My Daily Thoughts

Bill, Bill, Bill…….stop already with the ongoing crusade against Dr. Tiller….he’s dead, his practice is closed….the crusade is over.  Nevertheless, since Dr. Tiller’s murder, you have continued to go on and on with this crusade when there is no point anymore.  You have already harassed the man for 4 years.  Perhaps you are feeling a bit guilty about helping to create the atmosphere of hate that contributed to Dr. Tiller’s assassination and need to justify your behavior….I’m not sure…but you are beating a dead horse by continuing to pontificate every night about the situation.  Get over it!!  And, if you insist on attacking everyone who disagrees with your opinion about this, at least get the facts correct.  60,000 late term abortions?  Please…. justify that number because that number is greatly exaggerated.  That would mean that Dr. Tiller’s whole practice was devoted to ONLY late term abortions and I think we both know that is just not true.  Research and revise your figures or at least rewrite your script which leaves the wrong impression about Dr. Tiller’s practice and career.

Also, stop sending out your associate producers to do “ambush journalism” as it is not safe for them…you could get someone else killed.  People are stressed right now and having a stranger jumping out of the bushes with a camera and shoving a microphone in another person’s face, well, it’s rather dangerous.  The least you could do is man up and do the ambushing yourself…..but you don’t….which says a lot about your character.

You’re a dangerous man Mr. O’Reilly…..a very dangerous man!

Healthcare reform must include a "public option." This is an option for insurance that comes from the government, not from for-profit companies. Without it there really is no "reform." Please contact your state representatives in the Congress and Senate and let them know that you're in favor of a "public option" choice in healthcare reform. 

Also, please remember that no matter how many times the right uses the word “socialized”, the Obama Administration is not advocating socialized medicine.  Socialized medicine is where the government owns and operates clinics, hospitals, labs and all medical personnel are paid by the government.  This is what many other countries like Great Britain have----this is not what is being proposed for the US.  But there are many on some news commentary shows who will use this term “socialized” to create a climate of fear among their viewers.

Become informed on all sides of this important issue.  Don’t blindly believe what others tell you.  Investigate and make an educated decision on this critical issue to our country.

  Buchenwald trip has personal meaning for Obama aide

Josh Lipsky volunteered to help prepare for President Obama's visit to the concentration camp, where his grandfather had been a prisoner. There he makes a connection with the man he never knew.   Click here…..

President Barack Obama gives the commencement address during the graduation at Notre Dame, today at 2:00 pm, among division and protestors. Many Catholics are unhappy with the President being asking to speak as well as bring given an honorary degree because of his pro-choice beliefs, which runs counter to the Catholic Church's official anti-abortion stance, and his support for federal funding of stem-cell research.

President George W. Bush was invited to give the commencement speech and was given an honorary degree in May of 2001, yet there were no protestors against that speech or that speaker.  This despite the fact that as governor of Texas, President Bush signed more execution orders than any other governor in our nation’s history.  The Catholic Church also stands against the death penalty as they teach that all human life is sacred.

Of the nearly 2 million abortions performed in the United States, how many of these women are Catholics?  Where are the protestors against the killing of the spirits of thousands of men and women by pedophile priests over many years while being protected by the Catholic Church itself?

This to me shows the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church.  It seems to me that our country needs to come together on the issues that we agree upon such as housing the homeless and feeding the poor instead of fighting battles that continue to drive our country apart.

This is just as hypocritical as the Church’s stand against divorce while granting annulments when the proper paperwork is filed and proper fee amounts are paid.

During a recent interview for a Christian magazine, you, Joe the Plumber, were asked a question about gay marriage being legalized in several states.  You reportedly said the following:

“I personally still think it's wrong. People don't understand the dictionary--it's called queer. Queer means strange and unusual. It's not like a slur, like you would call a white person a honky or something like that. You know, God is pretty explicit in what we're supposed to do--what man and woman are for. Now, at the same time, we're supposed to love everybody and accept people, and preach against the sins. I've had some friends that are actually homosexual. And, I mean, they know where I stand, and they know that I wouldn't have them anywhere near my children. But at the same time, they're people, and they're going to do their thing.”

Hey, Joe –get a clue – your children are already around “queers” – some of them are teachers in your children’s schools, police officers who protect your children and firemen who also protect and serve.  They are your doctors and nurses, the grocery clerks, the pharmacists, the mailman who visits your house everyday.  In fact, they could be your kids’ uncle or aunt, cousins, grandparents, or parents of your children’s playmates.  In fact Joe – one of your children could even be “queer”. So as much as you wouldn’t have them (queers) anywhere near your children – they already are.

Perhaps it would be best if you stayed home and started teaching your children the meaning of the word “tolerance” so they won’t grow up and make such “asinine” statements as their father makes.  Or teach them about the words of Jesus or the history of the times the Bible was written in.

Oh, Joe, for further reference – asinine in the dictionary means “foolish, unintelligent, or silly; stupid” and one meaning of tolerance is “freedom from bigotry”.  And the dictionary shows one definition for queer to be a “disparaging and offensive slang word for a male homosexual”.  Perhaps you should pick up a dictionary on the way home to the kids.

An alert from the World Health Organization signaled that the swine flu virus could pose a prolonged public health threat.

Read More:

http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na 

Precautionary measures to take:

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.   Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you  cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand-cleaners are also effective.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

If you get sick, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way. 

There are many cities in the United States today that have chosen to act outside the law and declare themselves as "sanctuary" cities.  These are cities where illegal immigrants and others are safe from being sent back to their native countries.  Basically these cities have chosen a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy when it comes to illegals and these cities will not turn these people over to the INS or other federal agencies even if it is known by local authorities what the legal status is of the subjects.  I am finding that the majority of the people I know have heard nothing about “sanctuary cities”, as our mainstream media have not reported much if anything about this situation.  This is a true problem and if you find it hard to believe, please Google “sanctuary cities” and do your own research.

Sanctuary cities are in contempt of the laws of the United States, a contempt that threatens to undermine our country.  Many believe that among those residing in US sanctuary cities are also sleeper terrorists and others whose purpose is to destroy the United States and kill as many Americans as possible.

Because of the number of illegal immigrants flooding our human resource systems, it takes weeks for US citizens who are in need to even get qualified for any assistance of any type. The systems have just become overwhelmed because of all the illegals who have flooded our assistance programs in these “sanctuary” cities.  

My questions to Congress are simple.  How can our government allow cities to go against policies of the US government concerning immigration?  And why are these cities allowed Federal Stimulus or bail out money?  Simple questions but no one has the answers.  Perhaps you can get the answer from your Congress person!

American health officials on Sunday declared a public health emergency over increasing cases of swine flu, saying that they had confirmed 20 cases of the disease in the United States and expected to see more as investigators fan out to track down the path of the outbreak. 

Although officials said that most of the cases had been mild and urged Americans not to panic, the emergency declaration frees resources to be used toward diagnosing or preventing additional cases and releases money for more antiviral drugs. 

I am absolutely appalled with journalists, bloggers, reporters and political pundits who keep writing and talking about waterboarding and don’t have a CLUE what they are talking about.

Waterboarding is not “pouring a little water on someone”, it is not “dunking someone’s head in water for a few seconds” nor is it “simulated drowning” – IT IS DROWING SOMEONE and before they die, reviving them and then DOING IT AGAIN – over and over and over – in one case for 183 TIMES until they tell us what we want to know!!  We should all be OUTRAGED about this – this is not something that one human being does to another human being!  It is not something that anyone from our country which professes to be a country built on high and lofty Judeo-Christian principals does to ANOTHER HUMAN BEING!!!  This subject INFURIATES me!!  Isn’t there anyone out there that gets it – AMERICA does not TORTURE and WATERBOARDING is TORTURE!!

“Unless you have been strapped down to the board, have endured the agonizing feeling of the water overpowering your gag reflex, and then feel your throat open and allow pint after pint of water to involuntarily fill your lungs, you will not know the meaning of the word. “ 

Many of you might feel why we should care what is done to people who would fly planes into buildings and kill thousands of Americans.  In my mind it is simple, if we allow and are not enraged about this, then we collectively as a society are no better than our enemies are.   Whether we do it to one of our enemies 187 times or do it only once, it is still wrong because we are Americans and we do not torture.

I take offense at the Bible being used as a weapon as it seems to be happening with increasing frequency in today’s society.  I take offense especially as it is being used in the ongoing debate over same sex marriage or homosexuality itself.

We live in a country that embraces freedom of religion as one of its founding principles.  Even if you think homosexuality is against your religion, you have no right to persecute or discriminate against homosexuals or any group of people nor deny them any basic rights that other groups enjoy in this country. But it happens over and over again usually by some fundamentalist Christian holding a Bible in hand while spouting extremely un-Christian verbiage.   I am frankly sickened by this narrow-mindedness.  Granting a class of people freedom from harassment is not equal to condoning their lifestyle.  And granting a class of people a basic human right is not going to bring God’s wrath upon our country.  God’s wrath is more apt to come raining down on those who spread hatred in the name of Christianity.

In regards to Christianity and the Bible: Homosexuality does not appear in the gospels, nor in Acts or Revelation.  Jesus is never once quoted as condemning it.  It appears only in the epistolary literature and then only three times (I Cor., Romans, I Tim.).

If those who paraphrase the English translation of the Bible would care to learn more about the history of the times during which the Bible was written in, you would find some very interesting things.  In I Corinthians 6:9, Paul uses only the Greek words “malakos” and “arsenokoital”.  In the 1^st century Greco-Roman world in which Paul was a Roman citizen, “malakos” was used to describe a “call-boy” in a pederastic relationship for money and “arsenokoital” was the older men who paid malakos for sex.  In I Timothy 1:10 the words used again by Paul are “pornol”, arsenokoital”, and “andrapodistal”.  These three words meant male prostitute, user of a male prostitute and sex slave dealer.  The point here is that in the 1^st century Greco-Roman world, homosexuality was almost exclusively pederastic – older men seducing boys – either forcibly, with money or by taking advantage of the youthful naiveté.  This is the specific form of sex that Paul spoke against.  The gay lifestyle today is not as it was in that society, so Paul’s words can be interpreted as being invalid today.  The context is simply not the same.

There is not space enough here for a complete discussion of Romans 1:26-27 but for anyone interested in further research many would recommend the book “The New Testament and Homosexuality” by Robin Scroggs.

What Paul said about homosexuality is much less relevant than what Jesus said about loving your neighbor (including your enemy) as yourself. 

As for the Old Testament, research into the story of Sodom and Gomorrah reveals that it is a story about rape and defiance of God, not a condemnation of homosexuality.  Leviticus does make a statement against male homosexuality but this is in a list along with many other ethical laws of that society which have since been discarded – including Lev 19:13, which states that all laborers must be paid daily (some of us would appreciate that law today, although I doubt if most business accounting offices would find it appealing). 

Continuing to use the Bible as a weapon does not draw people to God. Perhaps this explains why recent surveys have shown Americans leaving organized religion in ever increasing numbers.  In the end, we are all just human beings and there is certainly no cause for arrogance on any of our parts. 

We are all equal in the eyes of God but many Christians who say they believe this on Sunday can’t seem to be able to practice this during the rest of the week!

Miss California did not lose the Miss America pageant because she gave a politically incorrect answer – she lost because she was inarticulate.

The question was “Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?"

"Well I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. Um, we live in a land that you can choose same sex marriage or opposite marriage (OH, REALLY- WHAT COUNTRY IS SHE LIVING IN?) and, you know what, in my country and in, in my family, I think that I believe (WHAT?) that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there. But that's how I was raised and that's how I think that it should be between a man and a woman."

I don’t believe that she articulated a good answer to the specific question and perhaps the judges felt the same way!  The conservative argument about her losing because she did not support same sex marriage is absolutely absurd. 

While looking for information on waterboarding, I found this article which I am linking to.  The journalist who wrote the article was waterboarded himself while doing research for this article. I hope you will find it interesting

 Believe Me - Its Torture

I have been wavering back and forth on whether the Bush administration committed any crimes over the interrogation of prisoners.  I have listened to pundits on the left and on the right, read articles both pro and con, and tried to inform myself as much as possible but still have not been able to make what I consider an informed decision.

I am not talking about waterboarding as I am a bit jaded on this subject since at the age of 10 I almost became a drowning victim.  Since then I have not been too fond of water so the idea of being on a slanted board with someone pouring water down my nose and throat into my lungs until I pass out – well, that is torture in my book.  But I have tried to remain open-minded on the other “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques.”

That is until today when I read an editorial in the New York Times.  I quote just a bit here for you in case you do not subscribe to their online paper. The editorial is about the recently released memos on interrogation written by the Bush administration’s Justice Department and is titled “The Torturers’ Manifesto”.

“Their language is the precise bureaucratese favored by dungeon masters throughout history. They detail how to fashion a collar for slamming a prisoner against a wall, exactly how many days he can be kept without sleep (11), and what, specifically, he should be told before being locked in a box with an insect — all to stop just short of having a jury decide that these acts violate the laws against torture and abusive treatment of prisoners.

In one of the more nauseating passages, Jay Bybee, then an assistant attorney general and now a federal judge, wrote admiringly about a contraption for waterboarding that would lurch a prisoner upright if he stopped breathing while water was poured over his face. He praised the Central Intelligence Agency for having doctors ready to perform an emergency tracheotomy if necessary.”

The editorial goes on to say, and this is the part that helped me make my decision on how I feel about Enhanced Interrogation Techniques.

“These memos are not an honest attempt to set the legal limits on interrogations, which was the authors’ statutory obligation. They were written to provide legal immunity for acts that are clearly illegal, immoral and a violation of this country’s most basic values.”

So, I now know how I feel about this subject – do you?  To help you decide, just Google “Interrogation memos” and read them.  They should be required reading for every American citizen along with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights just in case as a citizen you do not know our country’s most basic values. 

President Barack Obama on Thursday called for spending at least $13 billion to launch a "new era" of high-speed passenger rail transportation, sparking competition among states and providing a potentially rich new market for rail equipment makers.

Besides allocating $8 billion in stimulus funds for high-speed rail, Mr. Obama said he would seek to budget $5 billion more over the next five years.

Sounding an ambitious theme akin to President Dwight Eisenhower's push for the interstate highway system, Mr. Obama spoke of "a new system of high-speed rail in America" that "will be faster, cheaper and easier than building more freeways or adding to an already overburdened aviation system." The interstate system contributed to the growth of the U.S. auto industry in the 1950s and, along with cheaper air travel, consigned passenger rail to third-class status in the U.S. transportation system.

For more information as well as a map on proposed high-speed corridors,  click here!

For more information from the White House website          click here!

Susan Boyle is a 47 years old British woman who had a learning disability and was bullied by others while growing up.  If you do nothing else today – please watch this video. It has two lessons for all of us – never judge a person by their looks and never give up on a dream.

 Susan Boyle

This week, Media Matters for America released a damning new report that documents in startling detail how Fox News has been promoting anti-Obama "tea party" protests across the country scheduled for April 15. That's right, despite its repeated insistence that its coverage is "fair and balanced" and its invitation to viewers to "say 'no' to biased media," in recent weeks, Fox News has frequently aired segments encouraging viewers to get involved with tea-party protests, which the "news" network has often described as primarily a response to President Obama's fiscal policies.

Specifically, Fox News has in dozens of instances provided attendance and organizing information for future protests, such as protest dates, locations, and website URLs. Fox News websites have also posted information and publicity material for protests. Fox News hosts have repeatedly encouraged viewers to join them at several protests that they are attending and covering. Tea-party organizers have used the planned attendance of the Fox News hosts to promote their protests. Fox News has also aired numerous interviews with protest organizers. Moreover, Fox News contributors are listed as "Tea Party Sponsor[s]" on TaxDayTeaParty.com.

President Barack Obama's daughters are about to get their promised pup and I for one think it is about time! 

The entertainment website TMZ reports that Sasha and Malia Obama will be getting a Portuguese Water Dog from a kennel in Texas with connection to Sen. Ted Kennedy's family.

The website said the dog, named Charlie, will debut at the White House on Tuesday, though the president hinted that Monday's White House Easter Egg Roll might be the coming out party.

The dog's arrival date and breed have been a popular parlor game for White House watchers, with everyone from Barbara Walters and Jay Leno to PETA and the Portuguese Embassy offering advice.

The President said during a "Tonight Show" appearance last month that daughters Malia and Sasha would get their new puppy after he returned from NATO meetings in Europe. With the meetings concluded, First Lady Michelle Obama told reporters Thursday that the dog would be coming "soon ... so soon."

Rumor has it that the big debut will be on Monday at the annual Easter Egg Roll – so tune in!

Glenn Beck and the Rise of Fox News’ militia media by Eric Boehlert

Excellent article – click here!

If you don’t understand the global economic crisis, this is an excellent article to read.  The global economic crisis isn’t about money --it’s about power and how some believe that the Wall Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution.

Click here

This is an eye test that anyone who works with computers should take! 

    Click here: Color Blind 2

The White House will announce today that neither GM nor Chrysler is “viable.” The president will give GM 60 days to restructure and Chrysler 30 days to find a partner, or deny further bailouts.

For more information...http://www.politico.com

Tiger Woods holed a 15-foot punt for birdie to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday for his first victory since returning from knee surgery.  The dramatic ending came with darkness descending and only the light of the scoreboard to show the way. 

Woods closed with a 3-under-par 67 matching his largest comeback on the PGA Tour. 

"It feels good to be back in contention, to feel the rush," Woods said. "It's been awhile, but God, it felt good." 

Just like last year, when Woods made a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Bay Hill for a one-shot victory, he delivered a high-charged celebration. Instead of slamming his cap to the ground, he turned and ran into the arms of his caddie, who lifted Woods off his feet. 

Woods won at Bay Hill for the sixth time, the third PGA Tour event he has won at least that often.

Woods had not been atop the leaderboard since he won the U.S. Open in a 19-hole playoff in June. He had reconstructive surgery on his left knee a week later, and missed the next eight months. 

With two indifferent results at World Golf Championship events, there were questions whether he would be ready for the Masters in two weeks. Not anymore. Woods rallied from a five-shot deficit and delivered one crucial shot after another in fading sunlight.

The Obama administration asked Rick Wagoner, the chairman and CEO of General Motors, to step down and he agreed, a White House official said.

For more information...http://www.politico.com

Tiger Woods has just announced that he plans to compete in next week's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. For complete coverage on Tiger's return, visit PGATOUR.COM. 

To see pictures of Tiger’s new son – click here! 

Tiger Woods and his wife Elin announced the birth of a son, Charlie Axel Woods, born on Sunday February 8, 2009.  Their statement announcing the birth said that both mother and son were doing fine and daughter Sam is excited about being a big sister.   

Best wishes to Tiger and his growing family!

The current debate on Capital Hill over the Stimulus Package reminds me of a bunch of cats fighting.  I have three cats that aren’t happy with the cat food that we currently are giving them and they are acting as if we are starving them and fighting with each other.   And the Senators and Representatives are acting just like my cats.

54% of us voted for President Obama and we need something done now and the bipartisan bickering needs to stop.   I encourage all Americans to contact their Congress people to tell them that every second spent bickering is hurting many of us and it needs to stop and stop now or they will be voted out during the next election.  Perhaps too many of them have just been there too long and are out of touch with the people they represent.  They need to be reminded that the American people are watching how things are being done now more than ever before and we will all remember this bickering when elections come again. 

Stay involve in this debate!

Since I work with words daily as a writer, I have started to study words – what they mean, how they are used – words that I find interesting.  Too many times, we believe that words are “black and white” in their definitions when actually there are so many “gray” areas where the definition does not really define the use of the word and perhaps another word would be better to use. 

Today the word I am interested in is “loyalty” which the dictionaries define as “being faithful to commitments or obligations, faithful to a private person”.  This seems very “black and white” in meaning doesn’t it?  If you have a friend or person that you are close to – you have a loyalty to them, which to me means that you keep confidences, don’t lie to them, don’t talk about them behind their back – you are “loyal” to them. 

Let’s add some “gray” to this situation of friends to make it more interesting.  Let’s say you have two friends – Joseph and John.  You have a friendship with both of them and you feel you have a loyalty to both of them.  Seems very straightforward – doesn’t it?

Let’s add some more “gray”.  Let’s set up this situation.  Joseph stole $100 from someone and John and you know this – in fact, John witnessed the crime.  But Joseph needed the money, repaid the money and apologized for the incident and it happened months ago, so out of loyalty to Joseph the situation has been forgotten and not even talked about anymore.

More........

"Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."      

President Barack H. Obama  – January 20, 2009

And so it begins – this nation’s 4 day celebration leading up to the Inauguration of the first African-American president.  It began Saturday with a slow moving train ride tracing the route that President Abraham Lincoln took in 1861 to Washington D.C. for his own swearing in as president. 

President-Elect Obama and his family took the “Obama Express” beginning at Philadelphia, taking with them 50 ordinary citizens whose stories they learned about on the campaign trail.  The train then stopped in Delaware to pick up Vice President-Elect Biden and his wife.  This is the same train that Biden took every day as a senator because he chose to have his home in Delaware instead of in Washington D.C.