Lynn Carrier

My Lynn

2005-01-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

I hope this works. I've finally figured out how the Blog site works (I think). I've been thinking about all of L's friends on the Blogspot. He truly enjoyed reading and always seemed to feel he had friends on the site. He was amusing at times, trying at others, but loved all the time. My Lynn passed away on Jan. 6, 2005 at 8:04 p.m. I miss him. Please continue to have a good spot in your heart for him. He was my light here on earth.

A-Investing-StockTradingOnline

2005-01-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

A-Investing-StockTradingOnline: "Making Money Trading Stocks/Futures/Options Online"

He says it's possible. . .

Apologizing for Stating What 'Jihad' Really Means

2005-01-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

Robert Spencer said in HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE::: Apologizing for Stating What 'Jihad' Really Means

Instead of trying to intimidate Harvey, Hooper would make better use of his time by trying to craft a viable peaceful understanding of the passages of the Qur'an and Islamic tradition that radical Muslims like Azhar are using around the world today to "encourage killing." He might also consider lifting a finger to help root out terrorist activity from America's mosques. Until he does, and until he comes clean about CAIR's true goals and intentions (especially in light of the recent terrorism-related arrests of three of its employees), it is Hooper with his threats, bluster, and disingenuousness, who should apologize -- not Paul Harvey.

Ouch . . .

Deported Wagdy Ghoneim's Previous Troubles with the Law

2004-12-31T11:37:00.000-08:00

Muslims facing intolerance in Canada: ". . .in early January, Egyptian Shaykh Wagdy Ghoneim was arrested while trying to enter Canada, with a valid visitor's visa, from the US. During his 24-hour ordeal, Shaykh Ghoneim, who suffers from hypertension and heart problems, was humiliatingly handcuffed, strip searched, interrogated and jailed without an opportunity to get legal counsel on suspicion of affiliation with terrorist groups. Immigration officials also confiscated his blood pressure pills and sinus medication.

Only a few hours before his arrest, Shaykh Ghoneim, who had just finished an American speaking tour sponsored by the Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA), was issued a visitor's visa at the Canadian consular office in Detroit, Michigan."

Last week he'd denied ever being in Canada. . .

In January 1998, an Egyptian imam of the same age and with a name spelled almost identically -- Wagdy Ghoniem -- was arrested while trying to cross from Detroit to Canada. He was detained overnight and released, and an attorney for the cleric later told the news media that a Canadian immigration employee mistakenly suspected him of having links to terrorist groups.

It was not clear Monday whether the Anaheim mosque leader was the same man detained in Canada. Ghoneim's attorney said he knew nothing of the previous incident and said his client would not have been allowed to remain in the United States if he had any links to terrorism.

Strange events. . .

Dorothy Parker

2004-12-31T05:29:00.000-08:00

Dorothy Parker

Resume

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smell awful;
You might as well live."

Calling All

2004-12-30T09:48:00.000-08:00

admin@masjidomar.com

Calling For a Muslim State

When we talk about a Muslim state, we simply mean ruling according to the law of Allah. This would definitely require a persisting work at the administrational, political, and educational level. Having these resources in hand would help present Islamic ruling in a just, fair way. . . . They usually show cutting the hand, but they hide the wisdom out of it, or why it was cut.

And you said...

The Importance of Jerusalem

2004-12-30T03:44:00.000-08:00

The Importance of Jerusalem - Derek Prince Ministries

God’s purpose is to make Jerusalem a source of blessing to all nations, and He promises severe judgment on all nations that oppose His purpose for Jerusalem. Scripture makes it clear that when the Lord returns, it will be to a sovereign Jewish Jerusalem. Jesus said:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Matthew 23:37–39

Christ Rose From The Dead

2004-12-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

-|- Christ Rose From The Dead -|-:

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

FIGHT OVER NOODLES!

2004-12-29T15:17:00.000-08:00

Feed me

Can You Keep a Secret?

2004-12-29T11:47:00.000-08:00

Is going to be a great movie!!!

Maybe. . .

Actually, typical of Kate Hudson. . .

Eye candy . . .

You know what I mean?

Besides . . .

She proves that self-assurance and down-to-earth character runs in the family.

Kate's crafted of the same buffed nubuck bod her mom has, and wears body clothes with raised double-needle stitching on all piecing; zip front with windflap backing for extra warmth; chest and hip patch pockets; inside pockets; drawcord waist; and New York tack rivets throughout.

Satin sheen lines the sleeves; cotton plaid lines her skin.

SOCAL SOCAL@cair.com

2004-12-29T03:25:00.000-08:00

An email from SOCAL@cair.com from the trade association known as council on American islamic Relations

My God. CAIR's work must be getting Mr. Whitehead a nervous breakdown. CAIR Southern California closely works with all local law enforcement agencies, from the top and down. If it makes Airhead, I mean Whitehead, feel better, have him contact the FBI Assistant Director, the L.A. County Sheriff, the Orange County Sheriff, the various Chiefs of police for various Los Angeles and Orange county area cities, and almost every congressional office and they will tell him how they all closely and regularly work with CAIR on various levels.

American Muslims are an integral part of America and will not be intimidated from fully participating in the civic and political affairs of their country, even if it upsets bigots. As more Muslims get organized and politically empowered, they will build stronger coalitions with like-minded Americans who are concerned about the true values of America. I am sure that this will make Airhead angrier, but again, who cares about Airhead. Right?

As for the DHS and ICE, there is only one ICE in Los Angeles, he can call their director and ask if this meeting ever happened. I am just worried that Airhead will have a heart attack once he finds out that the meeting actually happened. LOL He is so funny.

Vilma

And you said...

Who's life am I living anyways??

2004-12-28T18:08:00.000-08:00

Who's life am I living anyways??: "my kids think they are dirty. Well as soon as we got home my husband asked the kids when they had last had a bath and then called them disquisting looking right at me. Gee... could he make his point any clearer. Just go ahead and use the one thing that brought me to tears. So I bathed them."

Go give her some support . . .

Waitin' for spring

2004-12-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

Wagdy Ghoneim

2004-12-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

mmmmmm. . .: "Wagdy Mohamed Ghoneim was arrested Thursday morning at his home in Anaheim, said Lori Haley, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement"

The plot sickens. . .

UPDATE: Waddy gave up Dec 29, 2004 and agreed to leave the country so he could re-apply for a valid visa.

The judge gave him until sundown to get out of town or he was gonna 'em hang high . . .

Maybe

Dhimmi Watch has this to say about Wagdy Ghoneim

2004-12-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

Dhimmi Watch: "Did DHS ask them about the CAIR officials who have been arrested for terrorist activities -- how they got jobs at this 'moderate' organization without offending anyone with their 'extremist' views? Did DHS ask them about Nihad Awad's declared support for Hamas, a terrorist organization?"

see below

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

2004-12-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR): "CONTACT: Omar Zaki, CAIR-LA Director of Governmental Relations, 714-776-1847;
Sabiha Khan, 714-776-1847 or 714-390-0334, E-Mail: socal@cair.com
"

email them and let them know you care. . .

Islamic Center class to dispel

2004-12-28T04:18:00.000-08:00

Help

From todays Tennessean

By HOLLY EDWARDS
Staff Writer

When Awadh Binhazim holds diversity training in the Nashville area, he asks his students what comes to mind when they hear the word Muslim.

Many say ''murderer,'' ''terrorist'' or ''bad religion.''

To counter these beliefs, Binhazim and other leaders of the Islamic Center of Nashville will hold free weekly classes on Islam at Tennessee State University starting next month. As outreach director of the center, it's Binhazim's job to promote understanding of the Islamic faith in the community — one of the center's primary missions.

''We want to say to people that they can't use the actions of a few to judge the faith of 1.5 billion people,'' Binhazim said. ''Our religion does not pro- mote violence and doesn't accept anything related to terrorism.''

Leaders of the center say misunderstanding and a lack of knowledge have contributed to the negative views some have of Muslims.

The first step toward eliminating the misunderstandings surrounding Islam is to ''open the doors of dialogue with non-Muslims,'' said Amir Arain, an Islamic Center board member and Vanderbilt University neurology professor.

''The most common misconception is that Islam preaches terrorism and intolerance and teaches violence, which are quite contrary to Islamic beliefs,'' Arain said. ''People think it's a closed society and we don't want to assimilate. But Islam teaches peace, justice and peaceful coexistence.''

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, two local mosques were vandalized and some local Muslims were harassed in public, Binhazim said. Since then, he said that outward hostility has waned but negative views of Muslims persist.

''There's a sense that when someone knows you're Muslim, some people start looking at you in a suspicious way,'' he said.

While the classes are designed for non-Muslims, organizers say some of those within the faith need more information on their religion to explain it to others accurately.

In the workplace, at school and in the community, many people ask Muslims about their faith and Islamic views on war and terrorism. In Binhazim's view, these questions offer local Muslims an opportunity to dispel negative stereotypes and promote understanding.

Organizers also want to explain to the community why civil rights are so important to local Muslims. Some members of the center have been interrogated by the FBI and released without charges, while a few others have had their bank accounts closed with no explanation, leaders of the center said.

This has happened as the federal government has increased its scrutiny of mosques and Islamic communities.

A Cornell University poll released this month also found that many Americans want the government to limit the rights and liberties of Muslims.

The survey found that 44% of Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans through racial profiling, undercover law enforcement and surveillance, or requirements to register their whereabouts.

The nationwide telephone poll of 715 people also found that those who paid the most attention to television news were more likely to support the restrictions. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Binhazim said he believes many people form their opinions of Muslims from ''hyped-up misconceptions'' they see in the news. But, he said, there's a difference between religious beliefs and foreign policy.

''We know there are thousands dead in Iraq who are predominantly civilians, and no one is saying Christians are responsible for that,'' he said. ''This is the United States foreign policy, not the Christian foreign policy.''

Sheikh Abdulhakim Ali Mohamed, Imam of the local center and one of the instructors of the course, agreed that some people see Islam as a political movement rather than a religious faith and view violence in the Middle East as a reflection of that faith.

He said there are also misconceptions about the United States in the Middle East as a result of negative images of Americans in the Islamic press.

''In the past, when I'd go back, people would say I was lucky to live here,'' said Mohamed, who has lived in the United States for 34 years. ''Now people want to know why I'm still here, and ask me if I'm beaten, if people threaten to kill me and if they throw rocks at me.''

Mohamed said America is his home and he hopes to do all he can to promote peace and understanding here.

In the class, Mohamed said he will cover the Islamic belief that God is one, the requirement to pray five times daily, and the Five Pillars of Islam — the acknowledgement of God, prayer, the paying of alms, fasting, and a pilgrimage to Mecca.

The classes will also focus on Muslim views of American social issues such as marriage, divorce, homosexuality, and the meaning of family values.

''It's not about converting people,'' Mohamed said. ''It's about helping people understand us. There's an Arabic saying that goes, 'What you do not know, you fear.' ''

Holly Edwards can be reached at 259-8035 or hedwards@tennessean.com.

And you said...

Free islamic instruction at Tenn State U

2004-12-28T04:12:00.000-08:00

email this guy hadhramut@hotmail.com

Why doesn't he have a registration email at his islamic center?

You can call them at 615-385-9379

And you said...

2004-12-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

And they'd have you believe their religion is freedom loving and tolerant. er, does 'whites only' sound any better. sigh...

We Pray for Those Religions Against Us

2004-12-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

Pray For our Enemies

'Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you'.
Matthew 5:43-44

'Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you' .
Luke 6:2

Kyiv Post. Yushchenko claims victory in Ukraine's presidential election

2004-12-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

Kyiv Post. Yushchenko claims victory in Ukraine's presidential election: "Yushchenko claims victory in Ukraine's presidential election"

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Freedom rains...

And you said . . .

Fayette County Under Fire

2004-12-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

From AP Christmas wire:

Here we go again. The muslim religion withdrew their application Fayette County. As usual the rest of the story shows this religion's deception.

"Memphis businessman Mohammad Halimah said the group is considering several options, including refiling the request.

Halimah, a U.S. citizen with four children born in the United States, said more than 15,000 Muslims live in the Memphis area, and their small private cemetery is running out of burial space.

In the meantime, he and several colleagues are trying to meet with residents individually to discuss their concerns. No zoning change is needed for a cemetery on church grounds, so building a mosque on the site is also a possibility.

Complaints about the proposal, he said, are often based on ignorance. Some residents do not understand that Islam teaches peace."

I previously warned about steam rolling in their quest for more land by bullying there possibly new neighbors. They have called us names, lied, deceived, withheld information and don't provide complete information.

And you said...

Ins'tapundit

2004-12-27T05:50:00.000-08:00

Wow, a source I'd never think of. And a comment on the obvious by Ins't a Pundit, now retired at the U of Tennessee Law School.

Instapundit.com: "UKRAINE UPDATE, from the New York Times:"

Excellent pick of a quote there Mr. "I make $160,000 a year from my law teaching job because the $500,000 law office job wasn't 'fulfilling'."

2004-12-26T16:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am a proud friend of Israel.

About One of Our Friends

2004-12-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

About FDD: "Foundation for the Defense of Democracies"

Check 'em out.

Some Fag from Tennessee Said

2004-12-26T08:05:00.000-08:00

Yep... I said it!: "the gay community disappoints me to a large degree. From the circuit parties, hooking up, drugs, dishonesty, and infidelity, to the focus on the physical, the outer shell, with total disregard to someone's core, their morals, and heart

Be nice to your gay fiends, they are people too.

Merry Christmas

2004-12-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

"Merry Christmas"

What is Atom?

2004-12-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

The link over to the right named "Site Feed" is an 'Atom'. Atoms can be added to any my.yahoo.com. Try it.

Blogger says this: What is Atom?

Atom is one name for two things: It's both a new standard for developers, as well as a syndication format or "feed" for your blog. When a regularly updated site such as a blog has a feed, people can subscribe to it using software for reading syndicated content called a "newsreader." People like using readers for blogs because it allows them to catch up on all their favorites at once.

Like checking email—without the SPAM.

And you said...

Douglas Kern says:

2004-12-23T05:33:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time, and that means it's time to enjoy A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens' melancholy tale of a productive businessman who gets worked over by three meddling supernatural social workers one Christmas Eve, transforming him into a simpering socialist.

It's almost as sad as Star Wars, really.

A Christmas Carol could have been a wonderful story, had someone other than that crypto-commie Dickens written it.

And you said...

Rice Yields Skyrocketing

2004-12-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

ItÂs not often that one person can be said to be responsible for feeding 60 million people. But then Yuan Longping has never been an ordinary person.

In the three decades that followed the discovery, hybrid rice has spread so that it is now planted on about half of ChinaÂ rice area, resulting in a 20 percent higher yield over previously grown varieties. . ." to about 10,000 pounds per acre, in the near future ". . . rice yields could reach 22 to 23 metric tons per hectare (19,595 to 20,485 pounds of rice per acre).

Andrew Whitehead

2004-12-22T06:20:00.000-08:00

Andrew sent me this email.

Because I find it so important, I am posting it in its entirety. Read the events he described and make up your own mind. I believe Hooper worships our civil rights as a tool to further the muslim agenda of global war against civilization, democratic values, and the love that Jesus Christ taught us. Merry Christmas Hooper!

In Defense of the Constitution

Anti-CAIR News & Analysis 041/04

December 21, 2004

- CAIR: Defending Your Right to Free Speech?

On the Anti-CAIR web site, you will find the following warning posted on the bottom of each archived Press Release and News & Analysis:

“ADVISORY:
Subscribers are warned that the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) may contact your employer if CAIR believes you are using a work address to receive any material that CAIR believes may be offensive. CAIR has been known to shame employers into firing employees CAIR finds disagreeable. For that reason, we strongly suggest that corporate e-mail users NOT use a corporate e-mail account/address when communicating with ACAIR or CAIR. We make every reasonable effort to protect our mailing list, but we cannot guarantee confidentiality. ACAIR does not share, loan, sell, rent or otherwise publicize our mailing list. We respect your privacy!”

ACAIR placed that advisory on our postings because CAIR has contacted businesses and corporate e-mail hosts in an effort to silence employees who exercise their First Amendment rights from work, use company e-mail addresses to comment on CAIR's statements and activities.

ACAIR has been contacted by several people whom claimed to be subjected to CAIR harassment. One writer has agreed to allow us to show you how this self-described "Muslim Civil Rights Group" goes about trying to impose the Iranian or Saudi view of free speech (i.e., there is none) on those Americans who dare to express their views.

In August, 2004, the following e-mail was sent to CAIR:

Subject: Imam Ali Shrine

From Your Web Site:

U.S. Muslims Urge End to Fighting Near Iraqi Shrine
CAIR says attack would harm America’s image in Islamic world

A prominent national civil rights and advocacy group today said a U.S. attack on the Imam Ali Shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf would harm America’s image in the Muslim world and called for negotiations to end the fighting.

RESPONSE

The unprovoked Muslim attack on America the killed 3,000+ people harmed the Islamic image in the CIVILIZED world.

The Islamic radicals must be destroyed. Their leader has an arrest warrant issued by Iraqi courts. He is a criminal that is using “holy” sites as protection…clear violation of Geneva Conventions. Any attacks from “holy” sites or storage of weapons in such makes them “fair game” for attacks or retaliation.

Negotiations???? Surely you jest. You people called for a cease fire, which we honored, BUT the radicals did not. They used the respite to rearm and reorganize.

It is hard to conceive of a so-called “religion of peace” being filled with such hatred.

In the above, do we see any evidence of insulting Islam? Imputing of criminal or terrorist intent onto the US/Canadian Muslim community? Gratuitous name-calling or ethnic/religious insults? No?

Then why did CAIR send the following e-mail to the writer’s employer?

Subject: is this e-mail representative of your company?

Peace.

CAIR receive the following hostile e-mail apparently from a (company name) employee. Does its content reflect your company’s views?

Ibrahim Hooper
National Communications Director
www.cair-net.org
202-488-8787

(The writers e-mail was inserted here)

On August 16, 2004, CAIR’s Ibrahim Hooper called the writer’s employer and left a message on his voice mail…Hooper wanted to know if the writer’s e-mail reflected company policy and asked the employer to call Hooper. The boss asked the writer about the e-mail and the mix-up in the e-mail address was explained. The writer then explained a little about CAIR’s activities and shared his personal opinions regarding CAIR. The boss listened, agreed with the employee and said he had no intention of calling “this guy” back. He finished by saying he did not want some terrorist blowing up the building.

The employee then responded to CAIR:

Subject: Attn: Ibrahim Hooper

Peace.

I was speaking for myself… just forgot to change to email account to my personal account. And no it did not get me “into trouble” as I am sure you hoped it would. You have the audacity to call my email hostile?

I notice you did not respond to my comments. This is so typical. As “Communications Director”, I would expect a high profile NATIONAL response to the evil that is being perpetrated by Muslims world wide. If CAIR does not accept this evil, why are PROMINENT members of your faith not getting out the “truth”. Silence sometimes speaks louder than words.

Do you deny that the cleric that has set up his battle station in the Holy site is not wanted as a criminal under Iraqi law? Do you deny that is trying to upset the move to democracy in Iraq? Do you deny that the Geneva Convention forbids using churches, mosques, temples, etc as a haven for battle sites and storage of weaponry? Do you deny that Imams the world over are teaching hatred on non-muslims, expecially Americans? Do you deny that is was muslims that attacked us on 911? Do you deny that is was muslims that attacked the USS Cole? What about the Kobar Towers?

Speaking “Peace” is on thing and easy to do… living a life of peace is quite another. Do you have the courage to answer my questions? Do you have the courage to LIVE a life of peace and acceptance of those other than muslims?

Hooper did not, or could not, answer. It seems to ACAIR that Hooper is a "free speech bully": he threatens and tries to intimidate Americans into silence, but is actually absolutely terrified of a free exchange of ideas or facts. Why are you so afraid, Doug? Is it because the philosophy of Muslim extremism, as practiced by those who in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere who fund CAIR simply can't stand the sunlight of public debate and objective scrutiny? Why are you afraid of the truth?

CAIR claims it supports civil rights…but its actions, in ACAIR's opinion, demonstrate that it is hostile to the First Amendment guarantee of free speech that is the bedrock for the United States Constitution, and to many of the Judeo-Christian values that have made the U.S. what it is today. ACAIR believes the facts show CAIR hates free expression and free speech, and that if it had the power of the mullahs and autocrats in Iran/Saudi/Gaza, it would treat its critics, and critics of Muslim violence, in the same way. ACAIR asks what next, CAIR? Are you going to decree that anyone who criticizes you or Muslims should be treated just like the writer Salomon Rushdie, who had a death sentence placed on his head?

ACAIR wonders why CAIR is so allergic to criticism, and afraid of free speech and open debate? ACAIR asks why does CAIR try to impose the oppression common in Saudi Arabia or Syria on Americans, here in the U.S.? And ACAIR asks:

…why isn’t this question being asked by the “mainstream” media?

Andrew Whitehead
Director, Anti-CAIR (ACAIR)
Stockton CA

And you said...

What If?

2004-12-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

"What if I find something here that's incorrect, or something that offends me?"

That's entirely possible!

And you said...

You Have to be Kidding

2004-12-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

From Agape Press

Philly Court Orders Four Christians to Trial; Emergency Appeal Likely
Attorney Contends Reading Scripture in Public Landed Them in Jail

Their attorney. . . "says the charges were dropped against the remaining seven because they were not seen quoting scripture on the videotape. Fahling says in Philadelphia, it appears the public reading of scripture will land a person in jail."

That was from the city of brother love. . .

joe bozeman

2004-12-21T16:38:00.000-08:00

Joe, you are, if anything prolific.

Blogger: User Profile: joe bozeman:

"Words Written 506,852"

And you said...

WAPO Buys Slate

2004-12-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

Interesting:

Washington Post buys Slate online magazine.

Does anyone think Bill Gates would sell anything that makes him money?

Daniel Pipes

2004-12-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

And he said...
About Tariq Ramadan:

That he has formally resigned from Notre Dame suggests just how solid the DHS evidence against him is. And this, by the way, does not surprise me. A senior DHS official looked me hard in the eyes a few weeks ago and assured me, "The evidence we have is damning."

Ramadan's exclusion marks a signal victory for the effort to keep the enemy out of the United States, for few in the Islamist ranks will deploy the highly respectable and high-powered support that Ramadan has enjoyed. If this man can be kept out, then anyone can be.

Thanks Daniel for publishing the truth.

Daniel Pipes

2004-12-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

Support him

And you said...

Bill Moyers

2004-12-21T05:08:00.000-08:00

Annie doesn't like him either, NOW.

I didn't like him here, here, and here, where I pointed out a bunch of people disrespected him. Actually, they were kind. Bill is just another example of the Incestous Northeastern Media Elite (INME), with their self referential promotions, gloating, and superior attitude.

Generally Bill and his crowd's "essays" have this slant:

We are superior to everybody and here is why, again. sniff sniff!

Besides his haughtiness, he smells bad too.

Law School Trials

2004-12-21T05:03:00.000-08:00

During her first set of finals, Annika Becker, panics and realizes that panic is just another opportunity for personal growth.

Let's analyze this and find out if her life has been a sham up until now. Well, for her to be a pretender, we'd have to ignore that she has a Masters from the top ranked university in America, if not the world, and ignore that her LSAT score qualified her to attend one of the top ranked Law Schools in California or anywhere, and ignore that she excels at every endeavor she has ever attempted. We should also ignore that she is considerate, charming, good looking, and popular with a six-pack stomach, nothing there says she is an imposter.

Now, l have no experience with law exams, but to say I haven't faced fire, brimstone, and stress would say I have had Involuntary Bulimic Syndrome (IBS) or more commonly known as Irritable Bowel Syndrom (IBS) which taught me the many meanings of discomfort in years past. It'll tear you a new one, if you know what I mean.

Besides, I suffer from panic attacks all the time. The worst was at the bakery about a year ago. Half way through the order, I heard police or fire sirens outside. I hit the floor, then realized I, let's say mildly, overreacted because the 19 year old girls behind the counter looked frightened as they stared at me.

Now, don't get me wrong, Annie isn't mocking the truly inflicted with mental disabilities, she shares with us her surprise that she found a match to challenge her abilities. And she recorded her tenacity to review later. Annie, sweetie-darling, you are doing something only 1 in a 1000 or more ever get the opportunity. Oh my gawd, what, oh what, will you do when you find out you CAN compete... Watch out world, she'll whip your ass.

Back to the bakery, I tried to explain to the girls, but how to explain something to queens of narcissism. Exactly how should I tell the children that the medication the Doctors give me doesn't always work perfectly, but I am harmless and better than I used to be. I paid, repeating 'it's OK, really" or "don't worry" then hurried out of there, never to return, with fear in my heart that they had called 911 on me.

All I can say is that "Annie girl found the challenge she sought."

And.

"You are doing what you wanted to do."

Whoa, was that harsh? I don't know, I lack empathy too.

Am I a Conservative?

2004-12-20T22:22:00.000-08:00

I don't believe so.

I like to think I am a liberal if only for the reason I like labor unions. The Ether Zone has this interesting take on the five ingredients.

The first necessary ingredient for a conservative is a belief in smaller government. 20 points here.

The second necessary ingredient for a conservative is a belief in national sovereignty and isolationism. 15 points here. Not really sure what is meant by isolation.

The third is a belief in the Rule of Law---beginning with the Constitution of the United States. The Bill of Rights is essentially sacrosanct. A conservative does not believe in a "living Constitution". 20 points

A fourth necessary ingredient to conservatism is a belief in traditional values. 5 points as long as they are my traditional values

The fifth necessary ingredient to conservatism is adherence to principle. 10 points see #4 above

Mark me up as 70% conservative.

I like smaller government, national sovereignty, isolation, and rule of law best of all.

The other two bother me. Traditional values -- that depends on whose values we talk about. The Roman Church has a bunch, the mullahs have another bunch. I have quiet a few myself. Now I don't care too much for new values, and those other fellows' scare me.

The last one adherence to principle. That's a good one, but still slippery. I stand by my principles; but what about other's; as long as they like mind, we'll be OK.

Quote Time

2004-12-20T18:08:00.000-08:00

Alice said:

Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is--oh dear! I shall never get to twenty at that rate!

from: ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
by: Lewis Carroll

Yes Alice, 4*7=14, and 4*13=20. And that my friends is how some people save for retirement.

I think it is time for another finance lesson.

2004-12-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

Pretty, eh?

Backfence: The traditional yule fear factor

2004-12-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

James Lileks says:
Backfence: The traditional yule fear factor: "Maybe it's just me. Perhaps I'm overly sensitive. But when I wish a store clerk 'Merry Christmas!' they often appear stunned and flummoxed for a moment, as if I've just blabbed the plans for the underground's sabotage of the train tracks in front of the secret police. I've said something highly inappropriate for the public square, and I almost expect a security guard to take me aside on the way out. He'll lead me to a small room. He has no enthusiasm for this; it's the end of his shift, and he's done this a dozen times already today. But policy is policy."

heh... Ask them store clerks if they will have a Merry Christmas.

The Miracle of the Christ Child

2004-12-19T07:03:00.000-08:00

USA disagrees...
They probably don't want my editorial comment... since the site says this:

IMPORTANT: Text from upcoming stories are for informational use by USA WEEKEND partners only. No reproduction or redistribution is allowed. Content is Copyright 2004 USA WEEKEND Magazine, a Gannett Co., Inc., property. All rights reserved.

About this:

Full Story Text: "It is a miracle if you can find true friends, and it is a miracle if you have enough food to eat, and it is a miracle if you get to spend your days and evenings doing whatever it is you like to do. The holiday season, like all the other seasons, is a good time not only to tell stories of miracles, but to think about the miracles in your own life, and to be grateful for them, and that's the end of this particular story."

Probably not a good link for long.

Nigeria Chosen To Host 2008 Genocides

2004-12-19T06:50:00.000-08:00

Nigeria Chosen To Host 2008 Genocides:

"Nigeria is excited for this chance to follow in the footsteps of Somalia, Rwanda, and Sudan," Obasanjo said. "Much work remains to be done, but all of the building blocks are in place. Nigeria has many contentious ethnic groups, a volatile economy, and a dependence on food imports. We are well on our way to making 2008 a genocidal year..."

Jokes between of Afirca's finest...

Read the whole thing.

lgf: Muslims Have Most to Fear from Islamists

2004-12-19T06:43:00.000-08:00

An attack from all islam?

lgf: Muslims Have Most to Fear from Islamists: "I actually think that 'an attack on one muslim is an attack on all muslims' ... can be used as a weapon against them. Because if that is true, than the reverse is also true: an attack BY one muslim is an attack by all of Islam. I, for one, woudn't disagree with that -- and would act accordingly."

Dyspnea at End-of-Life

2004-12-19T06:38:00.000-08:00

Dyspnea :

"Assessment Dyspnea at end-of-life may be present during the Syndrome of Imminent Death . . . or occur earlier in the disease trajectory. Looking for simple problems is always warranted: is the Oxygen turned on?, is the tubing kinked?, is there fluid overload from IV fluids or TPN?, is dyspnea part of an acute anxiety episode, severe pain, constipation or urinary retention?; is there a new pneumothorax or worsening pleural effusion?. Understanding 1) where patients are at in the dying trajectory and 2) their identified goals of care, is essential to guide the extent of workup seeking reversible causes. If the patient is clearly dying, and the goals of care are comfort, then pulse oximetry, blood gas, EKG, CXR, etc. are not indicated. "

Fear This?

2004-12-19T06:36:00.000-08:00

mmmmmmmmm...

Telegraph | Opinion | It is Muslims who have most to fear from Islamists:

"And that is the worst of it. The word 'Islamophobia' is thrown at people who criticise some aspects of current Islamic thought. But 'phobia' means fear, and I suspect that it is moderate Muslims who are, in that sense, Islamophobic, frightened of what the Islamists are turning their faith into. They cannot find the courage and the words to get to grips with the huge problem that confronts Islam in the modern world.

This is: how does a belief system founded, in part, on conquest, and preaching a virtual identity between religious and political power, live at ease in plural, free, secular societies? Instead of answering this question, they tend to attack the people who ask it, and ask for special laws to silence them."

Merry Christmas, you all.

Pieces be upon him.

2004-12-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

Yo, mo, er, aren't these girls a little old for you mo?

Special thanks to Vinyl Frontier.

Go show them you care and buy something.

Catastrophe!

2004-12-19T06:02:00.000-08:00

The end is near.!!

Cat Trophy

Belmont Club:

"...'catastrophy' is an award for shooting a cat in the as(sic)."

THE LES CRANE SHOW FEBRUARY 17, 1965

2004-12-19T05:57:00.000-08:00

This is funny,

THE LES CRANE SHOW FEBRUARY 17, 1965: "THE LES CRANE SHOW FEBRUARY 17, 1965"

Crane: Allen Ginsberg was sitting in that chair where Caterina Valente is sitting right now and he said that he thought that we ought to legalize pot.

Dylan: He said that?

Crane: Right on the television.

Dylan: Pheeeww!

Crane: Can you imagine that?

Dylan: Nah. Allen is a little funny sometimes (audience roars with laughter).

Crane: Allen's funny sometimes, huh? Yes ... what is this movie going to be about?

Dylan: Oh it's a, sort of a horror cowboy movie (audience laughter). Takes place on the New York Thruway. "

Go read the whole thing.

Deteriorata

2004-12-19T05:41:00.000-08:00

Give UP!!!

Deteriorata" National Lampoon:

"You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not,
The universe is laughing behind your back."

The Fatal Flaw in a Theocracy

2004-12-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

When a religious leader has clear control over the executive branch and its police force, the political advantages of this power could in theory be limited if he were forced to submit to the rule of law that was applied equally to all citizens. The courts and judges, by profession, are supposed to mete out justice without discrimination. But muslimism is constantly in need of ways to advance the interests of the believers who will support the mullahs and must weaken or punish the "non-believers" or apostates. Understanding this all too well, the koran made every effort to undermine the rule of law and to create a subservient population of the faithful bowing down to their preachers who write, enforce and hand down sentencing.

See the example from the rock group Clash's song "Rock the Casbah". Where they sing:

By order of the prophet
We ban that boogie sound
Degenerate the faithful
With that crazy Casbah sound
But the Bedouin they brought out
The electric camel drum
The local guitar picker
Got his guitar picking thumb
As soon as the shareef
Had cleared the square
They began to wail

Indeed, it would be fair to say that institutionalized lawlessness is the first pillar of faith in a mullah regime, and a crucial element in their overall efforts to create a rebellion-proof dictatorship. And again from "Rock the Casbah":

The king called up his jet fighters
He said you better earn your pay
Drop your bombs between the minarets

I'm open to learning if you can find me a benevolent theocracy. It'd be easier to find example after example of the abuses in every religion in the last 2000 years, but you get my point.

The Enjoyment of Freedom

2004-12-16T11:26:00.000-08:00

Ooops!

Nazi politicians & fighters from WWII, who had been trained in a variety of controlling, torturing and killing, had little interest in the niceties of pluralism, human rights, or civic freedoms, and they were dependent upon their swords, knives, and guns to maintain their power.

Now I am not intimately familiar with the workings of our democracy by training but I have benefitted and enjoyed life by living here for a very long time in a free society that is more liberal in every respect than any Nazi government.

The pluralism, human rights, or civic freedoms that Americans enjoy does not exist in other countries and I refuse to accept that those other 'cultures' as equal to ours. And I accept those who come to our country who come to enjoy those freedoms, but those who wish to destroy what we have, shall go back to where they came.

People in all cultures feel their reality equally. But feeling your reality as strongly as I do doesn't make your reality equal or better.

We are a country ruled by laws, not by man. Equal opportunity means everyone starts out with the same chance at being President of the USA. The head guy isn't decided by a group of preachers. He isn't decided by the order of his birth in a monarchy. He isn't the guy in charge of the military. He is the fellow you and I elected.

Now sometimes my guy doesn't get elected. But always the right guy gets the job and while I may not be right, I still have influence.

None of the Jews in Hitler's Germany had influence. None of the Christians living in a muslim theocracy have influence. In fact, both can and are killed for being who they are.

"What does it mean to suck?"

2004-12-16T05:43:00.000-08:00

Suck this sucker. heh

Bernard Kerik Addicted to Power?

2004-12-15T16:05:00.000-08:00

Tell me he isn't really a slime ball.

New York Post Online Edition: commentary: "Bernard Kerik, she thought she'd met her match. And vice versa.

But the illicit relationship came tumbling down, a friend of Regan's told me, not when she discovered her married lover had another mistress. It ended horribly after Regan learned Kerik's wife was pregnant."

Moyers Never was a Journalist

2004-12-15T07:23:00.000-08:00

Poor Bill, he has reached the end of his journey and didn't gain any respect along the line. Here Hog on Ice lists Bill's past sins, for example:

"LBJ Propaganda Minister Bill Moyers says he is retiring from journalism. My question: how can you retire from a job you never did? Doesn't "journalism" have something to do with collecting and reporting facts in an unbiased manner."

Kick his ass Hog... Hog goes on to remind us how LBJ won his only term as a President by coming up with the idea of history's best example of a slinging-mud campaign commercial.

Bill didn't retire from journalism, he retired from talking about his opinions. Thanks for talking Bill. Now, keep your promise.

Moyers Redux

2004-12-15T06:40:00.000-08:00

Seems like the islamizts don't think too highly of PBS:

"Sadly, we know that PBS will be the poorer for your leaving--just another reason to keep our money in our pockets on pledge drive days. I'd much rather give my money to www.counterpunch.com, www.informationclearinghouse.info , www.aljazeerah.info , www.aljazeera.com and www.todaysalternativenews.com so that the real news can come out to the world. "

Well, my gosh, they don't think highly of anyone who doesn't promote muslimism. Then they go on about how Moyers was a tiny bit better that a lot of other mainstream media:

"I do not accuse him of willful bad intentions, but of carelessness and listening to the same New York and Washington, DC talking heads who lead us astray on so many issues so regularly--and continue to do so."

Of course, Sam Hamod doesn't agree with me either because I think the established media glosses over the threat of the terrorizing muslims, like they did with the 6,600,000 Jews who were murdered during the holocaust. Why didn't the established media take up the Jewish cause during the mid-twentieth century?

Is it because of their own self-nihilism? The threat is real and coming at us from all levels.

maudlinly

2004-12-14T16:09:00.000-08:00

From Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com/maudlinly

Effusively or tearfully sentimental: “displayed an almost maudlin concern for the welfare of animals” (Aldous Huxley).

I like that word

The Globe and Mail: Rutgers researchers may have stopped HIV

2004-12-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

The Globe and Mail: Rutgers researchers may have stopped HIV: "Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a trio of drugs they believe can destroy HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to a published report."

Wonder how Andy Sullivan would take that? He says:

"In the living room of a friend of mine, there's a coffee table crammed with photographs. One stands out: four young men in tuxes taken three years ago. They're all grinning, in classic college-buddy group-shot mode. Of the four, two are now dead. One died two years ago, the second in early November, when Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS), the cancerous lesions common to people with AIDS, entered his lungs."

Well, Andy, maybe you have hope.

The Chronicle: 12/17/2004: Four Academic Plagiarists You've Never Heard Of: How Many More Are Out There?

2004-12-14T15:49:00.000-08:00

The Chronicle: 12/17/2004: Four Academic Plagiarists You've Never Heard Of: How Many More Are Out There?:

"Yet academe appears conflicted about what to do about the plagiarist. While they preach against the sin, many scholars seem wary of confronting the sinners. Even Mr. Hoffer, the Georgia professor who writes about academic fraud, is hesitant about naming names. "

Cowards.

The Canadian Jewish News -- International

2004-12-14T13:44:00.000-08:00

As reported by the Canadian Jewish News:

During the jihad and world terrorism conference in Toronto last week, the former CIA official, Bruce Tefft, painted in large brush-strokes islamic hostility and terror:

ÂIslamic terrorism is based on Islam as revealed through the QuÂran,Â keynote speaker Bruce Tefft claimed in a panel discussion at the University of Toronto on jihad and global terrorism. The session, held late last month, was sponsored by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Speakers Action Group.

"Tefft, a founder of the CIAÂs counter-terrorism center and now an advisor to the New York Police DepartmentÂs intelligence and counter-terrorism divisions, said that without Islam, the long-term strategy of Al Qaeda and its followers make little sense.

"Linking Osama bin Laden to the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, Tefft said: ÂTo pretend that Islam has nothing to do with Sept. 11 is to willfully ignore the obvious and to forever misinterpret events.Â

Tefft has previously spoken at the

"Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies is a Canadian human rights organization dedicated to fostering tolerance and understanding through community involvement, educational outreach and social action."

CAIR calls this the:

Incitement Watch: Ex-CIA Official Says Terror is From Quran

From the

Source: Canadian Jews News

Notice how the source is twisted

Interest rates rise by 0.25%

2004-12-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

Yikes!!!??

No, some people actually don't think that is scary. Actually, the new rate will be 2.25% and historically low.

Wait, but it went up by 25%. That sounds like a lot.

Not really, because of the historical significance. In fact, what is more important is a stable economy. By raising the rate now, we avoid an over heated economy with its accompany inflation.

A higher interest rate will also make the dollar sounder. Giving us, er what? Giving us stability against the EURO. That's true.

It's not the other way around. Which would be higher rates attract investment from overseas into dollars, which is just a nice, important, benefit.

Another benefit that remains is that American exports remain competitive.

See... It's all a balancing act.

I'm happy and you should be too.

Oh, the most important benefit is that for those of us who save a substantial part of our paycheck, the nestegg's inflation erosion is minimized.

Yeah!!! Another reason to save parts of your paycheck and/or payoff that debt you have extended yourself on for so long. But this says consumers need to spend to keep the economy. True true. Let the other guy spend, let's you and I squirrel it away.

Have a Merry Christmas C.A.I.R.

Quote Time

2004-12-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

"...with closed eyes, and half believed herself in Wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again, and all would change to dull reality ..."

from Lewis Carroll, "ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND"

Project Gutenberg has a free e-text for your enjoyment.

Make a Merry Christmas for the people you know.

Council on American-Islamic Relations (C.A.I.R)

2004-12-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

And as usual they don't tell what they said at this meeting but this:

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR): One resident equated muslim religion with Nazis. Another claimed that many people he knew had been killed by Muslims.

email them: cair@cair-net.org

SEE: 'Committee Recommends Zoning Change Denial'

They said "all the teachers are muslims". They want to bury bodies in a residential neighborhood in a farming community.

Please support Fayette County.

Mr. Rhea "Skip" Taylor
Mayor, Fayette County
13095 N. Main
P.O. Box 218
Somerville, TN 38068

I care, do you care? Anti-C.A.I.R. cares too.

Remember Cheap Transister Radios

2004-12-12T11:49:00.000-08:00

IBM sold their PC unit to the Chinese. Old news from last week, right? Yes, I am right it is old news.

Not everyone remembers when the cheap portable radios from Japan entered the USA market in the 1950's and in a big way. That's way old news. Way old. Way. Radios went from costing half a week's paycheck to just two hours of labor and it was portable. The American manufacturers couldn't compete, but they complained and no one cared. What does a comparable product today cost? What about the iPod? It's cute, portable, and cheap. It's what a day's wages? What do they hold now? 40 gig? something like that. It's a lot, I tell you. More than I can count.

Let's think for a second. Emerging economy. Cheap labor. Open software. Commodity parts for a commodity product. Getting the picture? How do $200 laptops with 800 gig hardrives, with DVD-RW sound?

Let's see how long it takes. I bet less than 3 years.

Hand Shadows on the Wall

2004-12-12T10:35:00.000-08:00

Everyone wants to make hand shadows on the wall. Don't they? I know I do.

It's new. It's popular. It's free here.

Or, you can buy it here.

Amazon says:

Delightful activity book for older children (and adults, too) shows how to create 34 fascinating shadows on a wall simply by positioning hands and fingers. Learn how to make a bird take flight, a duck quack, Toby the dog wag his tail, a rabbit munch his meal, and more.

10 Million Downloads and Climbing

2004-12-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Slashdot for the heads-up.

I use Mozilla's Firefox. No pop-ups. Less funny business. More control. Faster, among other things than IE.

Besides, USA Today says:

If you can, use the Mozilla Firefox browser. If you must use Internet Explorer (IE), set the security settings to high; this will disable multimedia features of many Web sites, but also will block a main path intruders use to plant Web contagions.

And it's free.

10 million use Firefox to find over 5 million blogs.

The Wonkett

2004-12-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

She's the kind of girl you wake up next to in the morning and pray to God you didn't marry the night before while in a drunken stuper.

But she is cute.

Update: Craig thinks it's her brain he likes. lol

Update: lgf has her figured out. Read the comment #68...

Wonkette is not a blogger. Wonkette is a columnist who was hired by Gawker Media to provide content for a psuedo-blog they had created called Wonkette. It is not a naturally-occurring "blog" in the sense that we think of blogs, but rather a corporate product, a pasteurized processed blog-flavored media site. Ana Marie Cox is paid a salary by the PR and publishing firm Gawker Media, and its owner Nick Denton. The Wonkette site is totally artificial, a simulated blog specifically created to create media attention and GET ADVERTISERS and make money for Gawker Media.

She's a phony!!! A phony cutie....

Sigh...

Bill Moyers Retirement

2004-12-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

In a "puff piece" to justify his moralistic condemnations of people not on his side, the AP announced his retirement today.

"Moyers' interest has always been the American people."

I'm interested too in the American People, so what.

Then he is quoted:

"It's the fact that I'm doing journalism that isn't determined by the establishment."

Woah Nelly, NPR is as established as you get, but Mr. Moyers sounds moralistic and justifies his work based upon what he thinks the "people" ought to have, therefore we can't condemn him. He sounds self-serving and appears very close to the kind of person that Martin Luther had issues with.

I hope to hear from Mr. Moyers. But I have never heard anything out of his mouth that helped or changed my life, so I don't expect him to call.

Enjoy retirement and all that royality money you are getting from "NOW" as you walk away from it, and that book released earlier in this year. I forget the name of it., but I hope you sell a bunch of them.

Jim Mulroy

2004-12-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

You have to register; it's free.

The Commercial Appeal had this to say about a friend of mine:

Peer-selected as a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, August 2001. Peer-selected to be listed in Best Lawyers in America, November 2004. Named a Preeminent Lawyer in the Field of Labor and Employment Law by Martindale Hubble.

And here:

The following attorneys from Memphis-based Lewis Fisher Henderson Claxton & Mulroy were selected for inclusion in "The Best Lawyers in America 2005-2006": Donna K. Fisher, Thomas L. Henderson, Frederick J. Lewis, M. Curtiss McKee, James R. Mulroy II, Emile C. Ott, and Herbert C. Ehrhardt of the Jackson, Miss. office.

Good job Jim.

Asian Rust and Soybeans

2004-12-08T15:24:00.000-08:00

Asian Rust can reduce the soybean crop by 80%. The models say rust will
cause all farmers to use an additional $30 per acre as a preventative next
season. Waiting until the rust establishes, doubles the price of control.

Problems:

1. Not enough fungicide http://www.soygrowers.com/rust/table1.htm available
in time.
2. Farmers don't get the messaged.
3. Section 18 approval needed.
4. Increased production costs will increase consumer prices.

Buy up now and avoid the price increase next year.

John Milton

2004-12-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

John Milton's sonnet,

"On His Blindness,"

When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
and that one talent which is death to hide,
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.

All the writings of Mr. Milton are found here free from Darthmouth's reading room.

Go and enjoy the poet, who is largely considered one of the five greatest English language poets.

For biographical information such as:

Dating also to 1637, his great pastoral elegy, Lycidas, held by most critics to be among the greatest examples of that form, expresses his grief over the loss of a college friend, Edward King. In this work, the attentive reader can begin to discern the great Christian faith that lies at the heart of Milton the poet and which serves as the core of his most celebrated works. The end of Lycidas, especially, resounds with a powerful expression of faith in resurrection and redemption.

Go here.

Elias Canetti

2004-12-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

Elias Canetti, the 1981 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, provided us with three principles of power:

The right to question and to demand answers,
The right to judge and condemn,
The right to pardon and show mercy.

This three step process, while used extensively by brutal regimes, remains the management tool of choice of global corporations. The power to destroy a reputation, then lift the sanction imposed by the humiliating defeat brings all employees to their knees. They cower and bow to keep their meager positions and avoid the wrath of the moralistic condemnations for their superiors.

And from the Boston Globe's obits:

Mr. Canetti, a Bulgarian-born British citizen who wrote in German, was buried Wednesday in Zurich beside Irish author James Joyce. He went into seclusion after he won the prize.

Interesting.

Policy Review, No. 128

2004-12-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

Trade Out Of Whack by Steve Stein - Policy Review, No. 128 says:

But the broadest area of agreement in the trade deficit debate is that Americans’ rate of savings must improve, so that seems a logical starting point for policy proposals, especially since, through tax reform, it is possible to promote savings and competitiveness at the same time.

Bolding mine.

Among consumers, the general consensus is 'not my problem, man'. Savings not a problem? Ya, don't think so? Don't care?

But if you do care. Look at this:

Savings Calculators

What will it take to become a millionaire?

or

Paycheck Planning Calculators

How do my 401(k) salary deductions affect my take-home pay?

Try it, you'll like it.

Momenteous? Of Course

2004-12-03T11:02:00.000-08:00

Per Tulip Girl

At 5:58 the Ukraine Supreme Court decision was read. The Supreme Court has
ruled that:

1. The election from November 21 is invalid.
2. There will be another run-off election, between Yushchenko and
Yanukovich.
3. The election will be held before the end of December.

Ranks right there with the Berlin Wall falling down.

Something Comforting

2004-12-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

god-of-small-things said:

"What if we change the metaphor. Suppose the world, instead of being the Titanic, is more like the Queen Mary, which sailed faithfully on till reaching her final destination. In that case, caring for the ship and all her passengers is of the utmost importance. "

The French

2004-12-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

Belmont ClubP: "Five Fleets: Around the World with the Nimitz by Lieutenant Commander William R. Bray, U.S.N."

Ukraine Bank Runs 9 days after election

2004-11-30T13:21:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the Turkish Press for this heads up:

DONETSK, Ukraine, Nov 30 (AFP) - Angry pensioners in eastern Ukraine jostled for a place in line to a bank Tuesday as a crisis over a bitterly disputed presidential election spilled into the financial sector.
"If only they would let me withdraw at least 1,000 hryvnas (190 dollars)," said 76-year-old Yulia Kopran, one of thousands of Ukrainians who have rushed to convert their hryvnas into foreign currency over the past few days.
The run on bank deposits was sparked by a crisis that followed a November 21 runoff presidential vote, including mass opposition demonstrations and threats of separatism by southeastern regions.

House of Dog Art by Maia

2004-11-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

Pray for Democracy in the Ukraine.

Democracy

2004-11-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

Democracy

Thanks to The Argus for the picture.

2004-11-26T14:28:00.000-08:00

Aint I cute

Happy Thanksgiving

2004-11-25T20:11:00.000-08:00

I like thanksgiving. We celebrate it the same way Miles Standish did. He invited one of the locals he met over to partake in a warm hearty meal.

THen when the meal was over, Miles stabbed the Indian to death with the Indian's own knife.

How come that part isn't taught in our schools?

Gives new meaning to the phrase "fattened for the kill"!

eh

Pray for the Ukraine

2004-11-25T17:43:00.000-08:00

Here are the words to a prayer sung in the churches.

A Prayer for Ukraine

My prayer does not go unheard,
To you, our incense rises.
And my heart is heard without difficulty
In strange lands, in Your heavenly temple.

God, I pray for Ukraine,
God, I pray to you for its people.
May You forgive them,
May You save them,
And may Your favor on us rest.
God, I know
That You will be with us.
In Your temples under heaven
Joy and peace You're giving,
Life to the people You're showing,
Us in the Book of Life You've written!

In Your Living Glory,
You to the people have given power,
So that the people all pray to God
Who in Christ was reconciled to us.

Thanks to Tulip Girl

I've been linked.

2004-11-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

Go, figure this. Do the math.

This site gets about 4 hits a day on average. Big woo!!!

I have one Regular Visitor. Maizzy. Who is a nice person.

And she linked me. I used to link her back, but I don't link anymore because I haven't made the time. I should link her and a few more. But I don't, so shoot me!

But this guy now has me linked one day last week. I have no idea why. I think it is one of those random seredipity things that happen on the web. I appreciate his effort.

I appreciate reaganesque stopping by to say hi. Why, I have no idea. We have nothing in common. She writes well. Has well thought out political opinions. Is attractive. Is 17. Is in California. Why she said hi, I have no idea. I do no have well thought out opinioins. I look old. I'm 55. I'm in Tennessee.
I wish i could write as well as she does.

Thanks Omega.

Yeah! Military

2004-11-24T09:36:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for our men in uniform this Thanksgiving. And every thanksgiving for that matter.

You go boys!!!

Moohamid

2004-11-23T15:42:00.000-08:00

Muhammid:

1. Pedaphile who had sex with a 9 year old who was his wife.
2. Bigamist who had several wives.
3. Slave owner.
4. Highway robber who attacked at least 15 caravans just for the loot.
5. Dellusional.

Antonia Zerbisias writes every Thursday. azerbis@thestar.ca

2004-11-19T15:20:00.000-08:00

Antonia Zerbisias writes every Thursday. azerbis@thestar.ca

Proud Kafir

2004-11-13T19:39:00.000-08:00

I am a proud kafir.

Kafir (Arabic, kafara, conceal, be ungrateful) is one who does not believe in Allah, or in the content of the Qur'an, or in the prophetic status of Muhammad. Kufr, unbelief, is fundamentally in opposition to Allah and Islam, and will be punished in Jahannam forever

Yeah, NaNoWriMo

2004-11-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

That's me working away on my new book Undecided.

It's a cautionary tale about emotional abuse. As any good novel I write, it has murder, violence, secrets, deception, and cheating. I recount the 'funny' circumstances of the Law family how incidences of violence continue their effects many years and decades after they first inflicted their pain.

I've included working documents in previous posts as teasers. And to really confuse you, Chapters 1 &2 have now become Chapters Last and Next to Last.

See if you can guess the number I am thinking?

It's somewhere between 1 and a lot.

Leave Now

2004-11-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

I demand the immigrants who reject, deny, or fight against culture and American values like the gun ownership, separation of church and state, freedom of speech, and equality between men and women pack their bag and go home.

Snow Village

2004-11-08T06:19:00.000-08:00

She tore through her collection. And destroyed any male figure.

The Alpine house cracked into 100 little bitty pieces.

She cried. She held two women together. "See, they love each other. They kiss. They don't do mean things to each other."

They were aghast, horrified, and ashamed.

She ran out the door.

Continuity Added to Chapter One

2004-11-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

This part is a modification of Chapter One. A transition has been added between Albert's madness and the salesman. While we know the purpose of the salesman's visit, none of the specifics are revealed. The two old men begin to talk about the old stories. At the end of the chapter, Albert asks for help.

The angry noise inside him almost deafened his ears so that he didn’t hear the telephone ringing. He shook his head, turned toward the ringing, and saw the phone. As always, someone calling quieted the cracking ragged voices. And as he picked it up, he felt the yoke lift and he focused on the task of finding out who wanted to talk to him.

Smiling and suddenly calm, he answered. “Albert Law, here.”

Hannah, his front person at the security desk, called him to let him know that an appointment was here and was he ready. “Yes, yes, tell him I’ll be right down.”

He surveyed his office. An old painting of his dad hung behind the end of the conference table. The tidy office allowed Albert to work on many different problems. He could take phone calls, review reports, hold meetings, and even eat lunch prepared in the small kitchen through the door on the right. The opposite door provided bathrooms for his visitors and a shower. After all, he needed a place to clean up when he spent the day in the factory. In a word, the office was utilitarian. Perfect, but not elaborate or fancy.

Albert walked toward the door opposite his desk, opened it, and walked downstairs. Smiling, he saw a salesman from a supplier. He had some new products ready and they were going to design the supply chain to deliver the raw materials to “Law Tool Company”.

The man down in the lobby wore black leather boots, leather chaps, leather motorcycle jacket, and a red handkerchief over his head. In his left hand, he held a helmet with gloves tucked inside. At his side, a black Samsonite briefcase sat next to him; the same one Albert remembers from long ago when they first met. “Hello Red Wakefield, great to see you. Hello, hello.” They shook hands like the old friends they were. Hannah had been standing talking to Red about the weather and his drive out to the factory.

“Glad you enjoyed our sunny weather this morning. It’s supposed to last through the weekend.” With that, Hanna excused herself.

Red and Albert turned and walked up the stairs.

“Albert, I didn’t bring anyone this time, you and I can draw things up faster don’t you think.”

“I suppose.”

Both men entered the office and sat down. “Red can you tell me that story, again, about your grandparents?”

“I first came here as a visiting salesman to this office and we sat there with a couple of other people talking about the product plans and machinery specifications in this same upstairs office with its simple furnishings. Simple furnishings, but substantial, old and likely to never wear out. It looks the same today as it did then. I sent out to get some sodas and while everyone drank the Cokes, I commented that my grandfather had a blue Tennessee Tuxedo he wore to the Lilimay Church of Christ where they sang that harmony singing.”

“Yeah, I said ‘What a Tennessee Tuxedo’? I think you made up the answer on the spot there. I had been confused; surely, you weren’t talking about the early television cartoon where Don Adams was the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo, the wisecracking penguin, with his dim-witted pal, Chumley.”

“When I was a boy, and that was a long time ago. My grandfather would wear what he called his Tennessee Tuxedo and sing those old harmony songs, his Sacred Harp songs. The first time I went I kept expecting someone would play the harmonica because all week they’d talked about the Sacred Harp songs everyone sang together, no matter what your voice sounded like.”

Albert listened to his story. The room was quiet. His mine was quiet.

The salesman told him how Grandma starched and ironed the white shirt on Saturday during his summer visits. She washed and dried the overalls, then hung the shirt and overalls together on a wire hanger for him to put on in the morning before they went to church. As a boy, they’d ride in the old brown pick-up down River Road to Church every Sunday and I never saw men dressed like that until I first met you, Mr. Albert Law.

“The funny thing was the men did wear their bib overalls over their Sunday cloths. The roads in those days were dirt roads and if it rained, they were mud roads. To keep from getting their church clothes dirty, if they had to get out of the truck after it got stuck, they’d wear overalls on the way, then take them off when they got to church.”

They looked each other in the eyes, smiled, and nodded back and forth, acknowledging each other with a small nod no one else would have noticed unless they were looking for it, because it was so slight.

“You know, Red, I always like that story. I have to tell you though, that thing about bib-overalls and a white cotton shirt being the Tennessee Tuxedo, there’s not a bit of truth to it. Not a bit. I went and looked it up. Found out the term wasn’t used until after that show about the penguin and owl during the mid-1960’s. Before that, they weren’t called anything like that. It wasn’t used at all until a few years ago during a revival of old timey music. There was one black gospel group, The Fairfield Four, which usually had 5 singers and no instruments; they wore bib-overalls and white shirts. But it was part of their act, and they even promoted themselves wearing the “Tennessee Tuxedo”. But it never was a term used by anyone wearing one because that’s all they had; the people from up north would use it to mock their country cousins.”

“Albert, you are so right, and I’m glad you like my embellishment. And you are right; my grandfather never called it the “Tennessee Tuxedo”. The farmers would wear those clothes, because that’s all they had, but they would be clean. Sunday meant preaching, singing and praying.

“They sang the Sacred Harp songs. The old songs came from a tune book from the 19th century, and used a system of printed shapes, instead of standard music notation, to help untrained singers learn how to read the music. I think untrained meant the people couldn’t read much. This is a full-body, shout-it-out singing, but not that old colored gospel. It was/is white people singing. The harmonies are stark and haunting -- raw, even; not a sweet sound at all, but Lord, what feelings. It was powerful; sometimes you’d think Jesus and the Holy Ghost both were there singing too. After Sunday church and all that Sacred Harp singing, Lilimay always provided a bountiful meal at noon called "dinner on the grounds” where the preacher or a deacon would say a 15-minute blessing. And if you are a boy, 15 minutes is daylong when you are hungry. Those were the old times and people still act that way if you know where to find them.”

“Red, I need your help.”

Undecided

2004-11-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

Chapter One

Inside his head, the past family memories continued their ceaseless wailing and screaming. Albert Law scanned the factory floor from his secondary story office window. He viewed the success of his business and his busy workers through his watery eyes. He stood between the floor to ceiling picture window and his plain metal office desk and saw his life achievement as an organic thing that he created that brought him pride and peace of mind. The success of his life stood out below him, providing the best jobs, largest paychecks, and family support in Calhoun County. Inside him, the screams and tortured wails would frighten the workers as if they all had been sent to the depths of hell.

The demons in his mine howled loudly some days, but today they were deafening. The security guards would pull their pistols as if ambushed from behind. The single men would cry for their mothers. The married men would fall down on their knees and pray. The women would begin to vomit in places where their shoes would later slip and slide. The two girls who fell found their jeans soaked up some of the mess would further add to the hysteria and hopelessness on the factory floor.

“My God, what, oh what; why, oh why did it have to turn out this way?” Albert wore the same uniform his employees wore but with one small change to indicate his position of President and Chief Executive Office. Everyone wore brown overalls, which the factory provided. The shirts were either blue or white, but only Albert wore the white shirt, not so much as to indicate rank, but in case some salesman came by, he wanted to be taken seriously. In Tennessee, the white shirt and overalls were worn to fancy events and had, over time, earned the honored name “Tennessee Tuxedo”.

Once a visiting salesman came to his office and they sat there with a couple of other people talking about the product plans and machinery specifications in the upstairs office with its simple furnishings. Simple furnishings, but substantial, old and likely to never wear out. The salesman sent out to get some sodas and while they drank the Cokes, the salesman commented that his grandfather had a blue Tennessee Tuxedo he wore to the Lilimay Church of Christ.

“What Tennessee Tuxedo?” Albert was confused; surely, the salesman wasn’t talking about the early television cartoon where Don Adams was the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo, the wisecracking penguin, with his dim-witted pal, Chumley.

“When I was a boy, and that was a long time ago. My grandfather would wear what he called his Tennessee Tuxedo.’

Albert listened to his story. The room was quiet.

The salesman told him how Grandma starched and ironed the white shirt on Saturday during his summer visits. She washed and dried the overalls, then hung them both up on the same wire hanger. As a boy, they’d ride in the old brown pick-up down River Road to Church every Sunday and never saw men dressed like that until he first met old Mr. Albert Law.

“The funny thing was the men wore their bib overalls over their Sunday cloths. The roads in those days were dirt roads and if it rained, they were mud roads. To keep from getting their church clothes dirty if the truck got stuck, they’d wear overalls on the way, then take them off when they got to church.”

They looked each other in the eyes, smiled, and nodded back and forth a small nod no one would have noticed; it was so slight, unless they were looking for it.

The Plot of My New Book

2004-10-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

This is my plot for my book, titled “Undecided”. I wrote up my characters earlier this month, fascinated by their financial success which was over shadowed by their alieanation and loneliness. My favorite play of all time is Tennessee Williams “The Glass Menagerie”. I am writing an updated version with my own characters. My version has a different outcome, instead of poverty the family has wealth but remained estranged and guilt ridden. The young woman, Lydia, withdraws in humiliation and scorn came when she was outed as a lesbian then rejected by both her mother and her half-brother for her 'perversion'.

Undecided

Scenes 1 & 2
The story takes place in the factory of the Law family, which is in a spacious, non-descript industrial-warehouse complex in Memphis. On the factory floor is a collection of workers at their workbenches. A photograph of the founder hangs on the wall.

Albert, dressed as a farm worker, settles into his office and reminisces about the history of his family’s business. He turns back time to the 1960s, to when America was still recovering from the war protests, and there were violent race disputes. There was also a war in Viet Nam.

Albert, the main character, offers the reader his memories. The others are his first black worker named Rachel, his niece/sister Lydia, and her lesbian lover who appears in the final chapters. Another character, who does not appear in the book, is his and Lydia’s father, who died from a heart attack at his job deserting his family a long time ago. Lydia and her mother were both much younger than their respective siblings Julia and Arnold.

As the book begins, Paula and Lydia are seated at a table. Arnold joins them, but he and his mother soon fall to arguing since Paula is critical of him. Paula alludes to a gentleman caller that she expects that afternoon for Lydia. Then she reminisces about her own past in Hernando, Mississippi, when she once had seventeen gentlemen callers in one afternoon. Arnold, who has heard this story many times, indulges her, and Paula tells of how she was able to entertain them all because she knew the art of conversation. Many of these men went on to become wealthy, although many are now dead.

Paula tells Lydia to go and take her medications. She must stay fresh and pretty because her gentleman caller will be arriving shortly. Lydia points out that she is not expecting anyone, but Paula does not want to believe it. She fears that Lydia may become an “old maid”.

In scene 2, an agitated Paula returns from what would usually have been a U.D.C. (United Daughters of the Confederacy) meeting. But it transpires that she did not go to the meeting. Instead, she visited University of Tennessee Medical College's Gaston Psychiatric Clinic to speak to Lydia’s Doctor about the progress she was making. The nurse told her that Lydia did not return for her group therapy meetings. The nurse then recalled that Lydia was the shy girl who dropped out after only attending a few meetings. Paula had assumed that Lydia had been attending therapy every week for six months. She is devastated by the news, and tells Lydia that all her hopes and ambitions for her have been destroyed. She asks Lydia where she has been going when she pretended to be attending group therapy. Lydia replies that she went out walking, usually visiting Mary Jane, or going to the movie theater.

Paula is in despair. Because Lydia has dropped out of her therapy, she sees nothing in her future except the return of the psychotic episodes. She then turns the subject to marriage, asking Lydia if she has ever liked a boy.

Lydia replies that there was one boy, named Charlie, whom she liked in high school. She shows her mother the school yearbook, which has a picture of Charlie. She remembers how he used to call her “Blue Roses,” having misheard her tell him that she had had an attack of asthma. The yearbook stated that Charlie was engaged to be married, so Lydia assumes that he is now married, since the yearbook is six years old.

Paula resolves to marry Lydia off to a nice man, but Lydia does not believe she will ever marry because she is psycho. Paula reproaches her for using that word, and insists that all she has to do is try harder to cultivate vivacity and charm.

Analysis
The social background that is emphasized several times in the book is important. It is the macrocosmic reflection of the microcosm of the Law family. In scene 1, Arnold mentions the war protests of the 1960s, and this mirrors the racial relations and worries of the Law family.

Scene 1 is dominated by Paula, who reveals how difficult she is to live with. She lectures Arnold all the time, telling him what to do and how he should live. It is no wonder that he, who is the musician, imaginative member of the family, wants to escape.

It is clear that Paula lives in an illusory world of her own. She is really living in the past, looking back to an ideal South of her youth that probably never really existed. She is surely exaggerating when she recalls her seventeen gentlemen callers on just one afternoon—a story she has told many times before.

If Paula lives in the past and nourishes illusions regarding the present, Lydia has extreme difficulties of her own, as scene 2 shows. She is shown polishing her glass animals, which seem to be all she has in life. Self-conscious about being lame, she retreats inward and cannot face the world. It is clear that both Paula and Lydia, in their different ways, are trapped in their small worlds. There seems to be no future for them.

Scene 3
Arnold remembers the fiasco at the doctor’s office, and Paula became obsessed with finding a “gentleman caller” for Lydia.

The audience then sees Paula. Realizing that some extra money will be required to spend on the apartment to make it look nice, she makes telephone calls selling Avon makeup to other women.

After the chapter ends, the voices of Arnold and Paula are heard quarreling again. Arnold is angry with his mom’s control over his life. The day before, she returned one of his books to the library because she did not approve of its contents.

In the next chapter, a computer and a pile of manuscripts appear on his desk at work. It appears that the quarrel was sparked by Paula’s interruption of Arnold’s creative work.
The quarrel continues. Arnold says he is going out, and Paula responds by saying she does not believe he goes to works every night. She thinks he must be doing something he is ashamed of. He comes home late and gets only a few hours sleep. Paula is certain that he is jeopardizing his job, and their security. Arnold replies that he hates his job at the warehouse and working there means he has to give up all his dreams. He says that if he was really as selfish as she thinks he is, he would already have left home, like his father did.

When he starts to go out, Paula says she still doesn’t believe he is going to the work. He replies with some wild exaggerations about what he is really going to do, including going to a crack house and gambling casinos. He says he is a hired assassin and carries an assault weapon in his truck. Carried away by his anger and frustration, he calls Paula a witch. He hurls his coat across the room where it smashes against Lydia’s collection of glass animals. Lydia is horrified. Paula is stunned by Arnold’s calling her a witch and says she will not speak to him until he apologizes. Paula exits, leaving Arnold and Lydia together. Arnold collects the broken glass.

Analysis
If the previous chapter showed how Paula and Lydia were each trapped in their own ways, this chapter shows how Arnold is trapped too. He is by nature a rock guitarist and a song-writer (as the pile of manuscripts on the table shows), and he cannot bear to fritter his life away working at the daddy’s factory. He knows he has to escape.

The difference between Arnold and his mother can be seen in their tastes in literature. Paula likes romantic, escapist fiction of the sort published in People magazine, which suits her old-fashioned view of the world. Arnold prefers Neil Guiman, who lauds the sensual, instinctive, earthy dimension to life. But Paula regards Guiman books as “sacrilegious and blasphemous.”

It is obvious that the glass menagerie is a symbol of the fragility of Lydia’s life. When some of the animals are accidentally broken, she cries out “as if wounded.”

Scene 4
Arnold does not return until five o’clock in the morning, and Lydia tells him to be careful not to wake Paula. Arnold does not care, and he tells his sister about the problems at the factory. He says their father left the business near bankruptcy. He knows he has to recover the business. He compares his own life to a drunk in the gutter and asks how he will ever get out of such a thing where the cost of the goods is less than the sales. As he speaks, the photograph of the father (who did manage to escape) lights up.

After that chapter dims about, a clock strikes six. Paula, who is not speaking to Arnold, tries to get Lydia to summon Arnold for his coffee. Lydia urges Arnold to apologize to his mother for his earlier outburst.

Lydia goes out to buy butter. Arnold enters, and for some moments, he and Paula do not speak. She stands with her back to him. Then Arnold apologizes to her. She cries, and says she worries so much that she cannot sleep. She urges him not to fail in running the company too. He must try, and then he will succeed. Arnold speaks gently to her, with understanding. She asks him to promise her he will never be a drunkard, which he does, grinning.

Paula then tries to tell him what he should have for breakfast, and he politely insists that all he will have is a cup of coffee. She then says that she sent Lydia out so she could discuss her with Arnold. She starts by saying that Lydia has told her that he is unhappy living in their apartment and working in the warehouse. Arnold denies that he goes out at night just to get away, and Paula again asks him where he goes. He gives the same answer that he gave in the previous chapter. He goes to the factory a lot because he doesn’t want to be a failure.

After their discussion about what Arnold wants in life goes nowhere, Paula turns to the subject of Lydia. She says it frightens her that Lydia is just drifting along, and they must make some provisions for her. She tells Arnold that as soon as Lydia has a husband and a home of her own, he will be free to pursue his own dreams. But up until then he must look out for her, since none of Paula’s efforts have worked out, and all Lydia does is stay at home, play CD’s and fool around with her glass animal collection.

As Arnold is about to go to work, Paula asks if any nice young men work there. She wants Arnold to ask a suitable young man back to their apartment, so he can become acquainted with Lydia. Arnold is impatient and unsympathetic, but he agrees to do what his mother wants.

Paula starts to make more phone calls in connection with selling Avon makeup.

Analysis
Paula seems oblivious to the fact that her controlling, critical nature is certain to drive Arnold away. But she cannot bear the thought that Arnold is going to take after his father, and she sees the warning signs already. Their dialog shows that not only are they trapped as far as their external situation is concerned, they are also unable to communicate their feelings fully. There is an entire emotional world that exists somewhere beyond the grasp of words. Paula says, for example, that “There’s so many things in my heart that I cannot describe to you!”, and Arnold replies, “There’s so much in my heart that I won’t describe to you!” Arnold’s solution is that they should just accept this and respect each other’s privacy, but this is not something that Paula would ever be able to do.

When Arnold tells his mother that “Man is by instinct a lover, a hunter, a fighter,” he is probably influenced by his reading of Steven King, since that sounds like something from the King creed. Paula, on the other hand, aspires, or convinces herself she aspires, to a higher realm of being, beyond instinct, which is something humans share with the animals. She wants “superior things! Things of the mind and spirit!” and she mentions Christianity. There is obviously going to be no meeting of minds between these two, however long they talk. But they do have a common concern for Lydia.

Scene 5
It is a spring evening in 1969. The family has just finished supper, and Paula, as usual, is telling Arnold what to do. He should comb his hair more frequently. When Arnold, irritated, goes out for a smoke, she tells him that he smokes too much. He should save the money instead.

Arnold returns to his office. He describes what the Club Paradise, which is just across the alley, was like on spring evenings. He explains that world events (the coming of Desert Storm) would soon produce adventure and change for all the young people in the area. But until that happened, there was only Rap music, beer, NASCAR, bars, movies and sex.

Paula joins him on the fire-escape, and they make a wish on the moon. Arnold keeps his a secret, but Paula says she wished for the success and happiness of her children.
Arnold tells her that he has arranged for a gentleman caller for Lydia. Paula is first excited and then flustered when Arnold tells her that the young man is coming for dinner tomorrow. She says she needs more time to make preparations, but Arnold chides her for making a fuss. Paula wants to know whether the young man, whose name is O’Connor, drinks. Arnold says he is not aware of any drinking problem; he is impatient with his mother’s fears about men who drink.

As Paula questions Arnold further about his friend, it transpires that he is the supervisor of the warehouse, and he earns more than most young men. Paula says that his salary is not enough for a family man, but Arnold points out that O’Connor is not a family man. But he might be in the future, is Paula’s reply.

She hopes O’Connor is not too good-looking, and Arnold confirms that he is rather homely. He goes to night school, studying nano engineering, and public speaking, which pleases Paula, since she thinks that shows ambition. Arnold explains that he did not tell Charlie anything about Lydia, and warns his mother not to expect too much of her. Lydia is crippled, shy, and lives in a world of her own; she is not like other girls. Arnold tells his mother she must face the facts.

Arnold then exits, saying he is going to back to work Paula calls Lydia over and tells her to make a wish on the moon. Lydia asks what she should wish for, and Paula tells her to wish for happiness and good fortune.

Analysis
The chapter begins and ends with dreaming, as first Arnold and Paula, and then Paula and Lydia make wishes on the moon. For Paula, this kind of thinking is all she has left. It highlights the gap between the harsh and unpromising world she lives in and her efforts, some practical and others based on romantic illusions, to break out of it and make her life bearable.

In this chapter Arnold makes another attempt to paint the wider social background, when he mentions John Kerry’s cowardice in Viet Nam then his betrayal of his fellow soldiers at the Senate hearing. Kerry’s later plans for peace in the Middle East and Iraq appeased the muslims by turning our back on Israel. The muslims had initiated terror attacks against the United States. They high jacked two planes and flew them into the two World Trade Center Towers. The two towers crashed and over 3000 innocent people died.

Scene 6
Arnold speaks, looking back on the past. He says he knew that Lydia and Charlie O’Connor had been acquainted in high school, but he did not know whether Charlie remembered her.

On a Friday evening, at about five, everything is ready for Charlie’s arrival. Lydia is so nervous she trembles. Paula stuffs a couple of pads down Lydia’s dress, because she is flat-chested. Lydia says she will not wear them. Paula disappears and then re-emerges wearing girlish dress, one that she wore when she was young. She wore it for her gentleman callers, and was wearing it the day she met her husband. Then she lets slip that the young man’s name is Charlie O’Connor. Lydia fears that it may be the boy she knew in high school, whom she liked. If it is the same boy, she says she will not come to the dinner table. Paula tries to reassure her that it will not be the same person.

The doorbell rings, and Paula tells Lydia to answer it. Lydia pleads with her mother, and says she is sick. But Paula insists the she open the door. Arnold introduces Charlie to Lydia and she manages to get out a few anxious words before excusing herself. Arnold explains to Charlie that she is terribly shy.

After glancing at the newspaper, Charlie and Arnold go out on to the fire-escape. Charlie talks about how his public speaking course has helped him. He says the most important thing in life is social poise, being able to hold your own on many levels. He also tells Arnold that one of the supervisors, a Mr. Mendoza, has indicated that Arnold will be out of a job soon if he doesn’t wake up. Arnold says he is waking up, but the signs of it are interior. He is ready to go to sea. He is tired of going to the movies all the time, and wants some adventure of his own. He shows Charlie his membership card of the Union of Merchant Seamen. He paid his dues instead of paying the electricity bill. When the lights go off, he says, he won’t be there.

They go inside, where Paula greets them. She turns on the excessive charm. Charlie is taken aback at first, but quickly adjusts. She chatters on, hardly letting Charlie get a word in edgewise.

Supper is on the table, but Lydia has not appeared. After Paula calls her, she comes in but walks unsteadily. She is obviously terrified. She stumbles and catches at a chair. Paula realizes she really is sick, and tells Arnold to help her to the living room, where she rests on the sofa.

The chapter ends as Arnold says grace before the meal, and Lydia holds her hand to her mouth to hold back a sob.

Analysis
Paula’s frantic preparations, and the dress she wears, are out of all proportion to the event. Once more shows how she is still living in an idealized southern past, in which invitations for young ladies keep pouring in and there were parties all over the Delta: “Evenings, dances!—Afternoons, long, long rides! Picnics—lovely!—So lovely, that country in May.—All lacy, with dogwood, literally flooded with jonquils!”

Charlie is a sharp contrast to the other three characters. Just as he arrives, Paula says in frustration to Lydia, “Why can’t you and your brother be normal people?” Charlie is one of those normal people. He has found that real life is much harder than being in high school, where he was outstanding, and in six years he has not advanced very far in life. But he is ambitious, and ready to take his place in the American mainstream (unlike any of the marginalized Law family). His chosen interest is radio engineering and television—the industries of the future, and his evening classes in public speaking make it clear that he believes in the American Dream. He believes that if you work hard and study, you can get ahead, which is an ethos that Paula has earlier tried to instill in Arnold, without any success. Charlie is therefore attuned to the society in which he lives, but Paula, Lydia and Arnold are all, in their different ways, people who do not fit in.

Scene 7
Half an hour later, dinner is just being finished. Lydia is still huddled on the sofa.
The lights go out. Paula lights candles while Charlie checks on the fuses, which are all intact. Paula asks Arnold about the bill, and it soon transpires that he did not pay it.
Paula tells Charlie to go and keep Lydia company while she and Arnold wash the dishes. Charlie takes the candelabra and some wine with him, and talks to Lydia in a gentle, humorous way, to help her overcome her shyness. He tells her about the Rolling Stones Concert he saw in Columbia, South Carolina the previous summer. He is excited about their new album.

Lydia asks him whether he has kept up with his singing. Charlie is surprised at her inquiry, and Lydia supposes he does not remember her. He replies that he remembers her from somewhere, and when she responds with the nickname he gave her, Blue Roses, he remembers who she is. Charlie wonders why she didn’t say something when he arrived, but she says she was too surprised.

They recall a choral singing class they took together, and Charlie remembers that she always came in late. She explains that that was because of the leg brace she wore, but Charlie says he never noticed it. When Lydia confesses that she never had much luck making friends, Charlie tries to help her overcome her shyness, telling her that people are not so dreadful when you get to know them.

He recalls how in high school there was a write-up about him in the yearbook that said he was bound to succeed in anything he went into. Lydia produces the book, and points to a photo of Charlie performing in an operetta. She tells him she went to all three performances and wanted to ask him to autograph her program, but his own friends always surrounded him. Charlie signs the yearbook for her with a flourish. Lydia then finds out from him that he never married the girl the yearbook says he was engaged to.

Charlie inquires about what she has been doing since high school, and she confesses to dropping out of the University of Memphis and going to work for her older brother. She doesn’t do much else, she says, and tells him about her collection of glass animals.

Charlie says that her problem is that she has an inferiority complex. She lacks confidence in herself as a person. He advises her to think of herself as superior in some way. Everyone excels in something, he says; you just have to discover what it is. Then he talks about his interest in nano-engineering and how he believes in the future of micro-technology. He is already making the right connections so he can get into this new industry.

After he asks her whether there is something, she takes more interest in than anything else, she shows him her glass collection, and gives him a glass unicorn to hold.
Charlie invites her to dance, and overcomes her objection that she has never danced in her life. As he swings her around the floor, they bump into the table, and the unicorn falls off and breaks. Charlie is very apologetic, but Lydia says it doesn’t matter.

Charlie tells her that she is different from anyone else he knows. He asks her whether anyone has ever told her she is pretty, and says he wishes she were his sister; he would teach her to have confidence in herself. He then takes her hand and kisses her on the mouth.

Realizing his mistake, Charlie backs off, lights a cigarette, and says he shouldn’t have kissed her. She confesses that she has a regular girlfriend called Mary Jane, with whom she is in love.

Lydia is devastated by her sudden confession, but she tries to recover. She offers him the broken unicorn, as a souvenir.

At that moment, Paula comes into the room, chattering gaily. She anticipates Charlie coming often to call on them. Charlie says he must be going, and mentions Mary Jane’s name, saying she is Lydia’s lover.

Paula is stunned, but she puts a brave face on this unwelcome news, wishing Charlie luck, happiness, and success.

After Charlie has left, Paula confronts Arnold. She finds it hard to believe his protests that he had no idea Lydia was gay. Arnold says he is going to the movies. He smashes his glass on the floor and rushes out. Lydia screams.

In Arnold’s final speech, he looks back from his later viewpoint. He was works all the time at his job, and left him mom and sister, growing the company year after year. But no matter how much money he makes, he cannot forget that Lydia is a lesbian. Whenever he sees some transparent glass, or a familiar piece of music, he thinks of her. He tries to distract himself from the memory by telling Paula to shoot Lydia because she is gay.

Lydia, who has been acting out a soundless scene with her aunt; guns Paula down with Arnold’s assault weapon ending the book.

Analysis
This is the longest chapter in the book, and takes up about one-third of the action. It is dramatically effective, in part, because it focuses on the meeting between the heterosexual Charlie and the homosexual Lydia. He succeeds in drawing out her secret to the shock of her brother and her aunt. Will he be the Prince Charming to her Cinderella, her cure from homosexuality? But the audience senses that this cannot be.

Charlie does his best with Lydia, using what he has learned in his night school classes about how to have self-confidence in dealing with others. The “pop” psychology has been good enough for him in his quest to improve himself, but poor Lydia is in need of much more than a pep talk to accept her gayness. Charlie is well-meaning, but he allows his enthusiasm to run away with him. His clumsy breaking of the glass unicorn is an obvious piece of symbolism, foreshadowing his unintentional shattering of Lydia a few moments later.

Lydia is broken completely by this sudden coming out. The coming out scene with Lydia and Charlie “is the climax of her secret life.” The truth is she did not forgive Charlie for triggering her coming out, because they were barely acquainted with each other. For Lydia to live without hope is one thing, but to have hope and guilt suddenly erupt so unexpectedly, followed by the loss of home and a continuing simmering of guilt for being different, is an even more devastating experience than mere hopelessness. The look on Lydia’s face is one of “almost infinite desolation.”

After Charlie’s departure, the book draws to a close with the predictable pattern reasserting itself, as Paula accuses Arnold of selfishness and he goes out to the back to work. Nothing much has changed in these difficult, restricted lives.

At the end, Arnold describes his life since he escaped from this stifling home environment and buried himself in his work. Lydia acts out a soundless pantomime; it is as if the character is behind transparent, soundproof glass. She has become like a member of a glass menagerie, cut off in an unfulfilled, desperate and fragile world of her own.

Character Profiles

Charlie O’Connor
Charlie O’Connor is a friend of Arnold’s from the warehouse where they both work. Charlie is the “gentleman caller” who is invited to dinner by Arnold, and in whom Paula places her hopes for finding a husband for Lydia.

Charlie was an outstanding success in high school, and everyone thought he would succeed in life. However, in the six years that have elapsed since he graduated, he has found life much tougher than he might have expected. At the warehouse, he is the warehouse supervisor, which is only a slightly better position than Rachel’s. However, Charlie is a cheerful, optimistic young man, who is determined to get on in life. He is studying public speaking and nano-molecular engineering at night school, and wants to go into the fledgling nano-technology industry. When he visits the Law family, Charlie does his best to draw Lydia out of her shell, but his enthusiasm runs away with him and he makes the mistake of kissing her. She then has to explain that she must disappoint him because she has a steady girlfriend named Mary Jane.

Mary Jane
Mary Jane is Lydia’s “friend”. They have been friends since the first grade. Mary Jane is a failed writer and a nice ordinary looking young woman.

Paula Law
Paula Law is the mother of Arnold and aunt of Lydia. Paula spent her youth in the south, and in a way, she continues to live there, endlessly telling her children stories of her life back in those days. Her desire to live in the past is perhaps not surprising, given that it was so much more enjoyable than the life she has in the present—living on limited means in an apartment in a middle-class area of Memphis.

Paula’s husband died and deserted her sixteen years ago, and she is scared that Arnold will turn out like his father. But she does not realize that by her constant attempts to control his life, she is driving him away. Paula is resourceful and energetic, and her sole ambition is that her son and daughter should be successful and happy. But her attempts to marry off Lydia to Charlie are a terrible failure and leave her desolate, although she still manages to put a brave face on things.

Lydia Law
Lydia Law is Paula’s niece. Paula and Arnold share the same father who had children by Lydia, Arnold’s mother, and Julia, Lydia’s sister. She is an extremely shy young woman in her early twenties. Following a childhood illness she is crippled, and wears a leg brace. Lydia is so withdrawn, so unable to make contact with reality, that she spends her time playing with her collection of glass animals and listening to gramophone records. The failure of her encounter with Charlie makes her even more withdrawn. The same character in Tennessee Williams’ “Glass Menagerie”, who wrote of her, “she is like a piece of her own glass collection, too exquisitely fragile to move from the shelf.”

Arnold Law
Arnold Law is the main character of the book. He is Paula’s son and Lydia’s half-brother. Arnold is a rock musician, he feels stifled by his unrewarding role at the warehouse and the tense situation at home, and the permanent scars from his abusive father who he always belittled him. After his father’s death, the memories of his father continued their toil. He wants to escape his situation, just as his father managed to escape many years before. His goal is to become a successful businessman, and he is prepared to be ruthless in accomplishing his goal—for example, hiring a black woman instead of following his father’s orders to keep the jobs for whites only. But even though he does manage to become successful, he does not find happiness. As he moves through the years increasing sales and profits, he regrets he could never get his half-sister to marry. Andnow she is only someone who works for him at a workbench with whom he is permanently estranged.

Father Law
Not developed.

Symbols
The Glass Menagerie
The collection of little glass animals that Lydia keeps and fusses over are symbols of her own fragility and the unreal life she lives. Her favorite ornament is the unicorn, and this takes the symbolism further, since the unicorn is a creature of myth, not of reality. The unicorn in fact represents Lydia herself. The unicorn is like a horse but it is not a horse; it has a peculiarity (its horn) that sets it apart from other horses. So too Lydia is not like other girls. In scene 7, the symbolism becomes important for the meaning of the book. Charlie accidentally breaks the unicorn, and without its distinguishing horn, it looks more like a horse. This symbolizes how Charlie is trying to draw Lydia out of herself, to make her more normal. But his strategy does not work. Instead of a normal horse and a normal girl, there is just a broken ornament (given to Charlie as a souvenir) that used to be a unicorn, and a girl whose dreams have been shattered and is now even less normal than ever.

Flowers

NaNoWriMo

2004-10-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

Check out their link.

You too can write a novel.

Here is my profile over at National Novel Writing Month

NaNoWriMo Blog Spot dot Com

2004-10-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

OH, my gosh, it is almost time again!!

Should I or shan't I?

I did it once. Can I do it again?

Who knows beside the shadow?

Even I don't know if I will NaNoWriMo this year.

mmmmmmmmmmm....

Off to think and ponder this unique challenge.

Horses, the Saddle Kind

2004-10-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

Paula Biddle never road a horse. Maybe never even touched one. She didn't know which side to get up on to ride. In fact, she didn't know how to saddle a horse.

Sometimes when a horse is saddled, the cinch slips and when the cinch slips, the saddle slips. When the saddle slips, the rider falls. The tact is known to slip. The riding risk is characteristerised by or intrinsic to any sport or recreational opportunity. If a person falls, what did you expect to happen?

Ask superman. He'll tell you those darn horses are dangerous as heck and if you aren't super careful, you'll hurt yourself. Even if you know what you are doing, you'll hurt yourself.

Arthur's Office

2004-10-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

Arthur left the floor and walked to his office. He walked strong and straight, after all, he was a champion rugby player in his youth. Actually, he was a star rugby player and somewhat of a ladies man. The women could not resist his star power, nor his stunning movie star looks. He was credited with capturing the hearts of several young lasses during his college days.

He wondered what he could do today? The factory and warehouse would run themselves for years before anyone found out he was missing. He liked to think that and the employees felt it was their duty to work. Arthur was smiling when he turned around and headed for the office. He didn't wear a suit anymore, just a white shirt under a pair of overalls. He kept a few ties in his office in case someone showed up in a suit. But he hated wearing ties, suits and white shirts. The only reason he wore white shirts was because he had about 25 of them at home and he wanted to wear them out and not throw them away.

On the way to the office, he spoke to the folks who handled the front. A secretary, whose main job was to answer the phone, sat near the front door. She had been with him since, just before his grandson was born. Her husband had beat her horribly during their last year of marriage. He'd been a drunk and was now a dead drunk. Drinking and driving don't mix. Someone had called and suggested he hire her. She had no skills, no work experience, and no education. When the rest of the corporations hired the skilled, or the educated and trained them, Law hired the misfits. All they had to be was sober, half way articulate, and reasonably intelligent.

Hiring sober people saved him trouble. Now he hired sober people and non-smokers. He found people grateful for their job worked harder, learned faster, and stayed longer. Everyone stayed. One fellow left when his wife graduated from Medical School with a degree in doctoring. All the "top" hospitals wooed her and she eventually left their little town for the lights in the big city. Law hadn't seen that one coming and started asking if the spouse was going to college.

The other business owners and managers of branch offices of the big corporations were puzzled that he hired so many 'down and out' people. Which he didn't, he hired the rejects from the so-called 'star' list. He knew the quality of a person can't be measured by how smart he is, how smooth talking he is, or good looking. What mattered was how the person could be trusted. Could the person be honest with himself. He was puzzled how his peers and competition never saw that measurement in people.

Everyone he hired loved him.

Sitting in his chair, Arthur knew someone would call today and want to waste his time.

Accountant

2004-10-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

Paula Biddle knew her numbers. She could add, subtract, multiply and divide. Once she even passed her CPA exam. She worked hard, and played nice.

No one knew what happened to her. She just up and left Memphis one day. She sold most of her stuff. Got in her car and drove off to parts unknown. Even her friend Mary Jane disappeared the next year. The two girls were born in the late 50's. And as best friends stayed close together all during grade school through college.

Paula met a fellow in her first accounting class at the University. He represented all that she dreamed about. Tall, good looking, smart, and from a middle class background; not the background her parents were from and her brothers entered. They were firemen, mechanics and plumbers. Paula wanted a finer life and she found it in her first boyfriend.

She loved him. He made her forget about everyone else. She gave herself to him. He left his wife for her. Then she moved on, leaving him behind, moving out of state.

The lovers stayed together almost two years. They drifted apart or she stopped thinking about trying to get him back. But the boy thought about her every day for the rest of his life. He liked her curley hair and hazel eyes. He liked the fact that she was just 2 inches shorter and they could kiss standing up and look each other in their eyes.

Paula played the guitar for him and sang for him. She gave him a ride in her car when he had to walk.