You Are Marcia Brady

Confident yet kind. Popular yet down to earth. You're a total dream girl. You've got the total package - no wonder everyone's a little jealous of you.

Via: Deb

John McCain is now being accused of not being a moderate because he will deliver the commencement message at Liberty University. Yes, Falwell's Liberty University.

So, if you give a speech you are in line with the views of the place you spoke?

Then we should all beware of Harry Reid and all the rest of the Dems that write at DailyKos or speak at kos events.

The Soldiers of Headquarters and Operations Company, 732nd Military Intelligence Battalion will be conducting a carwash...

...to raise money for the Family Readiness Group. The Company Operations NCO, SFC Timothy Snyder, will be spearheading this operation in hopes of eradicating dirt and grime from the many POVs currently operating in and around Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. So, if you have a dirty car AND it happens to be on the island of Oahu from 0900-1500 on the 31st of March 2006, come and get your car washed.

Yes, technically I know that I will be "working at the carwash..."

This morning I opened my dishwasher to unload the clean dishes and I found something startling. Placed very carefully in the bottom center was a turtle puzzle piece. Drake loves his puzzle and he is always walking around with different pieces. I stared at that turtle and realized that not only did my 14 month old put it in there but he unlocked the dishwasher to do it. Then I noticed his puppy piece resting in the bowl of cat chow, his bunny piece standing next to the fridge and his snail in my Peace Lily.

The turtle I can almost comprehend because we watched a special on turtles a couple days ago. The bunny was next to the fridge and I know this is a stretch but he did see me take out lettuce for dinner. Is this just random? Am I reading too much into a bunch of coincidences?

Update: And now for the rest of the story... I took Jerry's advice from the comments while Draco was having his nap. I swapped the bunny from the fridge with the puppy in the cat bowl. After he woke up, he walked out towards the kitchen and stopped. He stared at the fridge looking a bit puzzled. He then walked to the other room and looked in the cat bowl. He turned back, walked to the fridge picked up the puppy and swapped it back with the bunny. This time he took the puppy and wedged it in the bowl and mounded dry cat chow up against it to hold it tighter. He also wedged the bunny in the space between the doors of the fridge and used one of his little balls (mind out of gutter - toy ball) to hold it there. He looked very satisfied. I guess he figured that the pieces wouldn't escape again.

I am amazed by him and I'm so glad that I am in a position to be a stay at home mom.

I watched it last night and my brain almost exploded for all the crap being pelted at me.

In the span of a week it went from WoW to WTF?

I didn't think little Lisa was that bad but she wasn't good either. Kellie Pickler everyone hates you except for myself and Jake. If you are still in the competition you can call Jake and thank him for his dedication and persistence. Be glad my friend that "redial" comes standard.

Ace, otoh, was criminal. I wanted to beat him with my kid's bat for the murder of a pretty good song.

Listen up Ace, your looks aren't gonna carry you anymore especially since Elliot has gotten better looking. We viewers really do care about quality and when our ears bleed like they did last night, your days are numbered.

Taylor: You may be creepy and spastic but at least you can f'ing sing.

Mandisa: I love you and I can't wait to see you doing the Gay Pride Parades.

Chris: Don't know what was up Simon's ass last night. Last week you were a hero for being true to yourself and not selling out this week you're in a rut. Whatthfuckever. You rocked it and the only reason Randy thought you were sharp was because Creed's lead singer sings like shit. You were totally in tune and he's not used to hearing that song in tune.

Katherine: Hated it. You can sing girl but you ain't Christina.

Bucky: Wha?

Paris: I love you but that was the shittiest song ever. I can't believe Beyonce had a hit with that.

Elliot: When did you get hot? I love you man.

Chris from Powerblogs got the comments up again. Not sure what happened but I notice that my title graphic is missing.

Hopefully, we'll be all fixed soon. All fixed now.

Do you watch the West Wing? If so, then you know what that headline means. If you don't, then you probably don't give a crap.

I read Atrios' fishwrapper all the time and I think he's a dork. Now, when I say dork I don't mean "geek", in this case I mean dick. Even a dork like Atrios doesn't deserve to be portrayed so geekily. That actor looked like he played a pedophile at his last gig. That's just low.

I've seen Atrios and he's not some 90lb weakling that masturbates furiously to online porn...

Okay, okay, I know for certain that he weighs more than 90lbs. (Is that better?)

It's pretty cool to be so popular that a big show like West Wing names and casts you but they could have been nicer.

Do you think that they just figure all bloggers are geeks?

I am 20% White Trash.

I, my friend, have class. I am so not white trash. . I am more than likely Democrat, and my place is neat, and there is a good chance I may never drink wine from a box.

Take the
White Trash Test
@ FualiDotCom

Via: Michael

Bye, Andy!

The first thought I had was "please, don't hire 'C.J.' to replace him". Especially since Bush's "C.J." is the not very bright or adept Scott McClellen. What a nightmare that would be...

Could you imagine ole' Scott as Chief of Staff?

Michelle notes that a lot of the Mexicans rallying this weekend against enforcing our immigration laws are racists radical separatists. Just look at some of those pictures!

Man nothing pisses me off more as a child of immigrants than people who come here without following the rules, and then piss all over our country. And they call us the racists? Ha!

They want to take you to a Gay bar!

HT: Dean

Some bloggers are annoyed at the "whiny kids grow up to be conservatives" study.

I'm not bothered by it because, according to my mom, I was very outgoing and self-confident as a child. But I can understand why some people are pissed. It's very easy to make blanket assertions and in politics we do it all the time. This study provides a short term "gotcha" for liberals.

It's big fun to say whiny kids grow up to be conservative or wimpy ones become liberal but that's just talkin' smack. This study is nothing more than an embarrassment to statistics.

Did you read the study? The study was conducted at the Institute of Human Development a part of the Harold E. Jones Child Study Center. What is significant about this? The Harold E. Jones Child Study Center is only open to children of U.C. Berkeley faculty and staff. They studied children of parents that work at U.C. Berkley and I'm sure you know that this school was rated the most left-wing in the country (91%).

So, here we have a study conducted on children of the country's most liberal faculty and we think that somehow this is representative of the rest of the country?

I don't think so skippy. For me, the clincher wasn't even that this study was conducted at U.C. Berkley but this:

"A renowned longitudinal study of development originated by Jeanne and Jack Block began with children at three and followed them at 4, 5, 7, 11, 14 18, and 23 years of age."

Dude, I was a liberal at 23 years of age. Many conservatives and I do mean many conservatives were liberals when they were young. That's where that old saying comes from.

"If you aren't a Democrat in your 20's, then you have no heart. If you aren't a Republican in your 30's, then you have no brain."

I think I shall conduct a study that I will apply to the rest of the population. I will go to El Paso, Texas and find out if all Americans hate Mexicans.

Maybe I'll go to L.A. and study young black males to make broad assessments for the entire population about all black males. Wouldn't Harold Ford Jr. be pleased to know that we all believe that he thinks an affectionate term for women is ho or bitch?

Maybe I'll go to some backwoods area in Alabama to determine the percentage of racist whites in the entire country.

I love statistics especially when I can manipulate them to say what I want.

Actually, I like pot pies. I have recently discovered the wonder that is the Marie Callender Creamy Parmesean Chicken pot pie. The thing is massive, weighing in at 16.5ozs. It tastes like a noodle free Chicken Alfredo in a cripsy crust. I love that it gets crisp right in the microwave.

I cooked it at 10am (yummy breakfast) and I managed half then and I just wolfed down the other half for lunch at 2pm. I'm so full and my tummy is happy. I'm just sad that there isn't any left for dinner.

What's your favorite freezer to microwave food?

Iraq Archive Document Describes Bin Laden Meeting:

"Osama Bin Laden Contact With Iraq"

A newly released pre-war Iraqi document indicates that an official representative of Saddam Hussein's government met with Osama bin Laden in Sudan on February 19, 1995 after approval by Saddam Hussein. Bin Laden asked that Iraq broadcast the lectures of Suleiman al Ouda, a radical Saudi preacher, and suggested "carrying out joint operations against foreign forces" in Saudi Arabia. According to the document, Saddam's presidency was informed of the details of the meeting on March 4, 1995 and Saddam agreed to dedicate a program for them on the radio. The document states that further "development of the relationship and cooperation between the two parties to be left according to what's open (in the future) based on dialogue and agreement on other ways of cooperation." The Sudanese were informed about the agreement to dedicate the program on the radio.

The report then states that "Saudi opposition figure" bin Laden had to leave Sudan in July 1996 after it was accused of harboring terrorists. It says information indicated he was in Afghanistan. "The relationship with him is still through the Sudanese. We're currently working on activating this relationship through a new channel in light of his current location," it states.

(Editor's Note: This document is handwritten and has no official seal. Although contacts between bin Laden and the Iraqis have been reported in the 9/11 Commission report and elsewhere, (e.g. the 9/11 report states "Bin Ladn himself met with a senior Iraqi intelligence officer in Khartoum in late 1994 or early 1995) this document indicates the contacts were approved personally by Saddam Hussein.

It also indicates the discussions were substantive, in particular that bin Laden was proposing an operational relationship, and that the Iraqis were, at a minimum, interested in exploring a potential relationship and prepared to show good faith by broadcasting the speeches of al Ouda, the radical cleric who was also a bin Laden mentor.

The document does not establish that the two parties did in fact enter into an operational relationship. Given that the document claims bin Laden was proposing to the Iraqis that they conduct "joint operations against foreign forces" in Saudi Arabia, it is interesting to note that eight months after the meeting — on November 13, 1995 — terrorists attacked Saudi National Guard Headquarters in Riyadh, killing 5 U.S. military advisors. The militants later confessed on Saudi TV to having been trained by Osama bin Laden.)

Interesting...

HT: INDC

I'm not sure why anyone is having a problem, I've tested the system with Internet Exploder Explorer and Firefox and I have no trouble with links in comments.

I'm not going to suggest it's user error but just in case it is...

I'm going to show you how to do it.

Example: [a href="http://yourlinkaddresshere"]text[/a]

I obviously used brackets so the example can be seen. When actually linking replace all brackets with the appropriate carrots <>.

Update: I have never used the link button, I always type my link manually. That may be why I haven't experienced the problem.

Also, I like to call them carrots but everyone is right they are not carrots. They are angle brackets or in math less than and greater than symbols.

...That talented but ugly singers get better looking the longer you pay attention?

If you have been watching American Idol you'll know what I mean. Back in January, Dean told me that Elliot Yamin will never win AI because he is just too fugly. My response was that as time passes Elliot will get better looking and because of that his chances will improve. Dean was skeptical. I told him that it happens all the time. Look at Mick Jagger, can anyone honestly say that man was ever anything other than butt ugly? Even in local bars scenes, if you can sing or play an instrument being ugly isn't that much of an impediment to getting laid.

Something about musicians being talented that colors our visual perceptions. Last night, I was watching and listening to Elliot sing and my very first thought was that he isn't really that ugly. His hair looked better, the goatee was a major improvement and I swear even his teeth didn't look that crunchy. He still has a bad case of Dumbo ears but he just isn't that horrible to look at anymore.

BTW, I found last night's AI one of the best ever. I repeated the words "poor Bucky" all night. Bucky was okay but unfortunately for him, last night, that wasn't good enough. Everyone else brought their "A" game. Okay, let me backtrack, Taylor wasn't great but, like I said to Dean last night, his fan base wouldn't care if he sang the Honeycomb jingle. Taylor ain't leavin' anytime soon.

I loved them all last night and I couldn't pick just one favorite. I will say that Chris's version of "I Walk The Line" left me sputterin' inane compliments. I love, love, loved it!

What about you?

Republicans all over are pissed about comments made by Richard Beltzer on the latest episode of HBO'S series "Real Time with Bill Maher".

Why? Why is everyone so angry? Are you angry when it rains or when it's sunny? Not unless you had outdoor plans that got ruined but you're not really angry at the clouds or the sky. You're angry because it was an unexpected thing.

Was Beltzer's rant unexpected?

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: “Having been in Iraq a few times, and Afghanistan, having met the troops one-on-one with free reign and asking them what they're doing, they're saying 'we're proud of our mission, we know what we're doing over here. We don't want you guys in Washington to lose it over there'. And there is a great sense of determination that what they are doing is making a difference. And yes, it has been an important mission what we're doing, come on.”

Richard Belzer: “Yeah, come on. Our soldiers now are at-”

Ros-Lehtinen: “Are a volunteer force, a volunteer force.”

Belzer: “Okay, fine. No one questions the nobility and the honor that these men and woman who are serving and what they're doing. No one questions that. But now they're targets, they're not going out. Now they're just protecting each other and they're in the middle of a civil war. So it's really not fair to have these people who volunteered their lives to protect our nation under false pretenses to now be, to have targets-”

Ros-Lehtinen, over loud applause for Belzer: “Ask them. Ask them if it's fair! Wait a minute, wait a minute. My stepson, wait a minute, my stepson-”

Belzer: “That's bullshit: ask them! They're not, they don't read twenty newspapers a day. They're under the threat of death every minute. They're not the best people to ask about the war because they're gonna die any second.”

Ros-Lehtinen: “Wait a minute! You are talking about my stepson, my stepson who just finished last week eight months of duty-”

Belzer over Ros-Lehtenin: “God bless your stepson. Doesn't mean he's a brilliant scholar about the war because he's there. (applause) And God bless him.”

Ros-Lehtinen, quite agitated: “Oh, you are though! You are though? Okay.”

Belzer: “Well I have more time, I'm not there. My life is not under threat.”

Ros-Lehtinen: “Thank you. I'm glad.”

Maher: “I think the point he's trying to make is that a 19-year-old who is in that army because he probably couldn't find other employment-”

Ros-Lehtinen: “He's a college graduate. He's a Marine officer. He volunteered for the Marines.”

Belzer: “He's the exception for the rule.”

Ros-Lehtinen: “He's not the exception for the rule. I've been there-”

Belzer: “You think everyone over there is a college graduate? They're 19 and 20-year-old kids who couldn't get a job-”

Ros-Lehtinen: “Yeah, you know because you've been there and-”

Belzer: “What, I don't fucking read!? Don't do that!”

Maher, over Belzer: “Woe, woe, woe. Come on. Wait, wait, wait. That, don't.”

Belzer: “Pardon my French.”

Maher: “That was over the line and now you're going to lose-”

Belzer: “It's this patronizing thing that people have about if you're against the war everyone's lumped together. You know, the soldiers are not scholars, they're not war experts-”

Maher: “You're going to lose even me like Michael Moore did when he came down on Charlton Heston in Columbine.”

What is so shocking about an anti-war liberal believing that he's smarter than everyone else? This is news?

I find his comments refreshingly honest. I know he thinks he's smarter than the Bush Admin, the troops, the military in general, the Republicans and the war supporters.

THEY ALL DO.

He's just one of the few with the guts to stand there and admit it. Do I agree with him? No fucking way.

Do I admire him for saying it? Yes, it takes guts to stand up and tell the people fighting and dying that you think they are morons but you hope God blesses them and they keep protecting your right to call them stupid.

Afghanistan:

An Afghan man who allegedly converted from Islam to Christianity is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death, a judge said Sunday. The defendant, Abdul Rahman, was arrested last month after his family went to the police and accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada told the Associated Press in an interview. Such a conversion would violate the country's Islamic laws.

That's fucked.

Belarus:

Lukashenko wins third Presidential term in Belarus. Lukashenko won a third term with 82.6 percent of the vote, compared with 6 percent for Alexander Milinkevich, the main opposition candidate, the Central Election Commission chief said early Monday, citing a nearly complete preliminary count from Sunday's balloting. Turnout was 92.6 percent, the commission said.

Lukashenko is a Soviet style leader, not exactly what a free nation needs in the new millennium. I'm not sayin' that they didn't vote overwhelmingly for the iron fisted Commie but, fuck that, that is exactly what I'm sayin'. The Commie bastard won with 82.6%. Do they think that somehow 82.6% seems more believeable than Saddam's, or Castro's or Stalin's 99.9% past victories?

What is your favorite government program or department and why? And no fair answering "the U.S. military." That's too easy. C'mon, give it up. I know conservatives don't like to "give it up" but your secret is safe with me.

GOP Senators Introduce Eavesdropping Bill:

Four Republican senators introduced a bill Thursday that they hope will end the furor over President Bush's surveillance program by writing it into law.

One of the bill's chief sponsors, Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio, said the bill requires the president to go to court as soon as possible to get approval for wiretapping and other forms of monitoring.

"It does not ... give the president a blank check," DeWine said, while authorizing "a limited, but necessary, program."

Since Congress has the powers to make laws and correct laws that made certain activities iilegal, what is the big deal here? It has yet to be determined whether or not the NSA spying was in fact illegal. The jury is still out on the NSA wiretaps, so to speak.

Stay focused people!

Via: Instapundit:

At any rate, given that Ms Noonan believes, for some reason, that Ronald Reagan was a conservative and George W. Bush isn't, it's perhaps helpful to just compare the two: when Ronald Reagan left office in 1988 he was dunning us 18.1% of GDP to pay for a federal government that spent 21.2% of GDP. In 2004, the last year for which I could find numbers, George W. Bush had lowered our tax burden to 16.3% of GDP-- a level last reached in 1959--to pay for a government that spent 19.8 of GDP.

There doesn't seem to be any coherent reason why a president's conservatism should be judged by how much he spends, but if you're using that as your yardstick then Mr. Reagan was the most liberal president since FDR during WWII and George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are the most conservative since Nixon.

Wow. I don't measure liberal/conservative by economic policy alone and I really don't think anyone else does either. To me, it is a combination of economic and social policy/beliefs.

Thoughts?

GOP Senators Introduce Eavesdropping Bill:

Four Republican senators introduced a bill Thursday that they hope will end the furor over President Bush's surveillance program by writing it into law.

One of the bill's chief sponsors, Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio, said the bill requires the president to go to court as soon as possible to get approval for wiretapping and other forms of monitoring.

"It does not ... give the president a blank check," DeWine said, while authorizing "a limited, but necessary, program."

The ACLU is already in spasms:

"Congress cannot approve an illegal program when so many questions remain unanswered," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU's Washington legislative office. "When the rule of law has been broken by anyone, especially a president, the proper response is a full and independent investigation."

Hahahahhahhahahahahaha. I love it when the ACLU tells Congress what the proper response is, don't you? Any group that defends NAMBLA has my contempt for life.

Actually, Congress can make any law it wants to and it does so all the time. They often change laws making things legal that used to be illegal, like Prohibition. I would like to add that it has yet to be determined whether or not the NSA spying was in fact illegal. Just because the Democrats and the ACLU say it is doesn't make it so. Plenty of other lawyers say it isn't. The jury is still out on the NSA wiretaps, so to speak.

St. Patrick's Day is here, you see.

We'll pick some shamrocks, one, two, three.

We'll count the leaves and look them over,

And maybe find a four-leafed clover.

I'll sew green buttons on my vest,

Green for St. Patrick is the best.

I'll wear a green hat, very high,

And dance a jig--at least I'll try!

[Back by popular demand. Comments are open again.]

I'm only going to say this once. This topic assumes that "homosexuality" occurs naturally in humans. That is NOT a form of social deviance; that we as humans do not choose our sexual preference; that it is part of our DNA. So don't try and hijack this thread by quoting that complete wacko Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Thanks for your support, now I won't have to bludgeon anyone.

Ok. Most of us are sexual beings, or at least we were at sometime in our life. As such, we all recognize and respond to a "type" of physical feature(s) that attract us in a sexual manner. Some men might prefer dainty feminine women (or men), while others are more attracted to the athletic type woman. Likewise, some women go for the hairy biker guys, or macho jocks, while others prefer the sensitive, graceful type.

I started thinking about this many years ago while observing some women I worked with in the Army who were (are) lesbians. Most, if not all of them always had this "friend" with them during their off-duty time, and their "friend" could be described as quite masculine for a woman -"Butch" if you will allow.

I'm sure some of you know at least one gay guy that is on the effiminate side of the "typical" male gender, and they tend to have partners or "friends" along those same lines.

Now, what I am saying is that most homosexuals tend to be attracted to people that fall under the "typical" characteristic i.e. feminine for women, masculine for male. That's what make them homosexual: physical attraction to the same sex.

I believe that a gay man attracted to a very effiminate man is LESS homosexual than a straight man who is attracted to a very "butch" woman. Likewise is true for women.

I think the rest of us fall between the two ends of the sexuality spectrum, AND our attraction is NOT set in stone or permanent - it fluctuates.

So, lighten up Francis....we're all a bit gay...except for the late Jack Palance. I think he was incapable of leaning even one centimeter away from hardcore heterosexuality.

Dean was featured in today's Detroit News. The paper is covering a lot of Iraq angles since this is the 3rd anniversary of the invasion.

We interrupt this blogs discussion of gays, child molestation, abortion, dumbass democrats and coochies, to bring you what you REALLY want to talk about..

American Idol!

I found a very interesting conspiracy theory for AI 5. Its based on how the top 12 were recapped.

Last Night they were recapped in this order:

• 12: Melissa

• 11: Bucky

• 10: Lisa

• 09: Kevin

• 08: Ace

• 07: Kellie

• 06: Mandisa

• 05: Paris

• 04: Elliott

• 03: Katharine

• 02: Chris

• 01: Taylor

The order is definitely not the order they sang in, nor is it from worst to best. Everyone knows, Chicken Little (Kevin) was the worst, followed by Kellie & Ace.

Last year during the finale. The recap of the top 12, showed Bo in 2nd slot & Carrie in 1st. This was before Carrie was crowned. Also, the AI4 CD song list w as released by Sony in an e-mail before the top 4 were known. The e-mail listed songs in the contestant boot order, complete with Carrie in 1, Bo in 2, Vonzell in 3 & Anthony in 4.

I hope the show is not rigged and the boot order deviates from what is listed above. However, if you look at that order, it just seems right. Bucky, Lisa, Chicken Little & Ace are clearly the worst remaining contestants.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled talk of gays, child molestation, abortion, dumbass democrats and coochies.. Thank you..

Convicted child molesters should have their balls cut off as part of their punishment. There is a way to beat the chemical castration process but once your balls are gone...

I've been sayin' that the Democrats are bunch of weak little pussies that aren't up to the job of protecting the nation. I've been sayin' it for years and I get all kinds of grief from my left of center friends.

Well, thanks to the very tough Senator from Wisconsin and the quick response of Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist, we have the proof.

Feingold gives a passionate address and demands that Bush be censured by the Senate. Frist says, sure thing dude let's vote on that. Feingold fluffs his lovely peacock feathers all smug and assured of a big win here. He turns to his collegues for their support and they're gone...

Where'd all those Democrats go? They left and they left pissed.

Strikingly, some of the criticism came from liberal Senate offices. One longtime Senate aide was particularly scathing.

“Feingold’s grandstanding screwed the pooch and played into Bill Frist’s hands," the aide said. "Thank God Dems punted this down the field. Frist was going to force Democrats to vote on a resolution Feingold had kept a big secret and he would’ve split the caucus on an issue that needed time to get the whole caucus to support. Russ Feingold had only one persons’ interests in mind with his Sunday bombshell, and those were his own. He practically handed a victory to a Bush White House that desperately needs a win.”

Feingold's response:

“I’m amazed at Democrats, cowering with this president’s numbers so low. The administration just has to raise the specter of the war and the Democrats run and hide…too many Democrats are going to do the same thing they did in 2000 and 2004. In the face of this, they’ll say we’d better just focus on domestic issues…[Democrats shouldn’t] cower to the argument, that whatever you do, if you question administration, you’re helping the terrorists.”

Yeah, that's the team I want to defend the country. Anyway, back to Feingold.

He's amazed that the Democrats cowered? I'm not. I've been sayin' for years that they are nothing more than a bunch of self-serving pussies.

Isn't it time for John Kerry to start talking about Vietnam again?

HT: Ara

I've gotten a few emails telling me that my blog has been rockin' lately. I'm really glad it's noticeable but I can't take all the credit. Much of the credit belongs to Tim for stepping up and doing a great job. He's a great co-blogger and I hope he stays forever. The rest of the credit goes to my mystery rash. Because of that rash I went to the doctor and my doctor went on a relentless pursuit of what the hell was wrong with me.

I was diagnosed about 3 weeks ago and I was put on medication. Slowly but surely the meds have been building up in my system and voila! I'm back to my old bitchy self.

If I hadn't gotten that rash I would never have gone to the doctor and I would never have bothered telling anyone about all of my disjointed symptoms. All the things that were wrong were connected. I ignored most of them because I figured it was par for the course of having a baby at 37. I was wrong.

So, you are probably wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I've toyed with idea of not saying because it's embarrassing. Embarrassing because it's something that I knew I had but let get worse. I did it to myself. I have malabsorption and I have it for 5 years. Malabsorption is defective or inadequate absorption of nutrients from the intestinal tract. Because I have this and I know I have this I'm supposed to take vitamin supplements and high doses of iron. After I had Drake, I started forgetting the vitamins and I consciously stopped the iron because it made me physically uncomfortable (the girls know what I mean by that).

Since Drake was born, I was also trying to lose the baby weight so my eating took a nosedive. Basically, when I ate it wasn't much and when I did eat the nutrients didn't absorb. A few months after Drake was born, when I should've been feeling better, I was worse. I kept telling myself that I was tired because I was old. It never occurred to me that I never felt old before and Drake was such a good nondemanding infant I should have been feeling swell.

Here were my symptoms: Palpitations, tiredness, emotional numbness, difficulty of listening, pinkish rash on skin, collapsing, fainting, extreme fatigue, weakness, confusion or loss of concentration, dizziness, pale skin, including decreased pinkness of the lips, gums, lining of the eyelids, nail beds and palms, joint pain.

All things that a busy person would tend to ignore or make excuses for. I was collapsing regularly and I just told people I was napping. I didn't plan the nap and I didn't lie down for it. I just called it a nap when I awoke because I wasn't sure what happened.

Diagnosis: Severe anemia and malnourishment. Treatment option #1 I refused. They were trying to rush me by ambulance to the hospital for blood transfusions and I.V. fluids. I told them I didn't have time for that shit and they better just give me some pills. They told me that my hemoglobin was so low and my blood cells were so small that I could really and truly drop dead if I didn't follow instructions.

Well, that's a way to get my attention. I was in no mood to be droppin dead. Treatment #2 high doses of iron, vitamin shots, big ass vitamin pills, Atarax, Bentyl, Colace and rest. So I took all the meds and I have been the perfect patient ever since. Dean says that he can't believe how much I have improved. I don't need cover stick for the dark/almost black rings under my eyes because they are gone.

I feel great, I look good and I'm blogging with an attitude again.

Ara's new mantra about South Dakota's ban on abortion is more than annoying, it's completely incorrect.

Let's look at it:

Let's get one thing straight, Rosemary, Pam, Rhianna, et.al: If you go to South Dakota, your coochies belong to the Governor. The End.

First, it is obvious that some people need a brief lesson on the female anatomy. Coochie is a cutesy term for vagina and a vagina is the passage leading from the opening of the vulva to the cervix of the uterus in female mammals. There are more names for the vagina than there are uses, it's a tunnel. Things go in a tunnel and things come out of a tunnel. That's it.

OTOH, a uterus is hollow muscular organ located in the pelvic cavity of female mammals in which the fertilized egg implants and develops. It's also called a womb.

Okay, are you with me so far?

Coochie/vagina = tunnel ( things go in and out) Uterus = womb (fertilized egg develops into a baby)

Now, if Ara had said, "If you go to South Dakota, your uteri belong to the Governor. The End." I'd probably would have let that slide as just rhetoric, heck, I may have even agreed.

But he said coochie and to that my response was that if I go to South Dakota, my coochie is mine and what I do with it is mine. The Gov has neither taken possession of any coochies nor has he taken the ability to use it as one wishes.

It's the ability to erase bad decisions that he has outlawed and that law is being challenged.

Outlawing abortion doesn't mean you can't fuck. It means if you do have sex and you didn't want a baby and you are unfortunate enough/or stupid enough to get knocked up you have to go elsewhere to terminate it.

If you still don't "get it" try this exercise:

Does the SD Gov own a woman's coochie if her tubes are tied or she is infertile?

If your tubes are tied, you can screw every man in South Dakota and you won't get pregnant.

Does the SD Gov own a woman's coochie if she's a lesbian? [crickets chirping]

South Dakota has not outlawed sex, it has outlawed abortion. [until SCOTUS boots the law] Saying that "if you go to South Dakota, your coochies belong to the Governor" is just plain stupid. It's like saying that speed limit laws mean driving is illegal. Oh no! We can only drive 70 on the freeway, damn the governor for signing that law. If you live in Michigan the governor owns your Chevy.

If you are an adult and you really believe that, please for the love of all that is holy, immediately get yourself sterilized because you are a danger to society.

We will also refer to you by your Sioux name: Runs with Scizzors

Update: We are still having communication problems.

Maybe they get pregnant differently down South but up here in the North we get pregnant in our uterus/womb. That's why our bellies swell. If it we got pregnant in our coochies, after baby number one, we'd all need to fuck the Washington Monument just to feel something.

Coochie = Vagina = Sex

Uterus = Womb = Baby

Coochie ‡ Womb

We've got a great discussion going in the "Woman's Right to Choose" thread.

The comments are still flowing and this discussion of abortion is a rare one. Why? Because after 30+ thoughtful comments it's still a discussion rather than a flamewar. Go read the comments.

No, I'm not talking about Tim the Soldier or Ara or even Mark. I'm talkin' about George Clooney:

Just look at the way so many Democrats caved in the run up to the war. In 2003, a lot of us were saying, where is the link between Saddam and bin Laden? What does Iraq have to do with 9/11? We knew it was bullshit. Which is why it drives me crazy to hear all these Democrats saying, "We were misled." It makes me want to shout, "Fuck you, you weren't misled. You were afraid of being called unpatriotic."

Update: Clooney didn't write the post and it has been removed. It was compiled from Clooney quotes that were made in a couple of interviews.

As much as I dislike political labels, the best way to categorize my political philosophy is to point to someone like James Carville or Al Franken, and say "that's generally what I think and believe about how government should, well, govern.

The liberation and subsequent attempt build a democratic nation in Iraq is a completely noble and very liberal cause. I am disgusted on a daily basis at the following things:

1. How incompetent the Bush Administration is at handling ANYTHING.

2. The way many democrats AND a few republicans turned against the liberation of Iraq and now call invading Iraq a "huge mistake."

The first item really needs no explanation. Really, the only thing Bush got right was having the political will to invade Iraq and topple Sadaam. Hell, his father couldn't do it, Clinton couldn't do it, but Shrub Co. could. Well, at least he got ONE thing right.

The real issues that concerns me is that it is our moral obligation to liberate oppressed people when possible. Yes, we are going to suffer military casualties; that's nothing new. Ultimately, we are going to save lives and liberate millions of people so in the long run, we are building a safer world, a happier world, and a world in which more people enjoy the liberty and freedom that we in America enjoy.

Although I am an American Soldier, I am first and foremost a human being and a citizen of our planet....every innocent human life is equal in value regardless of nationality. An Iraqi, Iranian, Russian, American is no more important than the next, all in need of the opportunity to live free from political oppression and tyranny. It is our moral obligation to work towards that goal even if it means taking down a few dictators...actually, especially if it means taking them down.

I'm getting a new roof, like right now. My uncle is up there just workin' his ass off. I'm taking the kids to the mall to look at all the things we'd be buying if I didn't need a new roof.

Happy Saturday!

Before I get started I'd like to ask everyone that participates in this discussion to keep the focus on legal activities. I don't want this discussion to devolve into a gotcha game about violent rape and incest. I want to focus on voluntary actions and in that scope "date rape" is okay.

Now let's establish that "A Woman's Right To Choose"™ is code for choosing/not choosing abortion and nothing else. So, the short answer is no. No, of course it isn't about equality. There is no equality in sex. Women are still treated like inferior little twits and men are the bad guys with all the power. What we have is a system where women have choices, and men are responsible for women's choices like parents are for their children. We are treating women like children and most women are fine with it. I'm not.

I've always been bothered by the way society treats men. Men aren't villans. If the sex is consentual why do we allow women to be treated like simpering fools and men like the villan? Yes, yes I know she bears the child if a pregnancy occurs. Is this news? Did she not know that before putting out? Did she not know that birth control isn't 100% effective? Why isn't she held to the same standard as the guy? She had a choice and chose to spread her legs. Now she's knocked up. Poor, poor little thing what can we do to help her avoid taking responsibility for her choice. Abortion. That's the quick fix and only she can decide to use it. The guy is completely screwed (pun intended) out of the decision making and once the woman decides that is it. The guy is either off the hook or on it for 18 years all on the whim of someone that is equally responsible for the result of a consentual encounter.

I'm not saying that men should be allowed to force an abortion or a pregnancy to occur. I'm saying that he should have a choice to opt out of fatherhood if he chooses. He shouldn't be on the hook for something he didn't choose either. That would be equality.

I'm gonna quote my hubby because he is totally on point here:

Although I still note with some mild annoyance that apparently it's okay to loudly proclaim for "a woman's right to choose," and evil and wicked and oppressive to say that her right to choose might have limits, that she should use birth control and be more prudent... but if a man doesn't want to be held fiscally and socially responsible for a woman's choice for 18 years, he's an evil scumbag who should keep it in his pants and use birth control and if he doesn't like it too bad. He made his "choice" when he chose sex. She gets her choice well after the fact, and gets to hold him responsible for her choice whether he likes it or not.

If we honestly lived in a fair society, then so long as we have a legal "woman's right to choose," then we should have a man's right to choose too: a woman who finds herself pregnant should have the right to approach a man and ask him what he wants to do. He should be expected to either give her half the abortion expenses, or, propose a marriage and/or child support arrangement. After he makes his offer, she goes off and makes her final choice.

That would be true equality. We don't want true equality, we'd much rather "protect" the weaker sex and women are playing right along.

A little more from Dean:

Instead we have a system where women have choices, and men are responsible for women's choices.

Can you name me any other place in life where one person is held responsible for the choices of another person? The only one I can think of is parents of children--if a child does something foolish, the parent is responsible.

In other words, our current system on abortion relegates women to the status of children. Sex and its results are the man's responsibility, period. Women are just helpless weak dependent victims of those brutish men who have sex with them.

I was inspired by this discussion over at Dean's World.

I don't know when it happened but I'm hooked. I'm not hooked on the Surivor type shows but I am hooked on American Idol, Project Runway and I've even started to watch Top Chef.

What is wrong with me????

I just can't stop watching and I'm loving these "real" people way more than real actors.

American Idol. What can I say? I love, love, love Taylor, Elliot and Chris. I think that Paris is a doll and then there is Kelly Pickler. Kelly Pickler = Cute little bunny. I don't trust the judgement of people who hate bunnies. How can you hate a cute little bunny?

Project Runway's season ended last night and I was thrilled with the winner. The winner has been my favorite from day 1. (Dean hasn't seen the episode yet, so I won't name the winner in this post.

Top Chef looks like it's gonna be really catty. I love catty.

What about you? What has sucked you in against your will?

I can't use them anymore.

When I was a kid, I loved throwing rocks, skipping rocks, and trying to hit targets with rocks. Is that the facination with shooting guns? What is the big deal with enjoying firing a gun? My opinion is that it is just an extention of our desire to hurl small objects really fast at a target (moving or stationary). With guns, is it just the sensation of a small hunk of metal leaving a device we're holding at an incredible rate of speed or do we enjoy the feeling that we are holding an object that can end the life of another being in a matter of moments?

I've never bought into the "protection against OUR government tyranny" but I do like the idea that an 85 year-old great grandmother is capable of fending off a 6'6" 350lb hardened criminal high on crack with the pull of a trigger.

I personally will probably never own a gun, but then again, I'll never break into anyone's house. Besides, I get enough of weapons' training in the Army....yawn. I'd rather throw rocks; guns bore me.

I meant to post about this earlier. Dana Reeves, widow of Christopher Reeves, died this morning of lung cancer. Leaving behind the couple's 13 year old son and two adult step-children. She was only 44.

"A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that universities that get federal funds must allow military recruiters on campus, even if their law schools oppose the Pentagon's policy prohibiting openly gays and lesbians from serving."

Funny, I didn't realize that the Taliban had an open gay policy. Perhaps, Yale does know something we don't...

Dean was on the radio recently.

OMG, I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Please watch this Bush imitation and enjoy.

VIA: Michael

Yale, a liberal elitist institution of higher learning, in it's infinite wisdom thinks that ROTC and military recruiters are bad but admitting former deputy foreign secretary of the Taliban is good.

They'll tolerate almost anything, except the U.S. military. Man, I hope both my boys go there when they grow up.

I watched them last night and I must say that I was underwhelmed. I love Jon Stewart but this just isn't his thing. I'm not a big Billy Crystal fan but I must say that I've sorely missed him as host of this yearly event.

Some of the winners surprised me and I must say that I was stunned by the fact that there was no clear sweep by any film. That's a new one.

What did you think about the show?

“Politics is not just about power and money games, politics can be about the improvement of peoples lives, about lessening human suffering in our world and bringing about more peace and more justice.”

What great American said that?

I don't really care about the reality of our current political situation, but I do know that this should be the aim of all government.

For those of you that think that teachers of children under 18 should be allowed to use their classroom as a pulpit and claim that they were only exercising their right to freedom of speech, I have a follow up question.

I stole this question from mariner: If a science teacher used class time to tell students that evolution was atheist religious dogma, and the real truth is that God created the universe in seven days, would anyone seriously suggest that he be allowed to continue this because he was exercising freedom of speech?

You know that meat puppet doesn't have any clue about what each and every button is supposed to do.

And no, that's not me.

Question: Should teachers of children under the age of 18 have the right to use their freedom of speech in the classroom?

If yes, why? If no, why?

I love reading Daily Kos. It reminds me of just how crazy the lefty libs have become, and how obnoxious and nasty. And it's on everything too: just look at how they treated this poor Alexander guy for having the audacity to bring up a little dissenting opinion that doesn't even have anything to do with politics.

(Via Dean.)