Rich White Republican Name


Found an interesting website posted on another blog. It is a name generator and...

My Rich White Republican Name is Dwight "Taxes are Theft" Edwards.
Take Rich White Republican Name Generator today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

Now why doesn't someone come up with one of these sites for Democrats?

Virile German

Here is a funny story out of Berlin.

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A German woman took her male neighbor to court for noise pollution after he repeatedly kept her awake through half the night and had at least one four-hour sex session, a court spokeswoman said Friday.

"Four hours of sex noises. What was I supposed to think? It was nothing but groaning and banging," the woman told the judge, a Bild newspaper report said.

The woman told Berlin magistrates that her 25-year old neighbor Andreas G. was disturbing the peace by keeping her awake early in the morning. Andreas said his 26-year old neighbor had complained in the past, calling at five in the afternoon, but that he had not felt obliged to respond. "I can have as much sex as loud as I want then," he said.

The judge dropped the case on learning that the man had since moved out of the apartment.

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Anyway, moving right along. The skies have cleared here over California and after two days of very heavy rain, thunder and lightning and hail, we appear to be in a drying period although Monday looks like it might be wet. It felt good to get outside yesterday and go downtown shopping. I did a lot of walking, more walking than buying, so that was even better.

Now I think I am ready to start my big scanning project. I will start with my slides. These will be easiest since they are categorized by subject and with transparences, what you see is what you get, so there is not guessing who or what is in the picture. The negatives, both color as well as B&W, are another matter, but first things first. I need to get a routine going and now.

Tuesday is Super Tuesday and I will vote but mostly NO on the various ballot propositions. Since I am registered as a Democrat I will be voting for John Kerry but I can live with any Democrat who can take on Bush and defeat him in November.

Now this is interesting


CAMBODIA - Feb 21, 2004

Upon watching televised news reports about thousands of gay and lesbian couples becoming officially wed in San Francisco, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk, said on Friday that homosexuals should be allowed to marry.

King Sihanouk stated that Cambodia became a liberal democracy in 1993 and therefore it should allow same sex couples to register their unions.

The King, while only a constitutional monarch without executive power in the current government, continues to hold moral authority in Cambodia and is highly respected by its people.

He also said that transvestites and transexuals, who are much less visible in Cambodian society than in neighboring Thailand, should be better-accepted in Cambodian society as they currently suffer from discrimination and misunderstanding.

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If the Massachusetts State Supreme Court, Mayor Daley of Chicago, one of the counties in New Mexico, Mayor Newsom of San Francisco, and the King of Cambodia can get it right, why can't Bush get it right?

Where did you get those pants?


A Chinese woman unhappy with the trousers she had stolen from a shop may have erred when she took them back to be shortened.

"The woman found the pair of trousers too long for her, and hearing from others that the store alters any clothes they sell free of charge, she went there," the China Daily said on Tuesday, quoting the Yangtze Evening Post.

"But the store discovered the trousers were a missing pair and held her until she confessed to her theft."

The newspaper did not say where or when she was caught.

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Ah, the sweet mysteries of life. Well, I am still here but not accomplishing a whole lot. I have yet to get started on the scanning and archiving of my slides going back a number of years but at least I have set up the folders for them.

I have a number of books to read but have yet to finish the one I started over a month ago. It is interesting but unforunately extended periods of reading tends to put me to sleep and/or I just can't sit for long periods. Either my butt gets sore or I just get restless and did to get up and walk around. This has been a problem for many years. One thing I absolutely cannot do is read in bed. If there were ever an effective sleeping pill for me it would be that.

Ralph Nader...go home! I think that guy should just shut up or at least stay out of the presidential race. He muddied up the waters so much four years ago that we now have a mess on our hands and his re-entry into things could duplicate the situation once again. One friend thinks not as people would be less likely to vote for him this time. I hope my friend is right.

Should be getting a new fridge sometime today. The property management company has finally agreed that my old fifties era fridge is inadequate so their appliance supplier is scheduled to call me this morning with an ETA. Yippee...!

Thank you Mayor Daley


Another big city mayor steps up to the plate and says what is right.
You can read the article by clicking here.

Good thoughts


There are some very good letters to the editor in this morning's SF Chronicle. Here is a sampling of what was written and printed.

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With our economic troubles, job losses, the war in Iraq and its consequential loss of lives, a huge deficit, world terrorism and U.S. intelligence agencies' serious deficiencies, it is truly frightening to know that same-sex marriage heads the president's priorities.

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The question of same-sex marriage is not a question of religion, tradition or popular opinion. It is a fundamental human and civil right. The fact that the president does not see that, or would speak out against equality, is a disgrace.

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Whenever I hear President Bush and other wowsers prattle on about "the sanctity of marriage," I think of the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, married eight times, Larry King, married seven times, and Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia, married three times. Now that's a lot of sanctity.

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And to this last writer's thoughts, I might add what about all of the domestic violence and broken homes that occurr which we never hear about in our daily lives?

Bush is such an idiot!

Life is Dangerous


You are not safe anywhere it seems as pointed out in this article from London.

Important Issues


Isn't it sad when so many people have to focus on who can or cannot get married and why or why not when there are so many far more important things to take care of in this country and in the world. I fear that the 2004 presidential campaign is going to focus on this and other non-issues instead of the economy especially the exportation of jobs to other countries as well as our relationship with other countries. In other campaigns we have heard the question, "Are you better off now than in ____ ? (fill in the year) This time the answer should be a resounding NO and not whether Bill & Steve, or Jane & Sally, got married. If they are in a loving and committed relationship, great. Let them live their lives in happiness and free from government intervention.

As for outsourcing of jobs, I heard one guest on the Lou Dobbs program recently say that it is a necessary part of business survival. Well, how damn short sighted can you get? If they ship so many jobs overseas that result in so much unemployment in this country or else just low paying job being the only possibility, then how the hell are those businesses going to survive when so few people in this country can afford their products or services? My god, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

I think America is starting to wake up and I hope the Democrats lay it on Mr Bush and his buddies very heavily in this matter. Congress can create a level playing field but will it is the question.

Syrup Slick Leaves Drivers in a Jam

Or so said the headline and here is the text of this story.

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BERLIN (Reuters) - A truck carrying raspberry syrup to a jam factory sprang a leak that left a 25-mile sticky trail on a highway, German police said on Tuesday.


"We think the truck lost around a ton of syrup," a police spokesman in the Bavarian town of Schwabach said. Police said improper loading had caused a steel container to break. After stopping the truck and plugging the container, police sent the driver on his way to Aachen, 280 miles down the road.

The fire department cleaned up the slick, causing disruption to motorists, police said.

Another morning...


More rain and wind so I guess I will stay indoors today although I need to go to the post office briefly. Yesterday I was kept indoors by the heavy rains in the morning and being a semi-holiday I could not go to the post office.

UPS showed up early (right after lunch) with my new scanner so I spent all afternoon trying to figure out the various functions. It was not the easiest task as the printed instructions covered only the basics and then barely. Even the on-line documentation, Q&A, and troubleshooting guide left something to be desired. The hardest part was just trying to scan a photo. Well, duh, that is why I bought it but everytime I tried I received an error message that it could not detect a camera. Well, duh, I should have read the set-up instructions a little closer. It seems that I had to go to a command labeled "source" and tell the software to look for a scanner and not a camera. That solved that problem but then trying to get it to save the photos in a location I could find easily turned out to be a chore. I finally solved all the apparent problems and even managed to scan a few slides. This was one of the important functions for me as I have a huge number of slides and film strips going back many years which I want to archive on DVD so I can clear out my closets. This will be a big chore but now I have the tools with which to do it.

Super Tuesday is rapidly approaching but if John Kerry wins today in Wisconsin it would just be a formality that he would be the nominee. John Dean was my first choice but I can live with any Democrat so long as they can beat Bush this fall. Another four years of that nitwit would just be too much!

And one more thing...


It appears that some politicians might be waking up to the fact that American companies are outsourcing our future to other countries. If you haven't watched Lou Dobbs on CNN (7 PM PT) each weeknight recently then checkout the excellent article by Adam Sparks recently printed in the San Francisco Chronicle. At the rate this country is going no one is going to have a job or else it will be so low paying that he or she will not be able to buy whatever is available thus driving the remaining few businesses out of business.

Dirty campaign ahead

This year, probably like no other in modern times, will have a very dirty campaign for the presidency and George "low life" Bush will do anything to try to defeat his opponent. He is a very dangerous and deceitful man who has no place in the White House but he will try to make it seem like everyone else's opinions are wrong and dangerous. His henchman will lie to back him up too.

I bring this up today as John Kerry has won in two more primaries or caucases (Nevada and Washington D.C.) so his progress towards being nominated by the Democratic party in August seems unstoppable at this point. I only hope that momentum can keep going and derail anything that Bush & Co. throws at him. The country cannot stand another four years of that man. Fortunately John Kerry knows what to expect as exemplified by his statement today: "With George Bush's bad record -- with his lack of vision -- he has no choice but to resort to attack politics." And attack he will so American politics will be taken to a new low by at least one man anyway. Let us hope that Kerry is able to take the high road throughout the campaign and I have confidence that he will.

You better hang on tight because its going to be bumpy road ahead.

Let them eat cake.


BERLIN (Reuters) - Teachers in a German school were treated in hospital after gobbling up an anonymously donated chocolate cake, unaware it was laced with hashish, authorities said on Thursday.
Some 10 teachers from the school in the northern town of Lueneburg were treated for nausea and dizziness after sharing a cake left at the door to their staff room, a police spokesman said.

"They thought it was food poisoning, but the doctors quickly recognized the problem," the spokesman said. "They showed all the classic signs of people under the influence of drugs."

The spokesman said the teachers had not suspected anything because it was customary for them to buy cakes from the schoolchildren as part of a fund-raising project.

Blood tests and a sample of an uneaten slice of cake revealed it had been doctored with hashish. The teachers were later discharged and police said they had not yet identified who was responsible for the prank.

Stupidity prevails

Now some people are just plain stupid. I have seen people, pedestrians "challenge" streetcars by walking in front of moving ones that were close at hand but this stunt takes the cake and this person is damned lucky to have gotten out of this alive.

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"A woman who climbed aboard the coupler connecting two Muni Metro cars on the N-Judah line Thursday fell beneath the train and was dragged for about two blocks, Muni officials said.

Witnesses said the woman, whose name has not been released, climbed on the coupler at about 4:20 p.m., just after the eastbound train emerged from the Sunset Tunnel, said Muni spokeswoman Maggie Lynch. It was not clear if the woman was trying to ride the train between cars or to cross between cars.

When the train surged forward, traveling about 10 mph, she fell beneath the cars. Passengers inside alerted the operator, who stopped the train. But by then it had dragged the woman down Duboce Avenue from Noe Street to Church Street. Lynch said the woman was not run over by the wheels of the train.

The woman, who was conscious and breathing when freed, was taken to San Francisco General Hospital. Hospital officials would not release details of her condition."

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Where was that person when brains were handed out?

create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide

The above map, if it appears, shows the countries I have visited in red. (I live in the U.S.)

Interesting Idea

If the far right wingers want to protect heterosexual marriage all they have to do is make divorce illegal, or so says a correspondent in Washington. Sounds like another good idea that won't fly.

Thought for the Day

You know you are getting old when most everyone you know thinks that the song "Unchained Melody" (Righteous Brothers recording) is from the movie "Sleepless in Seattle" when in reality their recording pre-dates the movie and the song dates back to at least the mid-fifties. When I first heard it in approximately 1955, Al Hibler had a big hit with it and simultaneously with that there was a good instrumental version by either Percy Faith or Andre Kostelanetz and his orchestra, or both.

Here we go again

The Massachusetts State Supreme Court has done the right thing to rule that anything less than full marriage rights for gay men and woman is unconstitutional but once again, here come the bigots and all sorts of ignorant people who fear the unknown. They are now trying to rally the State of Massachusetts to pass a constitutional amendment to outlaw marriage except between one man and one woman. Good grief, gay marriage does not threaten heterosexual marriage as it does not make it illegal. It only blesses the unions that now exist. Give me a break! What are these people afraid of. Considering all of the heterosexual divorces and domestic violence and broken homes, what is so damn sacred about marriage anyway?

Uh-oh

This could be bad timing as the decision today by the Massachusetts State Supreme Court in favor of gay marriage could cause considerable difficulty for John Kerry who is now the leading Democratic candidate nomination for president. Several months ago they gave indication that they were moving in this direction but if there are no right wing extremists on that court intent on derailing Kerry's presidential bid, then this certainly in a case of very bad timing. Could they not have put this decision off for one year? Although all major candidates seem to have similar opinions regarding gay marriage and/or civil unions, Kerry will need to be extremely careful in what he says during the next several months.

Missing CD

Oh where , or where is my CA state CD from Tubro Tax? It was supposed mailed nearly a month ago and it has not arrived. I am ready to start work on my 2003 taxes but can't really proceed without that disc and its forms being available.

Well, John Kerry rolls right along. It should be interesting to see if this continues. I can support him even though initially I supported John Dean. I have heard some suggestions that the Democrats should nominate Kerry and Edwards for the ticket in November. Sounds like a good idea to me. Bush and his wolves would have a field day but then it would also give them lots of opportunity to insert their collective foot into mouth.

Now that someone is once again slated to be executed at San Quentin, protesters are out once again. Do these do-gooders really think that any of the people on death row ever showed any compassion towards their victims? Of course, we could look at as trying to extend the torture of a life of confinement in prison vs. being released from it by death. Who knows. It is an exercise in futility to say the least.

Well, I got lucky this winter in that my usual mid-winter cold and/or bout with a bronchial cough occurred after returning from vacation instead of before as it did last year. Still, it is very frustrating as no over-the-counter medicine works on this cough and since I failed to make a note of what was prescribed for me in Bangkok last year I have no information for my doctor as to what works. I just know it did and very swiftly too.

Aha...so someone did tip off Martha Stewart!

Aha...so there were no WMDs!

Aha...so the truth eventually comes out...praise the lord and pass the ammunition.

Such madness

If anyone has ever wondered why much of the world cannot get along with the extremists in the Muslim world, you need only look once again to the ridiculous scene being played out in the annual haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia where 244 people were killed in a stampede. Why? Just to throw stones at a pillars representing the devil? How utterly ignorant and stupid! Why not a statue of George Bush? heh heh That would make more sense. No, really, each year this happens. It is an exercise in futility and each year people get crushed to death in the process and for what? It hasn't improved world conditions. Why don't they do something positive for a change?

Also in the news today is a report about another suicide bombing in Iraq in which 56 people were killed. Won't this killing ever stop? And all of this from the beginning of time has been over control and/or ownership of land. Well, we don't own this planet. We just live here and should be caretakers of it but NO, some people have the idea that they can draw lines in the sand and say this is mine and that is yours. Until this attitude stops, there will always be wars. When I read about these violent acts, I just want to go out and strangle such idiots. Hmm...

Then there are news stories about odd happenings such as the following. (One of two I read today from Arkansas.)

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) - For the second time since December, cell doors at the Arkansas prison housing the state's death row inmates were accidentally unlocked, prison officials said on Thursday.

No one left their cells when a guard unlocked 26 doors on death row at Varner prison, about 70 miles southeast of Little Rock, for three minutes on Wednesday.

"They (the prisoners) sat there. They didn't move. But the death row inmates are the best behaved inmates in prison," said Dina Tyler, spokeswoman for the Arkansas prison system.

In December, an electrical fault opened all doors in a cellblock housing violent prisoners such as murderers and rapists. Dozens of inmates ventured into a corridor and one of them was killed.

An inmate is expected to be charged with the killing within days, Tyler said.

The guard responsible for the latest death row incident has been fired.

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The other story from Arkansas was about a lawyer mailing a poisonous snake to someone whom he had been feuding with.

My favorite "oops" story of all time (so far anyway) is about the person who boarded an airliner thinking it was going to Oakland California only to end up in Aukland, New Zealand. How did that person even get past the check-out counter is beyond me but it was an interesting story anyway.

Oh well, I have only one thing to say in closing.

GO PATRIOTS