Recent Blog Posts: Bakersfield.com

Good milage..better than MY car

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 22:24:33 PDT

A 2006 study found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year.

Another study found that Americans drink an average of 22 gallons of beer a year.

That means, on average, Americans get about 41 miles per gallon."

Not Bad

I'm Honored, and as proud as I can be...

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 20:27:27 PDT

A week ago, I received a phone call from one of my "Boys". He called to tell me that he was accepted into a local University.

Randy is a Senior in High School and one of my Scouts. He was so excited that he was stammering and stuttering as he spoke. Randy is a very bright kid, but has a severe problem with self worth. His family life is quite a chellenge and has taken it's toll on him. He is terribly worried about what people might think of him, because of his Parents deeds. I've known his Parents as long as I've known him. They have their issues.

In the same phone conversation, Randy also asked me if I'd be the Speaker at his Eagle Court of Honor. My knees almost buckled. Normally, this Honor is reserved for the boy's Scoutmaster. I am no longer a Scout Leader, but Randy thinks enough of me to bestow that honor upon me.

Many years ago, when he was just a youngster, he and I put that one to bed between us. I told him that I knew him, as he stood before me. He was a fine young man, and my friend. I knew his Parents because they happened to be HIS Parents. Since a person can't choose their Parents, or control their behavior, it had absolutely no influence over what I thought about him. Since then, he has looked to me as a mentor and friend.

This afternoon, I received and invitation in the mail. It was for an Eagle Court of Honor for another one of my "Boys". Adam is another good kid. He has an extremely good family life, with a Mom and Dad who love him dearly and provide a great home environment. I've also known this young man since he was a percocious youngster.

I was the very first Scout Leader who took away his Pocket Knife and "Whittling Chip". Adam's Dad is somewhat older, and also a Scout Leader. Bill (the Father) is liked by one and all, because of his personality and great wisdom. Since Adam was a late in life baby, he enjoyed the privilege of being an only child (at home). These two traits allowed Adam to get away with an awful lot. I was the one who held Adam to the same standards as all of the other boys. I'm quite a fair freak, when it comes to kids.

Although his Father, Bill, is a friend of mine, I levied punishment to Adam, as though he were my own Son. (I treat all of my "boys" as though they were my own Sons.) Adam seemed to become attached to me, and we developed a great relationship. Bill once told me that Adam thought that my values (Don't lie, Don't Cheat, Don't Steal, Do Right Things) were the base on which life should be built upon. I told Bill that I believe he's right. Bill told me that he agreed.

These two young men are polar oposites of each other. They are friends. They are also MY; young friends. I love them dearly, and am so proud that I could bust.

This is a living testament to the values of:

Don't Lie,

Don't Cheat,

Don't Steal,

Do Right Things,

Be Fair with everyone...........

ACB Meeting Update

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 20:25:45 PDT

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be available, this weekend, for the ACB movie night.

It looks like I'm probably going to be having surgery this week. BUT, if you guys want to get together, still, then leave a comment here or PM "Woof".

To Kill An American: Sharing a email someone sent me.

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 16:02:36 PDT

To Kill an American?
> You probably missed this in the rush of news, but
> there was actually a
> report that someone in Pakistan had published in a
> newspaper, an offer
> of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any
> American.
>
> So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the
> following day to let
> everyone know what an American is . So they would
> know when they found
> one. (Good one, mate!!!!)
>
>
> "An American is English, or French, or Italian,
> Irish, German, Spanish,
> Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be
> Canadian, Mexican,
> African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean,
> Australian, Iranian, Asian,
> or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.
>
>
> An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage,
> Blackfoot, Navaho,
> Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes
> known as native
> Americans.
>
>
> An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or
> Buddhist, or Muslim.
> In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in
> Afghanistan The only
> difference is that in America they are free to
> worship as each of them
> chooses.
>
>
> An American is also free to believe in no religion.
> For that he will
> answer only to God, not to the government, or to
> armed thugs claiming to
> speak for the government and for God.
>
>
> An American lives in the most prosperous land in the
> history of the
> world.
>
>
> The root of that prosperity can be found in the
> Declaration of
> Independence , which recognizes the God given right
> of each person to
> the pursuit of happiness.
>
>
> An American is generous. Americans have helped out
> just about every
> other nation in the world in their time of need,
> never asking a thing in
> retu rn.
>
>
> When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20
> years ago, Americans
> came with arms and supplies to enable the people to
> win back their
> country!
>
>
> As of the morning of September 11, Americans had
> given more than any
> other nation to the poor in Afghanistan . Americans
> welcome the best of
> everything...the best products, the best books, the
> best music, th e
> best food, the best services. But they also welcome
> the least.
>
>
> The national symbol of America , The Statue of
> Liberty , welcomes your
> tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your
> teeming shores, the
> homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the
> people who built America
> .
>
>
> Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the
> morning of September
> 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families.
> It's been told that
> the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30
> different
> countries, cultures, and first languages, including
> those that aided and
> abetted the terrorists.
>
> So you can try to kill an American if you must.
> Hitler did. So did Gen
> eral Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other
> blood-thirsty tyrants
> in the world. But, in doing so you would just be
> killing yourself .
> Because Americans are not a particular people from a
> particular place.
> They are the embodiment of the human spirit of
> freedom. Everyone who
> holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

Push for Free Cheese

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 15:36:22 PDT

This image struck me. I loved it.

So many levels to such a simple image.

Thanks to Vidiot on Flicker. Priceless.

New Article on Helium

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 14:56:27 PDT

The Unique Qualities of a Christian Friendship

Thursday, Apr 26, 2007

Posted a new article to a contest on Helium.com. Check it out, if you're interested.

(By the way, I'm so glad you're all my friends!)

Read the article here: http://www.helium.com/tm/299073

You can find my other blogs here:

<a href="http://technorati.com/claim/rktkbavnus" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>

The DC madam claims her first "victim"- Randall Tobias

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 14:04:13 PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) - Randall Tobias, head of the Bush administration's foreign aid programs, abruptly resigned Friday after his name surfaced in an investigation into a high-priced call-girl ring, said two people in a position to know the circumstances of his departure.

It was Tobias' own decision to resign, according to one of the people, who said the issue came up only in the past day or so. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way.

Tobias submitted his resignation a day after he was interviewed by ABC News for an upcoming program about an alleged prostitution service run by the so-called D.C. Madam.

ABC reported on its Web site late Friday that Tobias confirmed that he had called the Pamela Martin and Associates escort service to have women come to his condo and give him massages. More recently, Tobias told the network, he has been using a service with Central American women.

Tobias, 65, who is married, told ABC there had been "no sex" during the women's visits to his condo.

As Sam wrote about recently, prostitution is a stupid hypocrisy-laden crime. If selling sex was as legal as selling a car, we could remove many of the stigma's associated with the activity of paying someone for sexual services, not to mention there would be more oversight and another tax base.

Palfrey, 50, was indicted in March by a federal grand jury on charges of running the alleged call-girl ring from her home in Vallejo, Calif. She has denied the escort service engaged in prostitution.

Palfrey claimed she has 46 pounds of phone records involving clients. Efforts to reach her late Friday were unsuccessful. Montgomery Blair Sibley, an attorney who represents Palfrey in non-criminal cases, declined to comment.

She recently made good on her threat to identify high-profile clients, listing a military strategist known for his "shock and awe" combat theories as a regular customer in court documents filed this month.

In court records, prosecutors estimate that her business, Pamela Martin and Associates, generated more than $2 million in revenue over 13 years, with more than 130 women employed at various times to serve thousands of clients at $200 to $300 a session.

I feel very bad that this man lost his job and livelihood because he used this woman's escort services, regardless of his party affiliation.

Kern High School All-Star Game

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 13:47:21 PDT

The planning for the Kern COunty Senior High School All-star Softball Game is progressing. Another weekend is upon us. I have invited all our local politicians to the Senior High School All-Star Softball game. It should be a good chance to be seen by members of the community? I will also invite all the city and county leaders to attend. Have also invited as many college coahces as I can to attend. Still hopeful for some more sponsors will come on board soon. It costs $30-$35 per player to put this on. Need sponsors so we can give out scholarships. I can't do it alone. If you can help out give me a call, Joe 565-1808

Daily Hope.

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 12:31:43 PDT

1. THE HOLY APOSTLES JASON, SOSIPATER AND THE VIRGIN CERCYRA

The first two were of the Seventy Apostles and the latter was the daughter of a king from the island of Corfu. Jason and Sosipater are mentioned by St. Paul and he calls them his relatives. "Jason and Sosipater, my relatives" (Romans 16:21). Jason was born in Tarsus as was the Apostle Paul and Sosipater was born in Achaea. The first was appointed bishop of Tarsus by the apostle and the other was appointed bishop of Iconium. Traveling about and preaching the Gospel these two apostles arrived on the island of Corfu, where they succeeded to build a church to the honor of St. Stephen the First-martyr and to win over some heathens to the Church. The king of the island threw them both into prison where seven thieves were also imprisoned. Their names were: Sagornius, Jakishol, Faustian, Januarius, Marsalus, Euphrasius and Mamminus. The apostles converted these seven to the Faith of Christ and turned these wolves into lambs. Upon hearing this, the king ordered that these seven be put to death in boiling pitch. Thus, they received the wreath of the martyrs. While the king was torturing the apostles, his daughter, the virgin Cercyra, watched from the window at the suffering of these men of God and learning for what reason they were being tortured, she declared herself a Christian and distributed all of her jewels to the poor. The king became enraged at his daughter and closed her in a special prison. Since he did not succeed to dissuade her from Christ by this imprisonment, he ordered that the prison be burned. The prison burned, but the virgin remained alive. Upon seeing this miracle many people were baptized. The infuriated king then ordered his daughter to be tied to a tree and Cercyra was slain by arrows. Those who believed in Christ fled from the terrible king to the nearest island and hid themselves. The king pursued them by boat in order to apprehend them, but the boat sank into the sea and thus the unrighteous one perished as did the one-time pharaoh. The new king embraced the Faith of Christ, was baptized and received the name Sebastian. Jason and Sosipater freely preached the Gospel and strengthened the Church of God in Corfu. They lived to a ripe old age and there ended their earthly life and took up habitation in the mansions of the Lord.

2. THE HOLY MARTYRS MAXIMUS, DADA AND QUINTILIAN

Maximus, Dada and Quintilian suffered during the reign of Diocletian. They were tried and tortured by Commander Tarquinius. After imprisonment and torturing, they were all beheaded.

3. THE HOLY MARTYR TIBALD

Tibald was a Slav from Pannonia. During the reign of Diocletian he was brutally tortured for the Faith of Christ and suffered in a place called Tsibal.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY VIRGIN CERCYRA

The virgin Cercyra, both tender and pure,

From the imperial court, heard about the Name of Christ,

And that Holy Name overpowered her heart,

And ready was she to suffer for Him.

The father instructs his daughter, but how? And to what?

God is One, father, bow down to Him!

Through Christ is His love manifested,

With that love now I am seized

For myself I do not mourn, neither of torture am I afraid,

You do what you wish, before God I stand.

Cercyra the virgin in the flame stands,

Quiet, meek and radiant like a dove.

A crimson flame rages, the entire dungeon cracks,

Cercyra's heart beats unafraid,

Prayer and hope nests in her heart,

With that, the fire she overcame, and not the fire her,

With love divine, the virgin pierced with arrows,

From the vanity of the world, easily separated,

Her body, by deadly arrows shattered -

The soul of the virgin, the Lord received intact.

REFLECTION

The mystery of our salvation is concluded with the appearance of God among men in the human body. St. Meliton of Sardis writes: "The works of Christ, following His baptism, manifested and proved to the world that in His body, His divinity was hidden. Being God, He was also perfect man. He revealed to us His two natures. Divinity, by His miracles performed throughout the three years following His baptism and, His humanity, throughout those years when the weakness of the flesh hid the signs of His divinity, even though He was truly the Eternal God." The manner of the union of divinity with humanity is difficult to comprehend but the event of the appearance of God as a man among men is perfectly comprehensible from the concept of the love of God for man. Not even the creation of the world, as an event, is more comprehensible; one can say even less comprehensible--than the event above the events: the Incarnation of God.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Ascension of the Lord Jesus:

1. How He led His disciples to a hill toward Bethany;

2. How, with up-lifted hands, He blesses the disciples.

HOMILY

About seeking the face of the Lord

"Your presence, O Lord, I seek"(Psalms 27:8).

"Let Your face shine upon Your servant" (Psalm 31:16).

King David sought that which the simple fishermen received without seeking. King David was reclining in darkness and was yearning to see the glowing face of the Lord, which was revealed to the simple fishermen in its complete radiance. King David belonged to the period of waiting, but the disciples belonged to the period of fulfillment. There [the period of waiting] it was only the announcement of the coming of the Lord, but here, [the period of fulfillment] the coming of the Lord. There a presentiment and day dreams about the face of the Lord, here radiance and beauty of that same face. The face of the Lord was radiant even before the resurrection and how much more radiant after the resurrection! The inextinguishable flame of Divinity hid behind the icon of His body and shown through that bodily icon. The disciples gazed upon Him fixedly and they rejoiced in their hearts. For forty days they gazed upon His glorified body and they rejoiced in their hearts!

O my brethren, let us also seek the radiant face of the Lord in order to feel the pleasure by which the angels of God become intoxicated. If we are going to seek Him with yearning in this life, then we will see Him, at least, in the other life. If we do not seek Him in this life, then we will not see him either in this life or in the other life. Brethren, let us yearn for the face of Christ! His every word shows us one feature of His face. Each of His apostles shows us some characteristic of His face. His every deed shows us some feature of His face. Each of His saints shows us some ray of His radiant face. With yearning brethren, let us exam the face of the Lord. Let us assemble ray after ray until it reveals the entire sun. Let us enshrine that Sun in the depths of our hearts, that it illuminates our bodily courts from within. Let us plant this inexpressible sweet vineyard in our heart that we may taste of that immortal drink by which the angels become intoxicated.

O Lord, bearer of light, show Your radiant face to us, Your servants.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

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The warfare against common sense

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 10:23:39 PDT

Will you be “Left Behind?” The portents for worldwide disaster are visible to all and need no elucidation. It’s the story “If you are not paranoid you don’t see the whole picture.” Emerson was gifted in seeing the whole picture. Some one-hundred and sixty-five years ago he wrote, “But in a hundred high schools and colleges this warfare against common sense still goes on.”

The Ivory Tower syndrome was well entrenched by the time Emerson made his remarks, and the recent furor over the failing schools of America continues to be rooted in the universities of America. This insulated world to itself so ignorant of the realities is led by fools that have no concept of the real world in which the rest of us live. Social promotion is a “gift” of the universities, a doomed system without any accountability. And when children are no longer taught reading, writing, and arithmetic here come the social engineers, all good university graduates, to “fix” the problem— Again; and again, all the while “in a hundred high schools and colleges this warfare against common sense still goes on.” What I said years ago of the schools is only more appropriate now: A system for failure could not have been better designed had it been done intentionally.

Alas, our leaders in government, judiciary, media, in our schools are a product of a university system that does not deal with realities; so it is we have an America without any leaders dedicated to accountability and unable to deal with realities. But because of the world becoming increasingly dangerous, and this is a reality, it requires leaders who are both accountable and able to deal with realities. But where are such leaders to be found?

The Iranian President’s vitriolic ranting tirades against the West, Christians, and Jews sure sound a lot like those of Hitler’s, even the voice and gestures are reminiscent of Hitler. Most certainly the crowds being whipped into a frenzy by Iran’s mad mullah are an exact replica of the crowds Hitler “preached” to. And since the whole world knows Caesar Bush had determined to “Get Saddam” before he even took office and without any plan whatsoever for fighting a war to win in the Middle East there is no want of Muslim propaganda to use against America.

As some of us were pointing out at the time, without putting an actual face to the enemy and successfully demonizing him there was no hope of winning any kind of war, and given the stranglehold of political correctness it is easier to demonize Halliburton than Muslim fanatics. And when some of us call for bringing the troops home to secure our own borders we are labeled “defeatist” and “racist.” Since none of this makes any sense, least of all our leadership getting us involved in a Middle East quagmire where there is no hope of prosecuting any kind of successful war, it would be easy for anyone to think Bush a mad man confronting other mad men like Iran’s mad mullah.

What would it take here in America to prosecute a successful war against the gangs and other criminals terrorizing our cities? While I experienced the problem in Watts back in the 60s, it was interesting watching Anderson Cooper’s segment “Stop Snitchin’ “ program. Like the attention now being paid to the vile and violent lyrics of hip-hop and rap, it is far too little and far too late. Nothing short of a totalitarian rule in America can now solve the problem. But that can happen overnight if a terrorist nuclear bomb goes off at LAX. During the Watts Riots I watched as the police and National Guard went in to restore order. The cops would ride four in a car emptying their guns into various stores and buildings, the Guardsmen in armored vehicles would fire .50 caliber machine guns down the streets, and an actual body count was never made. While I slept with a gun by my side, one guardsman I knew kept a box of hand grenades close by. Were it not for my being there, this would all seem like a fabulous story.

But the situation that brought about the riots has only worsened, and the millions of illegal aliens invading from Mexico have only contributed to the worsening conditions in the cities and schools of America. While I applaud those like Cooper for airing the grievances, there is no satisfactory answer to quelling the violence in the cities short of martial law, securing our borders and expelling all illegal aliens. If this seems farfetched, the very same people saying it would take nearly a half-million troops in Iraq, a nation with a minuscule population compared to America, to have any chance of restoring order there refuse to see the same conditions building here in America, conditions that are spiraling out of control and inviting terrorism both from abroad and from within.

America is an acknowledged anomaly in the history of nations, and given world events leading to WWIII may well be destroyed unless we come up with a leadership that puts America first. But equally anomalous is the tiny State of Israel; that it should even exist at all and its coming into being and its survival inextricably intertwined with America. It is here where the Bible must be credited to make any sense of this.

I have my own beliefs about God and a hereafter, but dead may yet turn out to be nothing more than dead. I don’t know; and despite my many years of academic studies in theology and philosophy, I still have to say “I don’t know.” While I no longer stand in a pulpit as a Christian minister and my views about many things have changed over the years my personal beliefs are a comfort to me in many ways as they are to many others, but intellectual honesty requires I separate what I believe from what I know. For example, I believe there are saints and sinners, children of God and children of the Devil, but I don’t know that. I believe it because it makes sense to me, but I don’t know it as fact. My hope and belief is that when I die I will rejoin my loved ones and friends passed on before me; but I don’t know.

However, even if you are not knowledgeable of eschatology you might be surprised at the credence being given the End Times as described in Scripture. Glenn Beck certainly seems to believe this, but it was when I watched the interview with Jon Voight I was impressed with Voight’s obvious concern, actually, he said “fear” for the direction he believes the world is heading. His thoughts and fears are no doubt fortified by his daughter Angelina Jolie’s experiences as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency.

Joel Rosenberg’s “Epicenter” is not the ravings of a lunatic; far from it. My mentor Charles Lee Feinberg, Ph. D., Th. D. and Dean of Talbot Seminary was a Christian Jew; he referred to himself as a “completed Jew.” More than that, he was a fundamentalist Christian who believed the Bible and wrote several commentaries as well as being the leader selected by the Lockman Foundation for the New American Standard Bible, of which I have a treasured Pilot Edition signed and given me by Dr. Feinberg, and he was my guide while I studied the Bible and built my personal library of over 5,000 volumes of the very best of Biblical study books and commentaries.

It was Dr. Feinberg who called my attention to possibilities of actual Biblical prophecies, some of the more profound being those of Ezekiel, whom God had appointed as a “Watchman.” Perhaps Ezekiel was describing his supernatural view of the universe when he wrote of “eyes all about.” For those of you that have not read this book of the Old Testament please do so, and for those of you who have read it, perhaps even studied it consider my article about galactic black holes possibly being the “eyes of the universe” in the context of the prophet’s description. Maybe Ezekiel had a vision of the universe he was trying to describe, maybe the “eyes” were satellites or TVs, but I believe he was describing a prophetic vision.

The prophecies of Daniel in the OT and those of John in the NT together with those like Ezekiel’s and others may be in fact supernatural, and it would be marvelous if God were to intervene in world affairs, delivering us out of the darkness of fear, greed, and hatreds prevailing worldwide threatening nuclear Armageddon. Whatever anyone’s opinion, there is no disputing the fact that nothing short of supernatural can account for the tiny State of Israel being so prominent in world affairs; so I don’t wonder John McCain would tell Tim Russert Iran getting the bomb would mean Armageddon, or Condoleezza Rice mentioning “birth pangs” in relationship to the crisis building in the Middle East. To read only the book of Revelation seems too much like reading the daily newspapers today.

We read God had appointed Pharaoh to his position of prominence at the time of the Exodus in order to show the power of the Lord in delivering his people. But according to the story, the Israelites had been crying out to God for nearly four-hundred years to be delivered from their “cruel bondage.” Now, we live in a world of over six-billion most of whom live in cruel bondage of one kind or another, a situation that has lasted far more than the years of bondage for those Israelites.

The stories of the Bible are fascinating to read and I am grateful for those like Dr. Feinberg who taught me to study the Bible academically. But in all my years of Bible study, though I have departed from any kind of Christian orthodoxy there remains a “spirit of truth” throughout the book I cannot bring myself to deny.

And what if Bush has been appointed by God to fill the position he holds as Bush claims, but being in the position of the Pharaoh of the Exodus rather than the deliverer of America? Whether or not it seems Bush is leading America on a course of destruction, and I don’t find any fault with those whose hopes are in God to deliver them, who believe in “looking up for their redemption draweth nigh.” Whatever your beliefs there is no discounting the dangers to an America in which “in a hundred high schools and colleges this warfare against common sense still goes on.” That this warfare against common sense is so evident in our own leadership brings with it the gravest foreboding concerning the outcome for America. It doesn’t matter what one believes about the Bible, what does matter is the self-fulfilling prophecy of any nation whose leaders are dedicated to power, greed, and corruption rather than being dedicated to the benefit of the whole nation.

Along with the “miracle” of the State of Israel and its prominence both in Scripture and present world events there is the anomaly of so much scientific achievement and promise facing a growing dark and ignorant hatred by Muslim nations for all of Western Civilization. There is the growing possibility of Gog and Magog arising as alliances are forged against America and Israel. So, even with the risk to my own academic qualifications and credibility I increasingly place more credence in the Bible than the words of politicians to make any kind of sense of a world seemingly bent on its own destruction. But I am the beneficiary of the goodness America used to represent to the world, the beneficiary of the hope our nation once represented to We the People. And so much of this goodness of America was rooted in Scripture I don’t wonder that I am drawn more to this and the sincere goodness of those like my grandparents, Dr. Feinberg and Pastor Tyree Toliver than any other, and in this there is more to my mind of common sense to be found than anywhere else.

Still no word on Teagarden

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 23:12:48 PDT

Blaze manager Carlos Subero said he still doesn't have anything to report on catcher Taylor Teagarden.
Subero hinted that the catcher could return in 7-10 days to serve as Bakersfield's designated hitter, but Subero remains cautious.

A little cuteness for the weekend...

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 19:26:04 PDT

Enjoy!

Are We Really that Germy?

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 19:09:29 PDT

I hate all this anti-bacterial nonsense.

I can understand an anti-bacterial soap before a surgeon goes into surgery. I can understand the same soap before someone prepares dinner at a restaurant. And that’s about as far as my understanding goes.

I’ve lived just fine, relatively sickness free, for more than twenty years, without the need for products that kill all these supposed germs. Are these products really necessary, or are consumers just falling for another Pet Rock?

I also understand that some of the bacteria on our bodies helps to fight sickness. Also, some bacteria help build up our immunities to overwhelming amounts of bacteria. And, bacteria reproduce quickly enough to mutate to overcome the onslaught of things that try to kill it. What if we’re just creating super germs with all this antibacterial insanity?

When I saw antibacterial Windex, I choked. Isn’t ammonia, one of the key ingredients of Windex, enough to kill bacteria? And if it isn't, are germy windows really that big of a problem? Should I protect my visitors with antibacterial Windex in case one of them gets an urge to lick one of my windows?

Stop the antibacterial madness. I want my Windex familiar and blue, without any added nonsense. If someone licks my windows, maybe they deserve to be sick.

Taking on Bullies and Feeling Empowered

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 18:03:27 PDT

I had a job performance review today. Not from my "real" job which I consider photography and journalism, although those don't completely pay the bills yet. But from my other job...my so-called teaching job.

The review did not go well...I was dinged hard for not being a linear thinker...I am not!

I was dinged for not having my students engaged or following the curriculum...

Let's see...The Subject Matter was WWII here is a picture of a poster my students made outlining the 5 major periods of WWII

Look pretty engaged to me...and let's see...do you think they learned more by dividing up a poster paper into five sections and deciding the appropriate content to put in each section, or reading it of the textbook, which we also did, and taking a standardized test?

I am probably going to get in big trouble for this, but I am not going to be so cowardly as to post anonymously.

Second bully I am taking on today...False Advertisers.

I needed a little cash to get through the weekend and had been carrying around a personal check that was a gift for my recent birthday. Going to my usual check cashing place which advertises...we cash ALL checks. I was dutifully informed that they only cashed personal checks from a certain bank.

Do you see that anywhere on that sign?

So I dutifully came home, looked up the laws and false advertising and check cashing establishments and found them to be in violation of FTC and CA law. I printed up the appropriate documents and just handed them to the clerk asking her to give them to her boss.

I will of course be filing a complaint with the BBB and the DA...is this really a big deal.

No, BUT...having spent most of my life just accepting what I have been told and being pushed around....I am broke and probably soon to be unemployed but I FEEL empowered and fantastic!

My new motto for life

Believe in Something, But Question Everything!

BMWeerman...out

khsd not letting freshmen pass?!

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 17:36:50 PDT

actually having consequences for those students who do not meet the requirements? read and comment

http://www.bakersfield.com/619/story/128926.html

Answer to prayers turns out to be royal headace

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 17:11:35 PDT

EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR DIANNE HARDISTY WRITES: Faye Shearer is a retired restaurant worker who spends a lot of her days in a world of hurt. Injured on the job, she has degenerative disc disease and pinched nerves in her back.

Last December, Shearer thought her prayers were answered when she pulled into a parking lot behind the former federal courthouse on Truxtun Avenue and found an empty handicap parking spot. Shearer was headed to an evening performance of “The Nutcracker” at nearby Rabobank Arena.

Shearer thought she was parking in a public lot. Empty employee parking stalls, the locked office building and a scattering of government vehicles reinforced the impression. Shearer hung her disabled parking decal on her rearview mirror, locked her car and began her painful trek to the arena.

“When I came back to my car at 10 p.m., it was gone,” Shearer wrote to The Californian last week. “I didn’t know if it was stolen or towed.

“Without a phone, I finally managed to find a ride home. Around midnight the Sheriff’s Office called to tell me the car had been towed and where it was located. I can’t tell you the aggravation this has caused me trying to get to the bottom of why this happened.
And I never did.

“It cost me $226.50 to get my car the next day. There were three other ladies in the car (parked in the handicap spot) next to me who were left out in the cold, also. Sounds to me like someone has a good deal going here. This not only smells, it stinks.”

You might be wondering why it took Shearer months to complain to The Californian. Actually, she howled right away.

But her original letter was so long that it was returned and she was asked to condense it to 250 words. It took her three tries and several weeks to condense it. When I called her last week, she was still hopping mad. And it didn’t help when I told her I would not print her letter because it contained errors. As an alternative, I agreed to find out what happened.

The two office buildings at 800 and 900 Truxtun Ave. are privately owned, as are their north side parking lots. The 900 building is relatively new and houses offices and the Tailgaters restaurant. A big “900” is painted on its parking lot side. Its lot is filled with signs warning parking is for building customers only. Others will be towed.

The 800 building, formerly the federal courthouse, has no address displayed on its parking lot side. The only marked “tow-away” areas are in front of loading docks. The 800 building looks like a government building. A reasonable person would conclude the lot was in back of a public building. That is what I told the building’s owner when I called Tom Carosella.

Like most other property owners around Rabobank Arena, Carosella is inundated by event-goers and complains the city poorly planned for arena parking. Surrounding private property owners are left with a mess.

Carosella explained Shearer was not entitled to park in his private lot. But he was surprised she was towed. He said towing usually only happens when a car is blocking a loading dock. He agreed to add warning signs and paint the address on the building’s lot side.

Another mistake Shearer made was to assume her state-issued disabled placard entitled her to park in any universally designated “handicap” spot. It took two days and several calls to Sacramento to learn the parking privilege only applies when a driver is entitled to park in a private lot.

Just the same, a reasonable woman — and when I told Shearer what I had discovered, she was reasonable, but still angry — would have concluded as Shearer had: Wow! What good fortune. I found a handicapped parking spot close to Rabobank Arena.

Blaze gets on track

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:51:17 PDT

After losing nine straight games, Blaze manager Carlos Subero insisted his team would be OK. Well, after back-to-back victories over Visalia, he might be right.
The Blaze's pitching is better — Andrew Walker gave up just three runs in seven innings Thursday. John Mayberry Jr. seems to be improving at the plate — he hit three home runs Thursday — and Bakersfield played error-free baseball in both of the wins.
Lancaster 13-8 comes to Sam Lynn Ball Park tonight riding a four-game win streak. The JetHawks beat San Jose 10-6 Thursday.

Update
Lancaster strikes first
The Blaze fell behind 1-0 in the first inning after an RBI single by Lancaster's Aaron Bates. Blaze right-hander Michael Schlact gave up a double and single to start the game, but settled down to get out of the inning down by just one run.

Lancaster starter Daniel Bard struggled to find the strike zone in the first inning, walking the first two batters and hitting Thursday's hero John Mayberry Jr. However, He got out of the inning without giving up a run.

Lancaster picks up another run in the second
Another inning, another RBI single, this time from Luis Soto. Lancaster is up 2-0 in the second.

Blaze capitalizes on mistakes
The Blaze scored four runs in the second. Bard still can't locate the strike zone, walking three in the inning. Thomas Berkery put Bakersfield on the board, scoring on a wild pitch. Shortstop Matt Smith slapped an RBI single and Micah Furtado put down an RBI sacrifice bunt. Smith scored the fourth run of the inning on a passed ball.

Three one-run innings
For the third straight inning Schlact gave up one run on two hits. The Blaze now leads 4-3 in the bottom of the third.

Bard done early
After his sixth walk, Lancaster manager Chad Epperson pulled Bard. In just 2 2/3 innings, the right-hander gave up just four hits, but he threw three wild pitches, committed an error and hit a batter. Of the six runs he gave up, only three were earned. Through three innings, the Blaze leads 6-3.

Streak stopped
Apparently three innings was enough. After giving up one run in each of the first three innings, Schlact shut down Lancaster in the fourth, giving up just one hit.

Schalct's night over
Michael Schlact was pulled after five innings with a one-run lead. He gave up five runs on nine hits with five strikeouts. The Blaze rewarded his effort by scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Blaze is up 10-5 in the bottom of the fifth.

Closing in on three in a row
The Blaze is up 12-7 heading into the top of the ninth, just three outs away from its third straight win.

Dream is now nightmare

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:47:25 PDT

PUBLISHED 4-29-07

The American dream of home ownership has turned into a nightmare for many of the nation’s families, including many in Bakersfield.

The news last week was grim:

• Kern County’s foreclosure rate is triple the nation’s.

• Law enforcement and real estate professionals report mortgage fraud litters Bakersfield’s housing market.

Greed, lax lending rules and enforcement, fraud and buyer stupidity have caused rampant foreclosures that plague communities throughout the nation.

How do we get ourselves out of this mess?

• Tighten lending rules and add criminal penalties for fraud.

• Create pools of money to help first-time buyers or victims of fraud obtain new loans to prevent their homes from going into foreclosure.

Both steps are necessary to stem the losses families and communities sustain when foreclosures glut the inventory of homes on the market.

Low interest rates and sales hype fueled the real estate boom that took off after 2000 and began peaking in 2005. For a while, Bakersfield was one of the nation’s hottest real estate markets.

As hammers were swinging on new homes, outside investors priced out of more expensive markets rushed in to grab “affordable” homes, spiking prices in their wake.

Everyone was making big money. Starter and fixer-upper homes that would have sold for under $100,000 were going for over twice that amount. Whoopee. No questions asked.

Meanwhile, families who could never afford a home took advantage of low interest rates and schemes, including no-interest, 100 percent, cash-back-at-closing loans to buy big.

While they may have qualified to pay initial loan installments, when adjustable rates adjusted up or loans had to be refinanced, marginal buyers found themselves out of luck — in some cases owing more than at the start. Often their homes’ values had dropped or had been inflated from the get-go.

Mortgage fraud in Bakersfield “is very prevalent and it will become more prevalent,” Bakersfield Police Detective Frank Wooldridge told The Californian last week.

Law enforcement and regulatory agencies are investigating reports of mortgage fraud in Bakersfield and elsewhere. Wrongdoers — whether they be greedy buyers or disreputable sales agents and lenders — must be punished. Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, has introduced SB 355, which would expand state regulatory authority over many of the state’s lenders and real estate brokers who make home loans.

It would make state-licensed lending firms follow new federal “guildelines” that include basing lending decisions on a borrower’s ability to pay the maximum monthly payment for an adjustable-rate loan, rather than just the introductory rate, and placing less importance on a borrower’s “credit score” and more on income and ability to repay the loan.

No duh. You have to wonder under what rocks federal and state regulators have been hiding.

CSUB Spring BBQ

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:41:43 PDT

Here is a release from Cal State Bakersfield on the annual Spring BBQ.
For the first time ever, tickets for the CSUB Spring BBQ goers are available online at www.gorunners.com.
“Roadrunner athletics continues to expand online offerings for fans of their teams and events, and this is one more avenue through which we can make it even easier for fans to join us at this popular event,” CSUB athletics marketing Director Karen Langston said.
The event is May 10 with dinner being served from 5:30-9 p.m. at the Icardo Center.
Advance tickets are on sale now for just $25. For those who prefer to buy tickets in person, they are available at a variety of outlets: Vons, Wells Fargo, Russo’s Books at the Marketplace, Mexicali Restaurants and FoodMaxx.
The cost is $30 at the door.
The 35th annual Spring BBQ is themed “Back to the 70s” in celebration of the first Spring BBQ in 1973. There will be a costume contest for the best 70s outfit, “Hustle” dance lessons and tunes from the 70s performed by Thee Majestics.

Value, tax drop

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:33:29 PDT

PUBLISHED 4-29-07

The downturn in real estate markets has plummetted housing values in many communities. Kern County Assessor Jim Fitch told The Californian last week that his department is seeing only a flattening of local property values. But Fitch predicted by the end of the year, values may drop 10 to 15 percent. That drop could mean a drop in the amount owners pay in taxes.

The tax roll for fiscal year 2007-08 will be delivered to the Kern County Board of Supervisors in July, with bills sent to property owners in September.

Fitch said assessors are reviewing local property values to make adjustments. Owners also can contact his office to request a re-evaluation.

Lowered values and a resulting loss in property taxes are expected to hit local and state government coffers, which rely on these revenues to provide public services.

If you have a question about your property’s value, call the Kern County Assessor’s Office at 868-3485 or e-mail assessor@co.kern.ca.us.

Emergency alert system needed

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:14:40 PDT

PUBLISHED 5-1-07

Implementing a system to alert the public to emergencies quickly and easily must be accelerated.

Despite huge hurdles, putting some sort of system in place should result from a workshop state officials — led by Lt. Gov. John Garamendi — are planning with telecommunications industry representatives.

Despite Garamendi’s hope for a simple and inexpensive system to be in place within two to five years, Bakersfield and Kern County officials agree huge practical problems need to be overcome. But they also agree it is worth doing.

The concept of a “reverse 911” alert system has been in the works for years, but has taken on new impetus since last month’s Virginia Tech shootings.

In concept, public safety agencies would contact cell phone providers who would send out a mass verbal or text message to their subscribers in the event of an emergency.

The major problems that must be resolved fall into two categories — technology and coordination.

In terms of coordination, someone has to decide who should be contacted and when, and then how messages should be conveyed clearly and appropriately.

Emergency communications personnel already deal with such issues up to a point. But in most cases, the county’s central emergency communications center on Panorama Drive, and city and county fire departments deal with public agencies or non-governmental organizations that have the training to respond to alerts appropriately.

It will be more difficult to convey information to a mass lay public in context. The nature of the message is critical. There is always a need to tread a fine line between making the public aware of a hazard and triggering panic.

Messages also would have to be sent in different languages in different areas.
On the technology front, in a large scale emergency — an earthquake or dam break, for example — notification by area code or ZIP code would be possible. But managing a small-area, neighborhood alert — for example a problem at one school or near a single industrial accident — might be more difficult.

There is also the risk that in a major disaster — an earthquake, for example — cell phone systems may fail or be overwhelmed by incoming calls for information.

There is also an issue of how to reach people who do not have cell phones. The city of Bakersfield has a “teleminder” alert system that can dial 3,000 land line phones per hour, but it does not have the ability for near-simultaneous contacts for cell phones in large numbers. Also, the number of land line telephone subscribers is diminishing rapidly.

Such potential drawbacks aside, any reverse 911 system is helpful and worth pursuing.

That is especially the case given predictions that more people will convert to cell phone technology and that the technology will improve in reliability.

Experience UC Merced

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:10:29 PDT

PUBLISHED 5-2-07

Students have a great opportunity to attend a University of California campus, even if some of the ones they chose rejected them.

UC campuses at Los Angeles, San Diego, Irvine and Berkeley have teamed up with UC Merced to help increase the new campus’ enrollment.

It’s tough even for the very best students to get into some UC schools. Those who narrowly missed being admitted will be invited to participate in the Shared Experience program, where they can be admitted to the Merced campus, instead.

The program will accept students whose majors are undeclared or who are in majors both campuses offer. If the students keep up their grades, they will be guaranteed in their junior year a spot on the campus they originally applied to, or they can decide to complete their studies at Merced.

UC Merced hopes to keep these students all four years. The new campus, although still growing, has plenty to offer students.

Students will have several reasons to stay. They will:

• Be working on their major.
• Making friends.
• Growing to accept, even like, the community.

The program is a good way to increase Merced’s enrollment by getting the word out about the campus. It will also benefit students.

Shared Experience will invite 1,000 students to begin, and hopefully, finish their degree at UC Merced.

I'm Sorry!

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:10:51 PDT

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/27/world/europe/27paris.html?ei=5090&en=d0408e3a5a0e4747&ex=1335326400&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print

April 27, 2007

Royal Accuses Rival of Apology to Bush on Iraq; Sarkozy Denies It

By ARIANE BERNARD

PARIS, April 26 — Ségolène Royal, the Socialist candidate in the French presidential election on May 6, accused Nicolas Sarkozy, her conservative opponent, on Wednesday of having “apologized” to President Bush for France’s decision not to back the United States militarily in Iraq.

Mr. Sarkozy’s campaign team called her words “lies.”

“I am not for a Europe that aligns with the U.S.,” Ms. Royal said on France 2 television. “I have never been, and will never, go apologize to President Bush for the position of France on the issue of refusing to send our troops to Iraq.”

The interviewer noted that Mr. Sarkozy’s official position was that he had supported President Jacques Chirac’s opposition to the war and to French participation in military operations in Iraq.

“Yes, well, listen,” Ms. Royal responded. “He still did this.”

Mr. Sarkozy’s team issued a strongly worded statement on Thursday morning, repeating his position that the war in Iraq was a mistake and that he backed Mr. Chirac’s decision to refuse to send French troops.

The statement called for Ms. Royal to “stop using lies and personal attacks to preserve the dignity and qualities of the presidential debate.”

Ms. Royal repeated her criticism on Thursday evening, telling TF1 television, “He may have changed his posture, but I think all the French were shocked by his move when he visited George Bush, denouncing French arrogance and apologizing for the French position.”

While in the United States in September, Mr. Sarkozy, then the interior minister, sought to distance himself from what he considered France’s clumsy method of diplomacy, but he repeated his opposition to the war. He met with President Bush at the White House and they posed for a photo, which prompted much commentary in the French news media.

“We know that a meeting was negotiated,” Arnaud Montebourg, a spokesman for Ms. Royal, said in an interview. “This showed that in exchange, he had made verbal concessions showing he separated himself from French diplomacy.”

Asked if the Socialist Party had any evidence that Mr. Sarkozy had “apologized” for not sending troops to Iraq, he replied: “These are facts. How do you want Mr. Bush to shake the hand of a leader without some sort of opening on his part?”

The battle between Mr. Sarkozy, who received 31 percent of the vote on Sunday in the first round of the presidential election, and Ms. Royal, who got 26 percent, is intensifying.

Mr. Sarkozy’s opponents have often emphasized his perceived affinity for the United States. In January, a Socialist Party pamphlet called him an “American neoconservative with a French passport.”

CSUB volleyball hires assistant coach

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:07:19 PDT

The Roadrunners announced Friday that Fabiana Abreu is joining the volleyball program as an assistant coach. Abreu is a native of Brazil, who played for the national team in the late 1990s.
She moved to the U.S. to play for the College of Southern Idaho in 1998 and after two seasons moved on to the University Iowa.
Abreu joins the 'Runners after spending the last five seasons as the associate head coach at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburgh, Texas.
Due to space restrictions, the story on Abreu will be in Sunday's paper.

Wrong Number? Please!

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:03:45 PDT

As of lately, I’ve grown to hate the telephone.

I’ve never been much of a fan, aside from that period when teenagers live for the telephone. I hold the position that someone who calls me on the phone is not really talking to me, but to a machine that is broadcasting my voice, and telephone conversations are a cop out. If you want to talk to me, come over, visit, let’s have some eye contact and you can see my expressions when I say something sarcastic that can be misconstrued on a phone. Since I’m deadpan sarcastic, phone conversations usually don’t go well for me, and I end up having to explain punch lines of jokes that are no longer funny. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you, because I do, just not on the damned telephone. You’re not talking to me; you’re talking to the telephone! I think most of my friends are trained. Call me, handle your business, tell me when you’re showing up or where I have to go, get off the phone, and I’ll be a happy man. Sit there and chat and I want to strangle myself with the cord. Slowly.

Most of my friends understand my peculiarities with the telephone. They call, see that I’m still alive and make sure I’m not saving fingernail clippings or bottling urine while I’m working on my novel, so no major interventions are needed. They immediately hang up and feel like they’ve done a good deed checking on the quirky writer guy. I’ve got a friend in Washington who calls regularly, checks in on me and we argue politics. He calls me a liberal hippie freak and I call him a conservative tight ass and we hang up until he calls again a few days later to share some other political news he knows will piss me off. I have a buddy in Pasadena who doesn’t call as often as I’d like, and I enjoy talking metaphysics on the phone with him until hours evaporate. With the long distance relationships, I know it’s not very easy for them to pop in the car and drive over, so the telephone is a necessary evil to maintain those relationships.

Mostly my telephone is a pain in the ass. I think the phone company didn’t bank my phone number long enough, and I get lots of wrong numbers because of it. Plus, my voicemail message is generic, with no names or phone numbers, so people just talk without thinking it might the wrong number. Annoying when the phone rings with the wrong number, but I do get some entertaining phone messages. And after the fifth wrong number in a row, I have a tendency to let the batteries on the handset die. After three days of phone silence – which is an oddity at my house – I remember that I have a telephone, and find it dead as spider chitin under the recliner. I have to call my friends back, who leave vaguely concerned messages, even though they understand. I tell them I’m fine, yeah, I figured it was weird my phone wasn’t ringing, and no need for any interventions.

I get a lot of phone calls for some doctor. My voice mail messages are very interesting, and sometimes blushingly personal. People call to tell me an ailment (yikes! I didn’t know a toe could do that), and then request an appointment. Hospitals call to track down charts, prescriptions or insurance billing. I’ve had temptations to answer these calls and actually set an appointment, approve a Vicodin prescription for some lucky person, or tell some poor clerk to keep billing Blue Cross even if they argue you shouldn’t bill them, but this isn’t like taking a pizza order that’s the wrong number. The only thing, and I do mean the only thing, that’s stopped me is that people’s lives are at stake. I’m not that big of an asshole. I’m glad the doctor calls tapered off over the last few months, since the regularity of them was so great the temptation was constant.

Then I’ve been getting a lot of calls for someone. Oh, let’s call him Fred in case there’s a reader that might recognize this and go hunting Fred’s genitals for a trophy on their wall. At first, I thought it was just another wrong number. I got a number of phone calls asking for Fred, repeatedly, and I’d say there is no Fred here, you’ve got the wrong number. They call back, I rinse and repeat, or let voicemail create the diversion. You know the routine. I got a contractor that called for Fred, I told him he had the wrong number, but he called back an hour or so later and left a rambling message about bidding concrete and they looked forward to doing the work. In retrospect, that was one call I regretted not setting an appointment, tell them money wasn’t an issue and do all the work they could.

Then a smashingly hot sounding young lady called one afternoon, chatty and cheerful. “How they hanging?”

I didn’t immediately recognize the voice, so I played along. I’m far better at recognizing voices and putting names to them, so the more the caller talked, the better my chances. Plus, damn, she sounded hot, so I was quick on the charm. “Oh, you know, hanging low, wobbling to and fro.”

“Good, good! I haven’t heard from you in a couple of days” – which isn’t odd behavior on my behalf – “and thought I’d call you.”

Unfortunately, that was enough for me to know I had no idea who this person was, even though I wanted to. “Who is this?”

All the chattiness dropped from her voice and she was immediately pissed. Maybe not pissed, but insulted enough to sound pissed. “What do you mean, ‘Who is this?’” I should know damn well who this was.

“Um. Like, who is calling me on the phone, ‘Who is this?’”

The kicker: “Fred?”

I’ve gotten enough Fred calls to have my speech well rehearsed. “There is no Fred here. You have the wrong number.”

She went from irritated to seething pissed, but not at me. She heard the rehearsal in my voice, and everything seemed to click into place. Her voice could have frozen carbon dioxide. “Oh. I’m sorry. Good bye.”

That phone call clicked some things into place for me too. I can see the phone company didn’t bank a doctor’s phone number long enough before giving it to me. But a doctor and Fred? That was too much for even corporate America to screw up. I assume that Fred made up a phone number to blindside people he no longer wanted to talk to, and like a bad Seinfeld episode, Fred actually invented a phone number that was realistic enough to be mine.

Even though I hate talking on the phone, I’m looking forward to the next Fred phone call I get. I’m going to play that one until the pips wear off the surface of the dice. Set appointments, approve whatever spending, ask them to stop by Fred’s house and bang on the windows since calling can’t guarantee an answer.

Come on, wrong number! Give it to me!

Approval Ratings GW vs Congress

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:01:55 PDT

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/

President Bush Job Approval

RCP Average

Approve	35.6%
Disapprove	59.1%
Spread -23.5% Poll Details

Congressional Job Approval

RCP Average

Approve	36.8%
Disapprove	53.8%
Spread -17% Poll Details

Here FIDO....I Mean Mr. Fido, Sir

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:56:48 PDT

PETA CALLS ON AP STYLEBOOK GURUS TO STOP CALLING ANIMALS 'IT'

For Immediate Release:
April 26, 2007

Contact:
Michael McGraw 757-622-7382

Norfolk, Va. -- This afternoon, PETA dispatched a letter to Norm Goldstein, editor of The Associated Press Stylebook, suggesting that it is time to revise the book’s language guidelines—which currently characterize animals as inanimate objects—and bring the references in line with 21st century attitudes. Specifically, PETA points out that using "it" and "which" instead of the personal pronouns "he," "she," and "who" in reference to animals is inaccurate and outdated—particularly in a society that is increasingly recognizing that animals have inherent rights, legal standing, and individuality.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to Norm Goldstein follows.

April 26, 2007

Norm Goldstein, Editor
The Associated Press
450 W. 33rd St.
New York, NY 10001

Dear Mr. Goldstein:

On behalf of PETA’s more than 1.6 million members and supporters worldwide, I am writing to request that you revise The Associated Press Stylebook so that its grammatical rules reflect the fact that animals are living beings rather than inanimate objects. In magazine articles, popular literature, and advertising, writers are using "he," "she," and "who" to refer to animals—instead of the outdated and inaccurate "it" and "which." Won’t you consider making this transition as well?

As "the essential global news network," the Associated Press (AP) should take a progressive step and give animals the respect that they deserve by revising AP style guidelines to reflect the usage of personal pronouns for all animals.

While the world accelerates through the 21st century, progressive ideas are challenging and changing conventional perspectives. Recently, the American legal system recognized that nonhuman animals deserve legal status beyond that of mere "property" and that abusive treatment of animals is more than simple vandalism.

The public now recognizes that whales, who sing across oceans; great apes, who share more than 98 percent of our DNA; sheep, who can recognize as many as 50 faces after not having seen them for two years; and pigs and chickens, who can learn to operate switches in order to control heat and light in factory-farm sheds, are feeling, intelligent individuals—not objects. Our language should reflect this.

I would greatly appreciate hearing your decision on this matter. Enclosed are PETA’s Writing Style and Guidelines, which explain how to avoid language that portrays animals in a negative light.

Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Anna West
Director of Written Communications

One Choice in Iraq

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:52:37 PDT

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502410_pf.html

One Choice in Iraq

By Joe Lieberman
Thursday, April 26, 2007; A29

Last week a series of coordinated suicide bombings killed more than 170 people. The victims were not soldiers or government officials but civilians -- innocent men, women and children indiscriminately murdered on their way home from work and school.

If such an atrocity had been perpetrated in the United States, Europe or Israel, our response would surely have been anger at the fanatics responsible and resolve not to surrender to their barbarism.

Unfortunately, because this slaughter took place in Baghdad, the carnage was seized upon as the latest talking point by advocates of withdrawal here in Washington. Rather than condemning the attacks and the terrorists who committed them, critics trumpeted them as proof that Gen. David Petraeus's security strategy has failed and that the war is "lost."

And today, perversely, the Senate is likely to vote on a binding timeline of withdrawal from Iraq.

This reaction is dangerously wrong. It reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of both the reality in Iraq and the nature of the enemy we are fighting there.

What is needed in Iraq policy is not overheated rhetoric but a sober assessment of the progress we have made and the challenges we still face.

In the two months since Petraeus took command, the United States and its Iraqi allies have made encouraging progress on two problems that once seemed intractable: tamping down the Shiite-led sectarian violence that paralyzed Baghdad until recently and consolidating support from Iraqi Sunnis -- particularly in Anbar, a province dismissed just a few months ago as hopelessly mired in insurgency.

This progress is real, but it is still preliminary.

The suicide bombings we see now in Iraq are an attempt to reverse these gains: a deliberate, calculated counteroffensive led foremost by al-Qaeda, the same network of Islamist extremists that perpetrated catastrophic attacks in Kenya, Indonesia, Turkey and, yes, New York and Washington.

Indeed, to the extent that last week's bloodshed clarified anything, it is that the battle of Baghdad is increasingly a battle against al-Qaeda. Whether we like it or not, al-Qaeda views the Iraqi capital as a central front of its war against us.

Al-Qaeda's strategy for victory in Iraq is clear. It is trying to kill as many innocent people as possible in the hope of reigniting Shiite sectarian violence and terrorizing the Sunnis into submission.

In other words, just as Petraeus and his troops are working to empower and unite Iraqi moderates by establishing basic security, al-Qaeda is trying to divide and conquer with spectacular acts of butchery.

That is why the suggestion that we can fight al-Qaeda but stay out of Iraq's "civil war" is specious, since the very crux of al-Qaeda's strategy in Iraq has been to try to provoke civil war.

The current wave of suicide bombings in Iraq is also aimed at us here in the United States -- to obscure the recent gains we have made and to convince the American public that our efforts in Iraq are futile and that we should retreat.

When politicians here declare that Iraq is "lost" in reaction to al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks and demand timetables for withdrawal, they are doing exactly what al-Qaeda hopes they will do, although I know that is not their intent.

Even as the American political center falters, the Iraqi political center is holding. In the aftermath of last week's attacks, there were no large-scale reprisals by Shiite militias -- as undoubtedly would have occurred last year. Despite the violence, Iraq's leadership continues to make slow but visible progress toward compromise and reconciliation.

But if tomorrow Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds were to achieve the "political solution" we all hope for, the threat of al-Qaeda in Iraq would not vanish.

Al-Qaeda, after all, isn't carrying out mass murder against civilians in the streets of Baghdad because it wants a more equitable distribution of oil revenue. Its aim in Iraq isn't to get a seat at the political table; it wants to blow up the table -- along with everyone seated at it.

Certainly al-Qaeda can be weakened by isolating it politically. But even after the overwhelming majority of Iraqis agree on a shared political vision, there will remain a hardened core of extremists who are dedicated to destroying that vision through horrific violence. These forces cannot be negotiated or reasoned out of existence. They must be defeated.

The challenge before us, then, is whether we respond to al-Qaeda's barbarism by running away, as it hopes we do -- abandoning the future of Iraq, the Middle East and ultimately our own security to the very people responsible for last week's atrocities -- or whether we stand and fight.

To me, there is only one choice that protects America's security -- and that is to stand, and fight, and win.

From Boris Yeltsin's Christian Funeral to The War on Terror.

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:22:57 PDT

Here's a link to an interesting artical.

http://www.payvand.com/news/07/apr/1322.html

Daily Hope.

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:42:47 PDT

To order your hard copy of Prologue please go here

April 27

1. THE HOLY APOSTLE SIMEON

Simeon was one of the Seventy Apostles. He was the son of Cleopas who was the brother of Joseph, the betrothed of the All-Holy Mother of God. Seeing the miracles of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Simeon believed and was numbered among the Seventy Apostles. He preached the Gospel of Christ with great zeal and courage throughout Judea. When the nefarious Jews killed James, the brother of our Lord and first bishop of the Church of Jerusalem, by hurling him from the heights of the Temple and beat him over the head with a hoe, then this Simeon, a cousin of James, was appointed Bishop of Jerusalem. And Simeon, as the second bishop of the Holy City, governed the Church of God with wisdom and strength until a ripe old age. He was over one hundred years old when he suffered. His suffering was in this manner: during the reign of Emperor Trajan, a two-fold persecution began: one in Palestine against the descendants of David and the other persecution against the Christians. The wicked people accused Simeon of being both one and the other (a Jew and a Christian). St. Simeon endured enormous pains and finally was crucified on a cross, as was his Lord, Whom he faithfully served on earth.

2. VENERABLE STEPHEN, THE BISHOP OF VLADIMIR

Stephen was a disciple of St. Theodosius of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev. For a while, Stephen was abbot of the Monastery of the Caves and labored much in the regulation and organization of the monastic life and in adornment of churches. The devil incited malice among the monks against Stephen and, not only did they remove him as abbot, but banished him from the monastery. God, Who does not abandon the righteous for long under the humiliation of the unrighteous, directed the life of Venerable Stephen so that he was elected as Bishop of Vladimir. As a hierarch of God, Stephen governed the Church until old age and died peacefully in the Lord in the year 1094 A.D.

3. THE BURNING OF THE RELICS OF SAINT SAVA

Sava was the Archbishop of the Serbs. The body of St. Sava was buried in Mileshevo Monastery. During the time of the Turkish tyranny, the Serbian people gathered around the relics of their saint to seek comfort and healing. Fearing that an insurrection might arise from that place against the Turks, Sinan Pasha of Belgrade ordered that the relics of St. Sava be translated to Belgrade and there to be burned on Vracar, April 27, 1594 A.D. With the burning of the relics of this saint, the rabid Pasha did not burn the saint who remained alive before the Throne of God in the heavens and in the hearts of his people on earth.

4. VENERABLE JOHN THE CONFESSOR

John was the Abbott of the Cathar Monastery. This monastery was established near Nicaea during the reign of Justin in the sixth century. Because of his veneration of icons and his defense for the veneration of icons, John suffered much at the hands of the Emperors Leo and Theophilus and died in exile around the year 832 A.D.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY APOSTLE SIMEON

Simeon, glistening with youth and strength,

When he, the good Teacher approached

Saw not a relative, known to him according to the flesh

But, the unknown God in bodily form;

And the entire world became dark to him from this great light,

When he came to himself, with the world He parted

And as a powerful eagle in lofty flight

Toward heaven and the heavenly world, he raises his spirit.

He, through Christ, recognized the goodness of God,

And immortal life and immortal beauty

Yet through Christ, True Man he recognized,

That is why he scorns glory and the honor of this age;

As a honey bee, he devoted himself to labor,

Not grieving over youth, not grieving over the body,

But, to the end to fulfill the law of Christ

And to become worthy of Paradise divine.

And crucified on the Cross, the elder centenarian,

Did not feel the deadly sting,

For with the spirit, long ago he resurrected,

Now waits with the body to resurrect gloriously.

REFLECTION

The True Faith must be persecuted in this world. The Savior Himself said this clearly and openly to His apostles. St. Apollinaris of Hierapolis in writing against the Montanist heretics says: " Let them tell us before God who, out of all their prophets, beginning with Montanus and his wives, was persecuted by the Jews and killed by the ungodly? No one. Who, from among them was taken away for of the Name of Christ and was crucified on the cross? Again, no one. Have any one of the women ever been flogged or stoned in the Jewish synagogues? Nowhere and never." However, the Orthodox saint wants to say, that the True Faith must be persecuted in this world. Heresies are generally closer to the worldly and demonic spirit, which is why the world and the demon do not persecute their own. To be constantly persecuted, with brief intervals in between, is a characteristic of the Faith and of the Orthodox Church. This persecution existed throughout all of history, either from without or within; externally from unbelievers and internally from heretics.

CONTEMPLATION,

To contemplate the resurrected Lord Jesus:

1. How He commands that repentance and forgiveness of sins be preached in His Name;

2. How He commands His disciples to await the Father's promise of the power of the Holy Spirit from on high.

HOMILY

About the persecution of the pious

"It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts of the Apostles 14:22).

"In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12).

The Lord Jesus prophesied this and by His example He proved it. The apostles also said this and by their examples they proved it. All the God-bearing Fathers of the Church, confessors and martyrs said this and they proved this by their example. Therefore, is there any need to doubt that, through a narrow door, one enters the kingdom of God? Should we hesitate for a moment that, "it is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God?" No, there is no basis nor justification for doubt. Can sheep live among the wolves and not be attacked by them? Can a candle burn in the midst of cross winds and not sway back and forth? Can a good fruit-bearing tree grow along side the road and not be disturbed by passersby? Thus, the Church of pious souls cannot but be persecuted and be persecuted by heathens, by idolaters, by heretics, by apostates, from passions and vices, from sin and transgressions, from the world and by demons. So it is that not one devout soul can remain without persecution, be it externally or internally, until it is separated from the body and the world. Someone might oppose this and prove it otherwise according to his calculation and according to his logic. But, in this case, neither the mind nor the logic of one man is of any avail. Thousands who were crucified speak otherwise, thousands burned alive cry out otherwise, thousands who were beheaded prove otherwise and thousands who were drowned witness otherwise. O my brethren, the Christian Faith is mighty not only when it agrees with sensory reasoning and sensory logic but when, and especially when, it contradicts sensory reasoning and sensory logic.

Those who want to live a godly-life will be persecuted. This the apostle prophesied at the beginning of the Christian era and twenty Christian centuries render a multi-voiced echo to confirm the truth of the prophecy.

O resurrected Lord, grant us light that we may be pious to the end and give us the strength to endure persecution to the end.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

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