Harry Potter - Half Blood Prince

The premier showing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is taking place as I write this. I didn't look up how many theaters here in Springfield, Illinois are showing Order of the Phoenix, but I'm sure they're all packed. The movie started just after midnight. I've talked with several fans of the Potter series today, and all expressed a keen desire to show up for the first showing, but none said they could attend - that's what happens when you get old I guess.

Despite not attending tonight I am hoping to catch the movie this weekend.

This post, however, is about Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I ran out to Barnes & Noble tonight and purchased Half Blood Prince. Thanks to my brother and sister in law who gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card for Christmas I have the money to purchase the books.

I also reserved a copy of the upcoming, and final Harry Potter book which will arrive on bookshelves in less than two weeks!

So far I've read the very first chapter of Half Blood Prince, and it definitely picks up where Order of the Phoenix ends. I've been reading in the press lately how author J.K. Rowling has been coming under increasing pressure from fans to not let Harry Potter die. I too am feeling a bit concerned. It's such a nice series, but I know something has to give - either Potter or the Dark Lord - He Who Must Not Be Named - must die, and I suspect Harry Potter will not survive.

But what does that mean? How will Harry Potter die? Certainly he can not die in the sense that the Dark Lord prevails, but at the same time we know that the Potter series is coming to a definite ending. There must be some ultimate act of self sacrifice on the part of our hero. Everything seems to be pointing to Harry Potter not being able to defeat the Dark Lord through magic alone. Yet we know Harry Potter is the one person who can defeat him. So it is something else about Harry that can defeat He Who Must Not Be Named. Most speculation I've read suggest it is Harry Potter's ability to love. That love in some way will overcome hate.

How J. K. Rowling spins the final chapter of the final book in this series is something hundreds of millions of Harry Potter fans around the world expect to find out in less than a fortnight. I can hardly wait. This is why I decided to read Half Blood Prince now instead of waiting. Reading the last three books in rapid succession, and taking in the fifth movie is certainly helping to define the color of this summer of 2007.

Movie Reviewer Makes Mistake - I Point It Out to Him

Oh yes, here's an email which I sent to San Francisco movie reviewer, Mick LaSalle who incorrectly identified one of the magical creatures in his Order of the Phoenix movie review.

You stated, "A flight across the Thames at night on broomsticks is a beautiful thing to see. A similar flight, later in the film, on centaurs is almost equally satisfying", however, the winged creatures to which you refer are actually Thestrals.

Some Potter Mythology

Centaurs are a proud race of creatures not the servants of man for goodness sake. They'd probably shoot arrows at you if you ever venture into the forbidden magical forest outside Hogwarts for suggesting that they would help Harry and his crew. Although a Centaur saved Harry Potter's life by giving him a ride in an earlier book that Centaur, a friend of Dumbledore's, is now under a threat of death from the other Centaurs, and is banned from ever returning to the magical forest when he agreed to teach at Hogwarts).

Thestrals, winged reptilian horselike creatures, have a keen sense of direction, can only be seen by those who have witnessed death, and may give a ride if you can attract one with say, a lick of Giant's blood, or perhaps some fresh kill.

Response From Senator Durbin

O.K. I know this is boilerplate. Something anyone voicing their concerns about the Iraq War receives. Still let's look at it. My responses in purple. I use the color red to indicate areas of interest.

The following, not including my comments, came from Dick Durbin's staff as a result of an email which I sent to him a few days ago. Look for my better written version of that email on my blog posted a few days ago.

Thank you for letting me know of your opposition to the war in Iraq. I appreciate hearing from you.

I agree that our policy toward Iraq needs a new direction. I voted against the resolution authorizing this war, and since then, far too many of our men and women in uniform have died there. With our involvement now in its fifth year, more than 3,500 American soldiers have been killed and more than 25,000 have been wounded, including thousands who have suffered life-changing injuries such as traumatic brain injury or the loss of a limb. In addition to these losses, this war is costing us $2 billion each week. Add to this the escalating sectarian violence and the unknown number of innocent Iraqi civilians who have perished as a result, and it is clear the Bush Administration lacks a coherent strategy to stabilize Iraq and achieve victory.

JP: I didn't know Senator Richard Durbin voted against the resolution authorizing the war. I suspect there were several points at which Congress had the chance to delay, or stop our headlong rush to war. I'm hoping Senator Richard Durbin consistently voted against the war. If so, my hat is off to him since I was duped by Bush into supporting the war. I honestly believed that our intelligence community must have possessed evidence of weapons of mass destruction. I like most were fooled by lies from the Bush Administration. Who would have believed any administration would stoop so low after the attacks on the twin towers as to lie to the American people, and the world about who was responsible?

The invasion of Iraq was possibly the greatest policy failure of any administration in our nation's history. It is time for a new policy that will start bringing our troops home. Congress went on record in support of a phased withdrawal when it approved a supplemental spending bill containing a timetable for redeploying our troops from Iraq. Tragically, President Bush vetoed that bill and vowed to do the same with any other bill that included a timetable. We do not yet have the votes to compel him to change course, but the supplemental appropriations bill Congress ultimately sent to the President is not the end of the debate on the war in Iraq. This debate will continue until the President relents and implements a plan to bring our troops home.

JP: It's too bad that Congress can't keep sending bills to the President anyway - like one bill a week until Bush is kicked out of office. The Democrats could say they sent a hundred bills to the President only to have the President veto them all. I don't think the American people would blame the Democrats for the war or for dragging their feet. They'd know the Republicans, and the Bush Administration was completely to blame for keeping our troops in Iraq.

The measure that was signed into law takes one small step. It requires the Iraqi government to adhere to specific conditions in order to continue to receive economic assistance from the United States. The President may waive that provision, but to do so he must justify the waiver and describe the actions being taken to bring the Iraqi government into compliance. Ultimately, however, the bill lacks the clear timetable for redeployment that many of us worked hard to include.

JP: Symbolism only, and I dare say that this one measure was not enough.

Our troops have done everything we have asked of them. We owe it to them and their families to hold our government accountable and continue to press for a new direction. We must make it clear to Iraq's political leaders and its people that they must take responsibility for the future of their nation, engage in an effective reconciliation process, and establish and maintain peace with the help of a trained and fully functioning Iraqi security force. The Iraqis face a difficult road ahead, and we should continue to help them as they strive to move forward. But by continuing our current open-ended military commitment in Iraq, the Bush Administration is simply prolonging the day when the U.S. soldiers there are able to return home to their families. I am saddened and angered by the Administration's insistence on continuing and escalating our role in what is now an Iraqi civil war. I will continue to push for a new direction that brings our troops home.

JP: This was some good boilerplate. Obviously Senator Durbin doesn't have time to respond to every letter, or email, but he probably approved the text. Nothing new here, but in a way that's reassuring in the sense that what I hear him say on CSPAN is what he's telling everyone, and that's that he wants to bring our troops home.

Order of the Phoenix - My Take

Last week I announced on this blog that I started reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I have read every book in the series just before attending its theatrical release.

Part of the reason why I chose to read the books just before each movie was released was laziness, but as each movie approached I also realized that I enjoyed racing to finish the associated book just in the nick of time.

And so this weekend I decided I simply had to finish up Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, what with the movie coming out in a matter of days.

This morning I finished the book after reading all night. In fact I left just twenty pages for myself before sleeping, and finished those up this morning.

As this isn't going to be an actual review of the book I'll cut to the chase and simply say - wow!

Great book for what it is.

Tonight I watched a one hour retrospective which appeared on A&E which reviewed the first four Harry Potter books, and movies. It also included many recent interviews of the actors which portray the main characters in the series, and included some tantalizing clips from the soon to be released movie.

From everything I've seen I can tell you it looks very exciting.

I can think of no other series of books or movies which start their main characters out as children, and slowly progress them through adolescence, and what will inevitably be early adulthood. So this must be really exciting for my daughter's generation who have aged year by year in step with the characters in the movies.

Also, there's the fact that the last book in the Harry Potter series is due for release later this month.

I plan to break my pattern, and purchase the two remaining books in the series.

I'm doing this as a form of self defense, for if I don't one of my coworkers will ruin the ending of the series for me, and I won't let that happen.

Stephen King is correct when he says that a hundred years from now people will still be reading the books in this series.

No doubt I'll be going to the movie this week!

Open Letter to Senator Dick Durbin

Senator Durbin,

I've been a life long supporter, and wish to thank you for your service.

As I see it, President Bush will not bring our troops home from Iraq despite mounting opposition to the never ending war there.

I believe the Iraq war has harmed the national interest.

I've seen you speak several times on CSPAN, and I suspect you are as frustrated with the Bush Administration as the majority of the American people are.

I realize that the slim Democratic majority in the Senate makes it difficult to proceed in any bold fashion. Without Cloture Republicans can filibuster - effectively killing a bill before it even has a chance.

Unfortunately, I have begun to notice in the blogosphere that many who supported Democrats in the last election feel betrayed.

I'm hoping that this sense of betrayal doesn't keep people from voting in the extremely important 2008 election.

The fate of the nation depends upon voters understanding that Democrats did not betray them, but that they simply lack the votes to overcome Congressional procedural obstacles employed by Republicans. That such procedures will prevent bringing our troops home unless either the Democrats take additional seats in the House and Senate, or until we have a Democrat as president again.

I believe that our nation should be using the money we are wasting in Iraq on subsidizing a shift to alternative fuels.

We've wasted so much of this nation's treasure on the Iraq debacle it is simply mind boggling to wrap one's thoughts around how much good we could have done right here in this nation.

I often wonder how many wind mill farms, geothermal electric plants, and solar plants could have been built with the money we have wasted on the Iraq war?

I can only guess how many more hybrid vehicles, flex fuel vehicles, and electric vehicles could have been purchased if we had used money wasted on the Iraq war to finance tax breaks for those purchasing such vehicles?

I see many problems ahead for America which can be avoided if we only had leaders willing to tell the truth, and challenge corruption.

I feel that you are such a leader. Please do what you can to end the Iraq war, and help this nation move toward energy independence.

Sincerely and Respectfully,

Edited for presentation on my blog. I sent this to the Honorable Senator Durbin.

Corrupt to the Core - Impeach Them

.. God Bless The USA! Impeach George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney
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Bush Administration - An Organized Crime Operation

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney should be impeached.

Commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence for having obstructed justice is just one more example in a long list of Bush Administration misdeeds which illustrates that George W. Bush is unfit for office - any office.


The Bush Administration is like an oozing wound contaminating everything that it touches.

The Bush Administration's corrupt gang of cronies will continue to hold power until January of 2009, and if this country doesn't watch out we'll end up with another group of blood suckers following on their heels.



What To Do Until January 2009

• Tell your kids not to join the military until U.S. troops leave Iraq
• Keep informed
• Write your Congressman
  
• Contribute
• Volunteer
• Vote in 2008
  
• Don't give up hope

If we can keep the bastards from stealing another election there's a chance we can make this nation the kind of nation everyone can be proud of again.
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Remember peace and prosperity anyone?

They're wanting to raise an entire generation of American's afraid of their own shadow - American's so afraid of the terrorist boogie man that they'll raise their hands for permission before they go potty. Don't let them use our fears to take our freedoms away.
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For Those Outraged

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Olbermann on Libby

Watch Countdown on MSNBC tonight in which Host Keith Olbermann will ask for Bush, and Cheney to resign!
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Local Blogger on Bush's Outrageous Behavior

Check out Dave of The11thhour's totally justified righteous indignation over Bush's latest evildoing.
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Read More About Bush Administration Treason

http://www.wilsonsupport.org/

All You Need Is Love

The Beatles - All You Need Is Love

Some may find the world's problems a bit overwhelming.
Where do we even begin?
This group hates that group.
This person can't stand that person.

And what of war, and intolerance, and petty jealousy?

This song seems to have the answer, however, we need to define love in a way that doesn't result in violence, oppression, all the other evils that have been carried out in the name of God, and presumably love.

If we look at all the bloodshed, and havoc in this world today we see the genesis of all these events based in the opposite of concern for the welfare of our fellow man.

We've found many ways to justify this behavior; nationalism, capitalism, religion, ethnicity, race, gender, age, and even sexual orientation. We've use these tools to promote genocide, war, slavery, theft, torture, murder, rape, and a list of atrocities so long that only an evil madman could ever imagine.

Some say humanity is itself evil, and insane, while others blame individuals. No matter where we point the blame the truth is the responsibility for how this world works falls to us.



All You Need Is Love
.......The Beatles

Love, love, love.
Love, love, love.
Love, love, love.

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It's easy.

Nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It's easy.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

Nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

All you need is love (all together, now!)
All you need is love. (everybody!)
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need (love is all you need).

Yee-hai!
Oh yeah!
She loves you, yeah yeah yeah.
She loves you, yeah yeah yeah.

Buffet City Scrapbook Entry

Photo: Buffet City Sells Wall Adornments Spring 2007


I'm using my blog to "scrap book" the following article obtained from the ICE website.

Buffet City was a popular Chinese eatery in Springfield, Illinois. The restaurant was closed after an immigration raid in 2006. I include (above) a photo which shows the sale of the large posters which adorned Buffet City's walls. Asking price was $150 each. I snapped the photo early spring 2007.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The two owners of a Springfield restaurant were indicted yesterday for money laundering, and for harboring and employing illegal aliens at the restaurant. The indictment resulted from a worksite enforcement investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Rodger A. Heaton, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, announced that the owners of Buffet City restaurant, 1774 Wabash Ave., Springfield, were charged by a federal grand jury yesterday. The 10-count indictment charges Xiang Hui Ye, 28, of 3304 Haviland Dr., and Xian Xi Ye, 39, of 2709 Kipling Dr., with one count each of harboring and employing illegal aliens, and eight counts of money laundering. Both defendants were charged in a criminal complaint filed Sept. 20. Hui Ye, a Chinese citizen who was granted asylum in the U.S., was arrested Sept. 20, and Xi Ye, an illegal alien from China, was arrested Sept. 28. Both remain temporarily detained pending hearings scheduled on Oct. 10 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Byron G. Cudmore. The indictment alleges that from January 2005 through Sept. 20, 2006, the two men provided housing, employment and transportation to illegal aliens for commercial advantage and financial gain, and that they knowingly hired and recruited illegal aliens to work at their Buffet City restaurant. The money laundering charges allege that one or the other of the defendants signed checks to pay for apartment rental used to house illegal aliens. If convicted, the statutory penalty for the felony offense of harboring illegal aliens is up to 10 years in prison for each alien. For the misdemeanor offense of hiring or recruiting illegal aliens for employment, the penalty is up to six months in prison and a fine of $3,000 for each illegal alien. For each charge of money laundering, the penalty is up to 20 years in prison. “ICE aggressively targets employers who knowingly and recklessly employ an illegal alien workforce,” said ICE resident agent-in-charge Greg Archambeault who heads the Springfield office. “Today's enforcement action demonstrates how we use all our investigative tools to go after those who take advantage of illegal labor to make a profit.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Chesley, in the Springfield Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, is prosecuting the case. The U.S. Department of Labor assisted ICE with the investigation. Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The public is encouraged to report suspicious behavior by calling ICE's toll-free hotline: 1-866-3472423. This investigation was part of the Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a comprehensive multi-year plan by the Department of Homeland Security to secure America's borders and reduce illegal migration. Under SBI, Homeland Security seeks to gain operational control of both the northern and southern borders, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are removed from the country quickly and efficiently. SBI also involves strong interior enforcement efforts, including enhanced worksite enforcement investigations and intensified efforts to track down and remove illegal aliens inside this country.

-- ICE --

iShot Him For His iPhone

Bloody IPhone


iShot Him For His iPhone
...........by JP

Head's smashed like a bug

iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone

Blood colors the rug

iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone

Oozing goo was his head

iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone

Alive now dead dead dead

iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone

Now I got what he once had

iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone

His IPhone now I'm so bad

iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone

Asked polite he just laughed

iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone
iShot him for his iPhone

Had to cap his ass

Harry Potter - Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I must admit I bought the book long ago, but never read it. And now as with earlier Harry Potter books I find myself racing to read the book prior to going to see the movie.

How else can I claim to be disappointed in the movie?

Actually, I've found the series of Harry Potter movies so far to be quite faithful to the books - not word for word mind you.

So I'm about ten percent done after some reading tonight - will I be finished in time?

One of my coworkers told me about some of what happens in this book, yet I like what I've read so far.

Harry is turning into a darker character - with passions - feelings - that he wasn't able to have when he was younger. I've heard that he develops more magical skills, and I'm looking to see that too.

And yes, I know the last book in the series is being released next month too - so I'll have some reading to do if I'm ever to catch up with the series.

iPhone Wet Dream

It's down to hours now. My buddy Dave at The11thhour will be lucky enough to own what I can only dream of - the IPhone.

Many months ago, right after Steve Jobs introduced the IPhone to the rest of the world, I went to www.Apple.com and spent over an hour just reading about this phone.

I sent the link to a coworker, and said I was going to have that phone.

After I bought my daughter her car for her sixteenth birthday I knew then I couldn't afford the IPhone. I couldn't justify moving from my cellular carrier, and buying the phone of my dreams.

Still I told myself, maybe someway I'll do it.

But reality has set in.

As Apple and AT&T have run their IPhone advertisements I've noticed the effect they've had upon me - similar in a way to pornography.

Here is something you want very much. She's classy. She's for a better man than you.
But you can have her for a price. She's for sale. If only you were man enough to handle her.

Oh IPhone, I must have you. I must possess you. I must be one with you my dream phone.

I have for many years believed that the IPhone would in fact be mine. Even before Apple introduced the IPhone I thought out carefully what I'd want in a phone, thinking about Science Fiction predictions on technology of the future.

Now it seems the future is here, and that phone is available in the IPhone.

I've read enough reviews to know the phone has some series limitations. For the money that people will be shelling out the IPhone is an expensive status symbol. Yet despite any flaws it may have I suspect it will be worth every penny considering how much other cell phones suck.

In fact when I look at advertisements for other phones now I laugh in contempt.

The thought of upgrading to something less than the IPhone seems a cruel thought, and I now have decided not to upgrade any of my phones until Apple begins selling to Verizon in two years.

Why would I want some obsolete crap when I can have an IPhone?

I believe that will be the legacy of the IPhone. It has raised the expectation of what a phone should be.

Since I won't be buying an IPhone anytime soon I will hope for the next best thing, to be allowed to play with Dave's IPhone when he gets one - hopefully tomorrow.

It's Midnight!

My Cat Midnight

I liked this photo of Midnight. Midnight is a male tuxedo cat.

Now Those Are Some Big Flippers

Introducing On The Right Icadyptes salasi

Thought this recent discovery in paleo-biology was kind of funny.

Five foot tall penguins! Go figure. Then again some of the fish living forty million years ago were huge, and rather evil looking too.


Check out Alabama's Zeuglodon from the same period

Food for thought people of Springfield. You never really know what may be lurking in Loch Springfield.

Dad Owned An Aston Martin

Dad Owned An Aston Martin - This Wasn't It

My father owned an Aston Martin. We kept it locked up in the garage. I recall playing in it from time to time. People always seemed impressed by it when he'd open the garage up to show them.

Eventually he sold it. I always thought he made a mistake when he sold it. I wasn't told how much he made in the sale.

I never thought to ask him how he came to own an English car here in a smallish town in the Midwestern U.S.

Mom, and Dad are gone now so I guess I'll never know the full story.

I hope whoever bought the car kept care of it, and that it's still running.

Tony Blair Going Going - Almost Gone

U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair

After ten years as Prime Minister, and at the helm of Britain's Labor Party, Tony Blair's time in office is rapidly coming to a close. By Wednesday of this week, June 27th, 2007 Mr. Blair will join the ranks of Winston Churchill, and Margaret Thatcher. Yet another player in the U.K. history whose legacy will be debated decades from now.

Whatever we may think of him politically, and few American's have any idea what to think of a U.K. Prime Minister, Mr. Blair has been a steadfast friend of the U.S. From an American perspective I can only thank Mr. Blair for his compromise. Surely a Labor Party leader had to pay terrible cost for maintaining such a friendship after President Clinton's departure.

It must have been difficult to turn your eyes away from continental Europe, and instead look across the Atlantic in search of U.K.'s future.

The fact is Mr. Blair's participation in the Iraqi fiasco played a prominent role in his undoing. While no one can claim that a ten year stint as Prime Minister is anything but a political success Tony Blair was hurt by revelations that U.K. intelligence was aware prior the the U.S. attack on Iraq that intelligence was being cooked up, and that there was no evidence that weapons of mass destruction were present in Iraq.

Despite the Iraq quagmire, which the U.K. plans to eject itself from in short course, Blair's wider legacy will most likely be written by his domestic agenda of which I am unqualified to comment - being an uninformed American.

I will, however, miss Mr. Blair's Question and Answer time with the U.K. Parliament which is televised weekly on CSPAN. He was quick on his feet, and always a gentleman. If only we could be so lucky here in the U.S.

Upton Sinclair - Writer & Social Justice Advocate

Upton Sinclair - Write and Social Justice Advocate

"Man is an evasive beast, given to cultivating strange notions about himself. He is humiliated by his simian ancestry, and tries to deny his animal nature, to persuade himself that he is not limited by its weaknesses nor concerned in its fate. And this impulse may be harmless, when it is genuine. But what are we to say when we see the formulas of heroic self-deception made use of by unheroic self-indulgence?" - Upton Sinclair on Religion and Evolution -

When we reflect on how it is that contaminated food, poisonous consumer products, and dangerous consumer items are being brought into the United States from nations like China we realize that more than ever the people of this nation need to remain vigilant.

Quick profit often is placed in front of what is good, and right. Quick profits for one business is often placed in front of what is good for society, and the long term good of business.

Writers like Upton Sinclair have often played historically important roles in exposing what businesses are able to justify in the pursuit of profit.

It is up to each and every generation to protect the gains of previous generations. It is in fact our need to defend our children, our parents, and ourselves from pollution, and the very poisoning of our foods.

My respects to Upton Sinclair. He lived a life dedicated to promoting the rights of the people.

Dedicated To War Pigs Everywhere

Black Sabbath - War Pigs (1970 Paris)

I was making a list, it was getting a somewhat long, I didn't want to leave anyone out, but you know who you are.

Bill Ward kicks butt on drums doesn't he!


A Heartbeat From The Presidency

Black Sabbath - War Pigs

Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerers of deaths construction
In the fields the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds, oh lord yeah!

Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to the poor

Time will tell on their power minds
Making war just for fun
Treating people just like pawns in chess
Wait till their judgment day comes, yeah!

Now in darkness, world stops turning
As the war machine keeps burning
No more war pigs of the power
Hand of God has struck the hour
Day of judgment, God is calling
On their knees, the war pigs crawling
Begging mercy for their sins
Satan, laughing, spreads his wings
All right now!

My Iraqi Girlfriend

Raghad Toma - Eleven Year Old Christian Iraqi Refugee
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A Face From My Past

While visiting CNN.Com today I came to a complete stop when I saw the photograph of little eleven year old Raghad Toma. I could not get over her resemblance to a girlfriend I had back in College. Little Raghad is just eleven, while my girlfriend was college age, yet the resemblance is haunting.

It was that resemblance between this little Iraqi refugee, and my old flame which led me to read the story. I must admit I often find reading stories of the non-stop slaughter in Iraq too painful to bear. I simply can't force myself to read every story which is available for me to read.

As I delved into the details of little Raghad Toma's plight I discovered the reason behind her strong resemblance to my girlfriend. Raghad is a little Christian girl from the Mosul plains of Iraq. My girlfriend was also a Christian girl from Mosul.

In this part of the world, Christians marry Christians, and Muslims marry Muslims. With such a small population of Christians intermarrying for so many generations a strong physical resemblance is created.


Christian Minority In Iraq Speak The Language Which Jesus Spoke

The small minority of Christians in Iraq were treated properly by Saddam Hussein. Saddam was a master at manipulating the various ethnic groups within Iraq. He knew that the greatly outnumbered Christians would be loyal to him if he protected them.

Most Christians in Iraq live near Mosul, in the Mosul plains. These ancient Christian communities were in fact established by Jews who migrated eastward across the region from Judea. Jewish converts in the region were among the earliest Christians. Two thousand years later less than half a million people speak the ancient language spoken by Jesus Christ.
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U.S. Invasion Leads To Persecution Of Christians In Iraq

Since the United States' invasion of Iraq the ancient Christian communities which have existed for thousand's of years have come under attack from Muslim extremist who seek to create an all Muslim state.

It doesn't matter that the Christians were there even before Islam existed. As sectarian violence increases many Christians are fleeing into the bordering Muslim nations which have little sympathy for Christian refugees.
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Christian Refugees Treated As Pariah In Muslim Nations

Raghad Toma's family is just one example of a Christian family rounded up into refugee camps, and living on the fringe of survival. The Turks don't want them, and won't let them travel, or seek employment. It's a horrible situation for these victims of sectarian violence. They live in a land which simply wishes they'd disappear.

In the mean time the United States which created this nightmare scenario has dragged its feet on allowing Iraqi refugees to seek safety here.

There is a possibility that the Toma family will be allowed to immigrate to the United States. That would seem only fair since their dire situation is the direct result of U.S. action within the region. The U.S. needs to take immediate action to assist Iraqi refugees as sectarian violence in Iraq spreads into an all out civil war.

The coming civil war in Iraq will result in a bloodbath that makes everything which has happened before it look trivial. Some analyst believe that a million Iraqis will die in the coming sectarian violence.
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The U.S. Has The Blood of Innocents On Its Hands

The United States now has a moral responsibility to protect those it has endangered, but will it live up to its moral responsibilities? If the past is any indication of how the U.S. will handle its obligations it seems highly doubtful that it will act in the best interest of the Iraqi people.

Just ask the Kurds, and the Shiites about their experience at the hands of Saddam Husein after the end of the Gulf War when the first President Bush encouraged them to rebel against Saddam's regime. As Saddam's genocidal response began the United States watched, and did nothing.

The U.S. sold those people out in the name of regional stability, and in the name of cheap oil.

We stand naked in front of God, and future generations to be judged for our immoral actions. Any state which acts with such disregard for those it has sacrificed to the alter of greed should suffer, and will ultimately suffer the same fate as all the other nations which placed imperialist dreams ahead of compassion. We will lose what we ultimately sought to protect, our safety, our prosperity, and what pretense we clutch of a lost innocence.
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Beyond This Posting

Read More: http://www.christianfreedom.org/index.html

See More: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/

Do More: http://www.networkforgood.org


About The Photos

Both Presented Without Permission From CNN and Not under my copyright - but theirs. I used them here with a heavy heart.

Hey Pal!

Dave of The11thhour recently wrote a short about the use of the word pal. Dave, and some of his commentators suspect that pal has over time become a type of insult.

Reading Dave's post brought an immediate recollection of the person who made the word "pal" meaningful to me - Jim Belz.

Jim Belz was Dean of Men (Discipline) at Griffin High School (now Sacred Heart - Griffin) in Springfield, Illinois.

Jim Belz would sit on a wooden stool, in the main entrance hallway just outside the cafeteria, and watch for those boys (all boys school at that time) who were due a detention slip - usually for skipping class.

"Hey Pal!", he'd say.

There was no ignoring Mr. Belz. You had to walk over, and get your detention slip. The slip would tell you to show up on Saturday morning for this, or that reason, and it had to be signed by a parent.

It was a pretty good system he had there. It saved him from having to search for the students. He'd simply wait, and they'd usually pass by. Sometimes you'd manage to evade his gaze, but he'd usually catch you later in the day. He was the hunter, and we were his prey. It was all very cat, and mouse - law and order I might say.

A photo in one of the Griffin High School yearbooks from that era has Mr. Beltz sitting on that stool, and I believe the caption reads, "Hey Pal".

I never hear that phrase without thinking of the late great Mr. Belz.

Dave of The11thhour probably never served detention on Saturday morning, although if Mr. Belz had known what kinds of things Dave was up to back then he surely would have had Dave cleaning the blackboards, and waxing the floors of Griffin High - as I did many a Saturday morning.
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James Belz

Mr. Belz was a fine, and decent man. I don't feel anyone could have known him any other way. Was he strict? You betcha. As an adult I realize that that type of discipline was badly needed. We needed it then, and we certainly need it now. Good thoughts, and several prayers towards you and your family Mr. Belz.

Jim Belz played baseball for the Saint Louis Cardinals briefly before become a scout for the team. He died of cancer a few years back. There was a significantly large story on Mr. Belz in the State Journal Register. He was a real fixture in the local baseball scene - a local legend. His son John William Belz is a judge.

Here's a grab from IHSA showing Jim Belz coaching tenure at Griffin. I include some of the other coaches for comparison.

Boys Basketball

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As Springfield (Cathedral).....W.......L...........Coach .
1957-58 |          |  19   9    | Jim Belz 
1958-59 |          |  18   7    | Jim Belz
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As Springfield (Griffin)
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1959-60 |          |  15   9    | Jim Belz
1960-61 |          |  18   8    | Jim Belz
1961-62 |          |  13  13    | Jim Belz
1962-63 |          |  20   6    | Jim Belz
1963-64 |          |  23   4    | Jim Belz
1964-65 |          |  10  15    | Jim Belz
1965-66 |          |  17  10    | Jim Belz
1966-67 |          |  17  10    | Jim Belz
         . . . . .    170 91   10 yr  .651
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1967-68 |          |  12  15    | Bob Martin
1968-69 |          |   2  23    | Bob Martin
1969-70 |          |   3  21    | Bob Martin
1970-71 |          |   9  17    | Bob Martin
       . . . . .     26 76    4 yr  .255
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1971-72 |          |   8  17    | Larry Sellinger
1972-73 |          |  14  11    | Larry Sellinger
1973-74 |          |   6  18    | Larry Sellinger
1974-75 |          |   9  15    | Larry Sellinger
1975-76 |          |  10  14    | Larry Sellinger
1976-77 |  R       |   7   6    | Larry Sellinger [partial]
         . . . . .    54  81     6 yr  .400
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1976-77 |          |   7   7    | Bill Fleischli [partial]
1977-78 |          |  15  12    | Bill Fleischli
1978-79 |  R       |  13  14    | Bill Fleischli
1979-80 |          |  16  11    | Bill Fleischli
1980-81 |  R       |  24   4    | Bill Fleischli
         . . . . .    75  48      5 yr  .610

       SCHOOL TOTAL  1006 946    76 yr  .515

Dad, I Smoke Now!

Dad! I Like Newport!

Teenage Daughter: I like smoking. It makes ya look cool.
Disappointed Father: You better never smoke in front of me.

Teenage Daughter: I don't really smoke right anyway.
Disappointed Father: If you continue I'm going to start taking things away.

Teenage Daughter: I only have seven left.
Disappointed Father: It's illegal that you even have them.

Teenage Daughter: All my friends smoke.
Disappointed Father: If you have the money for cigarettes you can start paying your own cell phone bill.

Teenage Daughter: I told you about them didn't I?
Disappointed Father: That doesn't make it right. They're highly addictive, and cause the deaths of half a million Americans every year. Once you get started you won't be able to stop.

Teenage Daughter: Well I'm not smoking them right so I won't get addicted.
Disappointed Father: From the time you were a little child we told you how stupid it is to smoke, and this is the choice you make?

Teenage Daughter: My aunt smokes.
Disappointed Father: You hang out with your aunt for a month, and come back a smoker? Some high school drop out wanna be beautician has convinced you it's cool to smoke?

Teenage Daughter: She graduated from High School.
Disappointed Father: Then why in the hell doesn't she get a job instead of sitting around chain smoking all day?

Teenage Daughter: She can't get a job, she has to take care of her son.
Disappointed Father: Take care of her son? What the hell is wrong with him?

Teenage Daughter: He's crazy. He's been killing small animals, and..,
Disappointed Father: Great! That's just great, and now you want to be like that family? Oh my God, I know I wasn't around for you as much as I should have been. My work schedule made it hard for us to spend as much time together as I wish, but I didn't raise you this way.

Teenage Daughter: Well, I'm going to quit.
Disappointed Father: I sure hope so, because smoking cigarettes is one of the biggest mistakes that anyone could ever make. I know, I smoked for seven years, and quit after I watched my father die - right in front of me.

Teenage Daughter: Did he smoke?
Disappointed Father: He was a two pack a day man until he had his heart attack.

Teenage Daughter: And then what? Did he stop smoking then.
Disappointed Father: He died then.

Teenage Daughter: Oh.
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About the Art

Title: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, and yes that's lung cancer. Wouldn't it be a nice law to force the Cigarette manufactures to display the various diseases their products cause right on their products?

Lead Paint For Your Child?

Thomas & His Friends Are Covered With Lead Paint

There were nearly five hundred recalls of consumer products in the last year in the U.S. Do you as a parent feel comfortable placing your children's health, and safety in the hands of Chinese toy manufacturers, and the corrupt Chinese government? If you're like most parents you do every day!
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Who Will Protect Them?
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We need a new regime in Washington to protect us from the old regime in Beijing!


This from the New York Times

Among the toy recalls, the problem is most acute with low-price, no-brand-name toys that are often sold at dollar stores and other deep discounters, which are manufactured and sent to the United States often without the involvement of major American toy importers. Last year, China also was the source of 81 percent of the counterfeit goods seized by Customs officials at ports of entry in the United States — products that typically are not made according to the standards on the labels they are copying.

Brand names or not, you really never know what you're getting with toys manufactured in China. This is a major problem since China manufactures the majority of toys sold in the U.S.

Meanwhile the on the take Bush Administration sells out America's children to garner support from Chinese manufacturers. To hell with your children, lets get some foreign lobby money!


Again, from the New York Times

In the last two years, the staff of the consumer product commission has been cut by more than 10 percent, leaving fewer regulators to monitor the safety of the growing flood of imports.

Some consumer advocates say that such staff cuts under the Bush administration have made the commission a lax regulator. The commission, for example, acknowledged in a recent budget document that “because of resource limitations,” it was planning next year to curtail its efforts aimed at preventing children from drowning in swimming pools and bathtubs.

The toy industry in the United States is largely self-policed. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has safety standards, but it has only about 100 field investigators and compliance personnel nationwide to conduct inspections at ports, warehouses and stores of $22 billion worth of toys and tens of billions of dollars’ worth of other consumer products sold in the country each year. “They don’t have the staff that they need to try to get ahead of this problem,” said Janell Mayo Duncan, senior counsel at the Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports. “They need more money and resources to do more checks.”

Realm of the Black Knight!

Need to add a link to this little jewel of a blog.

Some real interesting material being posted on this Springfield, Illinois Blog.

http://realmofbk.blogspot.com/

Civilization Four - Beyond The Sword

President Abraham Lincoln - Leader of the Americans

Before Blogger There Was Civilization!

Civilization has been around for well over a decade. I was quite addicted to Civilization spending months at a time away from my family, and just about everyone, and everything else while advancing my playing skills. There was always another round of decisions to make, another round of improvements so as to advance my Civilization!

Fortunately for me came the Iraq Invasion, and quagmire which yanked me away from Civilization so that I could begin blogging.

Civ-IV has been out for the last two years, and I vowed not to purchase it - fearing that I'd stop blogging - and I probably would.

Now comes along Civilization Four - Beyond the Sword, and I'm having to once again tell myself not to go anywhere near the game section at Best Buy!

It's not out yet, but from what I've read it looks very interesting - might I say, addictive. I'd love to play Abraham Lincoln and lead the Americans to greatness once again, but if I do I can kiss this blog goodbye.

I did like some of the teaser artwork - so I present the Civilization Abraham Lincoln Portrait. Many criticize Lincoln's appearance, calling him ugly, but I've always thought Lincoln looked cool.

Lincoln Portrait: Surf to www.civilization.com

Incest on Father's Day

Denial - Enables The Evil Side of Human Nature

Man: I've noticed you've been hanging out with your father lately.
Girl: So what, he's my father.

Man: Do you think that's wise, because I don't?
Girl: I can't believe you'd say that.

Man: He has substance abuse problems, and other problems.
Girl: He's an alcoholic, and can't help himself.

Girl: Why do you hate my father so much?
Man: Because he molested his step daughter.

Girl: He didn't molest her, she wanted it!
Man: Blame the victim is that it?

Girl: She's not a victim, she's a whore!
Man: She was a little girl, God damn it!

Girl: She'd rub up against him. It was her fault!
Man: It was his responsibility to put a stop to that.

Girl: It wasn't my father, it was her real father!
Man: Just because she was molested by her real father doesn't mean her stepfather should have molested her.

Girl: She's a whore, and her aunt, brother, and grandmother won't talk to her.
Man: That entire family is riddled with incest, and it's all centered on your father. He should be in prison!

Girl: Well he was molested by his father.
Man: So that gives him the right to destroy his stepdaughter's life?

Girl: No one's talking to her! She's a whore!
Man: You see the price she's paying for lying when the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services asked her about being molested? When her mother and father got her to lie, do you see the price she's paying now?

Girl: Don't you say anything bad about my father!
Man: When you get married are you going to let your husband have sex with your daughter?

Girl: I'm out of here!
Man: It's a choice.

Girl: What?
Man: To be white trash, it's a choice.
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About the Art

I digitally altered a photograph of a Mayan demon spirit sculpture.
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About the Conversation

Fiction, or non-fiction? I can not say, but you can bet it's taken place before. The heart break incest causes everyone near and far is so great that it's hard to measure the damage it does.

Imagine all the people who approach Father's Day without joy, but instead are filled with doubt, and guilt, and depression due to being victims of incest. It's something we don't talk about, I guess, because it doesn't sell cards, tool sets, or power tools.

Love The Moody Blues

Moody Blues - Candle of Life 1970

Where do I begin? I first heard the Moody Blues played on the radio - no doubt about that. But my first meaningful introduction came from my older sister. She was very impressed with them, and showed me her album. I was old enough to understand the lyrics, and read along while the music played. I didn't really think much of them for a few years. Until..,

The drugs.

Somehow listening to music stoned changes the perception of music. I suspect it slows the brain waves down (studies concur) and increases dopamine levels which increase association. That and the euphoria, and relaxed state all open music up to a new level.

I don't feel I would want to listen to rap music while high as I'd get depressed, and paranoid, but music like the Moody Blues certainly guided a generation during their junkets to higher levels of contemplation.

Aside from the drugs the Moody Blues experience certainly was grounded in the Hippie movement, in sharing, and love. There was a optimism, certainly a deep funk too, but an optimism which says - we matter - and very much.

As the years pass I wonder often where youngsters in their twenties could conjure up such wisdom. Some suggest that artist, writers, and musicians tap into an "old soul", and listening to the Moody Blues seems to drive home that that may in fact be possible.


Moody Blues - Question - 1970

Lyrics, dedication to a higher purpose, and fine music craft make the Moody Blues one of the best recorded musical groups in the last Century.

Sometimes in my deepest secret moments I wonder what kind of world it would have been if the Hippies had won the day, and if the world were somehow persuaded to live in peace. I wonder what kind of world it could be - instead of the horrors we see unfold each day.

I don't know if mankind will ever allow itself the option of knowing peace, we are such a perverted race, but listening to the Moody Blues gives me a sense of hope that maybe, just maybe people could get along long enough to create a world based upon mutual respect, understanding, and love.

And I'm not even high.

Here's some lyrics to consider.

Moody Blues
Question

Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door?
With a thousand million questions
About hate and death and war.

It's where we stop and look around us
There is nothing that we need.
In a world of persecution
That is burning in it's greed.

Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door?
Because the truth is hard to swallow
That's what the wall of love is for.

It's not the way that you say it
When you do those things to me.
It's more the way that you mean it
When you tell me what will be.

And when you stop and think about it
You won't believe it's true.
That all the love you've been giving
Has all been meant for you.

I'm looking for someone to change my life.
I'm looking for a miracle in my life.
And if you could see what it's done to me
To lose the the love I knew
Could safely lead me through.

Between the silence of the mountains
And the crashing of the sea
There lies a land I once lived in
And she's waiting there for me.

But in the grey of the morning
My mind becomes confused
Between the dead and the sleeping
And the road that I must choose.

I'm looking for someone to change my life.
I'm looking for a miracle in my life.
And if you could see what it's done to me
To lose the the love I knew
Could safely lead me to
The land that I once knew.
To learn as we grow old
The secrets of our souls.

It's not the way that you say it
When you do those things to me.
It's more the way you really mean it
When you tell me what will be.

Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door?
With a thousand million questions
About hate and death and war.

It's where we stop and look around us
There is nothing that we need.
In a world of persecution
That is burning in it's greed.

Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door?

Wind Versus War

Thirty Story High General Electric 3.6 Megawatt Wind Turbines

Place enough Wind Turbines offshore (30 miles offshore where no one can see them from the coast) and you could generate enough power to electrify the entire nation. In fact there's so much wind that simply using wind along the gulf coast would power the U.S.

With approximately $250,000,000 per year being wasted on the Iraq war debacle one can only imagine what the United States could have used that money for - how far along we could have been in a bid toward energy independence.


Finest Hour For War President Bush

President Bush rejected a move toward independence from Middle East oil, and instead lied to the nation and lunged the country into a war in Iraq.

A real leader would have used the attack on the Twin Towers to spur the United States towards energy independence. It would seem only prudent to move the United States away from importing oil from nations which finance terrorist groups - terrorist which vow to destroy the U.S.

Instead of leading the nation to independence we were misled into supporting an attack on Iraq. Instead we were encouraged to remaining silent while the U.S. Constitution was trampled upon by those sworn to defend it.

The moment was lost to greed, and corruption while the good of the nation was ignored.
We are more dependent upon imported oil than ever before, and we sit and watch, and do nothing while the cheap oil that is the lifeblood of this nation begins to run out.

Real patriotism isn't based upon mindless support of ineffective military action, it is grounded in love of nation, and an honest appreciation for the real threats that face this nation.

How many more oil wars must be waged simply because the oil industry runs this nation's energy policy? How many more brave soldiers must die in unnecessary wars? How long must we continue to watch our government do nothing to reverse course on global warming?


Bush Kisses His Benefactor

As the world runs out of cheap oil the question remains, how long will this nation remain vulnerable to blackmail from regimes unfriendly to the American Way?

While wind isn't the only way to produce clean, plentiful, and locally produced energy it is clear that the huge fortune wasted on the Iraq war should have been spent in securing this nation from further attacks, and on ending its addiction to oil from unstable and unfriendly regimes.

Mr. Wizard Dies

Mr. Wizard Conducts Science Experiment

Mr. Wizard has died. I'd watch Mr Wizard whenever he'd be on the Tonight Show, or if I'd accidentally find him on children's television decades ago.

His pace was a bit slow for me, even as a kid, but on the Tonight Show he'd rush through his demonstrations. He'd have no other choice but to move quickly. Tonight Show host Johnnie Carson always found a way to goof things up, or act as if he did, which would make everyone laugh.

Science could be fun, and funny.

I found this snippet from Don Herbert's CNN Obituary interesting,

"Born in Waconia, Minnesota, Herbert was a 1940 graduate of LaCrosse State Teachers College and was an Army Air Corps pilot during World War II. He worked as an actor, model and radio writer before starting "Watch Mr. Wizard" in Chicago on NBC".

I didn't know any of that. Another member of the Greatest Generation, and another American World War II Veteran has departed.

Photocredit: New York Times

David The Gray Exposes Himself

Photo From Anonymous Communist

Local Blogger Anonymous Communist does the unthinkable and Exposes Dave of The11thhour!

As we can see in my edited Anonymous Communist photo (above) Dave is going BALD, BLIND, and GRAY!

Dave has become a GEEZER!

Despite that, he's a very handsome man, if you don't mind me saying so Mrs. TEH.

No Confidence In Attorney General Gonzales

AP Photo: A Confident Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

The U.S. Senate voted on a historic "No Confidence" Cloture Motion (S.J.Res.14) on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Unfortunately, thirty eight Republican Senators blocked the Motion which needed a 3/5th's majority to pass.

In my opinion Alberto Gonzales is one of the worst Attorney Generals in the history of this nation.

Is that surprising coming out of this Administration, which is certainly one of the most corrupt, and incompetent administrations in the history of the United States? Sadly, it is not.

From Gonzales' role in authoring legal advice on the U.S. torture of prisoners of war (which he endorses) to his lies to Congress regarding his role in firing U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors for strictly political reasons, Alberto Gonzales has shown his loyalty to an administration which has itself shown nothing but contempt for the U.S. Constitution, the people of this nation, and the people of the world.

Democrats knew going into the vote that the measure had no chance of winning, yet they've now forced those 38 Republican Senators who protected, and continue to enable Gonzales, to find some way to justify the unjustifiable. Hopefully this will cost those 38 Republican Senators at least a few votes. Anyone who wants good government surely could not support General Gonzales.


Obama Misses Vote

Barrak Obama out campaigning missed this vote. While it was a foregone conclusion that the Democrats would fail to reach the required sixty votes it still would have been nice if the Illinois Senator could have been in Washington for the vote.

Several Republicans crossed the isle and cast votes against the Attorney General (see below in red).

One interesting vote is Senator Stevens from Alaska. What's with that? He appears to be unwilling to vote against Gonzales, yet perhaps the corruption is even too much for Senator Stevens to endorse?


Here's the roll call from Senate.Gov

YEAs ---53
Akaka (D-HI) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Byrd (D-WV) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Clinton (D-NY) Coleman (R-MN) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Dorgan (D-ND) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI)	Feinstein (D-CA) Hagel (R-NE) Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Kennedy (D-MA) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Landrieu (D-LA) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lincoln (D-AR) McCaskill (D-MO) Menendez (D-NJ) Mikulski (D-MD) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL)	Nelson (D-NE) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Salazar (D-CO) Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Smith (R-OR) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) Stabenow (D-MI) Sununu (R-NH) Tester (D-MT) Webb (D-VA) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs ---38
Alexander (R-TN) Allard (R-CO) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Cochran (R-MS) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Craig (R-ID) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC)	Dole (R-NC) Domenici (R-NM) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Kyl (R-AZ) Lieberman (ID-CT)	Lott (R-MS) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL) McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Roberts (R-KS) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (R-VA)

Present - 1
Stevens (R-AK)

Not Voting - 7
Biden (D-DE) Brownback (R-KS) Coburn (R-OK)	Dodd (D-CT) Johnson (D-SD) McCain (R-AZ)	Obama (D-IL)

SUBWAY Art

SUBWAY Downtown Springfield, Illinois 2007

Parked SUV Reflections
Lap Top Tie Man
Eating His Subway Sandwich
At Lunch Time
In Downtown Springfield
Illinois

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SUBWAY Sixth and Adams - Springfield, Illinois 2007

Downtown Springfield, Illinois can be an interesting place to romp about at lunchtime.
The photo which I took, and use here was taken of a gentleman eating his subway sandwich while using a laptop computer.

I Am Nerd King

I Am Nerd King

I have taken on a avatar. His name is Nerd King.

Expect to see Nerd King from time to time. I'm not exactly sure what to do with him, but he's got style, he's got class - by George he's the Nerd King that's what he is!