding a BMW plant outside Munich. Later Ratzinger was sent to Austria's border with Hungary to erect tank traps. After being shipped back to Bavaria, he deserted. When the war ended, he was an American prisoner of war.
Under Hitler, Ratzinger says he watched the Nazis twist and distort the truth. Their lies about Jews, about genetics, were more than academic exercises. People died by the millions because of them. The church's service to society, Ratzinger concluded, is to stand for absolute truths that function as boundary markers: Move about within these limits, but outside them lies disaster.
Later reflection on the Nazi experience also left Ratzinger with a conviction that theology must either bind itself to the church, with its creed and teaching authority, or it becomes the plaything of outside forces -- the state in a totalitarian system or secular culture in Western liberal democracies. In a widely noted 1986 lecture in Toronto, Ratzinger put it this way: "A church without theology impoverishes and blinds, while a churchless theology melts away into caprice."
The Seattle Times reports on the latest goings-on in the Washington state Legislature in Olympia:
House Democrats yesterday cleared the way for tax increases by passing a bill that would let lawmakers raise taxes with a majority vote instead of the two-thirds vote now required.
Senate Bill 6078 would suspend part of Initiative 601, the spending-limit measure Washington voters approved in 1993, and make it possible for Democratic [sic] majorities in the state House and Senate to raise taxes without Republicans going along. It passed 50-43, with four Democrats siding with Republicans and voting against it.
Some may see an inconsistency in these Democrats opposing supermajority requirements while favoring the Senate filibuster in the other Washington. But the Washington state supermajority, unlike the U.S. Senate filibuster, was passed by the voters, so the Dems are entirely consistent in opposing democracy.
For those of you looking forward to election 2008, Rasmussen Reports is offering a twice monthly "Hillary Meter". the "hillary meter" is being billed as "a measure of Senator Hillary Clinton's effort to move to the political center.
According to the Rasmussen webpage they will ..."measure her favorability ratings and also find out how many people will definitely vote for her or against her. From time-to-time, we'll test her numbers on a state-by-state basis with a special interest in the marginally red states that a Democrat must win to capture the White House."
Rasmussen's first poll results are up right now. The next polling data update will be posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2005. Rasmussen promises to update twice a month as long as Hillary is a "viable candidate for the White House."
Once you finish looking over Hillary's poll numbers, the Opinion Journal(dot)com has a column by Jay Cost titled Don't Overestimate Hillary. Mr. Cost makes the argument that because everyone thinks Hillary is a brilliant politician, that proves she isn't. I have to agree with Mr. Cost.
Denny's Restaurants have a knack for getting bad publicity. Several years ago they settled a civil rights case that was based on discrimination against African-Americans.
Now, they have moved on to insulting the Border Patrol in Douglas, Az.
According to a report in the Washington Times today the restaurant manager handed a border patrol agent a receipt with the words "Border Ass Whole" printed on it.
Denny's makes the claim that the employee responsible for this was a "rogue" employee and has been fired.
Denny's has apologized to the Border Patrol, but Border Patrol Chief Michael Nicely, who heads the agency's Tucson sector, which includes the 450 agents at the Douglas station, said he was "outraged" by the incident. He said the receipt that was inadvertently given to one of his agents showed "unmitigated gall" by the shift manager, and he personally called Denny's headquarters to complain.
Look for a nation-wide boycott of Denny's by Border Patrol agents.
George Felos's ex-wife, attorney Constance d'Angelis of Dunedin, Fl., is now offering her medical expertise to interpret the anticipated medical examiner's report of Terri Schiavo.
D'Angelis is the former owner of lovinglawsuits(dot)com and the author of "Pancha Karma -- A Life Changing Experience." She aided Felos in the 1998 petition to remove "artificial life support" from Terri Schiavo.
D'Angelis is not a doctor, but she is licensed as an attorney and as a massage therapist. Pamela Hennessy, media coordinator for The Schindler-Schiavo Foundation says of D'Angelis "The former Mrs. Felos is not a doctor, a surgeon, a pathologist or even an orderly. She is a massage therapist. Certainly, she can lend absolutely no analysis or insight into the results of the medical examiner's report. Rather, she can only recant what her former husband suggests as the truth to Terri's condition. Medical analysis is best left to medical practitioners and not lawyers." ("Truth" is a word most lawyers use very loosely. In the legal profession "truth" is usually the last thing any lawyer wants revealed in a court hearing.)
I am sure Ms D'Angelis will do her best to "massage" the results of the autopsy report! Massaging results is what lawyers like her and her ex-husband Georgie Felos do best. They have to "prove" that what they did was right - that Terri Schiavo had no chance of recovery. Otherwise, Georgie won't be able to sell many books about his heroic efforts to murder an innocent woman.
From HealthDay News via Yahoo News Comes this piece of information:
Prisoner executions by lethal injection in the United States may not be painless or humane, and may not even meet veterinary standards for putting down animals.
I've got an idea - Let's have all those convicts facing lethal injections starve to death instead of getting the IV. After all, just last month every major news outlet had medical experts telling us how painless and peaceful it is to starve to death. Just think how much money could be saved by not having to purchase the drugs required for those lethal injections. Taxpayers would also be spared the expense of buying food for prisoners too! It's a win-win situation!
"Thousands of ethicists and bioethicists, as they are called, professionally guide the unthinkable on its passage through the debatable on its way to becoming the justifiable, until it is finally established as the unexceptional." -- Rev. Richard Neuhaus
"One of the most important aspects of the modern system of justice is the respect accorded final determinations of the courts. Even though everyone knows that judges and juries aren't infallible, once the verdict is in, the accused is either innocent or guilty." [Emphasis added]
The author of the column is described as one Robert Lando, who is an attorney in Fairfield [CA] and specializes in real estate law.
Since Mr. Lando specializes in real estate law perhaps his ignorance of criminal law can be forgiven.
A person found not guilty is not necessarily innocent of their particular crime. While the defendant may indeed be innocent, there is also the possibility that the prosecution failed to present a case the jury finds "beyond a resonable doubt" to convict.
One such case was profiled on "Court TV" not long ago. The district attorney appeared to have an airtight case. They had the body, a murder weapon, a motive, and an eyewitness to the event. During deliberations, the jury determined the eyewitness' testimony was self-serving and disregared her entirely. They found the defendant not guilty. Several years later photographs were found that showed the eyewitness testimony to be true. When the new evidence came to light the defendant admitted that he did the crime, but there was nothing that could be done. Double jeopardy rules applied, so he remained a free man. Free, but not innocent. Not guilty at trial, but not innocent.
Here is the judgement of Communion and Liberation, USA, an Ecclesial Movement of the Church,
After 14 days of starvation and dehydration, the State of Florida was finally successful in its quest to kill Terri Schiavo. The course of events leading up to her death has alarmed many Americans, including us.
Much could be said regarding Terri’s plight and what it reveals about our society; we will limit ourselves to the issues that seem most pressing to us.
Firstly, if we understand human reason to be the only measure of reality, then even the meaning and value of human life are subject to those partial measures reason uses to calculate (in this case the measure was “quality”).
Secondly, this understanding places every person’s life beneath the dominion of the state, which becomes reason’s greatest tool of power.
Thirdly, in setting itself up as arbiter of the value of human life, reason betrays itself, for all of reality—and particularly life!—points reason to a Mystery beyond its capability to grasp or circumscribe.
Fourthly, this betrayal incarnates itself in human experience as the loss of freedom. The State of Florida impeded its citizens from freely accepting the burden of Terri’s life, health and welfare. In other words, the State of Florida blocked every possibility of the free exercise of charity.
This last observation does not completely surprise us—for how can reason measure love?—but it makes us begin to worry about what living in a “free” country is coming to mean.
In all the debate over Terri Schiavo's brain, or lack thereof, I tried to educate myself about how the human brain functions.
In tracking down articles posted to the internet, I ran across the following column at alternativescience(dot)co m titled "Is your brain really necessary?" The first three paragraphs follow:
Do you really have to have a brain? The reason for my apparently absurd question is the remarkable research conducted at the University of Sheffield by neurology professor the late Dr. John Lorber.
When Sheffield’s campus doctor was treating one of the mathematics students for a minor ailment, he noticed that the student’s head was a little larger than normal. The doctor referred the student to professor Lorber for further examination.
The student in question was academically bright, had a reported IQ of 126 and was expected to graduate. When he was examined by CAT-scan, however, Lorber discovered that he had virtually no brain at all.
As Paul Harvey would say, for the rest of the story click here.
"(The Rock the Vote) people are actually selling 'I love Social Security' bumper stickers, shirts and more. Is there a better way to show your friends and neighbors that you have completely lost all touch with reality? Here we have a system where they have to cough up 14% of their earnings every single paycheck, and that money is either (a) sent to current Social Security recipients; or, (b) spent by the Congress on some of their vote-buying schemes. In return for your so-called 'contribution' you are told that you will receive some sort of a benefit when you reach a certain age. The benefit is not guaranteed, and the age can be changed. And you're supposed to love this system?"
Is a living will really the best way to insure your wishes will be honored? The best answer I can find is a qualified 'maybe'.
In the wake of the Terri Schiavo saga, there has been a media blitz about your need for a living will. The media says this will insure your wishes will be carried out by doctors and hospitals charged with your care.
Some very basic research shows that a living will may not be the best solution, or at least not a living will alone.
The term "futile" care crops up in various articles. What this means is that if a care provider determines that any treatment is futile, your living will can be ignored and treatment stopped.
A second point, and maybe more important than futile care, is the fact that a living will cannot cover all possible circumstances. In this case, the doctors are left with no instructions and are guided only by their judgement.
Constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead has one of the clearest articles I've seen on the subject of living wills. Titled Would a Living Will Have Saved Terri Schiavo’s Life?, it's a must read for those concerned about end of life decisions.
Chris Matthews was on Don Imus' radio show last Thursday, March 31, 2005. In a statement that made the "News Quote of the Day" Matthews said "The American people believe that there's been a lot of politics in this, and they don't really have confidence in any of the parties here. There's nobody here who looks particularly compelling or attractive. The husband doesn't know how to present himself at all, his brother's okay. The parents... the father seems to be having, I hate to say this, a good time. I don't know why, maybe it's the focus, maybe he's giddy with sadness of the tragedy that has been going on for so long."
