No thanks. I'd rather just stay home.

Mother of three has been staying for months rent-free at church's house. She refuses to meet with them to discuss a reasonable rent, and she refused several job offers. Wha?

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The theft

When I got home from work, I went across the street to the convenience store and bought some gasoline. My plan was to mow the lawn, but, when I went to get the mower out of the back yard, I discovered that someone had stolen it.

Too bad. They got a piece of junk. It burned oil and fouled the spark plugs. The handle was broken. You would think that, if someone was going to steal a lawnmower, they would steal a nice one.

Now, I get to buy a new one--one that runs well. I'm not upset. Yay!

Reparations

Comment thread from fark.com: priceless

Software for the Apple Mac

A guide to OS X software for switchers. Good stuff.

Pain killers

Mother got up at 10:00 PM and took some pain killers. Her leg was hurting. She said that it was because she had been up on it a lot today. Also, she has been coughing quite a bit.

Scamming the U. S. Government

Scum of the earth.

Lawmakers expressed outrage Wednesday over a federal audit report that debit cards handed out to hurricane victims last year were used to buy such items as a $200 bottle of champagne from Hooters and $300 worth of "Girls Gone Wild" videos.

The cards -- given to people displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita -- also bought diamond jewelry and a vacation in the Dominican Republic, according to the Government Accountability Office audit.

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, found at least $1 billion in disaster relief payments by the Federal Emergency Management Agency were improper and potentially fraudulent because the recipients provided incomplete or incorrect information when they registered for assistance.

The GAO uncovered records showing $1,000 from a FEMA debit card went to a Houston divorce lawyer, $600 was spent in a strip club, and $400 bought "adult erotica products," all of which auditors concluded were "not necessary to satisfy legitimate disaster needs."

CNN.com - Lawmaker: Hurricane aid spent on jewelry, erotica an 'affront' - Jun 14, 2006

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Return to Sender

This is encouraging, but we have been disappointed by "catch and release" before. We'll see just how serious the administration is.

In a blitz that began May 26, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested nearly 2,100 illegal immigrants across the country. Officials said the raids are aimed at child molesters, gang members and other violent criminals, as well as people like Da Silva who sneaked back into the country after a judge threw them out.

The crackdown is called Operation Return to Sender.

"This sends a message," said Monico, standing outside the gray Victorian apartment where Da Silva had been hiding. "When we deport you, we're serious."

FOXNews.com - U.S. Immigration Officers Arrest 2,100 Illegal Immigrants

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Michelle Malkin: "The Fear-Mongers Fail"

Ha, ha, ha! A large majority of the American public actually appreciate the National Security Agency trying to protect our security, much to the chagrin, no doubt, of the legacy, i. e., so-called "main stream," media.

Legacy: a ... system ... that was created for a specific purpose but is now outdated; anything left over from a previous version of the [system]

A ride in the country

April 10, 2006 8:53:27 AM - Got up late (again!). Fixed a cup of coffee and am drinking it now.

For lunch, I had a Southwest Taco Salad from the Wendy’s Restaurant on High Street. A week from today, they are scheduled to open in their new location (right next to their present location).

After lunch, I drove down to Crystal Springs, to make a delivery to Bank of the South. It was just so beautiful, today, that I wanted to go for a ride in the country.

For dinner, I had one-half cup of yogurt, one-half cup of cottage cheese, and one cup of milk. Right now, I’m drinking a diet soda.

Tonight, I’m going to try going to bed earlier than usual, to see if that will make a difference in how much I eat. I notice that I snack “after hours.”

Errands and chores

I got up shortly after the alarm on my Palm PDA woke me up at 8:30 AM. I fixed myself a cup of coffee with canned milk. I had already had my breakfast, of two pieces of bread, when I had gotten up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

I surfed the Internet, looking at news and the CompUSA sales, then lay back down, pulling up the covers, since it was fifty-one degrees at 10:00 AM.

We listened to the Galloway church service from eleven o'clock until noon. The sermon was about Jesus riding on the donkey into Jerusalem. I emailed the pastor telling him that I enjoyed the sermon.

We ate lunch at noon. I had two eggs (egg substitute, actually) and water.

At one o'clock, I took Mother to do her errands: pharmacy (where we saw Mildred McGrew), the post office (where I received four pieces of mail), and the grocery store. We have switched to doing our errands on Sunday, instead of Saturday, because the grocery store offers a senior citizens' discount on Sunday (Wednesday, too, but Sunday is more convenient, because I don't have to work on Sunday).

I tried to telephone to Bill, twice, while we were out, but, both times, I got his answering machine, although I didn't leave a message either time.

At two o'clock, I mowed the front and back yards and pulled some of the branches, which could have scratched my car when I pull into the driveway, away from the street.

After I finished mowing the lawn(s), Bill called. They had been out, and, when they returned, they saw, from their caller ID unit, that I had called them.

Haircut, errands, eating out

I got up just before 6:00 AM and took a few photographs of my hair, before going to get a haircut. Then, I had a cup of coffee and played an April Fool's joke on Mother. I told her that I didn't sleep a wink last night, and she believed it. Then, I said, "April Fool's!" Hah, hah!

I got to the barbershop at 7:33 AM and was back home just a few minutes after 8:00 AM. Mr. Graham said that someone had broken into his shop and stolen the money out of the gum ball machine, which had been placed there twenty-five to thirty years ago (when he first moved there) by a local Civitan club.

After I got back home, I reheated and finished my morning cup of coffee. Then Mother and I went to the post office and the grocery store. On the way, I telephoned Bill and asked him what kind of soda pops they would like for us to have ready. He said Classic Cokes. They had not left home, yet.

It is now 9:53 AM, and I am waiting for 10:30 AM, when Mother and I will leave to pick up one of her prescriptions at the pharmacy, go to the Piccadilly Cafeteria for lunch, and the Home Depot to buy some more rocks for the driveway.

At the Piccadilly, I got the roast pork loin, broccoli casserole, macaroni and cheese, and a piece of garlic bread. I ate only the pork and brought the rest home for dinner.

When we got home from the Home Depot, I poured the rocks into the water puddles in the driveway. Then, I took out the garbage and the old newspapers.

I watched television, for a while, but there was nothing on that held my interest. I ate the piece of garlic bread that I brought home from the Piccadilly.

It is now 2:30 PM, and I'm sore, I guess from hauling those heavy bags of rocks.

No cash for you

I was panhandled, again. The last time was on the twenty-second of this month, only nine days ago. The company secretary says that the panhandlers find me wherever I go.

I had ducked into a local Walgreen’s drug store to buy a twelve-pack of diet Cokes, in preparation for this weekend’s visit by my brother and his family. As I was leaving, a black guy approached me.

Him: “Can you do something for me?”

Me: “What can I help you with?”

Him: “I’m trying to feed my little girl.”

Me: “I don’t have any money, but you can have these,” I replied, on a whim, thrusting the Cokes into the somewhat surprised man’s hands. “Will these help you?”

Him: “Yes, sir.”

We parted company. As I was getting into my car, I turned and saw him at a pay phone. Maybe he was calling some of his friends, perhaps asking one to panhandle for some chips and, another, for some dip. Sorry if I sound cynical, but I am. I have been panhandled so many times, I believe that I can tell, to some degree, if the individual is sincere ... or not.

I was panhandled today. My first encounter of the new year, with someone of the panhandling persuasion. I was approached while sitting in my car in the parking lot of the downtown post office.

The man's story was that he had just arrived from New Orleans. (Isn't he a little bit late getting out?) He said that he and his family were staying in a motel on Highway 80 and that he was trying to "build enough" to get some chicken wings and a loaf of bread. There was more to his story, and I just let him talk for a while, but, in my opinion, it was just a tale invented to generate money. No matter. I gave him five dollars. He asked me to join his family for dinner. I politely turned him down.

I got up early today and cleaned out the Ford Escort. We expected Mildred to call us and then come over to look at the car. The (new) battery was dead, so I took it up to the service station where Milton Chambliss works and had them to charge it up. I also got an inspection sticker for the car. (The one on the windshield had expired in 2004!)

Mother and I went on our regular errands. An employee of McDade's grocery store asked me if Mother had gotten her "license." It turns out that Mother's state-issued identification card was in the office! Whew. That was great. Now, I don't have to take off work to help her to get a replacement.

This afternoon, I checked the oil in the Escort. (It was fine.) I cleaned the leaves out from under the hood and the trunk lid. Mildred didn't call. Maybe she went to Natchez.

Just downloaded and "installed" the free version of MacJournal. I was thinking about buying the application, but I read a review of the pay version at MacWorld, where the reviewer wrote, "[S]ome users may find the freeware version enough to meet their needs," so I decided to try the freeware version.

Mother and I ate lunch at the Piccadilly Cafeteria on I-55 North. The cashier had trouble with the gift card, again, and we got our meals for free. The assistant manager suggested that I call the toll-free number on the back of the card to try to straighten things out. I did so, but the agent couldn't help me. She suggested that I have the balance transferred to a new card, the next time that we eat at Piccadilly.

We had dinner at the Wendy's Restaurant on High Street. We each had a quarter-pound, double stack burger and a side salad with creamy ranch dressing.

Also, today I put down three more bags of gravel on the driveway. Doing so made enough of a difference that Mother could get into the car without me having to move it all the way back to the street.

My humility

Last Friday, I needed to cash a check. I only had some loose change in my pocket: no bills. So I went to the bank. It was closed. Huh! I figured that the branch I went to must have gone out of business. Maybe they didn't have enough customers at that location. So, I went to another branch. When I saw that it, too, was closed, it finally dawned on me that all banks were closed because it was Veterans' Day! Aren't I observant?

I really needed to buy some gasoline, because the last time that I had fueled my car was last Tuesday, and I take my Mother to do her errands on Saturdays. I didn't want to run out of gas with my eighty-four year old Mother in my car, and, oh, yes, did I mention that the gas gauge in my car is kaput? I asked her if she could lend me some money for gas, just until the following Monday, when I could cash a check, and she gave me a Thanksgiving Day gift of five twenty-dollar bills! Thanks, Mom!

Anyway, today, I did go to the bank, to cash the check that I had written last Friday, and I pulled into one of the drive-up lanes behind an SUV. Well, the driver obviously didn't have the paperwork, e. g., a deposit slip, necessary to conduct her/his business, because I saw the cannister come back with something in it. Then, the individual spent what seemed like an eternity filling the form(s) out, before sending them back.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that it is expected that bank patrons are to have their paperwork prepared before presenting themselves in front of a teller. As a matter of fact, I have seen signs to that effect posted in banks, beside tellers' windows. I wouldn't dream of inconveniencing somebody by making them wait while I filled out a deposit or withdrawal slip. On more than one occasion, I have parked, gone inside the bank, gotten a slip, and filled it out, before returning to my car and proceeding to the drive-up window, just to keep such a scenario from occurring.

Why can't other people be as considerate as I am? In other news, I'm extremely proud of my humility!

Butt Crack

Since my brother and his family (wife, eleven-year-old twin girls, and an ancient cat) will be coming to visit during the week of Thanksgiving, I decided to wash the mountain of dirty clothes that I have been collecting in the kitchen. Actually, I only decided to wash one-half of the mountain this weekend; the other half, I plan to wash next weekend.

This weekend, I took all of my t-shirts and briefs, no dark clothing, so that I could use bleach, and get them really white. Even though I took only one-half of the clothes that needed washing, I still was going to need to use the "industrial strength, heavy duty, extremely huge" washer, the one that takes five dollars in quarters.

Before I could get going, however, I first needed to purchase some laundry detergent and some fabric softener sheets, so I went to the grocery store. Since a Books-a-Million was in the same shopping center as the grocery store, and since I had neglected to bring The New York Times crossword with me to pass the time, I went into the bookstore, looked around for a while and purchased a copy of Crime and Punishment.

Then, I went to the coin-operated laundry. Wouldn't you know it, the only five dollar washer was in use! Bah! I drove to a not-too-distant Walgreen's, in search of some chips, for a snack. Unfortunately, they didn't have Sun Chips, that type that I had a craving for. I drove on, ending up at a convenience store, which did have them. By the time that I got back to the laundry, another patron, a big, fat guy, whose butt crack I could see when he bent over, was loading his clothes into the big washer. Crap!

I drove downtown, to a convenience store which I knew had a cappuccino machine and got myself a cup. While I was out, I saw a red pickup truck with a bumper sticker which read: "Sorry I didn't make it to church. I was busy practing witchcraft and becoming a lesbian." When I returned to the laundry, I only had to wait about five minutes for the coveted washer. Yay! I loaded up my clothes and sat down to enjoy my coffee.

After I divided the clean clothes into two dryers, I opened my book and was able to read ten pages of it before the clothes were not only clean, but dry, too. I got back home at approximately twelve-thirty, which, since I had left at a little before ten o'clock, made my outing between two and one-half and three hours.

A deadly game

The government of North Korea continues to try to blackmail the United States into giving it aid.

[North Korean negotiator] Kim pressed Pyongyang's demand for an end to the U.S. sanctions imposed in October on eight companies accused of trafficking in nuclear, missile or biological weapons technology.

It was unclear whether those sanctions would have any effect, since the United States already bans trade with North Korea. But sanctions also were applied to a Macau bank that dealt with North Korean companies, disrupting Pyongyang's commercial activities.

"These kind of sanctions are in violation of the joint statement we have adopted and are going to hinder the implementation of the commitment we have made," Kim told reporters outside the North's Embassy.

Here's a news flash: The "commitment" referred to by Kim isn't worth the paper it is printed on.

Postage increase

Just keep it up, post office. You will price yourself out of existence. People will just turn more and more to using facsimile machines and email.

Video blogging

Review: Blogging Tools Need Integration

Operation Iron Fist

Thirty-six terrorists killed, so far (two days), in Operation Iron Fist.

"There's only so many of them out there," [Marine commander Col. Stephen W.] Davis said of the insurgents. "The enemy has a problem out here every time he shows up he gets bombs dropped on his head ... What you're seeing now is the dissolution of their network."

"Stingy" Americans?

I have been reading some articles on the Internet about how some of the developed nations are planning to forgive up to $55,000,000,000.00 in debt owed by some of the underdeveloped nations, and that's fine. What I am wondering, however, is this: Where is the money going to come from to pay off these debts?

What's that you say? The governments of the world's richest nations? But governments, themselves, don't have any money of their own. The only money that they have is money that is given to them, or coerced by them, from their own citizens. Isn't that correct?

Isn't it also true that the United States of America is generally conceded to be the "richest" country in the world? The individuals of which country, do you suppose, will shoulder the bulk of the burden of debt forgiveness? If you answered "the United States of America," how would you reconcile that with the suggestion by Jan Egeland, U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, that the United States is "stingy" with relief funds?

I'm just sayin'.

Freedom of speech

I am an American, and I am grateful that I am; however, the British are more reasonable than we, when it comes to free speech. Witness an article entitled "Universities told to spy on student extremists," appearing on TimesOnline. Although the title of the article is unnecessarily shrill, the contents prove to be enlightening.

“Following the London bomb attacks in July, we are all having to re-examine certain policies. One is how to respond to those using the freedoms of our society to promote terrorism and violence,” Ms Kelly said. “Freedom of speech or expression is one of the most fundamental rights that individuals enjoy. And higher education is a bastion of those values.

“However, freedom of speech does not mean tolerance of unacceptable behaviour. I believe that higher education institutions need to identify and confront unacceptable behaviour on their premises and within their communities.” Universities needed to be alert to the activities of student groups and “unafraid to set their own boundaries” about what was acceptable, using the law as support. “That means informing the police where criminal offences are being perpetrated or where there may be concerns about possible criminal acts,” she said.

“Universities and colleges have a duty to support and look after the moderate majority as they study, to ensure that those students are not harassed, intimidated or pressured.”

An invitation to commit fraud

In an article entitled "Government credit cards for Katrina expenses draw scrutiny," the Associated Press reports

About 250,000 federal employees have government credit cards, which typically have a purchase limit of $2,500. At the request of the Bush administration, Congress increased the credit line to $250,000 as part of a massive Katrina recovery bill approved last week. The aim is to make it easier to speed aid to victims.

This opens up a huge avenue for fraud, much greater than in the past, when the limit was only $2,500 per card.

Lunch

I was panhandled, today. I told the two men that I wouldn’t give them any money, but, if they would follow me into the Wendy’s Restaurant, that I would buy their lunch. They agreed.

Louisiana pork?

During the Bush Administration, Louisiana received more Corps money for flood control than any other state, but spent hundreds of millions of dollars on pork projects.

"The Blame Game"

Michelle Malkin's post The Blame Game focuses on criticism (warranted and un-warranted) of those responding to the crisis in New Orleans, Louisiana: the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the flooding of the city.

Katrina

I live in Jackson, Mississippi, which is approximately 150 miles north of the Mississippi gulf coast and 200 miles north of New Orleans, Louisiana, areas which both suffered tremendously from hurricane Katrina and her aftermath.

The company that I work for closed at eleven o'clock Monday morning, August 29. Electric power failed at my home at 1:40 in the afternoon, and the storm blew through Jackson that night.

Tuesday morning, before I became aware of the extent of the problems, I drove in to work, arriving at 7:45 am. There was no one there. Since my boss is always there by that time, I turned around and went back home.

Tuesday night was very hot, and I did not sleep well. Wednesday, I opened four windows, windows which had probably not been opened for fifteen years. There was not much of a breeze, but at least some air was circulating, and I slept a little better.

Wednesday, I telephoned the company that I work for. There were only three people there, and the boss said not to worry about coming in until Thursday, when, he said, we would try to operate as normally as possible.

Today is Thursday, September 1. The last time that I filled my car with gasoline was last Friday, and, since the fuel gauge does not work, I am becoming concerned about running out of gas. Many of the gas stations are out of gas, and there are long lines at the stations that do have a supply. A television report told of a line of 200 cars at one gas station, which didn't even have any gas. There was a 50/50 chance of it receiving a tanker truck today.

Some gas stations that do have a supply have been closed to ordinary citizens, the gas being reserved to emergency vehicles only. The stations that supplies our company vehicles, while currently out, told my boss that they were expecting a delivery of fuel today, and that they would telephone to him before the tanker got there.

Also, I got a report that a station near my home is expecting a delivery today, but, as yet, I haven't been able to reach them by telephone.

The whole truth ...

I know nothing about the legal system in Saudi Arabia; however, if there are trials, if there are witnesses, and if the witnesses are required to swear an oath to tell the truth, do you for one minute think that the Saudi authorities would allow a Christian to swear the oath on a Bible? I didn't think so.

Yet, in the United States, where it has been the custom for witnesses to swear an oath to tell the truth on the Bible, some radical Muslims demand the "right" to swear the oath on the Koran.

There is an old saying, which I would recommend to those Muslims--"When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Throw away the key?

What should be done with pedophiles? Carole Moore, who was a police officer for twelve years, offers her opinion. I agree with her.

Either/or?

Which is the more important of the two: rights or responsibilities? Or are they equally important? Interesting questions. Michael Coren, writing in the TorontoSun.com, gives it to us straight:

The mass of our social difficulties, the majority of our seemingly insoluble problems, arise from the fact that in the Western world (and particularly in Canada) we have engineered a rights-based society rather than a responsibility-based one.

The social contract between the governed and the government, between authority and citizenry, has become degraded and unbalanced. Instead of asking what our duty or responsibility might be in any given situation, we demand to know what are our privileges and rights.

These weeds practically covered a gravel parking lot at a local football stadium. I thought that they were pretty.

Sowell on immigration

Read Dr. Thomas Sowell's latest column on TownHall.com. Here's a sample:

At current wages for low-level jobs and current levels of welfare, there are indeed many jobs that Americans will not take.

The fact that immigrants -- and especially illegal immigrants -- will take those jobs is the very reason the wage levels will not rise enough to attract Americans.

This is not rocket science. It is elementary supply and demand. Yet we continue to hear about the "need" for immigrants to do jobs that Americans will not do -- even though these are all jobs that Americans have done for generations before mass illegal immigration became a way of life.

It seems that lawmakers in the United States are just now figuring out something that we citizens have been knowing for quite some time.

A number of lawmakers, former ambassadors and foreign policy experts who testified in a Washington hearing late last month asserted that the United States needs to wise up to the fact that China plans to become a superpower militarily, economically and politically — by any means necessary.

Of the attacks, Scotland Yard commissioner Sir Ian Blair said, "These are criminal acts and we are in pursuit of a set of criminals." WRONG! The acts are acts of terrorism, and the Yard is in pursuit of a set of terrorists. There is a fundamental difference between a criminal and a terrorist, and Sir Ian knows what it is.

Web site shows defiance to terrorists who bombed the London Underground and a bus, killing over fifty innocent civilians and injuring hundreds.

As usual, Michelle Malkin has the goods. In "The 7/7 Attacks: The BBC Backslides," she details how the British Broadcasting Corporation is back to their old trick of whitewashing terrorism.

FOX News has an article entitled, "Coping With Psychological Effects of Terror." Here's an excerpt:

"The use of terrorism as a tactic is predicated upon inducing a climate of fear that is incommensurate with the actual threat," says Middle Eastern historian Richard Bulliet of Columbia University.

Ergo, the logical thing to do is to realize what level of fear would be appropriate and not allow one's fear to escalate above that level. Thus, terrorism is defeated. Q. E. D.

Edjumakashun

From FARK.com:

Toyota building new plant in Canada despite massive subsidy offers from American states. Reason: southern Americans too dumb and illiterate to train; need directions in pictorial form.

FARK entry links to this article:

He [Gerry Fedchun, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association] said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained - and often illiterate - workforce. In Alabama, trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment.

Supremes

For Independence Day, Supreme Court Slams Founders

Today, I found a truly bizarre news story at news.com.au. As a matter of fact, it was so bizarre that I don't know if it is a genuine news article, or if it is some sort of parody. Anyway, here is an excerpt:

Scientists have created eerie zombie dogs, reanimating the canines after several hours of clinical death in attempts to develop suspended animation for humans.

US scientists have succeeded in reviving the dogs after three hours of clinical death, paving the way for trials on humans within years.

Pittsburgh's Safar Centre for Resuscitation Research has developed a technique in which subject's veins are drained of blood and filled with an ice-cold salt solution.

The animals are considered scientifically dead, as they stop breathing and have no heartbeat or brain activity.

But three hours later, their blood is replaced and the zombie dogs are brought back to life with an electric shock.

Finding the terrorists

Laura Ingraham had a good segment on her show, today, talking about the insanity of NOT profiling, when it comes to trying to identify terrorists.

Laura had, as her guest, Heather Mac Donald, who has an incredible piece in "City Journal."

The unnecessary pushing of expensive drugs on the general public

I have often wondered if the drug companies weren't doing this. Now, it is documented.

Stokes

Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes is seeking a court order to stop Leslie McLemore from continuing to serve as council president.

The complaint is the second in seven months filed by Stokes against the council.

Spanish politico labels Tony Blair "a complete dickhead"

A Spanish politician has reportedly called Tony Blair "a complete dickhead" on live television, but didn't know his comment had been heard.

The comment by Jose Bono, one of the three most powerful figures in Spain's Socialist Party, was recorded by a TV team as he talked to Joaquin Almunia, a former Socialist leader.

Mr Bono said: "Hey, and our colleague Blair? He's a complete dickhead (un gilipollas integral). He's an imbecile."

American Envoy Visits N. Korea Nuke Facility

An "unofficial" delegation of Americans visited North Korea's Yougbyon nuclear facility, and the North Korean regime issued a statement claiming that the visitors were shown its "nuclear deterrent."

Brave New World in ... New Jersey?

Stories in both TownHall.com and Baptist Press News cover the New Jersey cloning bill, which is nearing a vote in the N. J. legislature.

Here's what I'm talkin' 'bout, Willis!

This morning, I caught a few minutes of an infomercial on television. It was advertising some type of weight loss and body building program by BeachBody.com, but that is not what is important. What is important is that seeing that commercial has motivated me to lose some weight and tone up in general.

Here's the deal: I'm six feet tall and of medium build, yet I weigh over 200 pounds, and I'm flabby. Ugh! That is too much! I don't know exactly how much I do weigh, because I don't own a scale. I will buy one, to keep track of my progress.

What this whole effort boils down to is will-power. If I have the will-power, then I'll be able to stick to a schedule that will ultimately change the "bad" habits of (1) eating too much of the wrong foods and not enough of the right foods and (2) not exercising, into the "good" habits of (1) eating the right foods (in the right quantities) and (2) adopting a life-long regimen of exercising.

This afternoon, I am going to the coin-operated laundry. While I am out, I will go to Wal-Mart and buy a scale. After I get back to the house, I'll weigh myself. Then, I will weigh myself every week to see what progress I've made toward my goal, which is a weight of 175 pounds at the end of ten weeks. I'll post my progress here.

Saddam Capture Drives Dems, Media Mad

Reaction of the Democrats and the media to the capture of Saddam Hussein.

Possible suspect arrested in councilman's carjacking

City councilman carjacked yesterday. Police arrested a suspect today.

Christian teen forced to become Muslim
How many others has this happened to? That we didn't find out about?

Bush Makes Surprise Visit to Troops in Baghdad

Huge morale boost for the troops, and it didn't hurt that the Commander-in-Chief's trip definately upstaged Senator Clinton's trip to Afghanistan.

Judge denies bond for 2 men charged with murder of sons

Suspect arrested in bank robberies

Jackson: The Bold, New City

Jackson: The Best of the New South

I can't believe they gave a wrong address!

Massachusetts has lost track of where one-third of their registered sex offenders live or work.

History in the making

For only the second time since Reconstruction, Mississippians elected a Republican for governor.

Sheriff denied funds for gate

Last week, a convicted murderer hot wired a vehicle and drove out of the Hinds County Penal Farm by way of a broken gate. This week, the Hinds County Board of Supervisors said that replacing the gate was not an urgent issue.

The replacement gate would have cost only $7,035.00, but some supervisors said that size expense required two price quotations, thereby delaying the purchase.

I went to the coin-operated laundry this afternoon. One of my pet peeves is the lack of consideration someone shows when they leave their laundry in a washer or a drier after the cycle has finished when someone is waiting to use that machine.

Well, both of the four dollar washers were in use when I got there. One of the machines finished, and no one took the clothes out. I waited for ten minutes. Still no one looked to see if the cycle had ended, so I removed the clothes and put them in one of the wheeled laundry baskets which the management provides.

My clothes were halfway through washing when a woman came looking for her clothes. I mentioned that I had removed her clothes. She was not a happy camper. Instead of apologizing for leaving her clothes in the washer after they had finished washing, she told me that I should have asked around to see if the clothes belonged to anyone in the laundry! I told her that I wasn't about to poll those in attendance and that I had only removed the clothes ten minutes after they had finished washing and when no one had shown any interest in them.

I should mention that in the laundry there is a sign stating that clothes may be removed from machines when patrons are waiting to use them. Harrumph!

Way to go, Reuters!

The United Methodist Church signed a contract through an agency to run a series of ads during the Thanksgiving season on the giant Times Square video billboard belonging to the Reuters news service. Reuters quickly nixed the deal, citing its long-standing policy against accepting religious or political advertising, but, when faced with withering criticism from religious liberty and free-speech groups, Reuters flip-flopped and will now permit the ads.

A statement by the National Council of Churches read, in part, "To imply that religious and political speech might be in the same class with messages that are ‘pornographic… libelous, misleading or deceptive in nature,’ as Reuters did in explaining its refusal to carry the United Methodist ad, is a frightening use of the power of media ownership."

Now, Reuters said that perhaps the company should accept any ads, as long as they aren’t confused with Reuters’ news coverage. If that happens, and if Reuters accepts messages that are pornographic, then, I predict, legitimate advertisers like the United Methodist Church will pull their ads, and Reuters will be left with nothing but ads that are "pornographic… libelous, misleading or deceptive in nature."

An Increase in the Number of Beggers?

This is getting ridiculous! I was panhandled out in the front yard, this morning! I went out to the car to put Mother's library books in the trunk, and a man came across the street from the store with a "sob story" about his car breaking down. He asked me for a ride. I told him that I couldn't give him a ride, because my eighty-two year old Mother lived with me, and I couldn't leave her. So he asked for some gas money, five dollars worth, to be exact. I didn't have a five, so I gave him two one-dollar bills, after getting him to agree not to replay me.

That's not too bad, but it comes on the heels of the man that panhandled me yesterday. It was at the Burger King restaurant on High Street. When he asked for help, I suggested that I buy him something to eat. Instead of saying, "Thank you," he wanted to know what I was going to buy him. I asked him what he needed. He replied that he was hungry enough to eat three sausage biscuits. I told him that was two too many and walked into the store. I bought my breakfast and got another to go. When I finished eating and went outside, the guy was nowhere to be seen. I took the breakfast back to the office and gave it to the company secretary, who was glad to get it!

The day before that, which was Thursday, I was panhandled in the parking lot of the Shell convenience store on High Street. I could go on. My point is that there seem to be more people asking for a handout than there used to be. If that is the case, I wonder why?

Trick or Treat!

Woman dressed as clown robs bank

Think of the Children

Chicago teachers take first step toward strike

Hatch proposal angers activists

"Conservatives are furious over a Republican proposal to create two new Michigan-based judicial seats in exchange for getting Sen. Carl Levin, Michigan Democrat, to lift his blockade on four of President Bush's nominees from that state."

Huge fires continue to burn in California.

Officials said that as of Wednesday night there were 18 confirmed deaths in Southern California, two in adjoining areas in Mexico and that a total of 2,427 homes were destroyed along with 634,000 acres.

Horrors! New study reveals that "more than a third of kids under 6 have a TV in their bedroom." Is it just me, or are children younger than six years of age probably not very discerning judges of what would be good, and what would be harmful, for them to watch on television?

Years ago, the then-Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Newton Minnow, proclaimed television to be "a vast wasteland." In my opinion, it hasn't changed for the better.

From an Associated Press article on MSNBC.com

The international Red Cross said Monday it is considering cutting back its operations in Iraq after a bomb attack on its Baghdad headquarters that shook the neutral Swiss-run organization.

Maybe it is self-evident; even so, it bears repeating: That's exactly what the terrorists want! That is why the Red Cross absolutely, positively must not cut back its operations.

After the Baghdad headquarters of the United Nations was bombed, that organization cut their staff back to a skeleton crew, and, sadly, I wouldn't be suprised if the International Red Cross did the same, which would, once again, leave the United States of America to do to do the work of others, with scant appreciation.

From the BBC, by way of Drudge Report, comes this story about how a Muslim in Italy succeeded in getting the courts there to ban crucifixes from classrooms in a state kindergarten, a move which has "shocked" the Roman Catholic Church.

"You cannot remove a symbol of the religious and cultural values of a people just because it can offend someone," said a leading prelate, Cardinal Ersilio Tonini.

A number of government ministers were similarly outraged.

"It is unacceptable that one judge should cancel out millennia of history," said Labour Minister Roberto Maroni.

Why didn't the Roman Catholic Church take such a stand in the United States of America were making the same types of rulings?

The number of arrests made by agents of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, under the leadership of Frank Melton, continues to mount.

Eric Stringfellow writes in The Clarion-Ledger newspaper about the lack of cooperation and the incompetance between and among criminal "justice" agencies and personnel in Jackson, Hinds County, and Mississippi.

UFO seen by several people in Colorado.

I followed a link on the Drudge Report to the following story. I never cease to be amazed at how the Democrats continue to side with law breakers. It is really quite disgusting, in my opinion. As you can see from the article below, Pelosi attacks employers and takes up for the illegal aliens. Also, she reiterates the Democrat desire to grant legal status to aliens who are in this country illegally.

Rep. Pelosi Says Wal-Mart Arrests 'Terrorizing'

Fri Oct 24, 6:43 PM ET

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said on Friday police raids on dozens of U.S. Wal-Mart stores in the search for illegal immigrants this week amounted to "terrorizing" workers.

"It instills a great deal of fear in people who are only trying to earn a living and put food on the table for their family," Pelosi, a California Democrat, told reporters on a Congressional visit to Mexico.

Hundreds of workers at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. locations across the United States were arrested on immigration charges on Thursday in an investigation into contractor cleaning crews.

"We think there might be a better way to go about this because the fact is that it is against the law for the employer to hire these people so there should be more focus on the employer and less in these terrorizing raids," Pelosi said.

She was speaking after meeting Mexican President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) for talks on immigration and border security.

Pelosi said the Wal-Mart raids showed the need to legalize undocumented workers in parts of the economy other than just the agricultural sector.

Several bills to grant legal status to illegal immigrants working in U.S. agriculture are before Congress, including the Berman-Cannon bill which would let an estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants earn legal residency.

Car accidents claim four lives in Jackson area, in less than twenty-four hours!

Four Jackson men held in separate carjackings

I wonder if the Chief of Police still maintains that Jackson doesn't have a crime problem, just a crime "perception" problem?

Four allegedly bilk government out of $11.2 million, face combined jail time of 1,415 years!

"I don't want people that have criminal records dealing with children."

Well, duh!

" ... another sad day in Jackson."

" ... another sad day in Jackson."

Two street thugs tried to rob a local jeweler, but he fought back, and they fled.

Saudis: Non-Actions Speak Louder Than Words

With "friends" like the Saudis, who needs enemies?

Man known as Mr. Fix-it Jackson's 31st homicide

A man known to his neighbors as Mr. Fix-it was fatally attacked in his northwest Jackson home, police said Thursday.

Gregory Acker, 49, of 471 E. Ridgeway St., suffered a blow to the head and two stab wounds in his neck, Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart said.

Police are searching for Acker's missing blue-grayish handyman's van. "No job too small" is written on the van.

Acker is Jackson's 31st homicide of 2003 and the second since Wednesday, when a homeowner fatally shot a man police say was trying to break into his house.

Order not to arrest illegals overturned

" ... we should all be disgusted; however, we should not be surprised."

It's not fair, but Jackson is defined too often by Stokes' histrionics. Not only does he undermine the council, but also he sabotages the city. Stokes should go.

After doing all that they could to obstruct the United States from deposing Saddam Hussein and freeing the people of Iraq from his cruel oppression, the French now want to suspend the sanctions that were imposed against his regime. Why? You can bet that it is not out of the goodness of their hearts. "Follow the money," is a phrase that probably applies here.

This is the fourth full day of military action by the United States of America, and others, most notably Britain, to liberate the people of Iraq from the regime of the sadistic, murderous dictator Saddam Hussein and to enforce United Nations Security Council resolution 1441.

War is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, and, yet, some fairly certain information is coming out of Iraq, even as military action continues. Several thousand Iraqi troops have either capitulated or surrendered; many times that number are thought to have simply left their posts and returned to their homes. A smaller number are resisting, some fiercely. There have been some coalition casualties; some coalition troops have been captured by the enemy.

The regime of Saddam Hussein has already violated the Geneva Conventions, according to United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield.

So-called "anti-war" protests continue throughout the world, although to a lesser degree in the United States since the actual onset of hostilities, but the protests are increasingly seen as "anti-American" or "anti-Bush," rather than actually "anti-war."

In the middle of the afternoon, I was sitting at my computer, when, suddenly--crash, bang, crack-em-up! The computer monitor flickered and died. I looked outside and saw a candy apple red Chrysler PT Cruiser sitting in the front yard.

The utility pole was cracked. I telephoned to the electric company, to report the outage. Soon, there was a crowd of people in the front yard, some of them erstwhile passengers in the PT Cruiser, some merely onlookers. The other car involved in the accident, a black Pontiac Grand Am, was across the street, in the parking lot of the convenience store. Presently, there were three police cars, an ambulance, a fire truck, and two wreckers on the scene. I went across to the convenience store, ostensibly to get a soda pop, but, in reality, to talk to the clerk and to look at the other car to see what kind of condition it was in. The front of it was messed up pretty badly.

The emergency medical technicians put the driver of the Pontiac on a stretcher and took him away in the ambulance. I don't know how badly he was injured. Someone from the electric company came in a truck that had one of those devices consisting of a bucket on the end of an arm, designed to lift a person up to the power lines. He surveyed the situation, told me that some of the wires were shorted out, and that a crew would have to come to restore the power. Then he left.

One of the wreckers backed up to the curb, in front of the house, and removed the car from the front yard. I had been concerned that the car might have damaged the house, but it didn't touch it. Now, the lights are back on, and the only evidence of a wreck, other than the cracked utility pole, are a few shallow ruts in the front lawn, which I will fill with dirt in a day or two.

There was a car crash in front of the house on Friday evening, about 5:30. A small car turned in front of a sport utility vehicle, sending the sport utility vehicle skidding. When it slammed up against the curb, it flipped over. There were lots of emergency vehicles, including three police cars, a big fire truck, and two tow trucks, but, amazingly, no one was seriously injured.

Today, I got up at 4:50 a.m. News of the space shuttle disaster filled the headlines.

Mother saw a bird in her bedroom. She said that it perched on top of the door to her bedroom, before zooming off in the direction of the kitchen. We looked and looked for it, but couldn't find it. I turned off the computer, and sat very quietly, trying to hear it. I heard chirping coming from the direction of the back bedroom. Also, I heard what seemed to be rustling inside the computer room, from some boxes that are behind the computer table, and, therefore, very difficult to get to--so difficult, in fact, that I didn't make the effort.

It has been quite a while since I have heard the rustling. From where I sit, at my computer, I can see a gap between the top of the door leading to the back bedroom and the door frame--a gap which looks big enough for a small bird to go through. Since we haven't been able to locate the bird, I suppose that it is possible that it went through that gap, into the back bedroom. Still, I can't figure out what caused the rustling noise that I heard.

10:40 a.m. - Just finished helping Mother to wash her hair, which involves filling several pots and pans with water and pouring the water over her head, while she leans over the kitchen sink. We ate a lunch of Campbell's Chicken and Dumplings soup, before washing her hair.

I plan to take our dirty clothes to the coin-operated laundry, this afternoon, but I told Mother that I would wait as long as possible to see if the bird showed itself. I do want to leave early enough so that I can be back before nightfall.

All your base are belong to us.

Today, being the first day of the new year, I have an unhealthy desire to resolve to post to this weblog every. single. day. of 2003 (but I won't--promise, that is).

Traditionally, we have black eyed peas, greens, and cornbread on New Year's Day. Since we didn't have any of those things, I went to the grocery store today to get them. Actually, I went twice, because the delicatessan didn't have the cornbread ready the first time I went. Mom brought out some of the sliced, smoked turkey from our Christmas feast. We spooned the liquid from the peas and turnip greens over the warm cornbread and had milk to drink. Since today is a holiday, I said what was always called, in our family, the "special" blessing, because my Dad only used it on special occasions.

Hey, there goes what we used to call the "air raid" siren, but which, now, is activated to alert to severe weather. It is also cranked up at noon on the first of every month, supposedly to test it.

Trent Lott, Republican of Mississippi, has announced that he will resign as Majority Leader of the United States Senate and will serve out the remaining four years of his six-year term.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations says that the inspections for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq are proceeding well. The President of the United States says that they are not. Iraq is expected to provide their "declaration" of weapons systems on Saturday. We should be able to get a pretty good idea from it if the dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, is serious about avoiding war.

Yesterday, Tom Daschle, the soon-to-be minority "leader" of the Senate of the United States of America, spoke out against talk show hosts that disagree with him and with the ideology of the Democrat party. Basically, he is setting the stage for his party's assault on the talk show hosts of America, the vast majority of whom are critical, and rightly so, of the objectives of the Democrat party.

They will do so with a so-called "campaign finance reform" measure and/or an attempt to revive the discredited, so-called "Fairness" in Broadcasting Act of 1993, which is, in truth, another way that they think that they can silence their critics.

Talk radio shows that espouse the principles of the "nanny state" generally fail. They fail because the argument for the nanny state cannot stand up to scrutiny. Implicit in this argument is a disdain for "the people," who, it is assumed, do not have enough sense to know what is in their best interests; therefore, the poor, misguided citizens need a "nanny state" to take care of them and prop them up. Since talk shows favorable to their ideas generally fail, it it only "fair" to the Democrats that talk shows critical of their ideas be censored!

The Democrats in the United States House of Representatives elected Nancy Pelosi to be their leader today. This is a good thing for the Republicans. Pelosi is such a radical liberal that she will further marginalize her party.

The Associated Press has a story by Sarah el Deeb. She writes, in part:

Egypt's foreign minister said Saturday that he expected Iraq to accept the U.N. resolution to disarm but that Baghdad had not yet made a formal decision.

"I think we can expect a positive position by the Iraqis," Ahmed Maher told reporters after Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri explained Iraq's position to the foreign ministers of the 22-member Arab League.

I think that we can be fairly sure that Saddam Hussein will say that he will accept the resolution to disarm, but that will only be a delaying tactic. That's my prediction. We'll have to wait and see what actually happens. However, we do know this for a fact: Saddam Hussein has defied the United Nations, in the past.

Also, it seems fairly certain that, if Saddam Hussein defies the United Nations this time, he will not defy it again.

Many Republicans are hoping that Representative Nancy Pelosi will replace Dick Gephardt as House Minority Leader. They feel that her election would signal that the Democrat party will position itself even farther to the left, a move which, Repuplicans feel, will marginalize it even more.

The Washington Times newspaper reports on the results of yesterday's election.

Jesse Ventura, the Governor of Minnesota, appointed an Independent to fill the vacancy in the United States Senate caused by the death of Senator Paul Wellstone. Ventura had stated that he was leaning toward appointing a Democrat, because Wellstone was a Democrat, until he was outraged by the Democrats shamelessly turning an event billed as a "memorial service" for Wellstone into an unabashedly political rally.

In 1991, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia allowed troops of the United States of American into their country to defend it against Iraq. Now, when the United States of America considers it essential that it defend itself against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's ability to distribute weapons of mass destruction to terrorists targeting their country, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said in an interview broadcast Sunday that the Kingdom will not allow bases on its soil to be used for an attack on Iraq even if the United Nations authorizes military action.

Time magazine has called Foreign Affairs "the most influential periodical in print." In the November/December 2002 issue of Foreign Affairs, Barry Rubin, Director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center and Editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs, writes:

Arab and Muslim hatred of the United States is not just, or even mainly, a response to actual U.S. policies -- policies that, if anything, have been remarkably pro-Arab and pro-Muslim over the years. Rather, such animus is largely the product of self-interested manipulation by various groups within Arab society, groups that use anti-Americanism as a foil to distract public attention from other, far more serious problems within those societies.

CNN.com reports some good news: there are a few programs throughout the country that are mobilizing physicians to make house calls, a practice which once was common.

This is just too awesome! I just updated w.bloggar to v3.0. It is an excellent tool to use to update one or more weblogs, and it has some great, new features.

Yesterday, I bought a copy of FranklinCovey Planning Software from CompUSA. I had previously downloaded a trial edition from the FranklinCovey web site and liked it so much that I decided to go ahead and make it legal. We'll see where this goes.