Two Shots in the Ass

This past weekend I got the worst migraine of my *life*. It was truly, truly horrible. I am still in a bit of shock that it happened.

It got to the point where I was puking, then dry heaving, constantly with a excruciating headache. It was one of the worst physically painful episodes of my life. Jeff finally convinced me to go to the clinic here in town (another horrible experience for me and Jeff) and they gave me two shots....one in each buttocks. *sigh*

One shot was for the pain, the other was for the nausea. Jeff brought me home and I slept for almost 24 hours straight.

Sunday, I was in a terrible mood. It was like really, really intense PMS.

I felt horrible because Jeff and Alex were so supportive and wonderful during my migraine and then I was still not entirely myself the next day. I was impatient, moody, and mean.

But I am finally back to normal!

I don't know why exactly I got the horrible migraine, but now I have a prescription for harder drugs for the next time. I am nervous about how much the drugs will cost though. I hate putting prescription drugs in my body and I really hate paying bookoo $$$ for them.

So here is a GIANT shout-out to my husband. He saw the worst in me, held my hand as I got two big ass shots in my big ass, and never faltered in his love and devotion to me. I am so fricken lucky!!! Alex was also so wonderful, and she really had to deal with the brunt of my mood the next day. She is awesome and awe-inspiring.

So now I am back to normal (ha).

I will get back to my ranting and raving soon, with hopefully a splash more humor and chillness.

Migraines suck and are really painful.......and can lead to big 'ol bruises on your butt.

Peace.

Nora, The Piano-Playing Cat (www.ravenswingstudio.com)

Don't blame Nora!
She looks too much like Spicy.

VideoVets: John Bruhns

Please support our troops

Thank you, Mr. Moyers

Last night on PBS Bill Moyers produced a special on America's media. For the first time on TV - blogs have been detailing the media's stunning failure and duplicity for quite awhile now - Bill Moyers told the truth about how our media has not done its job. In fact most journalistic outlets have been bought and silenced by the administration in the White House.

It just plain sucks. It sucks because Bill Moyers and PBS will now be attacked by right-wing pundits who are scared shiteless that they will be forced to tell the truth.

But we all know that they won't be forced to tell the truth, because we have at least 4 types of Americans:

1) Religious fundamentalists who only feel comfortable when they are being scared to their rapture by their Authoritarian leaders. They need the lies to be fed to them by unethical pundits (ie FOX news) in order to justify their hypocrisy. They will always believe what is told to them and never trust the truth.

2) Americans who are desperately trying to self-medicate with shopping, vapid television, food, and any other other non-stressful distraction. They are working hard and have very little free time. When they do have free time they want to turn off their brains and not deal with the truth. The truth is simply too stressful.

3) Americans living in poverty. They don't have time to worry about corruption in government, a horrific war, or how our food supply is incredibly unhealthy. They are worried about getting food period. They are being treated the worst in our society and we ignore them. They don't have any power to demand the truth from our press corp.

4) Activists, progressives, liberals, war protesters. These people are fighting for the truth to be heard - yet they are portrayed as crazy. The only way for these people to have a chance of making some progress towards the truth is if group #2 & #3 support them.

We have all the evidence we need. Just this week Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman's brother told us that the military lied.

How much more information does America need to hold our government and the military accountable? We are sending our sons and daughters to fight. Many are coming back in coffins or severely wounded. What is wrong with us???

Please try to watch the upcoming Bill Moyer's journals - Friday he is interviewing Jon Stewart.

Peace.

Sigh - This is Reality

I am going to post the names from a AP article that came out April 22. 2007. Partly because I think it needs to be laid out that our government is highly corrupt and we all need to not only recognize it, but start changing some things.

Also so I can have some sort of record for myself in the future. Hopefully I will be saying "Oh yeah, Spring of '07 is when America began the process of waking up and taking control of our government and our way of life".

Next time someone mentions impeachment to you, think long and hard about this list before blowing them off as crazy hippies.

I will list the names....it is up to you whether you want to link to the article and see what these Bush appointees have done to our country

Scooter Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank

J. Steven Griles, an oil and gas lobbyist who became deputy Interior Secretary

Former White House aide, David H. Safavian

Roger Stillwell, a former Interior Department official

Sue Ellen Wooldridge, the top Justice Department prosecutor in the environmental division

Matteo Fontana, a Department of Education official who oversaw the student loan industry

Claude Allen, who had been Bush's domestic policy adviser

Philip Cooney, a former American Petroleum Institute lobbyist who became chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality

Darleen Druyun, a former Air Force procurement officer

Eric Keroack, Bush's choice to oversee the federal family planning program

Lurita Doan, head of the General Services Administration

Robert W. Cobb, NASA's inspector general

Julie MacDonald, who oversees the Fish and Wildlife Service but has no academic background in biology


Everything is pretty effed up. And these are just the problems/scandals we know about folks.

The President serves at the pleasure of the people.

He is blatantly telling us to go take a flying leap by letting us know he is "delighted" by Gonzales's testimony (WTF!)

It sucks to be us.

Peace.

The Zimmers

Props to old people

Politics Trump Womens' Rights

Duh.....You would think we would all be used to this bullshit and not give a hoot.

We could all just roll over and tell the religious right and the political opportunists who foam at the mouths for them...........boy you must be right!

Unfortunately truth and justice have an ugly way of popping their heads up.

Excerpt from Kos quoting Ginsberg:

As Ginsburg wrote in her dissent:

"Today's decision is alarming," Ginsburg wrote for the minority. "It tolerates, indeed applauds, federal intervention to ban nationwide a procedure found necessary and proper in certain cases by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists....And, for the first time since Roe, the Court blesses a prohibition with no exception safeguarding a woman's health."

She added: "Retreating from prior rulings that abortion restrictions cannot be imposed absent an exception safeguarding a woman's health, the Court upholds an Act that surely would not survive under the close scrutiny that previously attended state-decreed limitations on a woman's reproductive choices."


That medical considerations were not paramount in the the decision is also made clear by Ginsburg:


One wonders how long a line that saves no fetus will hold in the face of the Court's "moral concerns." . . . The Court's hostility to the right Casey and Roe secured is not concealed. Throughout, the opinion refers to obstetrician-gynecologists not by the title of their medical specialties, but by the pejorative label "abortion doctors."


Where are all the moderates on this issue? Where are the women? Why are we letting religious driven partisan politics f*** around with our health??????

This is not about "winning" against zealots and wingnuts.

This is about our rights! Criminy!

And let's not forget to thank NARAL.

After all, they have a lot of our money, why should they bother to use it???

Peace.

TPM TV: April 18, 2007

For fans who love Stephen!!!

(Okay and I guess also for people who love the environment, whatever)

Watch till the end to see Stephen explain his character to Kerry!

Eeeep I love that man!!!
(uh, not Kerry....the uber hot nerd Stephen Colbert is whom I love *swoon*)

Nation shout out

Giant Brass Balls

Greatest Living American


Lets all do our part for Stephen.

It's Hard

The last few days have been extremely hard. The shooting spree at Virgina Tech is incomprehensible. The 80 people dead today in Baghdad is incomprehensible. Knowing that a soldier is going to die this week far away from his or her family and community is gut wrenching.

I don't know how to express my grief properly. The death and destruction is a reality I don't want to deal with.

I know as a country, we have to choose a different path. We cannot teach our children to glamorize violence. We cannot excuse our own love of violence and uber competitiveness.

The consequences are too high.

The moral imperative needs to be to stop institutionalizing violence. period.

More guns will not solve our problems. Sanctioning a "good guy" vs. "bad guy" paradigm will not stop violence.

Compassion will help. Strengthening our prevention programs regarding mental heath will help.

We need a cultural shift in our country. Unfortunately it will never keep us completely safe from insane people. Life is scary. But the amount of killing and destruction can be lessened.

But we cannot expect this happen without each of us standing up and doing our part.

The consequences are too high.

The deaths of brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers are breaking our hearts and our souls.

Peace.

War cannot be ignored

From Democracy Now!

More than 18,000 Held in U.S. Jails in Iraq
Meanwhile the number of prisoners in U.S. jails in Iraq has now reached 18,000. More than one thousand have been jailed in the past month. The average stay in prison is now at one year with more than eight-thousand staying for longer.

AP Photographer Passes Year-Mark in Jail
Among the prisoners is the Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein. He’s now spent more than a year in a jail. The U.S. military has held him without charge.

Study: 70% of Baghdad Children Suffering Trauma
In other Iraq news, a new study from Iraq’s health ministry has found close to seventy percent of Baghdad school children are showing symptoms of trauma-related stress. The symptoms include stuttering and bed-wetting. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported last week many Iraqi children are forced to pass dead bodies on the street as they walk to school.

PEACE

Love me some Pearl

Positive Thinking on Friday 13th

Howard Dean was in Denver this week to get things rolling for the upcoming DNC convention. Colorado Confidential had a quick interview with him. I found this question & answer encouraging:

CC: You said at the Denver rally and in previous interviews that Democrats were elected not to be in power, but to do something—and if they don't do something, then they shouldn't be re-elected. That sounded a lot like the "kick-butt" Howard Dean of the 2004 presidential elections. Are you trying to keep the fires burning under our Democratic leaders, especially those in Congress?


Dean: I think they are doing great and as you know, I don't have to say anything if I don't want to. I really believe they are doing a great job. They are delivering and who ever would have thought they could have accomplished all of that in 100 days.

The purpose of being in power is not to keep in power-- that's what doomed the Republicans. They were so interested in keeping power they forgot that they were there to work for the American people. They didn't do that.

As we gradually take that power, our number one mission should not be to stay in power--we won't succeed if that's our goal-- it needs to be to do something for the country and leading.
As governor I learned if you did a good job, the elections will take care of themselves. I think that can be true for Democrats in next year's elections, as well.


If the Democrats can keep their eyes on the issues and not obsess about job security and getting re-elected, we might actually have a great opportunity to revitalize America. But I am pretty jaded and its hard for me to truly believe that greed and power won't continue to be the major players in our political arena.

Prove me wrong Howard!

PEACE

Wow, Lee & I have something in common

From Lee Iacocca's new book, Where Have All The Leaders Gone?

"The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?"

I know that Mr. Iacocca's words will resonate with some folks more than my liberal rants. But who cares? As long as things change.........................

PEACE.

In Memory of Mr. Vonnegut

An amazing writer passed away....

watch his awesome interview on the Daily Show

http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/cc_insider/2007/04/kurt_vonnegut_o.html

R. I. P.


PEACE.

Doug Lamborn is a (inactive) Dufus

that's right....I said Dufus!

I am ashamed he represents my area (he certainly does not represent me).

He has the time and energy to write an opt-ed piece for The Gazette and yet doesn't bother to *do* anything except rail against the democrats in Congress.

Yawnville, Mr. Lamborn. I could take the time to refute the spin-job you performed for us in the paper, but that would be a waste of time. Just like you complaining and whining about Democrats instead of actually putting forth some solutions for your constituents and the American people.

Reiterating Papa Rove's talking points is a waste of time.

Do your job - find solutions, help your constituents, in the very least try to unite your constituents.

Your masturbatory opinion piece makes you look like a dufus, dude.

PEACE.

Anger Issues

I don't wanna post. I don't want to post because I am angry. I know I have a temper and I really try hard to control it.

But the ignorance, racism, arrogance, hypocrisy, judgemental superiority, disrespect, and creepy fundamentalism in my town...

PISSES ME OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew. It sucks to be me right now. And it probably sucks even more to be a family member of mine. But I don't know how to get over it. I really thought that I could ignore all the ignorance, racism, arrogance, hypocrisy, judgemental superiority, disrespect, and creepy fundamentalism around me and just focus on love, caring, and compassion.

But I can't. I get pissed off and belligerent.

So I know I have to move. Its best for me and my family. I never wanted to try and change people's minds. I just thought (naively) that me being respectful would inspire respect in others.

I am naive and idealistic. So be it. I just need to find my own community and not worry about what people think.

Until then I will just have to focus on my beautiful daughter and my amazing husband, and try not to lose my temper too much.

Wish me luck-

PEACE

Easter in Colorado

That little speck under the tree is an easter bunny

Otters holding hands

and now for your moment of(freakin cute) zen........

The truth always needs to be practiced....

We all know Attorney General Gonzales will be speaking before the Senate Judiciary soon.

(if you don't know its probably cause you still get your news from the MSM - ummm I wouldn't recommend that route. Unless you make important conclusions about our government from Anna Nicole stories and coyotes in Quiznos).

The Washington Post online informs us:

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has retreated from public view this week in an intensive effort to save his job, spending hours practicing testimony and phoning lawmakers for support in preparation for pivotal appearances in the Senate this month, according to administration officials.

After struggling for weeks to explain the extent of his involvement in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, Gonzales and his aides are viewing the Senate testimony on April 12 and April 17 as seriously as if it were a confirmation proceeding for a Supreme Court or a Cabinet appointment, officials said.

Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, and Timothy E. Flanigan, who worked for Gonzales at the White House, have met with the attorney general to plot strategy. The department has scheduled three days of rigorous mock testimony sessions next week and Gonzales has placed phone calls to more than a dozen GOP lawmakers seeking support, officials said.

Doesn't it seem really weird that Gonzales has to "practise testimony" and "plot strategy"?

I realize that this is an important interview and a complex situation. But the truth should be pretty easy to tell. Unfortunately this administration has made lying and covering your ass a pretty routine matter in Washington.

I think lying sucks. I think hiding the truth and co-ordinating stories suck.

Especially from government officials.

People might say I am a rube for believing that our government's job is to serve the people.......

But I say no amount of cynicism and spin can change the definition of Democracy.

And I don't need to spend all week figuring out how to prove it.

Duh.

huh

from Democracy Now!

ABC: U.S. Engaged in Secret War With Iran

ABC News is reporting the U.S. is engaged in a secret war with Iran. Since 2005, U.S. officials have been advising a Pakistani tribal militant group with ties to the Taliban on how to carry out deadly guerilla raids inside Iran. The Pakistani group – called Jundullah -- has taken responsibility for the deaths and kidnappings of more than a dozen Iranian soldiers and officials. Most recently, Jundullah took credit for a bus bombing that killed at least 11 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in February. Officials say the U.S. relationship with Jundullah is arranged so that the U.S. provides no funding to the group, which would require an official presidential order or "finding" as well as congressional oversight. Some former CIA officers say the arrangement is reminiscent of how the U.S. government used proxy armies to destabilize the government of Nicaragua in the 1980s.

Soldier Surprises His Son

Yes this is intentionally heart-wrenching. But it is reality for many American families.

I wish I could play this video for all the jaded, apathetic responses to ending the war.

Ask yourself....Why are we at war? If your answers are oil, money, strategic power, then you are obligated to step up and take responsibility for our soldiers and their families.

Now is the time to act on those American values and ideals we learned growing up.

Demand an end to this war.

There is no excuse for apathy, when so many lives are at stake.

Peanut Butter, The Atheist's Nightmare!

Mind-bottling. And extremely funny. But also really sad that any American would believe the "peanut butter" experiment. Are spin and ignorance taking over our country? I hope not - for peanut butter sake.

Even Colbert wouldn't believe that old dude. Colbert would simply apply the peanut butter directly to his gut to disprove evolution.