Seeking A Willing Whore

In a sick way, this is rather honorable. I'm not under any illusions that even quite normal men visit an occasional hooker and perhaps these are the types who would honestly even notice if a woman really were in that profession on her own volition. These men in Turkey, however, seem to take the issue quite personally. Go figure.

The Independent has an interesting story today about the latest front in fighting sex trafficking in Turkey: brothel customers.

In May, the UN Organization for Migration set up a hotline, staffed by multilingual operators, for women who have been forced into sexual slavery to call for help. But rather than hearing from desperate women, the operators are hearing from men -- Turkish men, who want to pay for willing prostitutes rather than reluctant ones. In fact, 74% of calls to the hotline have been from men; and in the past six months, more than 100 women have been rescued, and Turkish police have broken up 10 sex trafficking rings.

"I've been very surprised," Marielle Lindstrom, head of the IOM in Turkey, told the Independent. "We haven't noticed this anywhere in Europe. Turkish men seem to have an old-fashioned view of women. They don't mind using prostitutes, but they want the woman to be doing this willingly. If she's found not to be doing it willingly� It affects their pride."

See, That Didn't Hurt A Bit. Did It?

These gentlemen look handsome. And they didn't want to dress up for games why?

Drats! Too Nice Again This Year!

You Were Nice This Year!

You're an uber-perfect person who is on the top of Santa's list. You probably didn't even *think* any naughty thoughts this year. Unless you're a Mormon, you've probably been a little too good. Is that extra candy cane worth being a sweetheart for 365 days straight?

Were You Naughty or Nice This Year?

To Whom Much Is Given

Much is required. Time Magazine picked Bono and Bill & Melinda Gates as "Persons of The Year."

I Told You So!

I told you this man was mentally retarded! He looks retarded and he sounds retarded! Look at what he is admitting!

Q If FISA didn't work, why didn't you seek a new statute that allowed something like this legally?

ATTORNEY GENERAL GONZALES: That question was asked earlier. We've had discussions with members of Congress, certain members of Congress, about whether or not we could get an amendment to FISA, and we were advised that that was not likely to be -- that was not something we could likely get, certainly not without jeopardizing the existence of the program, and therefore, killing the program. And that -- and so a decision was made that because we felt that the authorities were there, that we should continue moving forward with this program.

They didn't ask Congress for permission to spy because they knew Congress would say no! What a frickin' MORON!

(note: I know the word retarded is not PC but it is applicable to this goon).

Not The King

I really want to see who has backbone enough to carry this out. It just doesn't seem to get better with Bush and while there are some dumb, numbskulls who buy that Bush spied on American citizens for our own good, those with sense, decency and respect for our constitution know that he was dead wrong and he needs to suffer the consequences - whatever they might be.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis said Monday in a radio interview that President Bush should be impeached if he broke the law in authorizing spying on Americans.

The Democratic senator from Georgia told WAOK-AM he would sign a bill of impeachment if one was drawn up and that the House of Representatives should consider such a move.

Lewis is among several Democrats who have voiced discontent with Sunday night's television speech, where Bush asked Americans to continue to support the Iraq War. Lewis is the first major House figure to suggest impeaching Bush.

'Its a very serious charge, but he violated the law,' said Lewis, a former civil rights leader. 'The president should abide by the law. He deliberately, systematically violated the law. He is not King, he is president.'"

Impeachment works for me!

If I Close My Eyes ...

and click my heels together three times maybe, just maybe ...

Merry Xmas?

I'm not sure who I saw on television during one of those "war on Christmas" diatribes but someone was rattling off ignorance about Xmas being anti-Christmas. I just got an email with some of that dribble too. Here is the real deal on the X in Christmas.

Xmas (or X-mas) is an abbreviation for Christmas. It is derived from the word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, transliterated as Christos, which is Greek for Christ. Greek is the language in which the whole New Testament was written.

Originally, in "Xmas", X represented the Greek letter χ (see chi). It was pronounced with an aspirated [kh], which is the first letter of Christ's name in Greek. An upper-case χ has the same shape as a Latin alphabet letter X, hence the abbreviation "Xmas".

As origins of the word go largely unnoticed by the larger public, many people believe that the term is often used as a tool by some to "take Christ out of Christmas" as a means of secularization or a vehicle for pushing political correctness. This notion is greatly disputed.

The occasionally seen belief that the X represents the cross Christ was crucified on has no basis in fact; St Andrew's Cross is X-shaped, but Christ's cross was probably shaped like a T or a †. Indeed, X-as-chi was associated with Christ long before X-as-cross could be. The use of X as an abbreviation for cross in modern abbreviated writing (e.g. "Kings X" for "Kings Cross") may have reinforced this assumption.

In ancient Christian art χ and χρ (Chi Ro--the first two letters in Greek of Christos) are abbreviations for Christ's name. In many manuscripts of the New Testament and icons, X is an abbreviation for Christos, as is XC (the first and last letters in Greek, using the lunate sigma); compare IC for Jesus in Greek. The Oxford English Dictionary documents the use of this abbreviation back to 1551, 50 years before the first English colonists came to North America and 60 years before the King James Version of the Bible was completed. At the same time, Xian and Xianity were in frequent use as abbreviations of "Christian" and "Christianity".

The abbreviation is widely but not universally accepted; some view it as demeaning to Christ, whilst others find it helpful to use in text messages and emails to save space. Similarly, Xianity is sometimes used as the abbreviation for Christianity (although this usage is much less common than "Xmas"). This usage has extended to "xtal" for "crystal", and on florists' signs "xant" for "chrysanthemum" (though these words are not etymologically related to "Christ" — crystal comes from a Greek word meaning "ice", and chrysanthemum from a Greek word meaning "golden flower", while Christ comes from a Greek word meaning "anointed").

The Man Is Maniacal

Another three years of this lawless idiot!

A key Republican committee chairman put the Bush administration on notice Friday that his panel would hold hearings into a report that the National Security Agency eavesdropped without warrants on people inside the United States.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania a., said he would make oversight hearings by his panel next year 'a very, very high priority.'

'There is no doubt that this is inappropriate,' said Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican and chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Other key bipartisan members of Congress also called on the administration to explain and said a congressional investigation may be necessary.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, appeared annoyed that the first he had heard of such a program was through a New York Times story published Friday. He said the report was troubling.

Can We Get A Wee Bit More Ignorant?

It's not so much that people say things like this. It isn't about being politically correct or not. I just don't understand why people like these feel the need to talk like this or even why these thoughts cross their minds.

On the December 15 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade remarked that musical artist Sting, who founded the Rainforest Foundation in 1989 with wife Trudie Styler, would "be happy to be down there [in Brazil] raising money for those with plates in their lips." Kilmeade made his comment while discussing "holiday stuff" on the Fox & Friends set with co-hosts Steve Doocy and Lauren Green.

From the December 15 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

DOOCY: Take a look, we've got a whole bunch of holiday stuff on board.

KILMEADE: I feel overwhelmed.

GREEN: We have poinsettias.

KILMEADE: I feel like Sting at a concert in Brazil.

DOOCY: What's that mean?

GREEN: Okay, what does that mean?

KILMEADE: He's a rainforest guy. He loves the rainforest.

DOOCY: So he would be happy to be down there?

KILMEADE: He'd be happy to be down there raising money for those with plates in their lips.

GREEN: That came from totally, like, over here.

KILMEADE: You ever see that?

DOOCY: I have had a subscription or two to the National Geographic.

KILMEADE: There you go.

According to the Rainforest Foundation: "The Foundation's first major initiative was to campaign globally for the protection of the lands of the Kayapo Indians in Brazilian Amazonia." Kilmeade may have been referring to the Kayapo Indians, who have traditionally worn disks in their lower lips.

But, this is why I hate Fox News. They are and promote real-time "Archie Bunkerism" and it is sickening.

Simply Tiring

It's almost 2006 and we're still here:

When the wives of two former Mets players and other members of their physical fitness group complained this spring that they were turned away from the town's beach, they charged that it was because they are black. The town's affirmative action officer investigated, but cleared Greenwich employees of wrongdoing by concluding that they were simply enforcing the rules.

But now a series of e-mail messages shows that the affirmative action officer, Kelly J. Houston, acknowledged after the incident that racial discrimination was most likely involved. Responding to a complaint from the trainer of the group, she said she believed that town workers treated blacks differently. She even advised him on how to draw less attention to groups that included blacks visiting the beaches.

The e-mail exchange occurred on June 8, one day after an incident involving the wives of the former Mets Bobby Bonilla and George Foster, in response to a complaint by the trainer, Jason Hall, who is white, that he had problems only when he took nonwhite clients to the beach.

'I would love to tell you, you are wrong, but I am positive that you are not,' Ms. Houston wrote.

'Understand that it is not intentional,' she said, adding that she believed that the beach employees were just conditioned to seeing only white people on the beach. 'So yes, when there is a few (3-4) black people together they take notice.'

She continued: 'I do think you can use the facilities. However, you will have to be discreet.'

She further advised him, 'If you are doing a black group, you are going to need to cut your numbers down,' and told him that he might want to start the workouts earlier, before the staff arrived.

Crazy On Crazy

Anybody who'd stalk crazy azzed Nancy Grace must be crazy!

CNN anchor Nancy Grace wants her alleged stalker to pay up.

Most celebs defend themselves against unwanted fans in criminal court. But Grace has gone to Manhattan Supreme Court to seek punitive damages against Joseph Raymond Loegering for emotional distress.

Loegering, 48, 'is apparently obsessed with Ms. Grace, believes that he loves her, insists that she can solve all of his problems and will help him to meet with Osama Bin Laden,' her civil suit charges.

Loegering began E-mailing and phoning Grace on Nov. 18, then showed up at the Time Warner Center on Dec. 2, according to Grace's suit. Security guards said he appeared 'agitated and desperate.' He was later deemed emotionally disturbed and taken to the hospital.

On Dec. 8, he allegedly left her a message saying: 'I love you Nancy and I always will.'

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Louis York granted Grace a temporary restraining order barring Loegering, now in the psychiatric ward at St. Luke's, from contacting her.

Grace's suit claims Loegering has a long history of mental illness and homelessness and has been busted on weapons and drug charges.

Grace is 'very anxious and concerned for her safety,' according to the suit.

Loegering's mom, reached in Missouri, told The News' Helen Peterson: 'He doesn't have anything. I hope she's not suing me.'

Why is she trying to sue a mentally ill person?

A Voice Of Reason On Fox?

Sorry I missed it ...

On the December 13 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, Thomas again voiced his concern:

CAVUTO: You're saying that, you know, the John Gibsons, the Sean Hannitys, the others are going too far in this thing. What do you mean?

THOMAS: I don't mention any names.

CAVUTO: Come on. Come on.

THOMAS: Hey, look, we shouldn't expect store clerks who are about the bottom line to wish whoever or whatever a "Merry Christmas," a "Happy Ramadan," a "Happy Hanukkah." They're there to make money, and the fact that they've cashed in on Christmas, which is about not the bottom line but the savior of the world. Not about lights on the tree, but the light of the world. And not about Xboxes, but about our sin boxes, if you will. Let them do what they do. But the people who actually revere the person who is supposed to be the reason for the season have a special way of worshipping and adoring him that have nothing to do with the crass commercialism --

CAVUTO: Yeah. But, Cal, this is not about the person behind the cash register, the person who's stocking toys. This has to do with the organizations themselves, the Wal-Marts and the big stores that seem to have an inherent policy not to say the words, "Merry Christmas."

THOMAS: I don't care, Neil! I don't care what they say! Their holidays are on April 1, April Fools' Day, OK? I won't mess with them if they don't mess with me. Let them do whatever they want. They're stores! They're selling stuff! They're increasing the bottom line.

CAVUTO: Cal, you're a deeply religious man. I know you personally, and you're one of the most decent guys I know. Now, do you, when you go searching for Christmas cards and have a tough time finding Christmas cards, or go to stores and have a tough time even hearing the word "Christmas," does that bug you as a religious guy?

THOMAS: [laughs] Not at all, Neil. I'm not expecting it there. I hear it in church. That's fine. That's no problem for me.

[...]

CAVUTO: If they're not saying it now, does that at all make a difference to you? Or are they just giving in to what was always their secular gut?

THOMAS: Look, I believe there are cultural problems in this country. I believe that, you know, people are celebrating Howard Stern being able to say whatever he wants, and they're trying to censor other language. I think people ought to be free to express themselves -- religiously, politically, matters of faith, matters of non-faith -- in the public square. I believe in all of those things. But we're talking about a very specific thing here, Neil, and that is whether just the mention by a store clerk or in the public square of the phrase "Merry Christmas," or even the word "Christmas," is reflective of something deeper. I don't think you can necessarily make that case.

... and the church said AMEN!

Uga Booga

Here they go again! Teaching the savages how to make a fire with two sticks! Joe Lieberman has been such a disappointment to me. Initially, he was part of the reason why I supported Gore the Bore back in 2000. But now, seeing what he is really about, I am glad he was never given the honor of the Vice Presidency. Do these folks even realize what they are saying? I do. They are saying we will NEVER be out of Iraq because these folks are too archaic to run their own country.

Last week, on the precious real estate of the right's flagship, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, Iraq war-hawk Sen. Joe Lieberman (D?-CT) let slip another unspoken reason why we remain in Iraq more than two and a half years after achieving our stated goal of "disarming" Saddam Hussein.

Lieberman wrote that the Iraqis are on the brink of transitioning "from the primitive, killing tyranny of Saddam to modern, self-governing, self-securing nationhood." That is, "unless the great American military that has given them and us this unexpected opportunity is prematurely withdrawn."

It's noteworthy that Lieberman portrayed the old government as "primitive," despite the fact that we were talked into attacking Iraq because it had what President Bush called the "deadliest" weapons "known to mankind." They were, presumably, quite modern.

And that fits reality. Iraq under the Baathists was many things, but primitive wasn't one of them. Before two decades of infrastructure-smashing war, Iraq was considered to be as advanced as many countries in Western Europe. Its universities were the envy of the Arabic world, as was its health care system, which featured the most modern hospitals in the region.

Lieberman contrasts this "primitive" Iraq with the "modern" self-governance that the "great American military has given them."

[read the entire article]

Black Light Special

Of the many reasons why I try to do most of my shopping online, this is one. I've never had incidents as extreme as this but I've had plenty of irritating moments induced by ignorant salespersons and service people. But, even that is beside the point as far as the many reasons why I hate Wal-Mart!

'We've apologized to Mr. Pitts and are trying to find out exactly what happened so it does not happen again,' said Sharon Weber, spokeswoman for the chain, based in Bentonville, Ark. 'We do not tolerate racial discrimination or racial profiling at Wal-Mart.'

GAF has been spending about $50,000 a year on gift cards at the Wal-Mart Supercenter at 11110 Causeway Blvd. in Brandon. For years GAF sent a white, female administrator to buy them without incident. This time, when she was on vacation the day before Thanksgiving, Pitts did the job himself. He phoned in the order for 520 cards, got the accounting department to issue Wal-Mart a $13,600 check and then encountered a royal hassle trying to exchange it for gift cards at the store.

'For a while there I thought I was going to prison,' he said. 'It was a totally humiliating experience.'

For about two hours, store managers stalled on accepting the check for the already-printed gift cards, while Pitts stood waiting by the customer service desk. He had handed over his GAF business card, his driver's license and the toll-free numbers to GAF's bank. His accounting supervisor assured them over the phone that GAF, the nation's biggest roofing systems maker with revenues of $1.6-billion in 2004, was good for the check.
[...]
"We need to talk with you about this forged check that you brought in here," Pitts recalled deputy Bryan Wells saying. Later Wells explained the reason for the firm arm grab: "Well, Wal-Mart called us and reported to us that you committed a felony, and that's the way we approach felons," Pitts recalled.

Within 19 minutes deputies reviewed the evidence, determined there was no grounds for a criminal charge and learned Wal-Mart would not press the issue further. Wells handed the check to Pitts.

"Our deputies didn't even see enough (of a case) to write a report," said Lt. Carmen Rivas, the shift commander. "We responded only because Wal-Mart called in a bad check report."

This is wrong at so many levels that I cannot even begin to comment (I mean, come on! Dude had a corporate check from a company who spends $50K per year there). These fools were so sure they had some thieving nigga that they didn't even bother to adequately to check his "credentials." It's like the manager was so busy trying to smell the kick back she would get for nabbing a thief that she lost any semblance of sense she may have had. This is exactly what blind prejudice is and why it must end. For Wal-mart, not only did they lose a $13,500 sale to Target, they have yet one more blemish on their already shady record of business practices, with any hope, Mr. Pitts may get a great, big, fat settlement for the despicable humiliation he was subjected to for no good reason!

When The Fool Killers Come

Please get this one! Why do people need to do this? I don't formally "celebrate" Kwanzaa but, for heaven's sake, it isn't bothering anyone. Although I've been to a few Kwanzaa programs or parties over the years, they were about food, family, culture and - yes - acknowleding some principles from "the motherland" that could be used as guides to providing better lives for ourselves - leaving white folks out of the equation as people who owe it to us.

That is what is so stupid about what this fool is complaining about. How is he against the very thing he claims that black people need to stive for? How are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith anything but positive? Aren't those the very things for which Asians, Jews and Eurpoean immigrants are praised? Is that what white folks want "lazy blacks" to do?

Kwanzaa is not a legitimate holiday; it is a subversive black nationalist movement designed to create racial separatism and hatred. It is one of the biggest scams being perpetrated on black Americans,' says Rev. Peterson.

In 1966, Ron Karenga, the leader of United Slaves Organization, a Marxist 'black power' group, created Kwanzaa to help blacks get in touch with their African roots.

Rev. Peterson says, 'Marxist Karenga's Kwanzaa celebration is really a banquet of socialism, worship of false gods and Afrocentrism. The Kwanzaa pledge of allegiance is a perfect example of racial hatred and black separatism: 'We pledge allegiance to the red, black and green, our flag, the symbol of our eternal struggle, and to the land we must obtain; one nation of black people, with one God of us all, totally united in the struggle, for black love, black freedom and black self- determination.'

Rev. Peterson adds, 'This is not a celebration of African harvest; it is a political statement for the establishment of a black nation and racial hatred against whites.'

Peterson needs to shut his yap and look at the signs of the times during which this holiday was created. In 1966, the civil rights act still had not been signed and, despite some inroads by Dr. Martin Luther King, there was still a lot of turmoil. Honestly, I disagreed when I heard that Dr. Karenga originally said that this was a "blacks only" holiday because it has universal principles. But, as with all things, Kwanzaa has evolved over the past 40 years. Most certainly where I live, there are thousands of mixed race families and, when big (or small) Kwanzaa events are held, no one is going to tell the white, Asian, Hispanic or other members of the family that they are excluded. Like Christmas, it has been commercialized and has been capitalized upon. The USPS sells Kwanzaa stamps. I can even buy Kwanzaa items on Amazon.com.

I'll probably get some Kwanzaa stamps for my Christmas cards - as I do every year if I get to the post office before they run out. If someone invites me to a Kwanzaa party, I may even go. Jesse Lee Peterson might do well to take his ignorant, semi-literate sounding behind to one as well. I think he needs to learn a thing or two.

The Terminator Has Spoken

Despite the fact that I still cannot believe that the frickin' "Terminator" has the power of life and death over real people, I must say that I am very much ambivalent about Stanley Tookie (real middle name - not a nickname) Williams. Though I am against the death penalty, that is the current, f'd up, law of the land in the State of California. I'm not even sure I believe that Tookie is guilty of the crimes for which he was convicted and there are opinions to the contrary that he was an actual co-founder of the Crips (I've heard they existed a couple years before he started a branch in his neighborhood). But, this man's hands aren't blood free. He may not have killed the white and Asian folks he was convicted of killing but I have a hard time believing he never killed anybody - probably some black "nobodies".

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has denied clemency for convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, who co-founded the Crips street gang.

Schwarzenegger announced the decision Monday shortly after a federal appeals court refused to block Williams' scheduled Tuesday execution.

Granted I'm a semi-snob and just not a big fan of thugs - no matter how nice they are, something about this man still bothers me. I've heard him frequently, as of late, on both NPR and KPFA and something about him doesn't sit well with me. I understand that he's written children's books which have actually influenced some potential gang members into going on the right path. I've seen the Jamie Foxx movie, Redemption, about his life. But I am just not feeling this man.

If he is genuine, he has to resolve within himself (and I guess he already has) that sometimes the universe takes many lifetimes to bring karma and sometimes it happens in the same lifetime. He could have, like many of his gang banging counterparts, been killed on the street decades ago by the bullet of a foe. Instead, he was convicted - falsely or not - of crimes which put him in jail and allowed him all of these years to turn his life around. That is a blessing in itself as many people do not get a second chance. But, if he believes in God's forgiveness and heaven, as he claims to, he will get a blessing - shortly after midnight - when he gets that lethal injection. Much to the chagrin of those who want to see him dead strictly for vengeful purposes, he wins either way.

It Takes Different Nuts To Rule The World

Not that our religious fundamentalist psychos are too far from this but where is God's love or law in this?

A banned Islamist militant group blamed for a series of bombings in Bangladesh has threatened to kill women, including non-Muslims, if they do not wear the veil, a statement said.

The statement by the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen came hours after Thursday's suicide bomb attack in a northen town that killed at least eight people, the latest of a series of blasts blamed on militant groups in their campaign for an Islamic state.

'Women will be killed if they are found to move around without wearing burqa (veil) from the first day of Jilhaj,' the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen said in the statement sent to a Dhaka newspaper office.

Jilhaj refers to the Arabic month beginning early January.

'Women, including non-Muslims, are hereby advised not to go out of home without burqa. Seclusion has been made compulsory for you,' said the statement in Bangla language, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters on Friday.

The group, which wants the introduction of sharia laws in mainly-Muslim Bangladesh, also ordered women students at Dhaka University not to step out after sunset, prompting police to increase security around the campus.

Oh My, Oh My, Oh My Goodness!

It's sacrilege I tell you! How dare they tinker with Winnie The Pooh?

"To quote one loquacious Rabbit: 'Oh my, oh my, oh my goodness!'

Although the bear's party fare includes much Disney hoopla — anniversary-themed goods, Disney Channel marathons and a stage show that kicks off today in New York — the real bother is sure to be over tinkering with a classic.

Details are sketchy on the as-yet-nameless new arrival, who will make her debut in the 2007 computer-generated series My Friends Tigger and Pooh. Disney execs say the idea is to bring an older audience to an iconic franchise born when British author A.A. Milne began musing about the imaginary world of his son, Christopher Robin.

'We got raised eyebrows even in-house at first, but the feeling was these timeless characters really needed a breath of fresh air that only the introduction of someone new could provide,' says Nancy Kanter of the Disney Channel.

The gamble could sweeten the pot of a company that already brings in $1 billion annually from Pooh merchandise, 'more than all their core characters combined,' says Thomas Ranese of marketing consultants Interbrand. 'Pooh appears to be a robust brand that can handle expansion.'

There could be a side benefit to luring new kids to this idyllic forest. Because today's tykes often get introduced to literary characters through their cartoon counterparts, 'the hope is this will bring more kids to (Pooh) books,' says Rory Halperin, who covers entertainment for Child magazine.

But some fans no doubt will feel that Winnie's world was fine just the way it was. 'This strikes me as a step too far away from the vision of the original books,' says Kathleen Horning, who trains children's book librarians at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 'Besides, growing up, I had no problem relating to Christopher Robin. He almost had a non-specific gender.'"

Somewhere, packed in a box, I still have my original set of Winnie The Pooh books from the 1960s. Being an avid book lover from the time I was a toddler, I just cannot imagine how they would dare touch this literary masterpiece - albeit only in the cartoon version. Some things just aren't done and mangling the spirit behind the author's original intent for the books is just wrong.

I'm pouting!

link via daffodillane

It's About The Arrival Of Shoppers

In the so-called "war on Christmas," I agree with this blogger. I find it amazing that the religious right and other wing nuts who are intent on manufacturing another "war" on something or with someone are overly concerned with displays in retail stores and the verbiage on Christmas cards. Let's get real here. They call the day after Thanksgiving Black Friday because it is the busiest shopping day of the year. It's about gross consumerism and blind capitalism and somehow I don't think that the people who camped out at places like Walmart and Best Buy would camp outside of their church to be first in line for a Christmas service.

It’s rather difficult to imagine Christianity as a persecuted religion, at least in North America. Christianity is the world’s dominant faith. At an estimated 2.1 billion adherents, Christianity almost doubles the size of its nearest competitor, Islam. In the United States, almost two-thirds of the population identifies itself as Christian. As the predominant religion of the West, Christianity knows no bounds to its power, wealth, and influence.

It’s true that ham-fisted school districts and advertising directors have, from time to time, taken multicultural political correctness into the hinterlands of stupidity. I know of nobody, for instance, who calls a Christmas tree a “holiday tree,” or who — for that matter — celebrates the evergreen as the ancient pagan symbol it is. I probably don’t rub elbows with enough Neo-Pagans.

If there’s a threat to Christmas, it’s not being forced to co-exist with Kwanzaa at an elementary school pageant, no matter what this overwrought Rutherford Foundation fundraiser might claim. Nor is it the indignity of opening a non-religious holiday card by the mailbox one brisk December morning.

The real threat to Christmas is the cold, calculated conversion of a meaningful religious holiday into a retail event.In the United States, the real "reason for the season" is quite clear: spending. Most major retailers would collapse without a decent Christmas season. Christmas sales are everything, which is why the first weekend after Thanksgiving’s register receipts are greeted with such breathless anticipation. Christmas is no longer about the arrival of the Christ child. It’s about the arrival of shoppers.

But They Want The Right To Choose

Here we go! The people who want to control a woman's body want the right to pick and choose what drugs they dispense - despite a doctor's order. To me the issue of contraception is a matter of privacy. A pharmacist does not know, and does not have the right to know, if I am taking birth control pills as a precaution against pregnancy, or as is the case with many women, endometriosis or some other menstral irregularity. Now, it seems they're being funded by the Fundies!

Couching their legal battle as one of 'civil liberties' and using code phrases like 'the forced dispensing of abortion drugs,' right-wing Fundamentalist groups are underwriting legal battles in Illinois and elsewhere. Their representatives are adamant:


'Karen Brauer, president of Pharmacists for Life International, said pharmacists should not be forced to prescribe medication they find morally objectionable nor should they be required to refer patients to pharmacists who would willingly dispense those medications.'

Does someone's brand of faith prevent them from dispensing contraceptives, or other forms of medication, in good conscience? Fine - then it would be reasonable to expect them to refer a patient to someone who will. If it's late in the evening in an unfamiliar town, a pharmacist saying 'no' can wield a great deal of power. That's especially when someone is seeking emergency contraception, or is in urgent need of a medication.

Organized groups of 'Christian pharmacists' reject that position, and want the 'right' to say no whenever they choose - in some cases, denying patients the ability to fill the prescriptions elsewhere. Now Walgreen's has become the latest battleground in the Christian pharmacy war, after it 'effectively fired' four Illinois pharmacists (their attorneys' language) for 'refusing to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception in violation of a state rule.'

One Walgreen's pharmacist has agreed to abide by the state rule, and Walgreen's has offered to find the other three jobs across the state line in Missouri (where their behavior is legally permissible). The three would rather fight it out in court than accept these accommodations, however.

Why not? It's not costing them anything. It's paid for by a 'public interest group' funded by Pat Robertson, who has apparently been able to take a break from wishing devastation on the citizens of Dover, PA. Although Robertson's group says it is pursuing the matter with the state's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, you can bet the goal is not to fight discrimination - although they'll claim that it is. (Nothing seems to amuse a conservative more than to try using institutions that were created for progressive purposes, like the EEOC, for repressive purposes.)

Life, like Bush's job as President, is hard. But we all make choices. If I had issues with guns and knew that I could never fire a weapon at anyone, I definitely would not try to be a cop and definitely wouldn't join the military. Pharmacy students know that their job will be to dispense drugs - all kinds of drugs ... to all kinds of people. Why pursue a career when you won't want to do the job? It's funny how they want the right to pick and choose which drugs they feel are morally correct yet that very action denies a woman her right to make the same choices!

Where's My Ride?

Billy Bush interviewed Britney Spears' husband's other "baby mama" yesterday on MSNBC. Shar Jackson is still keeping her smiling game face on when asked about her views on her ex and Ms. Spears. She insists that, despite appearing like a cad to the rest of the world, he is a good father and a nice guy.

Well, I guess Shar didn't have as much to hold over Kevin's head as Britney does (and most certainly if you discount his two kids) so now he's reduced to begging for his car back.

Kevin Federline is said to be distraught about his marital woes — and about losing his wheels. Wife Britney Spears reportedly took back the $200,000 Ferrari she had given him. Federline begged his famous, wealthy wife to forgive him for his partying ways and take him back, according to the London Sun, which reports that when she declined, he asked, “Can I at least have my car back?”

I guess dude didn't understand what being a kept man meant. If you get kicked out, you don't get to keep jack!

When Paranoia Sets In

Maybe it's because I am around so many different kinds of people who speak different languages (i.e. At my last job I worked in a room with 6 cubicles. I was sandwiched between a Chinese woman and an Indian man and sat across from a Russian guy ... Imagine the background noise when they were all on the phone speaking in their native tongues at the same time) but this school principal was out of line.

Kansas City, Kan., resident Lorenzo Rubio is upset that his son, Zach, was suspended from the Turner School District's Endeaver School for two days.

He is even more upset that the reason Zach was suspended was not for fighting or causing trouble, but for speaking Spanish at lunchtime with his friends.

'My son called me on Monday and said he had been suspended for speaking Spanish,' Rubio said. 'I could not believe it. I went to the school and spoke to Mrs. (Jennifer) Watts and asked her if this was school policy. She told me, 'no,' but said 'We are not in Mexico, we are not in Germany.''

[...]

Allen said he was told by Watts that Zach was being disruptive and it is important that the teachers be able to communicate and know what the students are saying. He said there are programs in place for staff at Turner that focus on cultural and ethnic sensitivities and he has spoken to staff about what is acceptable conduct at the school. He did not say why Watts has not complied.

I bolded what I believe the problem is. Certain intolerant types are so afraid of not knowing what you are saying or thinking that they immediately feel threatened or paranoid that if they don't understand you, you must be talking about them. I've heard, time and again, people complaining about "them people speaking another language in America." My response has always been "What do you care? They aren't talking to you." I also witness this apparent paranoia whenever there is more than one black person together and talking. I cannot tell you how many times I have been interrupted, assuming there is another black person in my workplace, by some random person (usually white) who normally doesn't have anything to say to me and asked "what are you guys doing?"

My favorite story is the legendary IBM/Dallas tale about a black guy who was celebrating his last day at the company and he and some other blacks were assembling at the lobby elevator for a farewell lunch. The lady at the front desk allegedly called security and told them that "some black people are down here plotting against IBM." Now, I don't know if the story is true (despite having heard it from two different IBM/Dallas employees) but, at its extreme, that is how crazy folks are when they aren't in control of the language or the conversation.

That young man and his family have every right to expect an apology.

Bush's War On Christmas

Honestly! Would Jesus Christ be pleased that people are having major convulsions because people aren't sending out cards that don't specifically acknowledge his birthday? Was he having big bashes every year or was he spending his time multiplying a few fish and loaves of bread into enough to feed the masses? Now Bush is the culprit because the White House sent out a generic "holiday" card instead of one that said Merry Christmas.

"What's missing from the White House Christmas card? Christmas.

This month, as in every December since he took office, President Bush sent out cards with a generic end-of-the-year message, wishing 1.4 million of his close friends and supporters a happy 'holiday season.'

Many people are thrilled to get a White House Christmas card, no matter what the greeting inside. But some conservative Christians are reacting as if Bush stuck coal in their stockings.

'This clearly demonstrates that the Bush ad ministration has suffered a loss of will and that they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture,' said William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

Bush 'claims to be a born-again, evangelical Christian. But he sure doesn't act like one,' said Joseph Farah, editor of the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily.com. 'I threw out my White House card as soon as I got it.'"

I'll tell ya. I am forever reminded that I must have slept through my entire parochial education and hundreds of church services. I know of no doctrine that mandates this kind of hysteria over something I doubt Jesus would even blink about. They ought to be ashamed.

Madam President Is A Soror

But of course! The new President of Liberia was a charter member of Eta Beta Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. - our first international chapter.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia's former minister of finance, was one of only four government ministers to survive the country's 1980 coup d'état. On March 2005, Ms. Johnson Sirleaf resigned from her position as chair of Liberia's Governance Reform Commission in order to enter Liberia's presidential race. Ms. Johnson Sirleaf was, until 2003, chair of the board of directors of the Open Society Institute in West Africa, establishing a society marked by functioning democracy, full civic participation, good governance, and the rule of law. Ms. Johnson Sirleaf has represented Liberia at the African Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. She spent five years as assistant administrator and director of the United Nations Development Programme's Regional Bureau for Africa, later running for president of Liberia in 1997. In 1999, the Organization of African Unity named her and six others to a body that investigated the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Caught in a cycle of violence for some 25 years, Liberia has seen more than 200,000 people killed and half a million displaced, out of a pre-war population of three million. After the 1997 general elections, low-intensity conflict took hold and spread to neighboring countries. The head of Liberia’s Governance Reform Commission until March 2005 when she resigned to enter the presidential race, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has not been insulated from the violence in her country. During the 1980 coup d’etat, she was one of only four government ministers to escape assassination, and she has twice been imprisoned for her politics. Over the course of her career, Ms. Johnson Sirleaf has held such prominent positions as minister of finance of Liberia, president of the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment, and senior loan officer of the World Bank. Ms. Johnson Sirleaf has represented Liberia on the boards of the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank; she also served five years as assistant administrator and director of the regional bureau for Africa of the United Nations Development Programme with the rank of assistant secretary general of the UN. In the 1997 elections, she ran as a presidential candidate, finishing second in a field of thirteen. Ms. Johnson Sirleaf founded and continues to support Measuagoon, a community development organization with projects throughout Liberia. She is the recipient of numerous international honors, including the Grand Commander Star of Africa Redemption from Liberia (1980), the Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom of Speech Award from the United States (1988), The Ralph Bunche International Leadership Award (OIC, USA – 1995), and Commandeur de l’Ordre du Mono from Togo (1996). She holds a master of public administration degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Ms. Johnson Sirleaf’s peace-building activities include:

• investigating the Rwandan genocide in 1999 as one of seven international “Eminent Personalities” selected by the Organization of African Unity—the group later published the report The Preventable Genocide;
• co-authoring Women, War and Peace: The Independent Experts’ Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Women’s Role in Peace-building (2002), a project of UNIFEM (the United Nations Development Fund for Women); and
• serving as a board member for the International Crisis Group and the Nelson Mandela Foundation and as initial chair of the board of directors of the Open Society Institute for West Africa, which disburses $10 million per year in grants to organizations working in the areas of human rights (including women’s political and economic empowerment), democracy and governance, media and technology (including information and communications technologies), legal reform and transitional justice, and HIV/AIDS.

Still Winning?

Ten dead and eleven mangled in one fell swoop.

A roadside bomb killed 10 Marines and wounded 11 while they were on a foot patrol near Fallujah, the Marine Corps said Friday, in the deadliest attack on American troops in nearly four months. At least 2,120 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Thursday's bomb, which was made from several large artillery shells, struck members of Regimental Combat Team 8 of the 2nd Marine Division near the city about 30 miles west of Baghdad, the Marine Corps said.

Lost His Natural Mind

Is he for real? Bill O'Reilly thinks he scared oil companies into lowering prices. Honestly, is he for real or has he just totally lost his mind?

O’REILLY: I have guys inside the five major oil companies - my father used to work for one of those oil companies by the way - who have told me that in those meetings they look for every way to jack up oil prices after Katrina, every way, when they didn’t have to. They got scared because of my reporting and reporting of some others. They said, "Uh ho."

CAVUTO: So wait a minute, you’re not, you’re taking credit for gas prices being down from where they are?

O’REILLY: I said my reporting and some reporting of others. They got scared.

CAVUTO: Ok. Gas prices are down a lot. Why do you think that is?

O’REILLY: Because they’re afraid they were going to go to jail. They were afraid they were going to get the Enron treatment and those CEOs who manipulated them up…

CAVUTO: Why are you sure they have manipulated them?

O’REILLY: Because I have inside guys who tell me that.

CAVUTO: That the CEO’s of these companies, who are part of a cabal…

O’REILLY: I have guys inside the five major oil companies - my father used to work for one of those oil companies by the way - who have told me that in those meetings they look for every way to jack up oil prices after Katrina, every way, when they didn’t have to. They got scared because of my reporting and reporting of some others. They said, “Uh ho.”

CAVUTO: So wait a minute, you’re not, you’re taking credit for gas prices being down from where they are?

O’REILLY: I said my reporting and some reporting of others. They got scared.

He's delusional!

All Babies Go To Heaven

Well, not officially ... yet.

It's things like this that really drive me crazy about the Catholic Church. All these crazy rules and decrees that make no sense in the first place then get rescinded. How the heck did they know where babies went? They need to review a hell of a lot more "teachings" than that!

Limbo -- the place where the Catholic Church teaches that babies go if they die before being baptized -- may have its days numbered.

According to Italian media reports on Tuesday, an international theological commission will advise Pope Benedict to eliminate the teaching about limbo from the Catholic catechism.

The Catholic Church teaches that babies who die before they can be baptized go to limbo, whose name comes from the Latin for 'border' or 'edge,' because they deserve neither heaven nor hell.

Last October, seven months before he died, Pope John Paul asked the commission to come up with 'a more coherent and enlightened way' of describing the fate of such innocents.

It was then headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected Pope in April. It is now headed by his successor at the Vatican's doctrinal department, Archbishop William Levada, an American from San Francisco.

The commission, which has been meeting behind closed doors, may make its recommendation soon.

I guess I really do have a love/hate relationship with the Catholic Church. I don't buy into some decrepit old white man making up the rules of the church and expecting people to just fall in line. As I've said before, THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE IS OVER! That concept of "limbo" for unbaptized dead babies is totally random and just plain lame! I may have to go back and study similar teachings just to dispute them.

At the same time, for the most part I had a wonderful upbringing in the Catholic School system and in my parish. I think gained a deep sense of spirituality and good knowledge about the teachings of Jesus Christ (whom we really should be following, not some Pope) about compassion, charity and service. Add to it the hyper-focus on drawing one's own conclusions by my Jesuit Philosophy and Theology professors in college and I just get no value out of church decrees and revolving edicts that change at the whim of the Vatican. I prefer, instead to study the works of men like Jesus (divine or not - different topic) the Dali Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh.


(link via Shakespeare's Sister)