Recent Blog Posts: Bakersfield.com

No holds barred: Strange encounter ends in arrest

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:14:48 PST

I received a lot of reaction to my piece about the fellow who came to my door the other night, acted strangely and then ran off (see Wednesday’s paper or my blog at www.bakersfield.com).

Well, he was arrested Thursday evening, still in northwest Bakersfield and still acting strangely.

He didn’t do anything terribly bad and wasn’t a dangerous guy. But I feel I need to clear up what happened and point out some interesting things I learned along the way.

First, the guy at my door and the people he works with are not connected to a string of “sales calls” followed by home burglaries in south and southwest bakersfield in October.
Bakersfield police Lt. Jay Borton told me they’re convinced they caught those bad guys who, as we reported in Friday’s paper, were members of a gang.

Second, you need a peddler’s permit in the city or county to go door-to-door (Girl Scouts and other non- profits are exempt). And the permit only allows people to sell from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the city and 9 a.m. until 30 minutes after sunset in the county.

Third, the man who came to my door Tuesday night, along with a number of other young men and women that people have noticed around the city, work for a company called All Can Succeed.

The company, headquartered in Omaha Nebraska and owned by Kevin Ballard. I talked to Ballard Friday.

He said they hire young people from inner cities all over the country, train them to sell, then take them to various cities.

“We’re 100 percent legitimate,” said Ballard, who started the company in 2006.

They drop the sales teams off in neighborhoods around the city in the morning, tell them to sell, sell, sell, then pick them up in the evening

That’s exactly what a group of moms I met at Haggin Oak Park Thursday afternoon thought might be the case. The sales people were all over their neighborhood earlier in the week.

“I don’t think we’re being cased,” Kim Mishkind told me. “It seems more like these are young people who may be being taken advantage of by some company.”

One of the young men in question, Damonte Robinson, 22, said he didn’t feel that way, but it was tough selling subscriptions door-to-door.

He’d been attending community college in Los Angeles, working toward certification to service heating and air conditioning units when his financial aid ran out and he needed a job, he said.

He saw an ad for All Can Succeed and thought he’d give it a try. He, like all the other All Can Succeed member including the man who came to my door, was very nicely dressed, which Robinson said is something the company stresses.

“You learn the importance of good manners, a firm handshake, looking people eye-to-eye,” he said. He earns half of whatever he sells and said they get paid every night.

“But this is hard, especially for me. I’m not a pushy person.”

The man who came to my neighborhood, Michael Carruthers, 28, from Memphis, Tenn., had the pushy part down, but apparently not the manners.

While he didn’t say much to me, he got into arguments with other neighbors, calling them racist (even an African-American man who simply asked what he was selling).

The Sheriff’s department had numerous calls about Carruthers starting Tuesday night and became very concerned when they couldn’t find him, according to Sgt. Otis Whinery. So, when a call came in Thursday night, every cruiser in the Rosedale substation responded.

Carruthers had no identification, no peddler’s permit and he was knocking on doors after dark.

It could have been a toss-up on whether to arrest him or let him off with a warning. ButWhinery said once he became “verbally aggressive” with deputies, off he went.

Rodney Ballard, also with All Can Succeed, said Carruthers was one bad apple and that the company wasn’t aware of the business license rules. He said they were fixing all that on Friday and hoped to be in Bakersfield a while longer.

Comments:
VirgilAnderson commented:

Nice ...

Thank you, for the update.

--virgil

midterm2 commented:

What were the "subscriptions" that were being offered for sale, and how much did they cost? If a homeowner decides to purchase something, does the peddler take financial information at that point in time? Does the peddler eye the house for an alarm system, a dangerous dog, etc.? How much does the "average" peddler earn in a day? Are federal, state, and social security taxes withheld from any earnings?

Sounds crooked to me!

maybelline commented:

Subscriptions?! Really? Who subscribes to publications anymore? This has got to be the most difficult way to earn a buck ever. Further, who still sales door-to-door? I'm suspicious but still would love to return to the day of home deliveries of all sorts..

mrsearnhardt88 commented:

Thanks for the update Lois! I will continue to be cautious however...

adampayne commented:

Sad story for sad times. Thanks for the update and reporting on the probable capture of the burglars.

ronmexico commented:

The man who came to my neighborhood, Michael Carruthers, 28, from Memphis, Tenn., had the pushy part down, but apparently not the manners.

While he didn’t say much to me, he got into arguments with other neighbors, calling them racist (even an African-American man who simply asked what he was selling).

Dang, this dude just locked himself up a sweet job in the Obama Administration as the Magazine Czar...I bet he doesn't pay his taxes either. Did you axe him that, Lois?

formerflak commented:

I think that same guy may have come to my home! The man who came to my NW home was also black and well dressed and with the same organization. I couldn't understand half of what he was saying because he was mumbling and had an accent. I tried to listen to his sales pitch, but when he wouldn't tell me what anything cost I eventually lost my patience and told him I wasn't buying. Then he got really mad and downright rude and seemed to imply I was racist and made me very nervous. The whole experience made me want to hang a no solicitors sign up, but I've refrained since I don't want to discourage the neighborhood kids with their school/club fundraisers.

formerflak commented:

Also- what is up with the endless stream of Kirby vac. sales people?

: Vatican Monsignor Calls 'New Moon' 'A Moral Vacuum With A Deviant Message'

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:43:46 PST

YAHOO.COM

It appears The Vatican is neither Team Jacob nor Team Edward!

Critics are divided, Twi-hards are excited, but the Vatican is reportedly condemning "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," claiming the vampire and werewolf-filled movie is "deviant."

"This theme of vampires in 'Twilight' combines a mixture of excesses that, as ever is aimed at young people and gives a heavy esoteric element," Monsignor Franco Perazzolo, the Vatican's culture council leader, said in a statement on Thursday, according to Britain's Daily Mail.

Monsignor Perazzolo reportedly said the latest installment in the "Twilight" franchise is delivering the wrong message to audiences.

"This film is nothing more than a moral vacuum with a deviant message and as such should be of concern," he continued.

Monsignor Perazzolo did not clarify in his statement if he had seen an advance copy of "New Moon,' attended a midnight screening with Twi-hards or if he had even actually seen the movie.

Condemnation or not, eager fans appeared to unfazed by the Monsignor's warnings. As previously reportedly on AccessHollywood.com, "New Moon" pulled in an astounding estimated gross of $26.27 million at midnight screenings early Friday morning.

Comments:
foodjunkie commented:

"This film is nothing more than a moral vacuum with a deviant message and as such should be of concern," he continued.

Wait a minute Monsignor. Just to clarify Twilight ... Edward and Bella are not homosexuals. They are not sleeping with each other and the Bible does not address Woman/Vampire and/or Wolf relations.

paxchristi3 commented:

Anne Rice, whose novels have gone from the darkness of vampires to the light of Christ as a reflection of her conversion to Catholicism, would probably sink her teeth into the notion that the monsignor is right that the film sucks. Still, as one blogger notes, her path to the truth is a work in progress: http://holyinnocentslongbeach.blogspot.com/2009/10/whats-behind-vampire-craze-in-our.html

Deanz70 commented:

The vatican calling something deviant???? Do they not notice their rampant hypocrisy?? I'll be sure to see the movie now.............:)

animalluvr commented:

I saw the movie on Friday and it was really, really good. At first i wasn't really a Twilight fan because the first movie was just ok, but this one was really good, and critics said that this one was going to be better than the first and they were right. The ending really bummed me out because it wasn't really the ending of the movie, and just as it was getting even better and better, they cut it. Who ever says that this movie sucked is crazy, or there just not a fan of vampire movies, but then again this is just my own opinion so obviously you can agree or disagree with me, but if your a fan of the movie than i think you will agree with me. Just like any other movie for me there was only one thing that they could of had, was a little more action in it but all in all i give the movie a A-. I liked the werewolves, they were cool and so were the vampires, but my favorite character of the movie would be Jacob the wolf.

Ask The Californian: Is a new southwest Body Xchange coming?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:22:56 PST

Q: For quite a while there used to be a sign on Stine Road (right off of Panama) indicating that a Body Xchange would be coming soon. I noticed this week that the sign has been removed.

Are there still plans for a future Body Xchange at this location?

- Denise Buzzini

A: We have left about a half dozen messages at Body Xchange headquarters over the last few weeks with your question and haven’t received a call back. We’ll continue to call, but wanted to let you know we’ve been trying to get an answer, to no avail.

Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.

Ask The Californian: Will The Californian allow new story commenting tools?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:20:51 PST

Q: Does The Californian have any plans to allow readers to post comments on its Web site using Facebook or Twitter accounts? Some news sites are now letting readers log-in to their sites using their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

- Travis Anthony

A: Launching story commenting as well as Facebook/Twitter integration is high on our to-do list for early next year, said Logan Molen, the senior vice president and chief operating officer who oversees The Californian's online and mobile products.

We plan to implement so-called OpenID features that will allow you to use your Facebook and Twitter accounts -- as well as others like Yahoo, Google, MySpace and Windows Live -- to do things like comment on our stories and blogs or review local restaurants.

Another benefit of OpenID is those sign-in tools will make it easier for you to use all of our local websites, which currently number more than 12 (with more to come in 2010).

In the meantime, each of our news stories and blogs features “Share!” buttons that allow you to share interesting content via Facebook, Twitter or dozens of other social networks.

Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.

Ask The Californian: Why are tractors plowing on a no-burn day?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:19:01 PST

Why is it on the first no-burn day of the season I see several tractors plowing their fields sending huge plumes of dust hundreds of feet in the air? I thought the point of a no-burn day was to reduce the amount of particulate in the air.

- Matthew Milbury

A: Scott Nester, director of planning at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, responded:

The no-burn restrictions predominantly apply to fine particulates (PM 2.5), which is a different pollutant than coarse particulates (PM 10), which is the predominant criteria pollutant emitted from plowing. The PM 10 material typically settles close to its origin, the fields being plowed, and is not inhaled as deeply into the lungs as PM2.5.

So PM 10 usually poses less of a health risk than PM 2.5. Although to protect health, the district has a year-round Conservation Management Program that reduces PM 10 from agricultural operations, including plowing, by approximately 34.2 tons per day.

Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.

Comments:
reldytina commented:

Mr. Milbury,

Farmers also have time limits placed upon them for crops such as cotton, to have those fields knocked down and disked prior to a set date in December. Farmers have already been restricted as well on burn times and situations. Many have gone to grinding dead almond branches and trees. We are strictly goverened by AQMD, and have made some very expensive changes to our farming operations. It's been tough ... but, we are out here doing our part too. :))

frankc29 commented:

And if anyone can come up with a way to prepare a field for seeding a crop that does not involve driving a tractor and moving dirt around, I am sure farmers would love to hear it. They burn a lot of money in diesel, labor, and machinery costs. They are not doing it for fun and pleasure. Plus we need to eat. There's that also.

Ask The Californian: What is the Fairfax-178 "design flaw"?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:13:03 PST

FYI, we're changing how we blog Ask TBC items. We'll post them one-by-one instead of grouped by day they run in the newspaper.

- Government editor Christine Bedell

Q: For months now it has been explained that the westbound off-ramp to Fairfax on 178 has been closed or delayed due to a “design flaw.” In all of my readings not one time has this “flaw” been explained, so can you please tell us?

- Wayne Baker

A: Here’s what city officials said:

Caltrans requires paved median area (which is called the gore area) between the ramp and the freeway to be relatively flat. This is in case a driver decides at the last minute to change his or her mind of using the ramp and crosses this area to either get to the ramp or get from the ramp back to the freeway.

This gore as constructed is too steep and does not meet Caltrans standards. To fix this problem, the ramp must be realigned and lowered.

Ask The Californian appears on Mondays and Thursdays. Submit questions to asktbc@bakersfield.com or to The Bakersfield Californian, c/o Christine Bedell, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302.

Comments:
witterpitters commented:

AAHHHH the best paved ramps of mice and men - quickly go ~~astray~~ uphill !!!!!

VirgilAnderson commented:

That's a great movie, by the way .

--virgil

midterm2 commented:

Why not just blanket the "gore area" with sharp spikes embedded into the pavement. Viola, no vehicle could then traverse the al gore area. Cost: probably under 20,000. It could be fixed in a couple of days.

VirgilAnderson commented:

Midterm,

what does a viola have to do with road construction?

--virgil

violet_sky82 commented:

Witters - awesome pun lol

spamcode -wowle

rt2k commented:

"This gore as constructed is too steep and does not meet Caltrans standards."

Then why did Caltrans approve the inspections during construction and wait til completion to decide it does not meet "standards"?

P6 commented:

"Then why did Caltrans approve the inspections during construction and wait til completion to decide it does not meet "standards"?

Because Caltrans does not employ well trained, experienced engineers or inspectors. The agency is well known for costly mistakes, and leaning on their shovels. A bridge built in Tehachapi several years ago cost big bucks to fix a "Design Flaw." The unfortunate reality is tax payers will continue to pay for their mistakes simply because there is little accountability in government. And where were the city inspectors while these mistakes were occurring?

MRAllred commented:

The City inspectors they were looking for their shovel they can't be out done by Cal Trans

Crashing through the phony left-right paradigm : ANOTHER BLOW TO THE MAN MADE GLOBAL WARMING RELIGION

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:32:17 PST

CLIMATE BOMBSHELL: Hacker leaks thousands of emails showing conspiracy to "hide" the real data on manmade climate change

A hacker has leaked thousands of emails and documents from the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University that appear to show how climate change data was fudged and the peer review process skewed to favor the manmade climate change hypothesis.

The link to the data appears to have been posted to a number of climate science websites yesterday by an anonymous hacker or insider going by the name "FOIA," an apparent allusion to the Freedom of Information Act in the United States. One of the first sites where the 62 MB file was posted was The Air Vent. It was soon picked up by Watts Up With That, Climate Audit and other climate science sites.

The information contained in the leaked emails and documents are as shocking as they are damning of the scientists who have been most vocal about the manmade global warming scare. Some of the excerpts include this email, purportedly from Phil Jones to researchers including Michael Mann of "Mann's hockey stick" fame:

From: Phil Jones
To: ray bradley ,mann@xxxxxxxxx,mhughes@xxxxxxx, mhughes@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: Diagram for WMO Statement
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:31:15 +0000
Cc: k.briffa@xxxxxx,t.osborn@xxxxxxxxx

Dear Ray, Mike and Malcolm,
Once Tim's got a diagram here we'll send that either later today or
first thing tomorrow.

I've just completed Mike's Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from 1961 for Keith's to hide the decline. Mike's series got the annual land and marine values while the other two got April-Sept for NH land N of 20N. The latter two are real for 1999, while the estimate for 1999 for NH combined is +0.44C wrt 61-90. The Global estimate for 1999 with data through Oct is +0.35C cf. 0.57 for 1998.

Thanks for the comments, Ray.

Cheers
Phil

And this excerpt in which researchers appear to discuss ways to discredit James Saiers of the Geophysical Research Letters journal because he seems to be sympathetic to climate realists:

This is truly awful. GRL has gone downhill rapidly in recent years.

I think the decline began before Saiers. I have had some unhelpful dealings with him recently with regard to a paper Sarah and I have on glaciers — it was well received by the referees, and so is in the publication pipeline. However, I got the impression that Saiers was trying to keep it from being published.

Proving bad behavior here is very difficult. If you think that Saiers is in the greenhouse skeptics camp, then, if we can find documentary evidence of this, we could go through official AGU channels to get him ousted. Even this would be difficult.

How different is the GRL paper from the Nature paper? Did the authors counter any of the criticisms? My experience with Douglass is that the identical (bar format changes) paper to one previously rejected was submitted to GRL.

According to Investigate magazine out of Australia, Dr. Phil Jones has now confirmed that these emails do appear to be real.

The importance of this information will not be lost on The Corbett Report's audience, as a recent interview I conducted with Tim Ball discussed the very issue of the Climate Research Unit and Phil Jones' intense secrecy regarding their data:

Unsurprisingly, there has so far been deafening silence on this issue in the controlled corporate media, but in light of the upcoming Copenhagen Treaty talks, it is imperative that we have a true and open debate about climate change before we make potentially world-changing decisions based on this science. It is up to all of us to push this story and its staggering implications into the mainstream.

James Corbett
The Corbett Report

20 November, 2009

www.corbettreport.com/articles/20091120_cru_hacked.htm

Comments:
paxchristi3 commented:

Looks like ol' Al Bore is gonna have to retitle his movie now littering the racks of the 99-cent stores to something like "Intentional Fraud." Thanks for posting this, Infowar. World Net Daily is onto this as well. Hopefully the globalists are now peeing in their pants, even at the risk of causing climate change.

dirtyshirt commented:

Tell you what: while we wait for the real journalists to get around to investigating this 'story' and the truth is published on the third page of the B section of the Times, let's ponder the following:

1) You say "another blow"; really? What was the first one?

2) This purports to reveal some data tampering by some folks in East Anglia. Do you know where that is? Do you think nine out of ten people even can name the country? Why is this one described as a major happening? Every University that IS on the map is in agreement about Global Warming and man's part in it. Even if a couple fools in East Anglia tried to bolster their research on the topic, that doesn't create even a blip on the overall radar.

3) As your name is only one letter from 'pox', I would think you would have the good sense, if not the dignity, to stay away from "Al Bore". I guess admitting that the Dems have more brain power is a hard pill, however. Nobel Prizes seem to come to them rather easily, don't they? When was the last time a Republican won an international award?

drilnliftcrude commented:

Good one, Dick. Al Gore has "brain power" and a Nobel prize. And several days ago, he said the earth's core was "millions of degrees". Hey! Maybe it was a Nobel prize for what they hope he'd do, like the bower in chief's.

Check your shoe, Dick. You just stepped in it.

drilnliftcrude commented:

The Telegraph has a big article on it. And, oh hey Dick! Is The New York Times "real journalist" enough for you?

Infowar commented:

Yeah dirtyshirt....let's just wait for those "real journalist" you are talking about. You come across as a smart guy, but you are no match for sophisticated propaganda. You are gobbling up the establishment New World Order BS like a stoned hooker with the munchies at a wiener buffet.

witterpitters commented:

Info: I went to ALL your links and I like The Air Vent as I read all the comments and found it all very interesting. Some of the comments had other links that I went to also. Holy Moly!!!!

Infowar commented:

Holy Moly is correct witters. Kudos to you for actually taking the time to click on some hyper links.

Levon Helm as Mr. Rate in Shooter

"World ain't what it seems is it, Gunny (Dirtyshirt,RF,Virgil,Pete)? You keep that in mind. The moment you think you got it figured, you're wrong."

Infowar commented:

while we wait for the real journalists to get around to investigating this 'story'

yeah so they can spin it into a palatable propaganda piece for yuppies like you to easily digest & then you can stick your finger in your mouth and regurgitate the views of "real" journalists.

Infowar commented:

This purports to reveal some data tampering by some folks in East Anglia. Do you know where that is? Do you think nine out of ten people even can name the country?

hmmm looks like a pretty big University to me.....

HA HA most Americans can't find their own State Capitol on a map. Just because certain people can't find it on a map, that doesn't make it insignificant.

From: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_East_AngliaThe University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England.^[9] It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.^[10] The University was ranked 20th in the The Times Good University Guide 2008,^[11] and joint first for student satisfaction among mainstream universities in the 2006 National Student Survey.^[12] The University was also ranked 57th in Europe, and one of the top 200 universities in the world, in the 2007 Academic Ranking of World Universities published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University

dirtyshirt commented:

dr liftin' crude is turning to his regular scum-sucking ways. the descendant of bottom dwellers, like catfish; not too dangerous if you catch 'em behind the gills and throw 'em in a bucket with a quick flick of the wrist.

witters: sorry, darlin', but you're here just because you've mistaken the right with the position of humanism that you actually prefer. when you realize how evil the right truly is, you'll have made sense of your life.

info: you would make so much more sense (and change more minds) if you divorced yourself from the Tea Partying lack of logic and poison.

catpaw commented:

I have a difficult time following your logic. OK, Al Gore is a mercenary con artist and a liar. Man-made pollution has nothing to do with climate shift. Scientists and researchers are falsifying data. Environmental and energy concerns are scare tactics of the Obama administration to push his agenda for a world order (or something).

Polar caps are shrinking. There is a seasonal Northwest Passage. Glaciers have either disappeared or have melted altogether. The polar bear population is declining and endangered. Warmer ocean temps are destroying coral reefs. Immense slabs of ice shelf are breaking off and floating away. Pacific islands are going underwater. Weather patterns are becoming more intense. Beaches are eroding.

These things are not what Al Gore says, or doctored data, or what Obama thinks, or propaganda. It's happening and all anyone needs do is look at it. We can argue why it is happening but these changes are occurring nonetheless.

Recently, NBC news covered a project of drilling ice core samples in northern Greenland over a mile deep. Core samples dating about 11,000 years ago indicate a temp. rise of 20 degrees F. in a short time. Climate and geology shifts as a natural cycle. No argument about that. However, 11,000 years ago there were no major cities with a population of a million or more people. There wasn't 4 billion (give or take a few 100 million) people in the world. That will be a major concern and name calling Al Gore and lampooning the president and cheering Sarah Palin's book and calling donmason (or me) an idiot does not anticipate the problems but ignores them.

witterpitters commented:

Well the MSM is finally catching up!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34079149/ns/us_news-washington_post/

Of course the left is putting their "spin" on the situation! God! don't they get it? They have been caught with their hands in the preverbal cookie jar.

DS: sorry to disappoint :-( Guess we have to agree to disagree.

dragoon commented:

I have always held that man-made climate change is a hoax. Who does Al Gore think mankind is...God? Science has become politicized. If you want to have your projects funded and therefore stay employed you have to bend to the will of those holding the purse-strings. Real science goes out the window and you are left with a "consensus". There is no "consensus" in real science. It either is or is not. Didn't Yoda say that? I thought it sounded familiar.

NancyII commented:

Do, or do not. There is no 'try.' by Jedi Master Yoda

But hey, the meaning is clear. LOL.

drilnliftcrude commented:

Well catpaw, pour yourself a tall glass of kool-aid and enjoy this. It's a nice, neat, but hardly complete, list of everything that we you can blame global warming on. From acne to yellow fever. From droughts to floods.

witterpitters commented:

CATPAW: Soooooo what do you think caused climate changes in the past multi millions of years ago? No cars, no people, no anything we have now. Yet, there were climate changes. Ice age, to the Sahara being created when there had been water a plenty at one time (according to the History channel and Discovery channel). Places where there were no mountains now we have Kilimanjaro - At one time Bakersfield had sea/salt water (shark tooth mountain). How does one explain Nature's changes when there was no "mankind" to cause it???

krcgump commented:

Info....."You are gobbling up the establishment New World Order BS like a stoned hooker with the munchies at a wiener buffet."

Now that is good and funny as h*ll. Can I have your permission to use that? ( not on here tho )

dragoon commented:

Learn something new everyday. According to Al Gore the temperature of the Earth's core is millions of degrees hot. Thanks Al Gore. He's dumber than Sara Palin, ergo he wasn't qualified to be vice-president of the United States by some people's standards.

Infowar commented:

Go for it KRCgump....: )

Crashing through the phony left-right paradigm : Fed Sicks Attack Dogs On Ron Paul After Audit Amendment Passes

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:22:29 PST

Establishment efforts to kill move toward Fed transparency are crushed

The Federal Reserve attack dogs are out in full force today following Congressman Ron Paul’s decisive victory in the battle to bring transparency to the privately owned central bank.

The House Financial Services Committee passed the amendment to increase Federal Reserve transparency in an overwhelming and bipartisan vote of 43 to 26.

The amendment, sponsored by Ron Paul and Democratic Representative Alan Grayson, mandates a genuine and full probing audit of the Fed.

The Committee rejected the parallel amendment introduced by Congressman Mel Watt (D-NC) which would have severely limited the audit, “gutting” Ron Paul’s H.R. 1207 bill as the Congressman put it, and paving the way for further Fed secrecy.

Key Committee Democrats such as Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) who had previously expressed support for an audit, had moved behind the Watt amendment at the behest of banking industry and Fed officials, as well as the Democratic leadership.

Had the alternative provision passed, those individuals would have succeeded in appearing to support transparency while actually protecting the Fed from any real examination.

The success is significant because it proves beyond doubt that there is true bipartisan support for H.R. 1207. Barney Frank had pushed for a no vote on the Paul/Grayson amendment, but 15 Democrats defied him to vote with Ron Paul.

The vote acknowledges the fact that representatives on both sides of the political spectrum are sick to the back teeth of the the incessant pillaging of America’s economic security by a handful of financial elites who have bought and paid for the leadership of both parties.

The power the Fed now holds has vastly increased over the past twelve months owing to the fall out of the financial crisis, yet it continues to operate in total secrecy. Its chairman and other officials act as if their unfettered power is a god given right, and they express loathing and contempt when they are simply asked to describe and explain their actions to Congress and the American people.

The establishment was forced to move against the tide of momentum to audit the Fed by introducing it’s own watered down legislation. However, they acted too late and they have been thoroughly crushed.

“Today was Waterloo for Fed secrecy,” a victorious Grayson noted following the vote.

“We are happy to see the Financial Services Committee preserve a measure to bring true Fed transparency,” said John Tate, President of Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty. “This amendment helps to ensure that real and complete audit legislation remains unaltered, and from here on out we will continue to push for a standalone floor vote of H.R. 1207.”

In addition, a further bill sponsored by Grayson and Paul also passed – this requires written concurrence by the Treasury Secretary prior to the Fed engaging in a foreign currency swap.

Predictably, in response to this victory, the Fed has come out in force in today’s press with former chairmen Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker, along with former vice chairman Alan S. Blinder all penning attack pieces about how harmful the move to audit the Fed remains.

While Binder’s piece appeared in the Washington Post, Greenspan and Volcker sent their letter to the Financial Committee’s chairman and ranking Republicans.

Knowing that the tired counter of “this is harmful to the Fed’s independence” would be wheeled out again, Ron Paul addressed his detractors on the issue during the hearings yesterday, making it clear that the argument holds no weight, noting that H.R. 1207 and the amendment are not about regulation of the Federal Reserve, the powers it holds or political influence on monetary policy.

“‘Independence’ means secrecy, it doesn’t mean anything else.” Paul noted.

“We live in an age where the American people are sick and tired of this. They are sick and tired of secret government and government out of control and Congress passing TARP funds and on and on with nobody knowing what happened.” the Congressman asserted.

Ron Paul’s Remarks:

Rep. Grayson’s Remarks:

Full list of voters on the Paul/Grayson amendment:

AL-06 Rep. Spencer Bachus – yay
CA-12 Rep. Jackie Speier- yay
CA-22 Rep. Kevin McCarthy – yay
CA-27 Rep. Brad Sherman – yay
CA-35 Rep. Maxine Waters – nay
CA-40 Rep. Edward R. Royce – yay
CA-42 Rep. Gary G. Miller – nay
CA-43 Rep. Joe Baca – nay
CA-48 Rep. John Campbell – yay
CO-07 Rep. Ed Perlmutter – yay
CT-04 Rep. Jim Himes – nay
DE-01 Rep. Michael N. Castle – yay
FL-08 Rep. Alan Grayson – yay
FL-12 Rep. Adam Putnam – yay
FL-15 Rep. Bill Posey – yay
FL-22 Rep. Ron Klein – nay
FL-24 Rep. Suzanne Kosmas

GA-06 Rep. Tom Price – yay
GA-13 Rep. David Scott – yay
ID-01 Rep. Walt Minnick – yay
IL-04 Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez – nay
IL-08 Rep. Melissa L. Bean – nay
IL-13 Rep. Judy Biggert – yay
IL-14 Rep. Bill Foster – nay
IL-16 Rep. Donald A. Manzullo – yay
IN-02 Rep. Joe Donnelly – nay
IN-07 Rep. Andre Carson – nay
KS-02 Rep. Lynn Jenkins – yay
KS-03 Rep. Dennis Moore – nay
MA-04 Rep. Barney Frank – nay
MA-08 Rep. Michael E. Capuano – nay
MA-09 Rep. Stephen F. Lynch – nay
MI-09 Rep. Gary Peters – yay
MI-11 Rep. Thaddeus McCotter – yay
MN-03 Rep. Erik Paulsen – yay
MN-05 Rep. Keith Ellison – nay
MN-06 Rep. Michele Bachmann – yay
MO-01 Rep. William Lacy Clay – yay
MO-05 Rep. Emanuel Cleaver – nay
MS-01 Rep. Travis Childers – yay
NC-03 Rep. Walter B. Jones – yay
NC-10 Rep. Patrick T. McHenry – yay
NC-12 Rep. Melvin L. Watt – nay
NC-13 Rep. Brad Miller – nay
NH-02 Rep. Paul W. Hodes – yay
NJ-03 Rep. John Adler – yay
NJ-05 Rep. Scott Garrett – yay
NJ-07 Rep. Leonard Lance – yay
NY-03 Rep. Peter King – yay
NY-04 Rep. Carolyn McCarthy – yay
NY-05 Rep. Gary L. Ackerman – nay
NY-06 Rep. Gregory W. Meeks – nay
NY-12 Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez – yay
NY-14 Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney – nay
NY-25 Rep. Dan Maffei – yay
NY-26 Rep. Christopher Lee – yay
OH-01 Rep. Steve Driehaus – yay
OH-06 Rep. Charles Wilson – nay
OH-15 Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy – nay
OK-03 Rep. Frank D. Lucas – yay
PA-06 Rep. Jim Gerlach – yay
PA-11 Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski
SC-03 Rep. J. Gresham Barrett – yay
TX-05 Rep. Jeb Hensarling – yay
TX-09 Rep. Al Green – nay
TX-14 Rep. Ron Paul – yay
TX-15 Rep. Rubén Hinojosa – yay
TX-19 Rep. Randy Neugebauer – yay
TX-24 Rep. Kenny Marchant – yay
WI-04 Rep. Gwen Moore – nay
WV-02 Rep. Shelley Moore Capito – nay

Full statment from Campaign For Liberty:

Thanks to your quick action in contacting Congress, the House Financial Services Committee earlier today rejected Representative Mel Watt’s attempt to hijack Audit the Fed by voting 43-26 to pass Ron Paul’s amendment to the financial regulatory reform bill.

Dr. Paul called me right after the vote to personally express his thanks to C4L members for all of your efforts!

It is an incredible testament to the growing power of the liberty movement that we were able to get such an audit passed by a major House committee, but this is by no means the end of our fight.

Financial Services leadership has seemed determined for several months that if an audit of the Fed were to get out of Committee, it should be attached to an overall regulatory reform package that would actually increase the powers of the Fed to interfere in our economy.

Congressman Paul’s amendment gives the Government Accountability Office power to conduct a thorough audit of the Fed’s entire $2 trillion balance sheet and replaces the Watt language that would have further restricted GAO audits of the Federal Reserve.

While this is a victory over an attempted hijacking of our cause, the audit authority is still being rolled into the Financial Stability Improvement Act, a bill that Campaign for Liberty will oppose.

This Act will be voted on as soon as the Committee returns from its Thanksgiving break, and we will then know if it will move to the floor.

And it’s already becoming clear that Ron Paul’s amendment may face challenges on the House floor.

Now is the time to turn up the pressure!

Keep contacting Congress and tell your representative that before Congress debates over giving the Fed any new powers, we need to know what they’re doing with the ones they already have!

Urge your representative to support a standalone, up or down vote on Audit the Fed, H.R. 1207.

We’ve put too much work into this effort to see an audit bogged down in yet another Washington bureaucratic nightmare.

Make no mistake, though, the victory today proved we can get the votes to pass the thorough, historic audit we’ve been fighting for this past year. We have put the Federal Reserve on notice that the freedom movement is serious about reclaiming our country and that it is here to stay.

Thanks for all you do for the cause of freedom. Now, let’s finish this fight!

-------------

Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Friday, Nov 20, 2009

URL to article: http://www.prisonplanet.com/fed-sicks-attack-dogs-on-ron-paul-after-audit-amendment-passes.html

URLs in this post:

[1] Infowars.net: http://www.infowars.net/index.html

[2] Campaign for Liberty: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/

[3] bill: http://grayson.house.gov/Amdt_FSIA_Grayson_001.pdf

[4] foreign currency swap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfPAnAllAFE&feature=player_embedded

[5] : http://prisonplanet.tv/signup.html

[6] Image: http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/faofreprofba.html

[7] Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/11/19/greenspan-volcker-opposed-ron-paul-audit-provision/

[8] Alan S. Blinder: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/19/AR2009111903472.html

Comments:
sicasayinit commented:

So this is "infowars" Someone suggested that I would be BFF with infowars earlier this eve. Do you know what that means?, I had to ask. I just wanted to say that until 18 months ago I always thought "someone else" would take care of the growing unease I felt towards this country. I took a trip to Calf. in June of '08' to visit my sister and we were supposed to attend one of Al Gores to-dos. Her lovers face (no comments please) was swollen and it was obvious she had been crying when they picked me up at the airport. I thought "oh great, they've had an argument "

During the next 4 days I met "Nipit", a young fellow that occassionally would download data that apparently was to be eventually released to the "Warriors on Global Warming" a group totally devoted to the cause. "Nipit" was so named because one of his favorite characters was Barney Fife and he swore to "nip global warming in the bud" Good Grief, long story short ,he inadvertantly saw some private information and questioned not just the context but the origin. He was offered $$ to forget it and when he refused and insisted on answers he was threatened. His photo was taken and he was told not to come within a mile of the "Warriors". My sister was livid and her friend was devastated. They went to the hotel to question the actions taken towards their friend and were told "he was caught stealing". They were all very dedicated to Mr Gores mission and they left knowing it was a lie. There was nothing they could do. Amanda is still not over it and can't bring herself around to the fact that some people in big government really will scam a soft hearted American. Ironically, it's because of their work and connections with Mr.Gores' staff that they've been able to find out the truth. They fancy themselves "Double Agents" : )

NancyII commented:

Sica, you'll have to figure a way to increase the size of your font...it's almost impossible to read. You seem like someone with a lot to say and I'd like to see it...but I can't this way.

Infowar commented:

Very interesting...Sica you should leave that comment here:people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/Infowar/52113

If you would like to share your story with a wider audience, please let me know.

Infowar commented:

Someone suggested that I would be BFF with infowars earlier this eve. Do you know what that means?

I guess someone thought your views would align with mine & we would hit it off & become best friends forever(BFF). HA HA

sicasayinit commented:

Sorry about the print, I'm new to this and really just started because I wanted to get first hand opinions from others withput someone interrupting them. As corny as it sounds, I really do care what others have to say .

sicasayinit commented:

Info, I don't mind with whom this story is shared and for the record I don't suspect those innocents involved would mind. Also because now my time at home is occassionally 3-4 days in a row, I've been able to follow Ron Pauls dedication to my country. Yes I said "my". I make it a point to enlist young adult minds in conversations concerning their future freedoms...but not too much info. at one time, I'd rather give them a few demographics and let them research it for themselves. It's slow, but it's steady and the best way to reach a young mind is to be sure that what you tell them is the truth and they can back it up themselves.

NancyII commented:

Sica..yay, you did it. Thanks!

sicasayinit commented:

You're very welcome. By the way and I'm putting it here because I'm still too slow at this blg. thing, here are some products that are made in USA. I did break down and buy my youngest rbk. last year but......

okabashi, shoes made in my home state of Ga.

American made mens clothing

there are dozens of products that are MADE in the US. They are not that hard to find and I realize that some people may not even be interested in helping an American they don't know keep their job. I'm not trying to sound like an all American Goody-Goody, but I am interested. "HINT"- It must say "manufactured in or made in USA. I have actually looked up the location and called some facilities to verify because I've been misled before. Again I don't expect everyone to do that but it's almost like this new found blog. thing. I don't know any of you...but I do care about your future........your all my fellow human beings. I know, I know...sounds sappy.

NancyII commented:

It's not sappy at all to want products to be made in this country. I just don't think, at this point, that it's very realistic considering the outsourcing. Appliances and electronics are almost exclusively made outside the US. Even cars with American names have foreign ties. I owned a Dodge Daytona in '86 that had Mitsubishi right on the bottom of the windshield. I owned both a small Dodge pickup and a small Mitsubishi that were identical other than the year and color.

Walking through clothing stores I see more made in china or elsewhere and rarely see made in the USA. It's a shame but unions and higher wage demands have sent manufactuters scurrying out of the country like rats from a sinking ship.

Shining the light of the Catholic faith on the Culture of Death: Triple whammy against gay marriage

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:18:04 PST

If thin-skinned Ray hadn't blocked me from his post about the reports that he would have us believe show that Christians have nothing to fear from the new hate crimes law, I would have asked if it's true that the Lavender Mafia is out to break some D.C. priests' kneecaps as Catholic League's Bill Donohue tells us: http://www.catholicleague.com/release.php?id=1721

The most telling quote:

The Catholic League is prepared to assist any priest in the Archdiocese of Washington who is the victim of harassment, intimidation or stalking. Whatever resources the priest needs, we will see to it that he is served. If radical gay activists want a showdown with the Catholic League, we will not disappoint them.

WOOOOOOOOOO! That's talkin' smack, man! Reminds me of last night's valley championship match in volleyball between Frontier and Garces. But rather than root for the Catholic girls, I was cheering on my niece's Frontier squad, which stormed back to win in five sets, with the final play a vicious kill off the face of a Garces player.

Anyway, it's edifying that the U.S. Catholic bishops in their fall meeting this week resoundingly voted in favor of a pastoral letter that calls out same-sex marriage as a "multifaceted threat to the very fabric of society": http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=b66259ae-0712-4c81-a5ae-b3f0d52dffb5

That is especially heartening in light of TBC columnist Valerie Schulz's recent column in which she betrayed the Catholic Church's teachings in calling for legalizing gay marriage so that she could not feel so guilty about her daughter getting hitched with a same-sex partner in Oregon. To solve a problem like Schulz, I am going to do the charitable thing and send a letter to the diocese's bishop and ask that he do the right thing and remove her from teaching catchecism (assuming she is still doing that as she mentioned in a previous column). After all, a lay minister in Maine recently was removed from her post when she wrote a letter to the editor in support of gay marriage.

Lastly, I wish to share the latest email that I received from the guy who looks gay but is a happily married straight man with kids:

The great victories in Maine and New York-23 for pro-marriage forces continue to reverberate up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

NJ.com reported on Nov. 18 ("Gay Marriage... Now!"): "The word on the street is that the gay marriage initiative in the New Jersey State House is in big trouble. Apparently, the Democrats can't get enough votes to pass it, even though outgoing Governor Jon Corzine is prepared to sign it."

Praise God! And pray harder--this fight is not finished yet.

No wonder even New Jersey Democrats are having second thoughts. Jon Corzine ran on a pro-gay-marriage platform and he lost. Dede Scozzafava voted for gay marriage twice in New York--and she was trounced by an unknown third party candidate. Do these New Jersey politicians want to follow Jon Corzine over the political cliff?

If we can hold off this juggernaut over the next six weeks, we can prevent the New Jersey legislature from imposing gay marriage on voters whether they like it or not! I promised you, when I asked you to join with NOM, that we would fight for marriage wherever and whenever we needed. We knew that after Maine we would have to pivot and turn to New Jersey, where gay marriage advocates has promised their supporters they would push a bill through the lame duck session. NOM is different from most organizations--we go where the fight needs to be, to make sure that your voice and your values are heard.

In D.C. the city councilmembers appear to be men with hardened hearts. We suspect they will not listen to reason or to their constituents and will instead push a gay marriage bill through the council. But the fight will not end there. Not with Bishop Harry Jackson and others leading the charge to fight through the legal fog and the media spin to give the people of D.C. the power to take control of the future of marriage. Sitting in the council chambers watching liberal politicians condescend and lecture to these brave black pastors about civil rights would give anyone with any sense of history an odd feeling. Still, the room burst out in wild applause when these leaders of the black church stood up for their--for our--right to vote for marriage.

Why do we fight so hard? This week the Catholic bishops released a statement, "Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan." It's a document worth reading by any person of faith, or anyone who cares about the future of marriage.

On same-sex marriage the Catholic bishops remind us that we hold these truths to be self-evident: "Marriage, this clinging together of husband and wife as one flesh, is based on the fact that
man and woman are both different and the same. They are different as male and female, but the
same as human persons who are uniquely suited to be partners or helpmates for each other."

I've included a link below if you want to read more. (I've also included NOM president Maggie Gallagher's statement in her column on Carrie Prejean--keep her in your prayers.)

What do we have on our side in this fight? Nothing but truth, justice, and the majority of the American people! And a God who watches over each and every one of us.

You are the reason NOM can do all that we do. Thank you.

Faithfully,

Brian S. Brown
Executive Director
National Organization for Marriage
20 Nassau Street, Suite 242

Comments:
paxchristi3 commented:

By the way, Brian Brown's mention of the NY-23 race brings to mind Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman's recent announcement that is is un-conceding the race. He supsects that the usual monkey business involving ACORN and other nuts cost him the win: http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/1109/Hoffman_alleges_vote_fraud_in_NY_23.html

Additionally, there's the report that a computer virus tainted the results: http://dad29.blogspot.com/2009/11/think-hoffman-lost-ny-23-think-again.html

Stay tuned and keep the fat lady around for a little redo ...

paxchristi3 commented:

Looks like the bishops did a heckuva job in defending the timeless concept of marriage as an exclusive relationship between one man and one woman, considering that the guys at CatholicCulture.org were impressed with the bishops' pastoral letter, which is saying a lot because the former are staunchly orthodox: http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=406

Cathoilc Culture's witty columnist, Diogenes, also takes note of the Lavender Mafia's "threat" against the priests, wondering how it is possible that one could feel stoned to death by popcorn? http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otr.cfm?id=5140

dirtyshirt commented:

pax, that is the most blood thirsty description of a girl's volleyball game I have ever seen. It puts the rest of your post in this rather macabre light - which does little to illuminate your thoughts but goes far in setting off contrasts, like a flashlight held under the chin. Makes you look spooky.

samheath commented:

As you know Pax, according to the Bible God made a suitable helpmate for Adam. Those with a perverted agenda are on the attack against those of us with a Biblical view of the relationship between a husband and wife.

foodjunkie commented:

Nothing but truth, justice, and the majority of the American people! And a God who watches over each and every one of us.

Break that down ..

Truth - A book says its wrong so it has to be. I am sold!! If 10 couples (man woman) marry and reproduce humanity will continue just as it would if 20 couples (10 man/woman and 10 same sex/same sex) marry.

Justice - I (a heterosexual) sleep so much better at night knowing that homosexuals cannot marry and destroy the fiber of mankind.

Majority of American People - I will give you 1 of 3. Examine this point again in 10 years when old school loses more of its supporters to the darn cycle of life. Delete the people that are against homosexual marriage because its gross or because they don't like fa#s and your numbers may be a bit different.

I respect all opinions on this subject I just focused more on the positives of loving one another instead of the "damned" sections of the Bible. It made my teachers at Garces proud!!

VirgilAnderson commented:

um,

" As you know Pax, according to the Bible God made a suitable helpmate for Adam. Those with a perverted agenda are on the attack against those of us with a Biblical view of the relationship between a husband and wife."

how many wives to each man would that be ?

too vague, Sam Heath Ph.D .

--virgil

MadMan commented:

Ultimately the whammy will be against you. I'm not sure how old you are, but I know that we'll see gay marriage in my lifetime. And there won't be a darn thing you'll be able to do about it.

paxchristi3 commented:

Well, foodjunkie, as Dr. Sam aptly says, your agenda is a perverted one if you think ~~enabling~~ loving each other that ends up with eternal damnation reflects the urging by Jesus to strive to enter the gate that is narrow. Too bad the Garces teachers didn't teach you that true love comes from abiding by the commandments. We'll see if they flunk the test on that on Judgment Day.

Deanz70 commented:

Sooooooooooooo..........anyone who doesn't think ( ha ) like pax and sam, is "perverted"???? Gee.........thanks for the heads up..........your arrogance is truly amazing!

Ray Harwick: Christians can't get arrested In Washington D.C.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:29:47 PST

Timothy Kincaid

November 17th, 2009

Yesterday a collection of the nation’s most obnoxious anti-gay activists showed up in Washington DC to have a showdown with the government. They were there to defy the new law criminalizing preaching against homosexuality and to be arrested for preaching the gospel. (Christian Post)

Conservative pastors rallied outside the Justice Department on Monday to test the limits of the newly expanded hate crimes law.

Calling the new law – which broadens the definition of federal hate crimes to include attacks based on sexual orientation and gender identity – a clear threat to religious liberty, the group sought to defend their freedom to proclaim biblical truths.

They were certain that preaching against homosexuality is now illegal. And they were there to be martyrs for their faith.

But there were no arrests. No one had to join the Apostle Paul and Martin Luther King by writing from the jail cell to proclaim God’s glorious truth.

Police were present, just as they are at all such public demonstrations. But, as Dana Milbank of the Washington Post noted they had better things to do:

Anything other than sex “between a male and his wedded wife,” announced the Rev. Paul Blair, “is a perversion, and the Bible says that homosexuality is in fact an abomination.”

No arrest was made.

The Rev. Rick Scarborough, quoting Scripture, listed “homosexual offenders” along with thieves, drunkards, swindlers and idolators as those unwelcome in the kingdom of God. “To fail to call homosexuals to repent of their sin and come to Jesus is the highest form of cowardice and sin,” he said.

No charges were filed.

“Had people listened to our plea, there would be tens of thousands of people who had not died of a dreaded disease,” contributed the Rev. Jim Garlow. “This breaks our heart to see people die of AIDS.”

No hands were cuffed. In fact, the few cops in attendance were paying no attention to the speakers, instead talking among themselves and checking their BlackBerrys.

And, indeed, the cops were not interested because no crime was being committed. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act does not infringe on religious liberty or ban preaching against homosexuality or anything else they fear. The only time a minister need fear the law is if he is actively instigating violent attacks on gay people.

But this reality is wasted on these activists. Even though their bait drew no bite, they remain convinced that Christianity is being criminalized. (Citizenlink)

Gary Cass, president and CEO of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, said pastors who preach from the Bible could be held accountable if someone hears their sermon and then commits a crime against a gay-identified individual.

“It puts the burden on the minister to have to read the minds of the people that are listening to him and be able to predict the future,” he said. “It has a very chilling effect on the minister’s speech, because the safest thing is to just say nothing.”

And Janet Folger trumpeted her warning on WorldNetDaily

Unfortunately, it’s too late for our freedom of speech, as so-called “hate crimes” legislation already passed Congress and was signed by Barack Obama into law as a part of the defense budget. That is why I stood with pastors like Rick Scarborough of Vision America, Mat Staver and Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel, Oklahoma Pastor Paul Blair, San Diego Pastor Jim Garlow, Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, Bishop Earl Jackson of Stand America, and others on the steps of the Department of Justice yesterday afternoon speaking out against the law that has already laid the foundation for the Criminalization of Christianity, as I warned about in my book by that same title.

It can be difficult to understand exactly why these activists ignore the opinions of legal scholars who assure them that no such arrests will be made. It is odd that Christian voices calling for reason are ignored. It seems incomprehensible that a simple reading of the Constitution and the language of the law itself (which specifically excludes anti-gay preaching and teaching) would not assuage their fears.

But then something began to seem familiar.

You see, I’ve tried to have a conversation with a crystal methamphetamine addict who hadn’t slept in days. He explained why there was tinfoil over the windows and even the shower vent. He was worried that there might be a man hiding behind the stereo which was flush with the wall. Even though on a conscious level he knew and could sheepishly admit that his fears were baseless, the meth in his system compelled a paranoia which he simply could not ignore.

With him, there was a logical reason to explain his irrational thinking. It was chemically induced.

But why are these anti-gay activists convinced, against all evidence to the contrary, that preaching against homosexuality is now illegal? How do we explain their irrational thinking and baseless paranoia?

Surely they aren’t all meth-heads.

Right?

Comments:
Ray_Harwick commented:

Meanwhile, in Texas the anti-gay hate speech is having an effect in the local school system:

Texas kid beaten with metal pole, entirely preventable

Timothy Kincaid

NOVEMBER 19TH, 2009

Few hate crimes are specifically preventable. It is not often that the intended violence is known in advance and reported to authorities. Which makes the case of Jayron Martin so frustrating and infuriating.

A fellow student warned Jayron that a group of students planned on beating him because he’s gay. So Jayron reported the threat to two assistant principals, who did nothing to protect him.

When Jayron got on the bus to go home (as the school opted not to call his mother) so did the group of attackers. Jayron then told the bus driver and begged for help. He didn’t get any.

So he ran. As fast as he could. Which wasn’t fast enough.

Unable to make it home, he ran into a neighbor’s house; but this didn’t deter his attackers. They followed and one beat Jayron with a metal pole while eight others watched.

It wasn’t until the owner came downstairs with a shotgun, and cocked it, that they ran off leaving Jayron with a concussion, bruised and bleeding.

Those who oppose gay-straight alliances or other support systems for gay students like to pretend that gay students face no greater threats than any other students. And when situations occur, they comfort their biases with the thought that the student must have provoked the situation or didn’t take the expected steps to protect himself.

I wonder what excuse they will give this time. But, then again, I also often wonder how they sleep at night.

savvydude commented:

Oh, but it's coming. Pretty soon an activist will call authorities, claiming to be assaulted by a sermon, to silence any person of faith who differs from the left-wing, politically correct view of all things sexual.

Hopefully the Supreme Court will strike this nonsense down and put it in the garbage where it belongs.

Ray_Harwick commented:

Think so, Savvy? I don't know. Just judging from what the nice Christian leaders said at their rally, sounds like they fired both barrels simultaneously to test the Act. Will they have to resort to actual violence to achieve that elusive martyrdom? Time will tell. Meanwhile, Texas school kids are listening and seem to be getting into the spirit of the hate.

Ray_Harwick commented:

KHOU TV in Houston reported:

Martin suffered a concussion. He also has cuts and bruises on his arms and hands, and said he does not want to return to school.

"...does not want to return to school."

To say the least. That's a grand understatement given his circumstances. This is one of the people Sam Heath regularly refers to as "pervert" in his blog. I think it's possible that kind of language influences younger people, who are the most likely to act on such provocative language.

siouxcityranch commented:

rayTexas school kids are listening and seem to be getting into the spirit of the hate.

ya this is just about as bad as when the gays beat up the old chrisitian lady over in yoiur neighborhood ray

http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2008/11/elderly_christi.html

Ray_Harwick commented:

"gays beat up the old chrisitian lady"

Ha!! Phyllis Burgess??? Boy! You sure don't know Phyllis. She our local media whore. Even the right winges give her hell. She's looney. She got jostled a little, mostly because was so disoriented when she decided to leave she couldn't see where she was going and ran headlong into the crowd who knocked her styrofoam cross around. So your "news report" is just as phony as those Christian leaders in Washington D.C., and the gay haters wanted so much to find fault with gays they invented this "mob" scenario and now you are helping spread the lie. Shame.

Ray_Harwick commented:

MadMan, I deleted your off-topic and inappropriate comment; a personal attack on Sioux. I ask that you refrain from posting such attacks on my blog. You are always welcome to address the topic of my blogs and I look forward to your comments

Shining the light of the Catholic faith on the Culture of Death: Twas the month before Christmas

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:51:29 PST

*Twas the month before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*

*Not a Christian was praying*

*Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*

* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*

* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*

*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,

not Happy Holiday!*

Please, all Christians join together and

wish everyone you meet during the holidays a

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is The Reason for the Christ-mas Season!

Comments:
Ray_Harwick commented:

The War on Christmas campaign begins.

ApolloDawn commented:

Don't take the bait, Ray. Don't let division and negativity spoil the joyous Christmas season this year. :)

Instead, contribute to the good cheer by wishing Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays as your heart prefers.

Merry Christmas, Ray.

pogo commented:

I'm with you Pax. Let's all get together and get rid of these Pagan Holidays, starting with that Roman thing on December 25.

We won't buy anything, then the economy will be better. We will fight with each other over who is the most pious. Take down those damned trees! The Puritans hated them. Get rid of all those lights.

You've got the spirit Pax.

BakoBeachBumm commented:

To all I see and know have a happy and a MERRY CHRISTMAS.

samheath commented:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Jesus is the purpose we celebrate this date; and I’ll use the phrase to all those of good will!

jfrancais commented:

Happy Kwanzaa.

Make sure to partake in some Ujama with the less fortunate.

ApolloDawn commented:

Happy Kwanzaa, Jf. Umoja is the Nia for the season.

Merry Christmas, Sam.

goldilox commented:

samheath commented:

Thanks Ad; and the same to you.

jfrancais commented:

Merry Chrismahanukwanzakah!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73vcbde8Cb8

JohnfromBakersfield commented:

@Sam It's safe to say you don't know the history of Christmas. Regardless, Merry Christmas everyone!

NancyII commented:

John, maybe you want to take on Kwanza too.

I like Goldi's and Jf's but I remember why I celebrate Christmas.

jfrancais commented:

I just love the spirit of Christmas! It's one of the few times of the year I'm in a giving mood. 1 December to the 25th I will travel all over the US in search of presents and doing things in goodwill.

samheath commented:

You mean it's safe for someone as ignorant as you John to make such a presumption about me.

dirtyshirt commented:

Here we go: the jump on the protect Sam Heath party. That on top of the protect Christmas party. Somehow, attached to the protect the Republican Party.

Happy Holidays to all those who really DO have good will, and don't just use the idea of it as a club to beat on others.

goldilox commented:

I will say Merry Chirstmas later, i have GOT to get thru turkey day first ....

ALICEN commented:

pax, lost in all this is the fact that your blog is humorous. I believe that's what you meant it to be.

Merry Christmas!

VirgilAnderson commented:

Happy pre-holidays, everyone !

let's, go shopping !

--virgil

Patrick319 commented:

I totally agree with PAX. Christmas is what it is: a celebration of Christ's birth. If others want to make it something its not, its their constitutional right. However, stop mocking those who observe the 25th of December as a Celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. If you don't believe his birth is not worthy of celebration, don't celebrate it. The true evil comes from retailers like Walmart, K Mart, Target, etc who rake in millions off the faithful, yet slap us in the face by sending the message that Christ is offensive. Here's a suggestion: don't buy your gifts at these stores. Do your Christmas shopping elsewhere.

VirgilAnderson commented:

I say, if you're gonna, keep it local.

--virgil

sicasayinit commented:

jfrancais, sorry but I don't know what Kwanzaa is or that other thing you wrote. I don't mind admitting my ignorance.

jfrancais commented:

I am not all that familiar with Kwanzaa either, Sica. Every year I say that I am going to try to observe it, I'm usually far away from home or with my in-laws. I have celebrated Christmas in Bakersfield since 2002. Basically there are 7 principles (Saba) that are observed over a weeklong celebration. It's a celebration of African principles-

Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective work), Ujamaa (Cooperative economics, my favorite), Nia (Purpose), Ku-umba (creativity), Imani (faith).

This year I plan on making meals for some less fortunate people in my wife's hometown in Indiana during the Christmas season and being a secret santa for kids that wouldn't receive gifts.

sicasayinit commented:

jfrancais, this sounds close to the practice of being a "good person", and I'm not diminishing the African principles. I posed the idea last year of working the homeless projects during Christmas..... and my husband flipped. It wasn't until I lost my temper and called him a snob that the truth came out. It really depresses him and I should have known that, I felt bad for being mean, but that's another story. Anyway we compromised and he did his part by helping with the food drive. This year I wanted to make some really good Christmas food and arrange to have it arrive hot. My neighbor said it was a nice thought but not as productive as the other programs. I haven't made up my mind yet

sicasayinit commented:

Dirty, I don't think Sam needs protection, you're not attacking his beliefs are you? But I will pose this question to you. Would you take offense whether one embraces "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" if the "club" of either were used to seize that time of celebration, (regardless of it's origin), as an excuse to give of themselves to those with so much less. Just think about it......a dozen different beliefs, each leaving the other in peace, long enough to accomplish the same good deed.

jfrancais commented:

jfrancais, this sounds close to the practice of being a "good person", and I'm not diminishing the African principles.

I agree. That's exactly what it is. I have no problem with an African (Kenyan, actually) dude creating a holiday that promotes being a good person. I'm not a devout Christian but the spirit of Christmas is a really neat holiday in that it is supposed to promote goodwill and giving. Jesus is a cool dude, and I try to aspire to be like him whether he's real or not.

Kwanzaa can be a positive in the African American community if we espouse these principles. I feel that we lake purpose (purpose), self-determination (kujichagulia), and Co-operative economics (ujamaa). We can't expect the government or outside forces to fix any of our problems. Self-reliance is the key.

sicasayinit commented:

J, right back at you. I've a solid background for being a "good" person, but I admire a few that I personally know and try to posture some of my traits to theirs. I don't think of it as hero worship, I'm just trying to be a better person. Our Mother reared the 6 of us by herself, and I honestly very seldom think of the things we went without. She was from Blackpool and a straight no nonsense woman who loved to see us play practical jokes on one another......I know thats an oxymoron..did I misspell that? : )

jfrancais commented:

Where is Blackpool?

jfrancais commented:

England?

mtwocats commented:

To the tune of "White Christmas"

I'm dreaming of a real Solstice,
Just like the Druids used to know.
It would be so pleasin`
To stand there, freezin`
At Stonehenge in the sleet and snow.

I'm dreaming of a real Solstice
With no eclectic modern feel.
If your blade is silver, not steel,
Then may all your Solstices be real.

Ah, America--land of equality!

VirgilAnderson commented:

I like Cats ... : )

--virgil

Arianna Huffington: Glenn Beck should be "exempted" from free speech protections

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:43:17 PST

Yep, Arianna, the left's most annoying gutter-snipe, has decided that Glenn Beck doesn't deserve First Amendment protections because, well, she said so. And, she made this brilliant deduction in an interview with, are you ready, Keith Olbermann. To them, Beck is "dangerous" and "frightening", but of course they themselves are always so fair and balanced and thoughtful (cough-cough).

If you want a good laugh watching two unhinged liberals attack, mock and judge a fellow American commentator, here is the story and video:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2009/11/20/huffington-argues-glenn-beck-should-be-excluded-constitutionally-protecte

But as you watch it just remember that Arianna got where she is because she married a rich gay man, divorced him and took half of his riches. Yeah, she's a real hero.

Comments:
krcgump commented:

Watch out for those nasty right wing Conservatives if they get the same protection the rest of America gets.

That's right we are more worried about terrorists getting there rights....I forgot....gump..out

NancyII commented:

Anyone listen to Michael Savage lately? And they pick BECK to mess with?

Heck, Savage is still whining about getting banned from GB.

bfieldgeek commented:

Arianna Huffington is intelligent, beautiful and charming but when it comes to politics and causes she's often shown herself to be little more than an oppurtunist. Now when she advocates free speech restrictions for views she does not like by equating them with "Yelling fire in a theater.", she mearly looks like a partisan fool. It use to be that Keith would have called someone on that. Oh well.

pogo commented:

I say free speech for everyone (actually I didn't say it first). That includes savvydude, who always seems to have to call people names, and (gasp) yes, even Nancy.

samheath commented:

Imagine! AH wants Beck denied free speech! I'm shocked, shocked!

jfrancais commented:

GNARLY DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ray_Harwick commented:

samheath wrote: Imagine! AH wants Beck denied free speech! I'm shocked, shocked!

(ahem) How many people are blocked from commenting on your blog, again? Such fierce advocacy ought to be balanced with actual freedom.

savvydude commented:

Oh, pogo, you're such a yawner. But you said "yes, even Nancy".

Would that be Nancy Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, Fancy Nancy, my great-grandmother Nancy? Which Nancy are you failing to mention? Geez, you figured out how to use the bold captioning but you can't be more specific? Plus, you attack me but you have nothing to say about Arianna or Keith? Figures.

pogo commented:

Arianna, the left's most annoying gutter-snipI say

I say the above is name-calling, I didn't hear AH or KO call Beck a name, but hell, what do I know?

CatherineBaker commented:

You know who else doesn't believe in freedom of speech? casooner, Youngconservative, samheath and many more. Witness:

"ANY person who refuses to pledge allegiance to the USA. Should be taken to the nearest border country and placed on the other side. I second that! I also second booting his gay parent for teaching / indoctrinating a 10 year old kid to hate the very country that gave him the freedom to speak.

Freedom of speech? Isn't this kid being oxymoronic? The same freedom that allows this kid to not pledge allegiance to the very country that gave him the right? I believe one only has the right to Freedom of Speech if one at least pledge their allegiance to this country. If not, they do not deserve the freedom so many have fought and died for."

That was casooner's little gem, with the bold part copied from youngconservative, and then tacitly agreed with by samheath and Sioux and others, and that wasn't even a week ago. I didn't see you flinging your righteous indignation on that post, Savvydude. I wonder why.....

Oh, and thanks for the laugh, sam. Haha!!!

savvydude commented:

"I didn't hear AH or KO call Beck a name"

So, calling anyone "a name" is the greatest, or only, sin? Puh-lease. Those two "liberals" suggested that Beck be exempted from the free speech liberties. And,, to you, calling someone a name is worse than that?

Sad.

honorerdieu commented:

That's an easy one to figure out. They are conservatives that savvydude identifies with. They are exempt while everyone else is not.

ALICEN commented:

Free speech, savvy: does that mean, for instance, that I have the right not to speak to someone, or, for instance, when I see his telephone number on caller ID, I don't have to answer the phone? And I don't have to call back? And I can return his mail, unopened? Just wondering how far that "free speech" stuff went.

Does it mean that I can use the remote and, with the flick of a little finger, flip somebody clear into the nothingness of the airwaves? Does it mean that I am not required to listen to any particular person? Does it mean that I can choose those to whom I speak? Does it mean that if I choose to speak to someone, they must listen to me? Does it mean that I am free to say, in effect, please don't talk to me? Is that all permitted in a nation with free speech?

By the way, I just wanted you to know that I watched A. Huffington once for about 30 seconds. That was enough for all time.

motopoet commented:

As much as I hate to stoop to name-calling, Huffington and Olberman are both idiots. Not stupid, not illiterate...just idiots. Everytime they open their mouths, their hateful, vindictive, vile testimoies prove the shallow nature of their though process. That being said, I would never suggest they be sensored or exempted from saying their piece.

People like that are actually a boon to those they oppose. Keep up the good work you two!

MRAllred commented:

Motopoet were you around Panorama & Fairfax yesterday about 8 am in your railroad truck ? I won't name the r/r company but just curious thanks

Sorry savvvy of the subject just a second

midterm2 commented:

Perhaps Arianna should be exempted from negative comments because of her accent?

ALICEN commented:

Maybe she should be exempted from breathing because she needs to exhale.

Not in My Back Yard: Chinatown, the sequel

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:35:02 PST

There is an excellent article by Yasha Levine on Alternet about the recent "great California water reform package". Levine puts it in a nice historical context. Read it at www.alternet.org/module/printversion/144020

It reads like a novel, and a pretty noir one at that . There is an equally excellent review, in three installments, of this "monumental" and "path-breaking" and "historical" legislation on Sheila Kuehl's site at

http://www.sheilakuehl.org/sheila-s-essays/water-water-everywhere

Although in Levine's story Resnick is the main bad guy, we have to remember than Tejon Ranch Company is equally involved in these schemes. They control about 30% of the Kern Water Bank -- and they do not sell state water for a lot of money to desert developers, they channel state water inexpensively to themselves.

These gigantic tax-payer subsidies to the very rich have been going on in California since 1860 and are actually the basis of the whole Tejon empire. The Sebastian reservation, Beale's surveyor general position, the Owens Valley, the San Fernando Valley land deals, the Monterey Agreements, the Kern Water Bank, Miller-Lux, Tevis-Haggin, Tejon-Paramount: these are all examples of federal and state and local gifts to the wealthy by privatizing the land and water of the commons.

The motto for Caifornia land and water policy is, and always has been, Mark 4:25: "For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."

It's a Mad, Mad World: Teaching of evolution to become mandatory in England

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:31 PST

It's about time, and I think we need to adopt the same in this country:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8369172.stm

Evolution and history compulsory

Evolution should be taught early, scientists advised

Primary school children in England will have to learn about evolution and British history under a shake-up of the national curriculum.

Schools Minister Vernon Coaker says the subjects will be compulsory elements of a new primary school curriculum being introduced in 2011.

Scientists and humanists had lobbied ministers for the inclusion of evolution in the theme-based timetable.

History is already compulsory, but there were fears it would be sidelined.

Schools will not be told which parts of British history to teach.

Earlier this year, when the curriculum changes were announced, critics complained that children would learn more about the internet than history.

Ministers say they want to "reinforce" history by making it a statutory element of the new primary curriculum.

Campaign

The curriculum is set out in a new education Bill just introduced to Parliament.

It was drawn up after a review by Sir Jim Rose, which called for distinct subjects to be replaced by six new "areas of learning".

Mr Coaker said: "What and how our children learn lies at the heart of our policies to raise standards.

"We've seen that an inspiring and rigorous curriculum can transform failing schools, which is why these plans are based on the very best practice from this country's top-class teachers."

He added: "Teachers will have more freedom to use their professional judgement and creativity to make links between subjects that make sense to their pupils: from linking history to the arts, or science to PE."

Evolution is arguably the most important concept underlying the life sciences

Andrew Copson, British Humanist Association

The British Humanist Association (BHA) had led a campaign to have Darwin's theory of how life evolved through natural selection made a compulsory element of the new primary curriculum.

It organised a public letter signed by more than 500 from scientists and supporters.

Andrew Copson of the BHA said: "This is excellent news. Evolution is arguably the most important concept underlying the life sciences.

"Providing children with an understanding of it an early age will help lay the foundations for a surer scientific understanding later on."

He added: "Public authorities clearly need to do more to tackle the growing threat to the public's understanding of science from creationist-inspired beliefs and other pseudoscience".

Evolution is already taught in secondary schools and many primary schools, but under the curriculum changes, it will become compulsory for primary pupils, with the recommendation that they are taught the subject in their later years at school.

The new curriculum says schools must "investigate and explain how plants and animals are interdependent and are diverse and adapted to their environment by natural selection".

Professor Sir Martin Taylor, vice-president of the Royal Society, said: "We are delighted to see evolution explicitly included in the primary curriculum.

"One of the most remarkable achievements of science over the last two hundred years has been to show how humans and all other organisms on the earth arose through the process of evolution."

Comments:
krcgump commented:

You know back in the day when I was in school (I know I'm dating myself) we were taught evolution, I can even remember the chart on the wall that showed the evolution of man. Don't think the experience hurt me at all, just don't know if it was mandatory or not.

It's a Mad, Mad World: Utah senator doesn't want gays "stuffing it down his throat"

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:48:55 PST

Did he make a Freudian slip? Or does the poor man not recognize the irony of his statement? Or perhaps both?

http://guyism.com/2009/11/utah-senator-doesnt-want-gays-stuffing-it-down-his-throat.html

Comments:
defyinggravity commented:

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

No, of course not. He's a gentle lover.

NancyII commented:

I can't believe my eyes! Libs making a joke that deals with gays? Will wonders never cease?

It WAS pretty funny.

sicasayinit commented:

I just don't get it. Why is it so much more important to Kevin Jennings to teach the "ethics" of G/L relationships to elementary school kids....... than to just teach that "bullying" period ,is unacceptable on any level !! Not only am I not homophobic, my O.B./ GYN is gay and my sister moved to Calf. to be with her lover and all I had to say about it was "you guys come home for Christmas if you can afford it" The Doc. has a problem with K.J.s agenda, he's a fairly intelligent fellow, my sisters' lover has a problem with him because he portrays himself as "safe school czar" and refused to address kids killing each other with railroad ties. I have a problem with it because I $#%^ well don't want someone teaching my kids what they believe.

There are different religions,different beliefs, different views and different lifestyles !

Are we now going to teach them all to our kids and just say to heck with the acedemics?

I don't allow bullying PERIOD. My kids don't have to learn about the 'ethics" of G/L relationships to learn they may not pick on someone because of their differences and if they do I will show my kids what it feels like. Am I crazy? Is that not what we should teach our children and shouldn't that parental right be left in the hands of those that have children?

: Researcher says text proves Shroud of Turin real

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:25:52 PST

By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer Ariel David, Associated Press Writer – 21 mins ago

ROME – A Vatican researcher claims a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus' burial cloth.

The claim made in a new book by historian Barbara Frale drew immediate skepticism from some scientists, who maintain the shroud is a medieval forgery.

Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, said Friday that she used computers to enhance images of faintly written words in Greek, Latin and Aramaic scattered across the shroud.

She asserts the words include the name "Jesus Nazarene" in Greek, proving the text could not be of medieval origin because no Christian at the time, even a forger, would have labeled Jesus a Nazarene without referring to his divinity.

The shroud bears the figure of a crucified man, complete with blood seeping out of nailed hands and feet, and believers say Christ's image was recorded on the linen fibers at the time of his resurrection.

The fragile artifact, owned by the Vatican, is kept locked in a special protective chamber in Turin's cathedral and is rarely shown.

Skeptics point out that radiocarbon dating conducted in 1988 determined it was made in the 13th or 14th century.

While faint letters scattered around the face on the shroud were seen decades ago, serious researchers dismissed them due to the test's results, Frale told The Associated Press.

But when she cut out the words from photos of the shroud and showed them to experts they concurred the writing style was typical of the Middle East in the first century — Jesus' time.

She believes the text was written on a document by a clerk and glued to the shroud over the face so the body could be identified by relatives and buried properly. Metals in the ink used at the time may have allowed the writing to transfer to the linen, Frale claimed.

Frale claimed the text also partially confirms the Gospels' account of Jesus' final moments. A fragment in Greek that can be read as "removed at the ninth hour" may refer to Christ's time of death reported in the holy texts, she said.

On an enhanced image studied by Frale, at least seven words can be seen, fragmented and scattered on and around Jesus' face, crisscrossing the cloth vertically and horizontally. One short sequence of Aramaic letters has not been translated. Another Latin fragment — "iber" — may refer to Emperor Tiberius, who reigned at the time of Jesus' crucifixion, Frale said.

"I tried to be objective and leave religious issue aside," Frale told The AP. "What I studied was an ancient document that certifies the execution of a man, in a specific time and place."

Frale is noted in Italy for her research on the medieval order of the Knights Templar and her discovery of unpublished documents on the group in the Vatican's archives.

Earlier this year she published a study claiming the Templars at one time had the shroud in their possession. That raised eyebrows because the order was abolished in the early 14th century and the shroud is first recorded in history around 1360 in the hands of a French knight.

But her latest book, titled "The Shroud of Jesus Nazarene" in Italian, raised even doubts among some experts.

"People work on grainy photos and think they see things," said Antonio Lombatti, a church historian who has written books about the shroud. "It's all the result of imagination and computer software."

Lombatti said that artifacts bearing Greek and Aramaic texts were found in Jewish burials from the first century, but the use of Latin is unheard of.

He also rejected the idea that authorities would officially return the body of a crucified man to relatives after filling out some paperwork. Victims of the most cruel punishment used by the Romans would usually be left on the cross or were disposed of in a dump to add to the execution's deterring effect.

Lombatti said "the message was that you won't even have a tomb to cry over."

Unusual sightings in the shroud are common and are often proved false, said Luigi Garlaschelli, a professor of chemistry at the University of Pavia.

Garlaschelli recently led a team of experts that reproduced the shroud using materials and methods that were available in the 14th century, proof, they said, that it could have been made by a human hand in the Middle Ages.

Decades ago entire studies were published on coins that were purportedly seen on Jesus' closed eyes, but when high-definition images were taken during a 2002 restoration the artifacts were nowhere to be seen and the theory was dropped, Garlaschelli said.

He said any theory about ink and metals would have to checked by analysis of the shroud itself.

Comments:
MadMan commented:

Of course a Vatican researcher is going to say that it's real. They'd sell their non-existent souls to their non-existent god to keep the myth going.

Skeptics point out that radiocarbon dating conducted in 1988 determined it was made in the 13th or 14th century.

And there you have it. Science trumps fiction once again.

paxchristi3 commented:

Can't wait for Madman to eat his words when the fact that the radiocarbon dating was corrupted because it was done on a piece of cloth that was used to repair the shroud after a fire is confirmed. Not only that, but the smoke from the fire "altered the age" of the cloth

Thanks for posting this, Sioux. I was going to do the same. As you may know, I recently posted an article about a DVD that makes the claim that the body levitated when the image on the shroud was made: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=116126

It makes sense, considering this video of Jesus in the communion host: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDp3nPQqL_o

pogo commented:

Well, I was just talking to Him the other day down at St. Francis and He said the whole thing was a hoax.

donmason commented:

Lots of new claims about “enhanced” imagery, yet no corroborating sample images were included with the claims, nor were they included in the news story.

Big surprise there for sure.

Having personally viewed many large format negatives and prints of the Shroud, I can assure you that there was absolutely no trace of any writing of any kind on the depicted face image on the shroud.

The image on the actual shroud is extremely faint and low contrast. It appears as a very light stain.

All images shown in news stories are highly contrast enhanced versions. With natural tonalities, the image is hardly visible at all.

This extreme level of contrast enhancement greatly amplifies the textural quality of the cloth, and makes picking out any supposed writing impossible.

“Computer Enhancement” doesn’t add any information, and it’s not magic.. A little hand articulated digital retouch can make the random textures of the cloth say anything you wish.

The transfer of ink from an original document to the cloth is even more incredulous. Papyrus is far less porous than cotton based paper (which hadn’t yet been invented), and ink loading heavy enough to soak through the papyrus would have obliterated any readability of the transferred text.

With the publicity of the authors book however, should result in a big sales boost for the author and publisher.

JohnfromBakersfield commented:

lol Vatican researcher.

It's a Mad, Mad World: Test your knowledge of current issues

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:13:36 PST

This is a fun quiz that I found:

http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/quiz/index.php

Report your score when you complete it, and prepare to be scared at how awful the rest of the public did when you see the results.

Comments:
MadMan commented:

I got all 12 questions correct, along with 2% of the public.

Overall Score

learnem commented:

pretty basic questions....could have watched 15 minutes of news last night and got them all right... hell people make fun of me for being stupid...and even i scored 100%

krcgump commented:

Ditto

MadMan commented:

Don't you think it's odd that three times as many people got no questions correct as opposed to those of us who got all questions correct? I mean, it was multiple choice, and the law of averages would dictate that the idiots would get at least a few questions right.

sicasayinit commented:

I got all 12 questions correct with out hardly any thinking - All you have to do is watch FOX news for all the info

adampayne commented:

Pretty easy test. All of us on the blogs here can join the 2% club. We all know what is happening but we don't know what it is, do we....... Mr.____!

bfieldgeek commented:

100% but I really wanted to answer #11

Does the so-called "cap and trade" legislation being discussed in Congress deal with.

Unemployment.

BakoBeachBumm commented:

I am also in the 2% club.

Ray_Harwick commented:

Eleven. Missed the number of troops.

No holds barred: PG&E smartmeters WILL be tested

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:12:28 PST

Just got this from Sen. Dean Florez' office.

YAY! (though why it took intervention from a senator to get the CPUC to get off its duff and actually treat consumer's complaints seriously is another story!)

Still, good news!

And I'm also reading that customers in the Bay Area who are just now getting the smart meters are having the same complaints we did down here in Bakoland.

One man emailed me from Fairfield about how his bill is normally $160 in the fall. After getting a smart meter it was $500 for last month. Not exactly a heat wave going on in Fairfield (which is on the delta) and certainly not at this time of year.

What's PG&E's excuse for THAT!?

Anyhow, here's Sen. Florez' release:

CPUC votes to require Smart Meter testing

Florez called for independent review of PG&E devices amid widespread billing anomalies

SACRAMENTO – The California Public Utilities Commission today declared “extraordinary circumstances” to allow them to quickly move forward with hiring an independent consultant to test PG&E’s “Smart” Meters, amid widespread reports of billing anomalies with the new digital meters, including bill spikes of double and triple normal utility payments – even in vacant homes.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) has held hearings in Bakersfield and Fresno on residents’ concerns that Smart Meters are not accurately reading their energy usage. Many of those residents reported spikes in usage while they were at work or on vacation.

In October, Florez hand delivered a list of demands to CPUC president Michael Peevey, including a call for independent testing of meters and a moratorium on new installations until such testing was completed. Peevey did not call for a moratorium, but quickly agreed to independent testing, a position made formal by today’s unanimous vote of the CPUC.

By declaring extraordinary circumstances, the agency can avoid some of the delays in the contracting process and get answers for consumers – some of whom have seen their utility bills eclipse their rent or mortgage – more quickly.

“While I would have liked to see a halt to Smart Meter installations until we can assure consumers they work, I am happy the PUC took this action to get to those answers as quickly as possible,” said Florez. “No one should be making the decision between keeping the lights on or putting food on the table while these doubts persist.”

“I also believe the public needs assurance that this testing will look at how these meters work in real life, in real homes, with comparisons to historical figures using traditional meters,” Florez continued. “Clearly the off-the-line factory testing that has occurred has not been sufficient.”

Smart Meters are ultimately supposed to give consumers real-time information on their energy usage, so they can make adjustments to save on their bills, but the technology to allow the sort of communication needed to achieve that will not be in place for years. So far, only the utility itself seems to be saving -- eliminating the labor costs of manually reading older meters -- as many consumers say their bills have increased dramatically despite cutting back on energy consumption.

PG&E has blamed the spike on summer heat, but much of the increase has come from multiple rate hikes approved readily by the Public Utilities Commission, much of that to pay for the new meters.

Comments:
goldilox commented:

Good Job ! good news!

airqualityguy commented:

Rate hike requests are also being approved this year by the PUC for so-called "clean energy" power plants here in the San Joaquin Valley. These are plants like the Mt Poso Cogen plant which currently burns dirty coal and is converting to even dirtier biomass incineration which will add greatly to our pollution problems. There is also the "clean" Hydrogen Energy proposal for Tupman which will truck into the valley and incinerate here dirty coal and pet coke as the fuel source for the hydrogen, also adding significantly to our pollution burden. In other words, we are subsidizing, with higher energy bills, the development of air polluting power plants in our over burdened air basin. The power goes to the rest of the state, we get the pollution and higher bills, and the power companies get credits for buying renewable energy. Figure that one out. But, I keep forgetting that we will accept anything here for a few jobs, tax dollars, and political donations.

Sorry this is off the topic of smartmeters but it directly has to do with current rate increases.

MRAllred commented:

aqguy

allow atomic power plants no air pollution or is it the blunt nose rat/mouse/lizard ? Or is there a tree somewhere around 20 miles that might get harmed ?

lanabuford commented:

Big deal! I wont be happy till they give me back the almost $2,000 in over charges.

ronmexico commented:

Come on now allred. We can't be having nuclear power when we can despoil hundreds of square miles earth with wind turbines and solar panels that need a backup power source when the wind doesn't blow and it is nighttime...

MRAllred commented:

Sorry I just thought common sense oooooooooooooo well never mine

MRAllred commented:

I should have said Nuclear sorry about ATOMIC or maybe fusion or maybe Horse manure yep horse manure love walking behind a horse instead of driving my truck wasting all that under ground gases the more gas we use the less the earth FARTS

qvjayne commented:

I'm with Lana Buford... I have a similar amount of over-charges that should be refunded. There is no excuse for this. Despite the decrease in the amount of power used, my bill was 3X its normal amount. Paying the normal amount hoping that PG&E would iron this out and adjust the bills was also futile. I paid the normal amount and promptly received a 15-day cut-off notice. The choice then becomes: "Do you want power at all?" Then, pay the bill as it's stated. "Exceptionally Unfair" doesn't even scratch the surface of the term I would rather use for this practice. Customers got screwed.

noholdsbarred commented:

LanaBuford and qvJayne:

You are absolutely right. This is a baby step.

We need to keep pushing the PUC on the absurd rate hikes (that paid for the smart meters by the way) and the smart meter problems.

Keep complaining, be the squeaky wheels!!! (i'm squeaking as much as I can too!)

Oh, and I like the idea of nuclear plants...thought I'd throw that in...

goldilox commented:

I also have been making monthly payments (from the astronomical summer bills we received), i send in $400 a month, and still owe $380 from before, i too keep getting cut-off notices, but keep plugging along! haha

nothing ya can do ...

BakoBeachBumm commented:

We seem to like everything European Health Care the No War ideas so why is it that we don't fallow them with how they generate their electricity ------NUCLEAR oh wait it is not that it is unsafe it is that they want us to become a third world country

lanabuford commented:

We pay $388.00 every month on the payment plan, only a little goes toward the old bill, At this rate I will never get the $2689.00 paid off! I understand I owe for electric we used...but not over $2,000 for 3 months! Every time I get my bill I have this urge to jam it down their throats.

BakoBeachBumm commented:

Why should WE have to pay for the new meter upgrade? I mean with the cost savings of Not having meter readers come out each and every month along with all the benefits that the employees got they should be saving A LOT of Money.

airqualityguy commented:

Nuclear is attractive at first sight because it is low in carbon and air pollution. But, this recent study finds the cost of nuclear energy in newly built reactors would be three times higher than what we are paying for electricity today. Who needs that? Renewables like wind, solar, and tidal are actually cheaper. I don't use much power at night ronmexico. I like the lights down low.

jfrancais commented:

Why is the state of CA even doing business with these crooks? They have a long historic rap sheet.

Wold the average person continue to do business with someone if they continually rip you off (unless forced to by the state in a case like this)?

jfrancais commented:

Can the state force a sell or breakup of this company? It's in the interest of the people of the state to do so.

Shwaine commented:

The only issue I've had with PG&E over billing has nothing to do with the meter. My SmartMeter is reading usage that is normal for my home. The problem is PG&E hasn't actually read my meter since August because my meter has disconnected from the network and they can't be bothered to send someone out to do a manual meter read (or to install a new meter to get it back on the network). Every time I call, they "correct" the previous month's bill and then continue using an "estimated read" that is 400-500kWh too high for the current month instead of sending someone out.

Apparently they've already fired all the meter readers in town since they can't manage to find one to come read my meter. At least I know how to read my meter and do that every week now. So each time I get a bill with a "current meter read" that is higher than my meter shows the day the bill arrives, I'll keep calling them up about it.

donmason commented:

“Can the state force a sell or breakup of this company? It's in the interest of the people of the state to do so.”

Sure, we certainly can, in theory.

How many remember the passing of utility deregulation back in 1996 under Governor Wilson? The state legislators had an almost unanimous vote on the issue.

Too much government was the mantra, and opening utility service to pure market forces was supposed to be the ideal solution.

As usual, few remember some simple history. Utilities by nature are monopolies, and were originally fully regulated because they were screwing the customer base. Regulation brought us over 5 decades of stable energy costs, and a reasonable return for investors.

Once deregulation occurred, many power plant assets were sold off to the free market. They started screwing the customer base once again. Gosh, how could we have known?

The legislature and more important, the people themselves, hadn’t considered that just a few large energy producers could control prices by artificially limiting supply. Remember Enron anyone?

I’m amused in a way that our local population is so irate over our present situation.

“Get the government off my back, and let the free market alone. All will be just peachy”

Well, the reality of the “free” market is here, right now. Are we happy yet?

Every state in the nation that deregulated energy utilities wound up paying much higher energy costs.

Energy corporation profits are at an all time high. Free market stockholders are ecstatic!

And now, so many here that hate big government and business regulation are screaming for the presently much less powerful PUC to do something!

The people of California made their own bed. Too bad they don’t want to lay in it.

Welcome to the real world of corporate free market business.

jfrancais commented:

Nothing like self-fulfilling prophecies.

Government is so bad that you elect people into office that hate government then they screw it up worse.

LEFT blaming the RIGHT, and VISE-VERSA... making sure the same idiots get re-elected: The idiots in Sacramento are finally getting theirs

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:06:11 PST

www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi

Legislators and other elected officials in the capital will see their salaries slashed by 18 percent next month under an opinion issued Thursday by state Attorney General Jerry Brown, who decided that officials' pay can be cut in the middle of their elected terms.

The decision means the state will cut the pay of all 120 lawmakers and nine constitutional officers a year earlier than expected, saving the state $2.8 million next year.

A spokesman for state Controller John Chiang said he will cut the salaries Dec. 7, the start of a new legislative session. Brown is among the officials whose annual salary will be cut, from $184,301 to $151,127.

The pay cuts were approved in May by the California Citizens Compensation Commission, which sets the salaries for elected officials in the state. At that time, the commission was advised by state lawyers that the cuts could not take effect until December 2010 - at the start of a new term.

Chuck Murray, chairman of the commission, said he was pleasantly surprised by Brown's decision because there had been no discussion of implementing the pay cuts midterm.

"With a $21 billion deficit coming up in January, maybe it's not enough," Murray said of the 18 percent pay cut.

Brown's opinion comes nearly two months after the chief executives of the California Senate and Assembly sent Brown a letter asking whether midterm salary cuts were allowed.

The three-page Sept. 28 letter by Greg Schmidt, chief executive officer of the Senate Rules Committee, and Jon Waldie, chief administrative officer of the Assembly Rules Committee, dealt largely with another issue, which Brown did not address in his Thursday opinion.

Schmidt's and Waldie's primary concern in the letter appeared to be whether the Citizens Compensation Commission could legally slash lawmakers' per diem and car allowance benefits by 18 percent - as the panel voted to do in July.

Lawmakers collect $173 for each day they are in Sacramento, up to $400 a month for automobile leases, as well as state contributions for health benefits. Those benefits are also scheduled to be cut by 18 percent next month - in addition to the pay cuts. The benefits cuts will save the state another $1.2 million next year.

A spokeswoman for Brown said the opinion addressed what they viewed as the "primary question" from the letter. "As far as the per diem benefits, we did not see that as the primary question," said Christine Gasparac. She said lawyers at the office are not looking into the other issue, but would do so if they received another request.

State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, referred the pay cut questions to Schmidt, who said that his office had not received the opinion, only a press release, and that no decision had been made about whether to challenge Brown's opinion.

He said the Senate will likely not pursue the benefits question further.

Shannon Murphy, spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Baldwin Hills (Los Angeles County), released a statement saying Assembly members would abide by the law: "We're no strangers to stepping up in these tough times."

Murray, the Citizens Compensation Commission chair, said the Legislature may now regret raising the issue.

"In hindsight, it might have been better to let sleeping dogs lie," he said.

The commission made the pay cuts last spring because 193,000 state employees have been forced to take three furlough days off a month to save the state money.

Annual salaries of elected officials

Title and pay, before and after December's pay cut:

Governor: $212,179 - $173,987

Lieutenant governor: $159,134 - $130,490

Attorney general: $184,301 - $151,127

Secretary of state: $159,134 - $130,490

Controller: $169,743 - $139,189

Treasurer: $169,743 - $139,189

Superintendent of public instruction: $184,301 - $151,127

Insurance commissioner: $169,743 - $139,189

Members, Board of Equalization: $159,134 - $130,490

Speaker of the Assembly: $133,639 - $109,584

President pro tem of the Senate: $133,639 - $109,584

Minority floor leader: $133,639 - $109,584

Majority floor leader: $124,923 - $102,437

Second-ranking minority leader: $124,923 - $102,437

All other legislators: $116,208 - $95,291

Source: California Citizens Compensation Commission

Comments:
learnem commented:

about time they get a taste of their own medicine....ALL OF THEM...cant pass a water bill to save Ca, but can regulate the amount of electricity a TV can use??

pogo commented:

Read this news with my morning coffee and it truly made my day.

learnem commented:

glad to see we agree on something Pogo!

Btowntv007 commented:

About time. If being in politics wasn't so profitable, maybe we wouldn't have so many career politicans.

BakoBeachBumm commented:

Maybe we should fallow what the government is saying about the heads of corporate leaders first cut their pay then pay based on results. SO they don't get paid when the can't pass a balanced budget or if they can't seem to make sure that the infructure is up to handling the needs of the state's population that means the fresh water that we need the power (electricity) that we need the highways that we need etc.

casooner90 commented:

"up to $400 a month for automobile leases"

Okay, this one caught my attention. Now, many of you have jobs (many of you don't - I gather from your typical entitlement posts). But, the ones that do, how many of you have your company help you out with your transportation cost? I know some of the folks that have jobs out of town get a vehicle allowances, but most of you are expected to report to your work site with a self provided transportation. Are these politicians getting an auto allowances just to get to work? I must be missing something here.

It's a Mad, Mad World: Right-wing media commentators are obsessed with rape

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:57:33 PST

Why are so many media conservatives obsessed with rape?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCY23hWWgRI

You tell me.

Comments:
MadMan commented:

And this is nothing to laugh about. Rape is a serious issue, and these right-wing gasbags are constantly using the term like it isn't a big deal. I think they have some serious mental issues that need to be confronted.

But then again, by virtue of them being conservatives, they are automatically going to have some serious mental issues that need to be confronted.

learnem commented:

I think they have some serious mental issues that need to be confronted.

why do you refer to yourself in the third person?

HI DEJEMDAVE

krcgump commented:

I doubt it's just conservatives, that is just what you gave us to digest, and I don't think it's worth researching so I say, Well I've been raped on this site before and most of you are libs aren't you

makemelaugh commented:

krcgump, you just contributed to the original point by throwing the word around. Nice going.

krcgump commented:

Really like I hadn't noticed (insert sarcasm here) thanks for noticing just checking to see if everyone is awake

Everyone Have a great weakend...gump....out

rwestfall commented:

I think MadMan is obsessed with conservatives. I know he's obsessed with Sarah. Now if he would only use all this energy to be productive in society and get a job so we don't have to support him.

jfrancais commented:

I understand the obsession, MadMan. Conservatives babes are hot!

honorerdieu commented:

Yes, these conservative women are hot. Martina McBride and Sara Evans can sing me to sleep every night. And Bo Derek can lasso me up anytime.

Gumps world: Pelosi says Afghan President Hamid Karzai is an "unworthy partner"

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:40:01 PST

Pelosi's comments came a day after Karzai was sworn in for his second five-year term

Wow I think "O" needs to hide her under a rock, Please Nancy just focus on trying to take care of your house.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091120/pl_nm/us_afghanistan_usa_pelosi

I guess now she is a military expert,lets just let the big kids handle this stuff ok nancy

School House Zach: Week 11 (playoffs) running thread and scoreboard

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:08:36 PST

UPDATED, 11:49 p.m.: Here's what we're looking at for next week. We'll talk more about it Sunday in a Most Important Things post, but I wanted to get the matchups out there and talked about now:

Division I
(8) Centennial at (1) Clovis-Buchanan
(5) Liberty at (4) Fresno-Central
(6) Bakersfield at (3) Stockdale
(7) Clovis West at (2) Fresno-Bullard

Division II
(8) Sanger at (1) Tulare Union
(5) Fresno-Edison at (4) Fresno-SJ Memorial
(6) Garces at (3) Frontier
(10) Visalia-Redwood at (2) Visalia-El Diamante

Division III
(9) Clovis North at (1) Dinuba
(5) Hanford at (4) Delano
(6) Ridgeview at (3) Porterville
(10) Foothill at (2) Tehachapi

Division IV
(8) Kerman at (1) Kingsburg
(5) Exeter at (4) Wasco
(6) Dos Palos at (3) Taft
(7) Tollhouse-Sierra at (2) Fresno-Washington Union

Division V
(8) SLO-Mission Prep at (1) Corcoran
(5) Caruthers at (4) Woodlake
(6) Lindsay at (3) Madera Ranchos-Liberty
(7) Parlier at (2) Fowler

Division VI
(5) Orange Cove at (1) Tranquillity
(3) Mendota at (2) Strathmore

UPDATED, 11:38 p.m.: Some close games out there in the first round of the playoffs tonight, though there weren't too many upsets. All scores below are final; let's digest:

Centennial 16, Clovis East 14: Not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but the Golden Hawks certainly will take it. That's two big victories for Centennial this year — the other against Liberty in Week 2 — and both came courtesy of the defense, not the Hawks' vaunted balanced attack. Now the concern is for a banged-up Cody Kessler as Centennial gets Clovis-Buchanan next week.

Foothill 21, South 14: It's the Trojans, not the Rebels, who will be heading up to Tehachapi in the Division III quarterfinals, which seems strange considering South won this matchup by 20 points in the regular season. But this one had a couple of elements of an upset: South blew two good scoring opportunities in the first half without points, and Foothill had a couple of monster plays in a big third quarter.

Garces 47, Reedley 23: In what could have turned into a close game, Garces got out on Reedley very early and kept scoring. This Rams offense has been something special against almost everyone in the second half of the season. Unfortunately for Garces, next week's opponent, Frontier, is not everyone else. The Titans' defensive line is big, and it'll be a test like Liberty was for the Rams. But a good win this week, and that's step one.

Delano 23, Highland 6: A couple of defensive-minded teams played smashmouth football in Delano tonight, but the host Tigers clearly had a little more flash to go with the power. The Tigers get their ninth victory of the season and move on to face Hanford, which beat up on Golden Valley. That'll be a doozy in Delano next week.

Ridgeview 42, Hanford West 30: The Wolf Pack is safely into the quarterfinals as well, though they got quite a bit of trouble from a team that only had wins against bottom-feeders coming in. Ridgeview won't be able to play around with Porterville in next week's quarterfinals. But Tyler Dogins showed again why he's one of Kern County's most dynamic players in this one, rushing for 162 yards and three touchdowns and passing for 39 more yards and another score.

I'll have one more update with next week's quarterfinal matchups.

UPDATED, 10:46 p.m.: Some scores updating below. Still looking for McFarland and Burroughs scores, if anyone out there has them.

UPDATED, 9:28 p.m.: Clovis East gets out to its 42 but faces a fourth-and-7. QB rolls out, nowhere to go with it. Incomplete. Ball fluttered out of bounds, and Centennial is going to take over and hang on to win this one, 16-14. Clovis East had spiked the ball on second-and-11, which seems strange with a rushing offense that you'd waste a down like that, time issues or not. Centennial will hang on to play Buchanan next week.

UPDATED, 9:24 p.m.: Centennial's turn to make a bizarre error. A false start on a fourth-and-1 forces them into a punt situation with 2:07 to play. Kessler was limping again, so it's ll be Cole Hallum who punts it. Bit of a shank, and Clovis East has it at its own 25, 1:59 to play and no timeouts.

UPDATED, 9:19 p.m.: Clovis East does have the wind at its back here in the fourth quarter. But the T-wolves have to get a stop for that to matter. Myren Moore, who's quietly up to 83 yards, goes for 10 on the first play from scrimmage. Then a horse-collar tackle call on the next play. Penalties have crippled Clovis East.
Good on Centennial so far for taking advantage. They've got a first down at their 49. And Moore is stuffed, but one of the Wolves hit him waaaay late. Another stupid personal foul, another first down. The Hawks just basically have to hold on to the ball at this point; Clovis East is doing the rest. Inside of three minutes to go.

UPDATED, 9:13 p.m.: Shanked Centennial punt gives Clovis East good field position and some life. But they take so long to move the ball. A pass to the end zone on first down from the Centennial 25 is broken up just before Jordan Macias came down with a touchdown.
Instead, the Timberwolves will keep moving it on the ground. Takes four plays, and they've covered the final 25 yards. Johnson-Bey now has — get this — 38 carries for 230 yards and his second touchdown. And yet, even after the PAT, Clovis East still trails 16-14. 4:25 to play. Clovis East has two timeouts left.

UPDATED, 9:06 p.m.: Centennial has done almost nothing on offense in the second half, and not much for the game, but it's in position to win this game because of defense and especially because of special teams.
Clovis East forces a three-and-out, but by the time the Timberwolves get the ball back, they'll be down two possessions with less than seven minutes to play. Centennial just burned its final two timeouts, but that won't matter if Clovis East can't rally. Punt coming, 6:56 to play.

UPDATED, 9:03 p.m.: A halfback pass from Sean Johnson-Bey to fellow wingback Khary Coleman nets Clovis East's first completion and a 45-yard gain to set Clovis East up inside the Centennial 30.
Ridgeview has pulled away from Hanford West, by the way, leading 42-22 at the end of three.
First down inside the 20 now. Clock rolling down to nine minutes. And now Johnson-Bey has fumbled again. Elijah Trail jumps on it for Centennial at its own 14. Huge play, and if the Golden Hawks can take some time off the clock, they can salt this one away.

UPDATED, 8:57 p.m.: Foothill has come back on South and leads 21-14 with about five minutes to play in the game. Surprsing result there. Ridgeview also having trouble with Hanford West; the Wolf Pack lead it 28-22 late in the third at last update.
Here, Clovis East forces Centennial to punt after the safety kick. Just about 11 minutes left, though.

UPDATED, 8:49 p.m.: Clovis East stalls, and Centennial calls timeout with 5 seconds left in the third quarter to force the Timberwolves, from deep in their own end, to punt into the wind. This is the same end zone where the snap was bad the last time.
And it's high again! This one goes over Josh Long's head and out the back of the end zone for a safety. 16-7 Golden Hawks, a huge play that makes this a two possession game. Three seconds left in the third.

UPDATED, 8:45 p.m.: Cody Kessler is back on the field, by the way, after he limped off in the second quarter. He just converted a fourth-and-1 from the Clovis East 44, giving the Golden Hawks new downs and keeping the clock moving. The clock means a lot when a running team is behind, even in the third quarter.
But now the Hawks misstep, a holding penalty and a sack forcing them into third-and-21 back at their own 47. A complete pass, but it's short and Centennial will punt. Kessler does it himself and pins CE back at its own 5. 1:54 left in the third.

UPDATED, 8:35 p.m.: Finally, here's a Clovis East drive that hasn't been marred by penalties or turnovers, at least not yet. Remember the Timberwolves were inside the 10 when they fumbled before. Right now, they've just converted a third down to get inside the 35.
Now, three plays later, it's fourth-and-1 from the Centennial 24. I think CE has to go for it here, considering there's just a quarter and a half left, and they've been getting a good push at the line of scrimmage. Out of a timeout, they line up not in their double wing but in the I formation and give to Johnson-Bey, who gets three yards. Big first down there.
It feels like the T-wolves need a TD here; a field goal doesn't help you much in an offense that takes a long time to move the ball. Johnson-Bey takes a pitch to the left down to the 2-yard line. Next play, Johnson-Bey touchdown. PAT good, and it's 14-7 Centennial with 5:35 to go in the third. Game on.

UPDATED, 8:22 p.m.: Wild start to the second half. Sean Johnson-Bey fumbled the ball away to Centennial on the first play from scrimmage, but Shawn Johnson gave it right back on the second play from scrimmage. Clovis East is not a team comfortable coming from behind late, so the T-Wolves have to get points soon if they're going to stay in this one.

UPDATED, 8:18 p.m.: Some other scores bring us Garces up big on Reedley, South up 6-0 on Foothill and Ridgeview up on Hanford West 21-15, closer than I thought it would be. Full scorelist is updating below. And what's this I hear? CSUB ahead of UCLA at Pauley Pavilion? That would be quite the coup for Keith Brown and the Roadrunners.

UPDATED, 8:03 p.m.: The half ends with Centennial ahead 14-0, a product of a brilliant final four minutes of the half. Blocked-punt touchdown, successful onside kick (really just a blooper down the sideline) that leads to another TD — this is how you win games.
Here are some first-half stats:
CLOVIS EAST — Sean Johnson-Bey, 13 carries, 110 yards (though he had 77 on his first six, so the Hawks have gotten better at slowing him down)
CENTENNIAL — Cody Kessler, 14-of-20 passing, 115 yards, three carries, 13 yards, TD; Myren Moore, 15 carries, 60 yards; Matt Castellano, 5 catches, 49 yards; Thomas Grimes 3 catches, 36 yards.
One more big stat — the Golden Hawks have ran 39 points, Clovis East has ran just 18. That's a big factor, too.

UPDATED, 7:55 p.m.: Centennial didn't take long there. A 10-yard Kessler completion to Tim Martinez plus a late hit on Clovis East (the yellow flags have killed the Timberwolves), followed by three runs makes it 14-0 with just 1:10 left before halftime. Kessler snuck it in from a yard out, but he did come off the field limping a bit. Something to keep an eye on in the second half.

UPDATED, 7:50 p.m.: Told you it would happen. But it didn't take very long after I said something. Clovis East snapped the ball over punter Josh Long's head, and when he tried to recover the ball, he fumbled it, picked it up again and had the kick blocked. Elijah Trail waited for the ball to come down and when it did, it was 6-0 Centennial. 7-0 now after the extra point, and a suprise onside kick from the Hawks gives 'em another chance before halftime, at the Clovis East 35.

UPDATED, 7:44 p.m.: Cody Kessler finds Thomas Grimes for 16 yards and a key conversion on first down. That was Kessler at his best, finding himself some extra time out of the pocket and then slipping a bullet to Grimes. The drive continues.
The Hawks drive to the 25, but then Hallum misses another FG. This one was 42 yards, and it had enough leg, but went barely wide right. Five minutes left in the half. I'm guessing someone will score eventually, but I'll keep you posted on that. I might change my mind.

UPDATED, 7:33 p.m.: Clovis East quarterback Daniel Corona keeps on the first play of the second quarter and gets inside the 10, but then fumbles and gives the ball back to Centennial. These teams can't stay out of their own way. Maybe that's why they're in the 8-9 game, but it's plain to see there's lot of talent out there, too.
Centennial gets out of its own end but now faces a third-and-15 from its 24.

UPDATED, 7:27 p.m.: The only thing saving the Golden Hawks' defense right now is Clovis East penalties. Every time the Timberwolves run a clean play, it seems like Sean Johnson-Bey is bursting through the front seven, carrying Centennial defenders with him. He's strong and fast, and that's a dangerous combination if you can't snuff out the run at the line of scrimmage.
Two straight runs of 22 and 31 yards give Clovis East the ball at the Centennial 23. A loss on the next play, though, and it's second-and-13 as the first quarter ends. Still 0-0.

UPDATED, 7:20 p.m.: Centennial not doing anything extraordinary on offense, but a nice mix of Myren Moore runs and short passes, mostly to the flat, have the Golden Hawks inside the Clovis East 30. A penalty followed by the first downfield pass of the evening to Matt Castellano gives Centennial the ball down at the CE 13. But the Timberwolves hold there, and Cole Hallum's 25-yard field goal is no good. Lots of real estate, no points for Centennial. Still scoreless, late in the first quarter.

UPDATED, 7:13 p.m.: Nothing doing early here. Centennial had a big kickoff return on a reverse to start the game, but the Hawks' drive stalled after one first down when Cody Kessler threw incomplete three straight times to turn it over on downs. But then Clovis East was hurt by penalties on its possession and went three-and-out. Only three minutes went by in that sequence.

UPDATED, 6:34 p.m.: I'm perced in the press box at Centennial, where we have the most barren (or at least late-arriving crowd I've seen all season. To be fair, this is the Division I pigtail game, the opposing team is from out of town and there was no JV game to bump up the attendance. But I got here about 15 minutes ago, and I can tell you that there were no more than 50 or so people in the stands.
That's too bad, because this one is compelling to me for several reasons. Yes, the winner will be a heavy underdog at Clovis-Buchanan next week, but both have enough firepower to cause the Bears problems if they don't play well. Besides, Cody Kessler is always worth the price of admission for the Golden Hawks, and Clovis East's double-wing attack is always formidable. And, mainly, it should just be a good, close game. Nothing wrong with one of those, especially with both teams' seasons on the line.
Clock says 24 minutes to kickoff.

ORIGINAL POST: As we settle in for the first weekend of the Central Section playoffs, let's not forget what all of this hoopla is really about: Whittling the championship field to eight in each division. Some are already waiting with byes; others just want to take care of business so they can get to the really important games down the road.

Nowhere is that more apparent than at Centennial, where I'll be perched tonight for the only first-round Division I game between the Golden Hawks and visiting Clovis East. It ought to be a good one, and I'm excited — I've never seen Clovis East play. The winner joins seven teams already waiting in the quarterfinals, including undefeated Clovis-Buchanan, who'll play the winner next week.

Elsewhere, we've got what should be a dandy in Division II between Garces and Reedley, plus three all-Kern Division III matchups between South-Foothill, Mira Monte-Tehachapi and Highland-Delano.

The full Central Section scoreboard is below, and you can imagine the way I've got the scores listed like a bracket — If a team wins the top game, it plays the No. 1 seed next week; if a team wins the bottom game, it plays the No. 2 seed, except in Division III, where Tehachapi is the No. 2. Hopefully the list isn't too cluttered. Let me know if it is, and I'll make it more readable next week.

Before we get to that, though, a quick volleyball note from last night: Frontier rallied to beat Garces in five games for the Division II section championship, and for Tehachapi, the fourth time was the charm. After losing in three straigh D-III finals, the Warriors swept Exeter last night. Congrats to those teams.

Also, don't forget to check out Week 11 rankings, predictions and podcast, if you haven't already. Should whet your appettite nicely for tonight.

(Divisional seeds in parentheses; all games 7 p.m. Friday unless noted)
Central Section playoffs
DIVISION I
(8) Centennial 16, (9) Clovis East 14

DIVISION II
(8) Sanger 20, (9) West 3
(5) Fresno-Edison 41, (12) Fresno-Sunnyside 6
(4) Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial 47, (13) Visalia-Mt. Whitney 7
(6) Garces 47, (11) Reedley 23
(10) Visalia-Redwood 28, (7) Fresno-Hoover 0

DIVISION III
(9) Clovis North 37, (8) Chavez 6
(5) Hanford 37, (12) Golden Valley 14
(4) Delano 23, (13) Highland 6
(3) Porterville 42, (14) Independence 5
(6) Ridgeview 42, (11) Hanford West 30
(10) Foothill 21, (7) South 14
(2) Tehachapi 49, (15) Mira Monte 16

DIVISION IV
(8) Kerman 24, (9) Fresno-Roosevelt 20
(6) Dos Palos 35, (11) Visalia-Central Valley Christian 14
(7) Tollhouse-Sierra 41, (10) Reedley-Immanuel 14

DIVISION V
(8) SLO-Mission Prep 13, (9) Bakersfield Christian 8
(6) Lindsay 42, (11) Fresno Christian 20
(7) Parlier 31, (10) Firebaugh 23

DIVISION VI
(5) Orange Cove 24, (4) Farmersville 12
(3) Mendota 33, (6) McFarland 16

EIGHT-MAN PLAYOFFS
Riverdale Christian 61, Lighthouse Christian 12 (Saturday)
Clovis Christian 74, Coalinga-Faith Christian 6

SOUTHERN SECTION
EASTERN DIVISION
La Quinta 31, Burroughs 28

EAST VALLEY DIVISION
Hesperia-Oak Hills 21, Kern Valley 19
Pasadena-Maranatha 59, Frazier Mountain 13

NORTHEAST DIVISION
Boron 36, Burbank-Bellarmine-Jefferson 25
Mojave 36, Murrieta-Calvary Murrieta 21

Comments:
pin4win commented:

Good luck to ALL kern county teams. Let's win every division! Whoo-a!

bryanjackson commented:

I've never seen Clovis East play, either. The only other time Centennial has played Clovis East was in the 2004 playoffs, but that game was at Clovis East, so I didn't get to go and only got to watch the highlights. This time around, its at Centennial so I'll be out there for sure. I hope it doesn't rain. Should be interesting.

BobbyShoaf commented:

Delano beats Highland 23-6.

This game was full of hard hits, big runs, and DT Defense. There just was no answer for Highland to Delano's defense. DT QB Josh Garcia surpassed 1000 yards for the season and is moving in on 1000 rushing to match Andy Del Campo's rushing accomplishment. More to come later.

bryanjackson commented:

Great game tonight at Centennial and a nice win for the GHAWKS!!!!! This was only the 3rd win over a Clovis school in Centennial's history and first against Clovis East. Good luck to CHS next week at Buchanan.

Johnson-Bey was a thorn in Centennial's side in this game, but the GHAWKS D did enough to stop CE when it needed to.

bryanjackson commented:

>>I'm perced in the press box at Centennial, where we have the most barren (or at least late-arriving crowd I've seen all season.

Zach, I was in the stands and you're right, the crowd was small. Probably one of the smallest I've ever seen for a playoff game in my 12 years of being a Centennial fan. There could have been several reasons for this: (1) the Condors were hosting the Alaska Aces (a huge rivalry in the ECHL), (2) illnesses are taking their toll, and (3) there was a threat of rain. But still, considering that there were only a couple of other games going on, I'm suprised how small the crowd was. But at least it was a very boisterous crowd.

And it seemed like a lot of Clovis East's fans arrived late, too. That's a long drive for them, though.

BobbyShoaf commented:

Interesting that you point that out bryanjackson. The Delano game had a poor showing, also (attendence wise, the team looked great). We thought it was because some of the fans felt it would be an easy win for DHS so they went to what they felt would have been a more competitive Cesar Chavez vs. Clovis North game (OBTW, Clovis North has some huge dudes). But that was not the case, there were even less people at the CCHS game. I don't know what the deal is, you would think people would be fired up about their school's accomplishments and support them by showing up.

I don't think there were too many Delano folks at the Condors game, I am sure we all figured CSUB was going to lose to UCLA, and there was really nothing worth watching on TV, SO WHERE WAS EVERYONE AT?

Hopefully the 2nd Round draws more people.

jfrancais commented:

I'll be in town for the BHS-Stockdale game. It should be a doozy!!

jfrancais commented:

Clovis East runs the most boring, but effective, offense. I wonder how good they'll be next year with their Head Coach returning to the sidelines.

bryanjackson commented:

BobbyShoaf, you make some good points, too. The CSUB @ UCLA game was televised on FSN (I saw the replay when I got home from the Centennial game and unfortunately CSUB lost). I'm sure those reasons weren't the only reasons why people didn't show up. At Centennial, attendance has been down significantly these last few years compared to when I went to Centennial from 1997-2001. Back then, when we played against our rivals (BHS and Stockdale-we didn't play Liberty until 2004 and Frontier wasn't built yet), the stands would be so full that the crowd would fill up bleachers placed along both endzones and there'd be at least 5 rows of people standing around the track near the endzones. Crowds for those games would be at times close to 7,000. Now, we're lucky to get 2,500 and no longer even have endzone bleachers. Its even worse at volleyball and basketball games, where 10 years ago, we'd draw sometimes close to 2,500 people-Centennial's gym holds close to 2,500. Now we're lucky if we get 500 people (sometimes for a big volleyball game we'll get the gym about half-full) and often times last year the crowd was so small that Centennial only put out one side of the bleachers in the gym and only filled half of those seats (especially for basketball). The schools (and the KHSD) need to do a better job promoting the games to the students.

bryanjackson commented:

And often when we didn't play against our rivals, there'd still be probably 4,000+ at the game about 10 years ago.

jfrancais commented:

When I was in high school we moved over half of our games to BC because the crowds were so big. We played South, Foothill, East, nd Highland at BC. With all the new high schools, the interest is watered down based on new loyalties and the fact that the rivalries don't mean as much.

West High (and Garces) used to be a huge rival for BHS, now they don't even play them. The new rivalries are too new and don't have any long history to them.

Anyone remember the big Garces-BHS games at BC to open up the season in the late 80's and 90's?

milo14 commented:

While not the entire problem for attendance at Centennial... I am quite positive that a great deal of it has to do with the fact that the student body at Centennial is now only around 1600 kids, due to all of the redistricting that took place in the past few years. Our AD told us about our size during the first football meeting of the year. We are now the 2nd smallest school in the HS district, just behind either Highland or Foothill... can't remember which. Compare that to the sizes of Frontier: 2800, Stockdale:2600, Liberty:2600. So now this begs to have the question asked: Just how is the justification for putting Centennial in the super league next year with these much larger schools if the Board doesn't redo the boundaries again?

jfrancais commented:

The district changes the boundaries about every year or so. Some of the zoning defies logic.

jgz6257 commented:

I may be a day late and a few dollars short, but -- if Centennial's coaching staff want a win this Friday against Buchannan, then they are going to have to come up with some trick plays and smart plays.

Good Luck to all of the Bakersfield teams. I predict Stockdale over BHS by --- 7.

Frontier over Garces by 3

Centennial and Buchannan --- I don't know.

jfrancais commented:

Buchannon is going to give Centennial the business, Hopefully it will be a showcase for Kessler to show what he will do next year as a seasoned QB. 35-17 Bears

Frontier should win by 10 over good Rams team (20-10).

BHS should put up a lot of points and it shouldn't be close if they can solve the turnover problems. 34-17

I'm picking the CW-Bullard game to be close. Rooting for the Eagles to win even though I think the Knights will squeak through. 10-7 Watch out for Kendall Brock. He's the truth. He's put up some astonishing numbers against some good teams. He ran for over 200 yards against Servite on just 12 carries. That stat says that he's one explosive muldoon.

Breaking News: Kernville man detained for alleged bomb threat

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:47:26 PST

Bomb threat at Kern River Health Care Center

This is a news release of the Kern County Sheriff's Office.
Please do not contact the Sheriff's Communications Center.

Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Time: 8:56:29 PM
Department Contact: Dean Marshall

Details:

On11/19/2009 at 1523 hours, deputies from the Kern Valley Substation were dispatched to the Kern River Valley Health Care Center in regards to a bomb threat. The health care center and surrounding residences were evacuated with the assistance of the CHP and Forest Service. Deputies detained Richard Hunt of Kernville. The Kern County Sheriff's Bomb Squad responded and determined the device was not an explosive. Hunt was booked into CRF for PC148.1(c), Making a false bomb report.

Breaking News: Police release photos of suspects in credit card theft

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:44:48 PST

BAKERSFIELD POLICE
DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

November 19, 2009

Bakersfield Police are requesting the community’s assistance in identifying
suspects wanted for using stolen credit cards.

On 11/19/09, the victim’s car was burglarized while parked in the parking lot at
3100 Camino Del Rio. Taken in the burglary were the victim’s credit cards, three
handguns plus ammunition.

Since that time the victim’s credit cards have been used at multiple businesses in
town.

Attached is surveillance video and still photos of two suspects wanted in
connection with some of those illegal credit card uses. The suspects appear to
be a white female with short brown hair, medium height and build, and a white
male having short or shaved hair and a very large build. These suspects could be
armed.

Anyone with information regarding the identity of these suspects or their crimes is
encouraged to call Detective Craig Checklenis at 326-3872.

Comments:
animalluvr commented:

Camino Del Rio, isn't that in the southwest part of B-town.

learnem commented:

nope...thats the road that runs by Black Angus, and back to the hotels there off 99 and Rosedale. When I used to work out At that 24 hour fitness, there were always breakins into vehicles in that parking lot...especially on Satuday, when Johns Inedible Pizza is rockin in full swing...heck cars were being broken into and stolen back when I bounced at Black Angus back in the early 1990's

Breaking News: Maricopa police bust one for meth sales

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:41:52 PST

Date:

November 19, 2009

Crime or Incident:

Search Warrant - Narcotics

Location:

Maricopa

Investigating Officer(s):

Officer Curtis Jue, K-9 Officer Todd Backer, Sergeant Derek Merritt

SUSPECTS(S) – If the suspect is in custody, any further information released will be by authorization of the Watch

Commander or the Investigating Officer.

NAME

Shelly Grimes

Maricopa Police Department served a Search Warrant after undercover Officers made a purchase of methamphetamine from the location on November 18, 2009 at 0600 hrs.

During the search warrant Investigators recovered ¼ pound of methamphetamine, 52.8 grams of marijuana, a scale, packaging for sales, and $4108.00 in cash from narcotics sales.

Investigators say that the suspect has been selling approximately 4 ounces of methamphetamine a week out of the same two bedroom trailer, undetected for over a year.

This investigation was headed by Maricopa Police Officer Curtis Jue and the warrant was served on his last day with the department. Officer Jue excepted a position with the new Mc Farland Police Department.

Comments:
drilnliftcrude commented:

Did they shoot her dog?

goldilox commented:

dril LOL

Almost 46 years ago to this day well Nov 22nd

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:29:31 PST

John F. Kennedy died .....wow ... has it been that long ....I am sure he had flaws ...but in history He will be remember as one of the "greats" in a time were we tear apart Presidents and Presidential candidates .....Here is one that dies before he could be dissected.......

R.I.P. Mr. President

Comments:
krcgump commented:

I was eight years old and can still remember teachers crying, and being sent home from school and arriving home to my mother crying and all the kids sitting in front of the TV watching the news unfold

randomfactor commented:

I was in parochial school in Santa Barbara when the announcement was made. I actually don't recall anything other than that. His brother's assassination five years later made much more of an impact.

JFK certainly had his detractors--but had he lived, we might not have gone through the agony of Vietnam in quite the same way. Lots of things would be different.

learnem commented:

HE was FAR from perfect...but the closest to it within the previous and future 40+ years of his service.

too bad Teddy couldnt have followed in his footsteps

witterpitters commented:

Teddy was NO JFK. Not even close. JFK was one of a kind and there will never be another no matter how hard they try. No Democrat/Republican or Independent.

Things that annoy & delight me.: Political Quiz

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:24:27 PST

Share your score.

Take the World's Smallest Political Quiz

http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html

I'm a libertarian...what in the world!!?? My mom's gonna kill me :o)

Comments:
MadMan commented:

The RED DOT on the Chart shows where you fit on the political map.

Your PERSONAL issues Score is 100%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 20%.

According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is...

LIBERALS usually embrace freedom of choice in personal

matters, but tend to support significant government control of the

economy. They generally support a government-funded "safety net"
to help the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation

of business. Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations,

defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action

to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.

BakoBeachBumm commented:

The RED DOT on the Chart shows where you fit on the political map.

Your PERSONAL issues Score is 70%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 80%.

According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is...

LIBERTARIANS support maximum liberty in both personal and

economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one

that is limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence.

Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose

government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate

diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties.

Shwaine commented:

Not that this won't prevent certain bloggers here from labeling me as liberal because I don't agree with all their conservative viewpoints and I'm an "intellectual" (which they say as if it's a bad thing), but here's my result:

The RED DOT on the Chart shows where you fit on the political map.

Your PERSONAL issues Score is 70%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 50%.

According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is...

CENTRISTS espouse a "middle ground" regarding government control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes support individual freedom of choice.

Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind,

tend to oppose "political extremes," and emphasize what

they describe as "practical" solutions to problems.

NancyII commented:

No one thinks that being an intellectual is a bad thing, it's how it's presented.

vanityfair commented:

Very cool little test! I wish more users here would take the time to participate.

Me: The RED DOT on the Chart shows where you fit on the political map.

Your PERSONAL issues Score is 80%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 100%.

According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is...

vanityfair commented:

Haha, my score essentially means do your own thing and don't expect anyone else to listen to it or pay for it. Amen.

: Wal-Mart scuffle prompts racism claims

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:58:11 PST

From Gary Tuchman and Dave Mattingly, CNN

November 19, 2009 8:10 p.m. EST

Video of her actions here

Kennett, Missouri (CNN) -- This much isn't in dispute: Heather Ellis joined a line at a Wal-Mart nearly three years ago.

Whether she cut in line or merely switched checkout lanes to join her cousin is in dispute, and the accounts of what happened next vary greatly. The debate has divided this economically struggling town of 11,000 along racial lines.

Ellis, then a college student with no criminal history, said some white patrons shoved and hurled racial slurs at her when she switched checkout lines at Wal-Mart in January 2007.

Store employees refused to give her back her change and called police, she said.

And when she was taken outside to the parking lot, an officer allegedly told her to "Go back to the ghetto." Another roughed her up, she said.

Witnesses and police offer a different take: Ellis was belligerent, cutting in line, shoving merchandise belonging to another customer to make way for hers on the conveyor belt, kicking one officer in the shin and splitting another's lip.

A Dunklin County Circuit Court jury heard from the prosecution and defense as Ellis' felony trial got under way Wednesday.

Surveillance tapes from the store were shown in court Thursday and released publicly, but the tapes don't show much of the alleged confrontation.

A camera above the cash register appears to show Ellis' arm shoving merchandise to the side on the register's conveyor belt several times.

Employees testified Wednesday that the shoving led to a heated verbal exchange with employees, during which Ellis was loud and profane.

Another camera showed her being led out of the store by police, with her arm in the air. A third shot from the parking lot shows her being handcuffed and put into a police car. Ellis appears to kick backward at police but her defense maintains she did so after police assaulted her.

Resisting arrest and disturbing the peace, could she face 15 years in prison if convicted.

Officials with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference said the case is indicative of racial bias in the town, where 13 percent of the population is African-American.

Kennett, the hometown of singer Sheryl Crow, is in the southeastern corner of Missouri and has struggled economically.

Black and Hispanic residents have long complained about the predominantly white Police Department profiling them during traffic stops.

When Ellis' supporters held a peaceful rally in June, officers found business cards scattered along the route that read: "You have been paid a social visit by the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The next visit will not be social."

During another rally Monday, a handful of opponents stood on the sidelines waving Confederate flags.

"I know it's racism. It's blatant, overt racism," said Ellis' father, the Rev. Nathaniel Ellis.

Her attorney, however, has not brought up race as a contributing factor in the case.

"I'm not going to go there," Scott Rosenblum said. "It's up to the prosecutor to decide to prosecute the case that the police investigate and present to them."

At the time of the incident, Ellis was a pre-med student at Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

She was home visiting relatives when she made a trip to Wal-Mart on January 6, 2007, to pick up some items for her mother. Ellis' 15-year-old cousin was with her.

After selecting their items, the two stood in different checkout lines. Noticing that her cousin's line was moving faster, Ellis cut in next to him, angering other customers.

In the arguments that followed, Ellis yelled so loudly that employees in the back of the store could hear her, prosecutor Morley Swingle said during his opening statements Wednesday.

Ellis "went ballistic in a profane tirade," he said.

When police arrived to remove her from the store, Ellis confronted them with the "worst kind of cussing imaginable," Swingle said.

Al Fischer, the lead officer at the scene, testified on Thursday that Ellis spewed invective at the officers as he repeatedly asked her to calm down.

"If you try to arrest me, I'll kick your (expletive) ass," he quoted her as saying. That's when he told her that she was under arrest for threatening an officer.

He said Ellis began to fight as he grabbed her from behind to handcuff her, kicking and swinging. Two other officers assisted him, Fischer said, as they took Ellis into custody as she struggled.

She repeatedly kicked one officer in the shin and another in the face, police said.

"I ain't going nowhere until I get my (expletive) change back," Ellis told officers, according to a police incident report.

"She resisted arrest, kicked her feet and stiffened her body" when officers tried to put her in the police cruiser, the report said.

Under cross-examination, Fischer admitted he did not document his own injuries from the scuffle and acknowledged that he went against police protocol.

Customer Teresa Kinder testified that Ellis shoved her items back on the checkout conveyor belt to make room for her own. When Kinder protested, Ellis allegedly threatened her with violence.

Defense attorney Rosenblum described the incident as an unjustified assault on his client.

When Ellis tried to seek help from the cashier and a store manager during the arguments, "her voice was not heard," he said.

Store employees treated Ellis with indifference, Rosenblum said, and officers taunted her by telling her to "go back to the ghetto."

Ellis told the ACLU that officers addressed her "with a series of racial remarks that included the N-word and everything you can imagine."

She said the Wal-Mart cashier asked for her ID card, even though she was paying in cash, and refused to give back her change.

"When you read the probable cause affidavit here, quite frankly, it does sound like she's out of control," legal analyst Lisa Bloom said. "There are five police officers. They're all saying the same thing. There are at least four other witnesses within the Wal-Mart store. They're all saying the same thing.

"She has a completely different version of the facts," Bloom added. "She feels that she was treated differently; it was on account of her race. It's in a racially charged community. And these charges are being blown out of proportion, so she's facing 15 years behind bars for an incident that began with cutting in line. ... I think there's good reason to think there are some racial allegations here."

Now a 24-year-old schoolteacher, Ellis is engaged to a state trooper. She has not spoken publicly about her case, saying she has been instructed not to do so.

"I wish I could, but I can't," she said leaving the courtroom Wednesday.

Two years ago, prosecutors offered a plea deal under which she would have received probation if she dropped her complaint against the police.

"She decided not to sign it, because she was taught to never admit guilt when you're innocent," her father said. "We plan to fight it as we have. We're marching on."

Comments:
krcgump commented:

Have we all not played that ,you get in this line and I'll get in this one and if one moves faster we will jump to that one. Hate to admit it but I have a couple of times, why did it ever get to this tho I think all involved should have taken a chill pill

learnem commented:

IVE NEVER taken anybody's stuff and thrown it back to make room for mine though.

lanabuford commented:

Didn't Tina just post this?

goldilox commented:

yes, we have the same blog on her profile ...

BakoBeachBumm commented:

No I haven't cut in line as it is rude. This woman is a shinning example of those that think that they are a protected class and you can't do anything because they will just pull the race card and you will back off. To which I say "NO MAS" not that doesn't mean that any of us should be rude but that we should each treat each other as we want to be treated ---- you like we use to be taught in kinder garden. Sometimes the simple rules where better.

In this case I haven't seen any of the security tapes and from her own testimony I would have been inclined to believe the police and the other witnesses over Ellis. Her daddy ( Rev. Nathaniel Ellis) must really be proud of his daughter I guess that he brought her up wright. Then you get to the last line in the last sentence and he tries to pull up thoughts of MLK --- "her father said. "We plan to fight it as we have. We're marching on."

She should be glad that I am not on her jury.

NancyII commented:

Holding a bench for the parade at Disneyland? Yes

Holding a place in line at an event? Yes. (but after a while when they didn't get there I start letting people go ahead of me then hold the spot a few more minutes then move to the back of the line till more build up.)

Holding TWO spots then one of us runnning to the shorter line with our mdse? Never. Wait your turn, you aren't any better than I am.

lanabuford commented:

Why did they even ring her up? why didn't they have security push her out the front door! She just sounds like a spoiled rotten POS, that's used to getting her way and thought she had the right to act like a 2yr old throwing a tantrum!

pogo commented:

The only thing worse is little old ladies who take a full basket into the express lane and then wait until they get the total before they start looking in their purse for their money. I once asked one, "Lady, did you know you were going to have to pay for your groceries when you got in line?"

I can't go in that store anymore.

pin4win commented:

Ok, so if I said something like: "good for them, atleast that part of the country isn't letting minorities run them over!" would that be racist?

If so, then lets put it this way: A**holes come in every color! But why is it that it seems to never be a white person screaming racisim? I feel rasicm everyday in my life, either towards me or my white counterparts..... I am not alone I am sure.

One day the white race will demand that the civil rights of whites are just as important as those of our black/brown/yellow brothers! We cannot make the past go away by taking rights away from whites and giving more to the minorities - can we?

Peace!

pogo commented:

Well said, pin4, don't forget to bring your hood to the meeting this week.

jfrancais commented:

There is enough blame to go around. Everyone showed their ass that night at Wal-Mart.

jfrancais commented:

don't forget to bring your hood to the meeting this week.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/291638/clayton_bigsby/

I ain't in the clan but I brought my 'hood wit' me...

-Kanye West (We Major)

pamg commented:

Hey Pogo, little old ladies get a pass.

jfrancais commented:

I got a red hood with white fluffy trim.

The kids love it.

tchudilowsky commented:

Ok. So she claimed to be innocent and a victim... THEN a store video pretty much shows what actually happened..So NOW she is pleading guilty.

She got off TOO DERN EASY after all the trouble her lies started. What a freak.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/20/walmart.trial/index.html

witterpitters commented:

Plea Deal Reached in 2007 Wal-Mart Scuffle Case

Friday, November 20, 2009

KENNETT, Mo. — A black school teacher charged with assaulting white police officers, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace has agreed a plea deal with prosecutors convicting her of two misdemeanor counts.

The deal announced Friday night means 24-year-old Heather Ellis will avoid a felony conviction for her part in a January 2007 scuffle at a Missouri Wal-Mart.

Ellis agreed to plead guilty to resisting arrest and peace disturbance. Prosecutor Morley Swingle dropped two felony counts of assault on a law officer.

She will be placed on unsupervised probation for a year, must serve four days of shock jail time and must attend at least two hours of anger management classes.

siouxcityranch commented:

ya witters..hangins too good for her...

lanabuford commented:

Wow! Guess they showed her!! How many people get a misdemeanor charge for assaulting a cop....If a white person did this and then screamed it was racism, they would be laughed at and given the max!...This is BS..4 days is a joke.

pin4win commented:

LOL POGO! After I read my post again a few days later, I can see where it can come across that way. I am far from a racist, but I am racist against reverse discrimination! I hate it. I didn't cause any of the harm back in the day....I don't understand why me or you or anyone today should have to try and pay back something that didn't happen to the people collecting now ! ?

For instance, I obtained an AA degree in fire science out of HS from BC. I was a reserve firefighter for 3 yrs, an EMT and carried a 3.2 gpa or higher thru both HS and BC.

Once in the "real world" I learned how it worked to be a white male. Women and Minorities had to pass the written part of the firefighter exam at 70% while white males had to pass at 85%. While I did pass the written tests most of the time over 90% the percentage was not higher than the minorities (who if they passed it at 81% were actually higher than my score). Time and time again I came in fifth when they were hiring four and so on. I then went to Az where they did not have this law and graded out number one on the list with a 89%.... too funny.

Ok, there I vented. But to be honest, I want a red robe with white cotton trim too...... lol.

pogo commented:

pin4win, congratulations on getting ahead.

I was exposed to reverse discrimination in college. Our Petroleum Refining prof would routinely give Saudis 10-20% credit on exams for 'language difficulties' (they spoke better English than I did), then at the end of the year, after all had top grades, told them, "Don't forget Dr. Nelson when you are back home and need a consultant." They didn't and he got rich. Such is life.

Sam Heath: The Weedpatch Gazette

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:44:28 PST

It was evident to many including me when the GOP could not come up with someone better than McCain I wrote that under the circumstances his choice of Sarah Palin was the wisest thing he could do. Having thrown away any chance of winning the election, and it becoming blatantly obvious there were evil forces at work to bring a nonentity like Hussein out of obscurity and thrust him into the limelight by those like Soros, ACORN, the ACLU, racist Oprah, and the MSM for the most part hating on Sarah making her the focus of their vitriol it was the Devil’s game throughout. But Devil or not, Hussein is fast becoming America’s worst nightmare while Sarah is becoming increasingly popular and getting all the press. That the press she is getting speaks volumes about her enemies, including the sexual orientation of some who hate her for being a real woman speaking her mind, she continues to prove the wisest choice McCain could have made, albeit unwittingly on his part.

No, she is not a viable candidate for President at this time and she may never be; but it is blatantly obvious that all the vitriol being spewed out against her is forcing other issues into debate; issues the backers and worshippers of Hussein would rather not discuss or brought out into the open. Hussein continues to be a puppet of the evil forces working against America and the attacks against We the People, our very freedoms as legitimate American citizens are becoming increasingly transparent. But when you consider all the really bad things in Hussein’s background like his birth certificate and Jeremiah Wright being brushed aside, the lack of Congressional oversight for his supporters like ACORN you know his handlers are not going to settle for anything less than a Hitler/Goebbels control of the media. For the time being, those like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are allowed a forum because these globalists like Soros backing Hussein want to give the illusion that we still have a free press and freedom of speech. But to repeat; I believe the seed of America’s destruction was sown in slavery for the sake of profits, much like “Press one for English,” and I continue to see America as Babylon of Revelation.

Consider the early doctored photo of Sarah Palin in a bathing suit holding a Crosman pump pellet rifle. Who but a pervert would have her holding a pellet gun only useful for killing gophers, rats, and ground squirrels rather than a large bore rifle such as that used to shoot a moose? Many people did not catch on to that pervert trick; but I’m very familiar with the tactics used by perverts in their attempts to turn America into a pervert loving nation, along with all the attempts to foil any opposition to open borders and slave labor. All of these things are a perversion of what America used to represent, the fatal flaw of not rejecting slavery by our Constitution aside and we have lost anything like the moral compass Sarah Palin represents. And the servants of Satan continue to demonize anyone believing the Bible has great value in their lives.

In the book of Judges God had Jael and Deborah to do the work when men were failing in their duties. The book of Esther emphasizes this point. There are several instances of God having women do the work when a man worthy of the name could not be found. The only real fault I find with Sarah Palin is that she has stepped into a role which God did not intend for women from my Biblical point of view. But if a real man cannot be found with the backbone to confront the Evil One and his attacks on those of us who hold the Bible as having great value in our lives, then it would not surprise me if God will have a woman do the job; and that to the shame of men.

Comments:
ALICEN commented:

Sam: well, for sure I don't think the "one" the nation elected has the backbone or the spirit or the right mind to lead this nation in the way it should go. Somebody is going to have to pick up the slack. I'm not saying it's Sarah Palin, but I am saying, "Almost anyone will do!" As far as McCain is concerned, he was the choice of the lesser of two evils; I simply didn't realize how evil, IMO, the "one" could be. I suppose that if ACORN had been on the side of McCain, that truly would be evil.

samheath commented:

I believe you suppose correctly Alicen; I further believe there are sinister forces at work to destroy America.

paxchristi3 commented:

Well said, Sam. Can't help but think of Joan of Arc when I read this. I'm sure she was the Sarah Palin of her day, and that didn't stop her, if memory serves me right, from restoring France as a Christian nation.

samheath commented:

Of this much I'm certain Pax; Sarah Palin has brought some needed attention to the Bible the need of faith in God to be openly discussed. And she sure is a lightning rod for the servants of Satan, especially those pretenders of "righteousness" among so-called "liberals."

Earthling: As mentioned in an earlier blog...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:33:55 PST

An Agnostic is a person who does not know if there is God or not.
No one can prove there is a God AND no one can prove there isn't a God.
Trust me, if either side could be proven it would be all over the news
worldwide!

Logically speaking we should all be agnostic.

Belief in God really all boils down to FAITH. When ALL the arguments
are layed on the table, all that is left is faith. On the other hand there
is a ton of science against. But that doesn't matter. Still no hard proof.
AND there never will be proof. No matter what science may come up with
the faithful will always fall back on FAITH. As the "Church Lady", Dana
Carvey (SNL), used to say... "How conveeeenient"!!
In spite of my blog, "Where gods came from", I am agnostic. I just lean
very heavily toward the atheistic side... Say, 99.9% vs .1%.
I have spent a lifetime researching, reading, discussing this subject.
The faithful bring up faith and the atheists bring up science and logic.
I wish I had the answer. No one does.

Peace

: I say 'WHY WAIT?'

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:26:25 PST

Winfrey: Prayer, careful thought influenced exit

By CARYN ROUSSEAU, Associated Press Writer Caryn Rousseau, Associated Press Writer – 2 mins ago

CHICAGO – Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air, saying prayer and careful thought led her to her decision.

Winfrey told the audience that she loved "The Oprah Winfrey Show," that it had been her life and that she knew when it was time to say goodbye. "Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit," she said.

Winfrey talked about being nervous when the program began in 1986 and thanked audiences who had invited her into their homes and lives over the past two decades.

"I certainly never could have imagined the yellow brick road of blessings that have led me to this moment," she said.

The powerhouse show became the foundation for her multibillion-dollar media empire, but in the last year, has seen its ratings slip 7 percent. Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is projected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 74 million homes.

Winfrey offered no specifics about her plans for the future, except to say that she intended to produce the best possible shows during her last 18 months on the air.

"Over this holiday break, my team and I will be brainstorming new ways that we can entertain you and inform you and uplift you when we return here in January," she said. "And then, season 25 — we are going to knock your socks off."

CBS Television Distribution, which distributes the show to more than 200 U.S. markets, held out hope it could continue doing business with Winfrey, perhaps producing a new show out of its studios in Los Angeles.

"We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success," the CBS Corp. unit said in a statement. "We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well."

Many fans heading into Harpo Studios on Friday morning seemed to support Winfrey's decision.

"It's time to elevate to something new," said Sandra Donaldson, 59, of Indianapolis. "Whatever she does is going to be a blessing. It's going to be rewarding and eye-opening. Her name alone opens doors."

Once a local Chicago morning program, the production evolved into television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades, airing in 145 countries worldwide and watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the U.S. alone.

Audience members described the atmosphere inside the studio Friday as tense and emotional, with some reaching for tissues as Winfrey announced her decision. "The whole audience was very quiet and she kept saying, `You can breathe,'" said Jennifer Aguilera, 32, of Joliet, Ill.

Fans expressed hope that Winfrey would soon announce another project.

"Oprah, she impacts everybody, her life, the way she gives," said Shawana Fletcher, 29, of Chicago. "I hope she's not totally done. That's what we're praying."

Winfrey's 24th season opened this year with a bang, as she drew more than 20,000 fans to Chicago's Magnificent Mile for a block party with the Black Eyed Peas. She followed with a series of blockbuster interviews — Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, Whitney Houston and ESPN's Erin Andrews, and just this week, former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

As a newcomer, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" chipped away at talk-show king Phil Donahue's dominance. Later, it turned to inspiration. The show's coverage ranged from interviews with the world's celebrities to an honest discussion about Winfrey's weight struggles.

In 1986, pianist-showman Liberace gave his final TV interview to Winfrey, just six weeks before he died. In a 1993 prime-time special, Michael Jackson revealed he suffered from a skin condition that produces depigmentation. Tom Cruise enthusiastically declared his affection for the much-younger Katie Holmes on the program in 2005 — and jumped on the couch to prove it.

In 2004, Winfrey unveiled her most famous giveaway, when nearly 300 members of the studio audience opened a gift box to find the keys to a new car inside. The stunt became a classic show moment as much for Winfrey's reaction — "You get a car! You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!" — as its $7 million price tag.

The show also became a launching pad for Oprah's Book Club, which then launched best-sellers. The titles ranged from "Song of Solomon" and "Paradise" by Toni Morrison to Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" and Elie Wiesel's "Night."

For others, the selection backfired. "A Million Little Pieces" exploded in sales after Winfrey chose the James Frey memoir in fall 2005. Soon after, it was revealed as a fabricated tale of addiction and recovery, and Winfrey later chewed out Frey on her show.

The loss of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" would be a blow to CBS Corp., which earns a percentage of hefty licensing fees from TV stations that use it — largely ABC affiliates. CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves told analysts two weeks ago that the contract with the show runs through most of 2011 and "if there's a negative impact, it wouldn't hit us until '12."

"Oprah's been a force of media and there's really no person you can look to out there who you could say, `That's the heir apparent,'" said Larry Gerbrandt, an analyst for Media Valuation Partners in Los Angeles. Gerbrandt noted many stations build their schedules around Winfrey's show.

"It's a big loss, but not as huge as it would have been 10 years ago," he said. "However, it still commands the biggest audience and ABC station competitors are licking their chops."

Talk of the show's end often has accompanied Winfrey's contract negotiations. Before signing her current contract in 2004, she talked about quitting after the 2005-2006 season. As far back as 1995, she called continuing "a difficult and important decision."

Winfrey started her broadcasting career in Nashville, Tenn., and Baltimore, Md., before relocating to Chicago in 1984 to host WLS-TV's morning talk show "A.M. Chicago" — which became "The Oprah Winfrey Show" one year later. She set up Harpo the following year and her talk show went into syndication.

Powered by the show's staggering success, Winfrey built a media empire. Harpo Studios produces shows hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw and celebrity chef Rachael Ray. O, The Oprah Magazine was the nation's 7th most popular magazine in the first half of 2009.

Earlier this year, Forbes scored Winfrey's net worth at $2.7 billion.

Comments:
siouxcityranch commented:

' Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is projected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 74 million homes.'

Do you not see what a *PHONEY* she is..sniveling because shes closing down her show in a year??..so whats that mean?? its going to be her main freakin topic over and over again complete with tears?? and you people think Palin is disgusting..try looking in your own back yard..

pogo commented:

Careful Sioux, you are going to make lots of women mad.

siouxcityranch commented:

my lifes ambition pogo hehe sorry i feel the sooner she stops taking up the airways with her blithering and disgusting displays of the money she has made off the backs of others..the better I will like it..

randomfactor commented:

disgusting displays of the money she has made off the backs of others..

Sioux channels his Inner Socialist...

pogo commented:

Hey, cut Sioux some slack. He's just pulling those chains again.

Sioux, when Oprah goes, the Ellen Degeneres becomes the most powerful woman on network TV. Are you ready for that?

NancyII commented:

I am. I love ~~Helens show!~~

Oooops... Ellen's show.

pogo commented:

Helen?

krcgump commented:

pogo..are you sure it's not Ellen Degenerate.........lol

I would prefer Oprah to that any day

that's my take anyway...... gump....out

spam code(EEZZO)

pogo commented:

Gee gump, that is the first time I ever heard her referred to as that!

randomfactor commented:

Gee gump, that is the first time I ever heard her referred to as that!

You must never have seen her stand-up comedy, then. Unless you're being facetious.

pogo commented:

I think every two-bit, right-wing talk show host has referred to her that way countless times. It is sad and old, kind of like gump.

catpaw commented:

I never watched the show. For me, it was mostly about a forum for women and either women issues or issues from a female prospective. I get enough of that from Mrs. Catpaw.

Yet for all my Oprah apathy, she still got in the news. No one had to tell me who she is. My first exposure to Oprah was her role in The Color Purple. She made an impression then and one that has become reinforced over the years. I wish her success with her decision.

refiguy commented:

Oprah ...is a racist ....she can't leave quick enough for me........is she gone yet.......

jfrancais commented:

Oh no. Not the ...RACE CARD!!!!!

How is Oprah a racist? She doesn't even play that game.

randomfactor commented:

Pssst--Jfrancis: she's black. You didn't know? :)

pogo commented:

Because she endorsed Obama jf. It is so obvious!

jfrancais commented:

Sacrebleu!

ALICEN commented:

sioux: I won't miss Oprah. I haven't seen her show for years and years, and when I did watch the show, it was not with any regularity. So whether she goes or stays means absolutely nothing to me. My world doesn't revolve around Oprah or any of those people (so-called entertainers).

krcgump commented:

pogo.....sad and old? now what have I ever done to you to deserve that....besides you forgot to include fat......gump..out

Breaking News: House fire put out in east Bakersfield

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:49:58 PST

EAST BAKERSFIELD, CA - On November 20th 2009 at approximately 1:05 A.M., a call was received by the Kern County Fire Department for a structure fire in the 1200 block of Barlow Street in East Bakersfield. Approximately 15 Kern County Firefighters responded to the incident, assisted by Bakersfield City Fire Department.

Upon arrival, fire crews were faced with a developing fire at the rear of the property. A fire crew made entry into the house to extinguish the fire; simultaneously another crew went to the roof to ventilate the structure and allow the heat and fire gases to escape. Other fire crews established a water supply and protected the surrounding properties to the South and East. The residence was vacant at the time of the fire.

Fire crews saved approximately $ 65,000.00 to the property and its contents. However, the fire destroyed an estimated $ 25,000.00 in value to property.

There were no reported injuries to firefighters.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.

For more news and information visit www.kerncountyfire.org

Breaking News: Arrest log for November 19

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:48:30 PST

Not sure what crimes these folks were arrested for? Check out our list below or click on the link below.

SHALAINA    BARTON    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93312    W    19/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC    16028(A)VC    4000(A)    KCS    HOSTESS

JUAN    ARANA    M    HOUSTON    TX    77050    H    5/10/09    US    C TITLE8S            KCS    TRUCK DRIVER

ANTHONY    VASQUEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    19/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1            KCS

MARCUS    WRIGHT    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    B    19/11/2009    PC    459            KCS    N/A

JAMES    LEDWIDGE    M    MOJAVE    CA    93501    W    17/11/2009    HS    11378   HS    11379(A)        KCS

JEREMY    MUZZY    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    18/11/2009    PC    273.5(A)PC    245(A)(1PC    422     HS 11377(A)PC 148(A)(1HS 11357(B)    KCS    LABORER

JULIO    SANTIAGO    M    MCFARLAND    CA    93250    H    18/11/2009    PC    114     HS    11350(A)VC    12500(A)VC 4000(A)    KCS    LABOR

JULIO    SANTIAGO    M    MCFARLAND    CA    93250    H    19/11/2009    US    C TITLE8S            KCS    LABOR

CHARLES    CROSS    M    BORON    CA    93516    W    18/11/2009    PC    664/187(PC    246     PC    422     PC 417(A)(2    KCS

DIANE    RUSS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    19/11/2009    PC    3056            KCS    AVON REP

CHRISTOPH    ERJONES    M    ROSAMOND    CA    93560    W    18/11/2009    PC    243(D) PC    647(F)        KCS    LIFEGUARD

FLOYD    LANE    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    W    19/11/2009    PC    273.6(A)            KCS

BRITTANY    PRATT    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    B    19/11/2009    VC    14601.1(VC    16028(C)        KCS

LAUREN    ZUNIGA    F    RESEDA    CA    91335    H    19/11/2009    VC    14601.2(            KCS

APRIL    HARRIS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93306    B    19/11/2009    PC    476A(A)            KCS

FERNANDO    GALLARDO    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    19/11/2009    HS    11350(A)VC    14601.2(VC    23152(A)VC 23152(B)    KCS    CONSTRUCTION

ELIAZAR    PONCE    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    H    19/11/2009    HS    11360(A)HS    11359   VC    12500(A)    KCS

JOSE    VELEZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    19/11/2009    PC    DETAINERPC    DEFENDAN        KCS    RANCH HAND

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1PC    245(A)(1        KCS    WELDER

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    VC    14601.1(            KCS    WELDER

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    HS    11550(A)PC    853.7   VC    14601.1(VC 23152(A)    KCS    WELDER

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    HS    11550(A)PC    853.7        KCS    WELDER

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    HS    11550(A)VC    14601.1(VC    23152(A)    KCS    WELDER

GREGORY    ARTS    M    TAFT    CA    93268    W    19/11/2009    PC    166(A)(4            KCS    WELDER

VICENTE    HERNANDEZ    M    PORTERVILLE    CA    93257    H    19/11/2009    US    C TITLE8S            KCS

SEDONNA    RUBRIGHT    F    TAFT    CA    93268    W    17/11/2009    PC    273.6(A)            KCS

RUDY    SIGALA    M    RIDGECREST    CA    93555    W    19/11/2009    VC    10851(A)            KCS    LABORER

RAMBERTO    PEREZ    M    WASCO    CA    93280    H    19/11/2009    VC    12500(A)VC    22450(A)        KCS

BOBBY    MYERS    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93305    W    19/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1PC    272     PC    666    KCS    JANITOR

BRENDA    SCARANO    F    FRAZIER PARK    CA    93225    W    19/11/2009    PC    647(F)            KCS

EDWARD    MASON    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    19/11/2009    PC    3056            KCS

MICHAEL    CARRUTHERS    M    MEMPHIS    TN    38108    B    19/11/2009    CO    5.76.020CO    5.04.010        KCS    SALESMAN

RICHARD    HUNT    M    KERNVILLE    CA    93238    W    19/11/2009    PC    148.1(C)            KCS

MIGUEL    LOMELI    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    H    19/11/2009    PC    245(A)(1PC    182(A)(1        KCS    MAINTENANCE

VICTOR    LOMELI    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    H    19/11/2009    PC    245(A)(2PC    182(A)(1        KCS    COOK

BRIDGET    DAVIS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    19/11/2009    HS    11377(A)            KCS    HUSTLE

BRIDGET    DAVIS    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93308    W    19/11/2009    BP    4060    HS    11364   HS    11550(A)    KCS    HUSTLE

PRISCILLA    RODRIGUEZ    F    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    19/11/2009    HS    11350(A)            KCS    LABORER

DAVID    HINOJOSA    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93304    H    19/11/2009    HS    11550(A)            KCS    LABORER

SCOTT    WRIGHT    M    TEHACHAPI    CA    93561    W    19/11/2009    PC    368(B)(1PC    245(A)(1PC    422     PC 422     PC 422     PC 422    KCS

RAUL    RUIZ    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    19/11/2009    PC    466     HS    11550(A)        KCS    LABORER

FRANCISCO    MURILLO    M    LAMONT    CA    93241    H    19/11/2009    HS    11377(A)HS    11364   HS    11550(A)    KCS    FARMWORKER

LEON    BROWN    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    B    19/11/2009    HS    11377(A)            KCS

LEON    BROWN    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93309    B    20/11/2009    PC    3056            KCS

FRANCISCO    SOTO    M    LAMONT    CA        H    19/11/2009    PC    273.6(A)            KCS

JACINTO    PEREZ    M    BAKERSFIELD    CA    93307    H    19/11/2009    PC    288.5(A)PC    288(A) PC    289(J) PC 289(J) PC 289(J) PC 289(J) PC 289(J) PC 289(J)    PC 289(J) PC 289(J) KCS    LABORER


Click here to see the full penal code or check the list below for some of the more well-known crimes.

* 187 - Murder
    * 191.5, 193 c - Vehicular Manslaughter
    * 207 - Kidnapping
    * 211 - Robbery
    * 215 - Carjacking
    * 240 - Assault
    * 242 - Battery
    * 245 - Assault with a deadly weapon
    * 261 - Rape
    * 288 - Child molest
    * 415 - Disturbing the peace
    * 422 - Criminal threats
    * 451 - Arson
    * 459 - Burglary
    * 470 - Forgery
    * 484 - Petty Theft
    * 487 - Grand Theft
    * 488 - Theft or Larceny
    * 496 - Receiving stolen property
    * 594 - Malicious mischief/Vandalism
    * 602 - Trespassing
    * 647(b) - Prostitution
    * 647(f) - Public Drunkenness or Public Intoxication
    * 664 - Attempt (usually charged together with one of the above)
    • 1203.2 - Probation violation
    • 3056 - Parole violation
    • 12020 - 12031 gun violations
Health and Safety Code
    • 11350 to 11379 possession or sales of drugs
    • 11364 drug paraphernalia
Vehicle Code
    • 12500 driving without a license
    • 14601 driving on a suspended or revoked license
    • 16028 c driving without insurance
    • 10851 vehicle theft
    * 23152 drunken driving

Right to Marriage Without Penalty: Will you help Noah???

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:39:38 PST

By now many of you know that I am an cancer supporter. A little boy named Noah is in his last stages of a 2 1/2 year battle with neurobastima cancer. He is 5 1/2 yrs old. The family is celebrating Christmas next week. Noah's wish is to get lots of Xmas cards. If you feel you would like to help make Noah's wish come true, please do.

Noah Biorkman

1141 Fountain View Circle,

South Lyon, MI 48178

Let's all send him a X-Mas card

Things that interest ME: Al Qaeda's Message Spreading Through English-Language Sites

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:13:00 PST

Al Qaeda's Message Spreading Through English-Language Sites

Thursday, November 19, 2009

RIYADH,Saudi Arabia — Increasing numbers of English-language Web sites are spreading Al Qaeda's message to Muslims in the West.

They translate writings and sermons once largely out of reach of English readers and often feature charismatic clerics like Anwar al-Awlaki, who exchanged dozens of e-mails with the Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood shootings.

The U.S.-born al-Awlaki has been an inspiration to several militants arrested in the United States and Canada in recent years, with his Web-based sermons often turning up on their computers.

"The point is you don't have to be an official part of Al Qaeda to spread hatred and sectarian views," said Evan Kohlmann, a senior investigator for the New York-based NEFA Foundation, which researches Islamic militants.

"If you look at the most influential documents in terms of homegrown terrorism cases, it's not training manuals on building bombs," Kohlmann said. "The most influential documents are the ones that are written by theological advisers, some of whom are not even official Al Qaeda members."

Most of the radical Islamic sites are not run or directed by Al Qaeda, but they provide a powerful tool for recruiting sympathizers to its cause of jihad, or holy war, against the United States, experts who track the activity said.

The number of English-language sites sympathetic to Al Qaeda has risen from about 30 seven years ago to more than 200 recently, said Abdulmanam Almushawah, head of a Saudi government program called Assakeena, which works to combat militant Islamic Web sites.

In contrast, Arabic-language radical sites have dropped to around 50, down from 1,000 seven years ago, because of efforts by governments around the world to shut them down, he said.

Al Qaeda has long tried to reach a Western audience. Videotaped messages from its leader, Usama bin Laden, and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri usually have English subtitles. But translations of writings and sermons that form the theological grounding for Al Qaeda's ideology, along with preachers like al-Awlaki, mostly eliminate the language barrier.

Al-Awlaki's sermons have turned up on the computers of nearly every homegrown terror suspect arrested in the United States, Kohlmann said.

Members of a group of Canadian Muslims arrested in 2006 for allegedly forming a training camp and plotting bombing attacks in Toronto listened to his online calls for jihad, according to the case against them in court. According to prosecutors, an al-Awlaki sermon on jihad was among the numerous materials — including videos of beheadings — found on the computers of five men convicted in December of plotting attacks on the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey.

On his Web site and in widely circulated lectures, the 38-year-old al-Awlaki, now in hiding in Yemen, often calls on Muslims to fight against the United States, accusing it of waging war on Islam in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nidal Hasan, who has been charged in the Fort Hood shootings, contacted al-Awlaki nearly a year ago. In an interview published in The Washington Post, al-Awlaki said he did not pressure Hasan to carry out the shooting, but after the attack, al-Awlaki praised him as a hero. U.S. investigators have said Hasan appears to have acted alone, not on orders from anyone, when he opened fire Nov. 5 at the Texas military base, killing 13.

The cleric met two of the 9/11 hijackers at mosques where he preached in the United States, and after his return to Yemen he was detained for more than a year on suspicion of involvement in a kidnapping gang. Yemeni officials released him because they could not confirm an Al Qaeda link, but they say they are hunting for him again on suspicion he may have ties.

U.S. intelligence officials declined comment on the spread of English-language jihadist Web sites.

Such sites are expected to follow closely the upcoming trials of Hasan and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is accused of being a top architect of the 9/11 attacks, said Rita Katz, head of the U.S. based SITE Intelligence Group, which follows on line militant traffic. The Obama administration announced this week that Mohammed and four others will be put on trial in New York City.

Almushawah said clerics like al-Awlaki are "more dangerous than any other group." And if these clerics are jailed, "it's no big loss for Al Qaeda because they don't belong to the network," he said.

Many of the sites post speeches by English-speaking clerics like al-Awlaki or, more often, translations of sermons and lectures by Arabic-speaking clerics.

One site, the Pulpit of Monotheism and Jihad links to sermons by al-Awlaki, alongside English versions of speeches by some of the top sheikhs of jihadist ideology — even some who are dead like Abdullah Azzam.

The proliferation of sites in English means "potential jihadists can know only their native language and still be radicalized," Katz said.

While al-Awlaki has become popular, "other, more prominent and influential Arabic-speaking jihadist sheikhs ... have had their works and speeches translated into English and other languages. Their works tend to be used more often by the jihadist community to justify violence," she said in an e-mail interview. Al-Awlaki "fills a void in that he can directly interact, understand and communicate with English-speaking jihadists in a way that Arabic-speaking clerics cannot."

Almushawah says most of the servers for the sites are in Britain, but they can be run from anywhere and most of them are operated and receive content from the U.S. Most of the clerics who appear on them are in the Arab world with some in France and England.

U.S. intelligence officials declined to comment on the spread of English language sites and their influence.

Saudi Arabia set up its Assakeena program after authorities found that 70 percent of Al Qaeda sympathizers were drawn to the group through the Internet. In the campaign, government-backed preachers monitor 400 radical Islamic web sites and inject a more moderate message on the sites.

The campaigners also directly contact and dialogue with militants they encounter on the Web, conversations that can take weeks or months. Of 2,631 militants contacted by the group, 1,170 withdrew their support for radicals, according to the campaign. About a fifth of the militants were from Europe and North American, and the rest from Arab countries.

Assakeena — the name is Arabic for "Tranquility from God" — is part of other hearts-and-minds programs the kingdom launched to complement its crackdown on Al Qaeda after the group carried out a series of attacks on foreigners and oil infrastructure in 2004.

Comments:
samheath commented:

They are being given a huge assist by the MSM and haters of Sarah Palin, Nancy. The more the left hates on Sarah through jealousy and envy, the more they feel threatened by her being a real woman and the more sexist propaganda spewed against her the more our Muslim enemies have to work with. That with an empty suit Hussein with his worshipers and a corrupt, dithering Congress, our forced presence in Arab nations, the NY debacle of terrorist trials there can't be any good outcome for America unless a drastic and sudden change is made in a new direction.

catpaw commented:

Nut groups are not unique to moslems. Our own country has a history of them since the Salem witch trials.

It is difficult for us to put moslem mentality in prospective. If a Billy Graham or Pat Buchanan preached murder for God and the promise of heaven if you committed suicide in the process, they'd be regarded as nuts. But such people do attract a few followers. Comparatively, moslems seem to be more susceptible to such suggestion.

I recall a Saudi minister telling a reporter that their lives revolve around their religion, westerners don't understand it, he doesn't try to explain it.

I blame moslems themselves for the bloodshed and murder because the extremism is accepted and tolerated. There are yet enough good men who do nothing. The Iraqi government recently stated something like 85,000 Iraqis have lost their lives since it became a war zone. The bulk of them were killed by other moslems. The situation of moslems killing their own has prompted some voices of reason among moslems to get vocal. Unfortunately, speaking out is but one aspect of neutralizing violent extremism.

randomfactor commented:

And the domestic nuts believe just as cluelessly as any suicide bomber confident of his 72 virgins (or possibly raisins, the translations vary.)

Like those idiots spreading the Psalm 109 stupidity, plainly incapable of understanding what the psalm actually *SAYS*. It's the mythical King David's lament against the stupid teabaggers infecting his country...

siouxcityranch commented:

The little wife and I were talking about how the liberals were dragging us all over the waterfall this morning during a coffee break..after i shared some of the recent disgusting things Ive picked up from a few of the people and blogs on here..she came up with something very perplexing...her reply in a question was

"whats any of this going to matter after 2012 anyway?"

end of conversation!

randomfactor commented:

"whats any of this going to matter after 2012 anyway?"

Because Obama's second term is *REALLY* going to pass you off?

catpaw commented:

Well, there's an opportunity with the end of the world prediction of 2012. If I bet every believer $20 it won't happen, then I collect if I'm right. If I lose, then it won't matter.

NancyII commented:

Capaw, smart move.

ALICEN commented:

Nancy: The U.S. in particular is blessed and cursed by freedom of speech. Even radical muslims have practically free rein. What to do?

pogo commented:

Well, you see Alicen, if we can take it away from them, then we can take it away from you and I. Wait a minute...maybe a good idea.

Lingtaowoo commented:

Good heavens....what's wrong with people today....if I don't want to watch OR hear something broadcasted...I turn the channel---sounds simple,huh?

But yes--you can find ANYTHING out here---welcome to freedom of speech...there will be those that will check this crap out---but I'm one of those that won't--because I have no interest in it...

Now..my chores are almost done.....and I've misplaced my beer-----

Earthling: Is God omnipotent?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:51:45 PST

Can God make a rock so big He can't throw it?

This is an age-old enigma. I don't know who first posed this question.
If He cannot throw it then he is not omnipotent. If He can throw it He
cannot make a big enough rock and He is not omnipotent. My oh my! LOL
Any answers out there Blog-o-field?

Comments:
catpaw commented:

Too early in the morning for me for that brain teaser. I'm still trying to resolve how Santa Claus can deliver toys to all those households in the world within a few hours.

jfrancais commented:

I'm still trying to resolve how Santa Claus can deliver toys to all those households in the world within a few hours.

My youngest son (3yrs) told me that Santa goes down to WalMart to buy all the good kids presents.

Figuring out God is beyond my comprehension (or as Obama said, above my pay grade). I'm still trying to figure out what it takes to be a good daddy/husband/person. I can't be bothered with such heavy things.

motopoet commented:

Yes. It is a silly question, one I am sure was first posed by some anti-religion guy like you. It is irrelevant. Faith is what it is and people of faith don't spend their time pondering such inane concepts. Faith is not about the physical properties of God (or Gods, for those who believe in the multiple deity concept), but rather the spiritual aspects of ones relationship with their God. I don't expect athiests, or the garden variety God haters to grasp such things, but that's OK. It's not my job to get people to grasp anything, that's God's job.

Hate is a manifestation of anger and anger is a minifestation of fear. I find it sad that so many people spend so much time and energy hating God because they fear Him, what He represents, or both. While no athiest will ever cause a person of faith to quit that faith, it is much more likely that it will work the other way around.

siouxcityranch commented:

well how original of you..so now we are going to be subjected to age old question by some new pot stirring trouble maker trying to pass them off as their own.

*GREAT*

our blogs have just takin ten steps backward from recovering from all the hate mongers already on here..your momma should be proud

jfrancais commented:

If God is not omnipotent, then what does that mean?

The Greeks and Romans had all types of gods and goddesses with shortcomings.

VirgilAnderson commented:

"Faith is not about the physical properties of God (or Gods, for those who believe in the multiple deity concept), but rather the spiritual aspects of ones relationship with their God."

Our experience of God is pluralistic - that does not conclude many gods, but it can.

As for the knowledge thing, why do we suppose god must know things that are not able to be known? And, if god does know those things, how do we know we are able to know them too?

"Can God make a rock so big He can't throw it?"

That is a silly question, and one that presupposes that our thinking about the outside world has something to do with substances corresponding to logical categories. Just because we think, and make opinion, does not make what we think about true.

--virgil

jfrancais commented:

Virgil, you're deep, man.

Are you a theological scholar?

siouxcityranch commented:

DANG VIRG!!

You musta been burnin one already this morning

spam code: VT POW

VirgilAnderson commented:

Sioux,

I disagree, pot stirring can be a positive activity.

--virgil

VirgilAnderson commented:

Francias,

I like to read. : )

--virgil

jfrancais commented:

I do, too.

Reggie Miller says it's fundamental!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpk_zOfxkhc

6604mill commented:

Some random answers....

I am NOT a hater... I often jokingly say "I hate people who hate" (oxymoron)...

I am Agnostic...

I am simply trying to stir up conversation, communication, and thinking...

I mean no offense to anyone and apologies if I did...

Peace

siouxcityranch commented:

virgil I disagree, pot stirring can be a positive activity.

*snicker* I get it... no wonder your so good at it..

Ray_Harwick commented:

Faith

...is the hope that something is true. That leaves room for and accommodates doubt; something all religious people eventually encounter.

randomfactor commented:

Is God omnipotent?

Not without Celestial Viagra, no.

VirgilAnderson commented:

"Not without Celestial Viagra, no."

Well,

that's something to know.

--virgil

randomfactor commented:

"If you experience an erection lasting more than four millennia, please consult a Heavenly Physician."

siouxcityranch commented:

Ray...is the hope that something is true. That leaves room for and accommodates doubt; something all religious people eventually encounter.

well said Ray..no doubt something RF wrestles with daily..it must be miserable to keep up an internal struggle like he's dealing with..I really feel sorry for him!

randomfactor commented:

no doubt something RF wrestles with daily..

More than you will know. I'm a rationalist: we *WORSHIP* doubt. Doubt is the source of all human knowledge, and all human advancement.

learnem commented:

i thought failing and attempting again was the source of most great human advancement.

randomfactor commented:

i thought failing and attempting again was the source of most great human advancement.

Nah. Isaac Asimov once said that most scientific achievement doesn't come from "Eureka!," it comes from someone in a lab somewhere saying "that's funny..." and wondering why the accepted wisdom isn't matching up with reality.

If you don't doubt, you won't change. Religions don't "do" doubt very well.

It was a great day for humanity when the first freethinker said "who *SAYS* there's a Marduk/Ba'al/Elohim/YHWH/god?"

pogo commented:

moto, why do you equate non-belief in a diety with hate of that diety?

Sounds like you are the one with anger stemming from fear my friend.

learnem commented:

i can see that on real cutting edge fringe stuff....where all isnt completely understood and accepted science....you do have to doubt common sense when it comes to stuff like that

randomfactor commented:

you do have to doubt common sense when it comes to stuff like that

"Common sense" once said that the sun revolved around the earth.

"Common sense" once said that disease came from imbalanced humors.

"Common sense" once said that the atom was indivisible.

NancyII commented:

Pogo, read it again. Go beyond breaking it down into more than your interpretation.

randomfactor commented:

While no athiest will ever cause a person of faith to quit that faith,

Happens all the time, moto. Because inside every "person of faith" is a grain of doubt which occasionally breaks out into the sunlight. Sometimes all it takes to make that blossom is the plain example of someone who gets along just fine without invisible sky buddies.

The futile effort to shove that doubt back down again is what causes "In god we trust" signs.

pogo commented:

I find it sad that so many people spend so much time and energy hating God because they fear Him, what He represents, or both. While no athiest will ever cause a person of faith to quit that faith, it is much more likely that it will work the other way around.

This is an exerpt of what I read. I interpret it as equating non belief with hate of the diety.

learnem commented:

RandomFactor said

you do have to doubt common sense when it comes to stuff like that

"Common sense" once said that the sun revolved around the earth.

"Common sense" once said that disease came from imbalanced humors.

"Common sense" once said that the atom was indivisible.

for some reason, the salem witch trials come to mind too...

randomfactor commented:

for some reason, the salem witch trials come to mind too...

When examined closely, the Salem trials turned out to be about...money and class. All the accusers came from one side of the "tracks," the accused from the other. Common sense had little to do with it, alas.

CatherineBaker commented:

If God is eternal and space is infinite, then which came first, the chicken or the egg? If God is eternal in time, then "where" was he if not in "space"? If he was in space, then space was there before him (since space is infinite and all.) Then again, if space is infinite, then "when" did it exist? In time? That's God's province, so therefore God had to already exist before space came along, leaving it open to interpretation that he created it. But time cannot exist without space, and space cannot exist without time, so someone is mistaken at best, lying at worst.

This was a fun mind-bender that I came up with back in the day to astonish all my stoner friends. It contributed to a lot of silent ruminating. Haha!

randomfactor commented:

This blog is actually a silly expression of a rather important theological point. Mark's wrong when he says

Faith is not about the physical properties of God

Faith is *ALL* about those properties. The religious position known as "Deism" holds that while there may well be a god, she doesn't interact with our daily lives in any meaningful way and basically cannot be described.

Then organized religion comes along and says "no, god is *THIS* and does *THIS* and wants *THIS*." And is willing to kill over what are, essentially, differences of opinion. Early Christianity was split to the point of murder over a technical theological point regarding the "trinity" that is so hair-splitting as to be laughable.

If all religious belief were Deism, this would be a much better world. But Deism seems to me to hold no special advantage--and certainly doesn't get the collection plate full.

NancyII commented:

Rf, you are wrong.

Faith and religion are two separate things and not necessarily interchangeable.

randomfactor commented:

In this culture, faith and religion are inseparable.

And it's all about hair-splitting.

Ray_Harwick commented:

Faith and religion are two separate things and not necessarily interchangeable.

"But by faith are ye saved and that not of works." is the CORE of Baptist doctrine and it is what makes Christians of Baptists. So, I disagree, Nancy (respectfully, or course). I think there wouldn't be a Baptist variety of Christian if not for their religious belief being hinged to the concept of faith. Ditto for most protestant demoninations.

pogo commented:

That is basically what caused the split, Ray.

BTW, did you see where Youtube is going to start having captions for the hearing impaired. Now you can watch the same lame stuff we do. (way off topic)

Ray_Harwick commented:

(off topic) No, Pogo, I wasn't aware of the captioning thing. YouTube has the capability of displaying captioning for quite a long time yet rarely (okay, NEVER) have I seen any actually made available. It would be a huge thing for me.

Shining the light of the Catholic faith on the Culture of Death: Firefighter catches heat for anti-Obama stickers

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:14:54 PST

Freedom of speech is still in the Constitution, is it not? http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=116553

Furthermore, the same document requires the president to be a natural-born citizen instead of a native-born citizen, does it not? http://www.therightsideoflife.com/?p=7588

Comments:
JohnfromBakersfield commented:

This is not a matter of freedom of speech. He can keep his stickers; he just can't park in the firehouse. Whomever owns and operates the firehouse can tell who can and can't park there.

Yes, the constitution repuires the president to be a natural-born citizen. Unfortunately for you, our president is natural-born.

catpaw commented:

Geez, pax, you're really on a roll. That's four successive blogs posted in the wee hours. Divine inspiration?

krcgump commented:

john it is not meant to be natural born as opposed to c-section......lol...sorry could not resist it

randomfactor commented:

So the sticker is referring to whom, exactly? Since Obama was born in Hawaii, we can rule him out. Maybe the firefighter himself has a bit of the tar brush in his ancestry, as they used to say? Surely he has a large measure of the *IDIOT* in his ancestry...

ChelseaBlues commented:

since you are all about free speech let me leave with this: "Some where on a blog website, a hypocritical christian is showing the world how big of a dumb-ass he is."

randomfactor commented:

Bless him for that. :)

BakoBeachBumm commented:

It's a matter of free speech. I may not like what someone says but they have the right to say it.

animalluvr commented:

Heaven forbid if we disagree with this president.

drilnliftcrude commented:

Was he also wearing a t-shirt like this?

I hear this also has the lefty moonbats slinging poo through the bars.

Shining the light of the Catholic faith on the Culture of Death: Palin right, HuffPost wrong

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:03:41 PST

Joseph Farah of World Net Daily slaps down the pseudo-news organization:

As for Sarah Palin, keep on doing what you're doing, baby! You got 'em on the run. You scare them to death! When they have to lie about what you say and do to make their point, you know you're saying and doing something right.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=116539

Comments:
JohnfromBakersfield commented:

She claimed the Treasury removed "in god we trust". That never happened.

samheath commented:

Among the curiosities Sarah Palin has evoked is the question of the "sexual orientation" of many of those attacking her. Hatred for a real woman? Like Newsweek they can't seem to get past her body so they insult her intelligence. Interesting, isn't it. And they keep shouting she is no threat? Curious indeed Pax.

motopoet commented:

No John. She claimed that the Treasury had adopted a PLAN to remove the motto, but that plan was killed. To be honest, I didn't keep up with the inside scoops, but after reading the hubub, I checked it out. It WAS considered, but never implemented.

I find it humorous that Huffingtonpost readers label the WDN readers "extremists". I don't read the WDN except when I am linked to it and the same is true for the Huff, but I have read so much conjecture, insinuation, mistakes and outright lies from the Huff, that it would be very hypocritical of them to make any derogatory comments about anything printed in the WDN.

ALICEN commented:

pax: I simply believe that most men are afraid of Sarah Palin. I should have said "so-called" men, because I don't think real men are afraid of her.

I admire her spirit and her wit, and I believe I'm in a majority. You know, the "silent" one.

siouxcityranch commented:

moto I find it humorous that Huffingtonpost readers label the WND readers "extremists". I don't read the WND except when I am linked to it and the same is true for the Huff, but I have read so much conjecture, insinuation, mistakes and outright lies from the Huff, that it would be very hypocritical of them to make any derogatory comments about anything printed in the WND.

I love you man..*snif* Pax needs to save this and reuse it every chance he gets..cause if he dont I will

siouxcityranch commented:

Alicen I should have said "so-called" men, because I don't think real men are afraid of her.

Why thank ya mam

Ray_Harwick commented:

pax: I simply believe that most men are afraid of Sarah Palin.

That's not what the polls show. The polls show that a majority of men view Palin favorably (52%) and that it is women who view her unfavorably.

Ray_Harwick commented:

samheath wrote: "Among the curiosities Sarah Palin has evoked is the question of the "sexual orientation" of many of those attacking her. Hatred for a real woman?"

Urban legend, Sam, based on the Freudians. The other issue is whether or not disagreement constitutes hate. I'd say at worst Palin's detractors think she is delusional. But hate?

siouxcityranch commented:

disagree Ray..a goody majority of her haters have ties to the gay community..if they are not gay then they have close relatives or friends that are..many gay men dislike women because their wish of a lifetime is to become one..most dont have the funds or support from their peers so the hate seed is planted deep..many times they end up suicidal especially if they never find love..loneliness is a terrible thing even for hetros

Ray_Harwick commented:

Sioux, of course you have verification of all this, right? I happen to know you don't have any such proof, just as Sam doesn't. It's urban legend that was debunked as far back as Alfred Kinsey. Just squirrely speculation. Just straight guys talking and trying to provide an explanation for why gays are attracted to men as romantic partners rather than women.

Sources?

randomfactor commented:

Sioux seems to have deep personal knowledge of gay behavior, Ray. I think he's got a closetful of experience in the matter.

Ray_Harwick commented:

I don't speculate on other people's sexual orientation, RF. I believe people are what they say they are. It's unfair and virtually always inaccurate to suggest otherwise and it's a school-yard tactic used to upset people. I've been reading in the science of sexual orientation for 35 years and the commentary we see these days is coming from people who have little to Zero time invested in the actual study. For example, I can guarantee you Sioux and Sam Heath cannot tell me the name of the most well known and widely discussed recent scientific research on the subject of sexual orientation; the study that even Ultra homophobic Focus On The Family founder Dr. James Dobson in addition to NARTH founder Joseph Nicolosi acknowledge as valid proof that homosexuality is, indeed, present at birth in gay men.

Sioux and Sam Heath don't even know about it, can't name the most profoundly important study, have no idea it even exists, yet they are "experts" in gay sexual orientation?

randomfactor commented:

I don't speculate on other people's sexual orientation, RF.

And good for you about that.

It's clear Sioux has no such compunctions, and deserves no such consideration.

pogo commented:

I really think the Palin thing is being overdone. There are MUCH more serious issues to be discussed (solved?) than an ex-governor who is shrewdly making a mint on her popularity and polarity.

Sioux, I know you love to pull chains and are very good at it, Palin talks are beneath your talents.

Pax, you as usual have no opinion, only an ability to cut and paste others' thoughts. Give Palin up, the Bishops and the WH are on a collision course (huffpost), get on that one.

Sam, you block people, so you should stay in your own yard and play.

Ray, Random, we can go after bigger targets than sweet Sarah. Let's stop adding to her 15 minutes. I, for one, am tired of her.

randomfactor commented:

Ray, Random, we can go after bigger targets than sweet Sarah.

Only Glenn Beck would make a worse candidate against Obama in 2012. She's likely to help us keep GOP congressional gains down by as much as a third if she gets the teabaggers all twitterpated like in NY-23. Plus, she's an eternal font of stupid that damages the GOP brand each time she winks.

Why *NOT* strike while her iron is in the tundra?

pogo commented:

Good point Random. The way I feel about it is that should she stay popular, she will continue the split in the Republican Party. I certainly am no GOP fan, but I would like to see them get their house in order and hopefully get us back to a two party system again. I think the country needs moderates on both sides of the equation to balance this thing out.

She will just empower the radical fringe of the right and give the radical fringe of the left a reason to rant. Neither of which does the country any good.

Ray_Harwick commented:

Palin Achieves God Status:

"So what if Sarah Palin didn't write this book? Even God used early scribes to write the Bible," - Moe Lang, a commenter on Amazon.com.

randomfactor commented:

Even God used early scribes to write the Bible,"

Explains a lot of the errors. Hard to get good help.

randomfactor commented:

Wonder if Palin will be campaigning on behalf of the senator from Arizona in his re-election campaign next year. We can only hope.

Shining the light of the Catholic faith on the Culture of Death: Trying terrorists--or Bush-Cheney?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:50:19 PST

Ouch.

The Obama administration is more dangerous to America in many ways than any terrorist organization. What this cabal is doing to the country in stripping it of its most cherished values, its basic morality, its foundation on the rule of law, its liberties and its economy is more devastating than anything Mohammed and his zealots could have ever imagined.

Let's hear it for Joseph Farah: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=116415

Comments:
JohnfromBakersfield commented:

Do you not believe in the 6th amendment?

Also, Joseph asks, "Was our client read his Miranda rights?" they will ask. "How many times was he waterboarded?" "Was any of the evidence you are using against our clients obtained illegally?"

Do you not want to know the answer to those questions?

motopoet commented:

This has been about trying the Bush administration from the outset. These are terrorists, not common criminals, but I wouldn't expect the Bush haters to have a handle on that. Their hatred is just too strong. The fact that they place their own emotions above the safety of our country says a lot about them.

Yes, I believe in the 6th amendment for bank robbers and murderers, not enemy combatants, no matter what idiotic name the quasi-contitutionalists(most of whom have never read the document)give terrorists to save them from paying for their crimes.

ronmexico commented:

Is Osama Bin Obama reading miranda rights to KSM's brothers before he launches Predator attacks against them? Are they getting fair trials before they are executed from 30,000 ft??

Do you not want to know the answer to those questions?

jfrancais commented:

You either kill these guys on the battlefield, release them to the local courts, or avail them to US law if they have one of those grey area classifications.

randomfactor commented:

Trying terrorists--or Bush-Cheney?

Both, please. Preferably in the same courtroom, with the same judge.

ronmexico commented:

Send him back to Pakistan. They are the ones that captured him... Or allow him to plead guilty like he has asked and execute him in Gitmo. But the Obama Administration for some reason will not allow him to plead guilty. Why is Obama continuing to use military commissions for other prisoners??

jfrancais commented:

Why is Obama continuing to use military commissions for other prisoners??

Excellent question. That's not change.

pogo commented:

I see no difference between these guys and Timothy McVeigh, so what is the big deal.

I do agree with the military court question though, don't know why some are different.

pogo commented:

I did a little check on google. In 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that they cannot be tried in military court.

jfrancais commented:

I see no difference between these guys and Timothy McVeigh, so what is the big deal.

I can. Two of them, actually.

randomfactor commented:

The apt comparison is to the *EARLIER* terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center.

All of whom were tried (and convicted) in federal court.

Shining the light of the Catholic faith on the Culture of Death: Why 'Rogue' is a better book than 'Dreams'

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:47:14 PST

Ouch.

Halfway through "Going Rogue," I look forward to the further adventures of our plucky heroine and the Palin family, especially husband Todd whose history is so much more "diverse" and manly than Obama's that "Dreams" should have been written about him.

Let's hear it for Jack Cashill: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=116451

Comments:
MadMan commented:

Why "Obama" is the President and not "Palin": oh wait, that needs no explanation.

Just another pathetic attempt by the right wing to destroy the country...

msjenny commented:

Need to be careful Pax, liking Todd and all

catpaw commented:

Why 'Harry Potter' is a better book than 'Dreams.'

Harry Potter is a wonderful product of imagination and fantasy. It's a fun read and a vacation from the real world. Obama's Dreams, however, pops my bubble and speaks of provocative observations of reality. Worse, Obama makes me think. I hate to think when I want to be lazy. No argument, Harry Potter is much easier on the brain.

Thank God, we have writers like Sarah who carry on the traditional values of Harry Potter.

randomfactor commented:

Thank God, we have writers like Sarah who carry on the traditional values of Harry Potter.

Not to mention "My Pet Goat." I'm sure Sarah's magnum offal will hold Shrub riveted, at least. He'll need lots of lip balm.

refiguy commented:

well the original book title for Obama's book now available at the 99 cent store ....me, myself and I ..... How I to got thru Harvard taking all Henry Louis Gates jr...... classes.....

randomfactor commented:

How to got thru

Obviously refi didn't go to Harvard...

refiguy commented:

RF you got it ......

antiextremism commented:

So who's full of it Pax? Sarah or ALL the republicans involved in her candidacy? Todd is your hero? So I take it you think Alaska should secede also.

Refi -Obama was Magna Cum Laude. George was a drunken cheerleader. You don't need a Harvard degree to do that calculation.

samheath commented:

You sure have a way of riling the libs, Pax. Keep up the good work and keep the dogs piling.

msjenny commented:

sam; why is Oprah a racist? Is it because she is black? I don't see you calling Sarah a racist..is it because she is white?

ProgressivePete2 commented:

It's no surprise to me that the people that love her book don't quite have a real firm grasp on reality.

NancyII commented:

Refi -Obama was a *pot smoking cocaine snorting* Magna Cum Laude.

There...fixed that for you.

VirgilAnderson commented:

Nancy,

I'd say that would make him kinda special then, huh ?

You forgot, president of Harvard Law Review in his second year.

--virgil

VirgilAnderson commented:

I heard Ms. Palin graduated, finally .

--virgil

AudreyB commented:

Pax

If you really liked Rogue that much you should let the author know. Her name is Lynn Vincent.

NancyII commented:

"I'd say that would make him kinda special then, huh ?"

Yeah, a fine example of how to get through college.

NancyII commented:

How many bios are actually written by the subject?

NancyII commented:

I don't read many bios, expecially those written by the subject themselves. Too much bias and selective memory to suit me.

I picked up Rose Kennedys bio at the library book sale and all I could say thoughout is WOW, this lady was either delusional or REALLY had selective memory.

And no, I won't be buying Palins either..unless it comes up at a book sale...and then only maybe.

AudreyB commented:

How many bios are actually written by the subject?

Most autobiographies of democrats.

NancyII commented:

Correction, I should have said autobiographies not bios. I haven't checked but I have a hard time believing they sat down and wrote an entire book without help.

I also have a hard time believing they don't pat themselves on the back and ignore any criticism since they are, after all, politicians.

edited... http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-autobiography.htm

"Simply put, an autobiography is the story of one’s life as written by oneself. That said, many people think that their lives should be written about, but lack the writing talent to tackle this project alone. For that reason, many autobiographies are co-written with the help of someone other than the subject, or are narrated by the subject to a writer. Co-written, or collaborative autobiographies may begin with the phrase, “as told to.”

VirgilAnderson commented:

Nancy,

Just for the record, Magna Cum Laude, translates into Great with Praise !.

Don't you forget it.

--virgil

It's a Mad, Mad World: Does Giuliani have a chance at becoming a senator?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:33:08 PST

It appears that Mr. 9/11 is going to be running for a senate seat in New York because he knows he can't become governor of that state:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h-LsyrWTStR6vUmW8S_A-PJIOThgD9C32TJ80

Those close to the terror-monger say that if he wins a senate seat, he's likely to run for president in 2012.

It's a Mad, Mad World: Old Fart rants: Going Rogue

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:11:20 PST

Here's the latest rant pertaining to Sarah Palin and her new book from Old Fart, our old buddy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j8SXDHjwp0

Obama to troops: "You guys make a pretty good photo op"

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:54:58 PST

Yeah, he said it. I wonder what would have happened if Bush said something like this . . .

http://www.breitbart.tv/obama-to-troops-you-guys-make-a-pretty-good-photo-op/

Comments:
Infowar commented:

In this particular clip I think Obama was being cynical in relations to Bush's many photo ops with troops. Another effort to keep the phony left-right paradigm alive. ha ha it's working on so many levels & most of you are way to stupid to recognize how much game is being ran on you guys by the long legged mac daddy.

ProgressivePete2 commented:

Yep, everyone else on the planet is stupid because they don't agree with your wacked out delusions. Great argument there. I bet you were the gem of the debate club.

savvydude commented:

We're stupid, huh? Well, try this:

You said "most of you are way to stupid" - you should have said "most of you are way too stupid".

It is the preposition as opposed to the adverb. English is your mother tongue - take a class sometime.

Nice try.

ProgressivePete2 commented:

PWN3D

krcgump commented:

pete I'm a master debater, and he said most of you are too stupid not everyone, can't we all just get along....lol

what am I doing trying to be funny? good night

pete don't understand your code but I will work on it

gump....out

samheath commented:

That's ok savvy; always consider the source and most of the time you will find it's a compliment.

drilnliftcrude commented:

The clip showed Bowbama not reading his teleprompter. When he speaks his own thoughts, his narcisism becomes more evident. The US military, to him, is a photo opportunity. Nothing else.

It is nice to see that he can still find enough troops to be bribed with new cameras to smile and stand behind him.

jfrancais commented:

Troops aren't bribed. They are volun-told!

be the hammer: another sarah palin blog

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:53:28 PST

man, i'm so liberal i just can't stand that woman. cause she loves life and traditional values and i can't stand those things.

the media coverage of this woman has officially hit critical mass. i just heard that now disney has bought the rights to make a movie about her life. details are scarce, but the parts of palin and john mccain are set to be played by anna nichole smith and j. howard marshall, respectively.

i was pretty shocked by this, naturally and can only assume that this will be possible through some kind of cgi magic that i could never hope to understand. disney has deep pockets, as you know.

tinseltown is already buzzing about oscar, even if they are just technical achievement awards. the words "achievement" and "palin" are so seldom heard in the same sentance, i think they should just run with it. small victories are victories nonetheless.

Comments:
anglo1 commented:

I don't care why the libs are so focused on Palin but I love it. I have to admit she may be a little bit of the conservative equal as that nitwit fool gore so the more press she gets the more they take their eye off the real candidates. This is a true story, I was in line at Vons and a lady in the next line picked a magazine with Palin on the cover and something ugly, I said I thought she was hot. She said " Yeah she's hot but do you want to have your next abortion in an alley? That is typical of a 2009 liberal in my opinion.

jfrancais commented:

Some of the media talking heads that are hating on Palin (Joy Behar comes to mind) are really starting to look desperate and pathetic. I don't care for her much but the negative press is getting ridiculous.

Behar has made an entire show based off all things negative about Palin. Does she have anything of substance to talk about? She makes Larry King seem interesting.

NancyII commented:

When was the last time any of you saw a single politician getting this much press and attention? Short bursts for indiscretions of course, but this ongoing attention?

If you don't think she's stirred the nation you've got your head in the sand. You don't have to run for president to be a catalyst.

(try not to be silly folks, and say obama.)

bethehammer commented:

catalyst for what? sales boost in the young-adult fiction section of your local bookstore?

NancyII commented:

Keep going BTH, you folks just keep proving my point. I don't think the people who are FOR her talk about her as much as those against her. How funny is that?

ProgressivePete2 commented:

It is kinda weird Nancy. A charasmatic idiot I guess just has that kind of effect on people. Personally, I'd rather see Pamela Anderson run, but she's a Canadian, darnit. She may be a "bimbo" but you can tell there's some smarts in there. With that Sara person from up there in Alaska, I'm not so sure that the freeze didn't do some sort of damage, ya know. I'm actually pretty concerned about her anti-American husband that was cc'd on most of the official state emails. What's up with that? I know everyone was all worried about Hillary having too much power, but this is way beyond anything she would have even considered doing... and she's actually a very educated woman who's opinion would be valued i'd say, even if you don't agree with it. Todd on the other hand is probably more suited to tuning up his snowmobile, or shooting something from a helicopter, or making serious money off of some .... oh nevermind. I could see how that sort of thing would come in handy in Washington, though.

ProgressivePete2 commented:

It's probably nothing more than that she's good for ratings. The advertisers are disgusted, yet profitable. Uh, yeah. Way to go America!!! I bet a lot of people other than her will make a lot of money on this book deal. At least until people actually read it.

Seriously, can't conservatives come up with someone remotely more intelligent than this? I feel sorry for your whole philosophy if this is who you would actually consider a leader or even jokingly consider suggesting that she actually be running this country. That whole concept is truly worse than the geriatric Al Davis running the RAIDERS. I guess it does appeal to the fringe, easily proselytized teabagger seperatist wing. Good luck with that.

anglo1 commented:

One more proving your point Nancy. I don't know any conservatives personally that think Palin or Rush speak for us but as long as some fools think it's true that provides comic relief for me. Frothing at the mouth over someone that isn't even near an electable position for years is amazing. PP2's remark about that "Sarah person" is one of the most childish, lame brained attempt at degrading someone I've seen here since the last election campaign.

MadMan commented:

Liberals and progressives want to keep Sarah Palin in the spotlight because we know that she is a winning strategy...for the liberals and progressives. Her being in the spotlight hurts conservatives and the Republicans. The sad thing is that the conservatives and Republicans don't know it, and are probably too stupid to realize it.

ApolloDawn commented:

"Some of the media talking heads that are hating on Palin (Joy Behar comes to mind) are really starting to look desperate and pathetic. I don't care for her much but the negative press is getting ridiculous."

I agree, and moreover, the positive, hero-seeking press is getting ridiculous, too. But I've never been a personality or celebrity worshipper, so I just don't get it either way.

She's like a Rorschach test. She doesn't actually state many specific views, but her followers and foes alike have no problem building her up into an imaginary superhero or supervillain anyway.

I think the media attention is just ratings. To bastardize a sound Biblical teaching, the love of money is the root of all lousy TV news and entertainment.

Sarah Palin doesn't scare me. Some of her followers, on the other hand, make me seriously consider the notion that a fully automatic weapon really is appropriate for home defense.

drilnliftcrude commented:

Sarah Palin doesn't scare me. Some of her detractors, mockers, and haters, on the other hand, make me seriously consider the notion that a fully automatic weapon really is appropriate for home defense.

jfrancais commented:

When I watch these shows or the news, it's like they're tacitly saying "look what else this bitch did!". It's really childish and sophmoric.

She just wrote a book of memoirs and it's being turned into a damn political manifesto. Don't buy it or read it if she's not your thing.

ApolloDawn commented:

Autobiographies and memoirs aren't my things, so have no worries about me. ;)

If I wanted to get into the conspiracy game, I would argue that the major media corporations have chosen to bless her with a political future. It is a fact that advertising and marketing have a mountain of behavioral psychology behind them; it's a small step for a conspiracy theorist to speculate that media know exactly how their silly and excessive coverage will play out as they want it to.

I'm not really saying that this is going on, but it's not a big step to take for someone who wants to believe it.

jfrancais commented:

I love autobiographies but I'm not much into people worship. Most autobiographies reaffirm the the strength of the human spirit and commonalities in the human condition. We all laugh. We all cry. We all hurt. We all love.

ApolloDawn commented:

" We all laugh. We all cry. We all hurt. We all love."

That's one reason why I'm not interested in autobiographies. I know that already. ;)

That's just me, though; no criticism intended for anyone who enjoys them. My reading interests are science, philosophy, and spirituality. That stack of books doesn't leave me much time to read the predictable.

randomfactor commented:

All autobiographies are fiction, but they all tell the truth.

The truth about Sarah Palin? She's a shallow, vindictive idiot.

jfrancais commented:

I know that already.

What you don't know are the sentiments and feelings that may have been factored into decionmaking that has affect the world, nation or you personally.

That helps me to understand opposing viewpoints without hating people (or being an angry Black man all the time)

ApolloDawn commented:

That's a good reason for being interested in it. Can't argue with that.

"That helps me to understand opposing viewpoints without hating people"

That's a lost art. I'm sold; let's all start reading autobiographies!

Spam code: BRAVN

jfrancais commented:

I've even grown to respect some people that I had originally disliked.

Fidel Castro, Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Walton come to mind.

Some people I liked, I began to like less-

Hillary Clinton and Tavis Smiley come to mind.

NancyII commented:

PP, SARAH's hubby isn't running for office either.

Rf, your mean side is showing.

learnem commented:

i dont understand why some people have placed a target on her back. She said she isnt running for president. she is doing her own thing

i think she has some good quality personal values that we all here in the country could benefit from, personally

randomfactor commented:

i dont understand why some people have placed a target on her back. She said she isnt running for president.

We want her to change her mind.

And while she may have *SAID* she isn't running for president, she lies a lot. Oddly, one of her recent quotes seems to indicate that she *IS* intending to lose the Presidential race in 2012.

learnem commented:

And while she may have *SAID* she isn't running for president, she lies a lot. Oddly, one of her recent quotes seems to indicate that she *IS* intending to lose the Presidential race in 2012.

what? a politician? lying? no way... lol....

i can understand what you are saying...however, with the polls i have seen on MSNBC and CNN she has no chance of winning. And personal attacks really should only be pointed out once. For some reason though, certain media groups just can't villify her enough it seems.

im sure there are more important issues in the country to dwell on, like how our state congress can muster up a bill, and turn into law energy efficient TV's, but cannot get together to create and pass a water bill..

again...just my opinion

bethehammer commented:

haaaaaahaaa aaaaahhaaahhahahhah aha hahhhha haaha haaa aaaahaaahaahaah ahaha aah hahaaha haahha!!!!!!!

man. people sure are dim. i miss the ol days when politics was something only smart people talked about. now everyone thinks that because of the interwebs, their opinion is not only valid but something deserving the utmost attention and respect from people. no. doesn't work that way. dumb is still dumb. even if the dumb learned how to talk louder.

Ray_Harwick commented:

interwebs

?????

defyinggravity commented:

um... isn't anna nicholle smith dead? Actually, ya, she is. Unless they're going to dig her up and put her on puppet strings (a very accurate representation of Palin, by the way) I don't see her doing the film.

And disney KNOWS money. But i don't think they would touch that book. To be perfectly honest. Unless they're trying to profit off of christians who would go see it for her "strong beliefs." Which i say, about time modern industry takes advantage of the blind like for all things "religious."

But i think her book being made in to a film is REALLY slim. I think you got some bad info.

Ray_Harwick commented:

Palin Book Trivia:

Some guy wearing a Homos for Palin shirt get ejected from Palin's venue in Ft. Wayne. (Yep. They're out there.)

Ex-Gays for Ex-Governors is hosting a Palin book signing in Miami (unconfirmed).

VirgilAnderson commented:

"Ex-Gays for Ex-Governors ..."

quitter lovers ...

--virgil

The View From Here: Heckuva Job There, Eric

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:33:50 PST

I'm no fan of Lindsey Grahamnesty, but he sure made Eric Holder look pathetic in Senate hearings concerning the upcoming criminal trial of 9-11 terrorists in New York.

Even NPR (no bastion of conservatism) noted that the Attorney General should have been more prepaired.

Comments:
drilnliftcrude commented:

The video didn't load.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg3ZitCAbUE

samheath commented:

I'm glad there are some pointing out the dangers of a trial in NYC; but I don't think common sense will prevail over this issue drill. I believe Hussein and his bunch will have it their way.

drilnliftcrude commented:

The kool-aid and /or pride are still stronger than common sense at this point. Polling trends provide some hope for change in next year's mid term elections.

krcgump commented:

and I will bet you that KSM was not read his rights when apprehended this is one of many reasons a trial in NY in a civil court is a bad idea

Gump...out

JohnfromBakersfield commented:

@gump That is why a civil court is a great idea. Do you not care about the law?

jfrancais commented:

Do you not care about the law?

Not when it comes to the proverbial evildoers.

Civil Court? They're trying to kill this man. That doesn't happen in Civil Court (you lose money).

Being denied basic rights is the crux of teh argument concerning Guantanamo. I'm not talking about Miranda rights either. It's the fact that the American government is playing off Guanatanamo as an extension of a judicial system when it is not. How can it even be considered justice without basic things like habeas corpus and a defendant being able to call witnesses or address the charges. What they currently have now is somewhere between a kangaroo court and a review board of military detention procedures. If the intent was to kill these guys, the executive branch got off on the wrong foot with this grey designation (Enemy Combatants). They should have known that the grey area would eventually be defined.

Was the intent to hold these folks indefinitely?

krcgump commented:

john... The problem to start with is if he was not read his rights at the time he was apprehended it will be hard to convict him and having been hunted down under the war on terror scenario he should go to a military court, he is not a US citizen and was not apprehended on US soil.

Yes I do care about the law we should just us it properly....gump....out

learnem commented:

things that happen on the battlefield need to be played out in a tribunal...not a civilian court...just my .02

pogo commented:

We are not legally at war. There has never been a declaration of war. Jiad is not a legal war. 9/11 was a criminal act by criminals. They need to be tried in criminal court. That doesn't seem real hard to understand.

NancyII commented:

A war by any other name is still........a war.

You can be at war with a fellow blogger.

You can be at war with yourself.

It doesn't have to be declared to be a war.

pogo commented:

Nancy, that is right, but it does have to be a war to be tried as a war criminal in a military court, which was my point.

Tim McVeigh said he was at war with his govt.

learnem commented:

maybe we didnt declare war. but try telling al quiada that they arent at war with us

drilnliftcrude commented:

"On the same day he sent KSM to a civilian trial in New York, Holder announced he was sending Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, (accused) mastermind of the attack on the USS Cole, to a military tribunal."

Did our brilliant Attorney General and nuanced President declare war on al-Nashiri?

No. This is nothing but a show trial. So now we have Stalin to compare this POS President to also.

jfrancais commented:

Ok then lets compare Guantanamo to Concentration/re-education camps or the gulag.

jfrancais commented:

Let compare Bush to Ceausescu with the crimes against humanity under the guise of pre-emptive strike (the glorified Bush Doctrine)

randomfactor commented:

So you think KSM's as innocent as the defendants in Stalin's show trials, dril? Why not petition to set him free?

al-Nashiri attacked a military target in a foreign port. That distinction is spelled out in the link you gave, by the way.

ronmexico commented:

How do you convict someone and sentence them to death if they were not read their Miranda rights and they were tortured??

drilnliftcrude commented:

You mean like drone attacks on an allied state (Pakistan) that ends up killing innocent civilians?

Oh wait! That was Blowbama. Exercising the Biden doctrine.

randomfactor commented:

How do you convict someone and sentence them to death if they were not read their Miranda rights and they were tortured??

DamifIknow, ronm. The Miranda warning will come at arrest, so that's no problem.

The Administration won't be admitting any torture-derived evidence. We'll see how good their case is, what with the previous administration having scrod the pooch so thoroughly and all.

randomfactor commented:

You mean like drone attacks on an allied state (Pakistan) that ends up killing innocent civilians?

If you want my approval of that, dril, you ain't getting it. I'd just as soon we shut that down and leave.

drilnliftcrude commented:

No RF, I think KSM is guilty of planning and directing, from foreign soil, an attack with military precision (9-11) on the United States and should be tried and convicted and executed without the benefit of a public forum to spread his hate and encourage his supporters. The public forum that President Bow'nkneel is giving him.

pogo commented:

OK, OK; you guys are right. AG Holder doesn't have a clue what he is doing. He is going to bring these guys to NYC, lose the trial, and they will all go to a pizza joint to celebrate.

Satisfied?

drilnliftcrude commented:

The video I linked to showing Holder getting PWN'd by a sissy like Graham shows just how over their heads, this administration is in this.

pogo commented:

Right again drill. Hey, I've got it! You, Ron, Savvy, Refi, St. Sam, Sioux can all run for office, beat these obviously out-classed idiots and get this country on the right track again. You've certainly got all the answers. I eagerly await further developments.

randomfactor commented:

Then, dril, you don't believe in the United States Constitution. But we knew that already.

Like that Faux News poll on the bogus "bowgate" thing, did you?

ronmexico commented:

Why is he having a trial Pogo? These guys have requested that they be allowed to plead guilty and be executed. Why are we not granting them their wish? Do we have to go to NYC for this??

pogo commented:

Gee Ron, I don't know. Maybe just to show the world that we are a country of laws, like Rudy said when they had the trials for terrorists in NYC after the first attack on the WTC.

randomfactor commented:

Why are we not granting them their wish?

They have diminished capacity. But I see where Ronmexico's coming from--the Bush Administration got him in the habit of granting terrorists' fondest wishes. He's not used to standing up to terrorists instead.

ronmexico commented:

hmm.. So it is against the law to plead guilty now?? And why are we trying people with "diminished capacity"???

randomfactor commented:

No, it's not against the law to plead guilty. But the judge is under no obligation to accept a guilty plea.

And why are we trying people with "diminished capacity"???

A good question--the answer is that "the Bush Administration, in this as in so many, many areas, didn't leave us any easy choices."

ronmexico commented:

But the judge is under no obligation to accept a guilty plea.

And how does that further justice in this case?? And what judge in his right mind would do that in this case??

randomfactor commented:

And how does that further justice in this case?? And what judge in his right mind would do that in this case??

It allows the justice system to examine the case against the defendant. What judge would accept a guilty plea in this case? I imagine we'll find out, but I seriously doubt that would happen.

If the judge does accept the guilty plea, then the trial's over and we move on to sentencing. I'd be pleased with that outcome, since the court would make that determination.

But again, I seriously doubt that will happen.

Ray_Harwick commented:

Ron, where were you when President Bush was prosecuting terrorists in federal court ?

"[T]here is no question about the legitimacy of U.S. federal courts to incapacitate terrorists. Many of Holder’s critics appear to have forgotten that the Bush administration used civilian courts to put away dozens of terrorists, including “shoe bomber” Richard Reid; al-Qaeda agent Jose Padilla; “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh; the Lackawanna Six; and Zacarias Moussaoui, who was prosecuted for the same conspiracy for which Mohammed is likely to be charged. Many of these terrorists are locked in a supermax prison in Colorado, never to be seen again," - Jim Comey and Jack Goldsmith, deputy attorney general and assistant attorney general under George W. Bush, respectively.

: AK volunteers strive to save Santa letter service

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:23:07 PST

By RACHEL D'ORO, Associated Press Writer Rachel D'oro, Associated Press Writer – 31 mins ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A group of volunteer Santa Claus "elves" in Alaska's frigid interior is determined to save a popular holiday letter service featuring the North Pole's most beloved icon.

The group is looking to counter a decision by the U.S. Postal Service to discontinue a program begun in 1954 in the small town of North Pole, where volunteers open and respond to thousands of letters addressed to "Santa Claus, North Pole" each year.

Gabby Gaborik, chief elf among several dozen volunteers, said he met with Postal Service officials this week to come up with an alternative.

He's now working with local government officials to get "101 Santa Claus Lane" as an address for his group, Santa's Mailbag. That way children will have a specific destination for their letters, allowing volunteers to run their own program and bypass stringent new rules implemented by the Postal Service after security issues arose in a similar program in Maryland last year.

Gaborik believes his town's name gives the local effort more cachet than other destinations.

"The city was founded on the Christmas theme," he said Thursday. "This is our identity. This is North Pole, Alaska."

The North Pole program was stymied by a tighter process put in place nationwide by the Postal Service after a postal worker in Maryland recognized a volunteer with the agency's Operation Santa program as a registered sex offender. The worker intervened before the individual could answer a child's letter, but the agency viewed the scare as a reason to tighten security.

The Postal Service had already restricted its policies in such programs in 2006, including requiring volunteers to show identification. But the Maryland episode prompted more changes, such as barring volunteers from having access to children's last names and addresses. The Postal Service instead redacts that information from each letter and replaces the addresses with codes that match computerized addresses known only to the post office.

It's up to local managers to determine whether to go through the time-consuming effort, but the new restrictions must be applied if letter programs are continued. The restrictions don't affect privately run letter efforts.

The Postal Service decided this month to end the North Pole letter program, saying dealing with the tighter restrictions isn't feasible in Alaska. The agency considers the North Pole effort part of its giant Operation Santa program, although locals like to think of their program as unique.

"It's always been a good program, but we're in different times and concerned for the privacy of the information," said Anchorage-based agency spokeswoman Pamela Moody.

People in North Pole are incensed by the changes, likening the Postal Service to the Grinch trying to steal Christmas. The letter program is a revered holiday tradition in North Pole, where light posts are curved and striped like candy canes and streets have names like Kris Kringle Drive. Volunteers in the letter program even sign the response letters as Santa's elves and helpers.

North Pole Mayor Doug Isaacson also is outraged that locals just learned of the change.

"It's Grinchlike that the Postal Service never informed all the little elves before the fact," he said.

Another issue raising the hackles in the community of 2,100 is a second, separate change. Anchorage — 260 miles to the south — is processing mass quantities of out-of-state requests for North Pole postal cancellation marks on Christmas cards and packages. That work used to be done in Fairbanks, just 15 miles away.

Moody said as many as 800,000 items were processed last year, an overload Fairbanks is not equipped to handle. Anchorage is the only city in Alaska with the high-speed equipment necessary to do the job. Postal Service spokeswoman Sue Brennan said the move is a matter of resources and finances for the agency, which lost billions of dollars in the last fiscal year.

Santa Claus House, a North Pole store built like a Swiss chalet and chock full of all items Christmas, sells more than 100,000 letters from Santa, and one of the lures is the postmark.

Store operations manager Paul Brown also believes his business will be affected under changes to the volunteer Santa letter program because tens of thousands of letters are addressed to Santa Claus House, North Pole, Alaska. Those letters will still be forwarded to volunteers. Those intercepted by the Postal Service will probably eventually be shredded.

Alaska's congressional delegation has stepped in to find a solution. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Democratic Sen. Mark Begich and Republican Rep. Don Young have sent letters to Postmaster General John Potter expressing their concerns over the changes.

Comments:
siouxcityranch commented:

more of our Wunnerful *CHANGE* ?

this service has been around my whole life...way to go Ms Grinch Pamela Moody..I hope you get a boot full of charcoal..and santa and his elves whoop your sorry (edit)

samheath commented:

I sure hope they can get it worked out SCR. Thanks for the post.

JohnfromBakersfield commented:

sioux, why must you drag politics into this? this is not a political issue.

siouxcityranch commented:

JB did you fall off the top bunk alot as a kid

School House Zach: Week 11 (playoffs) HS football podcast (YAY!!!!! EDITION)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:14:33 PST

See, I went and tried to make fun of coaches everywhere with a bunch of cliches about our podcast without checking to make sure the thing was actually going to play. It's like talking about your playoff chances without realizing two of your best linemen have swine flu. Epic fail on my part. But this one should be a full playoff preview podcast.

Comments:
blurose12 commented:

COME ON ZACK IF THATS ALL YOUR GOING TO SAY ON YOUR PODCAST ABOUT BORON WHY BOTHER ,ALSO REGGIE HEARD S FATHER PASSED WAY TUESDAY HE BEEN AT PRACTICE THATS WHAT HIS DAD WOULD HAVE WANTED ,THIS CIF RUN WILL BE FOR HIS FATHER AND FOR THE BORION BOBCAT FOOTBALL KIDS

zewing commented:

So next time you don't want me to bother? Lots of schools, little time, my friend.

FrontierFanatic commented:

Great cover Zach, can't wait to get past those apetizers :) , I'm ready for the entrees! I wish the best of luck in all the local games tonight! I'd love to whipe all the Fresno teams out, and try to have a Bakersfield match up more and more.

I'm rooting for Taft for their division, great team.

Hahaha at the Denny's thing, man that made me crack up.

BobbyShoaf commented:

How rude, Zach. Talk about missing the point with bluerose. You can be so snarky at times. You are this way with Delano fans, also. And, whats with the rant about the playoffs? If you took that out, you may have been able to focus on other teams such as Boron.

Great discussion on Delano vs. Highland, Cesar Chavez vs. Clovis North, and McFarland vs. Mendota. I am sure that the North Kern communities can look to you as a reliable source for local sports outside the reaches of TBC's current customer base. It is tough when you have such high unemployment and poverty for many in this area to read the print version of the paper, which is why many of us search online for less costly means of following the teams our family and friends play on. The only local site devoted to the programs we desire is this one. So, you really showed your colors in this podcast where 3 of the 4 schools in this region were so extensively covered.

zewing commented:

Bobby — Sorry, i don't mean to be snarky. It's just a fact you learn in this business that you can't please everyone every time. I would like to give each one of the games a few minutes; but we try to talk the most about what we think the most people will be interested in. Don't know if we succeed all the time, but that's what I aim for. The discussion about the playoffs is something that relates to every school in the section, so that's what was with it. As for Delano, Chavez and McFarland — we've been down this road before: No, I am not ignoring anyone, and I won't ignore anyone. Yes, the people who cut my check every two weeks have asked me to focus on the areas where we have the most subscribers. The teams that are successful also generate the most interest, and so they get the love too. We've talked a heck of a lot this year about Delano and Wasco, because they're winning games.

Breaking News: Police bust members of new gang, blame them for 50+ burglaries

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:09:45 PST

BAKERSFIELD POLICE
DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

November 19, 2009

Officers of the Bakersfield Police Department completed a two month
investigation regarding residential burglaries in the southeast area of the City of
Bakersfield. The investigation showed over 50 residential daytime burglaries that
occurred in this area. Detectives were able to identify a new criminal street gang
identified as “H.O.H.” or “Hard on Hoes” that were responsible for the burglaries.

On Thursday, November 19, 2009, officers served three search warrants on
individuals who had been identified as suspects. Four additional probation
searches were also completed. Three arrests were made during these searches
and stolen property was located and seized. Three firearms were seized during
the searches.

During the searches information was obtain which led officers to an additional
residence where a fourth arrest was made. During a search of that residence
officers located a marijuana grow in the rear yard. Six firearms were seized
including an assault rifle from the residence.

As of this date, 12 members of the “Hard on Hoes” criminal street gang have
been arrested for residential burglaries. The investigation is ongoing and
additional arrests are anticipated.

Arrested during today’s operation was:

DaMon McGuire 43
Christopher Witfield 19
Two male juveniles ages 14 and 17

Comments:
tfey commented:

"Hard on Hoes" - That is some rich stuff. What idiots. How about getting a job and stop ripping people off? Losers. Someone needs to be hard on their heads - Preferably the BPD

girlsmom commented:

nice to see BPD is rounding up real criminals and not picking on law abiding citizens.

PatFeelsAngst commented:

amen, good police work

syrette commented:

...whatta buncha punks. livin' the wannabe thug life in the big Btown... them, get jobs? yeah, right.

animalluvr commented:

Way to go BPD, just lock up these wanna be thugs and throw away the key. Maybe they'll learn there lesson and get job and straighten up there life. Nothing ever good comes out of being a thug, period.

VirgilAnderson commented:

It's a shame that Btown BD does not have the integrity to be trusted when they say they busted someone else.

The investigation is ongoing ...

--virgil

jfrancais commented:

These thugs aren't wannabe at all. They aren't just posing on the block. They are out jacking the neighborhood (with assault rifles!).

Breaking News: Police looking for man who groped girl

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:50:00 PST

BAKERSFIELD POLICE
DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

November 19, 2009

On 11/19/2009, at 7:30 a.m., an 18 year old female Bakersfield High School
student reported that as she was walking in the 300 block of California Avenue,
she was approached by a suspect who asked if she needed a ride. The student
refused the ride and walked away only to be contacted a few blocks later by the
same suspect who grabbed her arm and told her to go with him. The student
pulled away from the suspect who then grabbed her buttocks as she ran away.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, mid 20's, 5’8” -5’10” thin build,
having a bald or shaved head and a dark complexion, who was wearing a gray
sweater with lettering on the front and light blue jeans.

Prior to the assault the suspect was seen standing near a lowered maroon
1990's mini truck, possibly a Chevrolet, with aftermarket rims.

Anyone with information related to this offense is encouraged to call the
Bakersfield Police Department Investigations Division at 326-3846.

Ron Mexicos view of life: Barack Obama's Health Care Bill ... Page 432

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:16:06 PST

SEC. 2006. SPECIAL ADJUSTMENT TO FMAP DETERMINATION FOR CERTAIN STATES RECOVERING FROM A MAJOR DISASTER.

Section 1905 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d), as amended by sections 2001(a)(3) and
2001(b)(2), is amended— (1) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘subsection (y)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (y) and (aa)’’; and (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

‘‘(aa)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (b), beginning January 1, 2011, the Federal medical assistance percentage for a fiscal year for a disaster-recovery FMAP adjustment State shall be equal to the following:
‘(A) In the case of the first fiscal year (or part of a fiscal year) for which this subsection applies to the State, the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the fiscal year without regard to this subsection and subsection (y), increased by 50 percent of the number of percentage points by which the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the fiscal year without regard to this subsection and subsection (y), is less than the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the preceding fiscal year after the application of only subsection (a) of section 5001 of Public Law 111–5 (if applicable to the preceding fiscal year) and without regard to this subsection, subsection (y), and subsections (b) and (c) of section 5001 of Public Law 111–5.

‘‘(B) In the case of the second or any succeeding fiscal year for which this subsection applies to the State, the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the preceding fiscal year under this subsection for the State, increased by 25 percent of the number of percentage points by which the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the fiscal year without regard to this subsection and subsection (y), is less than the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the preceding fiscal year under this subsection.

‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘disaster-recovery FMAP adjustment State’ means a State that is one of
the 50 States or the District of Columbia, for which, at any time during the preceding 7 fiscal years, the President has declared a major disaster under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and determined as a result of such disaster that every county or parish in the State warrant individual and public assistance or public assistance from the Federal Government under such Act and for which— ‘‘(A) in the case of the first fiscal year (or part of a fiscal year) for which this subsection applies to the State, the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the fiscal year without regard to this subsection and subsection (y), is less than the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the preceding fiscal year after the application of only subsection (a) of section 5001 of Public Law 111–5 (if applicable to the preceding fiscal year) and without regard to this subsection, subsection (y), and subsections (b) and (c) of section 5001 of Public Law 111–5, by at least 3 percentage points; and ‘‘(B) in the case of the second or any succeeding fiscal year for which this subsection applies to the State, the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the fiscal year without regard to this subsection and subsection (y), is less than the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the preceding fiscal year under this subsection by at least 3 percentage points.

‘‘(3) The Federal medical assistance percentage determined for a disaster-recovery FMAP adjustment State under paragraph (1) shall apply for purposes of this title (other than with respect to disproportionate share hospital payments described in section 1923 and payments under this title that are based on the enhanced FMAP described in 2105(b)) and shall not apply with respect to payments under title IV (other than under part E of title IV) or payments under title XXI.’’.

Comments:
ronmexico commented:

And these vote pimping morons want to run our healthcare. So how do we pay for this outrage?? Tell doctors and women they don't need to check their hooters for breast cancer until they are 50 years old....And hope that there are no deadly changes..

drilnliftcrude commented:

That's just the $100,000,000.00 payoff to Louisiana to get Mary Landrieu's vote on this version of the government run health care scheme.

And how does it get paid for? Health care rationing (death panels).

jfrancais commented:

Tell doctors and women they don't need to check their hooters for breast cancer until they are 50 years old....And hope that there are no deadly changes..

We gotta stay strong and save the toobsandbitties. They're precious.

ProgressivePete2 commented:

Didn't any of you ever watch schoolhouse rock? It sure seem to me that you have no clue about how our system of government actually works.

Thanks for the boring legal text post ron. i'm sure everyone has read every single word.

learnem commented:

i see where you are coming from Pete, but who is to say it will stay, or not stay in the bill

He is just saying "what if it does?"

ronmexico commented:

It would take 34 hours to read this bill. Yet Harry Reid has put a 10 hour limit on debate of this bill...

pogo commented:

Once again: there is no health care bill yet. The issues are being decided. Once it is decided there will be a chance to vote on it.

Also, why refer to it as 'Obama's health care bill?' I wish he had had a bigger hand in it instead of letting Congress muck around with it, we would have had a better solution to this problem.

ronmexico commented:

The issues are being decided

10 hours of debade is "deciding the issues"??????

randomfactor commented:

60 years and 10 hours.

ronmexico commented:

Why does it take two pages of leagaleze to say "Louisiann will get 100 million dollars if this bill passes". ??

Why not be honest with the American People?? Why are they trying to hide so much in over 2000 pages of legislation that they don't want anyone to read??

pogo commented:

Ron, I thought you'd heard (it has been in all the papers and on TV), this is the SENATE bill. There is already one from the House of Representatives (you do know what that is don't you?). Then they will put them together, have another Chinese firedrill and a final vote.

Got it?

randomfactor commented:

Why does it take two pages of leagaleze to say "Louisiann will get 100 million dollars if this bill passes". ??

Perhaps because the specific reasons for the grants have to be spelled out? You want maybe someone to dip into petty cash instead?

pogo commented:

Nah, Ron wants it to be like the original Paulson bailout billions paper - on three sheets saying 'just give us the money'.

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