Random Thoughts From Marybeth

JFK = Just For Kerry

From a May, 2002 Boston Globe article:

''John is like a first date,'' said one former staffer. ''He's very likable at first glance. But then you find out your date is not paying enough attention, or not thinking about you and is not really around.''

Michael Barone, editor of The Almanac of American Politics and a senior writer for U.S. News & World Report, puts it a little differently: ''This is a man whose world is Louisburg Square, Nantucket, and Georgetown. His demeanor comes across as a person who has a certain amount of contempt for those who do not share his views. They must simply be ignorant or foolish. If he runs for president, I think this is something he has to work on.''

He talks to people and makes it sound as if his concerns are all about them. Don't be fooled, it's all Just For Kerry.

Book of the Bible

You are Proverbs.


Which book of the Bible are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Does this mean I am the proverbial quiz taker?

Visit to Louisville

President Bush is coming to Louisville today. He will be speaking about the economy to workers at ISCO Industries and then attend a fund-raising luncheon at the Galt House East.

Update: During the visit to ISCO, the owner and a few employees talked about how they have seen improvements in the economy and how it has effected the business by allowing them to expand and invest more money in the company. They also talked about how tax credits have allowed them to make purchases or save towards their children's college education. Bush said that by letting people make the decision of what to do with their money, it was better spent than it would have been by Washington.

ISCO is a family-owned business and a discussion of that brought one of the best comments. Bush said, "I love family-owned businesses. Nothing wrong with a son trying to follow in his father's footsteps."

Wictory Wednesday

In a speech to the Republican Governors Association, President Bush said:

Come November, the voters are going to have a very clear choice. It's a choice between keeping the tax relief that is moving the economy forward, or putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people. It is a choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence, or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger. The American people will decide between two visions of government: a government that encourages ownership and opportunity and responsibility, or a government that takes your money and makes your choices.

In January 2004, fifty-thousand Americans contributed for the first time to the re-election campaign for George W. Bush. They made the choice to join hundreds of thousands of other Americans who have donated to the Bush/Cheney campaign because they see something in the leadership of our president that they don't see in any of the Democratic candidates. You have a choice too. If you want to see America continue to move forward with strength and pride, donate or volunteer for the Bush 2003 campaign.

What Cartoon Dog Are You?

What cartoon dog are you?

Brought to you by the good folks at sacwriters.com.

And he likes puns!

Odd But Not Ironic

I read two news articles in a row that used the word "ironically". I couldn't see the irony in either of them. I checked Google News using "ironically" as the search term. Many of the articles used it as a substitute for "coincidentally" or "oddly enough". Don't news rooms have style guides or editors anymore?

I don't pay much attention to things like that in blogs or casual conversations. I do expect more from someone who gets paid for writing. I could lower my expectations, but then I'd have one fewer thing to complain about.

It's Monday, Everything Irritates Me

Here's a suggestion for the Democrats. You need to have an animal run for president. (Not a rat.) The other day I mentioned a woman who said she would vote for a gerbil over Bush. This morning, I read about this woman.

In Washington state, Maria Yurasek says she'd vote for a dog if it could beat President Bush.

This was from an article about people who hate the president. I'll be the first to admit I don't understand their hatred, but I will agree it is intense.

"I've never seen a Democratic Party more unified and more focused, and the anger helps do just that," said GOP pollster Frank Luntz. "The intensity level is just so high. They're using four-letter words to describe him."

In a recent focus group that Luntz conducted for MSNBC, technicians had to adjust the volume levels because the Bush-haters were "so gosh-darn loud" they were drowning out the president's supporters, who were more numerous, Luntz said. "It was a real problem."

I'll assume the "four-letter words" weren't "good" or "hero" (ones I would use.) Disagreement is one thing, showing a total lack of class is another. I thought Clinton was an immoral slimeball but I wouldn't have gone shouting it to his face. Respect the office even if you don't respect the man.

John McAdams, a political scientist at Marquette University, said resentment of Bush is particularly strong among liberals, who already hold three things against him: "First, he's a conservative. Second, he's a Christian. And third, he's a Texan. When you add all of those things up, that invokes pretty much every symbol of the cultural wars."

"It's particularly galling when somebody who mangles his syntax and doesn't pronounce words extremely well and is from Texas beats you," McAdams added.

This by a party that says it promotes tolerance and wants to remove class distinctions. So why then is mispronunciation of words in a New England dialect superior to that of Texas? Sounds like elitism to me.

Pedophiles and Child Molesters

Clayton Cramer writes about an article in the New Jersey Express-Times. The article is about pedophiles and their efforts to separate themselves from being labeled as child molesters.

"Most pedophiles lead a terrible life," Markussen said. "They can't tell anybody about their feelings. They have to fake interest in adults. Many live in social isolation which leads to weirdness."

Leads to weirdness?

Cramer points out that all of this sounds similar to the information put out 30 years ago to promote acceptance of homosexuals.

I've learned to never say never but I don't see pedophilia becoming accepted no matter what kinds of PR they put out. Children tend to have parents. Parents tend to want to protect their children even if it is a "a romantic and emotional, but not always sexual" relationship. You can't convince me that a romantic relationship with a child is going to be anything but destructive for the child.

I don't care if they call it an "orientation". If someone tried this with any of my kids, I would want to hunt them down and shoot them. Consider that my "orientation".

Cookies

I'll be picking up our troops' cookie delivery tomorrow morning. We have to order the boxes by the case and then sort them out according to the sales orders from each girl.

I know that at least one part of Emma's cookie orders will be easy, one case of Tagalongs (12 boxes)...for me!* I probably will be guilted into sharing some of them, but I could easily eat all 12 boxes worth of cookies by myself.

Even though I make lots of cookies at Christmas, I don't usually gain much weight then. I give most of the cookies away...the ones that survive my kids' kitchen raids. The Girl Scout Cookies are another matter. They're boxed and easier to guard (and hide).

I'm just glad we get the cookies now instead of later. This way I have a few months before I have to trade my nice pound-covering winter clothing for shorts and bathing suits.

[*Note: A slight error, the first order I placed with Emma included one case of Tagalongs. I added a second order with a second case because I knew I would end up buying whatever extras I ordered for our booth sale if I didn't get more. I'm told that they freeze well, maybe this time I have enough boxes that I can try that. I'm not usually guilty of gluttony, but when it comes to these cookies....]

Is He Serious?

I haven't written anything because I had a migraine on Friday followed by beal on Saturday. I'm using Susie's word "beal" rather than "ennui" because the problem wasn't that I wasn't interested in anything, I still read the news and visited blogs. I just couldn't summon the mental energy needed to comment on anything.

The first news article I read today was about Kerry's letter to Bush.

As you well know, Vietnam was a very difficult and painful period in our nation's history, and the struggle for our veterans continues. So, it has been hard to believe that you would choose to reopen these wounds for your personal political gain. But, that is what you have chosen to do.

It wasn't Kerry's military service that was being questioned but his record since then. Some people have problems reading/listening for content.

My next visit was to ScrappleFace, just to make sure that some news service hadn't picked up a post from there by mistake. Kerry complaining about Republicans bringing up 30-year-old history for political gain seemed too ironic to be true.

He continues to reinvent his self-image and the current one is as a war hero. It's as if nothing else should matter. He reminds me of the guy who was the star of his high school football team and still brags about it twenty or thirty years later because he hasn't done anything worthwhile since then.

A 2001 Meet the Press interview with John Kerry has this quotation from 1971:

MR. CROSBY NOYES (Washington Evening Star): Mr. Kerry, you said at one time or another that you think our policies in Vietnam are tantamount to genocide and that the responsibility lies at all chains of command over there. Do you consider that you personally as a Naval officer committed atrocities in Vietnam or crimes punishable by law in this country?

KERRY: There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that,
yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other
soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire
zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50 calibre
machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only
weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the
burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of
this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this is ordered as a
matter of written established policy by the government of the United States
from the top down. And I believe that the men who designed these, the men
who designed the free fire zone, the men who ordered us, the men who signed
off the air raid strike areas, I think these men, by the letter of the law,
the same letter of the law that tried Lieutenant Calley, are war criminals.

Some of his actions may have been heroic, these weren't. Blaming "the men who designed these, the men who designed the free fire zone, the men who ordered us" sounds like the Nuremberg defense (I was only following orders).

Read the rest to see how his views changed over 30 years.

Budweiser Donkey

After the Super Bowl, I made a comment that I liked the Budweiser ad with the donkey and the Clydesdales. This was enough to get my post to show in searches by people looking for computer wallpaper showing the donkey.

After seeing several of these referrals I decided to check out Budweiser's site to see if they had anything like that. They had several different wallpaper scenes of the Clydesdales but none with the donkey. I sent them an email telling them that it seemed to be something that people were interested in finding. They replied and said they have no plans to produce a wallpaper from the commercial.

Yankee or Dixie?

A quiz based on results from the Harvard Computer Society Dialect Survey says I'm: "76% (Dixie). That is a pretty strong Southern score!"

(0% is pure Yankee and 100% is pure Dixie.)

I originally posted a link to the survey in August 2002. I remember answering questions for the survey. (Does that skew my quiz results?) There are results for terms and pronunciations in each state. For most of the questions, my answers for each were the same as the majority of Kentuckians who took the survey.

SMCCDI

The Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran is an organization of students inside and outside of Iran, as well as Iranian professionals, who share a vision of a free, independent, democratic, secular and industrialized Iran. For Presidents' Day they wrote a letter to President Bush, a copy of that letter is on their Website.

February 12, 2004
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, DC
Fax: (202) 456-2461

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the Iranian Student Movement and the Iranian Diaspora around the World, especially our oppressed countrymen, we extend our sincerest appreciation for your leadership and efforts to promote long term peace and democratic rule in the World. We also want to use this opportunity to express, once again, our deepest gratitude for your consistent and open support of our people in their quest for true freedom and democracy.

Indeed, your tireless support of our subjugated and tyrannized people has touched millions of Iranians and they view you as an ardent defender of freedom and a source of hope. As one of the few world leaders that fully appreciates and openly supports the aspirations and goals of our subjugated country, we extend our thanks. Let us assure you, as you plan for the conquest of Mars, that you have already succeeded in conquering the hearts and souls of millions of Iranians. It is, therefore, imperative that you are re-elected this November, and you can count on our constant support, and votes, in the upcoming election.

Mr. President, in less than three centuries, America has become the beacon of hope and support for people worldwide seeking freedom and democracy. Embedded in your actions to free the oppressed is, we believe, a deep seated moral basis that is a reflection of America's founding fathers objectives. The moral fiber that you and many of the people in your administration represent is the same democratic principals that the people of Iran desperately want and need. Serving as a model for the world to emulate, America, you, and most of your administration provides inspiration and hope for the future of Iran.

Go read the rest of the letter.

(Found via World Inquiry)

Wictory Wednesday

John Kerry asked why President Bush tried to cut the pay of our troops in Iraq yet it was Kerry who voted against military pay raises time after time.

Under former President Clinton, military pay decreased an average of almost 2% per year relative to Consumer Price Index. Since President Bush took office, military pay increased an average of 5.2% per year relative to Consumer Price Index.

Which message do you think you're more likely to have heard on the evening news?

You can help get the truth out. Volunteer or donate to the Bush 2004 campaign.

The Break

My kids are on day 279 2 of a mid-winter week break from school, day 4 if you count the weekend. My husband took the week off from work too. So, we're all here together. All day. Every day.

I'm fine, really. Happy, happy, happy. All this togetherness is just like watching The Waltons. Maybe in an alternate universe. In this one it's more like living with the Borgias without the brilliance.

We had just been hanging out at home, (We have gone out for meals, I figure, I need a vacation too) but the kids argue and fuss. So I thought that today we would do something fun. We went to a place nearby (The Artist in You at The Summit) where you can pick out a ceramic figurine, plate, mug or other item and paint it. The kids like doing crafts at home, this way they could paint something and have it glazed and fired.

Conor and Emma each picked cat figurines to paint. I picked a small sectioned plate. Trevor, after some encouragement, picked a mug. I know teenagers are too cool to be doing stuff like this, but it's not like anyone he knew from school was around. Half way through, when Conor had made a blotch with his paint and talked his dad into fixing it, he wandered off and read a sign that said it would be a week before he could take home his piece. There was much fussing and complaining about that. This wasn't surprising, Conor will always find something to fuss about. It's seldom serious and he's seldom serious about the complaint he's making. After spending hours minutes telling us he never would have painted anything if he knew it would take a week, he was telling us what pieces he wanted to paint the next time we went there.

Only five more days. I don't even want to think about the next week-long break at the end of March. It's not that I don't love my children, I do. And I like spending time with them. Individually they are great kids to be around, when they get together....

Anyway, I have plans for summer vacation, or at least a week or so of it. The American Camping Association has a Find a Camp search. You can find camps by location, activities, affiliation, and other features. I found some possible ones for Conor and Emma but I couldn't find what I really wanted, a camp for 40-something women that features lots of time for reading and multiple chocolate desserts at every meal.

Not the Sharpest Crayon in the Box

Liberals say that conservatives are naturally less intelligent than they are. Here's an example of keen political thought that we're too stoopid to think of.

"But I'm a Democrat. They could put my grandson's gerbil up against George Bush and I'd vote for him. I do like John Kerry. I admire him and think he can give George Bush a run for his money."

Imagine how happy she must be to have the chance to vote for a rat John Kerry instead of a gerbil.

Wouldn't Want to Work for Him, Won't Hire Him Either

A top New York supporter of Massachusetts Senator John Kerry is saying that the candidate told him he made a "mistake" when he named former president Jimmy Carter or former secretary of state James Baker as possible Middle East envoys in a December speech at the Council on Foreign Relations.

New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Kerry told him that he never intended to name the men in the speech, and that Kerry had blamed the insertion of the names on a staff mistake.

Add one more thing to the long list of things that Kerry and I would not see eye-to-eye on. A good manager/boss/leader credits his employees/staff/followers with accomplishments and takes the blame for all mistakes.

(Link to article via Kausfiles.)

Photo Ops

"This is not a time for photo opportunities, it is a time to create real opportunities in America," he (John Kerry) told a town hall meeting at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau, Wisconsin, after touring a laboratory and posing for photographs with a 40-pound aluminum slab into which a computer-control machine tool etched the words "Wisconsin Backs Kerry in 2004."

The time to complain about another politician's photo op is not during your own and ridiculing Bush's visit to the Daytona 500 is probably not the best way to gain favor with the NASCAR Dads.

It sounds like sour grapes to me. Bush is being cheered by race fans, Kerry is touring a two-year college's lab. Bush gets his picture taken while wearing a racing jacket, Kerry gets his taken while wearing protective goggles. You may not like the president's photo ops but you have to admit he does a better job at picking them than does the senator (and looks better while doing it.)

State Motto

I was reading this over at Left Coast Conservative which sent me searching for Massachusetts' real state motto.

It turns out that it's: Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem (By the sword she seeks peace under liberty) Infoplease has this translation - "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty"

Oh, like fighting to liberate Iraqi citizens? I guess the phrase, "We fought for peace and liberty but other countries that need our help can all go take a hike" is too long to fit on the flag.

It's time for a new state motto.

The Day After

Sometimes Valentine's Day makes you think, "This is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with." Other times it's, "What am I doing with this loser?". If the second one is how you feel you can send a break up e-card.

[Note: Some of the language/images in the cards may offend those with delicate sensibilities...but you wouldn't be looking at something as impersonal as break up e-cards anyway, would you?]

With Friends Like This...

"This is not going to go away," one American friend of Miss Polier said yesterday. "What actually happened is much nastier than is being reported."

John Kerry has said there is no truth to the rumor. Whatever. Let's discuss his votes to cut defense spending and to raise taxes instead. He can tell us why he sponsored a bill to cut $1.5 billion from the CIA budget for intelligence gathering. He says he "wanted the CIA to devote more money to human intelligence and less to technical means ." I don't see how cutting the budget will achieve that and one of the reasons for inaccurate pre-war intelligence was due to misleading reports from people who had left, or wanted to leave, Iraq. Let's talk about "standing up to" special interests.

Check out the website of Kerry's opponent, Michael Cloud, in the last (2002) senate race for his thoughts about the senator from Massachusetts.

Military Service

While the documents about President Bush's National Guard service may not put an end to questions, they do contain some interesting quotations. (From The New York Times)

In November 1970, the commander of the Texas Air National Guard, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, called Mr. Bush, then 24, "a dynamic outstanding young officer" who stood out as "a top-notch fighter interceptor pilot" mature beyond his age.

"Lt. Bush's skills far exceed his contemporaries," Colonel Killian wrote in recommending that Mr. Bush be promoted to first lieutenant. "He is a natural leader whom his contemporaries look to for leadership. Lt. Bush is also a good follower with outstanding disciplinary traits and an impeccable military bearing."

I'm fairly tired of this whole thing. I believe he fulfilled his duties then but whether he did or not is a non-issue for me. I don't think that he should have to produce evidence in his defense. (I feel the same way about Kerry and the accusations made against him.) The burden of proof should be on the ones making the charges.

The only part of Bush's military service history that is of any interest to me now is how he has served in his most recent position, Commander-In-Chief. Under his leadership, our military freed millions of Iraqis from a brutal regime. His actions have influenced changes in countries including Libya, Iran, and Pakistan. Sounds like a damned good service record to me.

A Bit of Pi

You can search the first 100 million digits of Pi for any string of numbers (up to 120 digits.)

My birthday (mmddyy) is at postition 1246500. My social security number isn't there but both my home phone number and cell phone number are (as long as I leave out the area code.)

Number Length Chance of Finding
1-5.....100%
6.....Nearly 100%
7.....99.995%
8.....63%
9.....9.5%
10.....0.995%%
11.....0.09995%

Mmmmmmmm, Chocolate

Make Chocolate Indulgence Cake to share with your Valentine.

1 cup bittersweet chocolate (you may also use 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips) 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/2 flour chocolate sauce (Hershey's syrup) fresh raspberries

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Put the chocolate, butter, and sugar in the top of a double boiler and heat just until melted. (I do this in the microwave and it's worked fine. Heat it for about half a minute in a microwave safe bowl, stir. Heat a bit more, chocolate should still look lumpy. Stir until it's all melted.) Add eggs and whisk until blended. Mix in flour.

Lightly grease small molds, ramikins or muffin cups. I've used the disposable aluminum muffin cups and they've worked well. I didn't need to grease them either. (Luckily for me, since I forgot to do it the first time I tried the recipe.) Pour batter into the molds. You will need four 4-ounce molds. Because the dessert is very rich, you can use smaller molds and make more of them and still have a nice dessert.

Place the molds on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Do not over bake.

Invert molds on individual serving plates. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and top with fresh raspberries. Serve immediately.

This is a very easy recipe even for someone with minimal cooking skills. It doesn't require much time to prepare, especially if you melt the chocolate in the microwave and the results are...well, try it and see for yourself.

Soldier Arrested

Soldier Accused of Trying to Aid al-Qaida

A National Guardsman was arrested Thursday and accused of trying to provide information to the al-Qaida terrorist network, the Army said.

Defense officials speaking on the condition of anonymity said Spc. Ryan G. Anderson, 26, signed onto extremist Internet chat rooms and tried to get in touch with al-Qaida operatives, offering the organization information on U.S. military capabilities and weaponry.

It is unclear how the government got wind of his alleged offer, but authorities began monitoring his communications, the officials said. It does not appear he transmitted any information to al-Qaida, the officials said.

Anderson, from Lynnwood, became a Muslim during the last five years, officials said.

...Anderson is the second Muslim soldier with Fort Lewis connections to be accused of wrongdoing related to the war on terror.

Dante placed traitors in the ninth circle of hell because the betrayal of people to whom you have ties is one of the greatest evils.

The Race

According to a Knight Ridder article, President Bush will be going to the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

That's not why I put this post in the "Amusing" category, this is: Imagine John Kerry at a NASCAR race.

Google Bails on Oceana Ad

Google removed the AdWords listing for the environmental group Oceana. The ad appeared for two days when searches were made for "cruise" related terms. The ad said, "help us protect the world's oceans" and linked to their site which accuses Royal Caribbean Lines of polluting the ocean. The removal of the ad does not affect the search engine results.

Oceana believes the ad removal is unfair and that Google was probably pressured by Royal Caribbean. Both companies deny the accusation. According to Google their ad policy prohibits ads that criticize another company.

Google AdWords begin showing immediately once they are submitted and are reviewed within the next few days so having the ad show and then be removed doesn't indicate a change in opinion or policy. It isn't the first time, nor will it be the last, that an ad was removed. As far as I'm concerned, Google is a privately held company (for now, anyway) and can refuse to display any ad they choose.

According to the article:

Oceana's ad probably would be accepted by Yahoo!, which operates a similar online marketing program through its Overture subsidiary. Overture accepts critical ads, as long as they aren't obscene or libelous, said company spokeswoman Jennifer Stephens. "We see it as a freedom of speech issue," she said.

I don't see it as a "freedom of speech" issue. Google is not the government. I do see it as a freedom issue. Oceana can say what it wants but Google has the freedom to decide whether or not to provide a platform for that speech.

Drudge on Kerry

The Drudge Report claims Time magazine, ABC News, the Washington Post, The Hill, and the Associated Press are all investigating rumors of an affair Kerry had with a campaign intern. (Link first found via Paul.)

It's already creating a buzz on the John Kerry forum. The most popular theory there so far seems to be that the Clintons are behind the rumor so Hillary can step in and "save" the party. The Dean forum seems a bit happier ecstatic about the news. More than a few posts there also wonder if the Clintons are behind this.

How bad is it when people from your own party assume you're (the Clintons) behind this news?

Mentioned on the Dean forum:

"Inside Track" reports, Kerry's "secret life" is "splashed on the cover of this week's National Enquirer." But while details "are a big yawn for longtime Kerry watchers, the rest of the country may find it rather entertaining!" The "Special Enquirer Investigation" starts "with an old galpal's claim that "Kerry "is so vain, he 'always wanted to make love where he could see himself in the mirror.'"

I really didn't need to know about the mirror thing.

Devilish

When I did a Google search for my younger son's name (is it still a vanity search if you're looking for your kid and not yourself?), the second site listed was a result from a site called Devilfinder.

How appropriate. Not that he's a bad kid but he has his demon moments, and enough of them, that I almost wondered if we were now being indexed by personality types.

PETA Meat- A Tasty Treat!

PECA, the People Encouraging Carnivorous Appetites, rolled out a new campaign aimed at informing our nation's carnivorous creatures that members of PETA (People for the Ethical treatment of Animals), are a tasty and nourishing dietary alternative to other forms of wildlife. The new organization, comprised primarily of livestock producers, meat processors, fur ranchers, and hunters, has been passing out informational literature and posting billboards encouraging bears, cougars, wolves, coyotes, and birds of prey to stop eating their fellow creatures and to give animal rights activists a try.

Read the rest at Broken Newz. Just because it's humor doesn't mean it's not a good idea....

Photos to Go

Sprint PCS Vision customers soon will be able to have their cameraphone photos printed professionally through a partnership announced Tuesday between Sprint Corp. and Fuji Photo Film U.S.A.

The service will allow Sprint customers to send their photos to the Picture Mail Web site, edit them and forward them to a Fujifilm retailer for printing. Customers will be able to select a local retailer where they can pick up the prints in as little as four hours.

I couldn't find anything about this yet on Sprint Picture Mail website. I did have fun playing with the built in picture editor though.

Camera phones are handy for taking pictures to email or post on a blog but the resolution isn't high enough for prints. According to the article, 1-megapixel phones will probably be available by the end of the year though.

I'll probably be ready to upgrade my phone by then. Note: being ready is no where near the same thing as being able to afford to upgrade.

(Link to article found via picturephoning.com.)

Wictory Wednesday

Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, dozens of bloggers ask their readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush 2004 campaign.

You can volunteer at the Bush/Cheney '04 site. All they ask you to do once you sign up is to write letters to your area newspaper editors, call radio talk shows, and to send emails to friends to recruit them as volunteers or ask them to register to vote. The best part is you don't have to wear an orange hat like the Dean volunteers in Iowa wore! Another option for volunteering is to contact your local GOP headquarters and volunteer there.

Consider making a donation. You can do it throught the official Bush/Cheney site or through Amazon.com.

Anti-Bush organizations have claimed to plan on spending $400 to $500 million dollars to promote their agenda. This is above and beyond what the Democratic candidate will spend on his campaign. Donate to the Bush/Cheney campaign fund and support the man that the terrorists don't want to see re-elected.

Sharing and Selling Personal Data

Myria has thought provoking comments about privacy. Or the lack of it. She makes some good points about how much information we give away to businesses when we have no idea what then need or want it for.

I left a comment on her blog but thought I would add a few more comments here. What I wrote there was already starting to get longer than I wanted.

I used to work for Radio Shack. Probably one of the best known businesses for collecting information. Employee performance wasn't judged just on sales, the percentage of names and addresses counted too. This was used by Radio Shack to build their flyer mailing list and wasn't given or sold to other companies.

Customers (unless they were paying by check) could refuse to give their name and address but since each store paid a percentage of their sales to the company for advertising it was important for the managers to make sure their customers were on the mailing list. Some let it become too important and alienated customers.

Radio Shack quit asking for that information a while back for most sales. Sales that require a credit check (cellular phone and satellite dish service subscriptions) still need to know a lot about you. In those cases it's the company that provides the service that wants the information. Considering the number of people who default on monthly payments, I can see why they want to be as careful as they can.

Those are both luxuries, if you don't want to give the information they need, don't buy the product. (You can still get a pre-paid cellular phone without having to give your social security or driver's license number. You will need to give your name, address, and phone number.)

I think there is a big difference between providing this information and when businesses ask for a phone number as in Myra's Toys R Us example. If you don't want to give out information, if you want to know why they need it, if you want to know whether they share or sell it, ask the sales clerk. If (big IF) he knows, they should tell you. Then you can make an informed decision. Just ask nicely, the person on the other side of the counter is only doing the job he was told to do. Give him a little credit for trying to do his job even if you don't agree that the company should be requiring him to ask for your information. More companies have lost my business from employees not wanting to do their job (in other areas than asking for my phone number, obviously) than have lost it from wanting too much info about me.

Just because I believe there are legitimate reasons for businesses to ask for personal data doesn't mean that I think they should be able to buy and sell it. I would like to see stronger controls on information brokers. Consumers also need to be more careful When you're filling out a form, look to see if it mentions sharing information and whether or not you can opt out. Ask questions, make informed decisions.

In recent years some changes have been made to protect your privacy. DMVs are no longer allowed to sell or share your information (there are exceptions). They used to be among the worst at selling information.

Rules on patient privacy limit what information your health care provider can share and to whom it can be given.

More needs to be done, but it's a start.

Type your phone number into Google. If you're listed in the phone book the first result will be your name, address, and maps showing how to get to your house. You can opt out.

Soople

Sometimes it's easy to forget that Google offers more than simple searches it (usually) does so well. Soople presents many of the extra Google functions on one simple to use browser page.

You could do this just as easily using the Google Toolbar but Soople could be very useful to people who aren't familiar with all the Google features, don't know the required syntax for some of the searches, or for those that prefer not to add any additional toolbars to their computer.

Associated Press

This is the news Web site of the Associated Press, its member newspapers and broadcasters.

To get the latest news from the AP and a member Web site, click on the state and select a member from the list. To close the menu, click on the state again.

Below this is a graphic of the United States. Click on any state to choose a newspaper and read the same stories that are in every other paper linked to from the site. Wheeee!

It's the AP site, it seems that it would be simpler just to have a page of the latest news and a sidebar list of links to the newspapers. I'm sure there's a purpose for designing it the way they did. If you know what it is, please tell me.

Diogenes Needn't Look Here

I was reading an article about how John Kerry's request of an annulment of his first marriage to Julia Thorne had upset her. I can see why it took her by surprise, they were separated in 1984, divorced in 1988, but it wasn't until a few years later that she received a letter from the Church notifying her that Kerry was asking for their marriage to be annulled.

Anyway, that's just background to what I really wanted to say. Reading that article led me to others, some of which mentioned that during his time between wives Kerry dated Morgan Fairchild.

I can't help it. When I read that I could hear Jon Lovitz's SNL character (Tommy Flanagan) the pathological liar saying, "Yeah, that's the ticket."

I'm not implying that I think Kerry is a pathological liar when I link him with that charater. Pathological liars are compelled to tell lies even when the lies serve no purpose. Kerry on the other hand simply changes his idea of what truth is according to what is politically best for him.

The legend of Diogenes says that he walked through the marketplace of Athens in broad daylight, with a lantern, looking for an honest man.

Strawberry Jam

In a few short hours my Brownie co-leader and I will be helping our troop make strawberry jam.

The recipe looks easy enough. Then again, I always think that the activity I have planned seems easy enough for them while being challenging enough to keep them interested. I have been surprised before at the amount of chaos they can create out of something I thought was fairly simple.

My co-leader usually doesn't know ahead of time what activity I have planned. One day she's either going to throttle me or have me committed.

[Update: Overall out jam project went well. We finished within the hour we have for our meeting and all the girls seemed pleased with what they had made. The biggest problem was that they didn't want to wait the 24 hours called for in the recipe before they tried their jam.

I left the potato mashers we needed to crush the berries at home by mistake...I always seem to leave something behind. Since it's not the season for fresh strawberries I had gotten a large bag of frozen ones. I premeasured about 2 cups worth into each of two separate gallon zippered plastic bags (we were making two batches) and set the bags in the refrigerator to thaw yesterday. We just had the girls knead the bags for a bit to mash up the berries. This worked really well with the thawed berries (probably less messy than using the mashers) but would have been much more difficult with fresh berries.]

See continue reading for the recipe.

No-Cook Strawberry Jam
Use fully ripe strawberries at room temperature to help the sugar dissolve. Do not reduce the sugar or use sugar substitute in this recipe. This recipe yields 4 cups of jam.
1 quart fresh fully ripe strawberries (which will yield 1 3/4 cups crushed strawberries)
4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pouch Certo liquid pectin
1. Rinse strawberries in cold water and hull. Crush berries, one cup at a time using a flat casserole-type dish and a potato masher or use a food processor. If using a food processor, pulse to chop, do not puree or liquefy. Jam has bits of fruit.
2. Measure 1 3/4 cups crushed fruit and place in a large bowl.
3. Measure sugar into a separate bowl. Use a one-cup dry measuring cup and scrape extra sugar off the top of each cup to level exact measure. Stir sugar into crushed strawberries.
4. Set strawberry and sugar mixture aside for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to help dissolve the sugar.
5. Next empty contents of one pouch of liquid pectin into a small bowl. Using a fork, stir in lemon juice. Mix well.
6. Add pectin mixture to strawberry mixture. Stir constantly for 3 minutes. A few sugar crystals may remain.
7. Fill one to two cup freezer containers with strawberry mixture to within 1/2 inch of the top. Wipe off top edges of containers and cover with lids. Let containers stand at room temperature for 24 hours. The next day your jam is ready to eat. Label and date containers. Place in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. After opening, store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Hooking

CrochetPatternCentral.com is a directory of crochet pattern links. Some are recent, many patterns date back to the 70s or earlier. It also has a basic "how-to" section with tutorials and illustrations of everything from how to hold the crochet hook to basic and advanced stitches.

I'm putting this link here so I can find it easily again (my bookmarks are a jumbled mess) in case I develop the patience to try to teach crocheting to my Brownie troop.

Family Ties

Famous cousins of John Kerry and George W. Bush. See how each is related to famous people including Bette Davis, Brigham Young, General Robert E. Lee, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (as we saw earlier, neither got the gene for poetry), Napoleon, Princess Diana, Walt Disney and many others along with a list of U.S. Presidents and Vice Presidents.

Sampler Platter

Things I found interesting or amusing during my first morning rounds of blog visits today:

Joe from Life at the Frontier writes about the spell checker in Blogger.

What I found most astonishing, however, was that it did not recognize the words 'blog', 'blogger' and 'blogging'.

Debbye of Being American in T.O. has been covering reactions to comments made by Don Cherry (hockey commentator for CBC). Earlier comments were here. She does a good job of explaining what is happening so I blame it on my lack of understanding of Canada that I don't understand why the Languages commissioner is investigating this. Is "languages commissioner" Canadian for "PC police"? I have trouble listening to sports commentators, their cliche filled blather makes my ears go numb. Personally, I would be happier to hear someone talk who has something unique to say.

GDay Mate offers this bit of humor:

A recent Harris On-line poll 38562 men across the US were asked to identify woman's ultimate fantasy.

97.8% of the respondents said (correctly) that a woman's ultimate fantasy is to have two men at once.

While this has been verified by a recent sociological study it appears that most men do not realize that in this fantasy one man is cooking and the other is cleaning.

I'm easily satisfied, one for cleaning would be enough. I like to cook as long as there's someone else who will clean up afterwards.

The Bejus Pundit quotes a Dean supporter from the democraticunderground.com who is ready to ignore the presidential election if Dean isn't nominated. Thank you, Donnie, for risking your sanity and blood pressure by visiting that forum so we don't have to.

The blog quebecois writes about the poetry of John Kerry. Yes. Poetry. Read the post, see the example, but be warned, an Ivy League education doesn't guarantee good poetry. My second-grader could do has done better.)

Now that I've shared these I really need to do some work on JoeAnt, some (ick) housework, and plan what I'm going to have my Brownies do during our meeting tomorrow. We're working on a couple of Try-It badges that have to do with food and cooking. We have our meetings in a school classroom so our food preparation is limited to no-cook things. I'm thinking of having them make no-cook strawberry jam. The recipe looks easy enough and the red jam would make a nice Valentine's present for their parents. Maybe I can find some lace ribbon to tie around the jars.

Proud To Be an American

Some of the strongest pro-American sentiments I've heard expressed are from people who moved here from another country. They are aware that our country isn't perfect but through their life experiences, they realize the opportunities here are pretty damn good.

One would think that the very wealthy, with their access to good education and ability to travel, would come to similar conclusions. Instead these are the people who are often disdainful of America.

It could be that when they travel, because of their wealth, they are treated to a version of the country they are visiting that the citizens there (and regular travelers) don't ever see. The people they meet there are from a similar social group whose desire to continue their style of life motivates them to present a distorted view of their country. Any "average citizen" they meet has been preselected in the knowledge that they will promote the desired propaganda.

Still, even without comparing the United States to other countries, shouldn't they see that our country offers amazing opportunities to those that want to work for success? No one is locked into the social or financial position in which their parents lived. It may be a harder struggle for some than for others, but the opportunities are there.

Maybe it's because these people have never had to struggle, never had to develop the determination it takes to achieve something that seemed, at first, beyond their grasp. They've had everything handed to them and don't understand that people succeed, not by getting handouts, but by learning to set goals, then breaking the goals down into smaller managable steps, and by having the inner strength and determination to take care of themselves.

You don't have to close your eyes to imperfections in America, just don't close them to what is right.

I Never Thought I Would See...

...a house more cluttered than mine.

Miserable Failure

The number one ranked result in Google for "miserable failure" is Michael Moore.com. Number one for "miserable failure" on AlltheWeb is Dean for America. Dean's biography page also makes the first page of "miserable failure" results on Google.

Effects of the original Google Bombing still linger on, George Bush remains in the list of first page results. Other top finishers are miserable failures Hillary Clinton and Jimmy Carter. The other first page results are articles discussing Google results for this search term.

In case you're wondering, Maureen Dowd is (still) a poodle and George Bush is a hero.

Sound Search

FindSounds (owned and operated by Comparisonics Corporation) is a search engine for sound effects and musical instrument samples.

Files with obscenities are filtered out so the search engine is family friendly. Each result includes information such as file size, channels (mono/stereo), sample rate, and a waveform graphic. There is also a link to find similar results.

See a list of example searches.

Democratic Deceit, Distortion, and Dissimulation

Michael Reagan offers some comments on John Kerry. He agrees that Kerry's war record is impressive but calls his post-war activities "shameful". The media ignore this while letting Kerry and Terry McAuliffe get away with questioning Bush's service record.

Look at it this way. Suppose the Republicans were to compare Kerry's activities when as a war hero he came home and turned on his country to those of another genuine war hero who also turned on his country after heroically serving it.

Can you imagine how the media would react if the Republicans were to compare the turncoat hero's record to John Kerry's, a war hero who also turned on his country and gave aid and comfort to the enemy.

If they so much as mentioned the name of Benedict Arnold - the wounded hero of the Battles of Freeman's Farm and Saratoga that destroyed a British army and eventually helped win the Revolutionary War, and then betrayed his country - in the same breath with John Kerry, the media would go crazy. They would rightly say that it would be a vicious slander. But no Republican would even think of doing such a vicious and slanderous thing.

Just as it is now a vicious and slanderous lie to suggest that George W. Bush, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces served less than honorably while in the Air National Guard thirty years ago.

I would never slander Benedict Arnold by comparing him with Kerry.

Hero

Pvt. Dwayne Turner of the 101st Airborne Division was awarded the Silver Star yesterday.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Pvt. Dwayne Turner was inside his Humvee in Iraq when the grenade hit, the shrapnel eating into both his legs. He stood up bleeding. In the haze of battle, Turner, a combat medic, still managed to treat 16 comrades while gunfire kept coming.

Turner, 23, of Indianapolis, only quit when a fellow soldier saw him losing blood, pushed him against a wall and administered morphine. By then, Turner also had been shot in the leg and arm.

At least two of the soldiers he treated would have died without medical care. Turner said that he doesn't consider himself a hero, "I just figured everybody was going to come home and nobody was going to die on my watch."

He sounds like a hero to me.

Chocolate Fudge Soda

The Turkey and Gravy soda that was made by Jones Soda Company last Thanksgiving didn't sound very appealing to me. The Chocolate Fudge Soda they are selling for Valentine's Day sounds much more promising.

Personality Disorder Test

I found the link to this from Sirman on the Mount.

I do like daffodils though.

93 Years Today

Happy birthday, President Reagan.

Amazon Donations

I had seen the page where Amazon is processing donations to political candidates about a week or so ago. At that time the only ones you could donate to through it were the Democratic and third party candidates, the Bush donation feature was still pending so I didn't bother posting the link to it.

This morning I saw a post on Instapundit:

THIS IS INTERESTING: You can donate to Presidential candidates, not just bloggers, via Amazon now. You can see how much each has raised, too. Bush is currently way behind Kerry, Clark, and Edwards. Here's an easy "horserace" item for bored political journalists!

I'm not surprised that the donations to Bush are less than the other candidates, his link has only been up for three days while the others have been there for a week longer. The average amount for each donation to Bush has been $44.55 while the next highest average is a virtual tie between Edwards ($36.58) and Kerry ($36.21). Other donation averages are: Clark ($29.27), Dean ($28.83), and Kucinich ($19.61).

You can also shop at the George W. Bush store on his website. Who doesn't need some leather coasters?

Carlie Brucia

Carlie Brucia's body found; murder charges filed

Sad news but not surprising. Once they had the suspect, Joseph P. Smith, in custody but didn't know where Carlie was, I didn't think the chances were good that they would find her alive.

Something like this is every parent's worse nightmare.

Keyboard Practice

There's a game that tests your touch typing skills. Letters appear from the right side of the screen and you need to type that letter to make it explode. It's a good way to practice typing...at least it beats the old typing exercises I did back in high school.

The letters all show as capitals but you can type in caps or lower case.

Worth 1000 Words

Disregarding Detroit

From the Detroit Free Press - Michigan's caucus is Saturday but you wouldn't know it from the attention, or lack thereof, that it's getting from the candidates. Clark and Edwards "wrote off campaigning in Michigan before Saturday's caucuses to focus on Tennessee and Virginia primaries Tuesday."

Polling of likely caucus voters show that Kerry, who will spend only Friday in Michigan, has the greatest amount of support (58%). When you have that much of a (potential) lead, I guess you can take the state for granted.

Best quotations in the article are:

"You can't diss us in the winter and expect to come back and kiss us in the fall," he (Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) said.

(Edwards)"Skipping a visit to Michigan is a mistake. The populist message for the black community and his focus on issues appeals to young, college-educated women," said Sarpolus.

Edwards' (the Breck girl) appeal to young women is because of his focus on issues? I would agree, to the same degree that Britney Spears' appeal to young men is due to her singing talent.

Democrats on the Issues

Online News Hour has a list of questions on 14 issues that they asked the Democratic primary candidates. You can either read the list of questions with each candidate's answers or take a quiz that shows only the question and answers without showing who each answer belongs to. The point of the quiz is to "Learn about the candidates through their platforms, not their personalities."

I tried to take the quiz but didn't get past the first question (the order the questions come in is random). There was no choice labeled "none of the above".

Wictory Wednesday

Blogs for Bush has a list of things that George W. Bush has done for America. There is also a new donation drive for the Bush-Cheney '04 re-election campaign.

Donate any amount you can ending in 4. $4, $14, $24, $54, $64, $104…. whatever you can.

We can’t let the Democrats take the White House. Donate today!

Do it now while you're thinking about it. It will only take a few minutes. The blogs, news, and other websites will still be here waiting for you.

Benefits: Part 4

I meant to do this before the Superbowl last Sunday as part of my listing of benefits from NASA.

Down, set, hike! NASA will be at the Super Bowl. You will not see the players in space suits. NASA made the material used in the helmet padding. Helmets are one of the most important pieces of safety equipment.

...The outside of a football helmet is made from plastic used in astronaut helmets.

Not That I Needed a Quiz to Tell Me...

Where do you fall on the liberal - conservative political spectrum? (United States)
brought to you by Quizilla
(Link found on Drumwaster's Rants.)

I've Got You Under My Skin

Body Worlds, anatomical exhibitions of real human bodies created by Gunther von Hagens.

Von Hagens uses a "plastination technique replaces bodily fluids and fat with reactive polymers, such as silicone rubber, epoxy resins, or polyester."

Plastinated specimen are dry and odourless; they retain their natural surface relief and are identical with their state prior to preservation down to the microscopic level; even microscopic examinations are still possible.

His work isn't just for students of anatomy, he has a traveling exhibition (now in Frankfort and Singapore). According to the March 2004 issue of Discover Magazine, displays include a "figure labeled Muscle Man (who) stands upright, flayed bare and proudly dangling his full cloak of skin from one hand. 'Reclining Woman in the Eighth Month of Pregnancy' is...a Venus-like figure lying on her side, gazing at the viewer and casually displaying her opened midsection to reveal a fully developed fetus."

Not all of the exhibits are this sensationalistic but those are probably the ones that have caused over 13 million people in Europe and Asia to pay to see the exhibition. The show hasn't been to the U.S. but Von Hagens would like to bring it here.

For those who can never get enough attention, the site tells how to donate your body. There is also a shop (no, you can't buy bodies or body parts) and computer wallpaper. (See "Continue reading" for one example.)

[I thought that the Discover Magazine article I read about this seemed to approve of Von Hagens' exhibit. AZCentral has an article on Von Hagens with a different viewpoint.]

Me Too!

My desk seems to be unusually attractive to cats today. Zoe took her place her long enough for a photo. When no cat treats were offered, she left in disdain.

Cats do "haughty" well.

Zippy hasn't come to visit my desk because he's been napping in "his" chair. How he can lie like that, much less sleep, is beyond me.

Rat Bastards

The PETA Principle: Lab Rats Over Sick Children

PETA's habit of placing lab animals above human life is so extreme that the group's president and co-founder, Ingrid Newkirk, is on record stating: "Even if animal research resulted in a cure for AIDS, we'd be against it." And Newkirk's group has supported the violent destruction of scientific research facilities. In its IRS filings, PETA has admitted funneling over $70,000 to Rodney Coronado, a convicted arsonist who burned down a Michigan State University research lab.

My niece has pet rats. I've had pet mice along with a variety of other rodents (along with dogs, cats, fish, birds, a snake, and turtles). Rats are cute and can be both affectionate and intelligent. I would come down with both feet on anyone who mistreats or abuses a pet of any type but putting the value of an animal's life over that of a human's is extreme.

We are responsible for the welfare of animals but not at the expense of human lives. How much do you have to hate humanity, and by extension yourself, to think that the life of a rat is worth more than that of a child?

Zelda Helps

Zelda contemplates which is the best place to be while I'm trying to write, on my desk or in my lap. In my lap makes typing awkward. One hand should always be petting the cat. (Her rule, not mine.) Any other movement is barely tolerated. On the desk (as shown in picture) can make seeing the monitor difficult. (Tell it to the paw.)

You can't reason with an animal whose ancestors considered your ancestors to be dinner.

Human...I've Been Called Worse

You're a Human! Inquisitive and mellow, you're an
explorer at heart.


What Star Trek Race Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Quiz found via Paul who was gone for a few days but now is back. About damn time.

War Weary

Weary of hearing about a war that we withdrew from thirty years ago, that is.

First there were comparisons of the war in Iraq with the Vietnam war. Yes, both were foreign wars and in both the enemy used/uses civilians as combatants. The similarities end there. The purpose and the handling of the two wars differs greatly.

Currently Kerry, who by the way served in Vietnam, is touting his experience as proof of something. I'm not really sure what it proves. His war record is compared to Dean's (went skiing), Bush's (National Guard), and Edwards' (too young to serve). The pissing contest between Kerry and Clark regarding who did what/was wounded more often seems to be a draw.

It's been almost 30 years since we withdrew. How someone handled the call to service is interesting as background information. It may give some insight into what type of person they were and how they faced a challenge three decades ago. It doesn't tell me much about who they are today. I've changed since then, I would be concerned about anyone who hadn't. If you are the same person with the same views and opinions when you reach middle age as you were when you were in your teens or twenties, you need to get out more.

What I do want to know is, are you going to keep me, my family, and my country safe? How much of my money do you plan to take in taxes? What I want to know about is the here and now. Talk about the past just makes me think you have nothing more recent to offer.

I'm not saying that the Vietnam war is insignificant to anyone who remembers it. I still keep my VIVA POW/MIA bracelet in my desk drawer. (It wasn't until a couple of years ago, thanks to the Internet, that I was able to find out what happened to the man whose name is on my bracelet.) I'm just saying it shouldn't be a main issue of this campaign.

Play Pablo

Mr. Picassohead

Superbowl

We ate dinner during the beginning of the game. Chili, hot wings, potato skins, mozzarella sticks, and chili con queso (got the last from Tumbleweed)...save the nutritious meals for another night. Cake for dessert, part of an early celebration of Trevor's birthday (it isn't until the 5th). We gave him his presents; a phone, an EB gift card, and a DVD.

Watched the game. Yawn. I'm not a football fan. I picked the Patriots because I liked their uniform colors better.

Watched the commercials. You can see them at iflim.com too. I liked the Budweiser ones, especially the donkey who wanted to be a Clydesdale. The FedEx alien was cute. The IBM one just made me wonder how they managed to make it. How many takes did Ali have to film or was it all put together in editing? Over all, I wasn't impressed. Maybe there's so much hype ahead of time so I'm expecting too much.

We didn't watch the half-talent halftime show. I was sorry the cameras didn't show the streaker. That bit of exhibitionism sounds more entertaining than the earlier bit by Janet Jackson. According to the Drudge Report:

Top CBS executives approved a musical skit where Janet Jackson would expose her breast during the MTV-produced Super Bowl half-time concert, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

"The decision to go forward went to the very top of the network," a well-placed source explained from New York.

CBS denies any prior knowledge and "deeply regrets the incident".

The game ended. Wheee. I was paying even less attention during the second half than before because I was looking for MIDI files to download as ringers for my phone. I saved a bunch of them but can't tell what half of them are now, the file names aren't very clear and I didn't think to change them when I saved them.

Now I'm hungry again. Time to check out the leftovers.

Texas A&M

Texas A&M Wants 21% Tuition Increase

Texas A&M University is proposing a 21 percent tuition increase for the fall semester. The proposal was announced by A&M President Robert Gates. It would increase tuition from the spring semester by nearly 20 dollars per credit hour. That represents a proposed 33 percent tuition increase over what students paid last fall.

Earlier in January, Texas A&M ended their legacy program. Many public and private colleges rely on donations from alumni who have grown to expect their chidren to have an admissions advantage through legacy programs. I haven't seen any news reports that connect a fear of losing this funding as a reason for raising tuition but I wonder.

Columbia Remembered

The second-by-second account of the shuttle's last minutes, Columbia's Final Minutes, from Newsday.

The NFL will have a tribute to the Columbia astronauts during the pregame show.

Military Portal

MilitarySpot.com

Find news, forums, blogs, magazines, TDGs, photos, and service links.

The Other America

Rich Lowry wrote an opinion piece discussing John Edwards' rhetoric about "two Americas" and John Kerry's talk of "the economy of privilege."

Edwards and the other Democrats deserve credit for focusing attention on the least fortunate, who are often forgotten in the rush of both parties to shovel government benefits at middle-class voters, especially if they happen to be elderly. Unless Democrats offer serious solutions to poverty, however, the poor only serve as props for their moral vanity.

Indeed, Democrats on the stump implicitly argue that if only more former Enron executives would be thrown in jail, the downtrodden would magically be lifted into affluence. This is preening nonsense. We know what causes poverty. It has nothing to do with corporations, and little to do even with other, more-relevant economic factors, such as wage rates.

Lowry argues that the problems of poverty are cultural ones, "driven by a shattered work ethic and sexual irresponsibility."

"(T)he typical poor family with children is supported by only 800 hours of work annually, or about 16 hours a week. This number holds in good economic times and bad, because it is a factor of attitudes toward work rather than the availability of jobs." Not many people can make a living on just 16 hours of work a week. A 40-hour work week at minimum wage along with the aid programs that are already available will be enough to bring 75% of poor children out of poverty.

"The other cause of child poverty is single parenthood...Again, economic factors are secondary. The average father of a child born out of wedlock is making $17,000 a year." We're fortunate that women in our country can decide when, or if, they want to marry and whether or not to have children. The problem comes when you take advantage of the right without exercising any responsibility.

(I)f you're not talking abut how to increase work and marriage among the poor, well then, you're not serious about addressing poverty. You're just some guy with pretty hair saying pretty words because you like the way they sound.