Tired_Old_Man

Makes me ashamed that I am a Christian. One day he will get one right and It will prove to the true believers that this man is sane. Let's hope he is wrong this time. From the Article: In what has become an annual tradition of prognostications, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson predicted Tuesday that a terrorist attack on the United States would result in “mass killing” late in 2007. “I’m not necessarily saying it’s going to be nuclear,” he said during his news-and-talk television show “The 700 Club” on the Christian Broadcasting Network. “The Lord didn’t say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that.”

Regarding liberal bias in the media: The word liberal is so misused as to be meaningless in this context. Bill and Hilary Clinton are constantly referred to as Liberals. I am a Liberal. They are not Liberal. CNN is not Liberal. Recently I watched a documentary on Barry Goldwater. Barry Goldwater was the father of the American Conservative movement, but he would be classified as a Liberal in today's way of thinking. FOX News and Clear Channel Radio and the Murdoch Print Media Empire (including the NY Post) are so far to the right as to level the bar even if the rest of the media was Liberal biased. I know I am a Liberal, but many conservatives that I know think they are middle of the road. Only the ultra-Conservatives think they are Conservative.

Yes, I did. I watched the HBO documentary about Goldwater last year. I was also Goldwater support, but was only 19 yrs, 6.5 months when he ran for president and 21 was the minimum voting age. I would have voted for him.

Didn't the American Public Revolt once against a King George?

Another definition of terrorist might be doing harm to the rich guys without spending as much money to do it. 19 plane tickets cost a lot less than 4 cruise missiles.

I am having the same problems here on the East coast Florida.

I am sorry, but sometimes people from either side of the aisle mock the other side. It is a shame when it is hard to tell what is real and what is in jest. There is also this site which I sent to all my friends via e-mail. Many believed it was real, but it also is a left-wing site mocking the right-wing. What is most amazing is the documentary movie "Jesus Camp". People from the right who were interviewed said it was proof that the women who runs the camp is doing a great job, while people from the left said that is was scary and shocking. If you want to view "Jesus Camp", you can download it or watch it at this site.

#1. That IQ story is false. #2. Both Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton were "one of us" originally, each coming from very humble backgrounds and broken homes.

Maybe that is because a lot of those self-proclaimed Christians do not believe in the book they place their hand on when they take a pledge or swear to tell the truth in court.

Let's hope slow and steady wins the race.

I was your age once and I was trying to enlist in the Vietnam war back then. I have since learned the folly of that war and I am glad I was rejected because of old football injuries. The USA can be the greatest beacon of hope and freedom for the rest of the world or it can become a tyrannical, self indulgent bully. Our recent moves toward holding prisoners without charges or legal recourse, refusing to implement the Geneva conventions based on word games, and torture does not bode well for the "beacon of hope and freedom" path. I suggest that you always love your country, but always question the intent of our leaders. They may be our leaders, but they are our Public Servants. Whenever a leader tries to hide behind secrecy for the national benefit, be wary of him. Knowledge is the number one ingredient necessary for keeping a democracy vibrant. Secrecy is a democracy's biggest enemy. An uneducated or uninformed electorate is the first step toward a totalitarian government.

I think Congressman Ellison's decision to use the copy of the Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson was a brilliant idea. I doubt many of Congressman Goode's advisors or constituents will be able to say anything about Mr. Ellison's choice without smearing our founding father and author of much of our most sacred writings. If Congressman Ellison's voting decisions show as much intellignece and maturity for avoiding partisan conflict as he made with his swearing in selection, he may turn out to be an excellent choice for the people in the district in Minnesota that he represents and also a credit to his country, race and religion.

PS: Don't be surprized if the list grows a little in 2007.

Seems like fighting is the only constant thought in that post. But, that is easily understood when a person lives in the country that spends more money on weapons than all the other countries of the world combined AND used those weapons more than all the other countries of the world combined. The USA has bombed and attacked more countries since WW11 than all the rest of the countries combined, so it would seem expedient for our government, both Republican and Democrat to instill in its citizens the idea that fighting is good as long as we do it (and we win). That is why every school child starts his day pledging allegiance to a War Implement (the Flag) and why our National Anthem is a War Song. COUNTRIES BOMBED BY THE UNITED STATES SINCE THE END OF WORLD WAR II : China 1945-46 Korea and China 1950-53 (Korean War) Guatemala 1954 Indonesia 1958 Cuba 1959-1961 Guatemala 1960 Congo 1964 Peru 1965 Laos 1964-73 Vietnam 1961-73 (Vietnam War) Cambodia 1969-70 Guatemala 1967-69 Grenada 1983 Lebanon 1983, 1984 (both Lebanese and Syrian targets) Libya 1986 El Salvador 1980s Nicaragua 1980s Iran 1987 Panama 1989 Kuwait 1991 (Iraqi Targets) Iraq 1991- Somalia 1993 Bosnia 1994, 1995 (Bosnian Serb Targets) Sudan 1998 Yugoslavia 1999 Afghanistan 1998, 2001-

There has been much controversy lately because the first Muslim ever elected to the US congress, Keith Ellison (Democrat, Minnesota) said he would use the "Holy Qur'an" (some call it the Koran) in his unofficial swearing in. No book is required at the official swearing in, though some use a Bible. All congressman are sworn in en mass by raising their right hand a repeating a pledge. Congressman elect Ellison has been attacked verbally by Congressman Virgil Goode (Republican, Virginia) who has warned, "if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office…I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies". Congressman elect Ellison has decided to be sworn in using the Koran of a famous American.

That's what happens when a country gets involved in "Holy Wars". Seperation of "Church and State" is extremely important to stop the religious people from driving our foreign policy. The present administration only embraces science and technology when it comes to weapons developement.

“This is a normal neighborhood”: Six Gay Men Shot in Home Invasion By Nathan James I woke up this morning, turned on the computer, and immediately saw a news item which made me sick. In the predawn hours of Sunday morning, at a party in a home in Chicago , six gay men were shot. They fell in a hail of bullets fired by two masked men who kicked open the house’s front and side doors, and started blasting away. The home was a known gay party spot, and there were dozens of New Year’s revelers there. Neighbors told the newspapers that the “gay house” was the frequent site of big, boisterous parties. What the neighbors said beyond that, really made me want to throw up. One young black man told WGN that “they [gay black men] don’t belong here. This is a normal neighborhood for straight people.” Another asserted that the shooting was bound to happen: “They’re always looking at you like you’re cute. Sooner or later, something was going to happen.” OK. Hold everything. In this “straight, normal” neighborhood, six people get shot in cold blood, and all they can do is blame the victims? Does the idea that a home was brutally invaded, and murder was attempted, even give these young men pause? Who, in fact, are these “normal, straight” people…could they be the ones with guns in their hands, trying to kill the “abnormal” gay men? While these young gay men lay in hospital beds, (two of them fighting for their lives), has anyone in this pristine abode of normalcy considered that there are two very bloodthirsty men roaming their streets? That they have it within themselves to commit such an atrocity should have the whole neighborhood, indeed the City of Chicago , up in arms. Yet nary a peep has been forthcoming. Even the Chicago Police Department waffled on the shooting, saying they could not determine whether it was a hate crime. Plus, those who should be crying the loudest for the shooters’ arrest, have little to say other than to denounce the “disgusting” victims. Well, how “disgusting” is it to break into a house full of people with naught but murder on your mind? Gays and lesbians face remarkable trials and challenges in their lives, suffering as they do the persecutions of a society that is conditioned from childhood to hate them. Yet no one finds this sorry state of affairs upsetting. People of color might, in particular, do well to remember their shared history with the gays among them, whom they so often despise. Shared history? Yes, you read that correctly. Forty-five years ago, when Dr. Martin Luther King was locked in nonviolent battle with Jim Crow, it was a black gay man who showed him the way. His name was Bayard Rustin, and if not for his efforts and guidance to Dr. King, Jim Crow might still be very much a social plague for people of color today. Even in those days, no less an entity than the FBI tried to warn Dr. King away from Bayard Rustin, because of Rustin’s homosexuality. Dr. King demurred, standing steadfastly behind Rustin. Dr. King, a Baptist preacher and Nobel laureate, recognized that Rustin’s help was priceless, and transcended his sexuality. Here we have the seeds of a truly Shakespearean irony: Rustin, a gay man, helps Martin Luther King overturn racial injustice and terrorism, making possible the advances the modern black community enjoys today. In turn, the modern black community reviles and casts out gay black men like Rustin was, upon whose shoulders they stand! The ultimate tragedy is in shootings like the one in Chicago , and the attitudes toward the victims which was displayed. That the gay shooting victims are, after all, fellow men of color that might have been attacked alongside their straight neighbors, just a few decades ago, seems lost on those who declare their streets to be a place where these same gay black men “don’t belong”. Dr. King, who was beaten, threatened, and ultimately assassinated for bringing his people where they “didn’t belong”, must be spinning in his grave at high RPMs over remarks like that. Likewise, I daresay Martin Luther King might have had a thing or two to tell the pastors of the modern black church, about tolerance. A fiery sermonizer himself, Dr. King’s message was always one of hope for the future, of tolerance and respect. He spoke of his dream: a day when we would all break bread at the table of respect and understanding. Yet, nowhere is there a clearer voice of division and hatred, than from the pulpits of a lot of today’s black churches. The Rev. Hezekiah Walker once famously decreed, “I don’t want no faggots in my church!” How totally at odds with Dr. King’s words such statements are! Indeed, as Dr. King is considered to be a prototypical black pastor, I would imagine more black pastors would be trying to emulate him, not overturn his message of unity and love. What a horrible fate is in store for the vital, beautiful black community if it continues to tolerate its hatred of the gays and lesbians amongst them! It might be that the next great black leader awaits them. But instead of uplifting and promoting his community, he kills himself (or is killed) because he is a gay black man? Imagine it’s, oh, say, 1958. Bayard Rustin offers Martin Luther King his help. Dr. King bellows, “I don’t want no faggots in my church!” The civil rights movement in the mid-20th century dies with those words. Imagine how our lives—gay, straight, black, white—would be today, had Dr. King been filled with hate, instead of love and understanding. Everything is intertwined, connected. Yet, today, the promise of 50 years ago is undone, as people of color are shot, as much by the gunmen as by the attitudes of their own, larger community. What we teach our children (and allow them to be taught) is, perhaps, today, more critical than ever. That’s because our children are doing things that are pretty unspeakable today. It was bad enough to see gay-bashings occur, but now, to be in a house—someone’ s home—and be shot for who you are, is beyond contempt. Those shooters were as vicious as anyone the Nazis had in WWII Germany, and no different in their methods or cruelty. I am quite sure the homophobes amongst us would condone such a thing. That is, until it’s their son who comes out of the closet and is shot. Or, Heaven forbid, they get hit by a stray bullet meant for the objects of their hatred. Hate is a vicious master, uncaring who is hurt by its precepts. Now we are bound up by the atrocious doings of a pair who felt their victims were fit only to receive hot lead. Beyond the need for the black community to rebuke this as the foul incident it is, I wonder where, oh, where the gay community will be on this. I’ve already spoken with outrage on the lack of support the gay community shows when one of their number dies brutally. Are gay people really, truly, content to go to the next party and ignore these ongoing threats to their survival? I hope not, for that only means the next party they attend may be held at the morgue. However, I’m not encouraged by the number of gays and lesbians attending protest marches when they do occur. Six gay men get shot in a house, at a legal, legitimate party they had every right to attend? Every gay person in Chicago who is able, should be blocking State Street tomorrow, demanding action! For those of you who say that’s unrealistic, I will remind you that they close State Street five times a year for parades. It can be done. I will be watching the news to see what happens. So will the ghosts of Bayard Rustin and Dr. King. Like the events of 50 years ago, this is one of those moments our future depends on. Nathan James http://www.nathanjamesonline.com

If I was in my late teens or early 20's, I would volunteer to go to Afghanistan, but would refuse to go to Iraq. I have read about soldiers who enlisted right after 911, served in Afghanistan, then have refused to go to Iraq, but would return to Afghanistan. The military says they can not allow that, so they are locking them up for refusing orders. One soldier is in Canada and so far the Canadian government is refusing to send him to the USA for punishment.

As soon as the train stopped, Mr. Autrey yelled to the people on the platform to tell his girls that he was ok. But, yes, your are correct, those girls will never forget that day. It is a good thing it wasn't me who fell on the tracks. Mr. Autrey would have gotten knocked right off me by the train.:faint:

Iran does not want to take us over. They need us to buy their oil. Same goes for China, except it is everything in Wal-Mart and Home Depot, not oil that China needs a customer for. North Korea has no means to attack us and even with 1% of our nuclear arsonal, we could wipe them off the face of the Earth if they had the weapons and the means to get them here and used them. Besides, what does the USA have to offer any country that would want to take us over? Cheap labor? No. Oil? Yes, but many countries have much more and would be so much easier to take over. Manufacturing plants? Not many left. Farm land? China and Saudi Arabia will soon buy all our farm land when they want to spend all the money that we owe them as they finance our "National Debt". That was a farce presented to the US public to keep the spending high so that the "Military Industrial Complex" could prosper. Our generals knew that the Soviet Military was not as strong as pictured either here or in the Soviet Union. Why do you think Kruschev backed down against JFK in 1962? Why didn't the Soviet Union win in Afghanistan? I agree with you whole heartedly that the USA needs to have a formidable national defense. But we spend more money on the military than all the rest of the nations of the world combined. If we spend the money, we need to use the weapons. The "Military Industrial Complex" can not make just 100 units, it must make 1000's to recoup their "research and developement" costs, so we need to find a war to use them up, so that new ones are needed. Does anyone ever consider that countries might be arming to protect themselves from the US? BuSh announced that there was an "Axis of Evil"; Iraq, Iran and North Korea, and then we invaded Iraq. What would you do if you were the ruler of Iran or North Korea after that happened? And by the way, did our $350,000,000,000 per year defense stop the terrorists on 911?

Putting the warning label on large clothes is equivalent to putting warning label on the inhalers that people who have emphysema use or on the chemotherapy IV bags; "You should not have smoked". What we need is government intervention into the fast food industry and the grocery industry. Has anyone noticed the increase in obesity since "Lite" foods, low fat, No fat, Low sugar and no sugar foods have come out? Could it be a coincidence? Maybe it isn't the food, but the marketing of the food. People may actually believe that if it is "Lite", you can eat a ton of it. Has anyone seen the new Coke product, "Enviga", that is supposed to make you lose weight by drinking it? What they didn't mention it the linked article is it would take over 100 cans of "Enviga" to lose one pound.

This doesn't even happen in the Movies. From the Article: Father credited with amazing 'subway save' Tried to pull man off tracks; train rolled over them both Eyewitness News (Manhattanville - WABC, January 2, 2007) - A Good Samaritan leaped into action and saved a man who had a seizure and collapsed onto subway tracks Tuesday afternoon. Eyewitness News reporter Carolina Tarazona spoke with the hero. She has the story from the 138th Street station in Manhattanville. Fifty-year-old Wesley Autrey saved a man's life today. The Vietnam vet says he just followed his gut, but it was more than that. "I just did my best," Autrey said. "Military training, instinct, that's all." Authorities say the victim, 18-year-old Cameron Hollowpeter, suffered a seizure and collapsed onto the southbound No. 1 line near Broadway and West 137th Street just before 1 p.m. They say Autrey was waiting for a subway train with his two daughters and attempted to save Hollowpeter. "I just went in after the guy," he said. "I tried to pull him up, but I had to make a split-[second] decision whether or not to struggle, maybe end up getting us both killed. So I just chose to dive on top of him and pin him down and pin myself down." Autrey reportedly leaped into the trench to get Hollowpeter off the tracks. Officials say when he was unable to get him off the tracks in time, the hero covered the victim with his body in the gutter between two tracks, and a subway train rolled over them both. "This train is coming," he said. "I was trying to pull him up, but his weight, he was fighting against me. He didn't know who I was. The only thing that popped into my mind was go into the gutter. So I dove in, I pinned him down, once the first car ran over us, then my thing was keep him still." Both men miraculously sustained only minor injuries. Police say Hollowpeter was taken to St. Luke's Hospital, while the underground hero was treated at the scene. Autrey said he shouldn't be considered a hero, he was simply putting his military training to use. "I think I did the right thing," he said. "And it ain't about being a hero, it's just being able to be here and help the next person." Subway service was briefly delayed on southbound No. 1 express trains between 145th Street and 96th Street, but normal service has resumed.

50% of the letters in the name are "BS". You may have noticed in my reponse, I wrote: BuSh -uh = BS

I found it Ironic that George W. BuSh walked Betty Ford into the assembly for President Ford's Funeral. And that George W. BuSh was selected to speak. George W. BuSh is the president most like Richard Nixon in style and demeanor. Where will the Republicans get another Gerald Ford to replace George W. BuSh? Where will the Democrats get another Gerald Ford to replace George W. BuSh? Who can heal our country?

Women Beware. food in the convenience section of a gas station or worst of all, to use the rest room. My car locks itself within 45 sections of closing the door with the ignition off. My pickup truck does not, so I manually lock it to go into the convenience store while at a gas station. But I am not the target, because my wallet is in my pocket. I know a women who carried a gun for protection. That gun is now in the hands of a criminal because she carried it in her pocketbook and left her pocketbook in her unlocked car. I hope no one is ever killed with that gun. I also hope that we learn to live in this world, not the one we would like it to be. Criminals are out there and they come in every shape, color, age bracket, size and in both genders.