Rick's random thoughts on life, since 2002

Rick's Epistle To The Shelterites

2011-11-22T15:02:00.000-06:00

-Book One-

November 14, 2011

Just started the program at LA Mission today - mostly orientation and figuring out where everything is. It was nice to see today that Esther & Kaiden's bulletin board near the elevator is still there - a little taste of home away from home.

I actually applied and was accepted into the program on Friday the 11th but I delayed my entrance into the program so that I could attend the 11-11-11 event at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena that afternoon.

I basically was relying on God to provide in the way of food and accomodation. Near the end of the evening, after hanging out with some friends of a friend, a group of believers gathered around me to pray, and a few of them gave me money for food and bus fare. I was also hoping that God would provide an open couch or a sleeping bag on someone's floor, but instead I was given a key to a room at the nearby Howard Johnson's. Wow. Totally was not expecting that!

The next day I went to attend a free concert in North Hollywood, at a small church there. The group that was performing was The Choir, whose biggest hist were the worship songs "God Of Wonders" and "Beautiful Scandalous Night."

There was also a free dinner before the show. Kept asking around but nobody, not even the pastor, knew of anywhere that I could stay. I finally wound up sitting at Denny's sipping free refills of iced tea (it was raining pretty hard and the trains had stopped running) and trying to call everyone I could think of in LA and seeing if they had any ideas. No room in the inn. Finally heard from pastor Justin at 3:00 a.m. who said that as soon as the trains started running (at 4:30 a.m.) that I should go sit in the lobby of Comfort Inn. I caught the first Red Line train down there and walked a few blocks to the Comfort Inn on 7th, where the Shelter Church missions team stayed in September. The moment I walked in, the night desk worker (Paula) said, "Hey! I know you! Where are the rest of the people from your church?" and handed me a room key. So I went up to the room and probably broke a record for the hours of sleep that I caught up on.

This morning it was only a short bus ride (the ride was short, NOT the bus!!!) to the LA Mission. I had to turn in my phone and laptop when I got here, and I don't know at all yet at what point I will get them back.

I am in the Jumpstart Program which initially runs for a one month trial period, after which it lasts for another 11 months. I don't even have access to Facebook, e-mail or Twitter for the first 30 days, which is just pure torture.

November 18th, 2011

Sadly, I was not able to make it further in the program than a couple of days, and am currently staying with a friend in another state and looking for employment. It just struck me that I have been on the go nearly non-stop for the last week - a combination of cars, city buses, Greyhound, youth hostels, motels, chili and burgers in Tucson and Joplin, a men's shelter on LA's Skid Row, Denny's coffee and pie in a few different cities, a major event at the Rose Bowl, and a concert at a small church in North Hollywood. So glad to have a little time to finally decompress. I feel a blog post or possibly a book coming out of the events of last week alone.

Filipino fast food in Seattle :)

2011-01-29T14:02:00.000-06:00

When I arrived in Seattle in November 2010, I noticed there seemed to be a dearth of Filipino restaurants in the area. All the conversations on Yelp, Chowhound and the like seemed to indicate that Filipinos in metro Seattle either cooked at home or went to catered parties, but there were no eateries as such (except for Oriental Mart + Kitchenette in Pike Place Market, which seems to be closed due to construction). But when I found out that Filipino supermarket chain Seafood City had not only opened a branch in south suburban Tukwila, but also brought along the Manila-based chain restaurants Jollibee, Chowking, Tokyo Tokyo and Red Ribbon Bakery.... well, I for one would have to check it out.

After looking at all the available choices, I opted for Chowking. They specialize in Filipino-style Chinese food, with some local specialties as well. Chowking was my usual choice when I was in Manila.

I liked their menu at this location; of particular interest to me is the fact that they serve breakfast all day, and all breakfast orders come with egg, garlic rice and boneless bangus (a native milkfish). After much deliberation, I chose the pork adobo with garlic rice and pancit, and a side of calamansi (native lime) juice.

I actually found the food at this branch of Chowking to be pretty good. They were actually my favorite chain fast food place back in the Phils. The adobo had just the right flavor and texture, with hints of vinegar, soy sauce, and pepper. The pancit was perfect too. The garlic rice was the only thing that was unusual, it was just regular rice with toasted garlic on top, and was sort of dry, but when i mixed the pork with it it took on a new life and got that good slightly oily texture that good garlic rice should have. I almost ordered desert but I was too full. For 50 cents more you can have mango or calamansi juice with your meal instead of soda. I was very satisfied with my choice here.

See more reviews of Chowking at http://www.yelp.com/biz/chowking-tukwila.

See more of my reviews at http://rickv.yelp.com/

Round The World Journey 1991-1992

2010-10-05T13:00:00.003-05:00

Part Two, 1992

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Part One, 1991

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Smashing Pumpkins in Tucson

2010-09-04T07:17:00.003-05:00

Stitch In Time

1979

Red Elvises in Chicago - October 10, 2009

2009-12-30T14:42:00.008-06:00

I have not written a concert review, let alone a real blog post in quite a while. Nevertheless, I will attempt to tell the tale of my trip to Chicago back in October to see Igor & Red Elvises perform in Berwyn at Fitzgerald's.

First off, I originally planned the trip around a test I was supposed to take to see if I qualified for a government job. I managed to schedule it at 1:00 pm the day of the show. So I got in to Chicago the evening of the 9th, right before midnight, and went to my friend Lia's place to crash. Lia lives in Hyde Park, south of downtown and the area around the University of Chicago. The area also houses notable residents such as Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, and President Barack Obama. On the 9th it had been announced that Obama had been awarded the Nobel Prize, and on the morning of the 10th Lia and I found ourselves having breakfast at the prez's fave place for breakfast, Cafe Valois.I wound up getting the egg whites, bacon, hash browns and wheat toast, with a side of coffee.
Below is a pic of my plate.Here's Lia with some bacon:

Breakfast was amazing, filling and very cheap. And this place is probably regularly visited by Secret Service, Chicago police and reporters, especially when the Obama family is in town.... as their house is only a couple blocks away.

Lia had some appointments on the north side in the afternoon, so I had her drop me at a Starbucks where I went over my notes for the test. That was only a short walk from the testing center. I actually found the testing center decently run, but they kept having server issues and having to reboot, so I finished the test early and walked down the street to see a friend, Charlie Williams. We went down to Clark & Belmont to check out some thrift stores and I saw some good prices on leather jackets. But why are men's shoes selections in those stores always disappointing?

Next, I met up with Lia and we headed out to Berwyn - a little early, as we gout out there around 4 PM and the concert didn't start until 9. But we wanted to chill out at Wishbone, a southern-style restaurant with very good food which is adjacent to Fitzgerald's. After dinner, I went next door to Sidebar and used their free wifi and had a pint or two of Guinness. Then Lia used the computer while I watched an LA Dodgers game on TV above the bar.

As soon as they opened the doors and started letting people in, Lia and I made a beeline for a table, as those seem to be harder to get these days. I don't understand it, but people in Chicago really seem to like to sit down during a concert - listening to a dance band in a small club. Hmmm. I was wondering if there would even be anyone at the show, but the place was packed. And I thought the country was having economic troubles. I guess that just means more people are willing to go out and enjoy some good tunes, drinks and fun with friends and temporarily forget their financial woes. Not to mention there was a different line-up and name to the band than last October - "Igor & Red Elvises" this time instead of "The Red Elvises". And two different members - Puerto Rican/Floridian Milka Ramos on vocals and guitar, standing where Elena was last year, and Israeli bassist Kfir Melamed filling Oleg's (clown) shoes. The basics had not changed - Igor seemed like he was having a fun time this year, and Adam Gust kept me wondering how his drum kits stays in one piece, withstanding the assault he subjects it to every evening.

During the intermission, I got to hang out with Sonjia Mata, the band's semi-official roadie and merch wench (as well as Adam's girlfriend). I had saved Sonjia from internet pirates earlier in the year, when someone in China hacked her Facebook account and started sending everyone on her contact list fake messages. I also got a chance to meet Milka finally after exchanging a few messages online. Let me say, she's a lot taller in person - when she's wearing those tall red boots, that is. :-)

{me and Sonjia at the merchandise table}

I forgot to keep a record of the band's set list, but some of the more notable songs they played, as well as RE concert staples, were: "I Wanna See You Bellydance", "Rocketman", "Drinking With Jesus", "Strip Joint Is Closed", "Lara's Wedding", "Natasha's Singing Reggae", "Lovepipe", "Boogie On The Beach", "Sad Cowboy Song" (Sonjia joined me on the Sad Cowboy Conga Line for this one) and "Telephone Call From Istanbul" (a Tom waits cover) as well as a brand new song, "Let's Get Drunk And Funk".

{"Let's Get Drunk And Funk" NYC 10/14/2009}

Milka has a great stage presence and really adds a lot to the show. She is quite popular too. I had to actually queue to get a pic with her, and there were people approaching her constanly to tell her how much they enjoyed the performance. Kfir is a really excellent bassist, he has a real jazz and fusion style and world beat sensibility which blends in well with the songs. That's some of the deepest bass I have heard in, like, forever. I really had a great time and danced like crazy. I was only a little disappointed that Elena was not able to come over from Russia due to visa issues, I hope she will be on the spring tour.

MORE PICTURES:

Igor Yuzov

Milka Ramos

Kfir Melamed

the crowd (and Sonjia too)

More pictures on Flickr.com

A Walk Across America on Google Maps

2009-10-24T13:39:00.004-05:00

I was re-reading Peter Jenkins' books lately, and decided to map his journey on Google Maps.
From "A Walk Across America" by Peter Jenkins and "The Walk West" by Peter and Barbara Jenkins. Original walk undertaken October 15, 1973 to January 18, 1979 (6651 miles). Additional information from National Geographic Vol. 151 No. 4, April 1977 and Vol. 156 No. 2, August 1979.

Part One: Alfred, NY to Orrville, AL

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Part Two: Orrville, AL to Salt Lake City, UT

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Part Three: Salt Lake City, UT to Florence, OR

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Reflection on meeting a sociopath

2009-09-21T02:51:00.004-05:00

Written by Ed Feldmanis.

I have met a horrible one myself.

I had the subject nailed for narcissism. He admitted to mania. I did not ask other questions for two reasons. One, I had caught him minimizing and that was good on my part. The second reason is that I had never, ever, ever, met such a smooth, almost flawless, pathological liar. It took about 3 weeks to see Narcissism, Borderline and anti-social disorders. It was frightening. He knew intimidation and psychological warfare. He finally got run off by a women who got a restraining order because he had wanted her as a lover BUT physically threatened her. Now the police can't find him.

My buddy Amber Luhtala said that she and I had a way of feeling the Personality Disorder and she was right. I simply got lost in the subject's extremely smooth pathological lying. When I discovered the fuller nature of the mixed Personality Disorder, I realized that there is a thin line between psychologically aggressive verbal violence and physical violence. I was afraid. There was an obvious mixture; part being repulsed and part being afraid for their safety. He stands about 6 foot three and has a very menacing look.

Women who are my neighbors disliked the subject's boisterousness & belittling style. They usually feared him & withdrew as much as possible. Some moved away. However, one woman, in spite of her childhood rape, was sexually attracted and "threw" herself at him. She became a snitch and of course he dropped her. She destroyed her own economic & psychological recovery.

People are truly surprised they have someone like this around; it's very confusing. Our matriarch, 81 years old, had never met anyone like this person. Most people will die without meeting this kind of person. They compare what they have known & can't come up with anything; Can't explain this level of meanness; saying he was a "serial bully" didn't cover it.

"What's wrong with him; he hasn't grown up."

"He's simply a school yard bully."

Typical Reactions. When told our subject has a mixed Axes II Disorder, people look as if it is made up. They don't believe it. "This is not a hard-wired condition."

Finally a convert said, "I knew I was staring evil in the face."

Our subject often did not dirty his hands with a nasty task. Instead he found others to do it. Some people are highly susceptible to lies, manipulation & brainwashing. However, the subject always needed an audience, wanted to be admired or had to be in the middle of a controversy.

From profile of a sociopath I witnessed these: glibness and superficial charm, manipulative and conning. grandiose sense of self, pathological lying, lack of remorse, lacks empathy, shame or guilt, shallow emotions, criminal or entrepreneurialversatility, lack of realistic life plan/parasitic lifestyle, irresponsibility/unreliability, incapacity for love, need for stimulation, goal: to create willing victim.

Statements on a provocative issue (Updated Nov. 2011)

2009-09-11T12:30:00.008-05:00

***UPDATED NOVEMBER 2011***

ASPEN, Colo. -- When Republican John McCain suggested his running mate could support abortion rights and Democrat Barack Obama gave an anti-abortion senator a prime convention role, both were sending a subtle message to centrist voters.

Neither presidential candidate was signaling a seismic shift in the nation's long-running if largely static debate over abortion rights. Still, their actions suggest that both political parties sense that a large, if vaguely defined, middle group of Americans would like to see abortion vanish, but not by legal decree.
Polls consistently show that most Americans strongly dislike abortion yet do not want it outlawed in the early stages of pregnancy.
Democrats had it both ways in revising their party platform ahead of this month's nominating convention in Denver. Platform-writers said the party "unequivocally" supports legalized abortion, a stronger phrase than the 2004 platform contained.
But they also bolstered the section on reducing the need for abortions. The version awaiting approval in Denver says the party "strongly supports access to comprehensive affordable family planning services and age-appropriate sex education." It says the party "strongly supports a woman's decision to have a child by ensuring access to and availability of programs for pre- and postnatal health care, parenting skills, income support and caring adoption programs."
Democratic officials also gave a convention speaking slot to Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., who opposes abortion rights. His father, the late Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey, was denied a coveted slot at the 1992 convention because of his opposition to abortion rights.
Meanwhile, McCain startled conservatives this week, and pleased some moderates, by suggesting he might pick a running mate who supports abortion rights, such as former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.
Many Republicans were unsure what to make of McCain's remarks to the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard, in which he said Ridge's pro-choice position would not rule him out as a running mate. While McCain said in 1999 that Roe v. Wade -- the landmark Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion -- should not be overturned, he otherwise has consistently opposed such rights.
He repeatedly has voted against federal funding for abortion and has opposed federal Medicaid funds for abortion even in cases of rape or incest.
Some conservative groups howled about McCain's comments this week. The American Family Association asked readers of its Web site what they would do if he had a pro-abortion-rights running mate. More than 5,000 people responded, with 37 percent saying they would vote for McCain as "the lesser of two evils." One percent backed Obama, 16 percent said they would not vote and 46 percent said they would seriously consider a third-party candidate.
Some less dogmatic conservatives were open to the idea. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a frequent guest on McCain's campaign plane, said he opposes legalized abortion but thinks McCain is wise to consider running mates who differ.
"Our party needs to be open-minded" about such a choice, Graham said in an interview this week on the plane. Parties that rigidly support or oppose abortion rights, he said, "are out of sync with where most Americans are."
On the Democratic front, the revised convention platform language was hailed this week by some Republicans who are backing Obama.
Douglas Kmiec, a former Reagan administration official and Roman Catholic, said the new language moves the debate beyond the "legal dead end and a moral dead end" of being for or against Roe v. Wade.
"What this does, most importantly, is to commit the Democratic Party to supply real support for the child, for the woman facing this question," said Kmiec, a constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University.
Kmiec, who opposes abortion, said no political party platform fits exactly with Catholic teaching. "We pursue the art of the possible, and if we move to protect even a single life, we've done a good thing," he said.
Let's see where the party runners stand or have stood on the issues:

REPUBLICANS

MITT ROMNEY

Firmly pro-life; including Court nominations

Q: [to Santorum]: You are staunchly pro-life. Gov. Romney used to support abortion rights until he changed his position on this a few years ago. Should this be an issue in this primary campaign?
SANTORUM: I think an issue should be looking at the authenticity of that candidate and looking at their record over time and what they fought for. You can look at my record. A lot of folks run for president as pro-life and then that issue gets shoved to the back burner. The issue of pro-life, and the dignity of people at the end of life, those issues will be top priority issues for me to make sure that all life is respected and held with dignity.
ROMNEY: People have had a chance to look at my record and look what I've said. I believe people understand that I'm firmly pro-life. I will support justices who believe in following the Constitution and not legislating from the bench. And I believe in the sanctity of life from the very beginning until the very end.
Source: 2011 GOP primary debate in Manchester NH , Jun 13, 2011

OpEd: baroque circumlocutions on evolving abortion stance

Romney had taken positions in Massachusetts that were anathema to the conservative base, particularly on abortion and gay rights. Running against Ted Kennedy in 1994, Romney had declared himself a supporter of a woman's right to choose on abortion, and claimed he would do more for gay rights than Kennedy. Then he changed positions on abortion. A year before he launched his presidential candidacy, he tried to explain his evolving views to several Washington Post reporters. [One columnist] who had grilled him that day later described his explanations as "baroque circumlocutions."
The McCain campaign, sensing an opportunity to stop Romney even before he could get launched, stoked the story line that Romney was a flip-flopper. A video of Romney from 1994 surfaced that showed him defending abortion rights. The nascent Romney campaign was overwhelmed by the barrage of criticism.
Source: The Battle for America 2008, by Balz & Johnson, p.239 , Aug 4, 2009

GovWatch: 2002: “preserve & protect” right to choose

Top Romney Flip Flops: #1. Abortion:
In October 2002, campaigning for governorship of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney said he would “preserve and protect” a woman’s right to choose. He now describes himself as opposing abortion.
Source: GovWatch on 2008 campaign: “Top Ten Flip-Flops” , Feb 5, 2008

Supreme Court had said feds should stay out of abortion

Q: Why such a dramatic and profound change after pledging never to waiver on a woman’s right to choose?
A: I was always personally opposed to abortion, as I think almost everyone in this nation is. And the question for me was, what is the role of government? And it was quite theoretical and philosophical to consider what the role of government should be in this regard, and I felt that the Supreme Court had spoken and that government shouldn’t be involved and let people make their own decision. That all made a lot of sense to me. Then I became governor and the theoretical became reality. A bill came to my desk which related to the preservation of life. I recognized that I simply could not be part of an effort that would cause the destruction of human lift. And I didn’t hide from that change of heart. I recognize it’s a change. Every piece of legislation which came to my desk in the coming years as the governor, I came down on the side of preserving the sanctity of life.
Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series , Dec 16, 2007

I took action as governor to preserve the sanctity of life

Q: Do you believe life begins at conception?
A: I do. I believe from a political perspective that life begins at conception. I don’t pretend to know, if you will, from a theological standpoint when life begins. I’d committed to the people of Massachusetts that I would not change the laws one way or the other, and I honored that commitment. But each law that was brought to my desk attempted to expand abortion rights and, in each case, I vetoed that effort. I also promoted abstinence education in our schools. I vetoed an effort, for instance, to give young women a morning after pill who did not have prescriptions. So I took action to preserve the sanctity of life. But I did not violate my word, of course.
Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series , Dec 16, 2007

No punishment for women who have partial birth abortions

Q: What would be the legal consequences to people who participated in illegal abortions?
A: They would be like the consequences associated with the bill relating to partial birth abortion which does not punish the woman. No one I know of is calling for punishing the woman. In the case of a doctor, the kinds of penalties would be potentially losing a license or having some other kind of restriction. In the case of partial birth abortion, as I recall, the penalty is a possible prison term not to exceed two years. But generally the medical profession would immediately follow the law. That’s not going to be an issue. And there would be a recognition that one’s license was at risk if one violated the law.
Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series , Dec 16, 2007

Outlaw embryo farming, but allow using surplus embryos

Q: You previously stated: “[the] United States House of Representatives voted for a bill that was identical to what I proposed. They voted to provide surplus embryos from in vitro fertilization processes being used for research and experimentation. That’s what I said I support.” Do you still support that?
A: I have the same position. From a legal standpoint, I would outlaw cloning to create new stem cells and I would outlaw embryo farming. I would allow, on a private basis, the use of surplus embryos from in vitro fertilization. In terms of funding, I think the best source of our funding application should be in what are known as alternative methods. And this just recent. I’ve been fighting for this for some time. But this recently saw a major breakthrough with direct reprogramming of human adult cells to become stem cells that can be very potent cells applied to help cure disease and serious conditions.
Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series , Dec 16, 2007

FactCheck: TV ad ignores recency of conversion to pro-life

Romney’s Iowa TV ad says portrays both Romney and Huckabee as “two good family men” who are “both pro-life.” The ad presents a too-sharp focus when it implies that Romney and Huckabee have identical records on abortion.
It’s true that both Huckabee and Romney oppose abortion--now. But Huckabee was pro-life while he was governor. Romney, not so much. Don’t take our word for it. Here’s Romney at a September debate in Iowa: “I never said I was pro-choice, but my position was effectively pro-choice. I’ve said that time and time again. I’ve changed my position.“
We don’t begrudge Romney the right to change his mind, and he’s been open about the fact that his position has changed. But many Iowa voters may still be unaware of that, and this ad implies that there’s no difference between these two candidates on abortion. That’s a stretch.
Source: FactCheck.org: AdWatch of 2007 campaign ad, “The Record” , Dec 13, 2007

Was pro-choice, now proudly pro-life

I was effectively pro-choice when I ran for office. When I became governor of Massachusetts, the first time a bill came to my life that dealt with life, I simply could not side with--with taking a life, and I came on the side of life. Every bill that came to my desk, every issue that related to protecting the sanctity of life, I came down on the side of life. I’m pro-life. I’m not going to apologize for becoming pro-life. I’m proud to be pro-life.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican Debate , Dec 12, 2007

Would be delighted to sign federal ban on all abortions

Q: If hypothetically, Roe v. Wade was overturned, and the Congress passed a federal ban on all abortions and it came to your desk, would you sign it?
A: Let me say it. I’d be delighted to sign that bill. But that’s not where we are. That’s not where America is today. Where America is is ready to overturn Roe v. Wade and return to the states that authority. But if the Congress got there, we had that kind of consensus in that country, terrific.
Source: 2007 GOP YouTube debate in St. Petersburg, Florida , Nov 28, 2007

Two-step process: overturn Roe; then change hearts & minds

Q: Your aides say you see ending abortion as a two-step process: rolling back Roe v. Wade, which would leave it legal in some states; and then a constitutional amendment to ban it nationwide. If abortion is murder, how can you live with it being legal in some states?
A: I’d love to have an America that didn’t have abortion. But that’s not what the American people [want] right now. And so I’d like to see Roe v. Wade overturned and allow the states to put in place pro-life legislation. I recognize that for many people, that is considered an act of murder, to have an abortion. It is without question the taking of a human life. And I believe that a civilized society must respect the sanctity of the human life. But we have two lives involved here--a mom, an unborn child. We have to have concern for both lives & show the expression of our compassion & our consideration and work to change hearts & minds, and that’s the way in my view we’ll ultimately have a society without abortion.
Source: 2007 GOP debate at UNH, sponsored by Fox News , Sep 5, 2007

2005: Vetoed availability without Rx of morning-after pill

In 2005, Romney vetoed a bill making the morning-after pill available without a doctor’s prescription. For Romney, it was not only about contraception. He explained his decision in July 2005: “This bill does not require parental consent for even young teenagers. It disregards not only the seriousness of abortion but the importance of parental involvement.” These vetoes were overturned by the Massachusetts State Legislature where pro-choice Democrats hold an overwhelming majority.
Source: The Man, His Values, & His Vision, p. 52 , Aug 31, 2007

Firmly in the “legal but rare” camp

According to Pew Research on abortion, “most Americans fall in between, preferring what might be described as a ‘legal but rare’ stance.” About 1/3 of Americans would make abortion illegal except in cases of rape or incest, or to save a woman’s life. Most Americans share the common ground. Who wants abortion to be legal but rare?
64% of conservative Republicans
66% of moderate/liberal Republicans
59% of Moderate/conservative Democrats
52% of Independents
27% of Liberal Democrats--they don’t want to compromise.
Mitt Romney is firmly in the “legal but rare camp” camp. Like 2/3 of conservative Republicans, he believes abortion should be permitted in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is threatened.
Governor Romney changed his mind on abortion. He freely admits it. Ordinary citizens change their minds, and their positions evolve in private. For public figures, however, every video clip and interview is posted somewhere in cyberspace.
Source: The Man, His Values, & His Vision, p. 47-8 , Aug 31, 2007

Following in Reagan’s footsteps in converting to pro-life

Q: In the debate last week, you said, “When I first ran for office [I was] deeply opposed to abortion but [I said] I’d support the current law.” But back then you said a lot more than just you support the current law. In 1994, you said, “I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years that we should sustain & support it.” In 2002, you said, “I will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose. I will not change any provisions of Massachusetts’ pro-choice laws.“ For 8 years you said that you would protect & respect a woman’s right to choose.
Q: Yes, that’s right. But when I became governor I laid out in my view that a civilized society must respect the sanctity of life. And you know what? I’m following in some pretty good footsteps. It’s exactly what Ronald Reagan did. As governor, he was adamantly pro-choice. He became pro-life as he experienced life. And the same thing happened with George H. W. Bush.
Source: Fox News Sunday: 2007 “Choosing the President” interviews , Aug 12, 2007

Iowa attack phone ads are not true; I am pro-life

Q: [to Brownback]: Your campaign has been making phone calls to Iowa voters about Mitt Romney:
(BEGIN AUDIO)
ANNOUNCER: Mitt Romney is telling Iowans that he is firmly pro-life. Nothing could be further from the truth. As late as 2005, Mitt Romney pledged to support and uphold pro-abortion policies and pass taxpayer funding of abortions in Massachusetts. His wife, Ann, has contributed money to Planned Parenthood. Mitt told the National Abortion Rights Action League that, “You need someone like me in Washington.“
(END AUDIO)
Q: Do you stand by that attack?
BROWNBACK: I certainly do. There’s one word that describes that ad, and it’s ”truthful.“ That’s a truthful ad. And that’s what campaigns are about: for getting the truth out, expressing the differences between candidates.
Q: Is everything in that ad true?
ROMNEY: Virtually nothing in that ad is true. I am pro-life. That’s the truth. Every action I’ve taken as governor of Massachusetts has been pro-life.
Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate , Aug 5, 2007

Tired of holier-than-thou attitude about becoming pro-life

Q: [to Romney]: Are any of the specifics true in Sen. Brownback’s phone ad calling you pro-choice?
ROMNEY: Abortion is a very difficult decision. We’re involved in the lives of two people: a mom and an unborn child. I’ve come down on the side of saying I’m in favor of life. The best way you can learn about someone is not by asking their opponent, but ask them, “What do you believe, and what’s your view?” And I am pro-life. And virtually every part of that ad is inaccurate. I’m pro-life. My positions are pro-life.
BROWNBACK: You can go on YouTube and see the governor speaking himself about where he is on this position in 1994.
ROMNEY: Look, I was pro-choice. I am pro-life. You can go back to YouTube and look at what I said in 1994. I never said I was pro-choice, but my position was effectively pro-choice. I changed my position. And I get tired of people that are holier-than-thou because they’ve been pro-life longer than I have. But I’m proud of the fact.
Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate , Aug 5, 2007

Absolute good day for America when Roe v. Wade is repealed

Q: Would the day that Roe v. Wade is repealed be a good day for America?
ROMNEY: Absolutely.
BROWNBACK: It would be a glorious day of human liberty and freedom.
GILMORE: Yes, it was wrongly decided.
HUCKABEE: Most certainly.
HUNTER: Yes.
THOMPSON: Yes.
McCAIN: A repeal.
GIULIANI: It would be OK to repeal.
TANCREDO: After 40 million dead because we have aborted them in this country, that would be the greatest day in this country’s history when that, in fact, is overturned.
Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC , May 3, 2007

Personally pro-life, but government should not intrude

Q: In recent months, you’ve said you were “always for life,” but we’ve also heard you say you were once “effectively pro-choice.” Which is it?
I’ve always been personally pro-life, but for me, it was a great question about whether or not government should intrude in that decision. And when I ran for office, I said I’d protect the law as it was, which is effectively a pro-choice position.
Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC , May 3, 2007

Was effectively pro-choice until cloning changed his opinion

Q: You were effectively pro-choice as governor?
A: About two years ago, when we were studying cloning in our state, I said, look, we have gone too far. It’s a “brave new world” mentality that Roe v. Wade has given us, and I changed my mind. I took the same course that Ronald Reagan took, and I said I was wrong and changed my mind and said I’m pro-life. And I’m proud of that, and I won’t apologize to anybody for becoming pro-life.
Q: Some people are going to see those changes of mind as awfully politically convenient.
A: When I ran for the first time, I said I was personally pro-life but that I would protect a woman’s right to choose as the law existed. Two years ago, as a result of the debate we had, the conclusion I reached was that cloning and creating new embryos was wrong, and that we should, therefore, allow our state to become a pro-life state. I believe states should have the right to make this decision, and that’s a position I indicated in an op-ed in the Boston Globe 2 years ago.
Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC , May 3, 2007

Altered nuclear transfer instead of embryonic stem cells

Q: Would you expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research?
A: It certainly will. Altered nuclear transfer, I think, is perhaps the best source.
Q: Embryonic.
A: Altered nuclear transfer creates embryo-like cells that can be used for stem cell research. In my view, that’s the most promising source. I have a deep concern about curing disease. I have a wife that has a serious disease that could be affected by stem cell research and others. But I will not create new embryos through cloning or through embryo farming, because that will be creating life for the purpose of destroying it.
Q: And you won’t take any from these fertility clinics to use either?
A: It’s fine for that to be allowed, to be legal. I won’t use our government funds for that. Instead, I want our governments to be used on altered nuclear transfer.
Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC , May 3, 2007

Breach of Constitution for justices to adjust Constitution

Romney said this about the Supreme Court and potential justice nominees: “I believe the Constitution embodies the values that the Founders thought were critical for a successful nation to survive; therefore, justices have to hold true to the Constitution to maintain the foundation of values that made it successful. I want justices who will follow the Constitution & will not add to it, not subtract from it but instead look to the Constitution & the values of the Founders to set the course for the nation. We have a process for changing the Constitution. It is an amendment process. The people are very much involved in that process. I find it a breach of the constitutional path for justices to effectively change the Constitution rather than allow the constitutionally devised processes for making those adjustments occur. I thought both Justices Robert and Alito were ideal examples for what we should select for justices going forward. I know I depart from my liberal friends on this front.“
Source: A Mormon in the White House?, by Hugh Hewitt, p.101-102 , Mar 12, 2007

Now firmly pro-life, despite 2002 tolerance for abortion

In New Hampshire on Thursday, he deflected conservative concerns about his record on gay marriage and abortion. He said he now describes himself as “firmly pro-life,” despite citing his tolerance for abortion rights during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign, after researching the embryonic stem cell issue.
Source: CNN.com, “Inside Politics” , Dec 22, 2006

Anti-abortion views have “evolved & deepened” while governor

When he ran for governor in 2002, Romney pledged not to change the state’s abortion laws, despite his personal opposition. But his veto Monday of an emergency contraceptives bill & his comments in recent months have fueled speculation among critics that Romney is hardening his opposition to abortion and other sensitive social issues to gain support from GOP conservatives. Romney says his anti-abortion views have “evolved and deepened” since he took office, colored in part by the debate over embryonic stem cell research.
“In considering the issue of embryo cloning and embryo farming, I saw where the harsh logic of abortion can lead--to the view of innocent new life as nothing more than research material or a commodity to be exploited,” Romney wrote in an opinion piece in Tuesday’s Boston Globe. He also said he believes each state should decide whether to allow abortion, rather than having the “one size fits all” precedent of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion.
Source: Associated Press on NewsMax.com , Jul 27, 2005

Personally against abortion, but pro-choice as governor

Romney was asked to clarify his position on abortion. Romney’s stance appeared to have changed between his 1994 campaign against Sen. Kennedy and when he moved to Utah. He recently told a Salt Lake City newspaper that he preferred not to be labeled “pro- choice.”
“On a personal basis, I don’t favor abortion,” he said. “However, as governor of the commonwealth, I will protect a woman’s right to choose under the laws of the country and the commonwealth. That’s the same position I’ve had for many years.”
Source: Erik Arvidson, Lowell Sun , Mar 20, 2002

For safe, legal abortion since relative’s death from illegal

Romney disclosed that he became committed to legalized abortion after a relative died during an illegal abortion. The disclosure came after Romney, who said he is personally opposed to abortion, was asked to reconcile his beliefs with his political support for abortion rights. “It is since that time that my family will not force our beliefs on that matter,” He said the abortion made him see “that regardless of one’s beliefs about choice, you would hope it would be safe and legal.”
Source: Joe Battenfeld in Boston Herald , Oct 26, 1994

Stem cell research lofty goals don’t justify destroying life

Romney adopted the “pro-life” label after his battle over stem cell research. Ann Romney has multiple sclerosis. Romney, who not surprisingly cites the diagnosis of his wife’s disease as one of the greatest blows of his life, is nevertheless alarmed by the aggressive program of embryonic stem cell research consortiums. He has taken a stand against the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
The Harvard Stem Cell Institute was seeking legal protection for an embryo production line for the purpose of creating and harvesting stem cells, and Romney refused his support. He said, “Lofty goals do not justify the creation of life for experimentation or destruction.”
Romney’s views would permit for research the use of embryos about to be destroyed by their parents; this puts him at odds with President Bush’s more restrictive position. Romney has never supported state-funded research on embryonic stem cells, and is a believer in the efficacy of alternative methods of producing stem cells.
Source: A Mormon in the White House?, by Hugh Hewitt, p.111-114 , Mar 12, 2007

Defining mistake: supported abortion law despite opposing it

Q: What is the defining mistake of your life and why?
A: Probably from a political standpoint and a personal standpoint, the greatest mistake was when I first ran for office, being deeply opposed to abortion but saying, “I support the current law,” which was pro-choice and effectively a pro-choice position. That was just wrong. And when I became a governor and faced a life-and-death decision as a governor, I came down on the side of life. That was a mistake before that.
Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate , Aug 5, 2007

Would welcome overturning Roe v. Wade

Q: Would you welcome the overruling of Roe v. Wade by the Court?
A: Yes. I would like to see each state be able to make its own decision regarding abortion rather than have a one-size-fits-all blanket pronouncement by the Supreme Court.
Q: Would you have a “litmus test” of any sort when it came to nominees for the Supreme Court?
A: I think we’d all like to apply a litmus test. Each of us would like to say, “Here are all the decisions that are going to come up. How will you vote?” But I don’t think that’s the process that you’re going to see employed by me or, frankly, by others as well. Doing it that way would make it very difficult for the nominee to be confirmed. There will not be a litmus test. Instead, there will be a philosophical test, which is: “Is this a person who follows the law, who abides by the Constitution, who will strictly construe the Constitution as intended, or is this a person who looks to expand upon the Constitution to ‘write’ laws without the benefit of legislation?”
Source: A Mormon in the White House, by Hugh Hewitt, p.103-104 , Mar 12, 2007

Committed to not change law on abortion as Gov., and did not

The pro-life community is sophisticated and educated, and quite capable of understanding how a pro-life politician in Massachusetts has to advocate for the possible, and must not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.
“I am pro-life,” Romney told me pointedly. He went on to explain how his campaigns have provided fodder for his 2008 opponents. “In my 1994 debate with Senator Kennedy he said that I was ‘multiple choice’ for which he got a good laugh because I would not say I was pro-choice. I said what I would do if I were elected senator, the same thing I said when I was running for governor. As governor, I indicated that I would not change the law as it related to abortion. I would keep it the same. I have had roughly four provisions that have reached my desk which would have changed the laws as they relate to abortion, all of which would have expanded abortion rights. I vetoed each of those. My record as governor has been very clearly a pro-life record.“
Source: A Mormon in the White House?, by Hugh Hewitt, p.110 , Mar 12, 2007

Opposes Roe v Wade, but won’t tamper with abortion laws

Opposes Roe v. Wade.
Believes that abortion should be banned in all cases except rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
Vetoed an emergency contraception bill in July 2005.
However: Has kept campaign promise not to tamper with state abortion laws.
Said in 1994: “I had a dear, close family relative that was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion. We will not force our beliefs on others. And you will not see me wavering on that.”
Source: CivilLiberty.about.com profile of Romney , Dec 1, 2006

Vetoed emergency contraception for rape victims

Massachusetts’ Legislature is overwhelmingly Democratic, and Romney’s first term as governor barely touched on the issues dear to social conservatives until recently.
In May, Romney vetoed legislation to expand stem cell research because it allowed the cloning of human embryos for use in stem cell experiments--a practice Romney said amounts to creating life in order to destroy it. The Legislature overrode the veto.
His veto of the emergency contraception measure is also likely to be overridden. That bill requires hospital emergency room doctors to offer the medication to rape victims, and would make it available without prescription from pharmacies.
Romney is on a list of possible contenders for the White House in 2008. Others include Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Sam Brownback of Kansas and George Allen of Virginia, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Source: Associated Press on NewsMax.com , Jul 27, 2005

Vetoed stem cell research bill

This House vote affirmed passage of the bill supporting stem cell research as originally passed by the House and Senate, rejecting Governor Romney’s proposed amendments and veto, and avoiding delays of implementation.
Source: MassScorecard.org Bill S. 2039 ; roll call 69, passed 112-42 , May 31, 2005

Endorsed legalization of RU-486

Favored basic Roe v. Wade abortion rights, though would not endorse a specific version of the Freedom of Choice Act, which would codify those court-established rights as federal law
Said he would leave the matter of Medicaid funding for abortion to individual states
Endorsed legalization of RU-486, the abortion-inducing drug.

HERMAN CAIN

Cain appeared on “Face the Nation” Oct. 30 and was asked to clarify his position on abortion. He gave conflicting and confusing statements about the sensitive subject during interviews Oct. 16 on “Meet the Press” and Oct. 19 on “Piers Morgan Tonight.”

Schieffer, Oct. 30: Where do you stand on the issue that is so important to so many Americans? At one point you said you were against abortion, period. But you, at another point said in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at stake, you would leave that to the families to decide. So is that your position? In other words, that you are pro-life with the exception of rape, incest and when the health of the mother is at stake?
Cain: I am pro-life from conception, period. And if people look at many speeches that I have given over the years, that has and will still be my position.
Schieffer: But talk about those exceptions.
Cain: The pro-life from conception, period. I was — that piece that was pulled out was taken totally out of context when we were talking about –
Schieffer: Okay, so in other words you — you don’t — would not even believe in abortion if rape, incest or the health of the mother was involved.
Cain: Correct. That’s my position.
Cain’s insistence that he has been “pro-life from conception, period” with no exceptions is at odds with what he told David Gregory in an Oct. 16 interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” In that interview, Cain said the family should decide about abortion when the life of the mother is at risk.
Gregory: Exceptions for rape and incest?
Cain: Not for rape and incest because …
Gregory: What about life of the mother?
Cain: Because if you look at, you look at rape and incest, the, the percentage of those instances is so miniscule that there are other options. If it’s the life of the mother, that family’s going to have to make that decision.
Gregory: Mm-hmm. But you can — would you condone abortion if the life of the mother were …
Cain: That family is going to have to make that …
Gregory: You won’t render a judgment on that.
Cain: That family is going to have to make that decision.

Cain clearly told Gregory he opposed abortion in cases of rape and incest, but not in cases where the life of the mother is at risk. Cain was less clear in his Oct. 19 interview with Piers Morgan. Cain told CNN’s Morgan: “I believe that life begins at conception. And abortion under no circumstances.” But asked whether he would want his granddaughter to raise the child of a rapist, Cain said it “ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to make. … Whatever they decide, they decide.”

His comments set off a flurry of news stories. A conservative, anti-abortion website reported that Cain “is raising eyebrows today of pro-life advocates.” Cain ultimately issued a statement to say he is “100% pro-life.” His statement offered an odd explanation about how he interpreted the question.
Cain, Oct. 20: I understood the thrust of the question to ask whether that I, as president, would simply “order” people to not seek an abortion. My answer was focused on the role of the President. The President has no constitutional authority to order any such action by anyone. That was the point I was trying to convey.

Regardless of what Cain did or didn’t say or what he meant to say on CNN, we do know this: His response on “Face the Nation” was different than the answer he gave on “Meet the Press.” And blaming others for taking his words out of context doesn’t change that.

Source: http://factcheck.org/2011/11/cains-pattern-of-evasion-and-misdirection/

GEORGE W. BUSH

McCAIN [to Bush]: Do you believe in the exemption, in the case of abortion, for rape, incest, and life of the mother?
BUSH: Yeah, I do.
McCain: [But you] support the pro-life plank [in the Republican Party platform]?
BUSH: I do.
McCAIN: So, in other words, your position is that you believe there’s an exemption for rape, incest and the life of the mother, but you want the platform that you’re supposed to be leading to have no exemption. Help me out there, will you?
BUSH: I will. The platform doesn’t talk about what specifically should be in the constitutional amendment. The platform speaks about a constitutional amendment. It doesn’t refer to how that constitutional amendment ought to be defined.
McCAIN: If you read the platform, it has no exceptions.
BUSH: John, I think we need to keep the platform the way it is. This is a pro-life party.
McCAIN: Then you are contradicting your platform.
Source: GOP Debate on the Larry King Show Feb 15, 2000

FORBES [to Bush]: Let’s pretend George that you get the nomination in August. Would you make three pledges tonight? 1) Preserve the Ronald Reagan plank on life in the Republican platform? 2) State unequivocally that you’ll chose only pro-life judges? 3) Vow to pick a pro-life running mate?
BUSH: I’m going to pick a vice president who can be the president. I’ll pick judges who strictly interpret the constitution and not use the bench as a way to legislate. And I will work to keep the Republican Party pro-life.
FORBES: It’s a typical hedge. Where’s the pledge, not a hedge? Vagaries aren’t going to work. We need something specific.
BUSH: I will have a vice president who can become the president. That’s the test, Steve. I will have a vice president that agrees with my policy. I’m going to have a vice president that likes me. I can’t be any more clear -- you may not like the answer, but that’s my answer. Source: (cross-ref from Forbes) GOP Debate in Michigan Jan 10, 2000

Bush opposes abortion except in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother
supports laws under which parents are notified if minors undergo abortions
will not try to change the constitution to outlaw abortion.

DICK CHENEY

Approved stem cell research. Let FDA’s RU-486 decision stand. Allowed an exemption in the case of rape, incest or for the life of the mother.

SARAH PALIN

Only exception for abortion is if mother’s life would end. Source: Eagle Forum 2006 Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire Jul 31, 2006
While mayor, Wasilla charged rape victims for rape kits. Source: Jessica Yellin on CNN.com Sep 22, 2008
Abortion should be states’ issue, not federal mandate. Source: 2008 CBS News presidential interview with Katie Couric Oct 1, 2008

RONALD REAGAN

Reagan was not as obsessive about anti-abortion legislation as he often seemed. Early in his California governorship he had signed a permissive abortion bill that has resulted in more than a million abortions. Afterward, he inaccurately blamed this outcome on doctors, saying that they had deliberately misinterpreted the law. When Reagan ran for president, he won backing from pro-life forces by advocating a constitutional amendment that would have prohibited all abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother. Reagan’s stand was partly a product of political calculation, as was his tactic after he was elected of addressing the annual pro-life rally held in Washington by telephone so that he would not be seen with the leaders of the movement on the evening news. While I do not doubt Reagan’s sincerity in advocating an anti-abortion amendment, he invested few political resources toward obtaining this goal.
Source: The Role of a Lifetime, by Lou Cannon, p. 812 Jul 2, 1991

RICHARD NIXON

Allowed abortion in the case of interracial unions. And rape.
"There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white .... Or a rape." Source: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/06/23/nixon_tapes/

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

I support a woman’s right to choose. I support the state’s current family planning programs, and as governor, would make no changes to this policy. Source: Campaign website, JoinArnold.com Aug 29, 2003

DEMOCRATS

BARACK OBAMA

No Federal dollars will be used for abortions. And, doctors will be able to decline to do those procedures without discrimination.
Speaking before a joint session of Congress, September 2009

"On an issue like partial birth abortion, I strongly believe that the state can properly restrict late-term abortions. I have said so repeatedly. There is a moral dimension to abortion, which I think that all too often those of us who are pro-choice have not talked about or tried to tamp down. I think that’s a mistake because I think all of us understand that it is a wrenching choice for anybody to think about.
And if we can acknowledge that much, then we can certainly agree on the fact that we should be doing everything we can to avoid unwanted pregnancies that might even lead somebody to consider having an abortion. We’ve actually made progress over the last several years in reducing teen pregnancies, for example. And what I have consistently talked about is to take a comprehensive approach where we focus on abstinence, where we are teaching the sacredness of sexuality to our children.
But we also recognize the importance of good medical care for women, that we’re also recognizing the importance of age-appropriate education to reduce risks. I do believe that contraception has to be part of that education process.
And if we do those things, then I think that we can reduce abortions and I think we should make sure that adoption is an option for people out there. If we put all of those things in place, then I think we will take some of the edge off the debate.
We’re not going to completely resolve it. At some point, there may just be an irreconcilable difference. And those who are opposed to abortion, I think, should continue to be able to lawfully object and try to change the laws. "
Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College Apr 13, 2008

JOE BIDEN

No public/Federal funding for abortion. Source: Promises to Keep, by Joe Biden, p.104-105 Jul 31, 2007
Supports ban on partial birth abortions. Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series Apr 29, 2007
Accepts Catholic church view that life begins at conception. Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series Apr 29, 2007
Voted YES on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives. Source: Prevention First Act (S.21/H.R.819) 2007-HR819 on Feb 5, 2007
Ensure access to and funding for contraception. Reference: Appropriation to expand access to preventive health care services; Bill S.Amdt. 244 to S Con Res 18 ; vote number 2005-75 on Mar 17, 2005

HILLARY CLINTON

Make abortion rare by supporting adoption & foster care. Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College Apr 13, 2008
Life begins at conception. Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College Apr 13, 2008
Opposed China’s forced abortions & Romania’s forced pregnancies. Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College Apr 13, 2008

Long-held moderate stance focuses on reducing abortions. When Clinton said that pro-choice and pro-life people could find common ground by trying to reduce the number of abortions through increased access to birth control, it was called "an attempt to move to the center as she contemplates a presidential run i 2008." The Wall Street Journal described her alleged changes in position as a "makeover and move to the center that she's now attempting." NPR saw Clinton spinning in circles: "She is doing what her husband did. Which was not so much move to the center or the right, but figure out a way to bridge the left-wing base of the Democratic Party. And move to the center at the same time."
Yet she was not changing her position on anything. For her entire time in public life, Clinton has been pro-choice and has supported access to birth control. Pointing out that such access would reduce the number of abortions, something anti-abortion forces ought to favor, cannot fairly be described as a shift in any direction.
Source: Free Ride, by David Brock and Paul Waldman, p.134-135 Mar 25, 2008

“We can all recognize that abortion in many ways represents a sad, even tragic choice to many, many women.”
Hillary is correct. Abortion is tragic. But why? What makes an abortion “sad, even tragic” is that an unborn child loses his life. Her “sad, even tragic” comment is not the first indication that Hillary believes it is indeed a child that is ripped from the womb during an abortion. In 2003, while debating a proposed ban on partial-birth abortions, Hillary referred to the unborn child as “the child, the fetus, your baby.”
Source: The Extreme Makeover, by Bay Buchanan, p.134-136 May 14, 2007

Voted YES on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives.
Vote to adopt an amendment to the Senate's 2006 Fiscal Year Budget that allocates $100 million for the prevention of unintended pregnancies. A YES vote would expand access to preventive health care services that reduce unintended pregnancy (including teen pregnancy), reduce the number of abortions, and improve access to women's health care. A YES vote would:
* Increase funding and access to family planning services
* Funds legislation that requires equitable prescription coverage for contraceptives under health plans
* Funds legislation that would create and expand teen pregnancy prevention programs and education programs concerning emergency contraceptives
Reference: Appropriation to expand access to preventive health care services; Bill S.Amdt. 244 to S Con Res 18 ; vote number 2005-75 on Mar 17, 2005

JIMMY CARTER

"I have always been against abortion; it’s not possible for me in my own concept of Christ to believe that Jesus would favor abortion. But at the same time, I have supported the Supreme Court ruling of our country as the law of the land. And the present arrangement, whereby a woman is authorized to have an abortion in the first trimester of the pregnancy, or when the pregnancy is caused by rape or incest -- these are the things that moderates who have beliefs like mine can accept as the present circumstances in our country. The liberality of abortion is anointed by the laws of our country, including the ultimate ruling of the Supreme Court."
Source: http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/JimmyCarterChristianRightIsntChristian.html

10 Drunkest Presidents in US History

2009-08-01T03:09:00.006-05:00

I wanted to put together a list of former presidents, and the beer THEY would have ordered had they been invited to Thursday's "beer summit" at the White House, hosted by #44 himself, President Obama.

So here are the 10 drunkest American presidents, in chronological order. The list of prezzes follows after.

1. John Adams.

John Adams could really tear it up. When he got into Harvard at age 15, he was regularly drinking beer for breakfast. During a trip to Philadelphia in 1777, he wrote to his wife...

I would give three guineas for a barrel of your cider. Not one drop of it to be had here for gold, and wine is not to be had under $68 per gallon... Rum is forty shillings a gallon... I would give a guinea for a barrel of your beer. A small beer here is wretchedly bad. In short, I am getting nothing that I can drink, and I believe I shall be sick from this cause alone.

Now, if you're like me, yes, you thought that, perhaps, the whole giving a guinea for your barrel of cider was him talking dirty to her. But I'm thinking no... John Adams just wanted to get drunk.

In addition to his drunkenness, he started smoking at age EIGHT and kept going until he died. At age 90.

Cause of death: Old age.

2. Martin van Buren.

Martin van Buren used to drink so much that, apparently, he developed an Andre the Giant-esque tolerance.

He could drink for days and not show any signs of being intoxicated, so his friends gave him the nickname "Blue Whiskey Van." (I'm not sure what the "blue" is a reference to. Is it the same "blue top" that Jamie Foxx references in "Blame It On the Al-Al-Al-Al-Al-Alcohol", which is another blue-related alcohol reference I don't get?)

In the 1840 Presidential Election, William Henry Harrison's campaign painted Van Buren as an alcoholic, which contributed to Van Buren losing the election.

3. Franklin Pierce.

Franklin Pierce might have been America's MOST alcoholic president. He drank hard for his entire adult life and kept going right on through his presidency.

When the Democratic party decided not to re-nominate Pierce after his first term in office, he told reporters, "There's nothing left but to get drunk." Holla, Franklin Pierce.

4. James Buchanan.

Buchanan, basically, centered his presidential life around drinking.

He would get angry when the White House would only be stocked with small bottles of champagne. Every Sunday he'd go to a distillery to pick up a 10 GALLON jug of whiskey. He'd drink cognac... and up to two BOTTLES of other alcohol... every night.

And, by all reports, he could really handle his liquor. A reporter wrote "There was no headache, no faltering steps, no flushed cheek. All was as cool, calm and cautious and watchful as in the beginning."

But... while he was able to be a smooth drunk on the outside, on the inside, the alcohol was beating him up. His immune system was so weakened that he got the gout and got dysentery... twice.

5. Ulysses S. Grant.

Grant has the biggest drinking reputation of any U.S. president. Some reports said that, during Civil War battles, he'd just sit there, drinking, all day long.

When he was on his death bed he passed out and a doctor was able to revive him... and give him a couple of extra minutes of life... by giving him brandy.

6. Chester A. Arthur.

As president, Arthur would drink wine and after-dinner liqueurs pretty much nightly. He gained about 40 pounds in office, a lot of which was from constant drinking (and having friends over to drink).

He would get drunk so often on Saturday nights that he'd need a carriage to take him to church the next morning... even though the church was, literally, less than a block away from the White House.

7. Grover Cleveland.

Cleveland had a huge beer belly... because he used to drink beer daily. [Insert your own joke about how if he'd just drank on non-consecutive days he could've lost weight here.]

During one minor election early in his political career (the all-important 1870 race for district attorney in Erie County, New York), he and his opponent agreed to only drink four glasses of beer each day... so they could stay clear headed for their race. After a few days, they decided that was too harsh and they were going to take the cap off.

8. William Howard Taft.

From what I can tell, Taft was like the big fat guy in any group of friends who made things more fun. He wasn't that huge of a drinker himself but he was definitely the frat guy in the 5XL Hawaiian shirt making sure all of his buddies were getting drunk. He was the Bluto of presidents.

During his first year as president, one of his aides wrote, "The President never takes anything to drink but is most profligate in making others imbibe."

9. Franklin D. Roosevelt.

There are rumors that FDR was a big drinker. He always just seemed to find his way around alcohol.

One good example: A doctor put FDR on a low-fat diet, to try to help his hypertension and heart problems. But FDR became underweight, so the doctor told him he'd have to put on weight again. FDR's plan to gain it back? Drinking mass quantities of egg nog.

10. George W. Bush.

Bush famously was arrested for driving under the influence in the '70s and, according to the Liberal Media, he spent his entire time at Yale drunk and much of his adult life as an on-and-off alcoholic. Typical Liberal Media.

The other 43 presidents, and what they would have ordered at the "beer summit"

by Rick Vaughn on Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 10:33am

By now we all know that Obama had a Bud Light at the meeting with vice president Biden (Buckler, an import non-alcoholic), Gates (Sam Adams), and the police officer (Blue Moon). What would the other 43 presidents have drank had they been invited?

1 George Washington 1789-1797
George Washington beer

2 John Adams 1797-1801
Samuel Adams

3 Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809
Thomas Jefferson Wheat Beer

4 James Madison 1809-1817
James Madison Dark Wheat Ale

5 James Monroe 1817-1825
Monticello Ale

6 John Quincy Adams 1825-1829
Samuel Adams

7 Andrew Jackson 1829-1837
Bud Light

8 Martin Van Buren 1837-1841
Heineken

9 William Henry Harrison 1841-1841
Bavaria Brewery (Colombia)

10 John Tyler 1841-1845
Pawtucket Patriot Ale

11 James K. Polk 1845-1849
James K. Polk Presidential Ale

12 Zachary Taylor 1849-1850
Corona (Mexico)

13 Millard Fillmore 1850-1853
Hoegaarden (Belgium)

14 Franklin Pierce 1853-1857
Taedonggang (Korea)

15 James Buchanan 1857-1861
Michelob Lager

16 Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865
Budweiser American Ale

17 Andrew Johnson 1865-1869
Metropolis Brewing

18 Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877
Budweiser

19 Rutherford B. Hayes 1877-1881
Mike's

20 James A. Garfield 1881-1881
Coors Silver Bullet

21 Chester A. Arthur 1881-1885
Anything he could find

22 Grover Cleveland 1885-1889
Great Lakes Brewing Co.

23 Benjamin Harrison 1889-1893
Bass Ale
http://books.google.com/books?id=HKBFgjrulnUC&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=Benjamin+Harrison+Beer&source=bl&ots=xp06HAvOfW&sig=2j3AuhqrugM47EFIFmYnLe3Lpqw&hl=en&ei=ZO1zSp20IpK4NZ64sMsK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=Benjamin%20Harrison%20Beer&f=false

24 Grover Cleveland 1893-1897
Great Lakes Brewing Co.
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/real-plans/stay-fit/americas-10-unhealthiest-presidents/?page=11

25 William McKinley 1897-1901
Beck's (Germany)
http://books.google.com/books?id=soFTksItFQcC&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=William+McKinley+beer&source=bl&ots=kK2Fa_9Nke&sig=3QjPxSVnU-Agus7w7Delirj-GZE&hl=en&ei=K-xzSrmENJOkMOvkgbEM&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=William%20McKinley%20beer&f=false

26 Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909
Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)
http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/beverages/beer/beer_trivia_1.html

27 William Howard Taft 1909-1913
San Miguel (Philippines)
http://books.google.com/books?id=OQ0ZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA93&lpg=PA93&dq=William+Howard+Taft+beer&source=bl&ots=xH89rQexuv&sig=nciup_LQ95t32nk5GTbHxq7xL0E&hl=en&ei=4epzSo3EJZXaNd6-mLEM&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10#v=onepage&q=&f=false

28 Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921
Budweiser
http://lyke2drink.blogspot.com/2008/11/presidents-and-beer-best-and-worst.html

29 Warren G. Harding 1921-1923
Schlitz Beer
http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=6903

30 Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929
ODoul's
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9B02E6D61E31E03ABC4053DFB366838B639EDE

31 Herbert Hoover 1929-1933
some homebrew
http://www.prontohome.com/product/a-chicken-in-every-pot-p_1214450541

32 Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933-1945
Miller High Life
http://pundits.thehill.com/2009/07/30/bravo-for-beer-diplomacy/

33 Harry S. Truman 1945-1953
Ballantine Burton Christmas Ale
http://appellationbeer.com/blog/the-ballantine-stops-here-would-you-open-it/

34 Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961
Coors Light
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/dwightdei165215.html

35 John F. Kennedy 1961-1963
Miller
http://www.archive.org/details/jfks19620611

36 Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969
Lone Star
http://www.slate.com/id/2223756/

37 Richard Nixon 1969-1974
Tsingtao
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Nixon_visit_to_China

38 Gerald Ford 1974-1977
Duff Beer
http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/004720.html

39 Jimmy Carter 1977-1981
Billy Beer
http://www.the-forum.com/advert/BILLY.HTM

40 Ronald Reagan 1981-1989
Smithwick's
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/1/2006_1_50.shtml

41 George H. W. Bush 1989-1993
Budweiser
http://books.google.com/books?id=70Wz9zUh2EMC&pg=RA1-PA57&lpg=RA1-PA57&dq=George+H+W+Bush+beer&source=bl&ots=KeybMRmxvo&sig=EwxLJqVnOOWg_FLDikoDEVsfB00&hl=en&ei=ENRzStvOHo34Nei43LAM&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#v=onepage&q=&f=false

42 Bill Clinton 1993-2001
Guinness
http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/Case-Studies/All-Case-Studies/Guinness/A-collaborative-effort-with-a-long-term-future/

43 George W. Bush 2001-2009
Buckler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckler_(beer)#Buckler

The Red Elvises at Fitzgerald's, Berwyn, IL (2001)

2009-07-25T13:23:00.003-05:00

April 10th, 2001
By Rick Vaughn

(come on, all you Svengoolie fans out there; let me hear you say, "BERRRRRWYYYYNNNN???") lol

Hello all,

As this is my first RE concert review, I should probably start at the beginning... My first introduction to the guys was a copy of "Bellydance" sitting on someone's desk at work. Needing some tunes during a long evening, I popped in the disc, thinking it wouldn't be any good. Boy was I surprised! The production values and musicianship as well as their sense of humor made me an instant fan.

Fast forward to April 2001; I cross the parking lot at Fitzgerald's and parked in front of the entrance is a huge red van with a Russian guy named Igor rummaging through suits in the back. "We start in a little while", he tells me. "I'm just choosing my clothes for the evening." Inside on the stage two more guys work at setting up a drum kit, microphones, amplifiers and proceed to do a soundcheck. "There is too much feeding back", Oleg tells the sound man from behind the drums. "Something is too high." An audience of maybe 50 or so people cluster around tables with beer and popcorn, waiting expectantly for the show to begin. "How's the popcorn?" asks Zhenya from the stage. "I may get some later."

During the first part of the set, most of the audience stayed seated. Maybe that's because this is a working class suburban Chicago audience and it's the middle of the week. Maybe it's because last time the Reds played this stage they had an opening act, the very good local band Satya Graha (go to www.satyagraha.com for more info). Maybe no-one knew what to make of the new 3-piece lineup. So midway through the set Zhenya Rock (his official name, it's on his license!) told the crowd, "If you like to sit down, that's OK. But for those who like to dance, the dance floor is right up here!". A good number of us proceeded to the front to dance and drink like maniacs (I'm still tired and hungover). At one point, when Igor asked everone to show their beer, one man near the bar yelled "I have teqila!" to which Oleg responded, "Tequila, it does the body good!".

Photo by Kenneth Karp, Gremlen Studios. Taken at Fitzgeralds, in Berwyn, IL on April 10, 2001

Here's the setlist, which I managed to scribble on a bar napkin during the set.

1) Welcome To The Freak Show
2) San Antone
3) She's Running Away
4) Who's Your Daddy?
5) It's Over Now
6) I'll Be Back
7) Scorchi Chornye
8) Three Alley Cats
9) Telephone Call From Istanbul
10) Rocketman
11) I Wanna See You Bellydance

**INTERMISSION**
During the intermission, Zhenya wandered over to my table with beer and popcorn and was instantly enraptured by a Bulgarian girl sitting at the table who had only been in the US for one week. Oleg and Igor had to send Mr. Fabulous to pry him from their English-Russian-Bulgarian conversation for the second set.

12) Groovin' To The Moscow Beat
13) Gypsy Heart
14) Red Lips, Red Eyes, Red Stockings
15) Kegga Beer And Potato Chips
16) Bedroom Boogie
17) Not That Kind Of Guy
18) Please Don't Tell Me What I Did Last Night
19) Susanna
20) Strip Joint Is Closed
21) Sad Cowboy Song

Photo by Kenneth Karp, Gremlen Studios. Taken at Fitzgeralds, in Berwyn, IL on April 10, 2001

**ENCORES**
22) Lovepipe
23) (I don't know the title, the "Where the F*** are you? song) (Juliet)
24) Voodoo Doll (my request, thanks Z!)

Afterwards I had a talk with Igor, Jackdaw & Ron (whose custom decal'ed car the band signed afterwards) and my new friend Alma mostly about web pages and bad movies... including "Leningrad Cowboys" (RE's real story, Igor tells me); "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", which he still hasn't seen but I'm sending him a copy of; "Blues Brothers", which Igor learned his English from!

Photo by Jackdaw. Taken at Fitzgeralds, in Berwyn, IL on April 10, 2001

Driving me to the "L" that night, my friend pulled into the Wendy's drive through and the Red Elvises' van was right in front of us! She yelled into the intercom, "TELL THOSE GUYS IN THE VAN THEY ROCK!!!" (which the drive-thru girl did, by the way).

I tried to call in sick today to catch the second show at the Elbo Room, but my boss wouldn't hear of it... I got off work at 11:00 p.m. and rushed straight up to the Elbo Room- just in time for the intermission! A lot of folks from the night before were there, as was Megan, whose bellydancing routine earlier in the set I had missed. Last year when I met her she was wearing these cool red leather pants. This year she had a blue pair on.

The band started their second set and played some tunes they hadn't the previous night, like "Girl From Malibu", "Boogie On The Beach" and some others (I guess I was having too much fun to remember what they were).

After the show someone decided it would be a great idea if we all went to the Green Mill (Al Capone's old hangout as well as John Cusack's in "High Fidelity"). No one in the band was too sure what that was until someone else mentioned that it was Tom Waits' kind of bar and that settled it. I didn't have a ride so Oleg told me to get in the "captain's seat" (i.e. I rode "shotgun"). I could tell the guys were tired and hungry and probably wanted to just eat something and collapse so I suggested the possibility of Chinatown. Oleg kept saying, "Yeah, let's just ditch everyone and go to Chinatown!" (about 5 or 6 different times, while playing with a bass fish pillow and jamming out to Midnight Oil on the radio). Crossing the street outside the bar, someone pulled up to the intersection blasting hip-hop and I heard Igor say, "Awww, yeeeaaahh".. Kind of made me wonder if their next album's gonna be Russian gangsta rap.

Photo by Rick, taken on a cellphone in 2005.

Chicago bouncers are a mean lot and the Green Mill's doorman turned away a few in our group for being either underage or not having ID's (including the girl hanging out with Zhenya). So we all stumbled back onto the sidewalk. Oleg, not to be deterred from having a good time grabbed Igor's shoulder and pointed at a sign in the near distance. "Look!" he said, loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear, "It's the Thailand Food Corporation!" Meanwhile Zhenya set up a camera on a street lamp and proceeded to try to take a group photo.

Oleg from the Red Elvises nearly woke up the neighborhood when he saw this sign at 3 a.m.
Photo by Rick, taken on a cellphone in 2005.

Last I saw of the Red Elvises, Igor was saying something about stopping at a gas station to buy some food (probably potato chips)...

-Rick Vaughn
Chicago, IL

Zhenya in Chicago. Photo by Kenneth Karp, Gremlen Studios. Taken in Chicago, IL on April 11, 2001

Men emerge from Mars experiment

2009-07-14T22:33:00.002-05:00

Six European volunteers have emerged from a simulated space capsule in Moscow after spending more than three months locked inside.

They were part of an experiment into how astronauts might deal with the very cramped conditions and prolonged isolation of a journey to Mars.

The four Russians, a German and a Frenchman seemed none the worse for wear after their "trip".

The capsule, without windows, had never left the ground during the 105 days.

It was designed to make them feel as isolated as they would be on a real trip to Mars, including very cramped accommodation and radio communication delayed by up to 20 minutes.

Just before coming out on Tuesday, the German member of the group admitted that he had completely lost all track of time.

However, 105 days is not nearly long enough to get to Mars and back.

So next year another group of volunteers will enter the same cramped capsule and be sealed inside for a daunting 520 days - nearly a year and a half.

(BBC)

paper taco trucks!

2009-07-07T12:52:00.001-05:00

paper taco truck 01
Originally uploaded by goopymart

Separated at birth: Sacha Baron Cohen, Mike Myers, and Andy Kaufman

2009-07-03T21:02:00.013-05:00

Part One: Brüno VS. Dieter

Left to right, Dieter & Brüno

Brüno (Sacha Baron Cohen, "Brüno", 2009)

Brüno is a fictional gay Austrian fashion reporter, who first appeared during short sketches on The Paramount Comedy Channel in 1998, before reappearing on Da Ali G Show. Following the success of Ali G Indahouse and Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Universal Studios acquired the rights to make a Brüno film.

Brüno, who has no known surname, is a homosexual character claiming to be a reporter from an Austrian television station and interviews unsuspecting guests about topics such as fashion, entertainment, celebrities and homosexuality, with an emphasis on the last subject as each interview progresses. The Austrian TV station's logo features the letters ÖJRF (revealed once as Österreichischer Jungen-Rundfunk, or in English, Austrian Boys' Broadcasting) inside a baby blue square, with a smaller purple square in the upper left quadrant. The name is similar to that of Austrian national broadcaster ORF (Österreichischer Rundfunk). The logo often appears on Brüno's show in the upper right corner of the screen. Brüno's segment on Da Ali G Show is called Funkyzeit mit Brüno (Funkytime with Brüno). The show's theme song is "Crank It Up", by Scooter, from the album Our Happy Hardcore.

Dieter (Mike Myers, Saturday Night Live, 1989-1997)

Sprockets was a recurring fictional West German television talk show sketch created by actor, writer and comedian Mike Myers with Canadian actor Dana Anderson for Second City Theatre. He later ported the character to television for the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. Myers played Dieter (based on a waiter Myers encountered in Toronto), a bored, disaffected West German expressionist and minimalist who would interview celebrities in whom he was barely interested and always bring the discussion around to his "limited" monkey Klaus. The sketch made fun of German art culture in the 1980s. Appearing asexual or effeminate, Myers' costume consisted of tight black leotards; round, wire-rimmed glasses, and slicked-back hair. The show itself featured, most notably, a section entitled "Germany's Most Disturbing Home Videos," which showcased scenes of old men's heads spinning around, dying cats, ants, and other disturbing sights.

The theme song for the sketch is Kraftwerk's 1986 song "Electric Café", sped up by playing the 33⅓ rpm album at 45 rpm, then remixed.

Three memorable phrases from the sketch that are well known by fans were "Touch my monkey", a recurring reference to his pet monkey, Klaus (to touch him was a privilege); "Your narrative has become tiresome" whenever Dieter became bored with a guest; and "Now is the time on Sprockets vhen ve dance!", which was always uttered frantically at the end of the show and followed by some robotic techno-dancing on the set.

Some later sketches featured Dieter outside of his talk show environment starring in parodies of game shows, TV dance parties, and art films.

Part Two: Borat VS. Latka

Left to right, Latka & Borat

Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat", 2006)

Borat claims to have been born on February 17, 1972 in the fictional village of Kuzcek, Kazakhstan to Asimbala Sagdiyev and Boltok the Rapist, the town rapist (who is also stated to be his maternal grandfather as well as his brother and uncle). He says his mother gave birth to him when she was nine years old. He has a thirteen-year-old son named Huey Lewis, twelve-year-old twin boys named Biram and Bilak, and seventeen grandchildren. He has an older sister, Natalya (who he has claimed at different times to be "the number four best prostitute in Kazakhstan") and a younger brother, Bilo, he describes as being mentally retarded and has a very small head but strong arms.

Borat has been married approximately 138 times[citation needed], after first having been betrothed to his half-sister's plough while in his teens. His first wife, Oksana, is reported in the Borat film to have been "broken" by a bear while taking his brother Bilo for a walk in the forest. Borat is not saddened by the tragedy; he thanks the man who brings him this "good news" by giving him a high five and celebrates his newfound freedom by pursuing Pamela Anderson and eventually reunites with and marries Luenell, an American prostitute he met while filming his documentary.

According to various in-character interviews with Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat attended Astana University, where he studied English, journalism, and plague research. He claims to have created five new plagues which supposedly "killed over 5 million goats and whores in Uzbekistan." Prior to his plague research, Borat worked as an ice maker, animal sperm retriever, gypsy catcher, and someone who removes dead birds from a computer. He now works as a professional journalist and announcer on Kazakh television. This job "helps Borat and other Kazakhs express themselves in ways they otherwise would not have been able to do."

Although nominally pagan for most of his life, sometimes remarking that his people "follow the hawk", in the film he attends a Pentecostal church service and later converts his village neighbours to Christianity. Borat greatly admires the political views of Joseph Stalin, and claims that both he and Stalin are strong men with powerful "khram" (genitals). He is strongly against women's rights and was quite aghast upon learning of women's suffrage. He frequently comments that it is like "a monkey driving a car" or "a monkey with a gun". In his spare time, he enjoys playing ping pong, sunbathing while clad in a lime green "mankini", disco dancing, spitting, sitting on comfortable chairs, and taking pictures of women while they "make toilet". He also enjoys hunting Jews in his homeland. He is particularly fond of "mouth-party" and "hand-party", and is inconsolably angry after a group of travelling American fratboys show him the sex tape of Pamela Anderson, having wished to "un-cork her" for himself.

Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman, "Taxi", 1978-1983)

Latka Gravas is an immigrant from an island in the Caspian Sea. (Caspiar...it sank) He often speaks in his native language which consists of phrases such as "Yaktahbay" (Behind/Butt) and "nik nik" (sex). (Kaufman invented his own nonsensical language for Latka.) He works as a mechanic for the Sunshine Cab Company. He is very friendly and has a shy, child-like demeanor. He often says "Tenk you veddy much". His sweet personality makes him a favorite target of his loud, abrasive boss, Louie De Palma (Danny DeVito). The cabdrivers like Latka but are confused by his customs.

Latka also has multiple personality disorder. Being very love-shy, Latka wanted to fulfill his fantasy of being “an American fun guy taking each day in high gear". He studied Playboy and the voices of FM DJs. Latka developed an alter ego named "Vic Ferrari", a smooth-talking womanizer.

In one episode, he develops numerous personalities in addition to Vic including a cowboy named Arlo and an Englishman named Jeffrey. He ends up taking on his co-worker Alex Reiger's (Judd Hirsch) personality, with profound insights into "his" life. Just when he is about to reveal to the real Alex the perfect solution for all his problems, he reverts back to Latka with the help of a psychiatrist.

Facing deportation, the cabdrivers hire a prostitute to marry Latka so he can stay in the United States. It is assumed that they were soon divorced.

In the second season, Latka meets Simka (Carol Kane), a woman from his homeland. Despite coming from different classes - she is a "mountain person" and he is a "flatlander" - they fall in love. At the end of the episode Simka has to return to the homeland, but Simka returns in the fourth season and they rekindle their romance, finally ridding Latka of his Vic Ferrari alter ego. They get married at the end of the season.

(info from Wikipedia)

Recent visitors to my blog....

2009-07-03T00:41:00.002-05:00

I just thought this was interesting information; I am always fascinated with new technology and it's ability to track visitors to my humble blog from all known corners of the globe. A recent sampling of the most recent 200+ visitors lately:

212 Den Helder Netherlands
10 San Diego United States
10 Las Vegas United States
9 The Entrance Australia
8 Naperville United States
8 Saipan Northern Mariana Islands
8 Seoul Korea, Republic Of
4 Alexandria United States
3 Mountain View United States
3 Gulf Shores United States
3 Victoria Canada
3 Vancouver Canada
3 Algeria Algeria
3 Hagatna Guam
3 Bradenton United States
2 Moscow Russian Federation
2 Chicago United States
2 Arlington United States
2 Los Angeles United States
2 Taipei Taiwan
1 Barrigada Guam
1 Hvalsø Denmark
1 Cartagena Spain
1 Kirkland United States
1 Berkeley United States
1 Pittston United States
1 Lake Elsinore United States
1 Tinian Northern Mariana Islands
1 Redondo Beach United States
1 Sumter United States
1 Castries Saint Lucia
1 Denver United States
1 Yokohama Japan
1 San Francisco United States
1 Norwalk United States
1 Hamamatsu Japan
1 Shreveport United States
1 Hille Germany
1 Falls Church United States
1 Monaco Italy
1 Markham Canada
1 Miami United States
1 Yigo Guam
1 Chino United States
1 Monterey Park United States

Hmmmm.... 212 from Den Helder, in the Netherlands? I only know one person there, could she really be visiting my blog that many times? Or maybe I am somewhat of a celebrity there... who knows?

Study screening

2009-06-30T23:34:00.002-05:00

I have applied to be a test subject at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Galveston, TX. It is a 80+ day bed rest. Here is more info from their web site:

Bed Rest Study

In order to study a person as if they were in space without gravity, NASA scientists use head down tilt bed rest. The 87 day study will follow the Bed Rest Project standard model and be conducted at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. Participants will live in a special research unit for the entire study and be fed a carefully controlled diet.

During the first 11-15 days of the study participants will be free to move around inside the bed rest facility and do normal things. They will also take part in a number of tests to find out the normal state of their bone, muscle, heart and circulatory system, brain and nervous system, and vestibular (inner ear balance) system as well as their nutritional condition and their ability to fight off infections.

After the first 11-15-day period, participants will spend 60 days lying in bed, (except for limited times for specific tests) with their body slightly tilted downward (head down, feet up). Every day, they will be awake for 16 hours and lights out (asleep) for 8 hours. During the bed rest time they will also take part in a number of tests to find out changes in the state of their bone, muscle, heart and circulatory system, and nervous system, as well as their nutritional condition and their ability to fight off infections.

During the final 14 days of the study (called the recovery period), participants will again be free to move about within the facility. Because of deconditioning that takes place during bed rest, they will slowly begin normal everyday activity. During the recovery period, they will again take part in tests of their bone, muscle, heart and circulatory systems, and nervous systems, as well as their nutritional condition and their ability to fight off infections.

Participants must be nonsmokers who are in good health with no history of cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, or musculoskeletal problems.

Individuals selected for screening will receive a physical examination at no cost. Once medically qualified, subjects will be compensated for their time spent for the required psychological assessment and any additional screening.

Maps in the mail

2009-06-15T15:02:00.000-05:00

Over the last couple days, I received tourist maps in the mail from GVB (Guam) and MVA (Saipan, Tinian, and Rota). Some interesting and helpful info was included, so I think I will be able to make more headway on the Google Mapmaker project.

History of Americans captured in North Korea

2009-06-09T10:04:00.004-05:00

2009 - Journalists Laura Ling & Euna Lee are arrested on the Chinese border by North Korean security forces and sentenced to 12 years in a hard labor camp.

1997 - A US helicopter is shot down over North Korean airspace, killing one pilot but leaving the other unharmed. Richardson is able to persuade North Korean authorities to release the pilot, US Army warrant officer Bobby Hall.

1996 - Tacoma, WA resident Evan Hunziker swims across the Yalu River on a dare and is imprisoned by North Korea. He is released when New Mexico governor Bill Richardson travels to North Korea on his behalf. Hunziker commits suicide less than a month after returning to the US.

1968 - The US radar vessel USS Pueblo is seized in international waters. All 82 crew were held captive by the North Koreans for 11 months, when they were allowed to cross the DMZ into South Korea.

1965 - US soldier Charles Jenkins defects to North Korea while on a patrol along the DMZ. Jenkins married Japanese citizen Hitomi Soga while there, and they had two daughters - the family finally managed to leave for Japan in 2004, after Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi personally asked Kim Jong-Il to release them.

1962 - US soldier James Dresnok defects to North Korea. As of 2009, he still lives there.

1962 - US soldier Joseph White defects to North Korea. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Road trip to Indiana

2009-06-05T19:58:00.001-05:00

(K)
Originally uploaded by saipanrick

I took the postal exam yesterday, it was held in Evansville, IN... 1 & 1/2 hours' drive away. To kill some boredom, I stopped for pictures on the way home...

My Google Mapmaker stats for the last 4 days:

2009-06-05T15:03:00.000-05:00

added to Mapmaker's Saipan section -

Road length (km) 20.0
Points of interest 1
Business listings 148
Regions (sq kms) 8.8
Feature edits 57

(Google) mapping Beach Road pathway

2009-06-03T10:43:00.000-05:00

just a preview....

Google Street View?

2009-06-02T13:27:00.000-05:00

I guess Google Mapmaker has been out since 2008... I only discovered it yesterday. Some folks in India and the Philippines have been adding streets and landmarks to the Saipan map, and since yesterday I have been updating street names using Maui Business Pages' 2000 Saipan directory as a general guide.

Below are some pictures of my progress using a residential area in Koblerville:

(before)

(after)

I have also corrected some roads and added other information. It takes a little while for the info to go live on Google Maps, but once that happens all 2 of my blog readers will be the first to know.

CNMI and Guam to get quarters (New York Times)

2009-05-21T17:42:00.000-05:00

Last year Congress passed legislation that will have a long-term impact on our pocket change. The law authorized a new series of quarters, to be released over 11 years, with at least 56 different designs featuring national parks or sites.

This new series is just one of several rotating coin design programs that have come in the wake of the success of the 50 State Quarters Program, in which the Mint issued a new quarter design five times a year for 10 years, starting in 1999. In 2004 the Mint started the Westward Journey nickel series. In 2007 we got a series of dollar coins with former presidents. One of the coins recently issued features William Henry Harrison, who was president for only a month.

By now we are experiencing new coin fatigue: authorization of the national parks quarter series attracted very little mainstream attention, while many coin collectors disapproved of it as too much of a good thing.

These critics have a point. This year we have even more coin programs featuring rotating designs. For Lincoln’s 200th birthday, four different reverse (tails) designs were produced for the penny. American Indians will be honored with a new series of dollar coins. And six quarters will be issued featuring the District of Columbia as well as the territories of Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.

As a result of all this, this year we will have more coin series with rotating designs than series with permanent designs. We may find ourselves thankful for the constancy of the Jefferson nickel, the Roosevelt dime and the Kennedy half-dollar, which is no longer even issued for circulation.

While it may seem as if the Mint is to blame for all this, the problem really lies with Congress. The issuing of new coins, including the specific details on each coin’s design, is mandated by legislation. These coins can be lucrative for the government: the Mint estimated that the 50 State Quarters Program earned nearly $3 billion in seigniorage (that is, the difference between the face value of a coin and the cost to mint it).

Coins are a medium of exchange. They should be relatively standard, universally identifiable units of money. On a deeper level, coins are also representations of the country that issues them. Our currency has become a shifting, unidentifiable mess that tries to recognize everything and ends up symbolizing nothing.

The best remedy would simply be to overhaul all our standard coin designs. Redesign each denomination across the board, and leave the new designs in place for at least a decade. These redesigned coins should be contemporary in nature but timeless in theme, and unmistakable objects of art.

It was once common to portray Liberty, personified in female form, on our coins. Imagine the return of this figure, grown wiser and reflective after her absence, evoking confidence that our nation will endure any hardship and meet any challenge. Then, maybe our coins will once again become respected national symbols.

Michael Zielinski is the creator of CoinNetwork.com, a social network for coin collectors.

해물파전 (Korean seafood pancake)

2009-05-14T20:40:00.004-05:00

I cooked this last night, adapting the recipe from a cooking website, I forget which one. Here's a good recipe, though, and there are others on Google.

I mixed up some batter using eggs, flour and water. Below are the ingredients I added to the batter right before cooking:

Below is the pancake (first batch), in the pan, ready to flip:

Here's the finished product:

And of course, you need some dipping sauce:

Voila!

My letter published in the Tribune today

2009-05-11T01:05:00.000-05:00

Saipan Tribune

Letters to the Editor

Monday, May 11, 2009

Bad press about Saipan

I really think it’s a shame that every time I do an Internet search about Saipan, I run into a bunch of articles from the Irish press griping and complaining about a place they have never been to, much less heard of. Turns out that in 2002, there was some kind of beef between the Irish football/soccer team during a training exercise, henceforth referred to as the "Saipan Incident". There’s even a Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Roy_Keane_Saipan_incident).

That’s all well and good, but it seems that nowadays the very word "Saipan" is almost a curse on the Emerald Isle. Do a Google search for "Saipan Ireland" and you’ll see what I mean. Maybe there should be some kind of high-level meeting between Irish and CNMI officials, or even a goodwill game between the two teams. Or just invite members of the Irish media over for a barbecue.

I read somewhere that South Korea is spending money internationally on bringing a more positive image of themselves to the minds of people in other countries. Maybe the CNMI government should consider something similar. Koreans and Japanese know Saipan very well, so we don't need to worry about brand awareness in those countries. Probably people in the mainland USA, if they have heard of Saipan at all, only know the garment factories, the Abramoff scandal, and the recent debacle regarding the lieutenant governor. Something should be done about this.

Rick Vaughn
Chicago, Illinois

http://saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=90139&cat=15

Photo of the day

2009-05-10T22:50:00.001-05:00

Starbucks
Originally uploaded by saipanrick

A Starbucks in Seoul, Korea; I took this in late 2007.

The War of Saipan

2009-05-09T14:18:00.000-05:00

by Bob Coldeen

Five years ago this week Ireland's national soccer team came to Saipan in preparation for the World Cup in Japan. No one predicted that their short time here would be referred to as the “War of Saipan” by a whole country.

When one hears about “the War” here in these islands, the natural assumption is World War II. But to people in Ireland, it means the battle between two men: coach Mick McCarthy and star player Roy Keane, a feud that went so deep into their collective psychology that it polarized a nation and remains such a significant event that a movie of it is being made and last month's “Mad About Sports” magazine from Europe had it on their front page as the feature article.

Keane was not only Ireland's top player, he was captain of Manchester United, the most famous soccer team in the world. McCarthy was an Englishman with Irish ties hired to coach the team.

Ex-pat John White invited the team to Saipan and they accepted.

I went to their first workout at Oleai Field and chatted with one of the press from Britain. Prior to their arrival, I had scanned the internet to learn something about the team. Trying to impress one of the British press with at least some knowledge of their national sport while also looking for a story angle, I asked, “Are Robbie Keane and Roy Keane brothers?”

He shook his head and laughed at my ignorance. He asked me if the team's arrival would be my top story that night. Itold him I wasn't sure because I also had an exciting women's softball game and a good Little League game planned for my show that evening.

The next day on the Internet I read a British newspaper story about how ignorant I was about soccer and considered women's softball and children's baseball to be more important than the World Cup. Well, I do think Roy Keane could walk down Beach Road in a jockstrap and people here could not care less. And more people go to a Little League game on Saipan than there were at the Ireland's practices.

Later I asked McCarthy why they had chosen Saipan and he said they came to get acclimated to the heat and the time change and also for the team to bond together in a relaxed setting. He must have not told Roy.

The CNMI spent $20,000 to improve Oleai field but that wasn't enough to make it the quality pitch Keane was used to playing on and he complained to one of the reporters for the Irish Times about that and a slew of other things about McCarthy's preparation for the Cup.

The next day Keane's diatribe showed up in the Irish Times newspaper and in McCarthy's hands. He held a team meeting and that's when the whole thing exploded with McCarthy kicking Roy off the team. Saipan's soccer field suddenly became an issue of world concern, but the fact is the two had bad feelings brewing between them for 10 years, fundamental differences between two incompatible professionals, talented men with personal flaws that they could not overcome, even for the sake of a country in the World Cup. That is what caused the “War of Saipan,” not some field of grass.

(Saipan Tribune 05/20/2007)

CNMI should raise brand awareness overseas

2009-05-07T21:04:00.001-05:00

I really think it's a shame that every time I do an internet search about Saipan, I run into a bunch of articles from the Irish press griping and complaining about a place they have never been to, much less heard of. Turns out that in 2002, there was some kind of beef between the Irish football/soccer team and their manager during a training exercise, henceforth referred to as the "Saipan Incident". There's even a Wikipedia entry*.

That's all well and good, but it seems that nowadays the very word "Saipan" is almost a curse on the Emerald Isle. Do a Google search for "Saipan Ireland" and you'll see what I mean. Maybe there should be some kind of high level meeting between Irish and CNMI officials, or even a goodwill game between the two teams. Or just invite members of the Irish media over for a barbecue.

I read somewhere that South Korea is spending money internationally on bringing a more positive image of themselves to the minds of people in other countries. Maybe the CNMI government should consider something similar. Probably people in the mainland, if they have heard of Saipan, only know the garment factories, the Abramoff scandal, and the recent debacle regarding the Lieutenant Governor. Something should be done. That's all I'm saying.

Ireland needs to get over Saipan

2009-05-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

I really think it's a shame that every time I do an internet search about Saipan, I run into a bunch of articles from the Irish press griping and complaining about a place they have never been to, much less heard of. Turns out that in 2002, there was some kind of beef between the Irish football/soccer team and their coach during a training exercise, henceforth referred to as the "Saipan Incident". There's even a Wikipedia entry*.

That's all well and good, but it seems that nowadays the very word "Saipan" is almost a curse on the Emerald Isle. Do a Google search for "Saipan Ireland" and you'll see what I mean. Maybe there should be some kind of high level meeting between Irish and CNMI officials, or even a goodwill game between the two teams. Or just invite members of the Irish media over for a barbecue.

I read somewhere that South Korea is spending money internationally on bringing a more positive image of themselves to the minds of people in other countries. Maybe the CNMI government should consider something similar. Probably people in the mainland, if they have heard of Saipan, only know the garment factories, the Abramoff scandal, and the recent debacle regarding the Lieutenant Governor. Something should be done. That's all I'm saying.

Photo of the day

2009-05-07T14:34:00.001-05:00

53775856_a3718000e5_o
Originally uploaded by saipanrick

Partially sunken tank off Saipan; taken sometime in 2004 by me.

"Chinese taco"

2009-05-06T16:13:00.002-05:00

"Chinese taco"
Originally uploaded by saipanrick

Very tasty!

Magic Wok in Charleston, IL

2009-05-06T16:12:00.001-05:00

my second plate
Originally uploaded by saipanrick

We stopped here for lunch while I was driving my sister to a doctor's appointment 2 hours away.

Tonight's dinner

2009-05-01T21:12:00.000-05:00

I cooked red rice tonight, for the first time, loosely following the recipe below. The only difference was, I didn't have any more bacon and realized it too late - no chance to run to the store. I also cooked beef with broccoli.

See more pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickvaughn/sets/72157617443800024/

Red Rice & Beef w/ Broccoli

2009-05-01T18:02:00.004-05:00

tonight's dinner, in all it's blogged glory....

see more pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickvaughn/

Pancit bihon recipe

2009-04-25T16:32:00.011-05:00

(adapted from FilipinoFoodRecipes.net)

(photos by me)

step one - cut up some pork into small cubes

step two - brown the pork, preferably in a wok

step three - remove from the stove

step four - chop some mushrooms, onions and green peppers (or carrots if you have them); stir-fry them first......

step five - then add garlic, soy sauce and chicken broth (see below)

step six - simmer.......

step seven - add rice noodles and stir....

step eight - garnish with lemon and serve!

(adapted from FilipinoFoodRecipes.net)

New blog and updates

2009-04-25T13:49:00.002-05:00

This is my new blog and central information hub, compiling posts from blogs I have maintained since 2002. I should be posting more info here very soon, stay tuned for updates!

LIST OF BLOGS I IMPORTED HERE:

Island Life (saipanrick.blogspot.com)(2008)
Friends Cebu (friendscebu.blogspot.com)(2006-07)
Shenyangist (shenyangist.blogspot.com)(2005-07)
Aaugh! News (aaughnews.blogspot.com)(2002-05)

MSNBC reports on the Marianas Trench Monument

2009-04-23T21:05:00.001-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

MSNBC reports on the Marianas Trench Monument

2009-04-23T21:05:00.000-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Some favorite recipes

2009-04-23T01:23:00.001-05:00

Eneksa Agaga (Red Rice)
from chamorro.com

* Achiote Seeds (4 ounce package)
* 2 cup water
* 2 cups medium grain enriched rice
* 2 slices bacon
* 1/2 onion

Soak achiote seeds in water until liquid is a dark rich red.
Drain seeds, reserving the liquid. Fry bacon until soft but
thoroughly cooked. Chop bacon and onion. Put rice, bacon,
onion in a pan and add the achiote liquid. Allow pot of rice
to "boil down" until the liquid is almost completely gone.
Cover and reduce heat to low for 15 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

=================================================

Finadeni
from chamorro.com

No island feast would be complete without finadeni. This terrific
sauce is used to flavor rice, soups, and is excellent for marinating
chicken, beef and pork. Make a lot at once and store the extra
in a salad dressing carafe for easy use later.

* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* 1/4 cup chopped green onions
* 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper, or 3 small red peppers,
roasted and chopped

Combine ingredients, stir.

==================================================

Saipan-style SPAM Fried Rice
...my own personal recipe

* cooked rice
* 3 eggs
* 1/2 can SPAM, diced (you can use Turkey SPAM if you like, it's lower in fat &
salt and has zero cholesterol)
* 2 tbsp. sesame oil
* 1 tsp. patis (fish sauce)
* 1 or 2 green onions, chopped

In a frying pan, make egg omelet and transfer to plate.
Chop into strips. Add cubes of Spam to pan and cook until
they begin to brown. Add rice to frying pan, stir then add
sesame oil. Add green onion if desired. Right before serving,
add fish sauce. It's also good with Tabasco!

==================================================

Korean Fried Rice
... another personal recipe

* cooked rice
* 3 eggs
* 1/3 jar of kimchee
* 2 tbsp. sesame oil
* 1 tsp. fish sauce
* 4 strips of bacon, cooked

In a frying pan, make egg omelet and transfer to plate.
Chop into strips. Add bacon and rice to frying pan, stir then add
sesame oil. Add Kimchee and mix. Right before serving,
add fish sauce.

Some favorite recipes

2009-04-23T01:23:00.000-05:00

Eneksa Agaga (Red Rice)
from chamorro.com

* Achiote Seeds (4 ounce package)
* 2 cup water
* 2 cups medium grain enriched rice
* 2 slices bacon
* 1/2 onion

Soak achiote seeds in water until liquid is a dark rich red.
Drain seeds, reserving the liquid. Fry bacon until soft but
thoroughly cooked. Chop bacon and onion. Put rice, bacon,
onion in a pan and add the achiote liquid. Allow pot of rice
to "boil down" until the liquid is almost completely gone.
Cover and reduce heat to low for 15 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

=================================================

Finadeni
from chamorro.com

No island feast would be complete without finadeni. This terrific
sauce used to flavor rice, soups and is excellent for marinating
chicken, beef and pork. Make a lot at once and store the extra
in a salad dressing carafe for easy use later.

* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* 1/4 cup chopped green onions
* 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper, or 3 small red peppers,
roasted and chopped

Combine ingredients, stir.

==================================================

Saipan-style SPAM Fried Rice
...my own personal recipe

* cooked rice
* 3 eggs
* 1/2 can SPAM, diced (you can use Turkey SPAM if you like, it's lower in fat &
salt and has zero cholesterol)
* 2 tbsp. sesame oil
* 1 tsp. patis (fish sauce)
* 1 or 2 green onions, chopped

In a frying pan, make egg omelet and transfer to plate.
Chop into strips. Add cubes of Spam to pan and cook until
they begin to brown. Add rice to frying pan, stir then add
sesame oil. Add green onion if desired. Right before serving,
add fish sauce. It's also good with Tabasco!

==================================================

Korean Fried Rice
... another personal recipe

* cooked rice
* 3 eggs
* 1/3 jar of kimchee
* 2 tbsp. sesame oil
* 1 tsp. fish sauce
* 4 strips of bacon, cooked

In a frying pan, make egg omelet and transfer to plate.
Chop into strips. Add bacon and rice to frying pan, stir then add
sesame oil. Add Kimchee and mix. Right before serving,
add fish sauce.

Nice way of inviting people to visit the island, jerk!

2009-04-20T23:16:00.001-05:00

Honolulu Federal Court judge Leslie Kobayashi yesterday sentenced a 28-year-old man from Saipan to 21 days in prison for assaulting a fellow passenger on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu.

Jerome Kenneth Kingzio had pleaded guilty.

The incident took place on March 21.

U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said court documents show the victim, a 66-year-old woman, was watching the in-flight movie when Kingzio stood next to her and began urinating on her.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Marshall H. Silverberg.

Nice way of inviting people to visit the island, jerk!

2009-04-20T23:16:00.000-05:00

Honolulu Federal Court judge Leslie Kobayashi yesterday sentenced a 28-year-old man from Saipan to 21 days in prison for assaulting a fellow passenger on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu.

Jerome Kenneth Kingzio had pleaded guilty.

The incident took place on March 21.

U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said court documents show the victim, a 66-year-old woman, was watching the in-flight movie when Kingzio stood next to her and began urinating on her.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Marshall H. Silverberg.

Enforce anti-littering law

2009-03-17T12:47:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Letters to the Editor

I am a sophomore at Saipan Southern High School. Last week I participated in the Beautify CNMI monthly cleanup of Garapan and was terribly frustrated with all the garbage I found in almost every corner. After spending 90 minutes under the hot sun, my partner and I filled up about four huge bags with trash. The majority of this trash consisted of beer bottles, paper plates, and cans-all things that could have easily been disposed of properly.

When I went home, I looked up some information about littering. I found that the CNMI has a Commonwealth Litter Control Act of 1989 (Public Law 6-37) that provides for a $500 fine for littering and that the Division of Environmental Quality, Mayor's Office, Department of Public Works, Department of Public Safety, Department of Public Health, Division of Fish & Wildlife, Coastal Resources Management, Department of Land and Natural Resources, and Marianas Visitors Authority all employ litter control officers.

Knowing this information, I wonder how many litter tickets have been issued in the last 12 months?

If our Commonwealth Litter Control Act were enforced, we would have a cleaner island. A cleaner island would benefit tourism and improve the quality of life for everyone who lives here.

I ask that the government enforce our litter laws so that people like me don't have to spend our weekends picking up other people's garbage. I also realize that the community and businesses are responsible and I ask that they stop littering and put pressure on those who do to stop.

Jacquelyn Johanna B. David
San Antonio, Saipan

Enforce anti-littering law

2009-03-17T12:47:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Letters to the Editor

all the restaurants in my stomach

2009-03-16T12:52:00.003-05:00

this list will be updated periodically.

2009

2008

2007
Cheonan, Korea - many meals of 감자탕 (pork-spine stew) with my Irish friend, Sean.
Busan, Korea - had 복(pufferfish) in a specialty restaurant, in a district of town with nothing but pufferfish restaurants. Also had one of the largest meals of my life, 회(Korean-style sashimi) at a place on Hyundae beach.
Fukuoka, Japan - had the Hakata ramen at some small 24-hour noodle place, and had the tortilla soup at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Manila, Philippines - had sizzling sisig at a small open-air place on Adriatico in Malate.

2006
Cebu, Philippines -

2005
Shenyang, China - was served 보신탕 at Korean restaurant. Also had an excellent Brazilian meal here... a definite plus was that the place brewed their own beer on the premises.

2004
Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands - had the Poke at Abyss, a seafood restaurant. I still dream about it at night (in a good way).

more on the way...

Saipan Is Ours (1944 newsreel)

2009-03-14T18:15:00.001-05:00

Preview or watch this Video as flash Stream:

http://blip.tv/file/1073365/

(1) "The War on Two Fronts - Saipan Island: An American
task force moves in on this strategic (Japanese) island
base within near bomber range of Tokyo's front yard.
After four days of naval and air bombardment the Marines
take over, suffering losses three times those at Tarawa,
but (Japanese) dead are more than ours and
they lose 700 planes."

(2) Deweys Meet The Press - Chicago, Ill.: Governor Dewey,
Republican candidate for President, holds his first
conference stressing his approval of the platform
and denying he will resign his office as governor.
Mrs. Dewey also meets the newspapermen saying she will
make no speeches and leave campaigning to her
husband."

(3) Women At War - "Anzio, Italy: Answering General
Mark Clark's call for more WACS in Italy, a fresh
contingent arrives at this Italian port and settle
into their new life quickly. Canadian CWACS and nurses
are on the job, also, aiding doctors and surgeons in
front line hospitals while under constant fire."

(4) Victory on Cherbourg Peninsula - "Allied troops
complete the conquest of the Cherbourg peninsula as
reinforcements are flown in by air. 26,000 German
prisoners were taken by the allies who either captured
or destroyed the greater part of their
equipment." (partial newsreel)

Preview or watch this Video as flash Stream:

http://blip.tv/file/1073365/

OR DOWNLOAD HERE:
http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/4634235/Saipan_Is_
Ours_1944_06_30_(1944)_ww2_newsreel.4634235.TPB.torrent

Saipan Is Ours (1944 newsreel)

2009-03-14T18:15:00.000-05:00

Preview or watch this Video as flash Stream:

http://blip.tv/file/1073365/

(1) "The War on Two Fronts - Saipan Island: An American
task force moves in on this strategic (Japanese) island
base within near bomber range of Tokyo's front yard.
After four days of naval and air bombardment the Marines
take over, suffering losses three times those at Tarawa,
but (Japanese) dead are more than ours and
they lose 700 planes."

(2) Deweys Meet The Press - Chicago, Ill.: Governor Dewey,
Republican candidate for President, holds his first
conference stressing his approval of the platform
and denying he will resign his office as governor.
Mrs. Dewey also meets the newspapermen saying she will
make no speeches and leave campaigning to her
husband."

(3) Women At War - "Anzio, Italy: Answering General
Mark Clark's call for more WACS in Italy, a fresh
contingent arrives at this Italian port and settle
into their new life quickly. Canadian CWACS and nurses
are on the job, also, aiding doctors and surgeons in
front line hospitals while under constant fire."

(4) Victory on Cherbourg Peninsula - "Allied troops
complete the conquest of the Cherbourg peninsula as
reinforcements are flown in by air. 26,000 German
prisoners were taken by the allies who either captured
or destroyed the greater part of their
equipment." (partial newsreel)

Preview or watch this Video as flash Stream:

http://blip.tv/file/1073365/

OR DOWNLOAD HERE:
http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/4634235/Saipan_Is_
Ours_1944_06_30_(1944)_ww2_newsreel.4634235.TPB.torrent

my Saturday afternoon

2009-03-14T18:04:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the old 'hood about an hour ago, then had some eggs & toast. I'm watching TV and trying to postpone cleaning - I should probably do some basic tidying-up before my roomie gets back from London tomorrow.

Is it springtime yet?

2009-03-14T13:36:00.000-05:00

I just heard an ice cream truck drive by the house. Odd seeing as it's only 44 degrees F (or 9 C).

In a few minutes I leave for the old neighborhood to do some filming with a childhood friend.

Photo of the day

2009-03-09T12:20:00.001-05:00

oleai's tacos
Originally uploaded by kevinv033™

Photo of the day

2009-03-09T12:20:00.000-05:00

oleai's tacos
Originally uploaded by kevinv033™

Picture of the day

2009-03-05T07:58:00.001-06:00

(modified) stop sign, Capitol Hill, 2004.

Picture of the day

2009-03-05T07:58:00.000-06:00

(modified) stop sign, Capitol Hill, 2004.

Picture of the day

2009-03-02T13:02:00.001-06:00

Taken from a balcony at Hotel Nikko, overlooking San Roque and part of Tanapag, late 2001.

Picture of the day

2009-03-02T13:02:00.000-06:00

Taken from a balcony at Hotel Nikko, overlooking San Roque and part of Tanapag, late 2001.

Battle Of Saipan (documentary)

2009-02-06T04:24:00.001-06:00

VISITING Saipan nowadays is like coming back to what was once a thriving civilization that had been destroyed and abandoned. This was according to Adam Yamaguchi, a television correspondent and producer at Current TV, a cable network founded by former Vice President Al Gore.

He visited the island recently to document the “rise and sudden collapse of a tiny piece of America.”The trailer for his documentary “The Battle of Saipan” is available online (above).

“Saipan is a nice place that I would pay a lot of my own money to visit, but Saipan is facing one of the fastest economic collapses in history,” Yamaguchi said in the trailer.

He added, “The present battle of Saipan is an economic one, and throughout the islands you can see the victims.”

He said many of the foreign workers who came to work for garment factories are now loitering the island, jobless and have no means to go home.

He said some factory workers have resorted to prostitution just to survive.

The Current Web site includes an excerpt from “The Battle of Saipan” showing Yamaguchi talking with guest workers now in the sex trade.

“Saipan used to have the best of both worlds — cheap labor to allow it to compete with the prices of garments in U.S. mainland manufacturers, and no quota on what it could ship to the mainland,” Yamaguchi said.

He added that a few years ago, 17,000 Chinese workers were making clothing in over three dozen garment factories, earning $3 an hour “which is just 60 percent of the minimum wage rate in the U.S. mainland,” Yamaguchi said.

All this ended when World Trade Organization rules took effect in 2005 following a 10-year transition period.

Now, garment factories in Third World countries, where labor is cheaper, can also export their apparel to the U.S. without quota restrictions.

“Once the ultimate globalization success story, the island of Saipan now faces one of the fastest economic collapses in history,” the Current Web site stated. “After suffering a harsh history of military struggles as well as a temporary economic boom after becoming a U.S. commonwealth, the island now stands devastated. Scores of factories remain empty, rotting shopping centers litter the country, and former factory workers turn to the sex industry for survival.” (Marianas Variety)

Battle Of Saipan (documentary)

2009-02-06T04:24:00.000-06:00

Some of my favorite pics on Flickr.com

2009-02-04T04:51:00.001-06:00

Some of my favorite pics on Flickr.com

2009-02-04T04:51:00.000-06:00

Is this a fire or a UFO?

2009-02-03T19:28:00.001-06:00

Seen in Google Earth's view of a house on Saipan, just south of the old Japanese jail (coordinates 15°11'56.18"N 145°43'7.39"E).

Or view here on Google Maps.

Is this a fire or a UFO?

2009-02-03T19:28:00.000-06:00

Seen in Google Earth's view of a house on Saipan, just south of the old Japanese jail (coordinates 15°11'56.18"N 145°43'7.39"E).

Or view here on Google Maps.

Google drops Saipan from satellite view in Maps

2009-02-03T17:49:00.001-06:00

If you look at the above image I snapped from Google Maps, you will see that Saipan and Tinian are no longer visible in Google Maps' satellite view, except as silhouettes, while Guam is clearly visible. It seems like in their haste to map the bottom of the ocean floor, they forgot about some of the islands as well. The islands also do not appear on the map. They ARE however available on the terrain view....

View Larger Map

In other news, work on my novel, "Invisible Island" is going along "swimmingly" (pun intended).

Google drops Saipan from satellite view in Maps

2009-02-03T17:49:00.000-06:00

2009-01-28T12:19:00.001-06:00

2009-01-28T12:19:00.000-06:00

Staying put as Gustav bears down

2008-08-31T23:03:00.000-05:00

Some Britons living in and around New Orleans have decided to ignore orders to evacuate from the path of hurricane Gustav.

James Lewis, 38, originally from London, is landlord of the Crown and Anchor English pub in New Orleans. He says he is determined not to see a repeat of the looting that destroyed his business after hurricane Katrina.

JAMES LEWIS, 38, LANDLORD CROWN AND ANCHOR PUB

I just have a lot of friends here in the neighbourhood who are staying and the pub is a community centre for the neighbourhood.

[Last time] I was forced by a friend to leave at the last minute - I wasn't going to. We snuck back in as soon as [hurricane] Rita had passed. That was three weeks afterwards and it looked like the day afterwards.

The ceilings were down, no roof, the kitchen wall was halfway down the street and the damage and destruction done by the looters. I'd only bought the pub a month before.

All the booze was gone, the place was pretty much wide open, so people just helped themselves.

Make sure you've got a hammer or an axe or a crowbar, you know, the usual stuff

We're all very prepared here, it's the old adage - prepare for the worst, hope for the best. We're not a bunch of idiots staying here.

Make sure that you've got food, water, ice packs in the freezer, board up the windows, make sure you remove any debris so that it doesn't turn into flying debris.

Make sure you've got a hammer or an axe or a crowbar, you know, the usual stuff, to make sure if the water goes up dramatically you are not stuck in the roof.

But err on the side of caution of course - particularly if you are going to be by yourself, absolutely, get out, don't be the only idiot staying there.

[There is a real] nervous energy, you could feel it start to go up last night in the pub. Everyone runs on adrenaline for the next four days.

Of course I don't actually enjoy it, you would have to be psychotic to be like that, my psychologist would come over and give me a smack if I said that.

But we've got a wonderful community here, everybody pulled together as a community and stuck our heads down.

I opened up within 24 hours of being back, and we were packed for a month afterwards with first response and National Guard, we met some wonderful people.

What would make me leave? I'm not sure. I'm a bit stubborn like that. I really don't know. This is my life.

Mr Lewis said his pub's website would be made available as a message board during the hurricane.

A note from the allllllllllllrighty then! dept.

2008-07-17T19:20:00.000-05:00

Mark Twain: Our Original Superstar

2008-07-06T01:06:00.000-05:00

By ROY BLOUNT JR.

What, if anything, about this benighted moment of American life will anyone in the future look back on with nostalgia? Well, those of us who have cable are experiencing a golden age of sarcasm (from the Greek sarkazein, "to chew the lips in rage"). Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher and Keith Olbermann are digging into our direst forebodings so adroitly and intensely that we may want to cry, "Stop tickling!" Forget earnest punditry. In a world of hollow White House pronouncements, evaporating mainstream media and metastasizing bloggery, it's the mocking heads who make something like sense.

Let not those heads swell, however. News in the form of edgy drollery may seem a brave new thing, but it can all be traced back to one source, the man Ernest Hemingway said all of modern American literature could be traced back to: Mark Twain. Oh, that old cracker-barrel guy, you may say. White suit, cigar, reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated--but he died back in 1910, no? White, male, and didn't he write in dialect? What does he have to do with the issues of our day?

As it happens, many of these were also the issues of his day, and he addressed them as eloquently as anyone has since. The idea that America is a Christian nation? Andrew Carnegie brought that up to him once. "Why, Carnegie," Twain answered, "so is Hell."

What about those Abu Ghraib photographs? In "King Leopold's Soliloquy," a fulminating essay he published in 1905, when he was a very cantankerous 70, Twain imagines the ruler of Belgium pitying himself for the inconvenience of photos showing natives of the Congo whose hands have been cut off by Belgian exploiters. In the good old days, Leopold complains, he could deny atrocities and be believed. "Then all of a sudden came the crash! That is to say, the incorruptible Kodak--and all the harmony went to hell! The only witness I have encountered in my long experience that I couldn't bribe."

Waterboarding? In 1902, American soldiers were involved in a war to suppress rebels in the Philippines, which the U.S. had taken from Spain in the Spanish-American War, then decided to keep for itself instead of granting the Filipinos the independence they thought they had been promised. That outcome enraged Twain. So did "the torturing of Filipinos by the awful 'water-cure.'"

"To make them confess--what?" Twain asked. "Truth? Or lies? How can one know which it is they are telling? For under unendurable pain a man confesses anything that is required of him, true or false, and his evidence is worthless."

Whether Twain was talking about racism at home, the foreign misadventures of the Western powers or the excesses of the era of greed he initially flourished in after the Civil War, his target was always human folly and hypocrisy, which turn out to be perennial topics for further study.

Here he is in Letters from the Earth, speaking in the voice of Satan commenting on the strangeness of man's ways: "He has imagined a heaven, and has left entirely out of it the supremest of all his delights ... sexual intercourse! It is as if a lost and perishing person in a roasting desert should be told by a rescuer he might choose and have all longed-for things but one, and he should elect to leave out water!"

Strong stuff, especially when it's funny. Sometimes unsettling too. But the man who said those things came from America's heart. Mark Twain, who was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, grew up on the nation's literal main stream, the Mississippi River, in Hannibal, Mo. Having failed to find a ship that would take him to South America and the fortune he proposed to make from coca, by the age of 23 he had become a Mississippi-steamboat pilot. It was a job he held just briefly, but the memory of the river, its enchantments and dangers, found its way years later into his most powerful book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It also found its way into his pen name. Mark Twain, the name he began to write under in 1863, was a river man's term meaning a depth of two fathoms, or 12 ft. (3.7 m).

When the Civil War broke out, Twain may have briefly entertained pro-Union sentiments but at length decided to serve with a ragtag bunch of Confederate irregulars. After a couple of weeks, "hunted like a rat the whole time," he thought better of that commitment and, as Huck Finn did, lit out for the territory. This territory was Nevada and California, where he prospected for silver without luck and practiced scurrilous journalism and general drunkardry with zest.

Twain first came to national attention in 1865, when he published a comical short story in dialect, which was eventually titled The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. ("You never see a frog so modest and straightfor'ard as he was, for all he was so gifted.") It appeared in newspapers all across the country, was received as a whole new kind of hilariousness and made him famous. "At the close of the Civil War, Americans were ready for a good cleansing laugh, untethered to bitter political argument," writes Twain's recent, so far definitive biographer, Ron Powers. And at least in this first moment of his fame, that's what Twain gave them.

In the career as an audience-convulsing lecturer that grew out of that first small triumph, Twain would become, as Powers puts it, "the nation's first rock star." We know his voice only from written descriptions of it. It was resonant enough to hold a large lecture-hall audience rapt. He spoke in a slow backwoods drawl, with many strategic pauses. In 1891 he experimented with an Edison dictating machine but concluded that "you can't write literature with it." (He liked to have a human secretary taking notes and laughing in the right places.) But he wasn't the sort of funny man who laughs at his own jokes. In performance and in life, Twain's facial expression--except, presumably, when he was furious, which was often--was deadpan. After Twain's death, the editor of the North American Review recalled that he had known him for 30 years and never seen him laugh.

In the first flush of success, Twain began work on a travel book, The Innocents Abroad, that would bring him sizable amounts of money. In that book he simultaneously took on the pretensions of Europe and the spectacle of a bunch of comical American tourists, including himself, making a sustained encounter with an Old World that was never quite as impressive as it was supposed to be.

Travel writing was lucrative, but novels were what serious literary men were expected to produce, and from the start Twain longed to be taken seriously, to be regarded as more than "merely" a humorist. So by 1873 he had rolled out his first novel, The Gilded Age, which he co-wrote with a Connecticut journalist, Charles Dudley Warner. With that book's title, Twain gave the post--Civil War era, a time of boundless greed and opportunism, the name it still has and that it shares, in some quarters, with the era we seem to be willy-nilly emerging from.

Once Twain found his calling as a writer and lecturer, success came quickly and abundantly. He may have been a critic of the Gilded Age, but he wasn't shy about taking on the trappings of a successful man. When the publishing royalties came pouring in, he built in Hartford, Conn., a big, ornate, financially burdensome house in a style that's been called "steamboat Gothic." It has been fully open to the public since 1974, but recently it has run into serious financial difficulties. A few years ago the group that maintains the house added an expensive visitors' center. Now it can't afford the upkeep, and there's a danger that the house will have to close.

To be honest, it's a spooky place--his favorite daughter died there, ranting and raving--and all the more worth preserving for that. I played billiards there once, on Mark Twain's table, with Garrison Keillor on his radio show. (Radio is a good medium for billiards because you can lie about how many balls you are sinking.) This is not the first time the house has been threatened by debt. That happened in 1891. Back then it was due to Twain's irrational exuberance. He had set up his own publishing company, which flourished for a while but eventually went under. Even before it failed, the Clemenses were compelled to leave the house and go traveling. (In those days, believe it or not, Americans could live less expensively in Europe than at home.) Then their finances got even worse. A marvelous new kind of typesetting machine that Twain had pumped a fortune into had ultimately proved unworkable. Eventually he owed creditors about $100,000, or roughly 2 million of today's poor excuses for dollars.

But Twain declined to let his admirers organize a relief fund. He resolved to make enough money himself, writing and lecturing, to pay back every cent. "Honor is a harder master than the law," he said, sounding considerably more righteous than usual. But it was actually his wife, supported by Henry H. Rogers, an otherwise ruthless Standard Oil exec who had volunteered to manage Twain's money, who insisted he not take an easier way out.

Twain mostly stayed abroad for the rest of the 1890s, establishing his celebrity in Europe and touring the world, making speeches and gathering material for his final, largely acerbic travel book, Following the Equator. When he returned to the U.S. in 1900, the Gilded Age was fading, but America was throwing its weight around internationally. Now Twain was not only solvent again but much in vogue--"The most conspicuous person on the planet," if he did say so himself. The renewed snap in the old boy's garters resounded around the world, as he took stands on American politics that, as his biographer Powers puts it, "beggared the Democrats' timidity and the Republicans' bombast."

The Spanish-American War of 1898 had met with Twain's initial approval because he believed that the U.S. was indeed selflessly bringing freedom to Cuba by helping it throw off the yoke of Spain. But the Eagle had also taken the Philippines as a possession, and by 1899 was waging war against Filipinos who were trying to establish a republic. "Why, we have got into a mess," Twain told the Chicago Tribune, "a quagmire from which each fresh step renders the difficulty of extrication immensely greater." The contemporary ring of that assessment is heightened by statistics. By 1902, when Philippine independence had been pretty much squelched, more than 200,000 Filipino civilians had been killed, along with 4,200 Americans.

As Twain got older and was beset by personal tragedies like the death of his beloved daughter Susy, his view of mankind grew darker. He once told his friend William Dean Howells that "the remorseless truth" in his work was generally to be found "between the lines, where the author-cat is raking dust upon it which hides from the disinterested spectator neither it nor its smell." But in 1900, when he could no longer stomach the foreign adventures of the Western powers, he came right out and called a pile of it a pile of it. In the previous year or two, Germany and Britain had seized portions of China, the British had also pursued their increasingly nasty war against the Boers in South Africa, and the U.S. had been suppressing that rebellion in the Philippines. In response, Twain published in the New York Herald a brief, bitter "Salutation-Speech from the Nineteenth Century to the Twentieth."

"I bring you the stately matron named Christendom," he wrote, "returning bedraggled, besmirched and dishonored from pirate-raids in Kiao-Chow, Manchuria, South Africa and the Philippines, with her soul full of meanness, her pocket full of boodle, and her mouth full of pious hypocrisies. Give her soap and a towel, but hide the looking-glass."

Later that year he published a long essay in the North American Review. It was called "To the Person Sitting in Darkness." The title was a biblical reference. The people in darkness were the unconverted, who had yet to see the blessed light. In fact, Twain pointed out, the problem was that they were seeing things too clearly. After years of exposure to Western colonialism, "the People Who Sit in Darkness ... have become suspicious of the Blessings of Civilization. More--they have begun to examine them. This is not well. The Blessings of Civilization are all right, and a good commercial property; there could not be a better, in a dim light ... and at a proper distance, with the goods a little out of focus."

The new century did nothing to improve his disposition. In 1901, U.S. President William McKinley was assassinated. His successor was Theodore Roosevelt, McKinley's 42-year-old Vice President, a blustery hero of the Spanish-American War whom Twain regarded as heedlessly adventurous in his foreign policy. "The Tom Sawyer of the political world of the 20th century," he called Roosevelt. Of course, Twain had been a great deal like Tom himself--as a boy, and as a man for that matter--but that was before becoming the conscience of a nation, "the representative, and prophetic, voice of principled American dissent," as his biographer Powers puts it.

Shortly after becoming President, Roosevelt made news by declaring, out of the blue, that "In God We Trust" should be removed from U.S. coins because they "carried the name of God into improper places." Twain responded, in conversation with Carnegie, that "In God We Trust" was a fine motto, "simple, direct, gracefully phrased; it always sounds well--In God We Trust. I don't believe it would sound any better if it were true."

Religiosity prevailed in Twain's era but not in his heart. Though one of his closest friends, Joseph Twichell, was a minister, Twain derided religions--Christianity, in particular--and the notion of a benevolent deity. His strongest written sacrileges were not published, however, until well after his death. He was a more interesting disbeliever in some ways than today's Bill Maher or Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens, who readily dismiss religion as inflammatory nonsense. Twain, who was full of inflammatory nonsense, could appreciate the indigenous blessednesses he encountered around the world. Stopping in Benares, India, "the sacredest of sacred cities," Twain discovered that "Hindoos" venerate flower-garlanded phallic stones with enormous gusto, which led him to muse on the durability of the impulse to believe. "Inasmuch as the life of religion is in the heart, not the head," he observed, religions are hardy. "Many a time we have gotten all ready for the funeral" of one faith or another, "and found it postponed again, on account of the weather or something."

What put Twain off about religion was its bossiness and its alignment with corrupt community values that people--those standing to profit--insisted on calling a higher power. The very expression "moral sense" made him curl his lip. He denounced his own conscience, which frowned upon his anarchic instincts, his love of enjoyment, and made him feel guilty and rebellious.

The pivotal moment in Huckleberry Finn is when Huck decides not to do what his conscience tells him is right, to turn in "Miss Watson's Jim" as a runaway slave. Instead, he decides to abide by his personal affection for Jim, although the upshot will be, according to all he has been taught, eternal damnation for violating the norms of society and its view that a slave is the rightful property of its owner.

As Twain became increasingly angry over the years, less the jester and more the Jeremiah, there was grumbling in some quarters that he had been better when he was funnier. (You could call this the Woody Allen problem.) The New York Times accused him of "tumbling in among us from the clouds of exile and discarding the grin of the funny man for the sour visage of the austere moralist."

The Times had a point. As a social critic, Twain was most enjoyable when he followed his natural humorous tendency to denounce folly and iniquity in all directions. This is what he was doing in Following the Equator when he wrote, "All the territorial possessions of all the political establishments in the earth--including America, of course--consist of pilferings from other people's wash. No tribe, however insignificant, and no nation, howsoever mighty, occupies a foot of land that was not stolen. When the English, the French, and the Spaniards reached America, the Indian tribes had been raiding each other's territorial clothes-lines for ages, and every acre of ground in the continent had been stolen and restolen 500 times."

Try rallying a cause with that. Then there's the long essay Twain produced in 1901, "The United States of Lyncherdom." This is not a single-minded polemic. It registers the horror of lynchings but also undertakes to empathize with people who attended them. Their motivation, Twain argued, is not inhuman viciousness but "man's commonest weakness, his aversion to being unpleasantly conspicuous, pointed at, shunned, as being on the unpopular side. Its other name is Moral Cowardice, and is the commanding feature of the make-up of 9,999 men in the 10,000 ..."

As a remedy, Twain proposed, tongue in cheek, that sheriffs might be dispatched to communities where a lynching was about to take place. If they could rally enough citizens to oppose the hideous deed, that would make the anti-lynching position the new conventional wisdom that everyone would flock to conform to. But a problem--where to find enough sheriffs? Why not draft them from among the Christian missionaries spreading the malady of Western civilization in China? (Missionaries were a favorite target for Twain.) In China, he told his readers, "almost every convert runs a risk of catching our civilization ... We ought to think twice before we encourage a risk like that; for, once civilized, China can never be uncivilized again ... O compassionate missionary, leave China! come home and convert these Christians!"

There is something upsetting, off-balancing, about "The United States of Lyncherdom" that has kept it alive all these years. It's against lynching, all right, but it seems to take more of an interest in being against righteousness. It makes you wonder whether you yourself, possibly, or let's say your grandmother, might have appeared, smiling, in a photograph of a lynch mob. And just as you're about to block out that queasiness, Twain slams in a snippet of what a particularly despicable lynching (in Texas, as it happened) was like. Oh, God. (The man was slow-roasted to death over a coal-oil fire.) And then, when he starts taking off on the missionaries? I don't know that I want to express this opinion. But there's no getting around it: it's funny.

Not only was "The United States of Lyncherdom" politically incorrect, it still is. It blames one of the most shameful aspects of American history on moral correctness, the herd mentality that prevailed among Americans who regarded themselves as right thinking. Twain decided that the country, or at least his readership, was not ready for that essay. It wasn't published until 1923, when Twain's literary executor slipped it, hedgily edited, into a posthumous collection. Not until 2000 did it appear in its original form, and then in an obscure, scholarly publication. It takes a genius to strike the funny bone in a way that can still smart nearly 100 years later. The nation's highest official accolade for comedy is the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which will be awarded this November to the late George Carlin--another man whose commentary grew bleaker and more biting in his last years. But old Mark, unvarnished, might be too hot for cable, even, today.

Blount has written introductions for six editions of Twain's work. His next book, Alphabet Juice, will be published in October by Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Quotes about Larry Norman

2008-03-18T20:13:00.000-05:00

Randy Stonehill:

"I knew Larry Norman perhaps better than anyone, yet to this day I'm not sure that I really understood him completely. For as brilliant and insightful as Larry was, I'm not sure that he understood himself completely. This issue became apparent in the way he consistently seemed to "derail" relationships through out his life. Larry is the man who introduced me to Jesus. He led me to the door of eternal life, and for that singular priceless gift I am eternally in his debt. In my relationship with Larry, I experienced the beauty of brotherhood, the richness of creative collaboration, the mystery of human brokenness, and ultimately the overshadowing wings of God's all encompassing grace. After 20 years of friction and distance between us that began around 1980, Larry and I realized that what united us in Christ was far greater than what had separated us in our personal frailty and pride. We worked together on the re-issue of the "Welcome to Paradise" recording and talked and laughed together over the phone from our respective homes in Seal Beach California and Salem Oregon. We stood together onstage for what would be the last time at the Cornerstone Festival in July of 2001 and it felt to me like being home. Then he "disappeared" into the mist. I wrote it off to the busy pace of life and his consuming health problems but I still couldn't help but scratch my chin and wonder. He graciously agreed to sing with me on my song, "We Were All So Young", for the "Edge of The World" project in 2003. We accomplished that performance process long distance through computer technology. Then he was silent again. I had hoped that in these last years we might continue to build on our recent reconciliation and even get together for some song writing and recording, sharing what we had learned about life and about our craft to offer something better than ever to the world. Death is so final..We are out of time, at least in this life. No more conversations, No more plans, No more songs. It's a strange sorrow that leaves you feeling hollow, like someone knocked the wind out of you. The light of hope, however, that lifts my spirit is the knowledge that Larry's profound contribution to the work of God's Kingdom is eternal and that his struggles with his own demons is over."

Glenn Kaiser, Resurrection Band:

The two most influential comets that ever passed through my spiritual music solar system were Larry Norman and Keith Green. I mention Keith because in for me, he and Larry are the Christian musical "giants" in terms of real impact.

We lost Larry this past week. I knew him fairly well. Suffice it to say he was (in my view, only exceeded by Bruce Cockburn) the finest spiritual-core lyricist we have had. Keith was a personal friend and peer.

Larry was like many of us, a character who had his own temptations and often made rash, avoidable choices that I'm trusting the grace of God is sufficient for.

Perhaps Larry was more the direct evangelist, Keith the reformer of the Christian music scene. We needed and need a lot more of both.

They rankled a good many people for a good many reasons- but Keith's focus on holiness was huge.

Larry was in many ways a California loner. In any case, I trust he's home and I expect his long and deep impact, very different but in some ways similar to Keith's, will continue to inspire and haunt us in good ways.

Larry simply rocked when almost no other Jesus music person or band did. My fave lyrics of his are probably "The Beatles sang 'all you need is love'... and then then they broke up" and "You say we beat the Russians to the moon and I say you starved your children to do it". In-your-face realities that just didn't "edify" Christian hit radio, In the day, this the stuff I was so inspired by.

The need/lack of genuine, on-going accountability was and is in my view, the source of many troubles in -any one's- life, and there were times when my hero's surely could have sought, used and benefited with more of it. But I'm truly glad God shared them with us for I and many others learned and will continue to learn a great deal from them both.

Julio Rey, The Lead:

Larry Norman died on Sunday.

To many Christians who like their rock and roll with lyrics relevant to their lives he was Dylan, the Beatles, and the Stones rolled into one.

If not for him, I may never have pursued music in any serious way.

My school friend Al (he of Las Ovejas Electricas and King James and the Concordances) turned me on to Larry Norman's In Another Land back in early 1979.

I'd been writing songs and 'playing guitar' since 1974 and I'd been a Christian since 1977. It was that record which prompted me to write only lyrics with specific Christian themes and start thinking about getting them out (throw in a stylistic commitment to punk/new wave via the Clash in 1980 and a little Resurrection Band at an outdoor show in the 305 later that year and my path was all set).

I had heard and welcomed rock songs with Christian themes since I was 10 (in 1970). But as I got better acquainted with the Bible I realized there wasn't much true Christianity in things like Godspell.

In Another Land was a ... revelation: the music was uncompromising and eclectic and the message was true to the Bible and heartfelt. It was, and remains, a great rock and roll record. And, as I found out, this was a rarity in the growing racks of vinyl for sale at the Bible Center.

That Larry was a true artist was confirmed when Al gave me Something New Under The Son in 1981. Recorded in 1976, it remained unreleased for 5 years because Word Records deemed it too controversial.

Which inevitably and unfortunately meant that this was another great record: with its hardscrabble blues and Jon Linn's wall-of-sludge guitar, Larry had made Christianity's answer to Exile On Main Street.

Especially impactful was a willingness to face up to the Bad Things In Life in songs like Hard Luck Bad News and the chilling I Feel Like Dying.

But what impresses the most about Something New was its turning away from the prog-rock excesses rampant in the mid-Seventies (and present but employed with taste in In Another Land) and getting back to basics at about the same time punk was germinating. I can only imagine the impact this record might have had if it had been released when it was meant to be released.

In the mid-80s I got on Larry's mailing list and ordered three of his older albums to fill out my collection: Upon This Rock (1969), Only Visiting This Planet (1972), and So Long Ago The Garden (1974). Each one was a delight in its own way, If you don't know about them, that's why God made Google.

When the church band I was in played a rock set as a 4-piece in 1982, one of the songs we played was the Chuck Berry-esque Let The Tape Keep Rolling from Something New.

Later that year, I named my first real rock band the Visitors after Larry's 1972 album.

Born To Be Unlucky, also from Something New, was rehearsed by the Lead when we were starting out in the summer of 1984.

My fondest memory of the four trips I made with bands to Cornerstone Festival was meeting Larry in 1990. He wasn't performing. He was selling some white-labelled vinyl and drawing a cartoon version of himself with a Sharpie on each one.

I was with my friend Mark Eastman who ran VTO Records (of the Lead cassette rereleases). He knew Larry. I asked Mark to introduce me to him.

We exchanged pleasantries with me hemming and hawing about what his work meant to me. Stuff he'd probably heard about a couple of thousand times at least but I had to tell him anyway. Then he asked me:

"What kind of music do you play?'

So I told him "hardcore and thrash."

And then, to my surprise, I got hugged by Larry Norman.

Have fun, Larry. See you in another land.

Larry Norman, 'The Father Of Christian Rock' Passes Away

2008-02-25T19:24:00.000-06:00


Monday, February 25, 2008 Source: CMSpin

Larry Norman 4/8/47 - 2/24/08

Larry's amazing amount of dedication and work throughout his life is a testiment to his love for his Maker. He will be missed but a celebration of his life can live on through the vast collection of his music. For those new to Christian music, you owe it to yourself to discover what is the Larry Norman legacy.

Here is a letter posted on www.larrynorman.com by his brother Charles detailing the events:

________________________________

Our friend and my wonderful brother Larry passed away at 2:45 Sunday morning. Kristin and I were with him, holding his hands and sitting in bed with him when his heart finally slowed to a stop. We spent this past week laughing, singing, and praying with him, and all the while he had us taking notes on new song ideas and instructions on how to continue his ministry and art.

Several of his friends got to come and visit with him in the last couple of weeks and were a great source of help and friendship to Larry. Ray Sievers, Derek Robertson, Mike Makinster, Tim and Christine Gilman, Matt and Becky Simmons, Kerry Hopkins, Allen Fleming and a few more. Thank you guys. Larry appreciated your visits very much. And he greatly appreciated the thoughts, wishes, support and prayers that came from all of you Solid Rock friends on a daily basis. Thank you for being part of his small circle of friends over the years. Yesterday afternoon he knew he was going to go home to God very soon and he dictated the following message to you while his friend Allen Fleming typed these words into Larry's computer:

________________________________

I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.

My brother Charles is right, I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have generously supported me with prayer and finance and we will probably still need financial help.

My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside. But still it will be costly because of funeral arrangement, transportation to the gravesite, entombment, coordination, legal papers etc. However money is not really what I need, I want to say I love you.

I'd like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be a funeral posted here on the website, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.

Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again
Somewhere beyond the sky.
I pray that you will stay with God
Goodbye, my friends, goodbye.

Larry
________________________________________

Thank you to all of you who were so nice to my brother over the years. Kristin and I will post funeral information in the next day or two. Right now we're not able to function very well, but the whole family is here... our mother Margaret, our sisters Nancy and Kristy, Mike Norman and his new wife Tiffany, and Silver.

We miss him beyond words. Thank you for everything.

Peace to you all in Christ,
Charles Norman

Larry in the hospital recently (Feb/2008):

Here I am, talking about Jesus just the same: Larry Norman at 60

2008-02-25T19:20:00.000-06:00

Philip Cooney / 30th January 2008

Larry Norman turned 60 in 2007, and with two biographies due to be released, it may be timely to reflect on the life of the person dubbed “the Father of Jesus Rock”. Mention of Larry Norman may draw a blank response from those under 40, although he influenced the thinking of contemporary artists like U2 and many of those working in Christian or Gospel music today. For those over 40, Norman's name may bring back memories of the long blond hair, the controversial lyrics, and the question posed by the classic song, “Why should the devil have all the good music?”

Soul survivor

The more appropriate question for some baby boomers familiar with the albums Upon This RockOnly Visiting This Planet might be “Whatever happened to Larry Norman?” There is no doubt that the biographies will reveal more detail, but Norman suffered a bi-polar trauma (where messages from the left and right hemispheres of his brain didn't connect properly) after being struck on the head during a heavy aeroplane landing in 1978. This hindered him both creatively, and in the management of his record label and agency. Incidents with staff and disagreements with artists and distributors (which, Norman says, undermined the integrity of his ministry) led to him closing down his operation in America and moving to Europe for several years. or

Norman did continue writing and performing during the 1980s, often using printed lyrics to help his unreliable memory—an aid widely used these days by performers. In 1988, Norman claims that he and his brother were poisoned while on tour in Russia. Just years after recovering from that incident, in 1992, Norman suffered the first of a series of major heart attacks that have gradually restricted his live performances. (His medical experiences present a strong case study for the benefit of the type of universal health care that exists in the UK and Australia.) In the past few years, his eyesight has also begun to deteriorate.

Recently, like an elder statesman releasing his memoirs, Norman has spent his time remastering and releasing a large number of retrospective albums and collectors' editions. Many of his rare concert appearances of the past few years are also available on DVD. These present a frank portrayal of his physical decline. They also reveal someone who is still ready to share his life with his audience, but who is, at times, irascible when the audience seem more interested in entertainment rather than exhortation.¹

Norman's personal life has also been difficult. Apart from his debilitating illnesses, he has been through two divorces, and has experienced broken friendships with some fellow musicians. Norman has, nonetheless, raised the son from his second marriage, and, with the support of his family and friends, has continued to record when possible, run his Solid Rock label, and provide an insightful commentary on the relevance of the gospel to life in the 21st century. Norman's faithfulness through these various trials should be an encouragement to us Christians. However, the apparently troubled nature of his life has fuelled speculation about his faith—already rife because of his music. Moreover, his apparent reluctance to be identified with the established church has also created doubt about his place as spokesman for Christianity. The complex imagery in his songs, his interpretation of some Biblical themes, and the difficulty in determining when Norman is speaking from personal experience—especially in songs about loneliness, despair and doubt—have only served to support the criticism of Norman from some quarters.

In retrospect, it is sometimes easier to see the veracity in Norman's observations about the priorities of some churches, the consistency of his vision and ministry, and his faithful obedience to and proclamation of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, no matter what the circumstances. It is Norman's role as an evangelist, exhorter, encourager and sometime troublemaker that this article seeks to explore.

Righteous rocker

In the 1975 manifesto for his label, Solid Rock, Norman summarized what he saw as the relationship between contemporary musical styles and the gospel. 30 years later, many of the observations retain their potency:

Music has become the second language of the youth. It has the power to lead or mislead. Just as it once influenced the misdirection of youth into drugs and campus revolution, it can be (and is being) used to proclaim in a modern tongue a message that is almost 2,000 years old.

Today, Christian writers ... are redefining the cultural context of Christian music and often find themselves facing the same resistance that Luther, Watts, Booth, and others have had to face. Innovation and creative direction are not always appreciated, because they are both often misunderstood. But the critics of modern Christian music should keep in mind that today's young Christians may be writing the hymns of tomorrow.²

One of the problems for the church establishment was that Norman did not seem to be writing hymns. Not only was the music rock, the words were full of strange images or open references to subjects such as sex and drugs, and he often failed to “name the name” of Jesus. In understanding the reasons for this, it becomes easier to see that Norman was using principles that are still important for Christians today.

Norman is one who saw the society around him in the USA not as a bastion of Christian morality, nor as an enemy to be shunned, but as a cross-cultural mission field. The use of Jesus' command “ Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15), and the image of the ‘agape’ mouth containing the cross of Calvary on his record sleeves make this clear. Like all those who are serious about mission, he tested God's call, prepared through Bible study and prayer, made sure that he understood the gospel, and chose to speak in a language that would be understood by those he sought to reach in Jesus' name. Norman displayed a sympathetic understanding of that unchurched culture, but an equally strong desire not to compromise the integrity of the gospel.

Why don't you look into Jesus?

Many of his songs were written during a period of street evangelism firstly around his home neighbourhood of Haight-Ashbury, which had become synonymous with California's hippie and drug culture, and later along Hollywood Boulevard in the heart of Los Angeles. Norman's songs often contain a series of self-contained vignettes that (he hoped) would give the passers-by something to think about, or that might hook them in to hear more of the gospel message. The audience for these songs was not those already saved, it was those to whom church was a foreign language. He understood the ability of music to get behind people's gates, to draw them in with a beautiful melody and good words, to make people drop their defensive position to the gospel—even if for a short time—and allow God to speak to them in that moment.

Norman recognized the gospel music roots of rock 'n roll. His family attended a church in the poor, black neighbourhood of San Francisco where they lived. He understood that the power of rock music came from its gospel roots; he was merely reclaiming it for Jesus. He also understood the search for meaning that was being undertaken by the musicians and their audience through both the music and the attendant lifestyle. Steve Turner highlights Norman's understanding of the search for redemption in the rock context. He notes that Norman's trilogy of albums from the 1970s unfold the story of redemption from Fall (So Long Ago the Garden) through this life (Only Visiting This Planet) to paradise (In Another Land).³

Jim Peterson, in his book Church Without Walls, defines the role of God's people as being Christ's witnesses to the world; living among our unbelieving neighbours, serving them, revealing Christ to them; and using whatever we have to serve God by serving our brothers and sisters and the unbeliever. Peterson later outlines what he sees as the requirements for mission: rapport, comprehension, relevance to life and “colaborship [sic]” (or encouraging the hearers to tell others).⁴ Norman's songs sought to have a relevance to life on the street, establishing a rapport with the musical and social culture around him, and leading his listeners to look to Jesus for the answers in their search for meaning.

Norman's attitude, like that of Cliff Richard, is that if you're a Christian, every part of your life is given in obedience to God:

Every song, whether it mentions love, if it mentions sex, if it mentions culture, politics, drugs, anything, it's a Christian song if you're letting what you know about Jesus really come through. You don't have to relate it to Scripture or anything, but your attitude should be coloured. God should have blinded you to your original vision and given you a view through Christ and now everything you think or do is a Christian act, a Christian thought.⁵

This brings us to another aspect of Norman's stage performance: his humour. Years before Adrian Plass, Norman was using humour to highlight the unseen obstacle that church culture can be to believers and non-believers alike. He used humour in the same way as his music—to break down barriers and encourage people to think critically about their own attitudes and beliefs.

Weight of the world

A heart for the gospel together with a desire for people to hear the gospel forms the foundation of Norman's ministry. In obedience to Jesus' commands, he seeks to reach out and show God's love to the poor and the marginalized. The teaching of the church about issues such as homosexuality and abortion is often interpreted as hatred by those involved in these practices. Norman doesn't condone these practices but seeks to demonstrate God's love in the way he addresses these people.

He is well aware of the sin of bitterness towards those who dilute or pervert the true message of salvation with wrong priorities, liberal theology and sinful actions. His desire to demonstrate God's love leads him to repent of the anger he may feel against such people. He seeks to remain obedient to the Lord through Bible study, prayer and being open to the leading of the Spirit. However, his desire to be faithful to the Bible's teaching also leads him to speak openly of the hypocrisy he observed in institutional churches and, decades before Bono, to offer commentary on political and world issues such as injustice, racism and poverty.

I am a servant

For someone working in an industry that is built on ego and image, his constant exhortation to die daily to self—to remain close to Christ and to allow him to lead you in every aspect of your life—is confronting. His uneasy relationship with both the secular and Christian music industries is testament to his desire to follow God rather than chase popular chart success or build a financially successful career. Even his audiences have found his demeanour disconcerting at times. There was the concern that Norman didn't smile on stage, or that he spent too much time talking to his audience rather than singing. Then there were the times when he would stop altogether, seeking God's direction about which song to sing, what message to give, and how that message should be told—gently or firmly:

Now on stage a lot of times I'm quiet and people come back stage and ask me, “What was the matter? How come you're so quiet?” ... I'm listening—that's why. I want to know what to do. I'm not waiting for a big sign or a finger to come down and point to people who aren't saved—I'm just listening. I'm listening for my own voice to stop and for God's to become more clear, because I certainly have a lot of ideas of my own, but I don't trust my own ideas.⁶

For someone who has spent most of his life championing the claim of those involved in music ministry to spiritual and financial support from fellow believers (1 Cor 9:3-12, 1 Tim 5:17-18), speaking against bootlegging, internet downloads and other forms of music piracy, it is perhaps surprising that Norman is critical of the modern Praise and Worship movement and the operation of CCLI. The modern hymn writers he was at pains to shield from criticism some 30 years ago are now being questioned by Norman for becoming part of a multi-national Praise and Worship industry, producing manufactured rather than genuine praise. This criticism is, perhaps, even more confusing when it is known that the Vineyard Church, one of the leaders in Praise and Worship music, is said to have begun as a Bible Study at Norman's house. Norman asks why a song written as an act of worship should remain the lucrative copyright property of the composer and not the property of the one to whom it is being offered—God:

God doesn't charge us a fee to worship Him. Isn't it enough that the publisher and writer make money from the CD sales? Do they also have to be paid every time a congregation sings their song? They also get paid for the sheet music which choirs use to memorize their compositions. Isn't that enough money?⁷

On the other hand, this may be seen as further evidence of Norman's long-standing criticism of the commercialization of the gospel music industry. Perhaps what this issue does is to highlight the single driving motivation in Norman's life to surrender all in obedience to Christ. He, like the first disciples, has willingly given up everything to follow Jesus (Matt 19:27-30). At one point in the 1960s, he not only gave up a successful music career, he gave up music altogether as a sacrifice to God, feeling that his street preaching was more effective than his musical performances. It took what he considered a very clear leading from God to bring him back to music, but it was music that would be uncompromising in its desire to offer to God excellence, and uncompromising in its proclamation of the gospel of hope, grace and love. During his many years of illness, while his friends have asked for help with his medical expenses, Norman has preferred to ask people to give their money to the poor. His support of Compassion International, the Calcutta Mission, Romanian Orphans and other organizations such as Christian Community Placement Centre show his desire share the love of Christ through incarnation, as much as information—in other words, to proclaim the gospel through his life as much as through his words.

All the way home

It is as a faithful servant, prepared to preach the word in and out of season, correcting, rebuking and encouraging with great patience, doing the work of an evangelist, enduring hardship and speaking the truth, that Norman should be viewed. Presently he, like Paul, can say, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4:6-7). Or, as Norman puts it, “Soon I'll be going home. I don't know when but I believe I'm ready.”⁸

Pick of the day, from back in the day

2007-12-06T21:34:00.000-06:00

DeGarmo & Key - 666

Songs about God

2007-12-06T21:05:00.000-06:00

John Lennon - God

U2 - God Part II

Larry Norman - God Part III

Top 5 Myths about America

2007-12-06T05:28:00.000-06:00

WARNING: LANGUAGE AND NON-CONSERVATIVE VIEWPOINTS CONTAINED HEREIN!

reposted from www.craigslist.org
Originally Posted: Mon, 22 May 09:25 PDT
Top 5 Myths About America
Date: 2006-05-22, 9:25AM PDT

MYTH 1: The US was founded on Christian principles.

TRUTH: This is incorrect.

The Constitution never once mentions a deity, because the Founding Fathers wanted to keep their new country "religion-neutral." Our Founding Fathers were an eclectic collection of Atheists, Deists, Christians, Freemasons and Agnostics.

George Washington, the Father of our country, and John Adams (Second President of the USA) CLEARLY stated in the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli: "The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion.”

G.W. rarely attended church and instead followed a popular 18th century philosophy called Deism—a Star Wars-esque philosophy that believed in a cosmic energy or big-ass universal "Force." The dictionary says that Deism is "a system of thought advocating natural religion based on human reason rather than revelation," that had nothing to do with Christian principles.

James Madison, original mastermind of our Constitution, was an Atheist to the core who loved skewering Christianity. In 1785 he wrote, "What have been [Christianity’s] fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.”

Thomas Jefferson, who sat down and authored The Declaration of Independence, rarely missed an opportunity to laugh at Christianity. In a letter to John Adams in 1823, he wrote: "The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus…will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."

More ammo: In 1814, Tommy J. wrote about the Bible's Old and New Testaments, "The whole history of these books is so defective and doubtful -- evidence that parts have proceeded from an extraordinary man; and that other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds.”

In fact, it was President Jefferson himself who first wrote (to a Baptist church group in 1802), "The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between Church and State." Therefore, when Jefferson talked about “Nature’s God,” the “Creator” and “divine Providence ” in the Declaration that he wrote, he was being a hippie and referring to a general cosmic energy-- not the Christian God.

America is not a Christian nation. Period. Our Constitution derived from the post-Christian Enlightenment values of reason and truth...never from the paranoid yammerings of that otherwise compassionate cult leader who fucking died in the Middle Eastern desert 3000 years ago.

MYTH 2: US Conservatives tend to be patriotic, ethical Americans; liberals tend to hate America and are immoral.

TRUTH:

Liberals aren't the traitors to America. In fact, conservatives who insist on sending American troops into the Iraqi slaughterhouse to watch some blood-n'-guts "towelhead" ass-kickin' are the traitors. Most of them could care less about our troops, no more than Mao or Stalin cared about the safety of their own soldiers. In the neocons' view, these young boys and girls are expendable test dummies. They're dying for virtually nothing, so that the hicks in the Bush Admin can make good on their campaign promises to their buddies from the petroleum and infrastructure-rebuilding industries. By revving up the Arab threat, these MFs can scream "national security" and "freedom" as smokescreens, while getting their hands on a diminishing resource: Middle Eastern fossil fuels, which power everything from your lightbulbs and computer that you leave on all night, to your stupid gas-guzzler pickup truck.

Pro-war conservatives are the traitors to America. With only 29% of the public approving of Bush's policies now, it took a full 5 years for America to finally wake up in bed next to this disgusting fact.

Do liberals hate America? No, in fact they care so much about the USA that they fight so aggressively to make it better. They're not anti-American; they're just anti-stupidity. Do liberals hate American policies? Sometimes, but only the self-destructive ones that threaten human rights, liberty, democracy, justice, inquiry, excellence and reason-- the values that our country was founded upon.

As for conservative moral superiority? Frauds. Think of the child-molesting priests, money-scamming televangelist preachers, Jack Abramoff's friends in the Bush Admin, gay-hating Jesus lovers, the Christians who beat up the professor who opposed intelligent design, human rights violators like Lynndie England and her Abu Ghraib hick officer pals, Tommy "Scandal-icious" Delay, Scooter "Leaky" Libby, the entire K Street Project meant to hire only Republicans, FEMA's Michael "Yer doin' a heckuva job" Brownie, and so on.

Oh and by the way, conservative Red states have a divorce rate 27% higher than the liberal Blue states, the per capita rate of violent crime in Red states is 49 per 100,000 higher than in Blue states, the top 5 states with the highest rates of alcohol abuse are Red states, and the per capita rate of gonorrhea in Red states was 41 per 100,000 higher than in the Blue states. Time to unshelf the antibiotics for our "ethical," "God-fearing" conservative friends with their "traditional family values."

MYTH 3. The US has a liberal media.

TRUTH:

This is a paranoid Republican myth.
Reality check: the US media is a mix of liberal, centrist and conservative voices. Also, the US media is largely owned by 10 corporations who frequently push pro-conservative agendas to the American public. Evidence:

1. Even Republican Pat Buchanan confessed, "For heaven sakes, we kid about the liberal media, but every Republican on earth does that." Neo-conservative pundit Bill Kristol also said, "I admit it: the liberal media were never that powerful, and the whole thing was often used as an excuse by conservatives for conservative failures."

2. A 2005 study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found that "coverage by public television and radio is conservative compared to the rest of the mainstream media." Why? Partly because only four major corporate networks control American TV news-- up to 75% of the audience share. The "Big 10" media conglomerates who control the bulk of the entire US media are: AOL Time Warner, Disney, General Electric, News Corporation, Viacom, Vivendi, Sony, Bertelsmann, AT&T and Liberty Media. Yes, we have National Public Radio, but compare its public reach to that of Canada's CBC and the United Kingdom's BBC.

3. Eighty percent of all US newspapers are owned by corporate chains.

4. Liberals are virtually non-existent on talk radio stations nationwide. Rush and Dr. Laura, eat your hearts out.

5. Conservatives are very well accomodated for across FOX News, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, the New York Post, the American Spectator, the Weekly Standard, the Drudge Report, the National Review, etc. Even so-called "bastions of liberalism," e.g. the NY Times, MSNBC, WashPost and NPR make a concerted effort to be "fair and balanced" by bringing in right-wing views like those of David Brooks, Joe Scarborough, Tucker Carlson, Charles Krauthammer and Cokie Roberts to have their say in these forums, respectively. This is in stark contrast to FOX News' claims to unbiased objectivity, which were easily demolished by Robert Greenwald in 2004.

6. Contrary to what some paranoid Republicans claim, most journalists are centrists, not liberals. A representative sample of 141 US journalists and bureau chiefs were asked in 1998, "On social issues, how would you characterize your political orientation?" Answers: Left 30%, Center 57%, Right 9%, Other 5% . Next question, same sample: "On economic issues, how would you characterize your political orientation? " Answers: Left 11%, Center 64%, Right 19%, Other 5%. Also, look at the total number of think tank citations in major newspapers, radio and TV transcripts: Conservative TTs: 7792, Centrist TTs: 6361, Liberal TTs: 1152.

7. Eric Alterman summarizes a 1999 research study from the academic journal Communications Research: "Four scholars examined the use of the 'liberal media' argument and discovered a fourfold increase in the number of Americans telling pollsters that they discerned a liberal bias in their news. But a review of the media's actual ideological content, collected and coded over a twelve-year period, offered no corroboration whatever for this view."

MYTH 4. The US doesn’t need improvement compared to other countries; it is the greatest country in the world.

TRUTH:
Wrong again. I'll only cite the statistics here.

USA Ranking on Adult Literacy Scale: #9
(#1 Sweden and #2 Norway)- OECD

USA Ranking on Healthcare Quality Index: #37
(#1 France and #2 Italy)- World Health Organization 2003

USA Ranking of Student Reading Ability: #12
(#1 Finland and #2 South Korea)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking of Student Problem Solving Ability: #26
(#1 South Korea and #2 Finland)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking on Student Mathematics Ability: # 24
(#1 Hong Kong and #2 Finland)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking of Student Science Ability: #19
(#1 Finland and #2 Japan)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking on Women's Rights Scale: #17
(#1 Sweden and #2 Norway)- World Economic Forum Report

USA Position on Timeline of Gay Rights Progress: # 6 (1997)
(#1 Sweden 1987 and #2 Norway 1993)- Vexen

USA Ranking on Life Expectancy: #29
(#1 Japan and #2 Hong Kong)- UN Human Development Report 2005

USA Ranking on Journalistic Press Freedom Index: #32
(#1 Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands tied)- Reporters Without Borders 2005

USA Ranking on Political Corruption Index: #17
(#1 Iceland and #2 Finland)- Transparency International 2005

USA Ranking on Quality of Life Survey: #13
(#1 Ireland and #2 Switzerland)- The Economist Magazine ...Wikipedia "Celtic Tiger" if you still have your doubts.

USA Ranking on Environmental Sustainability Index: #45
(#1 Finland and #2 Norway)- Yale University ESI 2005

USA Ranking on Overall Currency Strength: #3 (US Dollar)
(#1 UK pound sterling and #2 European Union euro)- FTSE 2006....the dollar is now a liability, so many banks worldwide have planned to switch to euro

USA Ranking on Infant Mortality Rate: #32
(#1 Sweden and #2 Finland)- Save the Children Report 2006

USA Ranking on Human Development Index (GDP, education, etc.): #10
(#1 Norway and #2 Iceland)- UN Human Development Report 2005

So much for those "socialist" Europeans and those "backward" Asians, hm?
We can do better than this.

Miscellany:
*Only 18% of Americans own passports and bother to travel outside of the US.
* 85% of US soldiers in Iraq believe that they are there to get revenge for 9/11.
* New international student enrollment in US grad schools has decreased by 6%, because of xenophobic post-9/11 US visa restrictions, jacked-up tuition fees and better educational opportunities in the EU and Asia. So no, not everyone wants to come here anymore, because it's become a land of incredibly limited opportunity, and we've lowered our educational standards.

MYTH 5: The US government loves to help other countries.

TRUTH:
This is a myth. The US government tends to be motivated by interests, not humanitarian principles.

Denmark gives the most amount of its GDP (1.01%) to developing countries; Norway gives 0.91%; the Netherlands give 0.79% and so on until the end of list, where the USA sits. Yes, America ranks DEAD LAST in foreign aid at a pathetic 0.1% of its GDP, compared to the other 21 nations listed as developed nations. The idea that the US government is a heroic bunch that runs around the world helping the poor and the disempowered is not backed up by the evidence. We have one of the stingiest governments on earth.

Most Americans believe the US spends 24% of its budget on aid to poor countries; the actual amount is well under a quarter of 1%. Our country also ranks #5 on asylum-seeker acceptance rates (#1 is Denmark and #2 is Canada).

For you self-congratulatory, redneck-inspired conservative fuckwads who will start to say, "B-b-b-but you're anti-American! M-m-m-moonbat! G-g-g-god bless the USA!" I answer, "Go fuck yourself. We can do better." Stop blindly believing everything your president tells you. Come back to us only when you start realizing that the $400 billion your president has allocated to his Roman Empire-style military overstretch could be better spent on correcting the sociopolitical and economic problems in the arenas that I've listed above.

For you liberal shit-heels who will start to say, "Yeah! Right on!" I answer, "Grow some fucking balls." That goes for women and the LGBT community too, and don't call me a sexist either: I'm more than comfortable with being a female, but I believe balls can be useful in situations like these. Instead, stop apologizing for being the "liberal elite," and start championing un-abashed excellence in everything, not mediocrity. Help your reps and senators take back Congress, and stop dithering while the political tides are turning in your favor right now. The conservatives are terrified now; TAKE advantage of that. And don't waste time trying to explain rational things to any homophobic Christians, or hyper-patriotic losers who wave and cheapen our American flag only for a self-esteem buzz, or those testosterone-filled, gullible, culturally-ignorant military recruiter robots who lack even a basic intelligence. THEY CANNOT BE REASONED WITH. They don't understand statistics, elaborate charts, legislative proposals or complicated scientific explanations. Just let them go. Let them go.

In the meantime, stop being SHEEP and get up and do something before some bright and ambitious Chinese, Indian and the European students grow up to be international leaders and make your lazy, self-absorbed kids irrelevant on the world stage.

Pick of the day

2007-12-05T10:18:00.000-06:00

Swirling Eddies - I've Got An Idea

Wow, I didn't know there was a video for this one.... talk about weird!!!

Pick of the day, from back in the day...

2007-12-04T07:46:00.000-06:00

77s - Ba Ba Ba Ba

I swear that hole in the ozone layer is due to all that hair spray Mike Roe used in THIS video.

For more 77s' mayhem, go to: http://xianvideos.blogspot.com/2007/08/77s.html

"THRILLER" 25th Anniversary

2007-12-01T02:26:00.000-06:00

Original video (1982)

Live performance in Japan (1987)

TRIBUTES:

Bollywood version, India

Prisoner version, Philippines

Lego version

Second Life version

Final Fantasy version

Seperated at birth

2007-12-01T01:17:00.000-06:00

Robin Williams and Bono

left: Robin Williams (b. July 21, 1951)hands out bagels at the recent writer's strike in Hollywood
right: Bono (b. May 10, 1960) at some fundraiser thingy with Oprah (not pictured, thank God)

Tears for Korea

2007-11-30T03:20:00.000-06:00

What Happened To The Good Ol' Days?

2007-11-29T21:49:00.000-06:00

by Ken Greene

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate bleu cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren’t overweight because we were always outside playing.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day… and we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD’s, no surround-sound or CD’s, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all!

Gas in Saipan now more expensive than in Hawaii

2007-11-29T21:03:00.000-06:00

SAIPAN, Northern Marianas — Gas on America's far-flung Pacific islands is now topping $4 a gallon.

It's highest on the U.S. Northern Marianas islands of Rota and Tinian, with even regular gas going over the $4 mark.

On Saipan today, it's $3.89 a gallon for regular and $4.18 for premium. That's a 10-cents-gallon increase over yesterday.

The prevailing wage for the islands' major workforce of 20,000 foreign workers is just $3.55 an hour.

Officials of Shell Oil Co. in the region say the company has been forced to increase the retail price because their supplier in Singapore has been increasing its prices.

(Honolulu Advertiser)

Japan: One Mouthful at a Time

2007-11-29T18:54:00.000-06:00

Shiga Prefecture’s government is calling on the public to eat enough bluegill fish to eradicate it. The “catch-and-eat” drive for Lake Biwa in the prefecture follows a rare expression of contrition from Emperor Akihito, who has admitted bringing the fish home in 1960 as a gift from Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago. The bluegill is Illinois’s state fish. It has turned into a nuisance in Japan’s rivers and lakes, steadily destroying native species.

Shiga’s Web site is offering recipes for deep-fried, marinated and chili-sauce bluegill.

Two Koreas agree on rail timetable

2007-11-18T21:45:00.000-06:00

North and South Korea have agreed a timetable for establishing cargo rail services between their two nations, the first for more than 50 years.

Trains will begin crossing the border on 11 December, connecting South Korea with an industrial zone in the North.

The agreement came after a three-day meeting in Seoul between South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-il.

The talks were the first between prime ministers of the two Koreas since 1992.

They followed a historic summit last month between leaders of the two nations, only the second since the Korean peninsula was partitioned more than five decades ago.

The leaders signed an accord calling for greater peace and economic partnership, and the prime ministers have been using their meeting to implement some of the proposals.

'Expand investment'

There is currently no rail service between North and South Korea. In May, two trains crossed the border in a test-run and South Korea has since been pushing for more regular rail links.

Under the deal, cargo trains will run along a 25km (16 mile) section of track linking Munsan in the South with Bongdong in the North.

This would improve access to the Kaesong industrial complex, a joint economic zone on the North Korean side of the border.

South Korea has also agreed to repair roads and railways linking the complex with other parts of North Korea, and to help with the development of a shipping district in the North's port city of Haeju.

"The agreements set the stage for our companies to expand investment in the North and substantially contribute to its economic development," the South Korean prime minister said in a statement.

The two sides also agreed to begin negotiations on setting up a joint fishing zone around a disputed sea border in the first half of next year.

The area has been the scene of serious naval clashes in the past.

The two Koreas have been divided for more than 50 years and remain technically at war, but in recent years ties have improved under Seoul's policy of economic engagement.

Pyongyang's broader international ties also appear to be taking a turn for the better.

In February, North Korea agreed to end its nuclear programme in return for aid. It is currently in the process of disabling its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.

THE TWO KOREAS
1910: Korean Peninsula colonised by Japan
1945: Divided into US-backed South and Soviet-backed North
1950-1953: Korean War, no peace deal signed
1987: North Korea bombs a South airliner, killing 115
1990s: South Korea introduces conciliatory Sunshine Policy
2000: Kim Jong-il and Kim Dae-jung hold first leaders' summit
2007: Kim Jong-il and Roh Moo-hyun hold second leaders' summit

Bike sex case sparks legal debate

2007-11-18T21:40:00.000-06:00

The case of a man convicted of simulating sex with his bicycle has sparked a debate about human rights and the privacy of an individual.

Internet message boards have been buzzing with comment about the case of Robert Stewart, 51, from Ayr.

He was reported by cleaners at a hostel who unlocked his door and found him engaged in a sex act with his bike.

Stewart was put on the Sex Offenders' Register, which some posters said was an over-reaction by the sheriff.

Stewart admitted a sexually aggravated breach of the peace by conducting himself in a disorderly manner and simulating sex. As well as being put on register for three years, he was put on probation for the same length of time.

More than a million people have read the story on the BBC news website and it has been hotly debated on forums elsewhere.

One contributor asked: "Would they have done the same to a woman with a sex toy?

"Apart from the fact that the sex toy was manufactured for the purpose, and a bicycle wasn't, I really don't see that the two acts are all that different."

Another blogger said: "I am more disturbed by the sheriff's ruling than the act of having sex with a bike."

Those discussing the case online were also worried about the future implications.

One person wrote: "It's bad news for privacy in the UK because of how a ruling like this could be used to support similar cases in future."

Legal experts said he would have been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register under Section 80 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

This states that a person should be put on the register "if the court determines that there was a significant sexual aspect to the offender's behaviour in committing the offence".

This is not the first legal case involving someone simulating sex with an inanimate object.

* In 1997 Robert Watt, 38, was fined £100 for trying to have sex with a shoe in an Edinburgh street
* In 2002 the same man was arrested for simulating sex with a traffic cone in front of a crowd of people
* Earlier this month, sentence was deferred on teenager Steven Marshall, from Galashiels, who admitted simulating sex on a pavement while drunk.

Human rights lawyer John Scott told the BBC Scotland news website that the case raised important privacy issues.

He said: "It certainly prompts questions about what people can and can't do behind closed doors with inanimate objects.

"However, the difficulty is that the man involved in this case pleaded guilty to a breach of the peace so these issues of privacy weren't considered by the court."

He added: "The sheriff had to act on the guilty plea and make a decision about whether or not there was a sexual nature to the offence. Clearly there was and that's why the man has ended up on the register."

However, Mr Scott said it should not be seen as a test case or one that would set a precedent in the future.

"This case should not prevent people who want to engage in this sort of activity doing so.

"What I would say to a client of mine that wanted to do this kind of thing is as long as it's behind a bolted door, with an inanimate object, then each to their own."

Man caught trying to have sex with his bicycle

2007-11-18T21:36:00.000-06:00

A man caught trying to have sex with his bicycle has been sentenced to three years on probation.

Robert Stewart, 51, admitted a sexually aggravated breach of the peace by conducting himself in a disorderly manner and simulating sex.

Sheriff Colin Miller also placed Stewart on the Sex Offenders Register for three years.

Mr Stewart was caught in the act with his bicycle by cleaners in his bedroom at the Aberley House Hostel in Ayr.

Gail Davidson, prosecuting, told Ayr Sheriff Court: "They knocked on the door several times and there was no reply.

"They used a master key to unlock the door and they then observed the accused wearing only a white t-shirt, naked from the waist down.

"The accused was holding the bike and moving his hips back and forth as if to simulate sex."

Both cleaners, who were "extremely shocked", told the hostel manager who called police.

Sheriff Colin Miller told Stewart: "In almost four decades in the law I thought I had come across every perversion known to mankind, but this is a new one on me. I have never heard of a 'cycle-sexualist'."

Stewart had denied the offence, claiming it was caused by a misunderstanding after he had too much to drink.

The bachelor had been living in the hostel since October 2006 after moving from his council house in Girvan.

He now lives in Ayr.

Xian artists blog hits 50 posts!

2007-11-17T23:26:00.000-06:00

Now includes the following:

Vengeance Rising
One Bad Pig
Valeri Barinov
Jerusalem
Idle Cure
Rick Cua
Havalina Rail Co.
Mortal
Blackhouse
Petra
Bloodgood
Keith Green
L.S.U.
Altar Boys
Gospel Blues artists
Kansas
U2
Mark Heard
Bob Dylan
Lone Justice
Over The Rhine
Sixpence None The Richer
Bruce Cockburn
Violent Femmes
Leslie "Sam" Phillips
The Alarm
Sweet Comfort Band
After The Fire
King's X
The Call
Paul Clark
Vector
De Garmo & Key
Danielson
Sufjan Stevens
Smashing Pumpkins
Phil Keaggy
Steve Taylor
Stryper
Crumbacher
Undercover
Lost Dogs
Adam Again
The Choir
The 77s
Daniel Amos
Second Chapter Of Acts
Resurrection Band / REZ
Randy Stonehill
Larry Norman

http://xianvideos.blogspot.com

Top 10 for women

2007-11-09T08:15:00.000-06:00

The World Economic Forum released a Global Gender Gap Report - a list of the top counties that have managed to narrow the "gender gap":

1. Sweden
2. Norway
3. Finland
4. Iceland
5. New Zealand
6. Philippines
7. Germany
8. Denmark
9. Ireland
10. Spain

The United States, the "world's leading economy", is 31st. They were 23rd last year.

Way to go, guys. Let's all hear you now: "U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!".... "We're number... 31!" Woo hoo!

Read the full article here.

New videos here!!! :-)

2007-11-08T07:26:00.000-06:00

Both of these videos were shown at the Busan International Edutainment Expo, November 2007, in Busan, South Korea.

Promo video for Friends English Camp in December 2007:

(music: "El Nino" by Red Elvises)

Promo video for Friends English Academy:

(music: "Why Can't We Be Friends?" by War)

Political rants

2007-10-25T09:57:00.000-05:00

So Bush wants freedom and democracy in Iraq and Cuba, eh? Should go hand-in-hand with the freedom and democracy the US installed in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's worked out well, yeah....

Oh yes, Gloria Arroyo pardoned Estrada. Good job GMA. You know I used to actually have a little respect for you. Your anti-death-penalty stance and all. But now, you pardoning Erap is like Clinton lying about Lewinsky. They should kick you out of Malacanang and feed you to the dogs.

You and Mayor Lim too.

New Blogs

2007-10-23T03:17:00.000-05:00

Actually, these are more like "Vlogs"....

The History Of Christian Rock
http://xianvideos.blogspot.com

Includes promo videos and performances from: Keith Green, L.S.U., Altar Boys, Kansas, U2, Mark Heard, Bob Dylan, Lone Justice, Over The Rhine, Sixpence None The Richer, Bruce Cockburn, Violent Femmes, Leslie "Sam" Phillips, The Alarm, Sweet Comfort Band, After The Fire, King's X, The Call, Paul Clark, Vector, De Garmo & Key, Danielson, Sufjan Stevens, Smashing Pumpkins, Phil Keaggy, Steve Taylor, Stryper, Crumbacher, Undercover, Lost Dogs, Adam Again, The Choir, The 77s, Daniel Amos, Second Chapter Of Acts, Resurrection Band, Randy Stonehill, Larry Norman and many more.

7 Shades Of Black
http://7shadesofblack.blogspot.com

My favorite Smashing Pumpkins performances. I am currently collecting the best live performances of the entire "Zeitgeist" album, with more albums to follow in the near future.

Taco Bell crosses the border ...into Mexico???

2007-10-20T03:16:00.000-05:00

Spreading E. coli one country at a time...

One of the most amazing things I've ever heard in my lifetime

2007-10-17T11:32:00.000-05:00

The Smashing Pumpkins do a 13-minute version of "Heavy Metal Machine" on AOL. Wow.

Israel unveils a new tourist marketing campaign!!!

2007-10-10T22:14:00.000-05:00

More here:

Oy vey!

Weird URLs of the day

2007-10-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

http://www.angryalien.com/0406/reservoirbuns.asp
(not safe for work)

http://www.yourethemannowdog.com/
(ok for work)

No cops in sight

2007-09-11T11:37:00.000-05:00

Today, I was taking a break in the "garden" on the roof of our school and suddenly heard a squeal of brakes and a crash from the street below. Looking down, I discovered that someone driving a small red car hat hit a child riding a bicycle as he was crossing the street. Never mind that he was on the crosswalk, drivers in Korea pay little to no attention to crosswalks, yield signs, stop lights, pedestrians or even other motorists.

Here's the car:
Here's the bicycle:And, amazingly, there were no police, no ambulance, no witnesses, etc. Everyone just went about life as though this were a normal occurance. The woman driver eventually bundled the boy into her car, and drove off (after executing quite a dangerous U-turn into oncoming traffic), presumably towards the nearby hospital.

Any other country, the police would have shown up, made inquiries, questioned the driver, summoned paramedics, etc. In China, a crowd of onlookers would have surrounded her car until police arrived, then give the police their version of events and the crowd would decide the penalty then and there.

Why on earth should I actually expect the Korean police to do their job????

Dan from Dandan

2007-09-08T04:30:00.000-05:00

My friend Dan Shor, as Billy the Kid, plays cards with Keanu Reeves (Speed, The Matrix) and Alex Winter (Lost Boys).

Dan tries to impress the girls at the mall. Geek!

Also, Dan in a music video by Kansas.

Recent video projects

2007-09-03T23:56:00.000-05:00

New video I made at 3:00 am.

Watch it on YouTube

or Myspace.

See more video projects here.

My recent video playlist

2007-08-30T07:53:00.000-05:00

The Price Of A Pizza In Iraq: An Eye And A Leg

2007-08-29T00:06:00.000-05:00

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Constantine Rodriguez had just fetched chilli peppers and was going out to get some onions when he heard the siren for an incoming rocket. All he remembers was a door blasting open and a loud explosion.

A quiet man from the former Portuguese colony of Goa in southwestern India, Rodriguez was working at a Pizza Hut restaurant at Taji, one of the main U.S. air bases in Iraq, when he was caught up in an attack.

He is lucky to be alive, said Lieutenant-Colonel Matthew Martin, the surgeon who treated him earlier this month at the 28th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad. Shrapnel took out an eye, pulverized one of his legs and damaged his torso. He lost a lot of blood, but surgeons were able to save him.

As he lay recovering in hospital, all he could think of was the new wife he had left in India when he went to Iraq last year, and the 7 1/2-month-old baby he had never met.

"I had gotten the capsicum. And I was going to get onions," Rodriguez told Reuters from his hospital bed. "I heard the siren ... What happened after I don't know.

"I don't blame anybody. Just take care of me and my family. One leg. One eye. What can I do with my family now?"

The Kuwaiti firm that employed Rodriguez, Al Homaizi, operates 11 Pizza Huts, 13 Burger Kings and five Taco Bells on American bases in Iraq, said Joe Petrusich, who runs the firm's Iraq restaurants.

It employs about 300 workers, recruited in Kuwait but nearly all from poor countries in Asia: India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Philippines.

They are a small part of the vast army behind the army -- the tens of thousands of "TCNs" -- "third-country nationals" -- hired to feed U.S. troops, wash their laundry, build their compounds and clean their toilets, for salaries of at most several hundred dollars a month.

The U.S. military says that by contracting out tasks like cooking and cleaning, it can provide its soldiers with a better environment at a lower cost.

CONTROVERSY BACK HOME

For poor countries, allowing their citizens to work in Iraq has been controversial and often politically sensitive.

India has told its citizens not to work in Iraq since 2004, when three Indian contractors were kidnapped and demonstrators took to the streets at home complaining the government did too little to protect them.

But there is little a country can do to prevent its citizens taking work that pays much better than jobs at home.

The Philippines now puts stamps in new passports saying they are not valid for travel to Iraq.

Petrusich said the firm still employed Filipino workers in Iraq, as long as they have old passports without the stamps.

Al Homaizi is Pizza Hut's franchise in Kuwait, with 45 restaurants in that oil-rich Gulf state, where nearly all workers are recruited from poor Asian countries. The firm offers staff at its Kuwait restaurants double pay if they go to Iraq.

For Rodriguez, that was the equivalent of about $450 a month, enough finally to find a wife and start a family back in India after 10 years of working in Kuwait. The average per capita income in Goa is about $1,100 a year.

Petrusich said Rodriguez would receive free medical care in Kuwait, including physiotherapy and a prosthetic leg, and one-off payments totaling 18,333 Kuwaiti dinars, about $55,000, if he is finally deemed permanently disabled.

"I'm very close to these guys. I've known all of them. I know we do everything we can," he told Reuters by telephone from Kuwait. "It's just an unfortunate situation that has happened."

Borat vs. Latka

2007-08-23T06:06:00.000-05:00

My fave pics on Flickr

2007-08-21T02:03:00.000-05:00