That’s how many times spammers have tried unsuccessfully to post spam to my comments.
FAIL.
They keep trying to spam me at my e-mail address too.
I report it via SpamCop and they get busted in under a minute.
You’d think they’d learn.
Spamming an address in the ’spamcop’ domain has to rate right up there with sniffing glue.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Humor, Life, etc., Musings at 10:24 PM MDT No Comments
by Mary Pitt
I am constantly amazed at the obscure details that politicians will dig up to cast aspersions upon the personal lives of their opponents in order to keep the people from looking at the issues. Lately we are being exposed to the “Preacher Scandal” where each candidate is expected to tell their pastor to just shut up!
The good Rev. Wright is drawing fire, much of which is singeing Senator Barack Obama, because he is a prime example of what a black pastor is expected to be, an oratorial firebrand who inspires his people to hope for freedom and equality. In return, people are looking askance at Senator John McCain for accepting the endorsement of the radical fundamentalist ministers who are cheering on our wasteful Middle East war in the hope for Armageddon
The mainstream media is having a field day with this minutia while parading “experts” on both politics and religion across our screen. Hours of air time are spent on this trivia while the soldiers keep dying in Iraq, the criminality of the Pentagon policies, the brutal treatment, not only of our prisoners, but of our “all-volunteer” servicewomen, is conveniently swept under the rug and onto the back pages of the newspapers.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, homes are being foreclosed by predatory lenders, gasoline prices are in the stratosphere, and the cost of even food has become prohibitive. Meanwhile, the small amount of money that is left in the pockets of the working class is being rooted out to pay for health care, medications, and the very basics of life in order to enrich still further the corporate thieves in the board rooms. Those scoundrels are aware that their time is short and they must gouge all they can from the working class before the current administration leaves office and their gravy train ends.
What will stop this debacle of democracy when the new administration leaves office? It is almost impossible to find out, since nobody is talking about the issues. We know that Senator Hillary Clinton can put on a phony rural accent on command and that Senator Barack Obama is an accomplished wordsmith, but what will they DO to correct the course of our nation? Both have tiptoed around the health issues, speaking of “tax credits” “help with paying insurance premiums”, but it is indefinite and brings to mind comments about “treating the symptoms while ignoring the disease”.
None of them have even mentioned the Presidential signing statements and executive exceptions which have slammed the door to “open government” and effectively neutered the Congress and the courts. Would any of the candidates continue that policy? Who knows?
Plans to leave Iraq are “off the table” for McCain and amorphous in the proposals from the Democratic candidates. McCain wants to ameliorate the pain of gas prices by suspending the taxes paid at the pump at the risk of further deteriorating highways. Hillary Clinton suggests a “windfall profits” tax on corporations but Barack Obama is too busy defending himself from the charges against Pastor Wright to develop any plan at all that we have heard.
It would seem that the American voter would have the discernment to realize which way the smoke is blowing and to shout, “Enough!” This whole tragicomedy of a political campaign has descended into farce as the the “pundits” mis-speak and mis-quote. The speeches in question were not “sermons” delivered in his Chicago church as depicted by Chris Mattews and others, but speeches delivered at conferences and meetings of black leaders. If Obama had been sitting in that pew for every Sunday of his twenty-year membership, he would have heard none of them!
But we have all heard Jerry Falwell and John Hagee and their pronouncements about the wrath of God as the reasons for each of the disasters that have befallen our country as well as the other calls from the Fundamentalist pastors of divine retaliation for our failure to embrace their faith. They do not ask for God to damn America but tell us that He already has! We should pay no more attention to the professional rantings of Pastor Wright than we do to those of the Fundamentlists and get on with the process of choosing the next leader of out nation. If we must pray for something, let it be that we still have a nation to govern in January, 2009.
The author is a very “with-it” old lady who aspires to bring a bit of truth, justice, and common sense to a nation that has lost touch with its humanity in the search for “societal perfection”.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Guest Bloggers, Life, etc., Politics, Religion at 6:10 PM MDT No Comments
Good grief, this isn’t a comic, it’s what ought to be on the news.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Politics at 11:04 PM MDT No Comments
http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/04/the-lincoln-dou.html
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 (Slight Return)
by publius
Presidential candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas held this debate on April 16, 1858 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
MODERATORS:
CHARLIE GIBSON, ABC NEWS
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS
MR. GIBSON: So we’re going to begin with opening statements, and we had a flip of the coin, and the brief opening statement first from Mr. Lincoln.
LINCOLN: Thank you very much, Charlie and George, and thanks to all in the audience and who are out there. I appear before you today for the purpose of discussing the leading political topics which now agitate the public mind.
We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented.
STEPHANOPOULOS: I’m sorry to interrupt, but do you think Mr. Douglas loves America as much you do?
LINCOLN: Sure I do.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But who loves America more?
LINCOLN: I’d prefer to get on with my opening statement, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: If your love for America were eight apples, how many apples would Senator Douglas’s love be?
LINCOLN: Eight.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Proceed.
LINCOLN: In my opinion, slavery will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Excuse me, did an Elijah H. Johnson attend your church?
LINCOLN: When I was a boy in Illinois forty years ago, yes. I think he was a deacon.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Are you aware that he regularly called Kentucky “a land of swine and whores”?
LINCOLN: Sounds right — his ex-wife was from Kentucky.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Why did you remain in the church after hearing those statements?
LINCOLN: I was eight.
DOUGLAS: This is an important question George — it’s an issue that certainly will be raised in the fall.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you denounce him?
LINCOLN: I’d like to get back to the divided house if I may.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you denounce and reject him?
LINCOLN: If it will make you shut up, yes, I denounce and reject him.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you denounce and reject him with sugar on top?
LINCOLN: Yes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: No takesies-backsies?
LINCOLN: Yes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Whoa, so you would consider a takesie-backsie?
LINCOLN: That’s not what I meant–
DOUGLAS: When I was 11, my grandpappy and I chopped wood and shot bears.
LINCOLN: Ahem, I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect slavery will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other…
STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you love America this much (extending fingers), this much (extending hands slightly), or thiiiiiis much (extending hands broadly)?
LINCOLN: I think we covered this–
GIBSON: If I may interrupt–
LINCOLN: Please.
GIBSON: I noticed, Mr. Lincoln, that your American flag pin was upside down.
LINCOLN: Yes, the wind caught it. Now, as I was saying…
GIBSON: We get questions about this all the time over at Powerline and on Hannity’s talk show. Mr. Douglas has said this is a major vulnerability for you in the fall. So I’ll ask again — do you love America?
LINCOLN: (scowling with a forced smile). Yes.
GIBSON: If your love for America were ice cream, what flavor would it be?
LINCOLN: (pausing with disgust and turning back to camera) Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South.
DOUGLAS: He didn’t answer the question, Charlie. This fall, that question is going to be on the minds of the American public. I’ve proudly stated that my love for America is Very Berry Strawberry.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me ask it another way. If Elijah Johnson were chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, would you eat it? Or would you decline to eat it?
DOUGLAS: Personally, as for me, I would decline to eat it.
LINCOLN (shaking his head): Let any one who doubts, carefully contemplate that now almost complete legal combination — piece of machinery, so to speak — compounded of the Nebraska doctrine, and the Dred Scott decision.
STEPHANOPOULOS: We’ll get to Dred Scott in the second hour, time willing, but I want to get back to the ice cream question. And that’s what we’ll do, after the break.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Politics at 9:10 PM MDT No Comments
Word from Winkler
(From Faith in action - News and views from the United Methodist Board of Church and Society)
This week — Holy Week — begins a sixth year of war in Iraq. President Bush has no intention of bringing the military occupation of Iraq to a close. Last week, for example, Reuters quoted the President as telling U.S. troops in Afghanistan, where they have been deployed even longer than Iraq, that he is “a little envious” of them.
“I’m a little envious,” Bush said during a teleconference. “If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed.
“It must be exciting for you … in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You’re really making history, and thanks.”
The President will bequeath this unholy mess to his successor.
The President will bequeath this unholy mess to his successor. The leading Republican candidate for the nomination, Sen. McCain, has no intention of ending the war if he is elected President. And, it remains uncertain what Sens. Clinton or Obama would do if either is elected, although they have both stated they plan to end the war.
Yet the cost of the war in both dollars and human lives keeps rising to alarming levels.
The Lancet, a leading British medical journal founded in 1823, estimates 655,000 more Iraqis died than would have otherwise from the beginning of the invasion in March 2003 to July 2006. How did these Iraqis die?: 340,000 died from gunshot wounds, 78,000 from air strikes, 84,000 from mortar fire and other ordinance, 76,000 from car bombings, 55,000 from preventable disease and lack of access to health care, 12,000 from unknown violent causes, and 12,000 from accidents attributable to violence.
The Lancet numbers, which are based on proven survey methods, have been criticized by war supporters who prefer a far smaller body count be reported. In any case, we know that many more Iraqis have died since July 2006.
They lamented, though, the excessive use of force, and the fact their government placed them in such a hopeless situation.
I recently listened to presentations made by U.S. military personnel that have returned from Iraq. Repeatedly, they described incidents in which indiscriminate and overwhelming military firepower was used against the Iraqi populace. The military personnel pointed out that with their own lives in danger it should not be surprising combat troops use every means to protect themselves. They lamented, though, the excessive use of force, and the fact their government placed them in such a hopeless situation.
Economists Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes project the final cost of the war for the United States will be some $3 trillion. It costs $16 billion a month to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every U.S. household effectively contributes $138 each month toward this expense. By 2017, the U.S. will have paid $1 trillion in interest on the money borrowed to pay for the war.
Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Cheney, has received more than $19 billion in war-related contracts so far. Equally outrageous is the fact that the U.S. Defense Dept. has lost track of billions and billions of dollars and thousands and thousands of weapons.
The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) is still clearing out a backlog of cases dating from the Vietnam War, which ended three decades ago. Today, the VA has become hopelessly overextended due to the physically and psychologically wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. We will be paying for these veterans in many different ways for decades to come.
The money spent on this fruitless military endeavor could have been spent so much more productively.
The money spent on this fruitless military endeavor could have been spent so much more productively:
The Iraq war has disrupted oil production in Iraq. It has led directly to increased gasoline prices in the United States and around the world. That, in turn, has a direct adverse effect on the budgets of our states, cities, families and churches.
Because the savings rate in the United States is zero, the money has to be borrowed overseas. China is financing the war. The U.S. financial position in the world has dramatically declined.
The intelligent course of action from a military and economic standpoint would be to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan as rapidly as possible. This would enable investment in infrastructure and human resources both in the United States and around the world.
This is a moral disaster. It is the result of colossal misjudgments and mistakes. Few have been held accountable, though.
As best I can tell, few of our clergy or lay leaders say anything against the war. Maybe this is because of fear or misguided patriotism or a desire to avoid ruffling feathers. And, it may well be they will not be held accountable for their silence as long as they walk on the earth. I’m not so sure, however, they will avoid judgment in the life to come.
Date: 3/21/2008 12:00:00 AM
©2005-2008
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Politics, Religion at 8:00 PM MDT No Comments
One of my very first favorites, his books opened up a new world for me. I grieve for the world’s loss.
Godspeed sir.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Musings at 5:52 PM MDT No Comments
My pal Todd blogged about it.
It’s all over the news.
If you don’t know, Gary Gygax along with Dan Arneson created Dungeons and Dragons. D&D was the original role-playing game that led to ALL the others, yes, even HALO.
The man touched more lives than I can imagine.
His legacy lives on.
Thanks Gary. Thanks Dan. You guys changed my life and brought me all my dearest friends.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., News at 12:30 AM MST No Comments
On January 30, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated by a Hindu nationalist in New Delhi.
–
And yet his spirit lives on - nothing good ever dies.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Politics at 9:34 PM MST No Comments
For years I’ve had simple rules for relationships with people:
Recently I was pondering if I should add another:
but that’s just adding detail to Dire Enemies.
I try not waste too much brainpower thinking about those people and this quote helps me let go of them:
“When you’re angry with someone, you make them a part of your life in a way you don’t need.” — Garrison Keillor
So, folks that in some way diminish my joy in life are simply forgotten. It’s best for all concerned.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Politics at 1:25 AM MST No Comments
Mich. spammer, 10 others indicted in alleged Chinese stock pump-and-dump scam
January 3, 2008
By DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Michigan spam king Alan Ralsky , his son-in-law and nine others have been indicted in Detroit on charges of violating federal anti-spam laws, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today.
The 41-count indictment said Ralsky, his son-in-law, Scott Bradley, 46, of West Bloomfield, and others used unsolicited e-mail to pump up the price of largely worthless stock in Chinese companies and sold the stock reaping huge profits and leaving Internet subscribers who purchased it holding the bag
Read the rest and LAUGH like a hyena.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc. at 2:23 AM MST No Comments
Computer Glitch throws wrench into New Year’s show.
Yes - Windows strikes again. Well, sloppy preparation and Windows. You’d think anyone that’s ever worked with a PC before would know that you have to test, test, test and test some more if you’re running your project on Windows.
Let’s see - so far we’ve seen the following things brought to crashing halt by crappy Windows software:
Where do you want to go today? I’d like to suggest the local Apple Store.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Musings, Tech at 3:18 PM MST No Comments
Always fun when the wingers screw up.
By Emily Richmond
Published in the Sun on Dec. 24, 2007
Tucked into the Clark County School District’s new in-house report card is a list of potential postgraduation goals for students. By 2009, the district wants to increase the percentage of students enrolling in four-year colleges and universities, as well as those signing up for two-year programs and those entering the workforce.
The district also wants to increase the percentage of students who intend to enlist in the military, taking it from its current 3 percent to a high of 7 percent in the next two years.
Why would the School District set such as goal?
It turns out it didn’t, at least according to officials contacted by the Sun.
-
*snip*
-
The ACLU has long fought to hold military access to public schools to the bare minimum required by law. Gary Peck, executive director of the Nevada ACLU, said he was troubled that the assessment even made it into print.
“Either this instrument was drafted incompetently, or they are being disingenuous,” Peck said. “There really isn’t a third option.”
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Politics at 1:04 PM MST No Comments
Watch on YouTube and see more of Roy’s stufffff
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Humor, Life, etc., Musings, Politics at 12:53 PM MST No Comments
This song came up in rotation on my music player - and its relevance rang true again. Especially in light of the recent fight with LifeBridge and the 4C corporation over the Union Annexation.
The lyrics speak so clearly.
“There’ll be nobody hiding,” says it all.
If you haven’t heard this song, by all means, go and buy it now. Van Morrison is one of the Great Masters (in my opinion anyway) and his rendition is powerful beyond words. The poetry of the lyrics is flat-out wonderful.
Rough God Goes Riding
Oh the mud splattered victims
Have to pay out all along the ancient highway
Torn between half truth and victimisation
Fighting back with counter attacks
It’s when that rough god goes riding
When the rough god goes gliding
And then rough god goes riding
Riding on in
I was flabbergasted by the headlines
People in glass houses throwing stones
Gaping wounds that will never heal
Now they’re moaning like a dog in a manger
It’s when that rough god goes riding
And then the rough god goes gliding
There’ll be nobody hiding
When that rough god comes riding on in
And it’s a matter of survival
When you’re born with your back against the wall
Won’t somebody hand me a bible
Won’t you give me that number to call
When that rough god goes riding
And then that rough god goes gliding
They’ll be nobody hiding
When that rough god goes riding on in
Riding on in
When that rough god goes riding
When that rough god goes gliding
There’ll be nobody hiding
When that rough god goes riding on in
Riding on in
There’ll be no more heroes
They’ll be reduced to zero
When that rough god goes riding
Riding on in
Riding on in
Riding on in
Riding on in
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Religion at 12:58 AM MST No Comments
CompUSA is going out of business.
I’ll never forget the first time I walked into a CompUSA store - and heard a salespuke in the computer section dispensing pure, unfiltered Microsoft FUD about Macs. When challenged he weaseled and referred me to a manager. Manager tried to pretend it was no big deal. Corporate didn’t answer.
From that day on I never spent a penny with them.
Good riddance to liars and cheats. Nice to see some karma at last.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc. at 3:53 AM MST No Comments
These folks live across the street from me. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc. at 6:19 PM MST No Comments
It’s a small, small world.
Next time you think your job sucks, remember these folks.
This is where globalization is taking us.
We should not go here.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Musings, People, Photos, Politics, Tech at 1:54 AM MDT No Comments
Our friends Marty and Kate Beier are delightfully twisted people.
After several years of sharing adjoining campground properties, we finally installed a (slightly used) outbuilding that was immediately christened ‘Wizzengard’ due to it’s tall stature.
During a recent visit I discovered that the Beiers had finally added the crowning touch - a sign complete with a miniature Saruman holding a palantir.
Delightfully twisted.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Humor, Life, etc., Musings at 8:55 PM MDT No Comments
Akismet has caught 5,806 spam for you since you first installed it.
–
Not one got by.
Spammers = slime.
Weak, foolish and clownlike.
Akismet crushes them like tiny dung beetles.
Your idiot ads will never despoil my site. Never.
Die spammers. Die.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Humor, Life, etc., Musings at 7:44 PM MDT No Comments
…there’s usually fire.
Every year thousands of acres of forest are destroyed by fires - this post is dedicated to the courageous and hard-working men and women that pit themselves against humankind’s oldest foe (and ally).
I work with a wonderful young woman, Kim Egan, whose husband Tim is part of a crew that fights fires. Below is a shot (click for larger image) of his entire team as well as a ‘glamour’ shot of him in a more… pensive mood.
He’s a lumberjack - and he’s ok. Really.
Honest.
(grin)
The whole team
“Scorch” looking at cloud shapes.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., People, Photos at 12:14 AM MDT No Comments
