Penny Brown Hoax Email Making the Rounds Again

Today I got a hoax email entitled "Amber Alert". It told of Penny Brown, a nine year old girl who has "been missing for two weeks". Included was this picture.

Well, the "Penny Brown" email has been traveling for much longer than 2 weeks. It first showed up in 2001. That makes her a bit older than 9 by now. You do the math. I'm a printer not a mathematician.

Part of the email states:

Quote - We have a store manager (Wal-Mart) from Longs, SC
who has a 9 year old daughter who has been missing for 2 weeks.
Keep the picture moving on. With luck on her side she will be found.

I am asking you all, begging you to please forward this email on to anyone and everyone you know, PLEASE. My 9 year old girl, Penny Brown, is missing.
She has been missing for now two weeks. - end quote -

I'm sure it is well meaning people that keep this and similar emails traveling through cyberspace but I have to wonder if there are some people that save these things and get them going again every so often.

It must have been well over a year since I last saw this one. I was surprised to see it again. Last week I recieved the petition to end Christian broadcasting by an atheist group.

Ok, I know now these things will never stop.

Next week I look forward to the Proctor and Gambles association with satanic groups to make the rounds. Scheesh. I remember that one from the late 70's, early 80's. This was prior to AlGore inventing the internet!



Mimeographed sheets with the stars in P&G's logo distorted so they could make a connect the dots 666 were passed around to churches. Sometimes I had a heck of a time convincing people that it was a lie and they were not serving God's purposes by spreading lies and looking foolish at the same time. Christians can be rather hard headed. I know because I am one.

Maybe it was my approach. I can get rather brusque on occasion.

Soda Pop Tabs for Dialysis - False

Denzel Washington visiting Fisher House - (both true and false)

Free 411 calls - True! (with a 12 second advert in your ear.)

Starbucks does not support our troops. - False

The main point of this post is to recomend to people the Snopes.com website. I find Barbara Mikkelson's reports on Urban legends to be more entertaining than most of these emails deserve. Besides the email hoaxes the site covers the old, pre internet urban legends. The one I like best is the Grace Slick named her daughter God story. This may be due to ego since the story has Paul Harvey mentioning me personally. Don't ask because I don't know how that happened. It is true that I heard the rumor and did help spread it.

When you get these emails demanding you 'send it on to all on your list' Please stop and think. Is this email a hoax? Check it on Snopes! Does everyone on your list really want these emails? No! Will you look foolish by forwarding a hoax? Yes!

Snopes has a few guidelines on what to look for to help you figure if an email is a hoax. I'd suggest putting it in favorites and click on the ads on occasion. Help her keep the site up...

Christian Pundits Tells the Truth About the Muslum Cartoon Kerfuffle!

I was about to sit down and with my slow and tedious method of typing with four fingers while watching the keyboard and explain the updated story behind the Muslum Cartoon kerfuffle when I saw that Christian Pundits had already done a lot of the work (complete with pictures and links) for me.

Imam Ahmad Abu Laban, head of the Danish Islamic Society had a modified picture of a French pig calling contest and claimed it was one of the Danish cartoons.

quote - In a television interview, Abu Laban told Fox News the cartoon above and two others whose authenticity have come into question, came from threatening letters, but he has not replied to the network's request to provide copies of the letters. - end quote -

World Net Daily has this

- Quote - The burning this past weekend of Danish government offices in Damascus and Beirut in protest of newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad were directed by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in part using undercover soldiers acting as rioters, Lebanese leader Walid Jumblatt charged today during an exclusive WorldNetDaily interview.

"Syria is stirring trouble in the region. Regarding the burnings and protests in Damascus, it is very bizarre that a so-called secular totalitarian regime that controls everything was not able to control these demonstrations," said Jumblatt, Druze leader and head of Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party.

"The violence and burnings in Lebanon were the work of Syrian soldiers and workers dressed in civilian clothes." - end quote -

prying1 sez: If you wait long enough the truth comes out. - This whole thing was orchestrated for what ends? To get Iran's nuke crappola taken off the front page. So an unknown Danish Muslum Cleric can have his day in the sun? More unrest in the Middle East so the price of oil can be raised?

There may be these and several other reasons for this but one thing I know. The people in these Muslum run countries are kept ignorant of the truth so those in power do not lose their day jobs. Their religion is not doing that which religions are supposed to do. That is, bring them to a closer relationship with the Creator of heaven and earth.

Unless of course the Living God wants to see people murdered and buildings burned.

I think not...


Some Muslums are waking up to the fact that their religion is falling apart.
There is this!

And this!

Why Danish Flag Burning Over the Muslum Cartoons

Capitalism works!

At least it does for a Gaza shop owner who saw what was coming.

When entrepreneur Ahmed Abu Dayya first heard that Danish caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad were being reprinted across Europe, he knew exactly what his customers in Gaza would want: flags to burn.

Abu Dayya ordered 100 hard-to-find Danish and Norwegian flags for his Gaza City shop and has been doing a swift trade.

"I do not take political stands. It is all business," he said in an interview. "But this time I was offended by the assault on the Prophet Mohammad."
~~~~~~~~~~
"I knew there would be a demand for the flags because of the angry reaction of people over the offence to Prophet Mohammad," said Abu Dayya, whose PLO Flag Shop also sells souvenirs and presents.

He sells his Danish and Norwegian flags for $11 a piece -- a price he acknowledged might be dampening sales. Many protesters prefer to save money and make the flags themselves from scraps of fabric, he said.
~~~~~~~~~~
- From Rreuters Alertnet -

prying1 sez: I hope the demonstrators don't take it into their heads to destroy all the flags in one fell swoop by burning down the shop.

Everything in economics is in this story. Supply and demand stands out for one.

Coretta Scott King's Funeral

It was pretty sad day that was meant to be a Home Going Celebration for Coretta Scott King. President Bush gave a wonderful eulogy - Some Democrat politicos once again showed that they think every occasion is all about them.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you.

To the King family, distinguished guests and fellow citizens, we gather in God's house, in God's presence, to honor God's servant, Coretta Scott King. Her journey was long and only briefly with a hand to hold. But now she leans on everlasting arms.

I've come today to offer the sympathy of our entire nation at the passing of a woman who worked to make our nation whole. Americans knew her husband only as a young man. We knew Mrs. King in all the seasons of her life. And there was grace and beauty in every season.

As a great movement of history took shape, her dignity was a daily rebuke to the pettiness and cruelty of segregation. When she wore a veil at 40 years old, her dignity revealed the deepest trust in God and his purposes. In decades of prominence, her dignity drew others to the unfinished work of justice.

In all her years, Coretta Scott King showed that a person of conviction and strength could also be a beautiful soul. This kind and gentle woman became one of the most admired Americans of our time. She is rightly mourned. And she is deeply missed. Some here today knew her as a girl and saw something very special, long before a young preacher proposed. She once said, "Before I was a King, I was a Scott." And the Scott's were strong and righteous and brave in the face of wrong.

Coretta eventually took on the duties of a pastor's wife and a calling that reached far beyond the doors of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. In that calling Dr. King's family was subjected to vicious words, threatening calls in the night and a bombing at their house.

Coretta had every right to count the costs and step back from the struggle. But she decided that her children needed more than a safe home. They needed an America that upheld their equality and wrote their rights in the law. And because this young mother and father were not intimidated, millions of children they would never meet are now living in a better, more welcoming country.

In the critical hours of the civil rights movement there were always men and women of conscience at the heart of the drama. They knew that old hatreds ran deep. They knew that nonviolence might be answered with violence. They knew that much established authority was against them.

They also knew that sheriffs and mayors and governors were not ultimately in control of events, that a greater authority was interested and very much in charge. The God of Moses -- the God of Moses was not neutral about their captivity. The God of Isaiah and the prophets was still impatient with injustice. And they knew that the son of God would never leave them or forsake them.

But some had to leave before their time. And Dr. King left behind a grieving widow and little children. Rarely has so much been asked of a pastor's wife, and rarely has so much been taken away.

Years later, Mrs. King recalled, "I would wake up in the morning, have my cry, then go into them. The children saw me going forward."

Martin Luther King Jr. had preached that unmerited suffering could have redemptive power. Little did he know that this great truth would be proven in the life of the person he loved the most. Others could cause her sorrow, but no one could make her bitter.

By going forward with a strong and forgiving heart, Coretta Scott King not only secured her husband's legacy, she built her own. Having loved a leader, she became a leader. And when she spoke, America listened closely, because her voice carried the wisdom and goodness of a life well lived.

In that life, Coretta Scott King knew danger. She knew injustice. She knew sudden and terrible grief. She also knew that her redeemer lives. She trusted in the name above every name. And today we trust that our sister, Coretta, is on the other shore, at peace, at rest, at home.

May God bless you. And may God bless our country.

Then the Democrats forgot it was about Coretta Scott King and with a definite lack of class turned a funeral to honor Coretta into political diatribe.

Jimmy Carter said: "It was difficult for them (Martin Luther King Jr. & Coretta) personally -- with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretapping, other surveillance, and as you know, harassment from the FBI."

***Carter did not mention it was a Democrat, Robert Kennedy, that authorized the wiretaps at the request of J.Edgar Hoover nor did he mention that the current wiretaps are only against foreign terrorists that murder people, not American citizens that fight for civil rights.

Rev. Joseph Lowery said: "She deplored the terror inflicted by our smart bombs on missions way afar," he said. "We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew and we knew that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war, billions more, but no more for the poor."

***The Rev. Joseph Lowery failed to mention that for generations trillions of taxpayer dollars have been utilized to prop up a bloated bureaucracy that spends oodles on administration while pennies and blocks of cheese trickle to those in need.

Mr. Clinton began by saying, "I'm honored to be here with my president and my former presidents." Then he paused briefly and gestured toward Mrs. Clinton, his unspoken words seeming to suggest that he wanted to say future president, too. -

***I will give Bill Clinton credit that he pulled the point of the occasion back on track with the line, "I don't want us to forget that there's a woman in there," pointing to Mrs. King's coffin. "Not a symbol, a real woman who lived and breathed and got angry and got hurt and had dreams and disappointments."

Coretta Scott King has joined the 'great cloud of witnesses'! She has run and finished the race. I'm certain that her Savior by now has said, "Well done my good and faithful Servant!" R.I.P. Coretta!

(*** = prying1 sez)

Not For Prime Time Commercial

Tonight during the Prime Time hours channel 11 Fox KTTV Los Angeles played a commercial that I thought totally inappropriate for the early evening hours. As a result of the commercial I wrote a letter to KTTV (see blockquote box below. - Can anyone out there tell from my description what this commercial was advertising?

to: Programming@fox11.com -

Just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in about a commercial I saw tonight. At first I thought it was a typical "Carl's Junior commercial" which is a place I never patronize because of their sloppy ads. I really don't want ketchup and grease all over my clothes.

The commercial had woman washing a car with her bare ass shaking towards the camera and then smearing a hamburger all over herself. I can't remember what it was for and as a result consider it a waste of the advertisers money. Seems that the least a commercial could do is make the person watching it remember who was advertising.

This commercial is inappropriate for prime time. My wife and I were offended by it and I'm sure that people with children did not appreciate it either. Please move it's time slot to after midnight. Maybe play it between the infomercials.

Thanks for your attention to this. - Paul Young -

Just wondering if anyone else saw this commercial and will buy what they are selling.

This Is What Muslums Should Be Shouting About!

Instead of the Mohammad cartoons this should be what the Muslum community wants to stop.

A London Mosque Had Weapons, Forged Papers, Police Say -

A London mosque formerly headed by Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri held weapons, military gear and hundreds of forged identity documents when it was raided by U.K. police in early 2003, police disclosed for the first time today.

The Finsbury Park Mosque, in the north of the city, has been linked to dozens of anti-terror investigations and functioned as a key meeting hub for radical Islamic groups, including al-Qaeda, during al-Masri's tenure at the congregation, Britain's Metropolitan Police Service has said. - Bloomberg.com 7Feb06 -

Most non-Muslums, I should think, would find this to be a point where real outrage by the Muslum community would be expressed. Terrorists have taken over their religion and places of worship and do the masses of Muslum people rise up to condemn it? If they do I see little evidence of it. We can blame some of that on the MainStream Media. They only want to cover the exciting stuff.

However it seems that using Muslum places of worship as a weapons cache is not new. Cruising around the internet I came across this comment by Sasha: - quote - It seems that Muslims have very frequently over the centuries used mosques for arms and ammunition storage - so it was in the late 17th century when Francesco Morosini of Venice was besieging Athens (I think 1690): when a cannonball hit the Parthenon, it blew up an ammunition depot therein - and the Parthenon with it! - end quote -

This does not tell us the peoples reaction but it does show as stated before that it is not new. Have the Muslum people become inured to such behaviour through generations of clerics being vicious murderers?

Then there is this from Capitalism Magazine - quote - House of God in this case means House of War. This is what it meant on November 20, 1979, when 200 Islamic fighters seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca, with hundreds of pilgrims inside. Some 250 people were killed and 600 wounded in the siege that followed. Many of the pilgrims took up arms on the side of the attackers. Some went to Afghanistan and joined the jihad.

The 1993 attack against the World Trade Center was planned by a respected cleric in a mosque. His moral-religious authority gave him a large following in the neighborhood. Many agreed with his ideals, and did not oppose his anti-American rants. Few in the neighborhood knew of his precise plans. But all were in fact accomplices in the attack. They gave him a base of operations, economic support and a pulpit.

When federal agents recently arrested the imam and a founder of a mosque in Albany for agreeing to launder money to buy an anti-aircraft missile, the leaders of the mosque were outraged--at the possibility of discrimination against Muslims. This must be a mistake, the spokesman said. Mosques are Houses of God. - end quote - Capitalism Magazine 17 AUG 2004

When a place of worship is turned into a terrorist hideout that is when the people should start shouting. I know that if it were happening in the church I attend I would not hesitate to notify the authorities. Had I been going to church at the Waco Compound I would have been out of there toot sweet. But that is one advantage that Christians have over Muslums. If we decide to switch religions we don't have family putting out death threats.

I would encourage Muslums that have questions with no answers about their religion to search their hearts and ask themselves if they want the TRUTH about the WAY they should live their LIFE. If so, simply click on the link!

Recent Cartoons Not the Only Images of Mohammed

Images of Mohammed have been around for centuries. - Google - images of Mohammed - and get 3-1/2 million + hits. It is 'Image Worship' that is against their rules and by the rioting I would say they are doing just that. Worshipping some ill drawn cartoon images as opposed to the Creator.

by the way, Some of the images seen by clicking the link look just as cartoonish as the Danish ones.

Should Fear Rule Our Hearts?

I'll admit it. There has been more than once I did not post a comment on a website because of fear. A couple times I have posted as 'Anonymous' because of fear. But many times I've overcome it and posted comments in spite of my fears. This post is a response to those times I gave in rather than conquered my fears...

FrontPageMagazine.com has an excellent article on the terror Egyptian Coptics live with daily. I know Egyptian Copts who left Egypt because they would have been murdered had they stayed. They have family members that have been murdered. The Egyptian government does nothing to avenge the victims nor incarcerate the murderers. Egypt is not a nice place to live nor visit.

From the article: - quote - "...Amr Adib, threatened the life of Father Zakaria Boutros, a Coptic Christian leader. Adib did that right in front of an audience of millions. The show was broadcast in December, 2005. Father Boutros is an Egyptian Coptic priest who has peacefully inspired about 500 Egyptian Muslims to convert to Christianity, something considered a crime punishable by death in the Muslim world. For carrying out those conversions, he was imprisoned twice while he was living in Egypt in the early 1980's and is now living in exile outside of the country.

TV host Adib, in threatening Father Boutros, said that no one will remain quiet about what Father Boutros says and does even today. He will be cut up into little pieces. If he were still in Egypt, he would never be able to return to his home alive. He was told he would not get away with those conversions of Muslims to Christianity.
~~~~~
and:

The reason for those threats on Egyptian television by Amr Adib was because he believes that Father Boutro's challenging questions about Islam and his quotations from the Koran about killing people denigrate Adib's Islamic faith. Father Boutros, in rebuttal, still says he wants someone in the Muslim hierarchy to answer many pressing questions and contradictions found in the Hadiths (the book of commentaries on the Koran) and the Koran itself, and that both Muslims and non-Muslims have been asking many unanswered questions that they are unable to get direct answers from by any Muslim. Father Boutro's frustration is shared by many in the Arab world, but people are afraid to speak out. There was a Muslim sheikh on the same show with Adib, Sheikh Khalid El Guindi, who also refused to answer questions about Islam from Father Boutros and said that his answer to the Father's questions will come out soon in a booklet. Of course, this will never happen, it was just a stall. The majority of the show was full of undignified yelling, insults and lies shouted by the host and others of his ilk. - end quote -

Then at Righting America there is a comment by Muslum calling himself 'BE' answering Timmer's post concerning the recent kerfuffle over the cartoons.
- Quote from BE -
As Muslims we are required to respect all religions, be it people who are Christians, Jewish, Hindu etc.
So i'’m really surprised at the pictures published in the newspaper, and also of their false nature. Maybe people should read about Prophet Muhummmad peace be upon him, and realise that he was a mercy to all mankind.
Attacking the prophet peace be upon him by drawing such pictures is attacking Muslims directly.
We dont draw pictures of other prophets like Abraham, Moses, Jesus, infact we respect them, and would never think to do such drawings.
- end quote -
Gee! No mention of peoples heads getting hacked off nor villages destroyed in the Philippines. But I digress...

In fact the commenter leaves a link to his blogsite which does not give his name nor even an email address. No comments are allowed. Is the secrecy of his name and lack of comments due to fear on his part? - Of course it is his blog and he can set it up any way he wants but I have to wonder.

I also wonder why the good Father Zakaria Boutros will get chopped up by these people that would never think to do such drawings. Then I ask, "Why were 500 Muslums convinced to leave their faith knowing that they could be killed for doing so?"

I was raised in the Catholic religion and left it years ago because I had questions that could not be answered to my satisfaction. I was not killed for changing my religion. I still have communication with family members that remain Catholic. In leaving Catholicism I turned to a person instead of another religion. That person is someone revered in the Muslum religion. I understand His name is throughout the Muslum book.

He is a prophet of the Muslum religion and is named Jesus Christ. I would suggest to Muslums that they take some time and read what one who knew Jesus personally had to say about him. John the Apostle walked by Jesus' side daily for 3 years. He wrote a small book in the New Testament (along with 3 letters) Click here to read John's words in Aramaic - Click here to read John's words in English. (other languages available at the linked site.

- Here is a challenge. - Compare what John and the Qur'an says about Jesus for yourself. Figure out which sentence in the Book of John proves the Qur'an is true. - Figure out which sentence in the Book of John might cause a man to leave Islam. -

I would suggest that Muslums seek these answers in private. Be careful! Not because of fear but because of common sense... God doesn't want you dead.

Take a Run to the Daily Blogster

- Click on the picture below to go to The Daily Blogster for the story behind this picture.

Quite a story behind it and it is well documented through Snopes.Com

To see The Daily Blogster today click here

Thanks to Omaha World-Herald for the pic!

It's Just a Cartoon for Goodness Sake!

This carton kerfuffle in Denmark and now the world is really ticking me off. It is alright for Muslums to call every Non-Muslum in the world an infidel but let anyone question or poke fun at their religion and death threats go out.

Saint Paul realized and wrote about how the Christian religion appeared to those who chose to stay outside of the church door. He said in 1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV - "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.") -

I agree with him. Think about it. Here is the message of the Gospel in a nutshell. God created a sperm in the womb of a virgin (Human blood is in man's sperm and this blood needed to be pure/divine/untainted by sin). Her child was half God and half man. This Child grew up and never did anything wrong. Not once did He sin so He was totally innocent. He was murdered by pagans and during His crucifixion all the sin of mankind past, present and future was laid on Him. As he was dying he said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." He died and rose again in 3 days.
After the resurrection He went to heaven and sits waiting to return to planet earth at a given time that even He doesn't know. -

Now to me that sounds pretty silly but at the same time I believe it. Why you ask? Because He has shown me HE IS STILL ALIVE! (Ever hear the old hymn, 'He Touched Me'?)

Now back to the cartoons and the Muslum reaction to them. I'm confident that if a Muslum took the core of his religion and stated it as I have done for Christianity then stepped back and looked at it, it would look pretty silly. One difference here though. If I call Christianity silly I don't get death threats from the Pope or his Bishops. Neither do I get death threats from Protestant priests and ministers. Nor do Independent or non-denominational Christians come beating at my door.

What we have now is a group of infidels poking fun at the Muslum religion and (SOME) Muslums proving the point of some of those cartoons. Are the cartoonists right to do this? I think not. It shows them to be oafish and irreverent and careless about others feelings.

That said however does not excuse the rioting, assaults and destruction of property. That is not acceptable behaviour in civilized society. In no way will this type of behaviour result in infidels saying, "What a sweet and pleasant religion! I think I'll join them in their beliefs." Perhaps the rioting Muslums are like the oafish cartoonists and do not care about the conversion and salvation of infidels. Isn't converting infidels part of their religion? Well, They are going against that part of their teachings by their criminal behaviour.

One thing I do know is that if the (MAJORITY of the) Muslum community and it's leaders do not stand up and stop the vandals they are just as guilty in the long run.

If the worldwide Muslum community wants to stay in the 21st century and live in and with the West they are going to have to learn to suck it up once in a while when they get offended. They are bound to get offended. Who doesn't? Atheists are offended by religious behaviour and religious people are offended by atheists behaviour. Vegans are offended by carnivores and vice versa. Name any group and I'm sure you will find someone offended...

Those who can't suck it up without destroying property and injuring people (is that against any rules in the Koran?) need to go back to living as the caricature desert tent nomad and pretend they are in the 8th century. They can't take a laptop with internet connections because they will find themselves offended...

Update: (Thanks/Hat Tip to The Mechanical Eye for the following - quote - This website consists only of an intelligent and reasonable response held by those who disliked the Dutch cartoons but don't agree with the violence some have reacted with. - end quote -

~~~~~~~~~

quote from 'This website' - http://www.sorrynorwaydenmark.com/ -

In the middle of all the mayhem surrounding the Danish cartoons controversy, a group of Arab and Muslim youth have set up this website to express their honest opinion, as a small attempt to show the world that the images shown of Arab and Muslim anger around the world are not representative of the opinions of all Arabs. - ... -

~~~~~~~~~
P.S. I added a couple changes to my original post (Italics) because of the content of the http://www.sorrynorwaydenmark.com/ webpage...

Iraqi Security Forces Take the Lead

AubreyJ has an interesting post that has these quotes in it.

(He = Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch)

Security operations are continuing all across Iraq, he added. Of the 443 total operations conducted last week, only about one-third were coalition forces only.

"Two-thirds... were either conducted independently by the Iraqi security forces or done in combination with coalition forces," Lynch said. "So you see, we've reached the point in our counterinsurgency operations where the Iraqi security forces have clearly taken the lead across Iraq."

prying1 sez:
Democracy will work in Iraq and hopefully will lead the way for other counties in the area.

NAACP Asked to Repudiate Julian Bond's Message of Hate

Rev. Jesse Peterson Calls on NAACP Head to Repudiate Julian Bond?s Comparison of GOP to Nazis

How many years ago was it that the Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, signed the Emancipation Proclamation? The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."(*)

Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately free a single slave, it fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom.(*) - (prying1 (a Republican) sez: thank God for freedom for all men!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first Republican President signed this document.

As a result when black slaves were finally freed as a result of much bloodshed (some white and some black - Some north and some south) the statement from the Republican President stood firm!

During the Civil Rights movement of the 50's and 60's George Wallace and his DEMOCRATIC friends (including the so called EXXX kkk membbber whazzzhizname Byrrrd) stood against the Republicans that voted in Civil Rights!

So what are we faced with now? A group of people that claim the Republican Party is a party of Nazis?

No!

It is only one man who heads up the NAACP.

Julian Bond is the one man's name.

If the NAACP wants to continue to be a viable force in American politics it will have to remove Julian and find someone who is not an idiot.

He has lost all credibility as a leader of any Americans be they any shade from pink to green.

Julian Bond's Statement: "The Republican Party would have the American flag and the swastika flying side by side,"

prying1 sez:
Once a racist always a racist. Don't believe me? Ask anybody that voted for Democratic Presidential nominee Wallace.

Did Julian vote for him? Hmmm??? - Just wondering?

If you know anyone that belongs to the NAACP let 'em know that they need a new leader. - One that is not a racist!

(*) = sort of borrowed from this .gov site =

Is This Funny?

I'm not sure. Would it be insensitive to laugh at a story like this?

Men Really Are Good At That Sensitive Stuff!

Three guys were working on the BellSouth tower - Steve, Bruce and Jed. Steve falls off and is killed instantly.

As the ambulance takes the body away, Bruce says, "Someone should go and tell his wife."

Jed says, "OK, I'm pretty good at that sensitive stuff, I'll do it."

Two hours later, he comes back carrying a case of Budweiser.

Bruce says, "Where did you get that, Jed?"

"Steve's wife gave it to me," Jed replies.

"That's unbelievable, you told the lady her husband was dead and she gave you beer?"

"Well, not exactly", Jed says. "When she answered the door, I said to her, 'You must be Steve's widow'." She said, "No, I'm not a widow."

And I said, "I'll bet you a case of Budweiser you are".

If this post is insensitive blame my uncle. He emailed it to me... - Email me for his address -

You might be a redneck if...

Got this in an email. If you find yourself offended for any reason please stop reading.

You might be a redneck if...

Your standard of living improves when you go camping.

You've jacked up your home to look for a dog.

You have a relative living in your garage.

Your neighbor has ever asked to borrow a quart of beer.

There is a belch on your answering machine greeting.

You have rebuilt a carburetor while sitting on the commode.

None of the tires on your van are the same size.

You hold up the hood of your car with your head while you work on it.

Your idea of getting lucky is passing the emissions test.

Your town put the new garbage truck in the Christmas parade.

Your local beauty salon also fixes cars.

Your doghouse and your living room have the same shag carpet.

You've ever slow danced in the Waffle House.

Starting your car involves popping the hood.

Your garbage man is confused about what goes and what stays.

You whistle at women in church.

You've been in a fistfight at a yard sale. (and my defibrillator went off)

You carry a fly swatter in the front seat of the car so you can reach the kids in the backseat.

If you've ever fixed a broken coil primary wire on a car with a safety pin off your date's bra strap, and the date didn't think it was unusual.

If you've got a matching set of salad bowls that all say "cool whip" on them.

If you take the Christmas lights on the front porch down in November, and only long enough to get them working again.

You've ever used duct tape to repair dental work.

You've unstopped a sink with a shotgun.

Your will states your wife can't touch your money 'til she's fourteen.

You have to pass through a metal detector to get to a family reunion.

Your coffee table is also a cooler!

Your mailing address includes the word "holler".

The first time you ever saw your wife in lingerie, you had to pay a cover charge.

You've sold a car to settle a bar tab.

The best sofa you ever had came out of a Chevrolet.

You've ever used your bathtub as a punch bowl.

You have been accused of lying through your tooth.

If you have ever used a barstool as a walker.

Ideals in Politics!

"Ideals in politics are never realized, but the pursuit of them determines history"

- Lord Acton -

Watching the Presidents speech last night I was heartened by President Bush's ideals. He sees America not as the Big Brother of George Orwell's, '1984' but as the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring organization.

~~~~~ Quote from the speech ~~~~~
To overcome dangers in our world, we must also take the offensive by encouraging economic progress, and fighting disease, and spreading hope in hopeless lands. Isolationism would not only tie our hands in fighting enemies, it would keep us from helping our friends in desperate need. We show compassion abroad because Americans believe in the God-given dignity and worth of a villager with HIV/AIDS, or an infant with malaria, or a refugee fleeing genocide, or a young girl sold into slavery. We also show compassion abroad because regions overwhelmed by poverty, corruption, and despair are sources of terrorism, and organized crime, and human trafficking, and the drug trade.

In recent years, you and I have taken unprecedented action to fight AIDS and malaria, expand the education of girls, and reward developing nations that are moving forward with economic and political reform. For people everywhere, the United States is a partner for a better life. Short-changing these efforts would increase the suffering and chaos of our world, undercut our long-term security, and dull the conscience of our country. I urge members of Congress to serve the interests of America by showing the compassion of America.
~~~~~ end quote ~~~~~

This is not spreading Imperialism! It is spreading HOPE. Those who listened to the speech and only heard the voice of someone they hate because 'he stole the election' or 'is not of my party' need to remove the heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh.

Those who did not listen to the speech can read it here. I would suggest going through it with eyes wide open and a hope that perhaps the idealism presented in the words are attainable. - If both sides work together...

It is not "All about us!" There is a hurting world out there and we can help.

THE SKY IS FALLING!

AubreyJ has a post that asks the tough question. "Who is this guy?"

quote from AubreyJ's post - NASA's senior climate scientist, James Hansen has accused the Bush administration of trying to stop him from speaking out about global warming. Hansen has also said that he has had threats from NASA officials too but these threats have come to him only by phone.
Dang-- nothing in writing???
~~~~~~~~~
** NASA is censoring me, says global warming scientist
** Top NASA Scientist Says He's Being Silenced on Global Warming
** ....More of same from recent headlines..... - - end quote

The challenge was put forth by Sir AubreyJ -

So... Fellow Bloggers out there...
Who is this Guy???

~~~~~~~~~

I took the challenge (Google helped) and posted an answer in his comments. Whether your view is the same as mine or different, jump on over to AubreyJ's and throw in a wooden nickels worth of research and two cents worth of your point of view on 'this guy'...

Go here! Read this!

Blue Star Chronicles has a wonderful MUST READ POST!

Thanks Beth! -

Squirt a Friend - Go to Jail!

I'll never forget crying and running home one day. Eight years old. I came running into the house, my mom calmed me down a bit and asked where it hurt. My answer was that some kids down the street were being mean and squirting me with squirt guns. Mom said, "It's only water!"

My mind opened up a bit that day. A realization that squirt guns were designed for kids to have fun. I ran back out and rejoined the kids. I was not killed. I had fun. I got wet.

I told that story to lead into this. Illinois has some dopey elected officials that want to ban squirt guns. Patriotic Mom, an Illinoisian has a bit on it along with a link to The Conservative Voice.

Warner Todd Huston gives us a bit on the bill: Provides that it is unlawful for any person to purchase, possess, use, sell, give away, or otherwise transfer, or to engage in the business of selling, or to exhibit for sale, any replica rocket propelled grenade launcher, bazooka, artillery piece, grenade, mine, bomb, or items similar to weapons designed and manufactured for military purposes or replicas of those items. Provides that a violation is a Class A misdemeanor.

and Mr Huston goes on to say:

This sweeping and rather ill defined usage of the word "replica" could easily be construed to mean anything that looks like a gun or cannon or a toy made to appear like one from any of the categories listed. That would mean Civil War reenactors with their 1800's style cannons and muskets as well as reenactors of other eras (notably WWII with their more modern firearms) are targeted. For that matter, water guns could become illegal to own, sell and distribute in the state. Even Walmart would be under restrictions for selling toys it should be pointed out.

prying1 sez:
Once again the elected officials look to punish inanimate objects. Like that is really possible. I would like to see our elected officials come up with a comprehensive plan for mandatory sentences for criminals instead.

If in the commision of a crime a person is found guilty of
Possession/Showing a gun (toy or not) - 10 years
Pulling the trigger - 25 years
Hitting someone with a bullet - 40 years (each one)
Murdering someone - Life and/or Death Penalty (According to state laws)

Karl Rove Agrees with prying1

A while back (20Dec05) I posted a blog on the surveilance of terrorist's phone calls into the U.S. I ended the post with: (quote)

So I'm left with a choice. Oppose the policy of our government to spy on it's own citizens and give more power to people that want to kill me (and you too dear reader!) or support the policy that allows one branch of the government to use it's constitutional authority to protect the nation.

I vote to support it.

(end quote)

In a radio interview by Hugh Hewitt on 26Jan06 with Karl Rove this exchange took place: (quote)

HH: I'm great. Now Karl, we don't have a lot of time, so I want to focus immediately on the NSA program, which was a part of a speech you gave last Friday, and which was the focus of a lot of the questions of the president's press conference this morning. And the white paper from the Department of Justice is out there, and Democrats are not buying it, or at least they're pretending not to buy it. Why so much resistance to surveilling al Qaeda operatives contacting their agents in the United States from the Democratic Party?

KR: Well, you'll have to ask them. I don't understand it, frankly. I think that any American, if they take their partisan hat off, would say that in a time of war, after we've been struck on our homeland, that the President of the United States, if he has the ability to have the appropriate agencies, with Constitutional restraints, and respect for personal liberties of Americans who might unintentionally get sort of swept up in it, if a phone call comes from a bad guy in some bad part of the world to somebody here in the United States, we want to know who they're contacting and what they're saying. And I frankly don't understand what the objection is. Look, under far less terrible circumstances in the 90's, the previous administration used warrantless surveillance in the United States. And this president, particularly after it was struck on 9/11, had a responsibility to do everything possible as commander-in-chief, and after the declaration by Congress to protect the country. And that's exactly what he's doing.

(end quote)

prying1 sez: I don't want to take credit for Karl Roves point of view. I'm pretty sure he missed seeing my post. But I am glad that he agrees with me and not with Michael Moore and the MoveOn.org group.

Thanks to RadioBlogger for transcribing the interview between Hugh Hewitt and Karl Rove.

The War Against Terrorists IS Being Won!

I love visiting AubreyJ because I know that zip, zip, cut and paste, add a link and a few words of wisdom and I have a new post up.

AubreyJ posted the following in a piece entitled - Sunni rejectionists conducting attacks against Zarqawi and his network -
Baghdad news conference held Thursday, January 26, 2006, Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq - quote -

"The Sunni rejectionists... if you will... are conducting planned attacks against Zarqawi and his network," Lynch said. The Sunni Iraqis were favored under now-deposed dictator Saddam Hussein. Some Sunnis are suspected of carrying out a home-grown insurgency against U. S. and other coalition troops in Iraq.

However, al Qaeda has routinely killed innocent Iraqi citizens during its attacks. That's a situation that Lynch said has galvanized most Iraqis... including home-grown insurgents... against the foreign terrorists.

In fact, Iraqi insurgents have killed six key al Qaeda in Iraq leaders since September 2005. And "recently we've seen significant operations where the local insurgency has turned on the Zarqawi network and forced them out of Ramadi," Lynch said. Ramadi is an Iraqi town in Anbar province.

end quote


prying1 sez:
Are the Iraqi citizens deciding that a group that is willing to murder innocents should be destroyed or at least removed from the country? It looks that way. Perhaps the Muslums in Iraq are learning that it is better to love their children more than to love a 'cause'. (To paraphrase Golda Mier)

Google Can Work the Results!

From Radio Free Asia

An initial search for "Falun Dafa" on Google's U.S. based Chinese language search tool, http://www.google.com/intl/zh-CN/, the Chinese for the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, yielded Falun Gong sites from around the world, where information provided by the movement about its philosophy and practices was freely available.

The same search conducted on the new China search engine, at http://www.google.cn, showed a series of government-sponsored sites criticizing the group as a dangerous and evil cult.

prying1 sez:
So this shows that Google can and does control what shows up in the number one spot on searches.

Then why is it that when anyone typing 'Baby Jesus' in the google.cn website comes up with the BABY JESUS BUTT PLUG in the number one spot! the same happens in the U.S. version of Google. If they care soo much as they say they do then I think they ought to fix this ASAP!

It will be a quicker fix if I write to the Chinese government as opposed to Google's complaint department.

So lets see what happens. Add your voice!

- Google.cn - type in - baby jesus - near bottom right is a long line of question marks. Looks like 13 of 'em - ????'s - Click and type in - # 1 ??? Sex toy! -

If they can and do fix it for China they sure as hell better fix it for English speaking countries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

This subject was the topic of a previous post - Click here for my previous Google and Baby Jesus post

Situation Normal!

The wifey-poo and I went out to dinner tonight. After the meal I pulled a small digital camera out of my shirt pocket and snapped a picture of her. She had not seen it previously because I had just received it as a premium. It is a cheap give-away camera with no flash. Takes great pics in the sunlight but otherwise... She snapped a couple of me too. I won't bother posting them. Pretty crappy pics.

Our conversation concerning the camera turned to her school yard duties. She said that some of the kids at the lower grades school she works for bring little cameras to school. She wasn't sure what to think about it though. Her words were, "The boys take pictures of the girls and the girls take pictures of the boys all the time."

My reply was very anti-PC. I told her that it sounds like nothing to worry about.

Al Qaeda is Losing People's Support!

From The Peninsula
- Qatar's Leading English Daily -

SAMARRA: Hundreds of Iraqis staged a demonstration in the restive city of Samarra yesterday in a show of defiance against Al Qaeda militants they blamed for killing dozens of police recruits last week.
~~~~~~~~
The protesters, estimated by police to number 700 to 1,000 and organised by the Iraqi Islamic Party and Muslim Scholars Association, major forces in Sunni politics, accused Al Qaeda of killing some 40 local men who were hauled off a bus near Samarra last week after leaving a police academy in Baghdad and killed. The killing late last year of the head of one of the city�s main tribal leaders had prompted an alliance against Al Qaeda involving local nationalist insurgents, residents said, similar to movements seen in other Sunni strongholds.

"They should not target civilians," said one local militant who says he speaks for a nationalist insurgent group in Samarra and goes by the name of Abu Mohammed.
~~~~~~~~~
After last week's killing of the police recruits, one resident said: "They will not allow Qaeda members to operate in Samarra any more ... They want to put pressure on them to leave. If need be, they may start killing known al Qaeda members."

prying1 sez: I've always wondered why the Al Qaeda thought murdering people was going to make the masses want to embrace their cause. This, I believe, is a real sign of the Iraqi people coming to realize their independence.

(for readability I changed some punctuation in the quotes. ?'s to "'s)
Hat tip to AubreyJ for the link! -

Words the Media Decides to Change

American Princess has written a wonderful piece about the media changing words in mid sentence of quotes they have in news articles.

A couple quotes:

The recent kerfuffle over Google deciding to cave to China's oppressive government, banning such evil words like "Tibet" and "Taiwan" or the ever nefarious "Tianamen Square" from it's searches, got me thinking about another bit of censoring that's going on, but right here at home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At this point The American Princess gives examples from The Baltimore Sun and the Columbia Spectator. They remove words from quotations and [replace] them with kinder gentler words. Words that might not upset the public the way the original quote would.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But seriously folks, what the heck is wrong with [journalists] today that they've opted to pre-empt not only public debate and the legislature (as the Supreme Court did years ago), but now even majority opinion and have declared "we've decided" on the matter of how all life should be labeled? I'd say they had an agenda, but there's no way the MSM could ever get that organized.

end quotes -

prying1 sez:
Please go read the American Princess Post and be aware that the side that screams the loudest about freedom of speech is also the side that will change the speech of those they disagree with.

CNN Should Love This Event!

Ok, here is the deal. An outfit calling itself 'The World Can't Wait' whose goal is to "drive out the Bush Regime" is calling for a noisy protest rally. It will be held on Jan. 31, the night of President Bush's State of the Union speech.

Quote:

In large cities and town squares across the country, we will rally one hour before Bush's address. At 9:00 PM let the world hear us as we symbolically drown out Bush's lies bring your own noise - drums, pots and pans, musical instruments - your voice. Let taxi horns blare and church bells ring, as we bring our own state of the union message: BUSH STEP DOWN!

endquote -
I guess these knuckleheads finally figured out they cannot give the President the distinguishing honor of being the third impeached president. So now they demand Bush step down? What kind of fools are these people? Do they really think this will have any effect, positive or negative, on the "Bush Regime"?

Oh well! Need more proof these people (I use the term loosely) are Knuckleheads (I don't use the term loosely)? Their website has a list of times and places for people to meet for these noisy, disruptive gatherings. They expect to persuade American public to demand President Bush leave office (I guess they want Cheney in office) by disrupting the lives of as many people as they can.

and catch this - LA: (my local gathering) 5 PM - Gather at intersection of Hollywood and Highland;
6 PM - Bring the NOISE; march and 7 pm rally in front of CNN news station at Sunset and Cahuenga

I thought these guys liked CNN! They seem to be on the same socialistic side. Why would they want to disrupt CNN's operations?

Do they think CNN will be pleased because all they will have to do is poke cameras out the windows.

Yeah! It'll save CNN gas money... They will be thrilled.

Kalamazoo has the right idea. It is a capitalistic event with T-shirt sales and a raffle.

I also noticed in their schedules that much of the festivities are centered around the news coverage. These folks just have a need to be noticed. They want to be in the spotlight.

Well I guess this means of getting attention is a lot easier than working on a talent, practicing hard and trying out for American Idol...

~~~~~~~~~~~

If after reading this you are still self loathing enough to want to attend one of these gatherings the list can be found here. - World Can't Wait - Don't bother looking for me.

Michael Schiavo Marries Longtime Girlfriend

Michael Schiavo, widower of Terri Schiavo, has finally done the right thing by marrying his 'longtime girlfriend', Jodi Centonze.

Nuff said about that.

An interesting side note to the whole Schiavo affair is that ON THE DAY Terri died Michael's lawyers filed the estate request just hours after her passing.

From Lifenews.com -

Terri died just after 9:00 a.m. on the morning of the 31st

By 1:35 p.m., Greer had ruled in Michael's favor to receive Terri's estate.

However, the Empire Journal newspaper reports that Greer's estate order had one major flaw. It erroneously declared Michael Schiavo, not Terri, died that day.

Plus, Judge Greer had the wrong date of death on the papers too.

There is an organization called The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, Inc., and is "A non-profit group dedicated to ensuring the rights of disabled, elderly and vulnerable citizens against care rationing, euthanasia and medical killing"

Also in Terri's memory is Blogs for Terri an excellent site that will give hope to those that support the disabled having the 'right to life'.

Can You Help With This Experiment?

I've an idea that I would like to test out and I need your help. It is sort of an experiment using the imagination. Won't take long I promise you.

First of all I want you to close your eyes.

Now I'd like you to...

Hey wait a minute. You can't read this with your eyes closed. Open 'em.

Oh dang! They can't read the instructions to open 'em.

This experiment might take a bit longer than I thought.

Hope they don't fall asleep.

Now what?

Oh, to heck with this. I'm going to go play freecell.

CD's Don't Last Forever

Just a heads up concerning the CDs you burn for music, pictures, backup files and such. The CD-Rs and CD-RWs you burn are not the same as the pressed CDs you buy in the store. They do deteriorate. In two to five years say some experts. Magnetic storage tapes last a lot longer if you want to save irreplaceable pictures. Depending on the tape quality magnetic tapes can have a life span of 30 to 100 years.

Follows some quotes from an article at Computerworld.com:

"Unlike pressed original CDs, burned CDs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years, depending on the quality of the CD," Gerecke said in an interview this week. "There are a few things you can do to extend the life of a burned CD, like keeping the disc in a cool, dark space, but not a whole lot more."

The problem is material degradation. Optical discs commonly used for burning, such as CD-R and CD-RW, have a recording surface consisting of a layer of dye that can be modified by heat to store data. The degradation process can result in the data "shifting" on the surface and thus becoming unreadable to the laser beam.

"Many of the cheap burnable CDs available at discount stores have a life span of around two years," Gerecke said. "Some of the better-quality discs offer a longer life span, of a maximum of five years."

Distinguishing high-quality burnable CDs from low-quality discs is difficult, he said, because few vendors use life span as a selling point.

To overcome the preservation limitations of burnable CDs, Gerecke suggests using magnetic tapes, which, he claims, can have a life span of 30 to 100 years, depending on their quality. "Even if magnetic tapes are also subject to degradation, they're still the superior storage media," he said.

But he's quick to point out that no storage medium lasts forever and, consequently, consumers and business alike need to have a plan for migrating to new storage technologies.

prying1 sez: Want to score points with your boss? Let him know about this problem of using burnable CDs for storage of company computer backups. If he (or she) is depending on them for IRS or financial files there may be problems down the road.

For your irreplaceable pics? Perhaps hard copies would be best. Or invest in a tape drive...

Get the full story here! or click on the title above.

New E-mail Address Added to PayPal Account

Of course this email I received was a spoof and a scam. I've several a week to deal with.

I did a right click/properties on the link and then cut and pasted the URL into a new, freshly opened Firefox window. What do you know! A PayPal page opens up. At least it looked very much like a PayPal page. In the middle of the page was a link/line saying, "this page has been moved". I right clicked to check the properties and found it was for a JavaScript application. I decided I had better not click this 'just to see what happens'. I don't know that much about JavaScript but I do know that some evil nasty people like to abuse it. I have an anti virus program but...

I sent the email to spoof @ PayPal.com and wondered how many people have clicked on that JavaScript link. The only reason these crooks keep sending phishing emails is because it pays off. It pays off because there are enough people without the knowledge to see the scams for what they are.

I know because I fell for the first one I ever saw. It was with a PayPal spoof letter. Fortunately their use of my account didn't work because they demanded more money than my account would allow. When accessing my account I saw the activity. A quick call to PayPal stopped their attempted thievery.

I'd like to encourage people to spread the word about the dark side of the internet. Especially those that are new to it. On occasion bring up the subject of internet scams with your internet friends in chat rooms and such. Once in a while post a message on the bulletin boards you visit. Co-workers, even those that do use computers might be informed of some of the scams and hopefully in a way that will not scare them away from going online.

The internet is a wonderful source for all kinds of entertainment and information and profit. Sharing a bit of knowledge with those in your circle will help keep it from being profitable to the bad guys.

I would also suggest you put Ted Richardson's Fraud, Phishing and Financial Misdeeds in your favorites and check in once in a while to keep up on scams. The wallet you save may be your own!

Update: A friend at church had gotten the same email. I gave her the spoof @ paypal address to send it to and warned her about other phishing schemes. I added this little update to show that it does work. Sharing a bit of knowledge with your friends will help knock down the number of victims.

Evolution Now Proven to be True!

It will no longer be necessary for the extreme right wing Christian fanatics to try to push their Theocratic agenda in the schools with the so called 'Intelligent Design' theory. Proof of Darwin's theory is now in!

Friendship, friendship!!!

Just had to share this from Ranchoweb.com's Bulletin Board, my picture hosting site. - You might want to make up the tune as you go along. - The sheet music was not posted. - Also, I'm not going to bother with the spell checker on this one! -

Okay everybody...it's Ranchoweb Sing-Along Time!

If you're ever in a jam, here I am
If you're ever in a mess, S.O.S.
If you ever feel so happy you land in jail, I'm your bail

It's friendship, friendship
Just a perfect blendship
When other friendships have been forgot
Ours will still be hot

A-lottle-dottle-dottle-dig-dig-dig
If you're ever down a well, ring my bell
And if you're ever up a tree just phone to me
A-yes-sir-ee
If you ever lose your teeth and you're out to dine, borrow mine

It's friendship, friendship
Just a perfect blendship
When other friendships have been forgate
Gate?

Ours will still be great

A-lottle-dottle-dottle-chuck-chuck-chuck

If they ever black your eyes, put me wise
If they ever cook your goose, turn me loose
And if they ever put a bullet through your brain, I'll complain

It's friendship, friendship
Just a perfect blendship
When other friendships have been forgit
Ours will still be it

A-lottle-dottle-dottle-hep-hep-hep

If you ever lose your mind, I'll be kind
And if you ever lose your shirt, I'll be hurt
If you're ever in a mill and get sawed in half, I won't laugh

It's friendship, friendship
Just a perfect blendship
When other friendships are up the crick
Ours will still be slick

A-lottle-dottle-dottle-woof-woof-woof
hep-hep-hep
a-chuck-chuck-chuck
a-dig-dig-dig
Good evening friends!

Thanks to Papergirl8 for this wonderful ditty. You too can thank her by checking out her eBay items for sale!

An Appeal From Center Right Bloggers

This can be found at - The Truth Laid Bear -

An Appeal from Center-Right Bloggers

We are bloggers with boatloads of opinions, and none of us come close to agreeing with any other one of us all of the time. But we do agree on this: The new leadership in the House of Representatives needs to be thoroughly and transparently free of the taint of the Jack Abramoff scandals, and beyond that, of undue influence of K Street.

We are not naive about lobbying, and we know it can and has in fact advanced crucial issues and has often served to inform rather than simply influence Members.

But we are certain that the public is disgusted with excess and with privilege. We hope the Hastert-Dreier effort leads to sweeping reforms including the end of subsidized travel and other obvious influence operations. Just as importantly, we call for major changes to increase openness, transparency and accountability in Congressional operations and in the appropriations process.

As for the Republican leadership elections, we hope to see more candidates who will support these goals, and we therefore welcome the entry of Congressman John Shadegg to the race for Majority Leader. We hope every Congressman who is committed to ethical and transparent conduct supports a reform agenda and a reform candidate. And we hope all would-be members of the leadership make themselves available to new media to answer questions now and on a regular basis in the future.

There is also a question page where you can post "questions that you think should be answered by the candidates aspiring to be House Majority Leader for the GOP."

prying1 sez:
We need to demand integrity in our elected officials. We also do not need to go on a witch hunt. I would suggest that all voters of either party ask questions about candidates integrity prior to voting. I'm not worried about if they smoked pot in the 60's/70's/80's or even the 90's. But are they honest about it? Do they have transparent humanity or do they try to act like they have no faults.

You Would Think They Would Learn!

I've been following the news concerning the recent Pakistani/Ayman al-Zawahiri missile strike through AubreyJ's site. 'Let him do the work', is my lazy bones idea of getting the news. Well, it works for me.

Anyway, the news at first was we got him (maybe). - AubreyJ is careful to not jump the gun. -

- Then the news on MSM was that we didn't get him and everyone in the village claimed no 'strangers' were around. It was only locals killed. -

- Then the U.S. media (ABC's World News Tonight) goes wild with a U.S. has screwed up, Pakistani "outrage and condemnation" and they made claims that Ayman al-Zawahiri as a target was largely symbolic. Meanwhile NBC and CBS played up Zawahiri's value -

- Then the story comes out that Ayman al-Zawahiri may still be among the dead along with other terrorists. -

- AubreyJ has kept his statements to, "Lets wait and see."

I vote for AubreyJ to take over the reins at the next World Economic Forum (WEF) and any MSM conferences. That way we'll get the tape if Eason Jordan shows up!

Whatever You Do...

Even before running about the blogosphere today my head was filled with things to post about. I just wish my fingers could type as fast as I could think. Except most visitors would get bored long before I finished this post. I only use four fingers and sometimes a thumb on the space bar so this is (fortunately) not possible.

So what is it I think is the most important message I could post today? I saw it at Scotwise.

John Telfer Brown of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia has a wonderful blog filled with humor and spiritual messages that are short, sweet and to the point. Tomorrows message (he is on the other side of the date line.) is about worship. For those of you who disdain any mention of spirituality please hang in a few moments. It might give you some understanding about Christian thinking.

John quotes from the Apostle Paul:

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Colossians 3:17. (ESV)

Often times I hear Christians being called hypocrites but this is really not the word that describes the problem. Hypocrisy is defined: The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

Christians profess a belief in Jesus which should translate into good behaviour according to the precepts Jesus taught. Hypocrisy or hypocrites is not the word that should be used concerning Christians engaging in bad behaviour. These words would really be the term to call someone who claims to believe something he doesn't with the intention of deceiving others. For example I once met a person asking for donations for 'the children'. He had a laminated card saying he was certified to collect money. (I'm a printer. We have a laminator at work. His card did not convince me.)

"What children?" I asked.

"The children in the church." (He saw me carrying a Bible)

I finally pinned him down and found out he was a Mooney. He knew before we started the conversation that I would not donate to his group. His verbiage was that of a true hypocrite set out to deceive for financial gain.

So what about the normal Christian you know. The man or woman at your work. Your barber or hairdresser. Neighbors across the street or the auto mechanic. Are their intentions to fool you about what they believe? In most cases I think not.

When the run of the mill Christian is being called a hypocrite what is really being said? Perhaps most of those using the word concerning these people are saying, "Here is another person that does not live up to the principles and standards set by Jesus' example." In other words, "A sinner".

And why is it they do not live up to those standards? Are the standards too lofty for man to reach? I think not. The real problem is that man (and woman) has a nature separated from God that wants to do it's own self centered thing instead of following that which God's Spirit leads him to do. The story of Jonah is a good example. In Christian terms it is called the 'fallen nature'.

Back to the original Scripture quote: And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

- - - Why is it some people feel torn because they know to do the right thing and either because of fear, anger, pride or some other emotion they fail to do it? Why is it that some people feel torn because they know they should not do the wrong thing but because of lust or greed or some other emotion they go ahead and do it. (Romans 7:15+)

The reason is because sometimes we are not following that simple piece of advice from Saint Paul. "whatever you do, in word or deed"

Worship is giving time and attention to something that is worth the time and attention. It comes from the Old English worth-ship = "to ascribe worth or value to something or someone." learning to live our lives with worship continually emanating from our hearts instead of just 1/2 hour on Sunday mornings will give us the ability to do "everything in the name of the Lord Jesus."

How can we do that? Start with a bit of thankfulness, add a song and let the joy that is resident in our hearts come to the surface. With a bit of practice the unbelievers around us will really go nuts...

Message From Mild Mannered Reporter

I had to bring this up from a previous post's comment section - Thanks to Mild Mannered Reporter of the Rosemead Times -

Supreme Court nominee Alito has been grilled this week by senators questioning his past associations, writings, and decisions. It is time to revisit how they approached another Supreme court nominee.

Let us image for a moment that a Supreme Court nominee had advocated, this week, for the following through writings and speaking engagements: (A). A constitutional right to prostitution and polygamy. (B). Attacked the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. (C). Proposed abolishing Mother's Day and Father's Day and replacing them with a single androgynous Parent's Day. (D). Called for an end to singe-sex prisons on the theory that if male prisoners are going to return to a community in which men and women function as equal partners, prison is just the place for them to get prepared to deal with women. (E). Wrote, "use the Supreme Court to enact `social change....without taking giant strides...the court, through constitutional adjudication, can reinforce or signal a green light for social change." (F). Also wrote, "boldly dynamic interpretation departing radically from the original understanding of the Constitution is sometimes necessary." (G). Advocate universal court-ordered work place affirmative action quotas, even if no discrimination is found.

Surely no Senator would support Alito if he had such views. And surely no president, no matter how outrageous, would nominate such a candidate.

Unfortunately, the hypothetical nominee I have just described is, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. President Clinton nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg on June 22, 1993. A mere six weeks later, on August 3, 1993, the Senate confirmed her nomination by a 96-3 vote.

In conclusion, it is hard to imagine any senator attacking Alito's respectable record with a straight face, while confirming an extremist like Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Cross posted at Rosemead Times.

I would encourage people to go there to leave comments for the Mild Mannered Reporter...

Stolen From Phil's Place - Another Man's Meat -

I was visiting Phils Blog - Another Man's Meat - Which is the best place to go if you want to visit Middle America - and had commented on the Alito trial. The next day I read comments after mine and saw that Jay had made a comment after mine. I will not say I was disgusted or that I threw up because neither happened. I fully expected that ignorance would rear it's ugly head and had prepared myself with facts and logic. - Following is the comment from Jay and my response. -

P.S. Appypollyloggys to Phil for being in the middle -

Jay said...

Glad you're feeling better.

So...You're okay with a justice that believes women and blacks should not be allowed to enter college?

What part of your bible does that cover?
3:19 PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

prying1 said...

Phil - I hope you do not mind my answering Jay -

- I - prying1 - do wish that you - Jay - would get your facts straight before you post comments. The democrat Senators have been IMPLYING that Alito is a sexist/Racist. They have never come out and said it to his face!

Now you might ask, "Why have they not said it to his face?"

Because it is not true!

(Why did Alito's wife leave crying today? - The true reason not the made up one by the MSM!)

The organization he belonged to wished for Princeton to remain a boy's school which at the time was not sexist. At the time girl's wanting to go to a boy's school was considered abnormal. - At the same time we would have considered any boys wanting to go to a girl's school as either a pervert or normal. (Call me any name. I'm not running for office.)

The same organization wished that people who attended Princeton would have the qualifications to attend and not be given special 'points' because of ... (place reason here)

In the mean time I want to know if Senator Biden is a SEXIST and a HOMOPHOBE (a recently made up word that means any one who disagrees with the homosexual lifestyle - prying1's words! not Phils!) which is contrary to any liberal code! - http://www.radioblogger.com/#001293 -

I also want to know Why Joe Biden put on such a show concerning Princton over the last couple of days???

Do the Democrats really belive that Alito is not capable of filling the post or are they afraid that the country might return to the constitutional principals this country was founded upon?

Feinstein Tries To Prove She is Dumber than Boxer!

Ok, here is the setup. Feinstein is grilling Alito about a dissenting opinion he had given in a case concerning the sale of machine guns...

FEINSTEIN: So if I understand this, you essentially said that you wanted to follow precedent, newly established law in this area. And you left a little hedge that if Congress made findings in that law, then that might be a different situation.

If Congress did make findings, would you have agreed that that statute would been constitutional?

ALITO: What I said in the opinion and what I will reiterate this afternoon is that it would have been a very different case for me. I don't think I can express an opinion on how I would have decided a hypothetical case.

FEINSTEIN: It's not hypothetical. I'm just asking you, if there were findings as you said, you might have sustained the law.

ALITO: And I reiterate that...

FEINSTEIN: And I'm just asking you would you have sustained the law...

ALITO: I don't think that I can give you a definitive answer to the question because that involves a case that's different from the case that came before me.

prying1 sez:
I have to wonder if anyone on the Democratic side started crying when this exchange took place...



Thanks to Ann Althouse for the link to the Washington Post Transcript

And a special thanks to Hugh Hewitt for playing the tapes on his show yesterday! I'd suggest going to his website and listening in on his show today or better yet, every day!

Hoax IM Making the Rounds!

- I received the following via Yahoo IM -
Quote -
If someone by the name of itsgarry@yahoo.com (please note - email to this address gets bounced as undeliverable/Not available if you try to sign up with it.) wants to add you to your list dont accept it. Its a virus. Tell everyone on your list because if somebody on your list adds them you will get it too. Tell everyone on your list not to open anything from angell11, tewwtuler, and sassybitch. It is a hard drive killer and a very horrible virus. Please pass this on to everyone on your list. We need to find out who is using these accounts. Sorry for the inconvenience. Right click on your group name of your buddy list and click Send Message to all. Copy and paste this message. Thanks... someone sent this to me so i wanted to let my people know on my list
-end quote -

Some hints as to why this is a hoax:

1.)Accepting someone's request to add them to your buddy list simply copies their information from the IM server to your computer - it does not execute any virus programs.

2:) "If somebody on your list adds them you will get it too." - Fear factor! Always a good motivator to get people to act stupidly quickly. Someone else getting a virus does not automatically give you a virus.

3.)The name itsgarry@yahoo 'at this time' brings up 3 websites with the identical message. Nothing from the Big Virus Clearinghouse companies!

- The following page (Please note sample letter 2!) shows this to be a hoax: - http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/imvirus.html -

prying1 sez:
Hoping this one dies real soon. Be careful out there but on the other hand check out the message before passing it on!

UPDATE: - 1 Feb 06 - I've been getting a lot of daily hits on this posting. Please notify the people who IM'd or emailed this message to you that this is a hoax! Let them know that this is a farce. Make sure they tell those they sent it to that they are idiots and passed on junk info... Whatever it takes get 'em to stop! - I also appreciate comments. - I have to wonder if visits to this page will ever end. (sigh!) - Have a nice day! - :-) - Thanks - prying1

I'd also appreciate it if you leave a comment. Let me know

web_loafer at Sanity's Bluff Said I Could Borrow This One

If you ever hear a truck driver say,

"You'll never believe this,"

Sit down and listen up, it'll be worth your while.

You'll never believe this, but on my return run back to the city tonight, I noticed what looked like a person face down on the shoulder of the road. I stopped as soon as I could get my diesel truck safely over on the shoulder, set the brakes and quickly climbed down to the road. I ran back (well ran may be stretching it a bit, cut and paste, walked quickly, for ran) to see if I could help.

Out of breath, I finally made it to where the person was. Yes it was a person, a man, and the man was obviously inebriated for he was crawling on all fours.

Well, not exactly on all fours... he was using two feet and one hand to crawl down the side of the highway. In his free hand he had one of those Blackberries, Blueberries or whatever they are. You know, those miniature computers with wireless cell phone internet.

It really was an eerie sight. Pitch black night, and a drunk crawling along the side of the highway, using his little handheld's LCD Display to light his way.

I walked along side of him for a short while, but finally had to ask... ... "Excuse me sir, do you need help?"

The drunk stopped crawling and painstakingly slow, sat up and while his head was swaying north to south, slurringly* informed me.

"Nah... I'z got Google Earth mappin me way home."


* - See original post re: slurringly* - *
A big thanks to web_loafer for this one! Click on the header of this post to read the original posting of this or click here to visit Sanity's Bluff more recent postings!

All Quiet on the Sober Front

"The Sober attack predicted for last Friday has not happened, possibly because of the publicity surrounding the potential outbreak."

For those who missed it, the code was cracked in advance of a Sober virus attack. This little 'sleeper virus' would infect a computer earlier on and wait for the clock to tick down to zero hour. It was designed to reach out to a number of websites and download "a more sophisticated version of itself (or it transforms the infected PC into a conduit for spam, pornography, or a host of other malicious uses)." (link to cnet article)

Because of the code being cracked the addresses to be contacted were carefully watched and the virus writer didn't show up.

A couple of quotes from ZDnet Australia:

"It's great! This is good news," Mikko Hypponen, director of antivirus research at F-Secure, said.

"We've been monitoring the locations of the files that infected machines are now trying to download. So far none of them have activated," said Hypponen.

~~~~~~~~~~

"We've not seen anything. This is what we envisioned would happen. Everyone knew about [the imminent attack], and took steps to mitigate the effects. The virus writer is probably running scared. It's great -- everybody in the antivirus community helped each other out. It would be good to do this with more malware," said Mark Toshack, manager of antivirus operations at MessageLabs.

~~~~~~~~~~

But F-Secure warned that now was not the time to be complacent, as the hacker could still try to activate the download routine.

"The Sober guy laid low, but he might publish a little later. We've seen secondary download routines with other variants uploaded by the writer when he's ready -- so perhaps he's still writing it. It doesn't necessarily mean he won't activate the threat in the future."

prying1 sez: Be careful out there. There are 'not nice' people in this world.

Email Forwarding Appreciated

I got this email forwarded to me from my uncle who got it from somebody else that got it from another person that had received it....

~~~~~~~~~

Subject: Thanks for all of the FORWARDS this year!!

As another year will shortly be a memory, my heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me "forwards" over the past 12 months. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.

Extra thanks for the ones that I have to open 15 times to get to the message.

Special thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat dung and roach eggs in the glue on envelopes 'cause I now have to go get a wet towel every time I need to seal an envelope.

Also, I scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason. Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola, because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer drink Pepsi, or Dr Pepper, since the people who make these products are atheists who won't put "Under God" on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave, because it causes cancer.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants, even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

I no longer go to shopping malls, because someone might drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from, nor send packages by UPS, or FedEx, since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer answer the phone, because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer eat KFC, because their "chickens" are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.

I no longer have to buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus, since I now have their recipe.



I no longer worry about my soul, because at last count I have 363,214 angels looking out for me.

Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

I no longer have any savings, because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).

I no longer have any money at all - but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

Yes, I want to thank you so much for looking out for me that I will now return the favor!

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 7 minutes, a large pigeon with a wicked case of diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM (EDT) this afternoon.
I know this will occur, because it actually did happen to a friend of mine's next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Man Denied Equal Rights!

Some one has to tell the political correct crowd that enough is enough. Exporting their nonsense to our British allies is a bit too much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OK, here is the story. Some (unnamed) man in Great Britain has filed a complaint because a GP would not test him for cervical cancer. The man claims to be a hermaphrodite but doctors have found no evidence that this is true. Without a cervix it is a tad difficult to perform a pap smear test. They are dealing with a nut! (They should release this guy's name in the interest of public safety)

So what happens? - quote from Telegraph News - The complaint has caused doctors in the west country practice to spend hours in meetings and writing replies to the local primary care trust over the complaint which began two years ago - AND - "The refusal of one of the doctors to put Mr X on the recall list for cervical screening has resulted in a complaint and, as a result the doctor, practice manager and other practitioners have spent many hours, at the expense of the care of other patients, answering written inquiries.
~~~~~~~
He (Tim Terry, consultant in reconstructive urology, Leicester University Hospitals NHS Trust) said: "There are some people with ambiguous genitalia but I have not come across a man who was normal physically and fertile who was in this inter-sex group. My advice would be to refer the patient to a sexual dysfunction clinic."

A local primary care trust spokesman said: "We have received a complaint as you described and as required, under the NHS complaints procedure, we are investigating along with other complaints from the individual." - end http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/01/16/nsmear16.xml quotes -

prying1 sez: What's the big deal? He wants a pap smear. Tie the man down and smear him all over with pap! Then slap a strait jacket on him. After that, fire the employees at the local primary care trust. - Scheesh! Who is nuttier? This obvious mental case or the idiots working in the local primary care trust.

Hat tip to Blue Star Chronicles - Who hat tips Mark in Mexico

The End of the Story!

My attempt at writing a short story:

He was hiding behind the rock. It was a big rock and it shielded him from the bullets flying his way. He felt safe for the moment but little did he realize that one of his assassins had circled around and above him. He didn't even hear the gunshot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All I need is a beginning and a middle (with some love interest - plus a dog, guitar, mom and a train) and I think I have a million book seller. Anyone want to help me out here?

No WMD's?

I was going to post a bit on how tired I am of the No WMD's complaint from the left. I pulled up a few references through Google and got tired of reading the evidence that a lot of crap has been found. I got tired of seeing evidence that Iraq had several programs to build weapons that would destroy indiscriminately. I got tired of the evidence that Saddam gassed the Kurds.

That the left continually claims to support the troops and then claim that these same troops are only fighting because 'Bush lied', and it is all because of the oil makes me tired. I get tired when evidence is thrown into their faces and they continually whine about "Poor Saddam" having his country taken from him (They don't actually say it but I must assume that if they just wanted the U.N. to pile on more sanctions instead of taking him out through force they must prefer he remained in power.)

As I said I'm tired of it.

BUT! Not too tired to give up and let them take over the blogosphere.

Analyzing both sides of the issue I say Bush did the right thing. Iraq will be a shining example of democracy in the Middle East. This will be the Republican President Bush's legacy. In spite of the naysayers!

Virus Laden Junk Email Starting on the 6th of January?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if they gave a virus attack and nobody bit into it?

The date is drawing near for what might be the next Sober virus attack. Please use caution in opening any emails even if they appear to be from friends.

Some 'Quick Quotes' from Cnet.com's article linked below:

...thanks to another set of researchers at iDefense (link on original page not operative), we think January 5 or 6, 2006, either a Thursday or a Friday--just in time to fill everyone's e-mailbox with junk over the weekend--is the most likely of those dates for that attack to occur. -

Imagine sending a very large and sophisticated virus over e-mail--your ISP or company would certainly stop it dead at the gateway. So, virus writers have started sending out smaller versions that merely infect. Once installed, the small virus then opens a backdoor to call out to the predetermined Web server IP address from which it then loads a more sophisticated version of itself (or it transforms the infected PC into a conduit for spam, pornography, or a host of other malicious uses). -

Most of the Sober variants use a trigger delay; they install quickly but then sleep for a preset period of time before reaching out and contacting the Internet for a new download.

**** Most important lines in the article ****

Prevention
It's important to note that your PC must already be infected with Sober before it becomes a foot soldier in this expected January 5 assault. No infection, no participation. So clean your desktop computer now. For corporate systems, it's also important to create firewall rules that block IP requests to the January 5 addresses. According to F-Secure, the addresses to be contacted on January 5, 2006, include:...
AND ~ AND ~ AND !!!
Unfortunately, many PCs worldwide are connected to the Internet without antivirus protection. I expect to see some activity but not a full-out assault. Either way, keep your antivirus protection primed over the holidays and install a firewall if you haven't already. And don't be too surprised if you find a ton of junk e-mail in your in-box starting January 6, 2006, or you find your e-mail traffic is a little slower. It's Sober.

Hat tip to Papergirl8 - Check out her ebay auctions!

Happy Birthday Louis Braille

I have to admit I really admire some of the folks at Google. At least the ones that come up with the cartoons for their logo. This one dated January 4th 2006:

has a little banner that pops up when you run the mouse across it that says, "Happy Birthday Louis Braille!"
Great imaginations down there at Google will keep it on top for quite a while.

The story of Louis Braille can be found here and is quite an interesting read. Did you know he became blind from a childhood accident with an awl? Later it was with an awl that he perfected the Braille alphabet. I learned something new today.

Amy Proctor Shares a Wonderful Video/Slideshow

This one is a must see. Hope that you have a fast connection because it is 29mbs...

Amy Proctor put together a slide show and called it a New Years Video Salute to Our Troops ~~~~~~~~ Must see and pass this link on. Really wonderfully done. Thanks Amy!!!

P.S. The file is an executable but not to worry. Checks out fine on PC (Don't know about Mac) and starts as soon as you open it. No special programs needed to see it.

hat tip to AubreyJ at AubreyJ.org.

I DID IT!

The most dangerous job if the season is finished. That is, dragging the Christmas tree outside without spilling the water all over.

In times past I've taken old towels and soaked the water out of the tree holder and then watched in dismay as the rags drip a line of water to the kitchen sink. I've crawled under the tree and used a cup to transfer the water to a pot and then spilt the pot as I got tangled in the tree. Plus I couldn't get quite all the water out and spilled some more moving the tree.

This year I said, "To heck with it." Grabbed the tree by the trunk and carried it straight up. Forced it through two doorways and into the back yard. No water on the carpet and only a few drops by the back door. A swiffer took care of that real quick.

They should give out prizes or something for a job well done.

Hey! I have an idea for next year. I'll trim all the branches off and leave the trunk for a coat rack.