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Open thread 4/2
- By Phillip Brownlee
- Posted April 2, 2008 at 6:03 a.m.
- Filed under Open thread
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137 Comments
Well, my prayers have been answered: Mr. Carolla has survived yet another elimination on “Dancing.” It seems a lotta folk agree with The Songbird. Adam’s a keeper - at least for now.
Okay, I know he’s not a “natural-born” dancer. Then again, is Bob Dylan a “natural-born” singer? Was Jimi Hendrix another Pavarotti? Could John Lennon have usurped Eric Clapton in Blind Faith? I think not.
Sometimes Adam’s so full of s–t, though. He pointed at the camera last night, and said, “None of you out there would have dated me.” That’s not true at all. Had I stayed in either L.A. or San Diego and been blessed enough to have been asked out by this maestro or mirth and merriment, I would have gone out with the funnyman.
And I’ll bet he would have taken several years off my age…..
From LAUGHING!!!! Get your minds out of the gutters, you guys.
But I returned to the midwest in April 1982, when Adam was just turning 18 and I was 23. Oh, to be young again. To be young and well spun…….around on the dance floor by The Funniest Man on Television.
That’s the sort of impossible nostalgia we aging broads engage in from time to time……
What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart? (Wall Street Journal) — 02/29/2008
Finland’s teens score extraordinarily high on an international test. American educators are trying to figure out why.
By ELLEN GAMERMAN
Helsinki, Finland
High-school students here rarely get more than a half-hour of homework a night. They have no school uniforms, no honor societies, no valedictorians, no tardy bells and no classes for the gifted. There is little standardized testing, few parents agonize over college and kids don’t start school until age 7.
Yet by one international measure, Finnish teenagers are among the smartest in the world. They earned some of the top scores by 15-year-old students who were tested in 57 countries. American teens finished among the world’s C students even as U.S. educators piled on more homework, standards and rules. Finnish youth, like their U.S. counterparts, also waste hours online. They dye their hair, love sarcasm and listen to rap and heavy metal. But by ninth grade they’re way ahead in math, science and reading — on track to keeping Finns among the world’s most productive workers.
=================================================================================================
INTERESTING READ THE ARTICLE AT: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=295091
Where are our Blog teaching experts on this???
A crush on Adam Carolla- you really do have a thing for men who dislike women don’t you. A self-fulfilling prophesy perhaps?
He reminds me too much of Gilbert Godfried, ick.
In my travels I’ve met a number of young people who spoke perfect english as a result of watching American made media, and reading subtitles. Most of them speak an almost accentless American English. Maybe learning to read early and wanting to read fast help people get a leg up.
Peer pressure is probably another aspect of it. Scandinavian youth have nothing but scorn for people who are “stupid.” They think Americans are stupid. Get the pix? The are smart because culture rewards them for being smart.
iN THE US, Smart kids get the handle of “Egg Head” OR Geek, or Nerd… Maybe that has something to do with it???
If anybody hears aabout a football player that plays on the front line, being aa 4.0 GPA student, everybody looks aat the kid and just rolls their eyes… like its some impossible feat to accomplish!! Or is it that we just dont EXPECT that Lineman to be a 4.0 student??
This is Ron Paul’s statement before the US House of Representatives on House Resolution 997, “expressing the strong support of the House of Representatives for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to enter into a Membership Action Plan with Georgia and Ukraine.”
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution calling for the further expansion of NATO to the borders of Russia. NATO is an organization whose purpose ended with the end of its Warsaw Pact adversary. When NATO struggled to define its future after the Cold War, it settled on attacking a sovereign state, Yugoslavia, which had neither invaded nor threatened any NATO member state.
This current round of NATO expansion is a political reward to governments in Georgia and Ukraine that came to power as a result of US-supported revolutions, the so-called Orange Revolution and Rose Revolution. The governments that arose from these street protests were eager to please their US sponsor and the US, in turn, turned a blind eye to the numerous political and human rights abuses that took place under the new regimes. Thus the US policy of “exporting democracy” has only succeeding in exporting more misery to the countries it has targeted.
NATO expansion only benefits the US military industrial complex, which stands to profit from expanded arms sales to new NATO members. The “modernization” of former Soviet militaries in Ukraine and Georgia will mean tens of millions in sales to US and European military contractors. The US taxpayer will be left holding the bill, as the US government will subsidize most of the transactions. Providing US military guarantees to Ukraine and Georgia can only further strain our military. This NATO expansion may well involve the US military in conflicts as unrelated to our national interest as the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia. The idea that American troops might be forced to fight and die to prevent a small section of Georgia from seceding is absurd and disturbing.
Mr. Speaker, NATO should be disbanded, not expanded.
http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2008/04/01/ron-paul-disband-nato/
Yeah, what a kook. Looking out for our soldiers and the average tax payer and all. What a kook.
I think everyone has something of value to bring to the table. Everyone has different talents. I don’t expect everyone to be everything.
Ron Paul gave this speech before the US House of Representatives as they voted on House Con Res 154 “expressing concern” over Russian involvement in Alexander Litvinenko’s murder.
Mr. Speaker: I rise in strong opposition to this ill-conceived resolution. The US House of Representatives has no business speculating on guilt or innocence in a crime that may have been committed thousands of miles outside US territory. It is arrogant, to say the least, that we presume to pass judgment on crimes committed overseas about which we have seen no evidence.
The resolution purports to express concern over the apparent murder in London of a shadowy former Russian intelligence agent, Alexander Litvinenko, but let us not kid ourselves. The real purpose is to attack the Russian government by suggesting that Russia is involved in the murder. There is little evidence of this beyond the feverish accusations of interested parties. In fact, we may ultimately discover that Litvinenko’s death by radiation poisoning was the result of his involvement in an international nuclear smuggling operation, as some investigative reporters have claimed. The point is that we do not know. The House of Representatives has no business inserting itself in disputes about which we lack information and jurisdiction.
At a time when we should be seeking good relations and expanded trade with Russia, what is the benefit in passing such provocative resolutions? There is none.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to enter into the Congressional Record a very thought-provoking article by Edward Jay Epstein published recently in the New York Sun, which convincingly calls into question many of the assumptions and accusations made in this legislation. I would encourage my colleagues to read this article and carefully consider the wisdom of what we are doing.
http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2008/04/01/ron-paul-dont-meddle-with-russia/
Chas - you hit a big part of it with smart kids being labeled geek etc. I tended to hide my grades for that reason. I would add that this is a ’self-feeding’ thing in that educated parents read to their munchkins etc and that gets them started even before they know they are started. My grandkids love to go get their books and bring them to me so we can read together. I’ll even read aloud to them from my own books on occassion - it doesn’t really matter what we are reading.
The Finns fisnised 1st in math and science, followed by S.Korea and Canada in that order. In literacy it was Russia, followed by Canada and Australia. The Canadian/Austrlian systems of education is very similar to ours, any many of their text books are American, and in Canada they teach in two languages. I’m not knocking the Finns results but did you check the rates of teen binge drinking and suicide for that country? It’s an unusal number as well, like the highest in the world for drinking and ahead of Japan in suicide. A homogenious population helps with Finnish a most language unlike any other language group. The Swede and the Danes rate well but then so do all the Nordic countries. However these results are snapshots and change frequently and do not necessarily reflect a well rounded, functioning society in general.
http://www.kansas.com/205/story/359396.html
(these are exerts from an opinion in today opinion section:
NICHOLAS KRISTOF: ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM IS HURTING AMERICA
Only one American in 10 understands radiation, and only one in three has an idea of what DNA does.
“America is now ill with a powerful mutant strain of intertwined ignorance, anti-rationalism and anti-intellectualism,” Susan Jacoby argues in a new book, “The Age of American Unreason.” She blames a culture of “infotainment,” sound bites, fundamentalist religion and ideological rigidity for impairing thoughtful debate about national policies.
Her broader point is that we, as a nation, will have difficulty making crucial decisions if we don’t have an intellectual climate that fosters an informed and reasoned debate. How can we decide on embryonic stem cells if we don’t understand biology? How can we judge whether to invade Iraq if we don’t know a Sunni from a Shiite?
he dumbing down of discourse has been particularly striking since the 1970s. Think of the devolution of the emblematic conservative voice from William F. Buckley Jr. to Bill O’Reilly. It’s enough to make one doubt Darwin
There’s no simple solution, but the complex and incomplete solution is a greater emphasis on education at every level. And maybe, just maybe, this cycle has run its course, for the past seven years perhaps have discredited the anti-intellectualism movement. Bush, after all, is the movement’s epitome — and its fruit.
PMOM, what is your opinion of “pressure vests”? have you heard of them? My oldest grandson has been wearing one at school, he is in pre-kindergarten.
Kristof on Anti-intellecualism in the U.S. of A.
http://www.kansas.com/205/story/359396.html
Does anyone know why spam hits the old threads, but not the newer ones? Also, why don’t the Eds close the old threads sooner to avoid that problem?
How can only 1 in 10 and 1 in 3 know what Radiation and DNA are?
I cannot fathom it. THen again…
If I consider my family in the Ozarks, I have to remember that my step mother who is a special ed teacher!!! thinks you can get Aids from waterfountains. And you can’t tell her any different!
Hey Dog,
Sorry, you beat me to the Kristof piece in today’s paper. I, too, thought that it was germane to this discussion.
Oh today is Autism day isn’t it?
I think pressure vests can be a very useful tool, but a sensory assessment should be done prior to use. I wanted to do one on my son, but come to find out that would have been more distracting to him since he liked the opposite sensation.
Several years ago (’92 I believe) we had a foreign exchange student from Macedonia. She spoke six languages fluently. Very proper english, but she was illiterate in English, wasn’t a language she had formally studied.
She enrolled in classes at WSU and they forced her into remedial English classes to learn to read and write. She was humiliated and Joyce pulled some strings to get her out of the remedial classes.
Within two weeks she was reading and writing on her own. She was absolutely amazed that the other freshman at WSU were so deficient in their native language!
Thanks MOM, as soon as my daughter told me she had received a report that mentioned that grandson seem to like the “pressure vest”. She asked me WTH? She did not know what it was or why it was used. What happen to informed consent? Anyway I looked it up on the net and saw it was thought to help children with behavor problems. Though there was not lengthy clinic research to back that opinion.
P_Mom,
That sounds like my youngest daughter’s PE/Health teacher who, when my d was in 6th grade, told the class that AI was done with a turkey baster. Literally.
We can’t expect our youth to be intelligent, if some of the teachers they have can’t even spell cat. Our education system is pitiful. We’re lucky to have as many bright students as we do.
Hank from chatting with someone from Germany, I learned that the children are required to learn at least four languages and the first was English before they graduate High School. From someone else in Germany I was told that no one under forty does not speak English. I accuse our education system of only teaching enough for the students to take their place at Wal-Mart as associates.
PC_Mom?
I beg your pardon? Adam Carolla loves women - and he’s terrifically funny to boot.
Pardon me - but laughing is about the only sensual pleasure I’ve got left that doesn’t expand my girth or inflict opiate withdrawal.
Hank - if she could already speak English but didn’t read/write it she should have been ecpected to pick it up quickly. With her other languages; most of which use our alphabet (except Serbian which uses the Cyrillic) she already had a tremendous foundation.
We would be well served in this country to address ESL in a much more adult fashion as you noted.
I’m glad you looked it up, and you should be glad the school was attempting to address an issue in such a manner, some parents have to fight to get that kind of assessment. Remember, they’re only trying to find what is comforting and soothing to the child, and it sure does cut down on behavior problems which helps learning.
Yes, you can make a pressure vest at home, but you can usually buy one on ebay too from parents with autistic children who are trying to make an extra buck.
Please watch CNN a lot today if you can. They’re doing an all day thing on autism.
I wonder what percentage of autism is hysteria? Yes, I know it’s real, but I keep seeing instances of children diagnosed as autistic who are “now developing normally.”
Just because they look like they’re ‘developing normally’ doesnt’ mean they are. They can be helped many times to adapt, but they are never ‘cured’.
Can you believe this?
Report: Non-Muslims Deserve to Be Punished Tuesday, April 01, 2008
A report posted on Islam Watch, a site run by Muslims who oppose intolerant teachings and hatred for unbelievers, exposes a prominent Islamic cleric and lawyer who support extreme punishment for non-Muslims — including killing and rape.
A question-and-answer session with Imam Abdul Makin in an East London mosque asks why Allah would tell Muslims to kill and rape innocent non-Muslims, including their wives and daughters, according to Islam Watch.
“Because non-Muslims are never innocent, they are guilty of denying Allah and his prophet,” the Imam says, according to the report. “If you don’t believe me, here is the legal authority, the top Muslim lawyer of Britain.”
The lawyer, Anjem Choudary, backs up the Imam’s position, saying that all Muslims are innocent.
Click here to watch the interview with Islamic lawyer Anjem Choudary.
“You are innocent if you are a Muslim,” Choudary tells the BBC. “Then you are innocent in the eyes of God. If you are not a Muslim, then you are guilty of not believing in God.”
Choudary said he would not condemn a Muslim for any action.
“As a Muslim, I must support my Muslim brothers and sisters,” Choudary said. “I must have hatred to everything that is not Muslim.”
OH OH OH where’s my link.
http://www.evilbible.com/Rape.htm
Now, since the bible and koran are so similar in this, seems to me that the guy would be written off as a psycho since that’s what we do here when people say and do things like that.
We don’t assign the whole Christian religion as bad because of some who abuse.
Lots of good comparisons in that site there.
Make sure to read the ‘human sacrifice’ part.
Sounds eerily similar to the taliban christians, no?
^ Pmom, I guess we had the same thought!
From Boortz
Hillary got fired.
snip
Zeifman tells Hillary that Nixon is entitled to counsel. He cites documents in the committee’s public file referencing the fact that Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas had representation four years earlier while he was being investigated.
Hillary removes the documents from the committees public file and places them under lock and key in her office where they are not available for media or public scrutiny.
Hillary then prepares a brief for filing with a federal judge which falsely states that there is no precedent for an official being investigated by the committee to have legal representation during that investigation.
Nixon resigns before Hillary has a chance to submit the brief in which she makes knowingly false claims.
Zeifman then fires Hillary. Hillary asks for a letter of recommendation. Zeifman says no. This was only the third time in Zeifman’s 17 years with the committee that he had refused a letter of recommendation.
http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html
For Vietnam vets, families and friends.
Vets pay tribute to fallen comrades at virtual Vietnam wall
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/01/vietnam.wall/index.html
P_Mom,
Took ya long enough to find the evil bible websites.
Within less than a week the Basra offensive has gone from “a defining moment” in Iraqi’s history, in the President’s words, to an operation conceived by Maliki that the U.S. didn’t plan, had little warning of, and couldn’t control.
and couldn’t control.
What have we been able to control?
The flow of dollars OUT of the US Treasury?
I mean, we made sure the spigot was ON. Wide open.
Whew…..shiver me timbers…..
Are you on a masochistic mission today, P-Mom?
Those passages from a book that is supposed to be “divinely inspired” are enough to fuel a manifesto for the self-destructive.
Funny thang, though: That was never my idea of “God” or Jesus during my days as a Catholic. No priest ever quoted those icky-dicky parts of the Bible. Had anyone asked me (or cited those parts of the Bible), I would have said, “Those aren’t God’s words - they’re the words of some sexist freak who wrote ‘em.”
I think it’s safe to say that Billy Graham doesn’t support rape. The Vatican probably doesn’t support it; conversely, they don’t do enough to condemn it, in my view.
Jesus God! I got a few words to say to anyone who’s ever been suicidal or may become so in the future - especially if you’re female.
Don’t read these f–king things. It’ll just sorta curl yer toes. And fuel your own sense of hopelessness. ‘Cause the Vatican sure do condemn suicide. If they don’t condemn these parts of the Bible (the very worst parts), that’s highly incongruous, in my view.
Heckler - well, if nutcase Boortz hates her she just might be someone to support!
G-a-a-a-a-a-ah! Y-e-e-e-e-ch! That website P_Mom cited also has a picture of Freddie Phelps!
The Bible I remember, the Bible of my youth and young adulthood, commands us “not to look upon evil.” And I’ve just done so! Now I’m really goin’ to hell.
Yep - much of the Bible turns me off. No doubt about that.
That’s probably why I recoiled when someone encouraged me to “enroll in a women’s Bible study group” three and a half years ago. “I’d rather join the Jim Rose Traveling Circus, emulate the human contortionists who travel with ‘em, and ——- myself in the presence of the Scorpion Lady,” I said to myself.
As a younger woman, I could have brushed this s–t off. Not so with the older broad.
I’d almost give my left aerole to see someone confront Pope Benedict with this crap and see how he responds.
This s–t is the “word of God?” If that’s who “god” is - you may have him.
“Ben” –
Is Boortz still ridiculing that developmentally-challenged (Boortz call him a “retard”) kid on his show?
Even Limbaugh only did the Michael J. Fox trot once. Boortz was insulting that kid for a week.
What a classless excuse for a human.
“Songbird” gives us –
“I’d rather join the Jim Rose Traveling Circus, emulate the human contortionists who travel with ‘em, and ——- myself in the presence of the Scorpion Lady,”
Wish I’d said that.
“I’d almost give my left aerole to see someone confront Pope Benedict with this crap and see how he responds.
Well, he is a former Nazi.
All right - The Songbird is fired up.
I hereby issue a challenge to any and all Christians out there. I respect your faith, probably more than you might think. At least, I respect it inasmuch as it makes you a happier, more fulfilled human being.
Please explain, for all us saved and unsaved, clean and unwashed, how you can possibly justify the biblical bile I’ve just read on that website.
I’m just asking - not excoriating anyone for their faith. ‘Cause The Songbird is real, real confewsed. ‘Cause I never about this s–t in catechism - or the confessional. ‘Cause if the Songbird had heard it - she’d have flown the coup. Crooning “And Your Bird Can Sing” by the Beatles while she was flyin’ the f–k out of there.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you LeBron James……
Extraordinary basketball player, could have been the number one draft choice of the NBA as a JUNIOR in High School. Already holds the Cleveland Cavaliers CAREER scoring mark, considered to be leading contender for the NBA MVP this year.
What most people do not know, he was 3.5 GPA student in High School - a private school not public.
When kids look for a role model among athletes, they could do much worst than look at LeBron.
And before ya’ label me a homer, I am a fan of the Detroit Pistons - the Cavs are our biggest divisional rival.
“The flow of dollars OUT of the US Treasury?”
Actually that is not correct. Like the water in western Kansas - that spigot is running dry.
There are no dollars.
Just another worthless IOU placed in the safe for our children and grandchildren to pay…..
Great post Clark!
I cant wait to see the Songbird vs Nathan smackdown. It’ll be an MMA, cage fighting, no holds barred, winner take all death match.
Reg, Clark, JR, Chas, et. al. got NOTHING on that fight card.
Popping the popcorn now…
Songbird says:
“Yep - much of the Bible turns me off. No doubt about that.”
“Explain to me….you can possibly justify the biblical bile I’ve just read on that website.”
1st: I don’t believe you really want an explanation. You just want to complain on a blog where you have like minded unbelievers. If you really wanted an explanation, you would not waste the space on this blog, but would have confronted the writers on the original site or a truely religious site.
2nd: Religion is open to many interpretations, so you are only bound to get a bunch of opinions which are like -ssholes, and they all will stink.
3rd: There is no authority here to explain or justify what you obviously don’t believe. But you CAN waste a lot of blog discussing the nonsense.
4th: According a passage in one of them thar books, Christians are not supposed to waste time on unbelievers. Speak the Word once, and move along. I believe it even says its a waste of time to argue with unbelievers. (but I’m no expert on the bible that’s for sure)
So if the bible turns you off, why are you keeping a dialogue on the subject?
Waste of your time and others.
Some more, athletic skill AND brains trivia……
There are five Seniors on KU’s Final Four Men’s Basketball team. Four of them are on pace to receive their undergraduate degrees in May.
The fifth, Jeremy Case, has already graduated.
When you read about them on the Sports Page, keep that in mind. These are some fine young men and their accomplishments on the court AND in the classroom should be celebrated.
Whoa - mighty charitable of you, Am-Way.
Right. I’m just a waste of time. Superfluous spewage. Redundant wreckage. Bound for hell.
Jesus! Do you even know what you’re saying? No, you probably don’t. And it would be wholly inappropriate for me to vent all of my spleen here. (See, I DO have some restraint! I do; I do; I do!)
So go ahead - commend yourself for your moral superiority. Congratulate yourself on your obvious, other-worldly wisdom, and consider yourself a higher being than the Songbird.
‘Cause the Bible tells you so, don’t it?
“Speak the Word once, and move along. I believe it even says its a waste of time to argue with unbelievers. (but I’m no expert on the bible that’s for sure)”
Is that true? Because if it is… someone needs to tell Nathan, asap.
“Congratulate yourself on your obvious, other-worldly wisdom, and consider yourself a higher being than the Songbird.
‘Cause the Bible tells you so, don’t it?”
Well yeah! And so do terry and joe and fred…
Songbird - you are sweeeeeeeeeeet!
OK Songbird, you are good at name calling.
I am not waving a cross in your face.
Just think you are wasting space.
Yeah.
The Bible says “turn away from false prophets,” too. And whoever wrote those spawns of smegmic sewage (i.e., the rape-lovin’ passages of the Bible) should be hog-tied, bent over a bed of flaming pit viper entrails, and have something shoved very lovingly into a very, very bad place.
I’ll bet they’d go crying to their mommies (provided they were still living and not dead from incessant childbirths) and beg for deliverance.
See, that’s sort of what rape is. And more. Much, much more.
But cha know - to see (and hear) me in person - ya’d never know. I’m sweet; I’m compliant; I’m convivial; I’m introverted to a fault. I mean, you’ve heard of someone so shy “they couldn’t speak when spoken to?”
I can barely speak even WHEN spoken to.
Christ! I need reinforcements! Where’s Doug when you need him? (Probably studying for the priesthood……just kidding……)
I mean, who really cares on this blog about the bible anyway?
Right Angle,
I agree with the Finnish evaluation, also the surrounding countries as well. I’ve talked with a few of these graduates online and they are absolutely on top of their game!
————————————
Steven Davis,
The editors don’t seem to want to do anything with the blog.
If it were my blog, the spammers would be blocked by a password - sign-in system. However, that isn’t happening.
They should use an old HTML trick where you make the text the same color as the background, so it comes out invisible (unreadable for the most part.) This would make the crawlers think they are doing something, post it and since they usually never check their dirty work, their messages would be seen to the rest of the users as blank space.
I have this feeling though, that someone else brought up, that the Eagle Editorial Department is dishonestly gathering up hits from the spammers for advertising revenue.
kfg,
Although Songbird is formidable, I could with relative ease, dispatch her to the nether regions of chaotic prose.
(snickers)
Sorry to change what I think are some important topics, but I’m pissed.
I sent this e-mail to Deb Gruver last night:
Ms. Gruver,
With more and more people starting to print their digital box coupons, it’s
important that area viewers know that only 8 of the 14 TV stations in
Wichita will go digital in 2009.
The others will still be analog until 2012.
Those purchasing the wrong d-to-a box will lose the other six stations.
For a complete list of boxes that have NTSC pass-through, and more
information on this issue, please visit http://www.keepuson.com
Thank you for your consideration,
This morning, I got this response:
Hi. Thanks for the info. I’m busy with several other projects right now, but I’ll forward this to our entertainment team.
Thanks,
Deb
Translation: The “entertainment team”, taking their orders from the evildoers on George Washington Blvd., will bury this, depriving readers of valuable information.
Thanks for nothing.
Re TV “boxes that have NTSC pass-through”.
NTSC = Never The Same Color
OK, reg, let’s see ya do it.
mr. controversy, sorry your battles continue.
Cosmos, I wanna go digital too… it’s just that a majority of the commissioners–including the Democrats, sad to say–seem to be sitting on their hands.
I never thought I’d praise a Bush appointee, but for the past 120 days, Kevin Martin has been the best thing to happen to the FCC in over 15 years.
I like Songbird’s comments kfg, no reason to pick on her. She writes amusing and insightful stuff and I would rather leave her to that, untouched by the hand of (fill in the blank.)
Grateful_Dave: Careful. You just might turn into a pillar of salt if you say anything nice to The Songbird.
AmWay - When did I call you any names? Come on! I’m trying to turn over a new leaf! Become a better (wo)man! Amend some of my baser qualities! (Then again, if it’s my rapist and/or Ann Coulter you’re talkin’ about - I make no apologies for my ire. Then again, I guess you wouldn’t understand unless you’ve actually been raped…..)
Don’t be that way, Regular! Unless there’s another dude callin’ himself Regular - I thought you enjoyed my posts! And, please! Leave my nether regions out of this! Do you want to turn an entire heterosexual (male) population purple?
I didn’t think so……..
Tis a problem Mr. C. I have one 37 incher old analog in the living room I use as my main TV, smaller ones scattered about the house. Can’t say I watch any of them to any great degree though.
Since I have Cox Cable, do you have any idea if Cox plans to convert their signals to include all Wichita Stations?
I do enjoy your posts Songbird, I think you are intellectually sensual. You perk up my brain’s stimulus regions every time I read your writings.
Not if they can help it, Reg.
They are the most evil of the American Axis of Evil: Cox, Comcast and Time Warner.
Don’t worry: just as it has happened in KC and OKC, our day of deliverance–the arrival of ATT U-Verse–is coming soon (I know when, but I can’t tell you)!
Why thanks, Regular! I just hope you and Grateful_Dave aren’t biblically altered any time soon! I mean, I wouldn’t want you guys communing with Jerry Garcia - ‘cuz he’s dead…..
KFG says >>>
“Reg, Clark, JR, Chas, et. al. got NOTHING on that fight card. Popping the popcorn now…”
========================================
Hey, save me some popcorn, and a front row seat!! Move over a bit there KFG….
Wired Issue 8.04: Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us
Eight years ago this month, Internet pioneer Bill Joy led us on a hair-raising intellectual trip from Kurzweil to Kaczynski that left the lifelong technologist terrified of tomorrow. His cover story (”Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us”) pointed to three fast-changing technologies — genetics, nanotech, and robotics — whose potential for uncontrolled self-replication poses a new kind of threat to our survival. It’s time for an update on our undoing.
Genetics
Joy’s greatest fear was the white plague: a disease engineered to target one race or ethnic group — or all females, as in the Frank Herbert novel … The White Plague. Molecular biologist Lee Silver says that while in theory it would be possible to attack males via the Y-chromosome, it now seems we share too much DNA for all women or any one race to be at risk.
Nanotech
The essay cites the “gray goo” scenario, the fear that out-of-control nanobots will start turning something essential — say, air — into copies of themselves. In practice, scientists still haven’t figured out how to get artificial nanostructures to self-clone. The most promising work is modeled on DNA, but the process still requires human help — for now.
Robotics
Once smart machines can build other smart machines, they won’t need humans — and might race us for key resources or even take up arms, Terminator-style. Joy expected intelligent robots by 2030, and scientists agree, predicting major breakthroughs in AI over the next 20 years. But it’s too early to say whether we’ll be calling Sarah Connor.
The other day they waited, the sky was dark and faded,
Solemnly they stated, “He has to die, you know he has to die.”
All the children learnin’, from books that they were burnin’,
Every leaf was turnin’ ; to watch him die, you know he had to die.
See ya Jerry!
Hey, PMama, that evilbible.com web site is a real killer! It does make one wonder why that stuff is left out of most chuch bible study programs. Guess they dont want folks to know what is really in there, huh?
Figured that women folk above all would enjoy this most.
Class 1 - How too Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays–Step by Step,
Slide Presentation.
Class 2 - The Toilet Paper Roll–Does It Change Itself?
Round Table Discussion.
Class 3 - Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor.
Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Class 4 - Dinner Dishes–Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen Sink?
Examples on Video
Class 5 - Learning How To Find Things -
Video titled: Starting With Looking In The Right Places And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming.
Class 6 - Health Watch–Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health Graphics and Audio Tapes.
Class 7 - Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost–Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined
Class 8 - Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks?
Driving Simulations.
Class 9 - Learning to Live–Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife.
Online Classes and role-playing
Class 10 - How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion
Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques.
Class 11 - How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy–Remembering Birthdays, Anniversaries and Other Important Dates and Calling When You’re Going To Be Late.
Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered.
Class 12 - The Stove/Oven–What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration at Fire House Station Number 6.
Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.
The Greek definiton of a good education used to be “A sound mind in a sound body”. Still is.
1st: I don’t believe you really want an explanation. You just want to complain on a blog where you have like minded unbelievers
AmWay, you could relate that to purt’near every post on any of these blogs. And as an open thread, she sure has the right to vent.
You have no chance Jimmy mac — no amount of sucking up will get you any where near a class woman like songbird —- quit salivating - drooling you wouldn’t know what to do with her any way — whine her to tears ?
Sorry S**gBr*d2 clone dirt bag.
I enjoy who I want and will read who I want.
Bet that just burns you up that you have no control over me.
RE:
S**gBr*d2
Posted April 2, 2008 at 1:19 pm | Permalink
You just can’t hide that writting style can you?
HUMAN-cow embryos have been created in a world first at Newcastle University in England, hailed by the scientific community, but labelled “monstrous” by opponents.
A team has grown hybrid embryos after injecting human DNA into eggs taken from cows’ ovaries, which had most of their genetic material removed.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23476268-38200,00.html?from=public_rss
What happens when science is allowed to run amok.
“hailed by the scientific community,”
I’m not sure who ‘hailed it’ but THIS scientist cringes at the thought.
“What happens when science is allowed to run amok.” Substance 22.
“The embryos survived for three days and are intended to provide a limitless supply of stem cells to develop therapies for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and spinal cord injuries, overcoming a worldwide shortfall in human embryosThe embryos survived for three days and are intended to provide a limitless supply of stem cells to develop therapies for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and spinal cord injuries, overcoming a worldwide shortfall in human embryos” — From Substance’s link
What happens when science runs amok is that diseases may be cured.
Songbird: I’m a wee bit older than you but your posts remind me of why I call ladies of our(your) generation “The last of the truly great broads.” My wife, sister and sisters-in-law hold that honor, along with you.
Thanks, Susum!
Sometimes I call myself J.O.B., too. That’s an acronym for “Just (an) Old Broad.” ‘Cause I’m sure feelin’ old of late, that’s for sure!
Trot out the support hose, Revlon Anti-Aging Cream and Geritol Gelcaps! But I can still sing my heart out, g—ammit!
As Pete Townsend of the Who once said, “I may be an old fahrt - but I’m not boring!”
I think Sarah Bellum and others got it right: what’s hurting American education is the emphasis on “popularity” not academic acheivement.
As bad as the kids are on tormenting the intellectually curious, the teachers can be even worse.
Who gets the positive feedback from their high-school faculty? The QB on the football team / the cheerleading captain OR the kid who listens to opera and is teaching himself to write Chinese?
I have to admit, Songbird has to be THE most entertaining poster here.
It’s a darn shame that you spend that humor locked up in person.
The problem is I rarely know when you’re being sincere or if you’re just playing with everyone.
Having a fight with males on another blog right now about Rape Shield laws, and how women should be prosecuted if the man is found not guilty. I can’t even begin to think of what would happen if this were to come to fruition.
I HATE women who cry rape when they aren’t. I think they’re the lowest of the low. Just like prosecutors who ignore a woman who was truly raped because of her ‘reputation’.
I have to say though, I think KFG had the funniest line of the day- a match between Nathan…oh that’s gotta happen.
You ever notice when you bring these verses up in the bible, the fundy freaks get suddenly silent?
Perhaps that’s our key- we’ll quote this website whenever they start spewing, it’ll be like holding a cross to a vampire.
I think the saddest thing is, that according to the bible, Phred Phelps might actually be God himself. Now how scary is that.
Pmom most of us cons just ignore ignorance. We just consider the source. How boring it must be for you libs.
On what grounds do you believe I am “playing” with everyone? Just because my views on some subjects are complicated - and have changed in some ways over time - doesn’t mean I’m insincere. Especially since I’ve made it clear I’m judging only myself (if you’re alluding to abortion).
Please.
I don’t have the energy to play with anyone. Not even myself. I can barely f–king walk; I’m living from temporary position to temporary position because I can’t find a perm. job; and I’ve been battling depressive illness since 1978.
Not to be rude, but I’m kinda scratchin’ my cranium on this one.
Ok ok SB was just checking. We have trolls on the board, and they say things just to rile people up because they don’t have anything better to do with their lives.
I enjoy talking about things, but I’m not going to make up things just for entertainment.
Wow, that’s the best you can come up with JWondering, I’m thoroughly convinced that you have no rebuttal.
Did you even know that those things were written in there?
You are right PMama. All they have is nothing but flaming and wasted blog space.1
Speaking of wasted blog space, there’s one of the ‘wobble-headed’ nodding yes-men right there on cue, (::/Chas/Das/Sugar.)
Let the LYING begin once again! Right on cue! Regular, you continually LIE as to my identity! I think we shall call you, Outlander. or KsGrm. or Max. take your pick! So, go jump in a lake MAX!!
Usually those so mentally confused are confined so as not to cause harm to themselves, or to others. Want to go to your cage now, Regular?
You can call me what you like ::/Chas/Das/Sugar.
I know who I am and those you listed know who they are.
You, however, are having an identity crisis.
No, Regular. YOU are having the identity crisis. You keep insisting I am somebody that I am not. Non-recognition of others is a serious defect in your mental awarness.
Why dont you give up, you stupid fool, and admit that this Blog is open to anybody who wants to be here. And YOU have no right to attach other names to those who post here, except for the Nic that they use. Now, unless you have something constructive to add to the discussion, why dont you just go away somewhere?
I just want all the stupid STUPID Id changing to STOP…from both damn sides.
I haven’t changed ID PMom, you wouldn’t know who to insult if I did, now would you.
I’m not a moving target, right here almost every day providing the ‘clay pigeon’ for the Blogladytes.
Oh whatever Reg. Doesn’t it hurt to lie so frequently?
http://php.com/node/12361/view
Saturday Autism Walk in Wichita.
I wish I could go.
I’ll walk for you PMom and get you a t-shirt.
I’m slow and hobble a bit, but will give it a go.
Actually Jimmie mac it’s a delight to see you make such a big fool of your self every day in every way ….
Fake S**gBr*d2,
At least I don’t have to hide behind a nic like you did to say what’s on my mind.
Eat me — girly boy
S**gBr*d2
Posted April 2, 2008 at 5:38 pm | Permalink
Eat me — girly boy
=======================
OK fake nic — Thats pushing the limits somewhat… well, more than somewhat…
Oh, fake Nic - You have a spelling problem?
“I haven’t changed ID PMom, you wouldn’t know who to insult if I did, now would you.”
Yes, McCluer, you have now used this “Regular” nic for ALMOST three months - a new record for you.
Of course, you continue to nic switch with your Blog Monitor persona as well as many, many more.
But who’s counting?
Congratulations, McCluer, nearly three months with the same nic*.
* with numerous nic switches and troll ID’s.
Kudos.
I havent changed ID either. I have been : : ever since I got on the Blog.
Bow down before my intellectual might for I am Regular, aka McCoward, and I am the expert on anything and everything!
Sorry, I thought this was an adult blog. Later.
Do you ever notice that when you all start trolling up the board, the less real people post on it?
I know there is one person behind the ID that doesn’t care, but the rest of you shame on you.
PMama — I think CNN is having a special on Autism tonite, on the Larrk King?? show?? I think??
Rev. Wright in a different light
By William A. Von Hoene Jr.
March 26, 2008
By William A. Von Hoene Jr.
[a White member of the church]
During the last two weeks, excerpts from sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., pastor for more than 35 years at Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago’s South Side, have flooded the airwaves and dominated our discourse about
the presidential campaign and race.
Wright has been depicted as a racial extremist, or just a plain racist. A number of political figures and news commentators have attempted to use Sen. Barack Obama’s association with him to call into question Obama’s judgment
and the sincerity of his commitment to unity.
I have been a member of Trinity, a church with an almost entirely African-American congregation, for more than 25 years. I
am, however, a white male. From a decidedly different perspective than most Trinitarians, I have heard Wright preach about racial inequality many times, in unvarnished and passionate terms.
In Obama’s recent speech in Philadelphia on racial issues confronting our nation, the senator eloquently observed that Rev. Wright’s sermons reflect the difficult experiences and frustrations of a generation.
It is important that we understand the dynamic Obama spoke about.
It also is important that we not let media coverage and political gamesmanship isolate selected remarks by Wright to the exclusion of anything else that might define him more
accurately and completely.
I find it very troubling that we have distilled Wright’s 35-year ministry to a few phrases; no context whatsoever has been offered or explored.
I do have a bit of personal context. About 26 years ago, I became engaged to my wife, an African-American. She was at that time and remains a member of Trinity. Somewhere between
the ring and the altar, my wife had second thoughts and broke off the engagement.
Her decision was grounded in race: So committed to black causes, the daughter of parents subjected to unthinkable prejudice over the years, an “up-and-coming” leader in the
young black community, how could she marry a white man?
Rev. Wright, whom I had met only in passing at the time and who was equally if not more outspoken about “black” issues than he is today, somehow found out about my wife’s decision. He called and asked her to “drop everything” and
meet with him at Trinity. He spent four hours explaining his reaction to her decision.
Racial divisions were unacceptable, he said, no matter how great or prolonged the pain that caused them. God would not want us to assess or make decisions about people based on race. The world could make progress on issues of race only if people were prepared to break down barriers that were much easier to let stand.
Rev. Wright was pretty persuasive; he presided over our wedding a few months later. In the years since, I have watched in utter awe as Wright has overseen and constructed a support system for thousands in need on the South Side
that is far more impressive and effective than any
governmental program possibly could approach. And never in my life have I been welcomed more warmly and sincerely than at Trinity.
Never.
I hope that as a nation, we take advantage of the
opportunity the recent focus on Rev. Wright presents to advance our dialogue on race in a meaningful and unprecedented way. To do so, however, we need to appreciate that passion born of difficulty does not always manifest itself in the kind of words with which we are most comfortble. We also need to recognize that the basic goodness of people like Jeremiah Wright is not always packaged conventionally.
The problems of race confronting us are immense. But if we sensationalize isolated words for political advantage, casting aside the depth of feeling, circumstances and context which inform them, those problems not only will remain immense, they will be insoluble.
William A. Von Hoene Jr. of Chicago is a
member of Trinity United Church of Christ.
http://www.evilbible.com`
ooops http://www.evilbible.com
So I see 6 pak… good thing too! LOL
As soon as people think up something new they phuck it up with rules.
Sarah Bellum, Claud Balls, Buster Hymen, Hoof Hearted, Eliza Mae Gompers, Econ 303 (the graduate course)
YOU 6 pak are a total LUNATIC. I am NOT Chas, in spite of what you nut cases think. This is way beyond paranoid. This is pure craziness!
A person cant even post on this stupid Blog without being harassed, and castigated day after day after day, with all kinds of the stupidest accusations!
I DONT KNOW CHAS!! I DONT HAVE ANY IDEA WHO SUGAR IS!!! NOW JUST STOP IT YOU STUPID, LOW LIFE GOOD FOR NOTHING TROLL SOCK PUPPETS!! YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS!!
THE EDITORS KNOW WHO I AM… I HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH THEM — IT WILL BE YOU STUPID IMPOSTERS WHO WILL BE GONE ONCE THE BLOG GOES TO SIGN IN AND REGISTRATION!!
YOU WILL ALL SEE!! IT WONT BE LONG NOW!!
Chas, don’t take any crap from those sock puppets.
You know they are nucking futs.
Just ignore them. Then come home real soon. I miss you! XXOO
I AM NOT CHAS EITHER!
DON’T YOU KNOW THAT CHAS ONLY TYPES IN ALL CAPS WHEN HE HAS A HISSY FIT!
ONLY CHAS DOES THAT!
YOU NIC SWITCHERS NEED TO GO F YOU SELVES! NOW! GO AWAY BEFORE I GET REAL MAD AND PULL ALL MY FUNDING FROM THE WE BLOG!
I AM NOT CHAS EITHER!
DON’T YOU KNOW THAT CHAS ONLY TYPES IN ALL CAPS WHEN HE HAS A HISSY FIT!
ONLY CHAS DOES THAT!
YOU NIC SWITCHERS NEED TO GO F YOU SELVES! NOW! GO AWAY BEFORE I GET REAL MAD AND PULL ALL MY FUNDING FROM THE WE BLOG!
DK — Garrison Keillor has had Sarah Bellum as a writer on Prairie Home Companion for years! Anybody who listens to the show knows that. And Hoof Hearted, that was a race horse not long ago. It was all over Countdown on MSNBC. Nothing new there!
You stupid Passels are nick names on a friggin’ blog. You’re having hissies over insults to the non-existant. If you want to be real, post your real names and addresses. Otherwise admit what you all are which is exaggerated portions of your personalities. None of you pissants (excluding Door King) would say what you say on this blog in public even if someone was dumb enough to give you a platform.
Chas, welcome to our world.
We’ve been waiting for you for a long time. It’s good to finally have you here with us.
You can give up your Nics on posting here. Your new Nic which you shall use forever is this:
Chassuckssatonsdickforever
DK — That is the pot calling the kettle black.
Some folks who would LIKE to post here just cant use real names. In my business world, I cant advertise that I am a Liberal. I would lose hundreds of thousands of $$$ per year in contracts.
And as for weeping, why dont you wait until Chas. shows up somewhere, and talk to him. Looks to me like Chas. IS using his name. But, since he is clergy, he wont use his real name in full. With the mental talents I see here, he would be stupid to use his full name. And so would anybody else who leads anything close to a public life.
This Blog is so far degenerated, it is surprising that ANY posters come here. All there is is daily harassment, and ad hominem posting. The only poster here that uses a real name seems to be WSClark, and even he gets accused of being other posters.
Are you people so mentally deficient, that you have nothing else of any resemblance of value to post, so you go after people’s choice of Nics?
That is truly sad!
The post at 8:19 Blog time is NOT mine. Another phony nic stealer! Once again, the Blog proves my assessment true!
Door King
Posted April 2, 2008 at 8:21 pm | Permalink
You have no evidence I molested children, you sick freak!
============================
YOU have no evidence to continue to call me Chas. Even when you have been repeatedly told different. That doesnt seem to stop YOU does it? Why would that stop another Nic for accusing you?? Door King, you are truly a stupid idiot, and a freak of nature!
DK are you having fun talking to yourself?
Jesus H. Christ!! It’s not even a full moon!!
Even the military in Iraq is getting gouged for fuel! If it wasn’t for Kuwait, we’d be paying alot more, or good friends the Saudis, as well as Iraq itself is being of little use.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080403/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/the_military_s_gas_war_7
Interesting, China’s ecomomy is 1/6 of the U.S., yet 16 of the worlds most polluted cities are in China. Wasn’t some yahoo State legislature talking about china as an example of embracing coal energy?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080403/pl_nm/usa_china_paulson_dc_4
Good one Phantom!
Ahaa ha ha ha ahum.
Come on, you people! They are gonna blame me for all of your nonsense! I get tired of getting blamed for everything!
::, I think you’re called a double colon.
J M Walker — if that IS you — I am : : known as Square Peg. And it is nearly impossible for me to post on this Blog. But, the Editors have been notified, and are working on solutions.
If you are NOT J M Walker, STFU!!
The 8:49 PM post is not mine. Establishing my known IP here in this post.
This is very sad.
Total anarchy!