No words needed here....

Mother-Out-Law got this from a brit friend.. I've got nothing to say.........it speaks volumes!

EDITED TO ADD: apparently this one isn't real either.. but hysterically funny nonetheless.. it's an old photo that has been doctored, to the point of putting the photo of tony blair behind him.. a friend of mine looked it up on snopes.com.. here is the link if you want to see the original photo..
snopeshoaxbuster

Cindy Sheehan arrested and Pet Evacuation Petition

This afternoon I read the news..
Cindy Sheehan was arrested for standing outside the white house..
arrested...
for standing in front of the white house?
isn't the white house the house of the people? Don't people stand out in front of the white house all day long?
Is it only because she is a known anti war protestor that they have taken her to jail?
For asking a simple question of our commander in chief?
"For what noble cause did my son die.?"
She isn't a threat, hasn't been violent.. hasn't even been that vocal.. but yet they found it necessary to haul her ass into jail.. and let her sit in handcuffs for hours..
unbelieveable.

On another note..
there is a petition going around regarding a bill they are trying to put through the Legislature to evacuate pets along with people in catastrophic events like the Hurricanes of the past month. Many people wouldn't leave their pets behind, so they stayed, and some of them died.. To save their beloved pets.
so if you have a second, please head over to the site listed below to sign the petition..
Pet Petition

the things "B" movies are made of..

A friend of mine sent me these yesterday.. I don't know where they came from but they scared the hell outta me..
Apparently there are some photos flying around about a 4500 lb. croc found on the streets of new orleans..






scary ain't it... but don't worry.. it's not exactly real.. the croc itself was real, but it was found in the congo 3 years ago.. so while there are bayou gators probably all over the place.. they don't have to worry about that one..
There were also some amazing lookin water moccasins, but I can't figure out if those are real or not.. more on that one later..

have I mentioned I hate AT&T?
Yesterday when we got home from work, our phone wasn't working.. being a slave to dial up... I was not happy.. it took me 2 hours to get a human on the phone.. but by the time I got through to someone it was too late to send a repairman.. so this morning it's fixed.. but I am seeking a new phone company.. so if anyone has any suggestions.. bring em on..
more later..
I have been swamped at work..
peace to all

and Rosie.. I hope you had a great opening night.. wish I coulda been there..

aaaaahh

heard something about this on the radio on the way home tonight. my mouth just dropped open.. so when I got home.. I hopped online to check it out.. there it was a little ole press release...
but hey at least we won't have fleas or heartworm :)


U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Lester M. Crawford announced today the appointment of Rear Admiral Linda R. Tollefson to the position of Assistant Commissioner for Science. Most recently, RADM Tollefson served as Deputy Director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). In her new position, she will also serve as Coordinator for Commissioned Corps Affairs at FDA and direct FDA's Offices of Women's Health and Orphan Products Development.



How many more times does this administration have to prove that they have absolutely no regard for any of us? by appointing completely unqualified individuals to positions of importance.
but then a veterinarian wouldn't be likely to approve the morning after pill now would she?
Where is the outrage.. what do we have to do to take our country back from these criminals?
oy vey

a warning and a visit from bambi

The coolest thing happened the other night.. we live literally around the corner from a major thoroughfare here.. a main drag if you will.. but every once in a while, a family of deer wanders over into our neighborhood from the park.. the other night when letting the dog out for her last potty break, I looked out beyond the fallen trees and saw the family of deer, just hanging out in the yard. I quickly brought the dog in so she wouldn't try to play with our new friends. They didn't stay long.. but it was nice to see them again...

on to more annoying events..

there is an email circulating.. you may have gotten a version of it already, I know it's going around in georgia cause I've gotten it several times in the past 24 hours from different people.. be aware that someone may take a current crime event in your area and shape the email to it and send it on.. it is sad, it's racist and it is so wrong.. Be aware that it's out there, and if you get it, make sure you address back to the people that got it that it is wrong..

here is the text of the email.. below that my response to it..




Some of you may have seen the news yesterday where a woman was carjacked at Cobb Parkway and Highway 92 (Acworth). While fleeing, the carjacker crashed into a cement truck and the victim was killed instantly. (She was 30 yrs.old and a mother of two small toddlers) As the carjacker was fleeing, (with a gun) a citizen shot and killed him! The police think this is the same man who raped a woman last weekend, (school teacher 2 months away from retirement), took her to her bank and had her clean out her ATM, and then stabbed her! (thankfully she did not die). The police also think this man is from New Orleans.

Today here at the office we had a patient who came in who is a 9-1-1 operator. She said that calls are coming in like crazy over the past 2 weeks with carjackings! (right around the time we have had this influx of new residents!)

The media have said that there are 4,500 sex offenders that were let out of prison in New Orleans who have NOT re-registered! All the communities who have taken in these folks are now at risk.

The purpose of this email is to put all of you on ALERT! Lock your car doors the minute you get in. Keep your homes locked. This is not the same community we had 2 weeks ago.

Please let others know about this, as I would feel horrible if something happened to one of my friends or family members and I had this knowledge.

Be Safe!


here is my response.. the blank ____spots are where someone's name was..



While no one will question that I also care about the safety of others, I want to clarify that while this email that ______ received was intended to make people more aware of their safety.. it was also intended to scare people.
The perpetrator in question was NOT from New Orleans, He was from right here in georgia, was a sex offender and was not on the georgia state registry. why? well officials don't know..

While I don't know where the statistics that _____ spoke about came from, it is important to note that scaring people because there is an influx of people who are here, not because they want to be, but because they have no where else to go, serves no one.
In researching the numbers, yes the 4,500 number is correct, and has been reported widely, but a number of those people are offenders the likes of prostitutes and voyuers.. 300 is the number that I find that had crimes in which they had to check in with authorities.
We should ALL be aware of our surroundings, lock our car doors and homes, regardless of whether there are new residents around.
and I am sorry, but the overall tone of the email to me reads very much like.. "be scared of the (black) people who came here from New Orleans..they are criminals and carjackers" and that is just wrong.

and _______, I know that you didn't write the email.. and I know that you just want people to be safe.. I am just making a statement about this email and others like it... as a member of the media.. trust me... if that story exists that carjackings have gone through the roof in the past two weeks, someone is going to report it. as a matter of fact I am going to have it checked into more thoroughly tomorrow.

Emails like this are flying around.. among any number of rumors .

No, this is not the same community we had two weeks ago, nor is it the same country we had two weeks ago.. But more blaming of the victims and hyping fear on an influx of people who by and large are not criminals, does nothing to help the situation..

So, lock your doors, and windows.. and be careful.. of EVERYONE. You should be doing that anyway.. I really don't want to cover a news story on you at this or any other time, because you were a crime of opportunity.

In this time, after such a horrific disaster, we should be helping one another, helping those people who literally have nothing.. someone is taking advantage of this opportunity to scare people.. and that is truly sad
Regards,
biscuit


Reading that angered me like I can't even tell you..
so be aware that it's out there.. and oh yeah.. lock your doors and windows.. you should be doin that anyway!

FIN

I had to get this out.. it's long winded and ranty.. but I just sat and cried tonight.. and I just don't understand...
_________
I've had enough.. yup.. that's right I'm done..
I understand that some people have to support bush for whatever reason, economic or otherwise.. but what he has done to this country is indefensible..
exactly who does he have to kill before people realize he is at best incompetent.. ??
at worst a murderer..
(or, as I said in an email earlier today ...)
or is negligent homicide no longer a crime in this country??.. i can't remember.. they keep changing the rules of the game.....

I don't know about you.. but I certainly don't want to see something bad happen here.. we are not prepared for what is to come.. homeland security my ass.. cronyism caused this .. Bush picked his FEMA guy.. the top three guys at fema have no emergency management experience whatsoever.. and these are the point people when something bad happens? these are the people who are supposed to take care of us if something bad happens.. they don't know what to do, and worse I suspect they don't even care..

sure there's lots of blame to go around.. but many of the things that I have seen and read from firsthand accounts by people who are there, place the blame squarely where it belongs.. with the federal government.. and I am not talking about what happened just after the storm. I am talking about what is happening right now.. FEMA has not been to many gulf coast states.. many people haven't even seen them.. there is a bigger military presence in new orleans than most metropolitan cities have police.. and for what.. most people are gone from NO, there is nothing really to protect ..
For all the NPR and Fox news and neal boortz that everyone is listening to I wish for just one day you would listen to air america radio and hear people who are down there on the ground.. what is being witnessed. There are mercenaries who have been deputized to "secure" the situation.. Media reports have gone soft most focusing on the shiny happy spin that the white house is gladly spoonfeeding them.. Anderson cooper may be the only one still down in NO, reporting daily.. the media is being shut out of covering a lot of the rescue and recovery effort.. why? what do they have to hide? what happened to the first amendment?
contracts have already gone out to haliburton.. a business from another country (south africa I believe) has been hired to dispose of the dead bodies.. this company just settled a $100 million dollar lawsuit for their mishandling of the deceased..
If they are trying to cover up the total number of dead, they've got the right folks for the job..
There are rea estate speculators making bids on property that people have refused to leave..
why?
I would LOVE to just look at all the good that is being done.. but that's lookin at the world through rose colored glasses.. and right now.. in this country we can't AFFORD to do that..

As I sit and watch them cart out elderly people from a nursing home who died waiting to be rescued.. who sat in the parking lot in their wheelchairs.. and in their beds.. who thought help was coming.. and never did.. who died in the hot sun.. who DIED.... I have to ask.. what is so wonderful about this president that people will defend him.. even now?
How can anyone defend the animal.. his love of the dollar and his love of war far supercedes his care about the poor, the elderly.. the children, now seperated from their families.. having been sent god knows where.. with no information as to where they went.. in this day and age.. with all of the technology.. we are reduced to showing photos on the tv of a child.. or in some cases just giving a description of the child, because the family didn't make it out with any photos..

how many people have to DIE before people will wake up and realize.. this man.. who ran on the campaign that he was "the man who would keep us safe" has negligibly killed more americans than any sitting president.. quite possibly any living person.. other than hitler..

yeah.. I am pissed.. I am tired tired of people defending a man that is beyond defending in my opinion..
What can we do?
Jon Stewart made an interesting comment the other night.. He was saying that this NO incident for bush is much like clinton's monica lewinsky incident.. it will be the thing that he bush is remembered for.. but tens of thousands of people didn't die in monica lewinsky's vagina..

if you have a chance.. please go and take a look at a slideshow by the country band Sugarland.. It brought me to tears.. I hadn't really cried a whole lot yet.. But I did tonight.. the song is called Stand Back Up.. it has become a kind of anthem to some people..

Sugarland Katrina slideshow

I cried for every grandparent that was left behind.. for every child who couldn't swim and got seperated from their parent.. for every floating body.. for everyone whose home is gone.. for those who are still hungry.. and living in a tent in the Kmart parking lot..
for those who were raped at the superdome.. for those who had guns pointed at them, so they couldn't cross a bridge to get them to safety.. cause they were the wrong color..
for all the dogs.. and cats.. and animals. who waited for their owners to come home.. and got water instead..
For all the people.. for all the people.. for all of us...
_



______
on a happier non ranting note..
happy birthday daddy.. I love ya ol' man! I've got ribs and margaritas ready and waitin for ya..

SURVIVOR BAYBEEEEE

It's that time of year again.. when crazy folks everywhere get geared up for THE premiere reality show.. Survivor! This season takes place in the Mayan ruins in Guatemala.. It looks to be absolutely breathtaking as most of the places they pick out are..
But they real story here is that there are two mystery survivors coming back from past seasons....
two popular ex survivors..

my matlock-ing has come up with the following possibility..

everyone's favorite hottie Stephenie LaGrossa and her counterpart Bobby Jon Drinkard

I am SO excited.. It was so painful to watch Steph and Bobby jon's tribe dwindle to nothingness.. and sadder still when steph's torch was estinguished.. She was the best contestant out there and she never had a chance.
I don't know in what capacity these two might be coming back.. or if my information is correct.. heck it could be rupert comin back for another try.. but I will be extremely happy if it is Steph.. She deserved to win.. I have never seen a more determined contestant.. she was on the wrong team.. she couldn't catch a break.. she carried them most, if not all of the way.. and didn't even really get a chance to play the game..
I am so hopin it's her! though I hear this is the toughest season so far.. lots of people got sick within the first few days.. Mark burnett was quoted as saying that this time they may have gone too far.. So it should be quite interesting..
Stay tuned..
I only hope president photo op doesn't screw it up with his address.. just so he can tell us what a great job they have been and continue to do in new orleans and the gulf coast.. if you haven't had a chance to check out a timeline of events.. check out. this timeline

katrina timeline

no comment needed

This stencil is available for anyone who would like to make a t-shirt or add to their own blog. email me and I will send you the full sized original.

sky news gets it!

I've come up with another name for the qweefer..
PRESIDENT PHOTO OP
sent by another news geek bud of mine..

A Good Man's life cut too short

Robert Jalbert- United Flight 175


A husband..a father... a grandfather.. a brother.. a son... an uncle.. a cousin....
a friend...


Missed by many.. loved by all..

welcome

to the world....

We became aunts again this morning with the arrival of this bundle of love and joy!
happy happy ..joy joy!
We can't wait to meet the newest member of our family..

This is the one bright spot in a horrendous week..

Hope you all have a good weekend.. we are going to a concert saturday night..

Congratulations E and K and N..
and grandparents!

and so it begins..

We will never really know how many people have died as a result of hurricane Katrina.. homes and bodies have been washed into the gulf.. alligators now roam freely where people once did.. but the biggest reason we will never know..
THEY DON'T WANT US TO KNOW!!!

Have you SEEN the latest death tolls? 83 people have died in louisiana 196 in Mississippi..

are you frickin kidding me?

New Orleans has ordered 25 thousand body bags....

FEMA and government officials are now turning away journalists from going into areas they deem unacceptable. Hell the media was there before FEMA even thought about being there..
First they don't respond.. then they do...sorta.. yesterday they state that they don't want photos or videos taken of dead bodies out of (cough cough.. ) "respect"
and now they are turning away journalists?
Me thinks me smells something.. and it isn't the stench of the big easy..
They don't want the media there because they DON"T WANT the american people to see just how badly they screwed up..
read Brian williams blog HERE
scroll down to yesterday's blog to see how police officers raised their guns at reporters.
Photos today on CNN from someone who was inside the superdome or the convention center.. of bodies.. bludgeoned.. tossed aside.. the first photos of what was a living hell for those inside it.

if you haven't heard Dick Cheney's press conference from today.. oh go listen.. he is describing what a good job they have all done.. and how the locals have told them that they are so happy with what a good job they have done.. just after he says this.. one of those locals strolled upon the scene and yelled out "GO FUCK YOURSELF MR. CHENEY.. GO FUCK YOURSELF!" this man is now my hero.. and the reporter who asked the follow up question.. "do you get that alot mr. vice president"
as soon as I find a clip of it I will post it.. cause you simply must hear it!
I spoke to a friend today who has been down in louisiana helping out.. the people there are living in tent cities in the parking lots of Kmarts and walmarts.. they have nothing.. not only do they need food and clothing.. they need tools.. they need hammers, hacksaws, plastic sheeting.. tarps.. tents.. nails wood.. anything to make a shelter.. she described how these tent cities have created a sort of neighborhood situation.. where child care was happening so that people could go out and try to find where their home used to be. it's an incredible story of life, continuing on in the face of a government who is not helping them.
She's a good egg that friend of mine.. I fear for her mental health after what she has seen.. she's a strong person and I'm sure that she will be ok.. but these are things that no one should have to be a witness to. no one.
but the way things are going.. our own governement is probably going to try to pretend that it never even happened.. or that it wasn't as bad as we all know that it was.. it's disgusting.
and his ridiculous response.. "first time I've heard it" apparently wherever he has been hiding.. it's got soundproof walls..

More unbelievable efforts on the part of the Bush administration

the headline that I saw on AOL when I logged on read
Federal Government Seeks to Block Photos of Dead

and I instantly got that sinking feeling again.. Let me just say that I am way more sensitive to people having to see their loved ones dead, in any situation. I deal with that on a daily basis.. or at least did..
However, this smacks of this administration once again trying to spin things.. they DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED IN THIS CATASTROPHE.
and believe this..
it has NOTHING to do with anyone in that administration trying to be sensitive to anyone's feelings.. if they were so worried about people's feelings.. they would have gotten off their asses and gotten in there to help them.
noooooooo
this is ALL about spin..
and it sickens me even more.
the administration also didn't want photos of flag draped caskets coming back from iraq published... and one photographer got in serious trouble because of it.. and again, I believe that it wasn't about sensitivity.. it was about not wanting the american people to know how many american soldiers had been killed. seeing flag draped caskets coming back en masse.. certainly wouldn't look good to ole president qweef..
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE!??
sure people are still talking about te heinous mismanagement of this disaster.. but why aren't someone's feet being held to the fire.. will this administration ever take AN?Y responsibility for ANYthing it has done..
Randi is right.. this tragedy in the gulf coast is negligent homicide.. and those who are found to be at fault should be charged with such.. times how many ever people died.
Wake up America.. wake the fuck up.

WORDS

***warning. the post below describes someone in their death.. not too graphically.. but you might not want to read.. I will put the graphic part in bold in case you want to skip it..






I have no more.. today I watched as a group of rescuers entered what looked to be an apartment building.. where they found, at last count.. 30 bodies.. I am sickened beyond words..








As they panned the bodies in the room, there was a sheet that was mostly covering one of the bodies.. it was an elderly woman.. it was unclear whether she was white or black.. and it doesn't matter.. her grayish hair was peeking out from the sheet that had been placed over her dead, bloated body.


I thought of my mother.. my grandmother, gone for a very long time but always in my thoughts.. I thought of butter's mom.. In my minds eye I saw each of them there, and I cried..
I don't understand.. these are peoples mothers, daughters, sons, brothers, fathers.. CHILDREN, lying under sheets stacked on a floor, no where to put them, no one to claim them, their families sent hundreds of miles away.. I can't even imagine if I had been put on a plane, while my mother lie dead under a sheet in a building somewhere.. gruesome thought.. but these aren't disposable lighters we are talking about.. they are people.. people who didn't have to die.. people who had a hard enough life.. and had an even harder death..
have you ever seen anyone who has drowned? I'm not talking about on CSI, or some other drama show.. I'm talking about an actual drowned person? It is ugly.. and sad..
I have no more words.. I am disgusted with our governement's inaction, and political spin doctoring that is going on now.. they couldn't step up after the fact, but they are in major spin control at the moment.. and it sickens me..
and all I want to do is scream.. and I know I'm not the only one. The timelines don't match what the federal goverment is saying, and yet there are still people who defend their inaction. And I can't understand why.. or how anyone could defend it.

Ridiculous!

AT a time where people are dying.. it seems that FEMA and state officials are at odds.. Fema keeps trying to flex its muscle and the people are suffering for it..
the following is an excerpt from a news story.

Far from deferring to state or local officials, FEMA asserted its authority and made things worse, Mr. Broussard complained on "Meet the Press."

When Wal-Mart sent three trailer trucks loaded with water, FEMA officials turned them away, he said. Agency workers prevented the Coast Guard from delivering 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and on Saturday they cut the parish's emergency communications line, leading the sheriff to restore it and post armed guards to protect it from FEMA, Mr. Broussard said.

turning away water? gasoline? cutting phone lines? WTF is wrong with these people..
Is it the the national officials have got to prove so much that they are in power?
They blame the local authorities, but are fighting them every step of the way. I watched the president of jefferson parish break down on television yesterday.. it was heart wrenching.. he was begging for help..
I watched Larry king live the other night and saw Celine Dion break down in anger and despair, I've never been a big fan of hers but I see her in a new light today.. It must have had something to do with her status as a diva.. but she was visibly upset and shaken from all that she had seen, as most of us have been.

And keep in mind that for everything you have seen on the news.. it is WORSE than you can imagine.. The news isn't showing all of it.. they can't.. you couldn't take it.. trust me on that one.. From what I have heard from colleagues and friends, the stench is worse than anything you could imagine. You haven't seen half of what is out there.. and you don't want to.
I don't care at this point who is responsible for it.. but after everyone is safe and fed and clothed.. whoever is responsible should pay dearly. And I'm thinking that with the tone of how people are feeling about this botched rescue.. someone will be paying for it.. hopefully with their job.

helping your fellow (hu)man

The images of the past few days have been overwhelming.. I can't think of one person I know who hasn't been overwhelmed at some point by the people begging for help.
I have been told that I am too critical of the lack of organization and rescue after the storm. But I don't agree with that assertion. I cannot understand how, in this day and age, we can drop supplies to a tsunami ravaged country within a day of the storm, but it takes 4 days for our own governement to get into a city in our own country. It is unacceptable.
Friday, I worked a Red Cross Telethon to raise money for the victims of Katrina, it was a humbling experience. There were corporations who dropped of checks for 1 million dollars, and phone calls from people who could only give $5 dollars.
I listened as an older man broke down in tears as he made his donation.. I consoled him and made sure he was ok before I hung up the phone with him, and he stays with me even today. I hope he's ok. There were Atlanta Falcons players, radio personalities, and I have to give a shout out to my girls Gemini, Shorty, Garnett and Mandy, who came down after work to take some calls, and literally were on the phone nonstop, even after the telethon was over the phones kept ringing, and we kept answering. It wasn't much, all we did was take some calls, but it felt good to be doing something.. anything to feel like we were helping. I was able to chat with Patrick Kerney and Brian Finneran(and his wife) from the Falcons, who were sitting next to me on the phones.. It was such a wonderful experience, in the face of such a devastating thing that I can't even imagine..
The numbers are still coming in, but we had raised well over 5 million dollars.. and more money is still coming in..
Hopefully it will help someone out..
Tomorrow, we will gather with our friends to just be... It's not a happy time, certainly no time for a party.. but I thought it would be nice to get together with the ones we love to just be together.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend.
peace..