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FACETIME- Dirty dogs: Local animal lover pursues her dream
Last summer, when Patricia Wilkinson got a call from a friend that a snake was loose in the Belmont Lofts condominium complex, she knew just what to do. Rather than taking tools or weapons, Wilkinson brought a pillow case and calmly picked up the snake.
"Snakes," she says smiling, "are just misunderstood."
Wilkinson, who has always been a lover of all creatures great and small, is acting on her passion for animals and doing something many people dream about but few dare to do. After quitting her full-time job as a respiratory therapist at UVA, she opened her own business, a self-service dog wash located in Belmont.
Wilkinson, 53, "just has a way" with animals, says longtime friend Maria Bell. "She's not afraid of them, and they do what she wants."
It was Bell who called Wilkinson to remove the snake from the condo complex, and she recalls how Wilkinson grabbed the critter with ease while a small crowd of men "stood by in awe."
Located on Avon Street under the Belmont Bridge, Wash & Wag opened quietly in early February. While initial business has been slow, and while running her own business is "terrifying and exciting at the same time," Wilkinson says it "just feels right."
The Belmont resident learned how to handle snakes– and a bevy of other creatures– in her four years serving as the game warden for Falls Church. She says she did everything from investigating possible animal abuse to conducting rabies education seminars in local schools. While she loved her job, she never made enough money to support herself so she decided to go into what she calls "people medicine."
In the same determined manner that she rescues snakes, she has tackled and overcome a number of obstacles on the road to small-business ownership. It was extremely difficult, for example, to find a location she could rent that was willing to accommodate so many four-legged friends traipsing through the doors.
As it turns out, she found the perfect little place in her very own neighborhood, a place she believes is exactly "the way a neighborhood should be." She loves that fact that Belmont still has little shops and that "neighbors take care of each other."
To celebrate the shop's opening, Wilkinson organized the first annual Wag for a Wash run on Saturday, April 5 right outside her store. And the grand prize? A free dog wash, of course.


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Colossians (part 3): Jesus IS…
February 7, 2016
February 7, 2016
Hope Christian Fellowship is pleased to be hosting Sunday worship on-site at our facility once again. In order to keep our community safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are diligently following federal and state guidelines for sanitizing the space, asking our guests to wear masks while inside, and maintaining social distancing. We realize that many people will feel more comfortably continuing to join us online from the safety of their home, and we are eager for everyone — whether on-site or at home — to feel connected as a church family as we continue to serve the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of our community.
During this pandemic, we are posting information and broadcasting our Sunday services live. Visit the links below and subscribe.

subset: commoncrawl


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Wedding engagements are one of the most exciting times, and we're here to help you get started. Whether you just got engaged or are planning on getting engaged, we've got the best tips on how to find the right ring, the right words, and the right time to propose.
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Topic: How to start a successful RPG
For those of you new to our RPG's here's a guide of how to create your own.
When writing an RPG there are a few key areas you need to consider:
1. Setting
2. Plot
3. Rules
Make sure you let everyone know what era you are setting your RPG. Let them know where they are also.
Plot: Give a clear idea of plot. For instance saying "War on Tatooine†is too vague. Why is there a war? Who is involved in the war? How are the characters involved?
Example: The war on Tatooine started when Jabba the Hutt got too greedy and started moving in on the Sandpeople.
You've now stated the where, the why and given a rough idea of the time.
Now since this is your RPG, your character will be key to the story. So you could pick to be Jabba the Hutt or the leader of the Sandpeople.
Do an intro explaining who you are and why you are there. A summary of your character is also good to use:
Name: Gen'har Nex
Age: 38
Species: Tusken Raider
Gender: Male
Affiliation: Sandpeople
Appearance: Bandaged outer body, typical garb of his species
Personality: Very territorial and passionate about his people, hates outsiders
Weapons: Gaffi stick, scavenged blaster
Gen'har stood on the sand dune with his bantha. He surveyed the surrounds, knowing that the evil Hutt's minions were coming. The battles were becoming more frequent and it was only a matter of time before the war got even more heated.
His people had been preparing for the invasion. He watched them as they distributed weapons evenly amongst their ranks.
This has left things open for others to insert the characters into the action, they can either be preparing with the Sandpeople, or incoming with Jabba's troops. Once things are established you can move the storyline along.
Each RPG should have a list of rules. That way people know where they stand. Here's a basic list of rules you can use or improvise on:
1. You may create any character you want. Clarify their name and species so others can follow their actions easily.
2. You can kill characters you create but you can't kill other people's characters unless they say they have been killed in battle with you.
3. You can have any weapon you want but you can only have what your character could physically carry - otherwise they wouldn't be able to move.
4. Be consistent, eg if someone says they blew up a building, don't suddenly be assaulting it.
5. If you have sustained many wounds you will have to either get medical help or eventually die.
6. Follow the storyline, sure add a few twists and turns but allow others to see where you want to go so they can help you get there.
7. Have fun.
Now you have an overview on how you can create an effective RPG, good luck and remember the more you read the better you will write
It was like thousands of voices cried out for a sequel and were suddenly silenced...


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Dr. Rolle
Finally some good news out of the Florida State Seminole football program. Safety Myron Rolle is putting the NFL on hold and hearding to Oxford work on his master in medical anthropology as a Rhode Scholar. "How do you like them apples?"
Rolle is projected to be a 2ndor3rd round pick this season. And he realizes that waiting until next years draft would more than likely drop his status. But Rolle is unfazed about his decision to head back to the classroom.
Here is a quote from the espn.com article;
"I want to be a neurosurgeon," Rolle told ESPN's Joe Schad in November. "And I want to help impoverished nations build up their vaccination programs. I think in many poor countries, vaccination programs and mental health programs are wrongly pushed aside."
Knight Watch
The last couple of evenings Sportcenter has featured a new segment called "Knight Watch". Former coach Bobby Knight "breaks down" some of the best in college basketball. He took a look at Oklahoma's Blake Griffin and Davidson's Steph Curry. Tonight will be the Duke Blue Devils after their game against Georgia Tech.
I watched the bits on Griffin and Curry, and this segment is crap. Plan and simple. I understand trying to use Coach Knight more and showcase his "expertise". But it is unreal.
Knight highlighted some interesting film clips, showed Griffin's athleticism and then made the "expert" analysis that the Sooner stud is "the best sophomore in the country".
Are you kidding me?
The next evening, Knight declares Curry the best passer in the nation. WHAT? Now, I will say Curry is a better passer than many give me credit, but that is what the legendary coach comes up with.
Griffin is the most physically dominate player in the country right now, period. Regardless of class.
Curry is an all-around great player and is second in many POTY races. But I am not sure I would call him the best passer in the country.
I have not seen the Duke segment, but I suppose tonight Knight will call Duke's offense "good" and their defense "defensive". And that the Duke away uniforms are intimidating. Or some random crap.
I have long thought Knight was passed his prime and is not relevant in college basketball and ESPN has unintentionally exposed that truth.
Gerald Henderson
On January 10th the Duke Blue Devils beat the Florida State Seminoles 66-58. Nothing too exciting there.
What was exciting? Gerald Henderson scored a career high 25 points, grabbed five rebounds and had three steals. My hope is that this is the start of something beautiful. My fear is that this was a fluke.
Henderson has bever been a great shooter, but he was 9-for-14 from the floor, 3-for-4 from distance and 4-for-6 from the foul line.
Keep it going Gerald. UNC and WF are coming soon.
The Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are ranked 17th in the country and are in a tied for 2nd in the Big-Ten. They have beat Louisville, Ohio State andgave a boost to the Big-Ten in this years challenge with the ACC.
Tubby Smith has turned this program around faster than anyone – including myself – thought possible.
The Gophers are balanced on offense and in your face on defense. A good deal of the sucess has to be attributed to the progression of point guard Al Nolen. The 6'1″ sophomore is steady with the ball in is hands and harasses the ball defense. His stats are a microcosm of what make this team go.
8 pionts, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals per game.
According to Bigtennetwork.com, The Golden Gophers hold their opponents to 59 points a game, 38 percent shooting from the floor and 33 percent from distance. The Gophers score 72 points a game, shoot 47 percent from the floor and 37 percent from distance.
The Gophers also grab the 2nd most offensive rebounds in the conference with 14.8 a game and are third in total rebounds with 40.5.
The Gophers have a tough match-up at Wisconsin tomorrow evening (1/15).


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The socialism of fools: The Left and the Jews
Standpoint's Daniel Johnson held his most recent 'dialogue' session on the subject of Left and the Jews with Nick Cohen and Anthony Julius
Daniel Johnson: Our subject is the Left and the Jews. A famous phrase from the 19th century—I think it came from the German social democrat August Bebel—was that "anti-Semitism is the socialism of fools". If that was true then, there are still plenty of these fools around today.
Just as in the 19th century, when leading figures of the Left such as Karl Marx set a bad example in their writings about the Jewish people, so today we have a problem on the Left. Where does this come from? Why does it exist?
For so many years, the Left, if we define it as beginning with the French Revolution, was seen as the friend of the Jewish people, of emancipation, toleration and equality. But the problem, I think, stems from something which Isaac Deutscher, a great icon of the Left, called the "non-Jewish Jew". The price to be exacted in return for emancipation and full equality was that Jews should give up everything that was distinctive and specifically Jewish.
For years, most on the Left did not believe this, but some did. Karl Marx, above all, began the trend towards anti-Semitism on the Left. These leftist thinkers saw thousands of years of Jewish tradition, religion and ritual as in some sense a burden to be sloughed off.
In today's world that attitude still exists, but it has been hugely exacerbated by the unholy alliance that we have found among elements of the Left-not, by any means, among everyone-and the forces of Islamism. A whole new dimension has been created.
We began to see this most visibly in the 1960s after the Six-Day War, when anti-Zionism morphed into the "new anti-Semitism", as it has often been called. In this country today, and indeed across the West, anti-Semitism is no longer the preserve of the extreme Right. It has become embedded even in the respectable salons and newspaper offices of the Left.
Nick Cohen: This discussion is like wading into a minefield. Because what do you mean by Left? As Daniel suggested, there are all kinds of shades of opinions on the Left, on this as any other issue. It is like saying, "The Right and the Jews". You can't debate without generalisations—you can't write without generalisations—so it is certainly true that there are anti-Semites on the Left.
But it is equally true that left-wing thought can lead to conspiracy theorising. The late 20th century saw the collapse of socialism. From the 1880s through to the 1980s, you would have none of my problems of definition about talking to the Left. If you were left-wing, you were a socialist of some sort. Socialism died before the Berlin Wall came down. All over the world, people were giving up on socialism, not least Communists, especially in China and Russia.
You then have a problem with people who are raging, often with very good reason, against injustice in their society, who call themselves left-wing. What do you do next? How do you explain defeat? One way to explain defeat is a kind of conspiracy theorising.
You see this in Britain a lot: people opine on the reasons elections are lost, because of Rupert Murdoch and the Tory press brainwashing the electorate. Lots of people on the Right, for instance, keep saying that the reasons the Tories keep losing elections (and they still haven't won one, incidentally, not even against Gordon Brown. I would have thought that if you missed that goal you might as well give up football completely) is because of the BBC and the liberal media.
It is quite easy to get into conspiratorial ways of thinking. As soon as you start thinking like this, Jews come along, particularly when confronted by an injustice like that suffered by the Palestinians. It is very easy to go from explaining defeat and injustice to saying that there is a Jewish conspiracy which controls British and American foreign policy and runs secret levers of power.
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Orange's alleged 'black widow' gets burned
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The controversy landed on the cover of the Hook in 2004."]
Donna J. Somerville, the so-called "black widow" of Orange County, has lost her quest to hold on to the farm she tried to inherit after the questionable death of her husband, the Daily Progress reports. Like notorious spouse-killer O.J. Simpson, Somerville was acquitted in a criminal trial of killing her husband, who died mysteriously in 2001, only to lose a civil action waged by relatives of her alleged victim.
10 comments
Woman sure had her nerve to stick around after all that, and especially to assert any "rights" she might have to inherit property rightly belonging to his kids. Surely the "confidential" elements of this settlement still allow her to keep a tidy sum nevertheless.
Poor OJ...
Little minds stay stagnant untill the next shiny thing they see.Then you can have Conjecture.
Poetic justice will prevail for Ms. Somerville....she someday will have to face her doings. But I am glad she doesn't get to keep the farm...her best bet is to move FAR away from here.
Hey, I watched the lifetime TV movie, "The Widow on The Hill", and as far as I'm concerned she's guilty!
I wouldn't give OJ long odds on a libel suit and of course he would have trouble attending any local trial due to his existing obligations to the Nevada Dept. of Corrections. being acquitted of a crime doesn't really mean you're innocent anyway; it only means the state has failed to prove its case and proving a case in death by medications cases can be tough.
That woman had plenty of taint about her to be held accountable in a civil trial. Glad that poor man's estate will go mostly to those who deserve it.
Last time I checked, Ms. Somerville was acquitted of the charges against her. Everyone is so quick to judge, but were any of you there the night Hamilton Somerville died? It seems like the perfect scenario to point the finger at her because she did not come from the wealthy background as Mr. Somerville did. So, while you're judging her, look at yourselves, you will be judged for accusing this woman when you do not know what happened.
Just as you said about Mrs Somerville, O.J. Simpson was acquited too, but society has deemed hime guilty, but none of us were there we don't know the truth, only O.J. and God know what happened on that night, so for the article to even state that
"like notorious spouse killer, O.J. Simpson", Mabe O.J. needs to read this and see what his attorney says about a lawsuit for Liable/Slander.
As with any court case, it must be proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that the person is guilty. Aquitted or not, this was not proven! We all have skeletons in our closet so just because she wasn't perfect in your "angel eyes" doesn't mean she is a murderer.
Oh wow, so it was on Lifetime, therefore it MUST be true!


text:
Welcome to Scholars of Shen Zhou!
A complete introduction to becoming a member of our community.
Scholars of Shen Zhou was founded in 2002 as a companion forum to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms website, Kongming's Archives. Our vision for this site was, and is, to create a diverse, educational, and mature internet community for members of all ages, in which nearly all topics—casual and serious alike—could be openly discussed. In short, we wanted to create an online community where people can feel at home, and as if they are part of a family.
This somewhat unique vision has resulted in some unique rules (you won't find many places where graduates of higher education enjoy chatting with very young gamers), which we hope to explain clearly in this topic.
For the sake of simplicity and selective reading, contents are divided below:
Interactive Forum FAQ, where your questions can be answered by any member of our team.
We hope you have a wonderful time here at Scholars of Shen Zhou!


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'Rock' the vote? Raines looks to gain steam
In fifth year on HOF ballot, switch-hitter seeks enshrinement
WASHINGTON -- Will Tim Raines join former Expos teammates Gary Carter and Andre Dawson in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his fifth year of eligibility? Raines will know in a matter of days, once the results are in.
Raines appears to be gaining some momentum. In 2010, for example, the switch-hitting outfielder received 37.5 percent of the vote, compared to the 30.4 percent he received the previous year.
A candidate must receive 75 percent of the vote from Baseball Writers' Association of America members to gain election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Second baseman Roberto Alomar (90 percent) and pitcher Bert Blyleven (79.7 percent) earned their tickets to Cooperstown on the 2011 ballot. Former Reds shortstop Barry Larkin (62.1 percent) and starting pitcher Jack Morris (53.5 percent) are the top returning vote-getters from last year's ballot. Results of the 2012 election will be announced on Monday, Jan. 9.
Raines played during an era when Rickey Henderson was the dominant leadoff hitter, but the man known as "Rock" was a difference-maker himself.
Most of the damage he did at the top of the batting order was as a member of the Expos and White Sox. From 1981-92, he scored 90 or more runs eight times, led the league in stolen bases four times, was an All-Star seven times and hit .290 or better seven times.
Overall, Raines played 23 years. He ranks fifth all-time in stolen bases (808) and ended with 2,605 hits and 1,571 runs scored. Even when his days as an everyday player were over, Raines proved to be a valuable reserve, helping the Yankees win World Series titles in 1996 and '98.
Asked last year if he was overlooked because he played in the same era as Henderson, Raines said, "Somewhat, but I think the difference was he played in the American League and I was in the National League, which kind of helped a little bit. We were kind of like rivals, but we never really played each other. If you look at the National League side, people would probably be saying the same thing about me like they said about him in the American League."
Dawson, who played with Raines for eight years in Montreal, believes Raines belongs in Cooperstown.
"You are talking about a player who played 20-something years. He was consistent and steady. He was a catalyst. For what his requirements were, he did it real well," Dawson said two years ago. "He was Rickey Henderson, minus all the leadoff home runs. He was probably better defensively -- more so with a strong throwing arm."
Among Raines' many dominant seasons during the '80s, his 1987 campaign stands out -- and he had a lot to prove that year. Raines became a free agent after winning the NL batting crown the previous season, but he didn't have a true chance to test the market because he was affected by what was ultimately deemed by an arbitrator to be collusion by the owners.
The leadoff hitter couldn't return to the Expos until May 1, but he made up for lost time. He played his first game of the season the next day against the Mets and went 4-for-5, hitting a 10th-inning grand slam off left-hander Jesse Orosco.
"He had no Spring Training, and we were playing in New York," said Jim Fanning, who was a general manager, manager and broadcaster during Raines' time with the Expos. "It's his first game back. He hits a home run right-handed. He was an absolute star of that game. I remember [broadcaster] Dave Van Horne and I were saying, 'What is this Spring Training business all about anyway? Everybody can get in condition on their own. Who needs it?'"
Raines ended up leading the NL in runs scored and finished third in the Senior Circuit with a .330 batting average.
Raines almost didn't become the player fans grew to know. After he was taken by the Expos in the fifth round of the 1977 First-Year Player Draft, Fanning, then the GM, envisioned Raines to be the next Joe Morgan. Raines was drafted as a second baseman, and the team believed that, like Morgan, Raines would become a player who displayed a lot of power.
But the predictions about Raines being another Morgan proved premature. Raines had a tough time playing defense in the infield. He didn't have the range to play second base and had trouble turning the double play. Switching to left field in '81 was the best thing that happened to him.
"It was not a difficult switch to put him in the outfield. In fact, it was easy," Fanning said. "I'm not surprised by the career he had. He had a knack on how to play this game. He was a delight to watch. It didn't make a difference who the pitcher was."


text: Artist: Ice-T f/ Donald-D, Hen-Gee Album: Power Song The Syndicate Typed by: email@example.com [ Ice-T ] Liquid, solid, gas - we'll be kickin ass In any form, or matter, or mass (This ain't science class) I know but it's science From the rhyme boss of the Syndicate alliance ( ? ) Rhyme Syndicate brotherhood, we rock a blood oath Radical posse down to death While your crew's on the tape, Donald-D break [ Donald-D ] Syndicate comin through, I'm talkin to you Flexin hardcore, what could you do? When we roll up you send your girl up to the crib-o Is it Rambo? No, the mic ammo Stompin you down on the ground, task forces Let you know Rhyme Syndicate bosses Any show, any tour, we house program Donald-D is who I am, damn [ Hen-Gee ] Atttempt to do this, boy, you're takin a risk Cause my voice sounds doper than a compact disc Styles and lyrics ( ? ) in the pocket Stupid dope beats and Evil E rocks it ( ? ) straight from my heart My jam is sure to hit the top of the charts Ram is my sign, he's different from all kinds Rock you all of the time, just form a single line [ Ice-T ] A lot of MC's like to talk 'bout they self A first-grade topic, I think you need help How many time on one album can you say you're def? "I'm baaaad" - Yo punk, save your breath That's weak shit from a weak mind And a weak mind creates weak rhymes You ain't never kicked knowledge one time Just livin on your own dick (that's a crime) Homeboy, why don't you talk about somethin You just talkin loud and sayin nothin And if you get mad, sorry brother And when you're in LA, watch your colors [ Donald-D ] I'm a MD, but no medical doctor Mic-Dominator Donald-D has got you Comin to the jamboree to hear the poetry And when you break north, the melody Stick to your mind like paste, it can't be erased Face to face I overpower like bass To the climax, I don't carry a sax I carry a axe to tax and wax those who rap [ Hen-Gee ] Born in Brooklyn, crib West Coast MC's I toast, you that talk most Trash, noise, can't throw, get with it Comin from the mouth of Hen-Gee from the Syndicate Ballers, mafia down to throw Gangsters, convicts throwin solid blows Start prayin, your sisters I'm layin I'm Hen-Gee, a Spinmaster, hear what I'm sayin? (Party on the dancefloor) ( *DJ Evil E cuts up* ) (Evil E's in the place) (Doggin the wax) [ Hen-Gee ] An organization, alliance, no duplication Rhyme Syndicate, a strong creation The Syndicate's stronger day by day 12-gauge leave suckers brutally.. Layin in a ( ? ) Your lines are thin, Hen-Gee came to win Don't talk a bunch, just known to crunch My one-two punch will put your butt out to lunch [ Donald-D ] Full-court pressure's what I'm applyin No relyin on the next man, roar like a lion Flexin, plexin ultra, the Bronx is my culture Strikin hard like a vulture Flingin, I'm slingin my hammer like Thor No singin, bringin it raw to the core Shogun assassin maxin in a limousine You stick your head in, out comes the guillotine [ Ice-T ] ( ? ) the game as I kick it Don't miss it, get with it Diss it, you're a knucklehead evicted From the crowd that's proud to be the Syndicate connection Respect mandatory, up is the direction I stand alone, one man that's true But you, my crew, you're on my side We're on a ride Power and pride is our gift And you're down with The Syndicate


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text:
Town Square
High Crimes
Original post made by Tej Uberoi, Duveneck/St. Francis, on May 19, 2007
Comments (62)
a resident of Stanford
on May 19, 2007 at 10:15 pm
[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
a resident of Midtown
on May 20, 2007 at 7:14 am
Viewers were treated with the spectacle of a second rate second banana, over whose head someone went to his boss, getting even.
No laws were broken then, nor in my opinion were any laws broken by the program in question. An expectation of privacy in public is absurd. A demand that government blind itself to threats is silly.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 20, 2007 at 8:24 am
If this is supposed to be entertainment, I question those that belittle themselves by taking part in this entertainment and also those who empower them be watching it. I certainly am not entertained by any of this and would not lower myself by watching anything I didn't find entertainment. I choose my viewing wisely. It is just another definition of bad television of which there is plenty around.
a resident of Crescent Park
on May 20, 2007 at 9:22 am
This administration is much more than incredibly corrupt and incpmpetent. This is a very dangerous criminal gang on a scale we have never seen in our nation's history. Because of our system of government is not parliamentary and removing an administration from office is almost impossible because of the abolute majority it would require in the senate, comedy is our last resort. We use comedy and satire to vent our frustration and express our defiance at this gang of crooks, criminals and murderers, just like people have done in any fascist and communist country throughout history.
a resident of Midtown
on May 20, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Because of the wild rantings of the BDS victims, substantive, possibly corrective criticism is drowned out. In the mentioned episode, no law was broken.
a resident of College Terrace
on May 20, 2007 at 3:17 pm
The Bush/Cheney administration rivals the worst regimes the world had seen in the last 100 years. Because of their criminality, corruption and habitual violation of the Constsitution, we are left with only humor and sarcasm to combat these criminals and let them know what we think of them.
a resident of Stanford
on May 20, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Ok, for some reason my posting in the beginning of this thread was deleted, where I commented on how I had thought it was a joke when I read that there are people who get their news from comedians. I was dead serious.
I then commented on how it explains a lot, implying that it sheds light on the level of informed debate that occurs in this country, or something to that effect.
Why is something deleted that is FACTUAL, with an opinion that is much more respectfully written than the original poster's?
Here is the link to the fact that many people consider Jon Stewart and Saturday Night Live NEWS SOURCES...
Don't delete this, there is NO REASON to do so. Or, if you are going to delete it because you fear offending somebody, then at least be consistent.
Web Link
a resident of Stanford
on May 20, 2007 at 3:33 pm
I mean, really...read the original post. Here is somebody writing about a supposed comedy act AS IF IT WERE REAL!!
a resident of Midtown
on May 20, 2007 at 4:18 pm
The reason that these shows attack or tease the current administration is simple. The administration behaves in a ridiculous and childish way. People watch these shows because they ARE a way to vent. Sarcasm and satire are not only entertainment, however. When people get flustered because they believe that people honestly get their news from the "fake news." Ironically, the people who do not watch these shows tend to be much less informed about what is going on in the world and in our country. Satire is only funny if you understand the object of the jokes. Hopefully, the rising sentiment against the Bush administration in the entertainment industry is only the tip of the iceberg as people everywhere begin to realize what a sham it is. As for the wiretapping, Franklin said those who would trade security for freedom deserve neither. Sadly, this is merely one example of how Bush and his ilk are the anithesis of what America should mean.
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on May 20, 2007 at 4:35 pm
The Jon Stewart show is indeed a comedy show and every single peson watching it knows it. However, it informs its viewrs, through comedy and sarcasm of the true nature of a regime that has never told the truth to the public about any issue. The Bush/Cheney regime has used lies and disinformation as both tactics and strategy. The viewrs of the Daily Show are highly intelligent and informed and know extremely well the difference between reality, lies and demagoguery. on the other hand, the right wing has platforms like the Rush Limbaugh radio show in which lies, disinformation, sheer nonsense, incitement and blind obedience to the republican extreme Right party line are confused with 'information". On that show, characters like Cheney still go on and peddle all the blatant old Bush/Cheney lies that about 70 pecent most of the public has already rejected, but among the least informed Americans, shows like Limbaugh and Fox are considered as "news", although they are nothing but propaganda outlets for the Bush/Cheney regime.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 20, 2007 at 5:06 pm
I believe the President and Vice-President take an oath to uphold and protect the constitution. So do military officers.
Here's a link to the John Stewart show. It's pretty funny if the events weren't so pathetic.
Web Link
a resident of Ventura
on May 20, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Yes, there are some relatively uninformed souls whose only "news" source may be The Daily Show. However, I would say that the show, despite its comic intent, provides a serious (yes, partisan) critique of the news. Part of the reason it has so many fans, including me, is that Jon Stewart is free to say what the networks and major news sources rarely do, and is free to serve up the ridicule that our current administration SO VERY RICHLY deserves. For example, when Cheney tries to deny that he said certain things in the past, most networks and news services don't turn up the heat. Stewart will play the clips back to back and then say what most of us are thinking: Cheney is a liar! When Bush says he listens to the generals, most news services would report that comment as today's news, while Stewart follows that with lots of clips of generals saying the opposite of what Bush says. When Alberto Gonzalez changes his story about the firings, most news services just report today's sound byte, some suggest a contradiction, and then Stewart again plays them back to back. When politicians (and here, Stewart is non-partisan) waste time on empty frivolities that aren't newsworthy, mainstream news might not report it, but by making fun of it, Stewart also offers up a criticism of politicians worrying about trivial photo-ops while our nation faces various crises.
For millenia, humor has been an effective and appreciated form of social criticism, so it should be no surprise that a comedian commands such a large audience when we live under a regime that is such a pathetic failure.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 20, 2007 at 7:17 pm
If you want to see some really funny satire, then watch the old BBC series Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister, they are both available on dvd and pbs has shown them. They may be about the British political system, but really they are about politics everywhere.
a resident of College Terrace
on May 20, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Satiric shows like the daily show are incredibly vital to guard our democracy from the assult by Bush-Cheney. Since the mainstream media is owned by a few corporations highly friendly to the Bush regime, we need comedic sarcasm to save our democracy. A case in point, only one of many examples, is VP Cheney. He keeps denying that he had accused Saddam of being involved in 9/11 and that he evr linked him with jihadist terrorism, and the mainstream media jusr reports his denials as if they were factual. The Daily Show however keeps showing numerous clips in which he empahtically claims that Saddam had been involved in 9/11 and that he had close ties to jihadist terrorism. Cheney keeps making those claims on an almost daily basis on friendly territory like Rush Limbaugh and Fox 'News', but denies he ever made them when he's on the mainstream media, and they just let him make those outragous statesments without a challenge.. Only comedy shows like the Daily Show point out that Cheney is a liar.
a resident of Ventura
on May 20, 2007 at 10:02 pm
And somehow, reporting lies and deception as such is considered "liberal bias." And spare me any Clinton history. A). There's no comparison. B). If there were, I'd say the media should go after Democrats and Republicans with equal fervor anyway.
a resident of Midtown
on May 20, 2007 at 11:05 pm
These are all very good points. It's really good to hear so many people respond with something intelligent to say and I'm glad that my post prompted all these people to speak up. I'm eagerly awaiting someone to try and refute any of this in an intelligent and coherent fashion.
a resident of Midtown
on May 21, 2007 at 5:06 am
No one yet has commented on the only germain point - the legality or illegality of the specific incident parodied.
"And spare me any Clinton history" denys Bush et al the commonlaw defense of prior usage.
Bush Derangement Syndrome sure covers all the bases.
a resident of University South
on May 21, 2007 at 6:56 am
These people are so guilty, their LAWYERS would probably go to jail just for representing them. Whew.
Since I didn't vote for any of 'em (and I DID vote for the members of Congress that are currently wielding subpoena power), I wash my hands of the whole deal. Anybody in the world who has a problem with Americans, I will refer to the 50.5% of us that voted(or did they?) for these thugs.
a resident of Downtown North
on May 21, 2007 at 8:32 am
These creatues went to the poor guy while he was in the hospital in very serious condition!
Newt Gingrich is supposed to have done the same thing with his cancer ridden wife while she was fighting for her life in a cancer ward, serving her divorce papers.
These people have no concept of basic decency. They have risen much further than they should have. All they have is a certain assured tone of voice, a command of resonant cliches, and chutzpah-born-of-ignorance and evil.
Let's send them all to Guantanamo!
a resident of Midtown
on May 21, 2007 at 8:56 am
I will type slower - w h a t l a w w a s b r o k e n ?
a resident of Portola Valley
on May 21, 2007 at 9:27 am
It's becoming less and less "conspiratorial", it seems , to characterize this administration as a criminal cabal, or a "crime family". There seems to be no shortage of disgusting persons that are willing to pervert our American sense of truth and justice , to further the neo-con kingdom, or maybe, merely to feather their own nest. This entire ideology must be destroyed - not only the individuals that advance it's fortunes. In '08, punish the GOP. To extinguish the Republican party would be a proper, patriotic, pro-American and truly American cautionary political legend.
a resident of Midtown
on May 21, 2007 at 12:05 pm
No law broken, but hang 'em anyway? Both liberal and lynch mob begin with "L".
a resident of Mountain View
on May 21, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Walt, the low standard to which you hold your president and his administration troubles me deeply. I love my country and expect my elected officials to conduct themselves at a higher standard then "what is legal". Dont you?
a resident of Stanford
on May 21, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Would that every president up to now HAD followed our laws as much as Bush et al have!! I won't belabor an old point, but research the numbers of people in prior administrations who were CONVICTED ( and/or impeached/disbarred) and sent to jail while in office.
At this point, I feel gratitude that we have an administration that respects the law.
I agree that not all laws are moral or ethical, but I respect our law, and if I don't like a law, I try to change it, not condemn the person who follows it.
It doesn't matter how many times you say that you don't like it, nor how many satirists and comedians joke about it, no laws have been broken. And, watch carefully, the Democrat controlled
Congress will not try to change the laws because they they won't be able to DO THE SAME THING AGAIN ( as certain prior presidents have)
By the way, entertainers are, after all, comedians and actors. If they have any education, it is usually in acting or arts. I look to them for entertainment, not education in law, Constitution, finances, social remedies, war strategies, etc. Their job is to take snapshots of public figures or issues, put their finger to the wind, and use those snapshots for the entertainment of their audience.
I prefer the ones ( rare!) who are "equal opportunity satirists", skewering all silly stuff, regardless of political "affiliation". If anyone knows any, can you please post his/her name?
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 21, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Comedians and actors are in the entertainment game, not the politics game. They will try to get a laugh where they can and the top dogs are the biggest game. They are not trying to prove political points, just improve ratings. That way, they make more money from advertisers and so on which eventually line their back pockets. No matter who is in office, they will still try to do the same. Don't expect any changes after the next election. The only changes seem to be made in a downward slide, what would never have been tolerated 10 to 20 years ago is now power for the course, and who knows to what levels they may drop in times to come. No, the comedians are doing a service to no one but themselves.
a resident of Crescent Park
on May 21, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Forging and creating fraudulent intelligent reports is a gigantic violation of the law. Subverting the Constitution is even worse. When the actinf attorney general refused to sign the law that would have permitted the executive branch to spy on US citizens without a judge's consent, they weent to a gravely sick Ashcroft and try to bully him into signing that "law". When he refused, siding with the acting AG, he, the mosr conservative member of the Bush cabinet sealed his fate as far as serving in the second Bush administration. Going to the hopital bed of a man fighting for his wife in order to trick him into signing into a lwa a blatantly unconstitutional practice, may or may not be technically a crime, but that alone, in its blatant and disgusting cynicism and immorality, should have brought down this cursed administration.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 21, 2007 at 3:21 pm
The law that Ashcroft and Comey thought was broken was the constitution. The domestic wiretap program before it was changed was judged unconstitutional by the Ashcroft Justice dept.
a resident of Midtown
on May 21, 2007 at 3:55 pm
The original act being satired was not illegal. The legality of the intercepts is up for a call, but the outrage was against the hospital visit. Political discourse is of little value when it lets the cult of personality transcend legality either for or agsinst.
a resident of Portola Valley
on May 21, 2007 at 3:58 pm
The AG is the highest law enforcement official in the land. The acting AG had determined that domestic wiretapping executed without a court order was unconstitutional, which it clearly is. What does that band of criminals do? They send Card and Fredo to Ashcroft who is in very serious condition in the hospital, sedated and barely concious, and try to get him to sign that into law. Before he passes out, he refuses to sign, and this is for all intent and purposes the end of his career as AG. Not being an attorney, I don't know if they had technically committed a felony here, but that is purely technical. They have crossed any ethical and moral, or is it immoral line and boundry. Surely they can't be allowed to serve out the remaining 20 months or so remaining after that and in light of the daily scandals they are associated with..
a resident of College Terrace
on May 21, 2007 at 5:05 pm
The ONLY reason for resignation, firing, impeachment, etc. in the eyes of the new-millenium GOP is getting involved in a sex scandal! Who cares about following the laws, honoring the public's trust, upholding the Constitution, etc.? Boring! No, unless there's an oversexed intern involved in this somewhere, nobody's going nowhere...
a resident of Midtown
on May 21, 2007 at 7:07 pm
So no law was broken, but hang him anyway? Judge Lynch presiding. This latest to-do was not about the law, it was about the hospital visit, and no law prohibited that. I hope the reference to oversexed intern was about someone other than Clinton because only the most blind partisan still maintains Clinton was punished for Monica.
...and I still think that reliance on a judge to protect your privacy is foolish. Better to define the protected envelope more carefully, understanding that a definition might let someone hurt you and escape retribution.
a resident of Crescent Park
on May 21, 2007 at 7:12 pm
That's exactly the point. This regime engages in only two methods of activity:straight forward criminal practices, or activities that are so incredibly unethical, immoral and shoddy, that the fine line between them and common criminality is microscopic and mostly impossible to differentiate. Either way, any half decent person feels like taking a very long shower when taking notice of members of this regime.
a resident of Fairmeadow
on May 21, 2007 at 7:20 pm
Even former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr, an arch-conservative who sparked the impeachment of president Clinton, quit the Republican party saying that the Bush regime was engaged in an assult on our constitutional rights, mostly the right to privacy and free speech. Barr, who has joined the Libertarian party, feels now that an impeachment of Bush and Cheney should be considered.
a resident of Midtown
on May 22, 2007 at 5:41 am
Justice is depicted as blind because of the concept of equal justice under the law. When you attempt to use accusations of criminal behavior to chastize legal but objectionable acts you miss the whole point of having written and specific laws.
[Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
a resident of Crescent Park
on May 22, 2007 at 6:56 am
The Bush regime is engulfed in a gray mist, rising from the gray area they are operating in. The gray area between immorality, brutality and unethical conduct and that of criminality. Both are abundant with this regime and it would take an army of the smartest legal scholars working 24/7 to figure out where one ends and the other begins.
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on May 22, 2007 at 7:03 am
The Bush presidency is a lot of things. It's a secretive cabal, a cavalcade of incompetence, a blood-stained Church Militant, a bad rerun of "The Godfather" in which scary men in suits pay ominous visits to hospital rooms. But seen from the point of view of the American people, what it increasingly resembles is a bad marriage. America finds itself married to a guy who has turned out to be a complete dud. Divorce - which in our nonparliamentary system means impeachment - is the logical solution. But even though Bush cheated on us, lied, besmirched our family's name and spent all our money, we the people, not to mention our elected representatives and the media, seem content to stick it out to the bitter end.
There is a strange disconnect in the way Americans think about George W. Bush. He is extraordinarily unpopular. His approval ratings, which have been abysmal for about 18 months, have now sunk to their lowest ever, making him the most unpopular president in a generation. His 28 percent approval rating in a May 5 Newsweek poll ties that of Jimmy Carter in 1979 after the failed Iran rescue mission. Bush's unpopularity has emboldened congressional Democrats, who now have no qualms about attacking him directly and flatly asserting that his Iraq war is lost.Bush's unpopularity is mostly a result of Iraq, which most Americans now believe was a colossal mistake and a war we cannot win. But his problems go far beyond Iraq. His administration has been dogged by one massive scandal after the other, from the Katrina debacle, to Bush's approval of illegal wiretapping and torture, to his unparalleled use of "signing statements" to disobey laws he disagrees with, to the outrageous Gonzales and U.S. attorneys scandal.
a resident of Midtown
on May 22, 2007 at 7:39 am
Impeachment doesn't make sense: the votes aren't there in the Senate.
A criminal indictment for treason, however, seems to me the way to go. That way he can be tried after the end of his term, and tried by a jury of his peers, with no bunch of Rovepublicans to run interference.
a resident of Professorville
on May 22, 2007 at 7:51 am
The truth is that Bush's high crimes and misdemeanors, far from being too small, are too great. What has saved Bush is the fact that his lies were, literally, a matter of life and death. They were about war. And they were sanctified by 9/11. Bush tapped into a deep American strain of fearful, reflexive bellicosity, which Congress and the media went along with for a long time and which has remained largely unexamined to this day. Congress, the media and most of the American people have yet to turn decisively against Bush because to do so would be to turn against some part of themselves. This doesn't mean we support Bush, simply that at some dim, half-conscious level we're too confused - not least by our own complicity - to work up the cold, final anger we'd need to go through impeachment. We haven't done the necessary work to separate ourselves from our abusive spouse. We need therapy --not to save this disastrous marriage, but to end it.
a resident of Midtown
on May 22, 2007 at 9:07 am
The truth is that no other man in history has been subject to the endless assault on every level mounted on Bush. This is the howl of the lynch mob, of people who are unclear on the concept of a form of government where you don't always get what you want, and where you accept the rule within law of the opposition when they prevail. I keep asking what law is violated until the latest attackers finally admit they just don't like Bush and so they do not accept his acts. Just because. Republicans need a Carville. Democrats need a life.
a resident of Southgate
on May 22, 2007 at 12:04 pm
I see the Bush bashers are howling again. Actually, it's amusing.
If Bush lied about going to war, then so did Tony Blair. Actually, except for the WMD, the reasons for the war were plain to see: Saddam's failure to comply with armistice agreements following the Gulf War, his multiple violations of UN sanctions, his egregious human rights violations, his shooting at American warplanes that were enforcing the no-fly zone, his corruption of the oil-for-food program....
I thought it was a mistake to trot the WMD issue out front, even though it was/is a very serious issue, and it was believed to be true. Unfortunately, WMD was probably the only thing that the UN would listen to - corruption and human rights violations are just fine at the UN.
If the Iraq war succeeds, it will be earthshaking in its consequences (positive); if it fails, it will be a major defeat for freedom, but the world will struggle through (although there will be rivers of blood to follow).
a resident of Stanford
on May 22, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Brian, well written. I had decided to support the Iraq war on two bases...since he had refused to tell us what he did with the WMD we all know he actually had, and had defied 17 resolutions saying "show us, or else", I could only assume he was hiding something. And, if he didn't have anything and was just afraid to tell us what he did because of not wanting to tip his hand to his surrounding enemies, I didn't care, because the second basis was the one of humanitarian relief, knowing that even if there weren't any "WMD" or the "WMD" had been spirited out to another country in the 6 months of warning we gave, at least the people would stop being massacred to the tune of 70,000 per year.
The WMD was, like you said, the only legal way to get in, because of Saddam's refusal to comply with the 17 resolutions over 12 years. Thankfully the UN is starting to shift a bit, and declare that sovereignty does not extend to allowing genocide. So, that will be a basis in the future.
As for those who are screaming at us now. They will become very quiet if we pull out too soon and there are rivers of blood. "Blood? What blood? I don't see any blood!" I remember the deafening silence when millions were massacred in Vietnam and Cambodia, after we left. Their only purpose then was to give the Communists their victory, and their only purpose now is to give fascists theirs. They have no desire to actually HELP Iraq become a stable democracy.
They even succeeded then ( early 70s) in pulling the same stunt they are trying to pull now ( and failing, thankfully)..."slow bleed" the funds away so that we weren't able to even support the nationals left in Vietnam after we left, fighting for their lives, for their freedom. In other words, they abandoned them then, knowing they were handing a victory to the China-backed North, as they are trying to abandon Iraq now, leaving a Tehran-backed victory in a civil war.
a resident of Crescent Park
on May 22, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Bush's Big Lie did insulate him from accountability for his actions- maybe people (and definitely, Democrats) are afraid to really call him out on it.
What I find frightening is there's about 20% of the country who'd support Bush even if he made a literal bonfire out of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and declared martial law.
And maybe that's an important point- the laws of a country aren't safe if they're trusted only to paper, and not in daily practice. Paper burns, after all. No, we need something more.
We're not a republic because the Constitution makes us one - Americans made the Constitution to make us a republic; the Constitution didn't create Americans; we're one because we have democratic values. And those values are under attack by Bush/cheney, by their party, by an ideology, by some benighted parts of the country who apparently don't place any value on those things. "Because I said so" isn't a democratic value.
Hopefully more in this country will realize that, and maybe then impeachment will be pried out of partisan hands and placed back into its proper place, as a weapon of national self-defense.
a resident of College Terrace
on May 22, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Dennis Kucinich has introduced a bill to impeach Cheney. The case against Cheney is the low hanging fruit and makes it safer to go after Bush.
Impeachment is the only thing that will prevent war against Iran and keep Alberto Gonzales from making any more late night hospital visits a la The Godfather.
a resident of Stanford
on May 22, 2007 at 2:07 pm
At this point, the Democrats should continue to uncover evidence and make the case. The evidence of the enormous crimes the Bush regime has committed are there, the difficult task is to get our hands on it. There may not be enough time to do anything about it, but it is critical that we discredit all that this man stands for so that he can take his rightful place in history alongside the worst tyrants of modern times.
As an aside, I want to point out that it's also important to discredit Bush for another reason. I firmly blieve that this man has utter contempt for the Constitution of the Unites States and would think nothing of suspending it given the right set of circumstances. So we have to make sure that he doesn't try to spring an "October Surprise" of his own and use a terrorist attack as a pretext to cancel the 2008 elections.
a resident of Stanford
on May 22, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Wow, fascinating. If you all really believe the fears that you wrote, which country do you think is MORE stable, and MORE likely to protect your right to free speech?
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on May 22, 2007 at 4:57 pm
The last 6 years have dramatically changed our country. Bush and Cheney have utter contempt for the Constitution. bush considers himself to be a virtual monarch who doesn't need to anwer to anybody, possibly only to a "Higher Father". Free speech is no more protected in our country, and we lost the checks and balances our system of government must have in order to remain a federal democracy. Opponenets of the Iraq occupation are routinly labeled as traitors and anti-Americans when excercising free speech. The Justice department has become an arm of the Republican party and the AG, who is supposed to enforce the federal laws is a lowly political operator who spends all his time covering for the crimes and unethical behavior of his masters. The prospect of Bush suspending the Constitution he abhors so much is not a paranoid view any more but a very real prospect. Nothing in this regime's conduct indicates that they feel obligated to follow and uphold the Constitution. Their conduct reminds one more and more of episodes from the Sopranos and the Godfather, except now it's real. I get no indication at all that Bush has ruled out suspending it, using the pretence of a real or imaginary terrorist threat and remaining in power as a de-facto monarch, which he already believing he is. Another motivation he and Cheney have to stay in power si that it's practically inevitable that they would have to face war crimes trials after leaving office- charges against them are already being prepared in Europe. Under the Geneva provisions, the US might be obligated to hand them over once they are out of office.
a resident of Stanford
on May 22, 2007 at 5:26 pm
So, Albert, seriously, if you really believe all that, in which country would you feel safer? Where would you believe in the leadership to defend your right to express an opinion more? Where would you trust that an election will happen on time more? Which country do you think follows its own laws better?
Please clarify why you think said country would be better, safer, etc.
a resident of Stanford
on May 22, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Oh, and uhhh...where is that Bush et al are being charged with crimes against humanity? And he will be in line behind....which other dictators who have practiced genocide?
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on May 22, 2007 at 6:06 pm
I will feel safe in the US, my country, after Bush, Cheney and the rest of that crminal gang gang is out of power and facing war crimes and treason trials. I will feel safe when a Democrat is in the white house and the republican party is decimated. This is my country, it used to be great and these criminals don't belong on my country. I hear that the prison in the Hague is much, much better and more humane than any US prison. As far as elections, any western European country is far better than ours. In the last french elections for example, 85 percent of the voters participated, there was no fraud and the actual winner actually assumed office, unlike in the US.
a resident of College Terrace
on May 22, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Recent news developments are only making impeachment more popular with the public at large. The worsening Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and the President's intransigence and obsession with continuing the slaughter of innocents and the sacrifice of Americans, has driven his popularity down to 28 percent, and the vice president's to below 9 percent. The prosecutors firing scandal is taking down the attorney general, while exposing the outlines of one aspect of a six-year-long White House-orchestrated campaign to undermine the democratic election process using control of the justice system. And it is now becoming clear that the president's illegal National Security Agency spying program has been so outrageous an assault on Americans' civil liberties that even then Attorney General John Ashcroft, himself a walking threat to the Bill of Rights, refused to sign on, despite his being pressed to do so from a hospital bed.
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on May 22, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Bush would fit very nicely in a war crimes line-up that includes all the Arab dictators, Robert Mugabe, Taylor from Liberia,various Serb and Serb-Bosnian mass murderers, etc. Mubuto is dead so he won't be able do join W, but Cheney and Rumfself will be next to him and that will do for a start.
a resident of Midtown
on May 22, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Specifically, what lie? And if it was a lie do we try everyone who voiced it? Gonna need a large courtroom.
It is really odd that a dictator so unprincipled allows his critics unbridled access to all forms of media and makes no attempt to silence them. I would have prefered he answer some critics, but that seems not to be his style. I enthusiastically anticipate impeachment. Under any acceptable rules of evidence, after the opening statement everybody goes home.
a resident of Downtown North
on May 23, 2007 at 6:56 am
In the future, Americans will be like Germans. Bush will be exposed fully, and Americans will say that they and their moms and dads ALWAYS opposed him. Just as Germans used to tell you that their own families never, ever were Nazis.
And the secret pride of having been a G.W. Bush supporter will fester, but finally it will die beneath the surface, beneath contempt. Just as the great pride of having been an elite SS officer had to hide and wither and die in Germany.
a resident of Midtown
on May 23, 2007 at 12:38 pm
[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
a resident of Stanford
on May 23, 2007 at 1:01 pm
I always get a smile when I think of how much the Bush haters believe he is nazi-like, yet he and his presidency have done nothing to stop the vitriol anywhere. They don't even "talk back".
But, let a movie come out that shows any truth about Democrats/Clinton, and we have Democrat Senators and Clinton lawyers trying to censor it. ( Remember the 2 part movie about the run-up to 9/11?. And who tries to censor scientists who disagree with the level of human induced "global warming"? Oh yes, that's right. I remember.
Umm..who do I trust more to protect my right to free speech? Who do I trust more to uphold the law?
a resident of Crescent Park
on May 23, 2007 at 2:14 pm
The "values" of the Bush family are money, oil, money, and toadying loyalty. There isn't an honest bone in Widdle Georgie's head. Bush's Personal War will cripple our economy and our standing the the world for a generation. He's a warmonger, a liar, a coward, and a deserter. Nixon was Mt. Rushmore material compared to W.
a resident of Woodside
on May 23, 2007 at 2:17 pm
The impeachment process takes leadership and it's a lack of leadership on the part of democrats that the impeachment of George Bush has fallen to the wayside. The American people need their inner beliefs about the rotteness of the Bush administration validated and there hasn't been any concerted effort by democratic leaders to bring that about. Is it any wonder then that so many democratic voters are startled by the lack of spine among the democratic congress and senate?
Any excuses given by Democrats for their failure to make Bush accountable for his crimes are exactly that-excuses. Their refusal to end the war in Iraq by cutting funding has become in a sense a domino effect and spilled over into their failure to vote to impeach Bush. We keep hearing it time and again. Dems can't cut the funding for the war because they're 'afraid' the American people will think they don't support the troops. Dems can't vote to impeach Bush because they're 'afraid' of a backlash etc. Fear rules America today and Bush counts on that so as to prolong the war in Iraq and to prolong his criminal presidency. So the question must be asked, who really won in November?
a resident of College Terrace
on May 23, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Study after study has indicated that the voting population is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. Each party will get about 46 percent of the vote in just about any election. About 3 percent will go to small parties. The remaining 5 percent is the mythological "Independent Vote". It's made up mostly of suburban females, aged 25-49. These are women who are largely ignorant of politics and world affairs and intellectually lazy. They lean Republican but are capable of voting Democratic at any given time. They make up their minds by watching a Tv sound byte on shows such as Ophra, Regis and Kathy or The View, or by reading a headline at the supermarket checkout line. They often make their final decision while in the voting booth. The Democratic leadership has been obsessed with the fear of alienating that "vote". Unlike the Republicans, they keep failing to understand that you win elections, particularly presidential by energizing your base and gettinng it to the polling stations. Instead, the Dems go out of their way to pander to that so called independent vote, negelecting their base at the process and causing it to sit on its hands come election day. In 2000, the DNC prohibited any mention of Clinton's name in their convention, fearful of offending the I.V. In 04, it prohibited any attacks on Bush at their conventions in order not to offend the I.V. In both elections, the I.V voted largely for the Republicans. In both elections, many Democratic voters stayed away and we know the consequences. Now, the Democratic "leadership" is afraid to cut off the war funding and bring this catasrophic and criminal adventure to an end, again, scared of of alienating that mythical independent vote. This will result in a split in the Democratic party, in low turnout in 08 and this misguided strategy will hand the white house and congress back to the Republicans, who otherwise would have suffered astonishing loses on all fronts, as they richly deserve for the calamities and unprecedented corruption they have brought us.
a resident of College Terrace
on May 23, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Impeachment requires a finding of high crimes or misdemeanors. Unless I am completely blind, I cannot find a single instance of either by Bush. Can someone please give me an example? Please be specific about it...I don't want to hear a bunch of whining or musings about general discontent. Just the facts, which can withstand the heat of cross examination by Constituional legal scholars.
a resident of Midtown
on May 23, 2007 at 5:56 pm
If the crimes of the Bush administration are as apparent as many here suggest, then the democrats have to be the most inept gang that can't shoot straight for their failure to do anything more than snipe around the edges.
When people are successful in raising disagreement to the status of crime they might wish for the days when you could safely disagree without worrying about jail.
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on May 23, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Rigging intelligence reports to make them look as if Iraq had WMD, claiming in the state of the union speech that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear weapons making material in Niger. Authorizing torture and sadistic mistreatment of prisoners and denying constitutional rights to US citizens. Domestic wiretapping without a court order. Prohibiting the FBI from inteerviewing members of the Bin Laden family after 9/11 and supplying them with a plane to flee the US on 9/12. Each one of the above is enough to impeach and remove a president and rigging intelligence in order to deceive congress is tantamount to treason and is punishable with the death sentense. Then there's the daily corruption and sleaze-energy companyies lobbyists writing the energy policy, pharmaceutical company lobbyist writing the drug benefit policies, not allowing HMO's to negotiate cheap drug prices with Canadian suppliers. Firing US prosecutors when they were getting close to indicting Republicans. Screwing the American people daily at every turn for the benefit of war profiteerers and the oil companies. If the democrats had any backbone, it would be easier to impeach, remove and try Bush/Cheney than some of the Nurnmberg defendents.
a resident of College Terrace
on May 23, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Albert, I was asking for something that would stand the test of scrutiny. You provided a laundry list of complaints, none of which, to my understanding, meet the standard of illegality. Can you just take one or two of your complaints, and make the legal case? I understand that you hate Bush, but I would ask that you leave that fact aside for the moment. Just make the case.
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None of the expenses, which covered June 1, 2008, to the first week of May, seemed particularly astonishing and no impropriety was visible. But the differences in spending were widespread.
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Odd Phillips double lifts Reds to 7-4 win over Mets
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Daniel Murphy had three hits and two RBIs in the leadoff spot for New York. Rick Ankiel added three extra-base hits and drove in two runs, including a tying triple with two outs in the seventh.
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Choo scored the tiebreaking run and Davis was left shaking his head as Mets manager Terry Collins came out to argue.
Pinch-hitter Todd Frazier fisted a two-run single into center to make it 7-4.
Alfredo Simon (4-1) worked around Cozart's throwing error in a hitless eighth, and Aroldis Chapman got three outs for his 10th save in 12 tries.
In a matchup of unbeaten young right-handers, Harvey and Latos took a 2-all duel into the seventh, when Cozart sparked a Reds rally with his fourth hit. Votto also singled and Phillips grounded an RBI single just inside third base.
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After the inning, cameras caught Latos and Bruce having an animated argument in the dugout.


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4430.0.30.002 - Microdata: Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2003 (Reissue) Quality Declaration
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 22/07/2005 Reissue
|Page tools: Print Page Print All
This document was added or updated on 02/10/2012.
Scope of the survey
The survey included people in both urban and rural areas in all States and Territories, except for those living in remote and sparsely settled parts of Australia. For most individual States and Territories the exclusion of these people has only a minor impact on any aggregate estimates that are produced because they only constitute a small proportion of the population. However, this is not the case for the Northern Territory where such persons account for over 20% of the population. The survey included people in both private and non-private dwellings, including people in cared-accommodation establishments but excluding those in gaols and correctional institutions.
The scope of the survey was all persons except:
Coverage rules were applied which aimed to ensure that each person eligible for inclusion in scope was associated with only one dwelling and thus had only one chance of selection.
The household component and the cared-accommodation component of the survey
each had their own coverage rules, as follows.
Multistage sampling techniques were used to select the sample for the survey. The actual
sample included:
Private dwelling selection
The area based selection of the private dwelling sample ensured that all sections of the population living within the geographic scope of the survey were represented. Each State and Territory was divided into geographically contiguous areas called strata. Strata are formed by initially dividing Australia into regions, within State or Territory boundaries, which basically correspond to the Statistical Division or Subdivision levels of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification. These regions are then divided into Local Government Areas (LGAs) in State Capital City Statistical Divisions (metropolitan regions), and into major urban centres as well as minor urban and rural parts in non-metropolitan regions. Each stratum contains a number of Population Census Collection Districts (CDs) containing on average about 250 dwellings. The sample was selected to ensure that each dwelling within the same stratum had the same probability of selection.
In capital cities and other major urban or high population density areas the sample was selected in three stages:
Cared accommodation and other non-private dwelling selection
The sample of non-private dwellings was selected separately from the sample of private dwellings to ensure they were adequately represented. Non-private dwellings (including cared accommodation establishments) in each State and Territory were listed and sampled directly from these lists. Each non-private dwelling was given a chance of selection proportional to the average number of persons it accommodated. In order to identify the occupants to be included in the survey, all the occupants in each non-private dwelling were listed and then a random selection technique was applied.
Data for the household component of the survey were collected by trained interviewers mainly using personal computer assisted interviewing (CAI). There were a number of stages. First, an interviewer conducted a computer assisted interview with any responsible adult (ARA) in the household, to:
Personal computer-assisted interviews were conducted with people aged 15 and over in the identified groups. Proxy interviews were conducted with parents of children with disabilities or people aged 15-17 where parental consent for personal interview was not given. People who were prevented by their disability from responding personally were also interviewed by proxy (i.e. another person in the household who answered for them).
Where there were language differences (including the need to use sign language), another member of the household was asked to interpret on behalf of, and with the permission of, the respondent. In some cases, arrangements were made to supply an interviewer conversant in the respondent's preferred language.
People who were confirmed as primary carers in their personal interview were also asked to complete a short self-enumerated paper questionnaire during the interview. This method allowed them to provide information on more sensitive issues, as the care recipient would often be present at the interview.
Interviewers for the household component of the survey were recruited from trained interviewers with previous experience in Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) household surveys. They were required to participate in CAI training, then in specific training for the survey, using laptop computers. Training emphasised understanding the survey concepts and definitions, and the necessary procedures to ensure a consistent approach to data collection.
Prior to enumeration, a letter and brochure were sent out to each household selected for the survey. These documents provided information about the purpose of the survey and how it would be conducted. Both contained the ABS guarantee of confidentiality, and the brochure also provided answers to some of the more commonly asked questions.
The cared-accommodation component completes the picture of the prevalence of health conditions, disability and levels of specific limitation or restriction in Australia. It also provides an indication of the balance between cared accommodation and community care for people with a disability, by age.
In the 1981 and 1988 surveys, interviews were held with residents of cared accommodation. Many of these were not able to respond for themselves, and it was necessary to try and arrange for family members, who may not have been living nearby, to come and provide proxy interviews. Often it was not possible to find anyone who knew enough to provide the required information.
For the 1993 survey the approach changed. A mail-back paper form was used, with a staff contact person as the respondent. The data collected were limited to the information a staff member could be expected to know from records. This method was also used for the 1998 and 2003 surveys.
The administrators of selected cared-accommodation establishments were sent a letter informing them of the selection of their establishment in the survey. This letter also provided information on:
Contact Information Form
The Contact Information Form (CIF) was sent, with the initial letter, to the administrators of selected cared-accommodation establishments. The purpose of the CIF was to confirm:
Selection Form
After receipt of the CIF, the ABS dispatched the Selection Form and personal questionnaires to nominated contact officers. The Selection Form provided instructions on how to list and select a random sample of residents from the establishment.
Personal Questionnaire
Personal questionnaires were completed by staff of the health establishments. Information provided was based on staff members' knowledge of the selected residents and on medical, nursing and administrative records.
Details of data collected and the relevant populations are in the Data item list in the Downloads tab. The personal questionnaire was field tested to ensure:
The estimation procedures developed for this survey ensure that survey estimates of the Australian population conform to independent benchmarks of the Australian population as at June 2003 at state by part of state or territory by age group by sex level.
For the calculation of person estimates, one benchmark was used to weight both the household and cared-accommodation components of the survey. For the common questions, the two components were combined to represent the whole population, whereas for the differing questions each survey represented only its population.
The benchmark used was all persons in Australia excluding persons living in sparsely settled areas of the Northern Territory. Conceptually as persons in sparsely settled areas did not have a chance of selection in SDAC they should be removed from the population benchmarks. However, this is difficult to do accurately and so the benchmarks used include persons resident in sparsely settled areas except in the Northern Territory. The effect on survey estimates from this is considered to be negligible as the relative proportion of the States' population resident in sparse areas is very small.
Weighting methodology
Expansion factors or 'weights' were added to each respondent's record to enable the data provided by each person to be expanded to provide estimates relating to the whole population within the scope of the survey.
The first step of the weighting procedure was to assign an initial person weight to each fully responding person. The initial person weight was calculated as the inverse probability of the person's selection in the sample, and takes into account which component of the survey the respondent was selected in, i.e. the household component or the cared accommodation component.
The next step in the weighting procedure was calibrating the initial person weights to a set of person level population benchmarks. The calibration to benchmarks ensures that the sample survey estimates agree with independent measures of the population at specific levels of disaggregation. In addition, the calibration reduces the impact of differential non-response bias at the specific levels of disaggregation, and also reduces sampling error.
This survey was also designed to produce estimates of numbers of households. Only respondents living in private dwellings were given household weights. The estimation procedures developed for the household estimates ensure that survey estimates of the Australian population of households conform to independent benchmarks of the Australian population of households as at June 2003 at state by part of state or territory by household composition level (where household composition is determined by the number of adults and children in a household).
The benchmark used was all private dwelling households in Australia, excluding those households in sparsely settled areas of the Northern Territory.
All reasonable attempts have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the results of the survey. Nevertheless, two potential sources of error – sampling and non-sampling error – should be kept in mind when interpreting results of the survey.
Since the estimates are based on information obtained from a sample of the population, they are subject to sampling error (or sampling variability). Sampling error refers to the difference between the results obtained from the sample population and the results that would be obtained if the entire population were enumerated. Factors which affect the magnitude of sampling error include:
Standard error
One measure of sampling variability is the standard error (SE). The SE is based on the 'normal' distribution and allows predictions about the accuracy of data. For example, there are about two chances in three that a sample estimate will differ by less than one SE from the figure that would have been obtained if the population were fully enumerated. The relative standard error (RSE) is the SE expressed as a percentage of the estimate to which it relates.
Very small estimates may be subject to such high RSEs as to detract seriously from their value for most reasonable purposes. Only estimates with RSEs less than 25% are considered sufficiently reliable for most purposes. Estimates with RSEs between 25% and 50% are included in Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) publications, but are preceded by the symbol * as a caution to indicate that they are subject to high RSEs. Estimates with RSEs greater than 50% are considered highly unreliable and are preceded by a ** symbol.
Additional sources of error which are not related to sampling variability are referred to as non-sampling errors. This type of error is not specific to sample surveys and can occur in a census. The main sources of non-sampling error are:
Errors related to scope and coverage
Some dwellings may have been incorrectly included or excluded from this survey. An example of this form of error might be an unclear distinction concerning the private and non-private status of dwellings. All efforts were made to overcome such situations by constant updating of lists both before and during the survey.
There are also difficulties in applying the coverage or scope rules. Particular attention was paid to questionnaire design and interviewer training to ensure such cases were kept to a minimum.
Response errors
In this survey response errors may have arisen from three main sources: deficiencies in questionnaire design and methodology; deficiencies in interviewing technique; and inaccurate reporting by respondents.
For example, errors may be caused by misleading or ambiguous questions, inadequate or inconsistent definitions of terminology used, or by poor questionnaire sequence guides causing some questions to be missed. In order to overcome problems of this kind, individual questions and the overall questionnaire were thoroughly tested before being finalised for use in the survey.
Lack of uniformity in interviewing standards will also result in non-sampling errors. Thorough training programs, and regular supervision and checking of interviewers' work, were used to achieve and maintain uniform interviewing practices and a high level of accuracy in recording answers on the electronic survey collection instrument.
Processing errors
Processing errors may occur at any stage between initial collection of the data and final compilation of statistics. Specifically, in this survey, processing errors may have occurred at the following stages in the processing system:
Edits were devised to ensure that logical sequences were followed in the questionnaires, that necessary items were present and that specific values lay within certain ranges. In addition, at various stages during the processing cycle, tabulations were obtained from the data file showing the distribution of persons for different characteristics. These were used as checks on the contents of the data file, to identify unusual values which may have significantly affected estimates, and illogical relationships not previously picked up by edits.
Non-response bias
Non-response occurs when people cannot or will not provide information, or cannot be contacted. It can be total (none of the questions answered) or partial (some of the questions may be unanswered due to inability to answer or recall information etc.). This can introduce a bias to the results obtained in that non-respondents may have different characteristics from those persons who responded to the survey. The size of the bias depends upon these differences and the level of non-response.
It is not possible to accurately quantify the nature and extent of the differences between respondents and non-respondents in the survey; however every effort was made to reduce the level of non-response bias through careful survey design and estimation procedures.
Response rates for both the household and cared-accommodation components were high. Of the 16,039 private dwellings and special dwelling units in the effective sample, 89% were either fully responding or adequate complete. Of the 592 health establishments in the cared-accommodation component, 542 (92%) were fully responding.
TABLE 4.1 HOUSEHOLD COMPONENT, Response rates
TABLE 4.2 CARED- ACCOMMODATION COMPONENT, Response rates
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Last year, Alan Masarek made news as he left Google to become Vonage's new CEO.
Jan 26, 2013
(PRWEB) January 26, 2013
Time to go back to school. Let's be honest here, second semester always starts in gloom. The holidays are over. The weather is cold. Monday, January 21st is known to be the saddest day of the year.
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Most VoIP providers like Phone Power offer free mobile apps so that users can take their cheap VoIP plan with them on the go.
Students can download VoIP apps to carry VoIP with them on their iPods, tablets, laptops, Androids, and BlackBerry phones wherever they go. Not that they'll be chatting online during class, of course.
VoIP has Video Conferencing
Nothing compares to face-to-face chatting. VoIP keeps students and loved ones connected despite the miles in between. VoIP is great for long-distance relationships, too. Sometimes school breaks don't come fast enough, but with VoIP Video Conferences, sweethearts are never too far away from each other.
It's the new school year. It's a time for students and parents to worry about good grades and personal growth, not high phone bills.