Tired_Old_Man

Plagiarism: noun 1. the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. 2. something used and represented in this manner. Since I gave credit to the source; Genesis 2.7, I am not guilty of Plagiarism.

You might also think about getting an Umbrella Insurance Policy to help you pay for the legal bills you might have to settle if you "Taser" the wrong person.

I pray for our military personnel to be returned safely to their homes. I pray that we do not send them out again when the defense of the USA is not at risk. I pray for a new president that knows that being "Commander in Chief" does not mean that he has toys to play "Army" or "War" with. I pray for a president that would rather use diplomacy than force. I pray for a nation that recognizes the sovereignty of all nations. Maybe then, God will fulfill my prayer for safety for our Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen. TOM PS: I also pray that my prediction that we will be at war with Iran and Syria does not come true.

Not a BuSh hater. I just hate the BuSh decisions.

There are two types of Defeat: One type of Defeat (I'll call it type one) is when a country invades your country and takes over your country. That is a defeat that is hard to live with because you will have to change your whole life-style to comply with the rules set forth by the victorious invaders. The other type of Defeat (I'll call it type two) is when your country invades a country but is unable to subdue it and force its rules on to the other country. In that case you come home and admit defeat, but there are few consequences except being embarrassed and having to admit you were wrong. George W. BuSh can not see the difference between type one and type two and he tries to blur the distinction between them by saying that if we lose in Iraq (type two defeat) we will be fighting them in the streets of the USA. Neither the insurgents, nor the Shiite death squads, nor the Sunni death squads, nor Al-Qaida have aircraft carriers to launch attacks from or troop carrying ships to bring an army to the shores of the USA. They do not have missiles that can reach our shores. George W. BuSh did not read his father's book (“A World Transformed” coauthored by Brent Scowcroft) which predicted what would happen if the US Military took out Saddam Hussein. George W. BuSh claims he listened to the “Iraqi Study Group's” report in which BuSh's father's advisors and other bipartisan members gave advice on how to proceed in Iraq. George W. BuSh will not talk to Iran and Syria as the “Iraqi Study Group” suggested, but instead threatens war against them as a way of solving the Iraq debacle. George W. BuSh said he would listen to everyone, but when the generals in Iraq said "no more troops" he replaced them. Why did George W. BuSh replace a Army General in Iraq with a Navy Admiral, William J. Fallon to fight a ground war in Iraq? Is it because he knew he was going to bomb Iran with planes from US Navy aircraft carriers and that Admiral Fallon started his carrier as a Navy fighter pilot? We must oppose this escalation of the war in Iraq. It will soon become a war with Iran and Syria and could escalate into WW3. The main agenda in this country at the present is to make the wealthy people wealthier, make the poor people poorer and more subordinate, and to destroy the middle class by driving it into the class of poor people. War is a means of keeping the poor people in line and a means by which Big Business reaps the harvest while raping the poor. Last night I took part in a demonstration against the Iraq war (and its escalation) at the South end of the Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart, Florida. We had about 7 or 8 members from my Church group; Reverend Gregory Wilson's "Liberal Universalist Fellowship of Port Saint Lucie", 4 or 5 from the "DCPSL" and most importantly about 50 people total. I guesstimate that for every negative response we received (people signaling President BuSh's IQ with a hand gesture), we had 30 or more positive responses (thumbs up or horn honking). A man even came out of a local restaurant to serve us Snacks. I am sorry many people are missing the chance for comradery and positive political activism. I hope we will have more chances to act in a similar measure and most of all that these demonstrations will result in ending the carnage and stopping its spread to other countries in the Middle-East.

Road-map for a Politically Active Christian: Doing the work that Jesus would have wanted. Something for Politically Active Christians to think about: Read the Bible and add up all the verses in which Jesus condemned Homosexual behavior. Read the Bible and add up all the verses in which Jesus condemned Abortion. Add the totals to get the number of verses in which Jesus condemned Homosexual behavior and Abortion. Then reread the Bible and add up all the verses in which Jesus asked that the poor be helped. Make a ratio of the number of verses in which Jesus asked that the poor be helped compared to the number of verses in which Jesus condemned Homosexual behavior and Abortion. Use your time in that same ratio when petitioning your government to act on what you believed Jesus would want. In other words, if Jesus condemned Homosexual behavior and Abortion in 15 verses and asked for the poor to be helped in 150 verses, then you should spend 10 times as much energy, time and effort on getting laws passes to help the poor as you spend on getting laws passed to outlaw abortion and gay marriage. If you have never counted the verses, how do you know you are really doing the work that Jesus would want you to be doing?

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

Interesting? drinks Show Your Personality Before you order a drink in public, you should read this! 7 New York City bartenders were asked if they could 'nail' a woman's personality based on what she drinks.Though interviewed separately, they concurred on almost all counts. The results: PART A: WOMEN-DRINKS, WHO THEY ARE, & YOU! Drink: Beer Personality: Causal, low-maintenance; down to earth. Your Approach: Challenge her to a game of pool. Drink: Blender Drinks Personality: Flaky, whiny, annoying; a pain in the ass. Your Approach: Avoid her, unless you want to be her cabana boy. Drink: Mixed Drinks Personality: Older, more refined, high maintenance, has very picky taste; knows EXACTLY what she wants. Your Approach: You won't have to approach her. If she's interested, she'll send YOU a drink. Drink: Wine (does not include White Zinfandel) Personality: Conservative and classy; sophisticated yet giggles. Your Approach: Tell her you love to travel and spend quiet evenings with friends. Drink: White Zinfandel Personality: Easy; thinks she is classy and sophisticated, actually, she has NO clue. Your Approach: Make her feel smarter than she is...this should be an easy target. Drink: Shots Personality: Likes to hang with frat-boy pals and looking to get totally drunk and naked. Your Approach: Easiest hit in the joint. You have been blessed. Nothing to do but wait. However, be careful not to make her mad! Drink: Tequila No explanations required - everyone just KNOWS what happens there. PART B: MAN-DRINKS & WHO THE MEN ARE! THEN, there is the MALE addendum -- The deal with guys is, as always, very simple and clear cut: Domestic Beer: He's poor and wants to get laid. Imported Beer: He likes good beer and wants to get laid . Wine: He is hoping that the wine will give him a sophisticated image to help him get laid. Whiskey: He doesn't give a damn about anything but getting laid. Tequila: He is thinking he has a chance with the toothless waitress. White Zinfandel: He's gay.

I like to shoot my 350 magnum. I am an America too so I just shoot it off where and when I want. I am a free man. The difference between abuse of foods and shooting off a gun or smoking a cigarette is that abusing food only hurts the abuser. Shooting a gun only hurts the people around the shooter, but cigarettes hurt both the user and the people around him. It is a much more valid analogy to compare smoking in a crowd and shooting a gun in a crowd, than to compare smoking with poor eating habits.

The warning labels on cigarettes, alcohol and food are to stop you from doing something by warning you of the consequences. The warning labels on clothes tells you that it is already too late to do anything.:faint:

I knew they were lowering the standards for recruitment, but that is really pushing it.:help::faint:

A long time friend of mine (from the early 1960's) keeps trying to get me to move to Pueblo.

But if all the fat people sat in first-class, wouldn't the plane be nose-heavy and likely to dive into the ground? :faint:

You are correct, BUT How do you stop someone from walking up next to you in a park and blowing smoke in your face? Do you pass a 3 foot law or 5 feet or 10 feet? How do you enforce that? Require every non-smoker to carry a tape measure? I remember when they passed a law about no smoking in office buildings and other businesses. To enter a building you had to run through a gambit of smokers and a cloud of smoke. There is no smoking on NYC buses. So smokers used to stand on the bus stop and wait for the driver to threaten to close the door before boarding. The smoker would take in one huge drag just before he boarding the bus and exhale it after he sat down. If 5 smokers got on the bus at a stop, the bus reeked of tobacco smoke. It is actions like that which caused the further crackdowns which you see as unreasonable. If smokers hadn't abused the laws, the laws would not have needed to be strengthened.

The BuSh administration and the Republican controlled 109th congress took credit for helping the elderly with this abortion of a Prescription drug plan. It actually only benefited the Drug companies and the insurance companies. The US Government's Medicare department is not allowed to negotiate Rx prices with the Drug companies and the insurance companies get to run the program. Both of those provisions cost the US taxpayer dearly and they do not benefit the Medicare Rx participant. I will have to pay much more for Rx drugs when I go on Medicare than I do now with my retirement Rx plan. Another provision gave employers the right to drop Rx coverage when retirees join Medicare even if it was a guaranteed retirement benefit. Maybe a Democrat in the White House and a Democrat controlled 111th Congress can make things better in 2009. think about that when you vote in 2008.

I agree with just about your whole post. In regards to what I quoted, I recommend the Academy Award Winning Movie "Crash" for all those that have not seen it. Its theme is that people who are in groups which are discriminated against are no less likely to discriminate against other groups.

Bring your SCUBA gear.

I have one son (39 years old) and he has one daughter (6 years old). I am very glad that I have them both. However, I would not have want anymore than two, nor would I have wanted my children to have any more that two (each). My son is married to a women who has three children by a prior marriage. If I had my choice, I have to admit that I would have been selfish and wanted my own blood grandchild, although I have 3 people besides my biological granddaughter that call me "Grandpa". My son has been married for 7 years, so the 14 year old grandson feels like he is blood. The 21 year old boy and the 19 year old girl, may call me Grandpa and I may buy them Christmas and birthday gifts, but they don't feel like the real thing. A friend of mine who became a Mormon and is a advocate of the Christian Right Political Movement and who thinks that George BuSh is too Liberal says that we must continue having as many children as possible. He claims that the world has limitless resources and that God will give us what we need until God decides to stop (Judgement Day?). I see wars coming about very soon over failing resources. I see the oceans rising and the useful land being cut by 50% in the next 50 years or less. There is a way to stop my predictions from coming true. Population control. Conservation. Renewable energy sources. Conservatives should be for these things. Some are, but the people who call themselves Conservatives, but who really are Neo-Cons, and the Christian Right Political Movement and the MultiNational Conglomerates will not stand for it. They will hang on to their profit making ideas until they sink below the rising tide.

Just wait until I'm President!! :faint:

I was hoping for more comments on this issue. Even negative ones would have been interesting.

Me Four!!!!

You will notice that Mr. Clinton was never convicted of perjury, even though he lied on the stand. Why, you ask? Because to be perjury, the lie has to be substantive to the case. Clinton was being sued by Paula Jones for sexual harassment. Clinton's affair with Monica was not substantive to the case. As an analogy, if I was on the stand as a defendant in a robbery and asked my name, address and age, and I said that I was 59 (although I am really 61), that would not be substantive to whether or not I robbed the victim and therefore would not be perjury. Whether Clinton had sexual relations with Monica, oral sex with Monica or used Monica as a humidor, had no bearing on what happened in Governor Clinton's hotel room on the night he was alleged to have harassed Paula Jones. And yes, I wish he had never done it.

Is it true what they say about George W. BuSh and Condoleezza Rice?

Sorry. It is too late. You have been debating it for quite a while. There is no harm in it. I will not call you any nasty names nor will I mock or condemn your religion. I am curious. Why does a fetus conceived through rape not deserve the same protection as one produced by a loving husband and wife who have the church's permission to have a child? Why is it not a murder to abort a fetus conceived through rape but a murder to abort a fetus conceived by a loving husband and wife who have the church's permission to have a child? Seems like the fetus is being blamed for the actions of a rapist. I know that Roman Catholics believe the word of the Pope is divine, but where is that in the Bible? I wonder if the President of the Mormon Church's word being divine is spelled out in the "Book of Mormon"?

Two whales, Bill and Monica, were swimming off the coast of California. A whaling trawler suddenly appeared. Bill said to Monica, "Let's capsize that whaler". Monica protested, but bill explained how his parents had been killed by that very same whaler. Monica reluctantly agreed. "But how?" she queried. We'll dive below the ship and we will both give a strong blast of air from our blow-holes. So Bill and Monica, each took deep breaths and went below the whaler. They both blew as hard as they could and the ship capsized. The sailors all tried to swim to shore. Bill said, "Let's eat the sailors before they get to shore". Monica said, "No way, I didn't mind the Blow-Job, but I am not going to swallow the Seamen".:faint: