Monday, August 30, 2010
Fun Kids Crafts for a Rainy Day
Rainy days giving your kids the blues? Tania, over at the Trying to Conceive blog, provides us with a wonderful guest post, to brighten your kids day up with Fun Kids Crafts for a Rainy Day.Keeping small kids happy and entertained can be a bit of a challenge on a rainy day! I am sure that every mother has been through days where the whole family is desperate to
Momcat's Vegan Project: Ode To Augie, Iggie And MomCat: Donate Today To la-spca.org
Augie is the currently 14 year old or so pound puppie I gained joint custody of in January 2007 when my wife and I entered into cohabitation. Sally had wonderfully and heroically adopted Augie the Doggie many years prior and had rescued him from death row at a local animal shelter for the apparent capital felonies of being cute and generally adorable.
Augie is obviously of mixed ethnic origins, being the color of a German Shepherd, having pointed(what my seven year old nephew refers to as "medium floppy") ears that fold over in a curious manner, the legs(approximately 5 to 6 inches) of a Corgie and the face of a gentleman. Most suggest Corgie/Shepherd upon meeting Mr. Aug(also known as Dr. Magic, Magic Man, Mr. Good Guy, The Big Blopper, among others), despite the unimaginable mating visual image that conjures up in one's mind.
Iggie was one of the canines of my youth. Born a litter of one to my brother's dog, Iggie had the obvious appearance of Beagle, though her mother bore no such resemblance. Iggie, also ethnically diverse, had tri-colors--mainly brown, black and white. She had a Beagle face in color and dimensions, but her primary body color was white. Against this white background was a multitude of black spots, somewhat reminiscent of a really cute Dalmation, a curly tail, and a classic Beagle saddle--however the saddle had apparently slipped during gestation and was firmly attatched to the left side of her torso, not at all centered on the back, such as a saddle is usually located on a horse about to be ridden or an AKC registered Beagle.
MomCat is the(one-time feral) mother of my permanent family kitten, Bluebelle. Momcat is a temporary guest in my basement(she is clawed and "outdoorsy" like her mate, also presently residing in my basement--Bluebelle being "indoorsy" and declawed and permanently residing with the now elderly, glucosomine/chondroiton-ingesting mildly arthritic Augie on the first floor). Momcat is multi-colored, attractive(in fact she's earned the nick-name "Bootiful") and adapting well to, and in fact enjoying, the luxuries of indoor living.
While honorable mention must certainly be made of Trixie, Gout, Lennie, Bluebelle, Mao and Mollie Brown--the other central felines and canines involved in Unabashed Left's 53 years on planet Earth--Augie, Iggie and Momcat deserve special mention and are the subject matter of this particular blog.
Trixie, Gout, Lennie, Bluebelle, Mao and Mollie Brown have all brought many delights into my life, and most certainly have demonstrated moral character above and beyond, great humor, compassion, unconditional love, affection, playfulness, unbridled loyalty, forgiveness and most certainly have extended my longevity as well as all the other mammals, birds, reptiles, and all the warm and cold-blooded creatures who have graced my family over the years.
But I salute Augie the Doggie, Iggie(proper name Ignatz) and MomCat for specific life-saving behavior.
My introduction to "The AugMan" had not even been close to auspicious. My first offical 'date' with my future wife[whom I had already known on a non-romantic friendship basis for some time] had gone well, and we were entertaining each other on her den sofa when Augie took apparent umbrage to my presence. He barked. And barked. And barked. I was, to say the least unimpressed and articulated my views to my date. From that initial inauspicious beginning, Augie demonstrated an open mind and eventually decided that I was a bit better than dirt and proceded to forge an inseparable bond with your's truly.
Augie took a depressive with severe and threatening personal thinking on one particular occasion and turned him around from despair to delight in less than 45 seconds with just two paws on the couch, one face-blop and one turn of the head. He has also been right by my side, never more than 20 feet away throughout the devastations of two different and severe illnesses.
Iggie took a carload of drunk high school jocks with baseball bats barreling towards a long-haired hippy-type high school student[ your author--the one and only Unabashed Left :) ] and scared them back into their car(only to assault a poor victim down the road later that night) and saved my behind, besides being a source of companionship and love at a time in my existence when that also saved my life.
And MomCat went missing in the basement just long enough one time to inform Unabashed Left that he was capable of love at a time when he was in doubt about that capability and also saved my life--rendering it much more worth living, as well.
Pets are family, and Unabashed Left highly recommends adopting one, or more, who might otherwise be killed(or "put to sleep" if you're fond of euphemisms) today if you are in a position to provide food, shelter, veterinary care, but more importantly love. Most importantly, love.
The oil spill sponsored by Tony "Wayward" Hayward and Doug "Not At All Subtle" Suttles in the Gulf of Mexico has caused way too many families to make the nightmare decision to give up their pet family members because they can no longer put food into their human family members, let alone the cats and dogs they so love.
Animal Shelters along the Gulf have been bloated, and many kittens and puppies have been and are being killed due to the malicious money-grabbing felons in the BP boardroom. The Louisianna chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been providing veterinary care, shelter, food and outreach to help heros like Augie, Iggie and MomCat stay at home with their families. Please donate generously today at la-spca.org
On behalf of Trixie, Gout, Iggie, Chairman, Cricket, Blarney, Lennie, Mao, Mollie Brown, Augie, Momcat, Sam, Sam II, Pugsy, Bluebelle, Bonnie, Clyde and Unabashed Left; we thank you.
Augie is obviously of mixed ethnic origins, being the color of a German Shepherd, having pointed(what my seven year old nephew refers to as "medium floppy") ears that fold over in a curious manner, the legs(approximately 5 to 6 inches) of a Corgie and the face of a gentleman. Most suggest Corgie/Shepherd upon meeting Mr. Aug(also known as Dr. Magic, Magic Man, Mr. Good Guy, The Big Blopper, among others), despite the unimaginable mating visual image that conjures up in one's mind.
Iggie was one of the canines of my youth. Born a litter of one to my brother's dog, Iggie had the obvious appearance of Beagle, though her mother bore no such resemblance. Iggie, also ethnically diverse, had tri-colors--mainly brown, black and white. She had a Beagle face in color and dimensions, but her primary body color was white. Against this white background was a multitude of black spots, somewhat reminiscent of a really cute Dalmation, a curly tail, and a classic Beagle saddle--however the saddle had apparently slipped during gestation and was firmly attatched to the left side of her torso, not at all centered on the back, such as a saddle is usually located on a horse about to be ridden or an AKC registered Beagle.
MomCat is the(one-time feral) mother of my permanent family kitten, Bluebelle. Momcat is a temporary guest in my basement(she is clawed and "outdoorsy" like her mate, also presently residing in my basement--Bluebelle being "indoorsy" and declawed and permanently residing with the now elderly, glucosomine/chondroiton-ingesting mildly arthritic Augie on the first floor). Momcat is multi-colored, attractive(in fact she's earned the nick-name "Bootiful") and adapting well to, and in fact enjoying, the luxuries of indoor living.
While honorable mention must certainly be made of Trixie, Gout, Lennie, Bluebelle, Mao and Mollie Brown--the other central felines and canines involved in Unabashed Left's 53 years on planet Earth--Augie, Iggie and Momcat deserve special mention and are the subject matter of this particular blog.
Trixie, Gout, Lennie, Bluebelle, Mao and Mollie Brown have all brought many delights into my life, and most certainly have demonstrated moral character above and beyond, great humor, compassion, unconditional love, affection, playfulness, unbridled loyalty, forgiveness and most certainly have extended my longevity as well as all the other mammals, birds, reptiles, and all the warm and cold-blooded creatures who have graced my family over the years.
But I salute Augie the Doggie, Iggie(proper name Ignatz) and MomCat for specific life-saving behavior.
My introduction to "The AugMan" had not even been close to auspicious. My first offical 'date' with my future wife[whom I had already known on a non-romantic friendship basis for some time] had gone well, and we were entertaining each other on her den sofa when Augie took apparent umbrage to my presence. He barked. And barked. And barked. I was, to say the least unimpressed and articulated my views to my date. From that initial inauspicious beginning, Augie demonstrated an open mind and eventually decided that I was a bit better than dirt and proceded to forge an inseparable bond with your's truly.
Augie took a depressive with severe and threatening personal thinking on one particular occasion and turned him around from despair to delight in less than 45 seconds with just two paws on the couch, one face-blop and one turn of the head. He has also been right by my side, never more than 20 feet away throughout the devastations of two different and severe illnesses.
Iggie took a carload of drunk high school jocks with baseball bats barreling towards a long-haired hippy-type high school student[ your author--the one and only Unabashed Left :) ] and scared them back into their car(only to assault a poor victim down the road later that night) and saved my behind, besides being a source of companionship and love at a time in my existence when that also saved my life.
And MomCat went missing in the basement just long enough one time to inform Unabashed Left that he was capable of love at a time when he was in doubt about that capability and also saved my life--rendering it much more worth living, as well.
Pets are family, and Unabashed Left highly recommends adopting one, or more, who might otherwise be killed(or "put to sleep" if you're fond of euphemisms) today if you are in a position to provide food, shelter, veterinary care, but more importantly love. Most importantly, love.
The oil spill sponsored by Tony "Wayward" Hayward and Doug "Not At All Subtle" Suttles in the Gulf of Mexico has caused way too many families to make the nightmare decision to give up their pet family members because they can no longer put food into their human family members, let alone the cats and dogs they so love.
Animal Shelters along the Gulf have been bloated, and many kittens and puppies have been and are being killed due to the malicious money-grabbing felons in the BP boardroom. The Louisianna chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been providing veterinary care, shelter, food and outreach to help heros like Augie, Iggie and MomCat stay at home with their families. Please donate generously today at la-spca.org
On behalf of Trixie, Gout, Iggie, Chairman, Cricket, Blarney, Lennie, Mao, Mollie Brown, Augie, Momcat, Sam, Sam II, Pugsy, Bluebelle, Bonnie, Clyde and Unabashed Left; we thank you.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Political Pearls: Cause For Optimism In Nevada and Kentucky
Even though those on the right today terrify those of us on the left by continuing to look towards comedians such as Glennnn Beck, "Head" Rush Limbaugh and "Tanman" Boehner for their ideological direction and purpose, there is some cause for optimism among all those mainstreamers out in real America.
In both the Kentucky and Nevada U.S. Senate races Tea Partiers/Libertarians Rand Paul and Sharrrron Angle took the Republican parties of those states by surprise when they won the Republican primaries and usurped that party's Senate nominations. At the time most Republicans, independents and Democrats had not yet had the "advantage" of hearing either one of these candidates express what might loosely be termed their "political views."
Since both have spoken publicly, about such things as repealing the 1964 Civil Rights Act and "eliminating/privatizing/placing the Social Security trust fund into the Stock Market," and since both have had to invest in good running shoes as they've sprinted away from questions by mainstream media; mainstream voters in both states have shown signs of conscious awareness.
In the Nevada race between Ms. "Right" Angle and Senator Harry Reid, according to the Rasmussen Reports poll, immediately after the primary Angle led Reid by 50% to 39%. Since opening her mouth[and then censoring it] the same poll has a dead heat at 47% each going on as of August 18th. The August 25 Mason-Dixon poll has Harry with a 45-44% lead.
In Kentucky following his primary win SurveyUSA had Rand Paul ahead of state Attorney General Jack Conway by 51-43%. Since Libertarian Rand Paul, son of Libertarian Ron Paul, has opened[and then closed] his mouth Reuters reported this week that its poll of all registered voters in the Bluegrass State has Paul and the Attorney General in a dead heat at 40% each going into the home stretch.
So, we might just take heart in the fact that the Tea "Party" may wind up being the shortest lived "party" anyone's ever been invited to or excluded from. :)
In both the Kentucky and Nevada U.S. Senate races Tea Partiers/Libertarians Rand Paul and Sharrrron Angle took the Republican parties of those states by surprise when they won the Republican primaries and usurped that party's Senate nominations. At the time most Republicans, independents and Democrats had not yet had the "advantage" of hearing either one of these candidates express what might loosely be termed their "political views."
Since both have spoken publicly, about such things as repealing the 1964 Civil Rights Act and "eliminating/privatizing/placing the Social Security trust fund into the Stock Market," and since both have had to invest in good running shoes as they've sprinted away from questions by mainstream media; mainstream voters in both states have shown signs of conscious awareness.
In the Nevada race between Ms. "Right" Angle and Senator Harry Reid, according to the Rasmussen Reports poll, immediately after the primary Angle led Reid by 50% to 39%. Since opening her mouth[and then censoring it] the same poll has a dead heat at 47% each going on as of August 18th. The August 25 Mason-Dixon poll has Harry with a 45-44% lead.
In Kentucky following his primary win SurveyUSA had Rand Paul ahead of state Attorney General Jack Conway by 51-43%. Since Libertarian Rand Paul, son of Libertarian Ron Paul, has opened[and then closed] his mouth Reuters reported this week that its poll of all registered voters in the Bluegrass State has Paul and the Attorney General in a dead heat at 40% each going into the home stretch.
So, we might just take heart in the fact that the Tea "Party" may wind up being the shortest lived "party" anyone's ever been invited to or excluded from. :)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Media Matters: Reflecting Pool Reflections: It Didn't Part For Mr. Beck
In keeping with our lifetime tendency, and the tendency of most on the left we've had the privilige of engaging and debating, we made a point of listening to the entire(one hour and 20 minutes worth of "entire") Glenn Beck "speech" on the Lincoln Memorial on this the 47th anniversary of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior's historic "I Have A Dream" speech.
Those we've engaged in political or philosophicals discussions on the left, we have observed, tend more often than those on the right to examine and study opposing views, and it was in that spirit that we listened to the "Beckster" today. Initially we channel surfed to check out what different networks were doing. We noted that Beck's home base, Fixed(I mean, Fox) News did not cover it live, even though Fox was live at the time. CNN covered his rant, however split-screen style with the Beckster muted and a black reporter offerring blistering commentary of the "Beckster." MSNBC was playing a pre-recorded show about someone with tattoos from head to toe.
But C-Span, thank you C-Span, covered the ol' Beck Stabber live, with sound, from beginning to end, despite its length.
At the outset Mr. Beck joked about the size of the crowd, saying the "media," he spoke bitterly about the, apparently evil in his mind, "media" several times this afternoon, saying that this evil "media" would report an attendance of 2, while he preferred numbers in the 6 figures, mentioning 500,000 often. LOL
We noted sadly, the ubiquitous presence of Sarah "I read off the palm of my hand while refudiating" Palin, who stood silently behind the "Beckster" toward the end of his tirade. The NY Times reported that live video presentations by Libertarian Rand Paul, "Republican" Marco Rubio of Florida, as well as comments by Palin(please remember her voluntary association with Libertarian Rand and "whatever the *bleep* he stands for"Beck" when considering your Presidential pick in 2012, real Republicans voting in primaries if Palin is in the frey) preceded the allegedly "recovering" alcoholic/addict Beck.
Perhaps the Beckster's most inspiring words came when waxing philosophical about planning today's event with his staff over a year ago, when his thinking had been that this should be a political event, and he informed the assembled masses that "And then I kind of feel like God dropped a giant sandbag on my head." Unabashed Left wouldn't dispute the Beckster's claim.
The "speech" invoked "God" alot, and was short on specifics, politics or anything secular except romaniticized emotionalism regarding slave-owning founding father George Washington, the Declaration of Independence(written by a bunch of elderly white anglo saxon protestant guys like Beck and Unabashed Left--no women or blacks or hispanics were involved in the writing of that document readers may recall--incidentally the NY Times reported his grouping today as "an overwhelmingly white crowd") and references to Abraham Lincoln(his memorial being the dramatic backdrop for the "speech") and claiming somehow that he was heir to the twin legacies of President Lincoln and the Reverend King.
He mysteriously referred repeatedly to the sacrfices of their very lives in the case of King and Lincoln and somehow implying that Washington had knowingly suffered and sacrificed by means of a violent end, as well. Very curious.
He invoked God often, the "speech" resembling more of a particularly boring(fortunately there aren't many such boring Sunday morning sermons in any church anymore--Unabashed Left loves a good sermon) Sunday morning mainstream protestant sermon from the 1950's than a political rally. He called on his "followers" to redeem themselves morally as he claims to have done by choosing to not get drunk and high every day(as Unabashed Left has had to do as well) and then somehow America will be "saved."
He informed us all that if we take the same moral high ground he has that America will have much better success at exporting our "morality" through armed conflict overseas. Shades of George W. Bush rehashed just 19 months after he left office with the lowest poll ratings of any U.S. President, including the previous most unpopular U.S. President
Richard M. Nixon, who voters may recall was forced to resign as was his first chosen Vice President, Spiro T. Agnew.
Do you really want to vote Republican this November?
Bizarrely, he began to conclude his speech(the conclusion alone lasted more than 20 minutes) with one of the few black guys actually present(the C-span cameras and Beck himself provided a disproportionate number of such faces as backdrop) and a bagpiper(yes, we're not kidding, a BAGPIPER) doing all 4 verses of "Amazing Grace," the Beck Stabber comparing himself quite favorably to the inspiring slave ship captain who changed his mind and turned his ship around and sailed his latest load of future slaves back to Africa and freed them as well as composing the most famous hymn of all.
Beck even bastardized the gospel story of Christ at Gesthemenee, offering a twisted,inacurate and egotistical interpretation of this touching gospel story that is near and dear to this Christian's heart. The message, Mr. Beck, is about Jesus' own humanity and His imperfection in criticizing those napping apostles, not, as you implied, the moral corruptness of the apostles for daring to sleep during Jesus' passion! The message, Mr. Beck, is that God chose to humanize himself incarnate, and was, in fact prone to human foibles--just like you and I--and his criticism of his best friends, those apostles with Him before he was handed over to suffering and death, was uncalled for, sir.
Yes, Mr. Beck, later on Jesus' best friend, Peter, did in fact deny Jesus 3 times before the break of dawn, however all the apostles were intimately involved in Jesus' passion and in fact had to be dissuaded from taking up arms to prevent His arrest! Your pathetic theological machinations were just that, PATHETIC. In the future, please stick to defending the slave-owning misogynists who wrote your favorite Declaration, and keep your public rants away from Jesus, who is, in fact, the Christ.
At the end, Beck demonstrated his utter confusion, by repeatedly telling the assembled masses that the "night" was coming to an end, and advising everyone to drive safely as they drove home to"night," etc. The speech concluded in Washington, D.C. at 1:21 pm on a bright and sunny August afternoon, not "night" as Beck imagined. Good "Night" Mr. Beck. And good "night" Ms. Palin--any Presidential ambitions you may ever have had may now go to rest along with Mr. Beck, the Libertarian Party of which you are so fond, and your pal Rand Paul the losing Libertarian Senate candidate in Kentucky.
Those we've engaged in political or philosophicals discussions on the left, we have observed, tend more often than those on the right to examine and study opposing views, and it was in that spirit that we listened to the "Beckster" today. Initially we channel surfed to check out what different networks were doing. We noted that Beck's home base, Fixed(I mean, Fox) News did not cover it live, even though Fox was live at the time. CNN covered his rant, however split-screen style with the Beckster muted and a black reporter offerring blistering commentary of the "Beckster." MSNBC was playing a pre-recorded show about someone with tattoos from head to toe.
But C-Span, thank you C-Span, covered the ol' Beck Stabber live, with sound, from beginning to end, despite its length.
At the outset Mr. Beck joked about the size of the crowd, saying the "media," he spoke bitterly about the, apparently evil in his mind, "media" several times this afternoon, saying that this evil "media" would report an attendance of 2, while he preferred numbers in the 6 figures, mentioning 500,000 often. LOL
We noted sadly, the ubiquitous presence of Sarah "I read off the palm of my hand while refudiating" Palin, who stood silently behind the "Beckster" toward the end of his tirade. The NY Times reported that live video presentations by Libertarian Rand Paul, "Republican" Marco Rubio of Florida, as well as comments by Palin(please remember her voluntary association with Libertarian Rand and "whatever the *bleep* he stands for"Beck" when considering your Presidential pick in 2012, real Republicans voting in primaries if Palin is in the frey) preceded the allegedly "recovering" alcoholic/addict Beck.
Perhaps the Beckster's most inspiring words came when waxing philosophical about planning today's event with his staff over a year ago, when his thinking had been that this should be a political event, and he informed the assembled masses that "And then I kind of feel like God dropped a giant sandbag on my head." Unabashed Left wouldn't dispute the Beckster's claim.
The "speech" invoked "God" alot, and was short on specifics, politics or anything secular except romaniticized emotionalism regarding slave-owning founding father George Washington, the Declaration of Independence(written by a bunch of elderly white anglo saxon protestant guys like Beck and Unabashed Left--no women or blacks or hispanics were involved in the writing of that document readers may recall--incidentally the NY Times reported his grouping today as "an overwhelmingly white crowd") and references to Abraham Lincoln(his memorial being the dramatic backdrop for the "speech") and claiming somehow that he was heir to the twin legacies of President Lincoln and the Reverend King.
He mysteriously referred repeatedly to the sacrfices of their very lives in the case of King and Lincoln and somehow implying that Washington had knowingly suffered and sacrificed by means of a violent end, as well. Very curious.
He invoked God often, the "speech" resembling more of a particularly boring(fortunately there aren't many such boring Sunday morning sermons in any church anymore--Unabashed Left loves a good sermon) Sunday morning mainstream protestant sermon from the 1950's than a political rally. He called on his "followers" to redeem themselves morally as he claims to have done by choosing to not get drunk and high every day(as Unabashed Left has had to do as well) and then somehow America will be "saved."
He informed us all that if we take the same moral high ground he has that America will have much better success at exporting our "morality" through armed conflict overseas. Shades of George W. Bush rehashed just 19 months after he left office with the lowest poll ratings of any U.S. President, including the previous most unpopular U.S. President
Richard M. Nixon, who voters may recall was forced to resign as was his first chosen Vice President, Spiro T. Agnew.
Do you really want to vote Republican this November?
Bizarrely, he began to conclude his speech(the conclusion alone lasted more than 20 minutes) with one of the few black guys actually present(the C-span cameras and Beck himself provided a disproportionate number of such faces as backdrop) and a bagpiper(yes, we're not kidding, a BAGPIPER) doing all 4 verses of "Amazing Grace," the Beck Stabber comparing himself quite favorably to the inspiring slave ship captain who changed his mind and turned his ship around and sailed his latest load of future slaves back to Africa and freed them as well as composing the most famous hymn of all.
Beck even bastardized the gospel story of Christ at Gesthemenee, offering a twisted,inacurate and egotistical interpretation of this touching gospel story that is near and dear to this Christian's heart. The message, Mr. Beck, is about Jesus' own humanity and His imperfection in criticizing those napping apostles, not, as you implied, the moral corruptness of the apostles for daring to sleep during Jesus' passion! The message, Mr. Beck, is that God chose to humanize himself incarnate, and was, in fact prone to human foibles--just like you and I--and his criticism of his best friends, those apostles with Him before he was handed over to suffering and death, was uncalled for, sir.
Yes, Mr. Beck, later on Jesus' best friend, Peter, did in fact deny Jesus 3 times before the break of dawn, however all the apostles were intimately involved in Jesus' passion and in fact had to be dissuaded from taking up arms to prevent His arrest! Your pathetic theological machinations were just that, PATHETIC. In the future, please stick to defending the slave-owning misogynists who wrote your favorite Declaration, and keep your public rants away from Jesus, who is, in fact, the Christ.
At the end, Beck demonstrated his utter confusion, by repeatedly telling the assembled masses that the "night" was coming to an end, and advising everyone to drive safely as they drove home to"night," etc. The speech concluded in Washington, D.C. at 1:21 pm on a bright and sunny August afternoon, not "night" as Beck imagined. Good "Night" Mr. Beck. And good "night" Ms. Palin--any Presidential ambitions you may ever have had may now go to rest along with Mr. Beck, the Libertarian Party of which you are so fond, and your pal Rand Paul the losing Libertarian Senate candidate in Kentucky.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Free Child Safety Kit
24 pages of child safety guidance for us parents. Keep your children safe with a free Child Safety Kit from the Polly Klass Foundation."The Child Safety Kit shows you how to teach your children:* Which strangers to ask for help when no trusted adults are available. * How to recognize dangerous situations.* How to respond to those dangerous situations
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Choosing The Best Toys For Your Children
Guest Post: Choosing The Best Toys For Your Children by Eric Waters.With seemingly thousands of new toys introduced each year it can sometimes be rather daunting trying to decide which ones are the best choice for your child. Here are some tips and guidelines for parents that hopefully prove helpful the next time you're shopping for new toys for your children.One of the most important factors to
Friday, August 20, 2010
Medical Matter: The Nuclear Purple Pill
This past Wednesday we traveled south on Interstate 91 for the short drive from Wallingford to New Haven, CT to take a capsule of radioactive iodine at the Smilow Cancer Hospital, part and parcel of the ever-expanding Yale New Haven Hospital complex on and around Howard Avenue. The purple capsule arrived dramatically in a lead-lined cup along with an official Yale New Haven Hospital disposable plastic cup of water(Unabashed Left came prepared; asked for and received permission to wash down the medicine with an ice cold bottle of Poland Spring rather than risk warm tap water).
Accompanying the capsule were two radiologists(with the alphabet soup "MD" on their name tags), two experts from the Nuclear Safety Department("Health Physics Technicians" or "HST's" if you're keeping score at home) and one Nuclear Technician(or "NT" if you prefer). That's four of them, one lead-lined cup containing one nuclear purple capsule, and one cup of water against only little old us and our 1/2 liter of refreshing Poland Spring water. We were clearly outnumbered so we took the pill.
Of course we did not do so without a battle. We asked the nuke safety guys if there was any black market value for radioactive iodine. They professed ignorance of it's potential street value. We Unabashedly informed the attending radiologist of our intent to "cheek" the capsule and pretend to swallow in order to pursue our capitalistic ends. She snickered. Our goal was achieved! A chink in the medical armor. Some light-heartedness amid a sea of melodrama. "Ho, ho, ho" we commented.
Following our ingestion of the offending capsule, all my company left hastily. I interpreted this to be due to their desire to avoid the potential 'fallout' from my earlier remarks. You have to wake up pretty early in the a.m. to catch this particular glow worm. :)
Minutes later the Nuke Safety contingent returned with what was obviously some sort of newfangled Geiger counter, resembling, somewhat, a jugs gun of the sort utilized to measure the speed of Roger Clemens' pitches in his day(who is, ironically, under indictment this week for allegedly lying to Congress about his own ingestion of contraband medicine in years past).
The Nuclear Officer stood at the opposite side of the room and reached far out to hand me the business end of a tape measure attached to the Geiger counter. He told me to hold the tape to my throat. He took several paces back measuring his distance. He aimed! He fired! He confirmed! I had not cheeked the violet cylinder, and it had not lodged in my throat.
My Poland Spring plan had worked like a charm.
It certainly wouldn't have done to succumb by way of choking on radioactive iodine, and the Nuclear Safety Department(NSD) of the Nuclear Imaging Department(NID) of the Smilow Cancer Hospital(SCH), subsidiary of Yale New Haven Hospital(YNHH), the teaching hospital owned by Yale Med School(YMS) in New Haven, Connecticut(CT), America(USA) was just making sure! What an ironic way that would have been to go. Hopefully these experts were well trained in the Heimlich Maneuver(HM).
Thanks go to everyone at Smilow who perform complex and difficult tasks for folks in much more dire straits than UL was that day, and do so mostly in good cheer.
We want to offer particular thanks to two MD's involved in this case. One is M.D. and general practitioner Jae Jin Kim, sole proprietor of the Milford Walk-In center in Milford, CT. It is really more of a blast from the past single physician office where no appointment is needed and Dr. Kim heals in amazing ways and cares deeply about whomever crosses the threshold of her office. The other is M.D. and endocrinologist Surani Fernando of Endocrine Associates in New Haven. Her clinical expertise, astuteness, willingness to forgo unnecessary procedures, ability to inspire confidence and to teach her patients about their conditions, treatments and possible outcomes have been a rock through this process. Like Dr. Kim, her obvious passion for people and her craft is evident.
We've had some difficulties with providers in our lifetime of near legendary proportions. Suffice it to say that we do not support tort "reform" in the form of reduced malpractice insurance costs for medical providers. We will simply leave it there, we invite individuals to inquire and we will discuss the matter on that basis--not out here in public. Its a very personal issue, and one that politicians need not grandstand on at all. However it is evident and inspiring that there are still many such as the very good Drs. Kim and Fernando, who still not only remember, but exemplify and practice the Hippocratic oath every day of their lives. There needs to be a Nobel Prize for Nice. And I nominate these two outstanding women.
And I thank all for their expressions of concern and prayers, our recuperation is proceeding well, and the Right still needs to watch out because Unabashed Left will be back in town before they know what hit them.
We close with a link to the classical version of the Hippocratic Oath provided by the Public Broadcast Service and WGBH of Boston. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_classical.html
Accompanying the capsule were two radiologists(with the alphabet soup "MD" on their name tags), two experts from the Nuclear Safety Department("Health Physics Technicians" or "HST's" if you're keeping score at home) and one Nuclear Technician(or "NT" if you prefer). That's four of them, one lead-lined cup containing one nuclear purple capsule, and one cup of water against only little old us and our 1/2 liter of refreshing Poland Spring water. We were clearly outnumbered so we took the pill.
Of course we did not do so without a battle. We asked the nuke safety guys if there was any black market value for radioactive iodine. They professed ignorance of it's potential street value. We Unabashedly informed the attending radiologist of our intent to "cheek" the capsule and pretend to swallow in order to pursue our capitalistic ends. She snickered. Our goal was achieved! A chink in the medical armor. Some light-heartedness amid a sea of melodrama. "Ho, ho, ho" we commented.
Following our ingestion of the offending capsule, all my company left hastily. I interpreted this to be due to their desire to avoid the potential 'fallout' from my earlier remarks. You have to wake up pretty early in the a.m. to catch this particular glow worm. :)
Minutes later the Nuke Safety contingent returned with what was obviously some sort of newfangled Geiger counter, resembling, somewhat, a jugs gun of the sort utilized to measure the speed of Roger Clemens' pitches in his day(who is, ironically, under indictment this week for allegedly lying to Congress about his own ingestion of contraband medicine in years past).
The Nuclear Officer stood at the opposite side of the room and reached far out to hand me the business end of a tape measure attached to the Geiger counter. He told me to hold the tape to my throat. He took several paces back measuring his distance. He aimed! He fired! He confirmed! I had not cheeked the violet cylinder, and it had not lodged in my throat.
My Poland Spring plan had worked like a charm.
It certainly wouldn't have done to succumb by way of choking on radioactive iodine, and the Nuclear Safety Department(NSD) of the Nuclear Imaging Department(NID) of the Smilow Cancer Hospital(SCH), subsidiary of Yale New Haven Hospital(YNHH), the teaching hospital owned by Yale Med School(YMS) in New Haven, Connecticut(CT), America(USA) was just making sure! What an ironic way that would have been to go. Hopefully these experts were well trained in the Heimlich Maneuver(HM).
Thanks go to everyone at Smilow who perform complex and difficult tasks for folks in much more dire straits than UL was that day, and do so mostly in good cheer.
We want to offer particular thanks to two MD's involved in this case. One is M.D. and general practitioner Jae Jin Kim, sole proprietor of the Milford Walk-In center in Milford, CT. It is really more of a blast from the past single physician office where no appointment is needed and Dr. Kim heals in amazing ways and cares deeply about whomever crosses the threshold of her office. The other is M.D. and endocrinologist Surani Fernando of Endocrine Associates in New Haven. Her clinical expertise, astuteness, willingness to forgo unnecessary procedures, ability to inspire confidence and to teach her patients about their conditions, treatments and possible outcomes have been a rock through this process. Like Dr. Kim, her obvious passion for people and her craft is evident.
We've had some difficulties with providers in our lifetime of near legendary proportions. Suffice it to say that we do not support tort "reform" in the form of reduced malpractice insurance costs for medical providers. We will simply leave it there, we invite individuals to inquire and we will discuss the matter on that basis--not out here in public. Its a very personal issue, and one that politicians need not grandstand on at all. However it is evident and inspiring that there are still many such as the very good Drs. Kim and Fernando, who still not only remember, but exemplify and practice the Hippocratic oath every day of their lives. There needs to be a Nobel Prize for Nice. And I nominate these two outstanding women.
And I thank all for their expressions of concern and prayers, our recuperation is proceeding well, and the Right still needs to watch out because Unabashed Left will be back in town before they know what hit them.
We close with a link to the classical version of the Hippocratic Oath provided by the Public Broadcast Service and WGBH of Boston. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_classical.html
Toys R Us Geoffrey's Free Birthday Card Club
Make your child's special day more memorable when you sign them up for the Toys R Us Geoffrey's Free Birthday Card Club.Register your children ages 1 to 10 for the Geoffrey's Free Birthday Card Club and each year when their birthday rolls around they'll receive a birthday card by mail, with a surprise gift of a $3 gift card. You can also choose to have a phone call
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Medical Matter: Unabashed Request For Prayers
You may notice that Unabashed Left has not posted daily recently, and may not do so particularly in the several days to come. Tomorrow we will undergo Iodine Radiation treatment at the Smilow Cancer facility at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut for a benign Thyroid condition. We've had a very positive experience with the folks at the Smilow Hospital and shout out to them and recommend them to anyone in need of such services, particularly the Nuclear Medicine folks.
We'd also like to offer our thanks to the nice and competent people at Endocrine Associates of New Haven as well, also highly recommended.
Thanks to expert and loving care, we anticipate a speedy and full recovery, but prayers are most welcome and always are. Often in times of trouble I hear people say "All we can do is pray." Unabashed Left submits that prayer is our first and most powerful tool in any and all circumstances--not a last desperate resort. So Unabashed Left offers this prayer to anyone who might read this post:
"May the reader be blessed with joy and happiness. And may they and all those in their lives, friend or foe, also be so blessed. May they all find Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Humanity and all God's Creation." Amen and Peace....
We'd also like to offer our thanks to the nice and competent people at Endocrine Associates of New Haven as well, also highly recommended.
Thanks to expert and loving care, we anticipate a speedy and full recovery, but prayers are most welcome and always are. Often in times of trouble I hear people say "All we can do is pray." Unabashed Left submits that prayer is our first and most powerful tool in any and all circumstances--not a last desperate resort. So Unabashed Left offers this prayer to anyone who might read this post:
"May the reader be blessed with joy and happiness. And may they and all those in their lives, friend or foe, also be so blessed. May they all find Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Humanity and all God's Creation." Amen and Peace....
Money Bunny – Teach Kids To Save and Manage Money
Money Bunny is a helpful website to offer kids a place to play, while teaching them to be smart about planning, saving, and spending their money. There are printables for your children to print out and color, an online paint program where the picture can also be printed out (painted or blank to color) and storybooks the you can download and save to your computer,
Political Pearls: UNITY, PLEASE! PRETTY PLEASE?
How the *bleep* did ethnicity, race and religion take center stage in 2010 AD America??? And for what Godly reason? Answers: Question #1: It is the extreme right wing agenda, and has been since well before the National Socialist Party emerged victorious in pre-war German elections. Question #2: No Godly reason, only ungodly ones.
The so-called immigration "debate" has devolved into a sham cover for attacking ethnic minorities--it really is that simple. The same folks who are supporting Jan Brewer and her ilk are the same folk who have been advocating English as a national language, who resent packaging and assembly instructions in Spanish, French, or any other language but English, and who are almost universally[like Unabashed Left] European Caucasian as the driven snow with no hint of foreign accent--unless they've been hoodwinked or have some hidden agenda.
Unabashed Left can state these obvious facts because we do not seek office nor anything but the right to exercise our First Amendment rights!
Why race? Simply because of the fact that we have a black President--and that, too, is an obvious fact that public people simply don't have the prerogative of declaring publicly.
I sympathize deeply with respectable public servants such as Eric Holder, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Governor Bill Richardson who are routinely slandered and absurd policies advocated and laws passed because of their ethnic and racial origins. How hard it must be to hold a civil tongue! And yet they do, and are keeping a lid on what many[I still believe not the majority, or even a large contingent] on the right want to be an all-out hate fest!
And religion?!! Why the *bleep* wouldn't anyone who loves this country and our freedoms want a mosque even in the lobby of the new building being constructed at Ground Zero itself, let alone simply out of sight but in the neighborhood! How about buying the neighboring properties and building a church and a synagogue as well! And then let 500,000 or 1,000,000 freedom-loving Americans celebrate the dedications of the buildings and have a live "snubbing of the nose" at Osama Bin Laden and have it televised on Al Jazeera TV! What do you think that would do to his efforts to recruit potential Jihadists! The right is feeding right into Scum Bag Bin Laden's hands! Wrap your minds around it Beck, Brewer, Palin, Gingrich and your like! Freedom of religion is what filth like Al Quaeda despise, so they've won you over! They've conned you with the silliest of shell games and are winning thanks to you! Bin Laden's pathetic attempts to scare you were too easy, you're terrified and now want to end freedom of religion!
You now not only hate Jihad, he's got you hating Islam with just 4 passenger jets in a single day! What a bargain for Bin Laden!
Unabashed Left will dare to say what others can't! In pre-war Germany the right played on "Aryians," Gypsies, and Jews. The modern American right is playing on "WASPs," "illegals" and Moslems! Lets stop this stupid shit! Please! Mainstream Republicans--you are being hoodwinked by mindless righties, just like the National Socialists of the 1920's and 30's.
I don't expect Newt, Sharrron, Beck and Palin to be able to wrap their pathetic little minds around these concepts(like the idea that Democrats, Republicans, liberals and conservatives can all hope for that newsflash announcing the Bin Laden drone strike and should unite to bring down the chief Jihad punk).
But you mainstream conservatives and Republicans, if any are left, please brain up! Start denouncing nonsense like placards with Obama in a coffin, arresting people who are brown, and eliminating freedom of religion! If you're realistically a conservative or a genuine Republican, then denounce threats to members of Congress who vote for Health Care, or are unruly on the floor and call other members "baby killers!"
Stand side by side with us on the left as we denounce lunatic fools like the half dozen or so irrelevant "New Black Panthers" who intimidate voters! Join us as we decry the Al Quaeda and Taliban leadership who depend on perpetuating the illiteracy of its people to recruit pimply teenage Jihadists by torturously interpreting a Koran their followers can't even read! And in doing so succeed in keeping half of their people(woman and girls) in perpertual bondage!
Believe it or not, I think you can get some votes this way! Like the old Madison Avenue campaign from years ago: Try It, You'll Like It! Unity, not Division. Please.. Right Now!
The so-called immigration "debate" has devolved into a sham cover for attacking ethnic minorities--it really is that simple. The same folks who are supporting Jan Brewer and her ilk are the same folk who have been advocating English as a national language, who resent packaging and assembly instructions in Spanish, French, or any other language but English, and who are almost universally[like Unabashed Left] European Caucasian as the driven snow with no hint of foreign accent--unless they've been hoodwinked or have some hidden agenda.
Unabashed Left can state these obvious facts because we do not seek office nor anything but the right to exercise our First Amendment rights!
Why race? Simply because of the fact that we have a black President--and that, too, is an obvious fact that public people simply don't have the prerogative of declaring publicly.
I sympathize deeply with respectable public servants such as Eric Holder, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Governor Bill Richardson who are routinely slandered and absurd policies advocated and laws passed because of their ethnic and racial origins. How hard it must be to hold a civil tongue! And yet they do, and are keeping a lid on what many[I still believe not the majority, or even a large contingent] on the right want to be an all-out hate fest!
And religion?!! Why the *bleep* wouldn't anyone who loves this country and our freedoms want a mosque even in the lobby of the new building being constructed at Ground Zero itself, let alone simply out of sight but in the neighborhood! How about buying the neighboring properties and building a church and a synagogue as well! And then let 500,000 or 1,000,000 freedom-loving Americans celebrate the dedications of the buildings and have a live "snubbing of the nose" at Osama Bin Laden and have it televised on Al Jazeera TV! What do you think that would do to his efforts to recruit potential Jihadists! The right is feeding right into Scum Bag Bin Laden's hands! Wrap your minds around it Beck, Brewer, Palin, Gingrich and your like! Freedom of religion is what filth like Al Quaeda despise, so they've won you over! They've conned you with the silliest of shell games and are winning thanks to you! Bin Laden's pathetic attempts to scare you were too easy, you're terrified and now want to end freedom of religion!
You now not only hate Jihad, he's got you hating Islam with just 4 passenger jets in a single day! What a bargain for Bin Laden!
Unabashed Left will dare to say what others can't! In pre-war Germany the right played on "Aryians," Gypsies, and Jews. The modern American right is playing on "WASPs," "illegals" and Moslems! Lets stop this stupid shit! Please! Mainstream Republicans--you are being hoodwinked by mindless righties, just like the National Socialists of the 1920's and 30's.
I don't expect Newt, Sharrron, Beck and Palin to be able to wrap their pathetic little minds around these concepts(like the idea that Democrats, Republicans, liberals and conservatives can all hope for that newsflash announcing the Bin Laden drone strike and should unite to bring down the chief Jihad punk).
But you mainstream conservatives and Republicans, if any are left, please brain up! Start denouncing nonsense like placards with Obama in a coffin, arresting people who are brown, and eliminating freedom of religion! If you're realistically a conservative or a genuine Republican, then denounce threats to members of Congress who vote for Health Care, or are unruly on the floor and call other members "baby killers!"
Stand side by side with us on the left as we denounce lunatic fools like the half dozen or so irrelevant "New Black Panthers" who intimidate voters! Join us as we decry the Al Quaeda and Taliban leadership who depend on perpetuating the illiteracy of its people to recruit pimply teenage Jihadists by torturously interpreting a Koran their followers can't even read! And in doing so succeed in keeping half of their people(woman and girls) in perpertual bondage!
Believe it or not, I think you can get some votes this way! Like the old Madison Avenue campaign from years ago: Try It, You'll Like It! Unity, not Division. Please.. Right Now!
Monday, August 16, 2010
GLENN KLEIER'S THE LAST DAY
Jesus walked. We know His story. We've seen the...
...many...
...sides...
...of Jesus...
...through the telling and retelling of His life's journey to His death on the Cross. We know He was loved, but we also know He was at the root of conspiracy, hate, distrust and intrigue.
His birth set off a firestorm of infanticide by the political jealousies of the Time...
...that ultimately lead to His death sentence.
His disdain of the moneylenders of His Time created havoc and hatred among the wealthy that funded and bribed the corrupt political machine, and...
...His miracles struck deep rooted fear that the power amassed by the religious leaders of the Time would be reduced, or worse, disappear altogether. His end created a legend, and formed the core of many of our world's religions and practices that continue on today.
The Year 2000, the dawn of the second millennium post Christ's birth is rapidly approaching. Havoc has already taken over with the promise of the END OF THE WORLD...and of course the entire world, now interconnected by computer technology fears that unknown beast...
...the Y2K bug. Programmers, having none of the foresight of precognition, forgot to program computers to recognize the second millennium...All fear the calendar's within the computers that now control most of the world's living systems, will turn into 1900 the moment the New Year clocks tick towards midnight. Dire things are predicted. Naturally, the last thing on ANY-ONE'S mind at this crucial moment, is the predicted SECOND COMING OF CHRIST! Mankind has enough to worry about thanks to the Y2K bug...right? And God would not be THAT cruel? He would not send the Savior back when Mankind is fighting to keep his power grid online, his banking technology from flipping back into the Victorian ages, would he?
...many...
...sides...
...of Jesus...
...through the telling and retelling of His life's journey to His death on the Cross. We know He was loved, but we also know He was at the root of conspiracy, hate, distrust and intrigue.
His birth set off a firestorm of infanticide by the political jealousies of the Time...
...that ultimately lead to His death sentence.
His disdain of the moneylenders of His Time created havoc and hatred among the wealthy that funded and bribed the corrupt political machine, and... 
...His miracles struck deep rooted fear that the power amassed by the religious leaders of the Time would be reduced, or worse, disappear altogether. His end created a legend, and formed the core of many of our world's religions and practices that continue on today.
The Year 2000, the dawn of the second millennium post Christ's birth is rapidly approaching. Havoc has already taken over with the promise of the END OF THE WORLD...and of course the entire world, now interconnected by computer technology fears that unknown beast...
...the Y2K bug. Programmers, having none of the foresight of precognition, forgot to program computers to recognize the second millennium...All fear the calendar's within the computers that now control most of the world's living systems, will turn into 1900 the moment the New Year clocks tick towards midnight. Dire things are predicted. Naturally, the last thing on ANY-ONE'S mind at this crucial moment, is the predicted SECOND COMING OF CHRIST! Mankind has enough to worry about thanks to the Y2K bug...right? And God would not be THAT cruel? He would not send the Savior back when Mankind is fighting to keep his power grid online, his banking technology from flipping back into the Victorian ages, would he? But What if He did? Would modern man be any better at facing the gifts and judgments Jesus would bring to bear than his ancestors did over nineteen hundred years ago?
Would modern money lenders prove to be better managers of the world's finances, than those that Jesus scoffed so scathingly at nineteen hundred years ago?
And of course today's politicians are a VAST improvement and far more honorable and honest than those that ruled the world in the days of Jesus, right?
At the very least our religious leaders are truly above reproach as they teach the messages Jesus shared with gentle strength over nineteen hundred years ago...so they, of course, will welcome Jesus walking back into their midst with open arms and utter joy...right?
One week before the turn of the millennium, a violent meteor storm hits. All eyes are turned towards the sky. What a spectacular display of God's power. Will they all burn in the atmosphere and do no damage...or...
...could there be a hit? What kind of damage would a hit cause? Surely nothing like extinction? Mankind was NOT the dinosaur, and God surely loved them too much to destroy them as He'd done those cold hearted beasts...right?
The hit was huge and destroyed something secret...very secret.
The Second Coming...ever since it was first mentioned in the Bible, people have speculated about it and how it would manifest. Jesus, they assumed, would drift down from the clouds, ready to pronounce judgment and spread God's love.
Those that have lived by God's rules would be saved...those that had not...well...they would perish. But what if God had other plans? What if God decided to use His meteors to create life...blessed life...the Second Coming, but in God's OWN way?
Meet Jeza...born in the midst of a meteor hit, infused with the loving grace of God and God's wisdom in that flash of a moment to give man AND womankind their SECOND chance. Will Jeza, the daughter of God, find her path more enlightened because of two thousand years of humanity's maturity, or will humanity fail to heed the gift of God's loving messages once more?
Follow Jeza as our own generation confronts a miracle or a charlatan of monumental proportions in Glenn Kleier's astounding book THE LAST DAY. The Last Day is available at http://www.amazon.com/
This is a life changing book...or at least it was for me. I was fighting cancer for the second time when I found myself reading THE LAST DAY by Glenn Kleier. This book gave me the strength to live...so I can attest to the miraculous powers of Glenn Kleier's writing personally.
If there is any justice, this book THE LAST DAY will go down in history as a classic of our times. Well done Glenn...and thank you. You can find Glenn on Face Book.
Would modern money lenders prove to be better managers of the world's finances, than those that Jesus scoffed so scathingly at nineteen hundred years ago?
And of course today's politicians are a VAST improvement and far more honorable and honest than those that ruled the world in the days of Jesus, right?
At the very least our religious leaders are truly above reproach as they teach the messages Jesus shared with gentle strength over nineteen hundred years ago...so they, of course, will welcome Jesus walking back into their midst with open arms and utter joy...right?
One week before the turn of the millennium, a violent meteor storm hits. All eyes are turned towards the sky. What a spectacular display of God's power. Will they all burn in the atmosphere and do no damage...or...
...could there be a hit? What kind of damage would a hit cause? Surely nothing like extinction? Mankind was NOT the dinosaur, and God surely loved them too much to destroy them as He'd done those cold hearted beasts...right?
The hit was huge and destroyed something secret...very secret.
The Second Coming...ever since it was first mentioned in the Bible, people have speculated about it and how it would manifest. Jesus, they assumed, would drift down from the clouds, ready to pronounce judgment and spread God's love.
Those that have lived by God's rules would be saved...those that had not...well...they would perish. But what if God had other plans? What if God decided to use His meteors to create life...blessed life...the Second Coming, but in God's OWN way?
Meet Jeza...born in the midst of a meteor hit, infused with the loving grace of God and God's wisdom in that flash of a moment to give man AND womankind their SECOND chance. Will Jeza, the daughter of God, find her path more enlightened because of two thousand years of humanity's maturity, or will humanity fail to heed the gift of God's loving messages once more?
Follow Jeza as our own generation confronts a miracle or a charlatan of monumental proportions in Glenn Kleier's astounding book THE LAST DAY. The Last Day is available at http://www.amazon.com/This is a life changing book...or at least it was for me. I was fighting cancer for the second time when I found myself reading THE LAST DAY by Glenn Kleier. This book gave me the strength to live...so I can attest to the miraculous powers of Glenn Kleier's writing personally.
If there is any justice, this book THE LAST DAY will go down in history as a classic of our times. Well done Glenn...and thank you. You can find Glenn on Face Book.Saturday, August 14, 2010
Online Storytime by Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble has a neat feature at their website called Online Storytime, where your children can enjoy stories online, every month. Each month they feature a new popular kids story, with pan-and-scan filming of the picture book and narration provided by well-known authors and celebrities. “Parents and children can now experience the same excitement and fun found
Friday, August 13, 2010
Unabashed Left Endorsements For Connecticut Governor and U.S. Senate
Ned Lamont fell short in his effort to gain the Democratic nomination for Governor in Connecticut in Tuesday's Primary. Dan Malloy ran a very effective campaign, having been behind in the polling for the 6 months prior to August 10th. His margin of victory was impressive, and Ned's immediate declaration of support for the Democratic nominee was equally impressive, but what we've come to expect from a man of integrity and vision like Mr. Lamont.
Unabashed Left had endorsed Ned for the nomination. We now eagerly endorse Dan Malloy to replace Jodi Rell as the Governor of the great state of Connecticut!!!
It's time to rally behind all the nominees and especially Dan, who is poised to put an end to the Rowland/Rell reign in Hartford.
After all these years and the state of the state they've left us in, all Nutmeggers need a Democrat of Dan Malloy's stature as Connecticut's new CEO.
We noted with irony that the national media seemed much more obsessed with the predictable victory of WWE CEO Linda McMahon in the Republican primary that she purchased for $20,000,000.00, and promises to spend a whopping total of over $50,000,000.00[our meager math mind tells us that this amount works out to way more than $100 for each vote she will garner in November--OMG--is this what our politics have been reduced to?] in her soon to be fabled "Quixotic Quest" to lose to Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
The WWE angle will be fascinating to the celebrity conscious media, and Mr. Blumenthal faces this celebrity problem among many difficulties[her $50,000,000.00+ campaign budget being just one other] he'll face in the weeks to come.
McMahon tauts her financial abilities in turning around a small operation[the WWF] into a big operation. The problem is, of course, that she did so by marketing assault, rage, self-centeredness, and the use of weapons[ie. throwing chairs, bashing opponents with whatever is at hand, tossing referees, managers and opponents out of the ring and onto the floors and seats below, etc.] to the impressionable and innocent children of our state and nation. And marketing assault as "funny."
This representative of the Republican party[which professes self-righteously to have a corner on the market for "family values"] has contributed to the downfall of American culture, helped toward rendering that culture mindless and stupid, and contributed to the delinquency of our minors on a wholesale basis--all in the selfish interest of making money! What a morally bankrupt individual Linda McMahon is.
If she had any fiscal sense whatsoever, why is she spending $50 million in an attempt to buy a Senate seat in 2010 against the most popular politician in CT history, when in 2012 she has a much clearer playing field--when Lieberman's seat is once again up? Please keep your hands off the federal budget Ms. Amateur Politician McMahon, you can't even manage your own sizable stack!
Despite a somewhat rocky road the last few weeks for Mr. Blumenthal, he needs every Democrat's support and deserves it. He will be a great Senator, and certainly the best of the two we will have in D.C. next January. Let's rally also to the Connecticut Attorney General's aid! Unabashed Left endorses Richard Blumenthal for the U.S. Senate and encourages all to do the same!
We Democrats should be grateful to Ned and for his gubernatorial campaign. So should Dan Malloy, for helping to put focus on his policies and on the state Democratic agenda. Dan is way ahead in the polls for November, in large part because of Ned's campaign. All Democrats should encourage Mr. Lamont to run for office again--Unabashed Left believes his talents have always been well suited to the U.S. Senate, and Connecticut needs to retire Joe Lieberman. Ned was the man 4 years ago, and is just the man 2 years hence to replace the Republican/Democrat/Independent/ self-serving Senator. We urge Ned to consider such a candidacy.
With President Obama re-elected in 2012, Ned Lamont winning that Senate seat to join Senior Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut will have put the A-Team inside the beltway! Please: Run, Ned, Run!
Unabashed Left had endorsed Ned for the nomination. We now eagerly endorse Dan Malloy to replace Jodi Rell as the Governor of the great state of Connecticut!!!
It's time to rally behind all the nominees and especially Dan, who is poised to put an end to the Rowland/Rell reign in Hartford.
After all these years and the state of the state they've left us in, all Nutmeggers need a Democrat of Dan Malloy's stature as Connecticut's new CEO.
We noted with irony that the national media seemed much more obsessed with the predictable victory of WWE CEO Linda McMahon in the Republican primary that she purchased for $20,000,000.00, and promises to spend a whopping total of over $50,000,000.00[our meager math mind tells us that this amount works out to way more than $100 for each vote she will garner in November--OMG--is this what our politics have been reduced to?] in her soon to be fabled "Quixotic Quest" to lose to Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
The WWE angle will be fascinating to the celebrity conscious media, and Mr. Blumenthal faces this celebrity problem among many difficulties[her $50,000,000.00+ campaign budget being just one other] he'll face in the weeks to come.
McMahon tauts her financial abilities in turning around a small operation[the WWF] into a big operation. The problem is, of course, that she did so by marketing assault, rage, self-centeredness, and the use of weapons[ie. throwing chairs, bashing opponents with whatever is at hand, tossing referees, managers and opponents out of the ring and onto the floors and seats below, etc.] to the impressionable and innocent children of our state and nation. And marketing assault as "funny."
This representative of the Republican party[which professes self-righteously to have a corner on the market for "family values"] has contributed to the downfall of American culture, helped toward rendering that culture mindless and stupid, and contributed to the delinquency of our minors on a wholesale basis--all in the selfish interest of making money! What a morally bankrupt individual Linda McMahon is.
If she had any fiscal sense whatsoever, why is she spending $50 million in an attempt to buy a Senate seat in 2010 against the most popular politician in CT history, when in 2012 she has a much clearer playing field--when Lieberman's seat is once again up? Please keep your hands off the federal budget Ms. Amateur Politician McMahon, you can't even manage your own sizable stack!
Despite a somewhat rocky road the last few weeks for Mr. Blumenthal, he needs every Democrat's support and deserves it. He will be a great Senator, and certainly the best of the two we will have in D.C. next January. Let's rally also to the Connecticut Attorney General's aid! Unabashed Left endorses Richard Blumenthal for the U.S. Senate and encourages all to do the same!
We Democrats should be grateful to Ned and for his gubernatorial campaign. So should Dan Malloy, for helping to put focus on his policies and on the state Democratic agenda. Dan is way ahead in the polls for November, in large part because of Ned's campaign. All Democrats should encourage Mr. Lamont to run for office again--Unabashed Left believes his talents have always been well suited to the U.S. Senate, and Connecticut needs to retire Joe Lieberman. Ned was the man 4 years ago, and is just the man 2 years hence to replace the Republican/Democrat/Independent/ self-serving Senator. We urge Ned to consider such a candidacy.
With President Obama re-elected in 2012, Ned Lamont winning that Senate seat to join Senior Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut will have put the A-Team inside the beltway! Please: Run, Ned, Run!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Autism Epidemic: Shaking the System
Wedding Day promise...Love and Joy radiate like beacons with the promise of a future...
...filled with richness, rapture, and the bridal heart.
Love shared, multiplied, and anticipated as two into one now will become three.
Tenderness consumes the loving pair as her body nourishes the miracle growing beneath her comforting heartbeat.
Smiles...tempered with questions. What has happened to the pure dreams for that rich future?
Baby born...the promise is so real, the parents over the moon...
How can you look in those eyes and not see "joy", "hope", and "forever"? But God, the Fates, Environment...someone, something, has other plans.
Eyes now look back, but do they see you? Can those precious ears hear you? Are you reaching through the water's depths to the core where the words "Mama" and "Dada" seem forever locked away?
How do you help when you do not understand? How do you protect, when the world does not understand?
Science runs its battery of tests. Will they hold the key? Or will they create new questions, more confusion, more pain as you watch your precious child slip further and further behind the blankness of disconnect?
Autism. What does that mean? Where can one find answers, not more anguish? Is my child lost to me and to the world forever? Is there no hope? but wait...
Albert Einstein...he is reputed to have been born with Autism. No one can dispute his genius, and... 
...Bill Gates, founder of the Microsoft Corporation; he was born with Autism too. So where to go for a road map through the crags and crevices of dealing with the World-view of Autism...
Here...within the pages of information systematically, and diligently compiled by Litsa Kamateros and Lea Schizas. No longer must you face the morass of Autism alone. Let Litsa and Lea guide you through the fog to the light at the end of that agonizing tunnel. Take comfort from the stories of those who have come before you and how they rose above the cauldron of bewildered complexity.Available at Amazon.com for $3.99, this book will show you how to find your own way to forever. Just follow the link below for the answers you have been seeking, and know, finally, you are NOT alone..
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
MOM WHEN I LEFT...a short story by L.J. Holmes
MOM WHEN I LEFT
By
L.J. Holmes
March 5, 2000
1,864 words
Her hands shook the entire way home. It was all Alexandra Matheson could do to steer the car, so violently was she trembling. Her silent orders, to herself to calm down were, totally ignored. Calming down was proving to be an exercise in futility despite what the doctor had commanded.
With unsteady fingers, she engaged the left turn signal. She couldn’t go home. Not yet. If she went home in the condition she was in right now her husband would take one look at her and know something was wrong. Seriously wrong. But where could she go?
She didn’t know this area too well, having only moved here three months ago when her husband’s company transferred them here as part of his promotion. She barely knew the way from her home to her doctor’s office, let alone where she could go to calm down.
Think! Yeah Right! Great advice if she were in control of herself to begin with!
She had to find somewhere to pull off, stop the car and get out so she could walk herself into a state of pseudo-calmness, but where?
The loud blare of a truck’s horn called her back to where she was. She was a menace. If she didn’t get off the road soon she was going to kill someone, and with her luck, it would be someone else who suffered.
At that moment she noticed a billboard for the next exit. A small inn with an old paddle wheel gristmill sitting among the rolling hills in a rustic, country setting beckoned. Imagine, she thought as she signaled her intentions and eased her way over to the exit ramp. She hadn’t known there was any rustic area this close to her new home. Maybe, in some strange way, today was going to prove a blessing. Yeah Right! And pigs really do fly.
The mill was less than ten miles from the Interstate. Under normal circumstances a ten-minute drive would have lulled her into a state of peace, but not today.
She parked her car in the gravel visitor’s lot beneath a spreading maple. Although it wasn’t a scorcher of a day, with the sun pouring down from the cloudless sky, the car would feel like an oven when she returned.
Stepping from the car’s interior, she stood for a moment and inhaled the sweet scents of Country. She’d grown up in rural Pennsylvania. By the time she’d been twelve, she’d milked cows, collected eggs, and sold fresh produce from her brother in-law’s roadside stand. She’d also found an innate love for the scent of honeysuckle. Something she’d missed sorely since moving away over twenty years ago.
Squinting at the directional signs, her eyesight had long ago decided to prove imperfect; she headed off towards the mill. The distant sound of water slapping against wood was her guide.
Blending with the sounds of the water and paddle, she could hear the distinct grating sound of stone abrading grain. This was not just a tourist attraction, she realized, but a working mill. That surprised her. So much of ancient America had disappeared in the past twenty years. Technology had advanced so quickly it seemed as if nothing was done the old fashioned way any more.
She stepped on a cobbled walkway. The stones had been hand placed and each one was so irregular she knew they had not been mechanically made. In the development where she and her husband had bought a condo, the community was designed to imitate rustic simplicity, but all the cobbled stones on her walkway were the same size, the same shape, and the same color. Oh and made of some sort of high quality, weather resistant plastic.
The trees that edged the walkway created a natural arch above her. Squirrels were busy chattering and scampering along the branches spanning the width of the trees. As she walked on, every now and then a nut bounced, like a pinball, from the clumsy jaw of some squirrel off of those branches to land in little pings against the gnarled roots on the ground. The sound truly made her homesick.
The wheel was huge and weathered. This was not something just erected. It showed the wear and tear of generations gone by, but it also showed the solidity of its craftsmanship. The steady slap-plop of the water and the wheel drew her to the edge of the river’s bank. Lowering herself to the grass, she pulled her knees up, wrapped her arms around her legs, rested her head on her knees and stared at the slow but steady rotation of the giant wheel.
Steady and consistent, she thought, watching the wheel make its revolutions. Its unhurried pace was something she craved for in her own life. But there could be no slow going. It was too late for that.
For the first time since leaving the doctor’s office she admitted she was scared. Before moving here, her doctor back home had hinted that there might be a problem developing and that she really needed to start taking better care of herself. She’d felt fine, so had scoffed at her doctor’s warnings. She had no symptoms.
But that was then. Still maybe they were wrong. Maybe what happened last week was nothing more than an early sign of menopause. It was possible after all! Hot flashes, dizziness, tightness in the chest, nausea, were all possible symptoms of menopause. Not some silent heart attack!
She snarled at her thoughts. Heart attacks cause pain; lots of pain. She’d had nothing more than a little bit of breathlessness and a touch of nausea. The flu! That had to be it! She was just coming down with a bout of flu. She should have gotten her flu shot earlier. Waiting until the end of October was idiotic on her part, and obviously she was going to pay for it.
So how come the doctor didn’t say that? How come she had you lie there very still while the nurse placed those electrodes on her legs, arms and chest? How come when her doctor saw the little squiggles that came out of that tiny printer, she’d said heart attack?
How could I have had a heart attack and not known it? What kind of foolishness is this thing called a silent heart attack? If it’s silent, how can anyone be sure it really happened?
By the irregular squiggles on that little printout that’s how!
Indigestion! That runs in the family. My father is a virtual indigestion factory. All my life he’s been popping antacids like they are candy. Now if she said I had an ulcer, well that would make sense, given my family’s medical history. Not some sneaky little heart attack that doesn’t even cause an ache in my heart.
Okay. My blood pressure is high. But then again, what is high? One person’s high, is just comfortable for someone else. Right?
“We have to get your blood pressure down and your stress levels under control,” the doctor had said solemnly.
Yeah Right! And I’m suddenly going to find myself back in Pennsylvania lying on my back in a field of soft hay looking up as the clouds go drifting past me!
“The next one may not be silent, and even if it is silent, it may not be one you live through.” the doctor had added sternly. “You don’t have a choice. Either you change the way you are doing things, or you will die!”
We’re all going to die!
“How in the hell am I going to change my life?” she thought as tears swelled in her eyes.
She didn’t want to cry. There was no time in her life to cry: Especially not for herself. Too many people depended on her to be strong for them. She couldn’t afford to be weak now. Maybe next year, or the year after that she could take the time to be ill, but not now.
The tears built and the pressure made her eyes burn. Damn it all, she would not cry! No sooner had she come to that determination, the tears overflowed and a dam broke.
Her sobs shook her small body. She was one total scream of pain. What was she to do? She couldn’t tell her family. She doubted any of them could handle this. Her son was still recovering from his near suicide of just six weeks ago. His emotional situation was far too fragile to be hit with this. He depended on his mother to hold him together. How could he be expected to find the strength to be his mother’s stanchion? Her daughter, although an adult, was not much better. At twenty-one, she still lived with Mom and had a lot of trouble keeping a job.
And then there was her husband. She’d met and married Jared a little over a year ago. A corporate attorney with one of the Fortune 500 companies, he was the lover, the mate, the strong male role-model that she and her children had been longing for since her first marriage had ended in divorce nearly twenty years ago. Jared had given her heaven. He had been so wonderful to her and her children, but shortly after moving here, Jared was diagnosed with skin cancer.
Having grown up in Florida, Jared had spent much of his life on the beach absorbing the intense Florida rays. Now he was paying for it. Chemotherapy was taking its toll. Much of the time, Jared was weak and ill. He was in no shape to have a wife with a heart condition. He needed her to be his tower, and she was determined to be just that!
Okay God, I’m going to have to leave this between you and me. There is no way I can tell my family what the doctor had to say, so where do we go from here? What should I do now?
She lifted her red, puffy eyes to the sky and waited. No bolt of lightning, no burning bush, no tablets etched by God’s hands fell before her. The squirrels still chattered and scampered. The mill-wheel’s paddle still flapped against the water. The sound of stone pulverizing grain added harmony, but no words of wisdom filled her.
‘That’s okay. God, I know the routine.’ She rose to her feet, took a deep, slow breath in and let it go out. There was nothing for it. She would go home, and she would do what she knew she had to do.
She walked back to her car, inserted her key in the lock, opened the door, slipped inside, turned the key, flipped on the air conditioner, and headed back to the interstate.
Her hands were steadier on the wheel. Her emotions were beyond calm. She was deadly calm. All fear was gone, all anguish, all doubts. She had been Mom when she left the house this morning: She would be Mom again when she arrived home, for that is who her family needed and who she intended to always be, and how she would deal with whatever the future held.
By
L.J. Holmes
March 5, 2000
1,864 words
Her hands shook the entire way home. It was all Alexandra Matheson could do to steer the car, so violently was she trembling. Her silent orders, to herself to calm down were, totally ignored. Calming down was proving to be an exercise in futility despite what the doctor had commanded.
With unsteady fingers, she engaged the left turn signal. She couldn’t go home. Not yet. If she went home in the condition she was in right now her husband would take one look at her and know something was wrong. Seriously wrong. But where could she go?
She didn’t know this area too well, having only moved here three months ago when her husband’s company transferred them here as part of his promotion. She barely knew the way from her home to her doctor’s office, let alone where she could go to calm down.
Think! Yeah Right! Great advice if she were in control of herself to begin with!
She had to find somewhere to pull off, stop the car and get out so she could walk herself into a state of pseudo-calmness, but where?
The loud blare of a truck’s horn called her back to where she was. She was a menace. If she didn’t get off the road soon she was going to kill someone, and with her luck, it would be someone else who suffered.
At that moment she noticed a billboard for the next exit. A small inn with an old paddle wheel gristmill sitting among the rolling hills in a rustic, country setting beckoned. Imagine, she thought as she signaled her intentions and eased her way over to the exit ramp. She hadn’t known there was any rustic area this close to her new home. Maybe, in some strange way, today was going to prove a blessing. Yeah Right! And pigs really do fly.
The mill was less than ten miles from the Interstate. Under normal circumstances a ten-minute drive would have lulled her into a state of peace, but not today.
She parked her car in the gravel visitor’s lot beneath a spreading maple. Although it wasn’t a scorcher of a day, with the sun pouring down from the cloudless sky, the car would feel like an oven when she returned.
Stepping from the car’s interior, she stood for a moment and inhaled the sweet scents of Country. She’d grown up in rural Pennsylvania. By the time she’d been twelve, she’d milked cows, collected eggs, and sold fresh produce from her brother in-law’s roadside stand. She’d also found an innate love for the scent of honeysuckle. Something she’d missed sorely since moving away over twenty years ago.
Squinting at the directional signs, her eyesight had long ago decided to prove imperfect; she headed off towards the mill. The distant sound of water slapping against wood was her guide.
Blending with the sounds of the water and paddle, she could hear the distinct grating sound of stone abrading grain. This was not just a tourist attraction, she realized, but a working mill. That surprised her. So much of ancient America had disappeared in the past twenty years. Technology had advanced so quickly it seemed as if nothing was done the old fashioned way any more.
She stepped on a cobbled walkway. The stones had been hand placed and each one was so irregular she knew they had not been mechanically made. In the development where she and her husband had bought a condo, the community was designed to imitate rustic simplicity, but all the cobbled stones on her walkway were the same size, the same shape, and the same color. Oh and made of some sort of high quality, weather resistant plastic.
The trees that edged the walkway created a natural arch above her. Squirrels were busy chattering and scampering along the branches spanning the width of the trees. As she walked on, every now and then a nut bounced, like a pinball, from the clumsy jaw of some squirrel off of those branches to land in little pings against the gnarled roots on the ground. The sound truly made her homesick.
The wheel was huge and weathered. This was not something just erected. It showed the wear and tear of generations gone by, but it also showed the solidity of its craftsmanship. The steady slap-plop of the water and the wheel drew her to the edge of the river’s bank. Lowering herself to the grass, she pulled her knees up, wrapped her arms around her legs, rested her head on her knees and stared at the slow but steady rotation of the giant wheel.
Steady and consistent, she thought, watching the wheel make its revolutions. Its unhurried pace was something she craved for in her own life. But there could be no slow going. It was too late for that.
For the first time since leaving the doctor’s office she admitted she was scared. Before moving here, her doctor back home had hinted that there might be a problem developing and that she really needed to start taking better care of herself. She’d felt fine, so had scoffed at her doctor’s warnings. She had no symptoms.
But that was then. Still maybe they were wrong. Maybe what happened last week was nothing more than an early sign of menopause. It was possible after all! Hot flashes, dizziness, tightness in the chest, nausea, were all possible symptoms of menopause. Not some silent heart attack!
She snarled at her thoughts. Heart attacks cause pain; lots of pain. She’d had nothing more than a little bit of breathlessness and a touch of nausea. The flu! That had to be it! She was just coming down with a bout of flu. She should have gotten her flu shot earlier. Waiting until the end of October was idiotic on her part, and obviously she was going to pay for it.
So how come the doctor didn’t say that? How come she had you lie there very still while the nurse placed those electrodes on her legs, arms and chest? How come when her doctor saw the little squiggles that came out of that tiny printer, she’d said heart attack?
How could I have had a heart attack and not known it? What kind of foolishness is this thing called a silent heart attack? If it’s silent, how can anyone be sure it really happened?
By the irregular squiggles on that little printout that’s how!
Indigestion! That runs in the family. My father is a virtual indigestion factory. All my life he’s been popping antacids like they are candy. Now if she said I had an ulcer, well that would make sense, given my family’s medical history. Not some sneaky little heart attack that doesn’t even cause an ache in my heart.
Okay. My blood pressure is high. But then again, what is high? One person’s high, is just comfortable for someone else. Right?
“We have to get your blood pressure down and your stress levels under control,” the doctor had said solemnly.
Yeah Right! And I’m suddenly going to find myself back in Pennsylvania lying on my back in a field of soft hay looking up as the clouds go drifting past me!
“The next one may not be silent, and even if it is silent, it may not be one you live through.” the doctor had added sternly. “You don’t have a choice. Either you change the way you are doing things, or you will die!”
We’re all going to die!
“How in the hell am I going to change my life?” she thought as tears swelled in her eyes.
She didn’t want to cry. There was no time in her life to cry: Especially not for herself. Too many people depended on her to be strong for them. She couldn’t afford to be weak now. Maybe next year, or the year after that she could take the time to be ill, but not now.
The tears built and the pressure made her eyes burn. Damn it all, she would not cry! No sooner had she come to that determination, the tears overflowed and a dam broke.
Her sobs shook her small body. She was one total scream of pain. What was she to do? She couldn’t tell her family. She doubted any of them could handle this. Her son was still recovering from his near suicide of just six weeks ago. His emotional situation was far too fragile to be hit with this. He depended on his mother to hold him together. How could he be expected to find the strength to be his mother’s stanchion? Her daughter, although an adult, was not much better. At twenty-one, she still lived with Mom and had a lot of trouble keeping a job.
And then there was her husband. She’d met and married Jared a little over a year ago. A corporate attorney with one of the Fortune 500 companies, he was the lover, the mate, the strong male role-model that she and her children had been longing for since her first marriage had ended in divorce nearly twenty years ago. Jared had given her heaven. He had been so wonderful to her and her children, but shortly after moving here, Jared was diagnosed with skin cancer.
Having grown up in Florida, Jared had spent much of his life on the beach absorbing the intense Florida rays. Now he was paying for it. Chemotherapy was taking its toll. Much of the time, Jared was weak and ill. He was in no shape to have a wife with a heart condition. He needed her to be his tower, and she was determined to be just that!
Okay God, I’m going to have to leave this between you and me. There is no way I can tell my family what the doctor had to say, so where do we go from here? What should I do now?
She lifted her red, puffy eyes to the sky and waited. No bolt of lightning, no burning bush, no tablets etched by God’s hands fell before her. The squirrels still chattered and scampered. The mill-wheel’s paddle still flapped against the water. The sound of stone pulverizing grain added harmony, but no words of wisdom filled her.
‘That’s okay. God, I know the routine.’ She rose to her feet, took a deep, slow breath in and let it go out. There was nothing for it. She would go home, and she would do what she knew she had to do.
She walked back to her car, inserted her key in the lock, opened the door, slipped inside, turned the key, flipped on the air conditioner, and headed back to the interstate.
Her hands were steadier on the wheel. Her emotions were beyond calm. She was deadly calm. All fear was gone, all anguish, all doubts. She had been Mom when she left the house this morning: She would be Mom again when she arrived home, for that is who her family needed and who she intended to always be, and how she would deal with whatever the future held.
Win a Family Getaway to Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos or Jamaica
How does a nice family getaway to Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos or Jamaica sound to you? Sounds relaxing to me.I haven't posted any sweepstakes lately as I only like to post family related or children related sweepstakes and just haven't found anything outstanding lately.The YoKids® Real Food, Real Fun Sweepstakes, sponsored by Beaches Resorts and KIWI, is
Free Borders Kids’ Event – The Adventures of OOK and GLUK 8/14/10
Make sure you stop by Borders on August 14, 2010 at 2 pm for The Adventures of OOK and GLUK kids’ event. Borders is calling all kids to party like Ook and Gluk, the zany caveboy characters in Dav Pilkey's upcoming book, "The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-fu Cavemen from the Future." Join in on the fun with activities, giveaways and more. As per the Border's
Monday, August 9, 2010
Political Pearls: CONNECTICUT PRIMARY ENDORSEMENTS
Connecticut voters go to the polls tomorrow to vote in statewide primary races on both the Republican and Democratic sides. The hottest race among Democrats is between Ned Lamont and Dan Malloy for the gubernatorial nomination. Unabashed Left unreservedly and enthusiastically endorses Ned Lamont for the Democratic nomination for governor and commits to endorsing the winner of the Democratic primary, either Ned or Mr. Malloy, in the general election. The Quinnipiac Polling Institute released it's final poll tonight showing that Ned's lead over Dan has been cut to a mere 3%, less than the 4.5% margin of error for the poll.
In 2006, Mr. Lamont defeated incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman in the primary for Senate fair and square.
Ned ran an honorable and effective campaign spotlighting Joe's sharp turn to the right over the years. Ned won in spite of Lieberman having appeared on the national ticket in 2000 as Al Gore's vice presidential nominee and winning the popular vote, only to have that election stolen by George W. Bush, Jeb Bush and a 5-4 Supreme Court party-line political theft.
Lieberman went on to abandon his party for self-agrandizement, to run as an independent and bolt the party in the Senate, only reluctantly agreeing to vote with the Democratic Senate caucus and going on in 2008 to campaign for Republican maverick/hypocrite John McCain against President Obama. Ned is a good man of solid moral character who has earned every Democrat's respect nationwide.
He deserves the nod, and Connecticut will be far better off next January when we finally get to retire the Rowland/Rell administration in Hartford! He will bring jobs, lower health care costs, equalize education funding, build infrastructure, bring responsible fiscal practices back and much more for all the people of Connecticut! If you care about Connecticut get out tomorrow and vote--the race is so close that every vote will count! And Ned needs your support right now! The polls show he will definitely beat any Republican handily(by 15 percentage points or more) in November.
In the U.S. Senate race, multimillionaire Linda McMahon, who has made her career prior to becoming a politician just this year and purchased the nomination with her own millions, has made a career out of marketing the World Wrestling Federation(or WWE, or whatever the "@#<@" they call it at the moment) to kids and showing them that assault and violence are "funny" and comedy, rather than dreadful and horrifying.
These are McMahon's "family values." Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, and Unabashed Left endorses him for that seat. Despite his ridiculous mishandling of those embarrassing to Connecticut comments regarding his "service" during the Vietnam era, Blumenthal still has a 10% lead in the polls, but it is shrinking quickly.
Democrats cannot afford to lose this seat, and Blumenthal's transgressions are not so significant as to discourage us from endorsing him or for working on his behalf in the general election campaign.
In the third congressional district, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro will sweep to victory in November because of gerrymandering, and Unabashed Left endorses her candidacy.
Ms. DeLauro has been in Congress for a very long time, and has amassed very little power or influence of note.
Earlier this year, during the very endgame of the Healthcare vote in the House, Ms. DeLauro dropped a very important ball. During the Obama administration/House Democratic Leadership negotiations with Bart Stupak and his anti-choice people in the 48 hours before the final crucial vote, Rosa DeLauro was assigned the key role of keeping the pro-choice members apprised of exactly what was going on in these key negotiations. She failed to do so. Yes, she did. Huge goof, and many people did notice Congresswoman.
During her next term Ms. DeLauro needs to establish far more visibility, acquire a significant committee or subcommitee chair, and genuinely author one or more key pieces of legislation and usher them through the House, the Senate, and the White House. All this should have been accomplished by now, given her tenure in the House.
We have no question regarding her issues orientation, rather it is with her utter ineffectiveness at advancing this agenda. Should she not demonstrate appropriate leadership in the next two years, a challenge to her nomination in 2012 is certainly called for and would be widely supported we believe.
Please remember, above all, to get out tomorrow and cast your vote proudly and enthusiastically for the best candidate our CT Democratic Party has produced in decades, Ned Lamont for Connecticut's new Democratic Governor!!! And please get your friends and relatives out tomorrow as well. And please think about driving someone to the polls who wouldn't otherwise be able to go, regardless of who they vote for or even their party affiliation! Peace...
In 2006, Mr. Lamont defeated incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman in the primary for Senate fair and square.
Ned ran an honorable and effective campaign spotlighting Joe's sharp turn to the right over the years. Ned won in spite of Lieberman having appeared on the national ticket in 2000 as Al Gore's vice presidential nominee and winning the popular vote, only to have that election stolen by George W. Bush, Jeb Bush and a 5-4 Supreme Court party-line political theft.
Lieberman went on to abandon his party for self-agrandizement, to run as an independent and bolt the party in the Senate, only reluctantly agreeing to vote with the Democratic Senate caucus and going on in 2008 to campaign for Republican maverick/hypocrite John McCain against President Obama. Ned is a good man of solid moral character who has earned every Democrat's respect nationwide.
He deserves the nod, and Connecticut will be far better off next January when we finally get to retire the Rowland/Rell administration in Hartford! He will bring jobs, lower health care costs, equalize education funding, build infrastructure, bring responsible fiscal practices back and much more for all the people of Connecticut! If you care about Connecticut get out tomorrow and vote--the race is so close that every vote will count! And Ned needs your support right now! The polls show he will definitely beat any Republican handily(by 15 percentage points or more) in November.
In the U.S. Senate race, multimillionaire Linda McMahon, who has made her career prior to becoming a politician just this year and purchased the nomination with her own millions, has made a career out of marketing the World Wrestling Federation(or WWE, or whatever the "@#<@" they call it at the moment) to kids and showing them that assault and violence are "funny" and comedy, rather than dreadful and horrifying.
These are McMahon's "family values." Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, and Unabashed Left endorses him for that seat. Despite his ridiculous mishandling of those embarrassing to Connecticut comments regarding his "service" during the Vietnam era, Blumenthal still has a 10% lead in the polls, but it is shrinking quickly.
Democrats cannot afford to lose this seat, and Blumenthal's transgressions are not so significant as to discourage us from endorsing him or for working on his behalf in the general election campaign.
In the third congressional district, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro will sweep to victory in November because of gerrymandering, and Unabashed Left endorses her candidacy.
Ms. DeLauro has been in Congress for a very long time, and has amassed very little power or influence of note.
Earlier this year, during the very endgame of the Healthcare vote in the House, Ms. DeLauro dropped a very important ball. During the Obama administration/House Democratic Leadership negotiations with Bart Stupak and his anti-choice people in the 48 hours before the final crucial vote, Rosa DeLauro was assigned the key role of keeping the pro-choice members apprised of exactly what was going on in these key negotiations. She failed to do so. Yes, she did. Huge goof, and many people did notice Congresswoman.
During her next term Ms. DeLauro needs to establish far more visibility, acquire a significant committee or subcommitee chair, and genuinely author one or more key pieces of legislation and usher them through the House, the Senate, and the White House. All this should have been accomplished by now, given her tenure in the House.
We have no question regarding her issues orientation, rather it is with her utter ineffectiveness at advancing this agenda. Should she not demonstrate appropriate leadership in the next two years, a challenge to her nomination in 2012 is certainly called for and would be widely supported we believe.
Please remember, above all, to get out tomorrow and cast your vote proudly and enthusiastically for the best candidate our CT Democratic Party has produced in decades, Ned Lamont for Connecticut's new Democratic Governor!!! And please get your friends and relatives out tomorrow as well. And please think about driving someone to the polls who wouldn't otherwise be able to go, regardless of who they vote for or even their party affiliation! Peace...
Entwined Hearts: Book 5 of The Hearts Of Fire Series
Evil never sleeps for long, and those that are born to be warriors against it, have little choice but to sign on and follow the course that fate and legacy have set before them.
The Heart of the Fire Crystal...long ago it was splintered into pieces...eight pieces to be exact...and all were sent off into the cosmos to find the perfect eight, four men and four women, who together would reforge the crystal through the intense flames of love and passion.
Eight pieces...that need to be melded into four by the paranormal skills and passions of...
... the CHOSEN.
Those CHOSEN to walk the Path of the Chosen. Beginning with Book One of the HEARTS OF FIRE SERIES: Memory's Eye...
...and the first journey into finding the eight into four...
This is Memory,
and this is Marco Redwing her Chosen Mate. Together their story sizzles in Memory's Eye and prepares us for...
...Book Two, aptly named SHARDS OF ECSTASY.
De'alla Issacs wants nothing to do with...
...Faison Dow, but the shards of the Crystal, and destiny have their own agenda. Find out what it is in Book Two: Shards of Ecstasy...before journeying on to...
...the THIRD set of Entwined Hearts...
...Ms. Charlotte Jones...
...and her crystal mated other half, Creed Lawson. Read about them in Book Three of The Hearts of Fire Series, SEEKING CHARLOTTE. And with their story completed, follow on to...
...the fourth and FINAL pair of Entwined Hearts...
...McKenna Fulton...
...and mechanic/cowboy Ryker Thomas. With their passion scorching the pages of Book Four: KENNA'S COWBOY, and the fusing of their two shards of the powerful crystal into one...they are the final piece before the ultimate battle...
...with The Prince of Hell, Asmodeus in Book Five...But everyone knows evil has many faces...is THIS the one that will confront our four warriors...
...or is this? All we know for sure is that Asmodeus has many tricks up his foul sleeves...
...Head on over to Ellora's Cave for Book Five of the Hearts of Fire Series, richly and deservedly entitled ENTWINED HEARTS for the eight to come together, and join forces against the demonic Asmodeus.
The Heart of the Fire Crystal...long ago it was splintered into pieces...eight pieces to be exact...and all were sent off into the cosmos to find the perfect eight, four men and four women, who together would reforge the crystal through the intense flames of love and passion.
Eight pieces...that need to be melded into four by the paranormal skills and passions of...
... the CHOSEN.
Those CHOSEN to walk the Path of the Chosen. Beginning with Book One of the HEARTS OF FIRE SERIES: Memory's Eye...
...and the first journey into finding the eight into four...
This is Memory,
and this is Marco Redwing her Chosen Mate. Together their story sizzles in Memory's Eye and prepares us for...
...Book Two, aptly named SHARDS OF ECSTASY.
De'alla Issacs wants nothing to do with...
...Faison Dow, but the shards of the Crystal, and destiny have their own agenda. Find out what it is in Book Two: Shards of Ecstasy...before journeying on to...
...the THIRD set of Entwined Hearts...
...Ms. Charlotte Jones...
...and her crystal mated other half, Creed Lawson. Read about them in Book Three of The Hearts of Fire Series, SEEKING CHARLOTTE. And with their story completed, follow on to...
...the fourth and FINAL pair of Entwined Hearts...
...McKenna Fulton...
...and mechanic/cowboy Ryker Thomas. With their passion scorching the pages of Book Four: KENNA'S COWBOY, and the fusing of their two shards of the powerful crystal into one...they are the final piece before the ultimate battle...
...with The Prince of Hell, Asmodeus in Book Five...But everyone knows evil has many faces...is THIS the one that will confront our four warriors...
...or is this? All we know for sure is that Asmodeus has many tricks up his foul sleeves...
...Head on over to Ellora's Cave for Book Five of the Hearts of Fire Series, richly and deservedly entitled ENTWINED HEARTS for the eight to come together, and join forces against the demonic Asmodeus.To contact N.J. Walters, to whom this Cover Blog has been dedicated, her website is http://njwalters.com/
And check out Ellora's Cave, their website is http://jasminejade.com/ There you will find all FIVE of The Hearts of Fire Series Novels, and other titles to fill your reading fantasies.
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