You're the Smart one....so chances are you'll
survive! :-)
You might get cut up & have some minor injuries,
but you'll be victorious. The Killer better
know NOT to mess with you anymore!
Will you survive a HORROR MOVIE??
brought to you by Quizilla
Cool. I live.
Hat tip to happy catholic
Ghouls come out at night
In various shapes and forms
Shouting "Trick or treat!"
JUDGE EDITH HOLLAN JONES
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, appointed by
Reagan, born 1949
A Texan! Nearly nominated to Souter's seat by
G.H.W. Bush. You're hoping the son follows
through! Jones is considered radioactive by
Democrats, which you (and the administration)
might consider a plus!
New World Man presents: My favorite candidate for the Supreme Court
brought to you by Quizilla
Hat tip to The Anchoress
I haven’t written a lot about the Harriet Miers nomination and now that she has withdrawn I’m glad I didn’t. Honestly, I could care less about who the President nominates. It’s not like my two Senators, Chuck E. Cheese Schumer and Queen Hillary, were going to vote for anyone Bush nominates. After all if they didn’t vote for John Roberts, who was as well-qualified and well-prepared as SCOTUS nominee in history and who made his Senate questioners look like petulant children, then they aren’t going to vote for anyone this Republican president puts up (unless said nominee was a known Democrat). So there’s very little point in my caring about whom the President nominates – it’s not like I can do anything about it.
But I do think this nomination and withdrawal of Miers is a teaching moment for this often arrogant White House. There is a line his base, the people who worked to get him elected, are not willing to cross. It’s not good enough to say the President “knows" (wink, wink) that Harriet Miers can be trusted. The same promise was said of Anthony Kennedy and David Souter and conservative Republicans got burned with both. It’s not even good enough for the President to say to his base they should just “trust him” - which with the bloated federal budget, pork barrel spending, non-existent government response to Hurricane Katrina and the quagmire in Iraq it’s getting increasingly difficult to do. Conservatives wanted proof for one that George W. is the conservative he has always claimed to be.
And what do they get instead? A Supreme Court Nominee who seems to have been picked simply because:
1. She was a lawyer
2. She was a female lawyer
3. She was a female lawyer with no paper trail
4. She was George W. Bush’s female lawyer with no paper trail
5. She was George W. Bush’s friend AND female lawyer with no paper trail
Seems to me these are not exactly the qualifications that are most important things one wants in a Supreme Court Justice.
Let’s face it – Harriet Miers was picked because she was a crony and a cipher. Cronyism can be overcome if the person is talented and qualified enough but Ms. Miers (who may indeed be a nice person and as smart as a whip for all I know) was NOT the best lawyer available. She wasn’t the best female lawyer available. Heck, she wasn’t even the best female lawyer from Texas available! So in a case like this calls of cronyism have merit. As for being a cipher – any one who can say with a straight face: “I have never thought about X, Y, or Z and/or have no opinion on it” is either lying (in which case they don’t deserve to have a lifetime appointment to one of the most powerful positions in the country) or ignorant (in which case they don’t deserve to have a lifetime appointment to one of the most powerful positions in the country). In either case, a cipher isn’t going to cut it. And the less of a cipher Ms. Miers the more untenable she became both for the Democratic opposition and the President’s own base. In other words, there wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to get confirmed.
So what was the President thinking in nominating her? Was she a “stealth” conservative nominee designed to fool the Dems? A “moderate” in conservative cloak? Or just a red herring meant to fail? Who cares at this point? But the President must (hopefully) have learnt one thing in this fiasco – when it comes to Supreme Court Justice, unqualified cronies and unknown ciphers need not apply. In other words, John Roberts, si. Harriet Miers, non.
Never trust a book
If it's without a cover
A new old proverb
The new Frankensteins
Playing games at being God
Fear for the future
Monsters fear only
True courage and a true heart
Brains don't hurt either
A century reached
Who knew it would get so far
Now for one-oh-one
...even yours. Just put in the name and state and boom that person's Driver's License complete with photo will appear. Don't believe me? Try for yourself and check it out
Heh. Heh.
Hat tip to HMS Blog
Note: This was sent to me by e-mail yesterday by persons who shall remain nameless - so don't blame me
There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:
1. He called everyone brother
2. He liked Gospel.
3. He couldn't get a fair trial.
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1. He went into His Father's business.
2. He lived at home until he was 33.
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God.
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1. He talked with His hands.
2. He had wine with His meals.
3. He used olive oil.
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:
1. He never cut His hair.
2. He walked around barefoot all the time.
3. He started a new religion.
But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was an American Indian:
1. He was at peace with nature.
2. He ate a lot of fish.
3. He talked about the Great Spirit.
But then there were 3 equally good arguments the Jesus was Irish:
1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.
But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:
1. He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food.
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
3. And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was work to do.
Inner Russian soul
Masterworks of prose flow from
Dostoevsky's pen
Spheres of flame and gas
Orbiting bodies circle
Round a yellow sun
Childhood doesn't last
Peter Pan never grew up
But you and I will
Umbrellas open
At the slightest drizzling sky
Quickly come and gone
Ribbons of bright gold
Flash across the dark blue sky
Another star falls
Writer/Director Cameron Crowe, the man responsible for such movies as Say Anything, Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, the weird American version of Vanilla Sky and the new film, Elizabethtown (he also wrote the screenplay for Fast Times at Ridgemont High) turns out to be a Catholic. And not the "raised Catholic" kind (the kind people who are ex-Catholics usually say they are without actually saying it), but an actual practicing Catholic! Who knew they existed in Hollywood beyond Mel Gibson and Jim Cavaziel?
Excerpt from an interview with Beliefnet.com:
Beliefnet: Do you still affiliate with a Catholic church?
Crowe: I do. Our boys are Catholic. That's who I am. And I had a great experience going to Catholic school.
Beliefnet: It seems like most of the stereotypes out there of Catholic schools are not all that flattering.
Crowe: No, but all I know is my own experience. I had great teachers, inspiring teachers, and they entered my life courtesy of Catholic school and that faith. So that's what I know, and that's what I still honor.
Beliefnet: Individual spirituality and the personal quest are all the rage these days. So it's interesting to hear you unabashedly say that you're on the same path as your parents, and passing it along to your kids.
Crowe: Well it worked for me. If I felt like it didn't work for me, I certainly wouldn't be slavish about following them just because it was my parents. But I do believe in tradition when tradition serves, and it has. I like that when times have been tough my belief system and my faith have been there for me, and it's led me in the right direction, so far [laughs].
Beliefnet: These are tough times to be a Catholic, with everything that's going on in the Church. Has that affected you, and how you deal with all that?
Crowe: I have nothing but powerful thoughts about the teachers that I met and learned from growing up. They were amazing brothers and priests and nuns, and I think my sister felt the same way. I have a lot of empathy for their path of positivity in a cynical world. So I have a lot more empathy than some people who from a distance say, "Well there's stuff to be worked out in the Catholic Church." I keep it personal, and I don't forget about the grandness of the beliefs. I care about the experience that's happening now, and I just want to make sure that our little boys have the same sort of spiritually generous experience that we had. So I think that comes from keeping a close relationship with the teachers and letting them know that you support them.
Beliefnet: And how do your boys react to being in Catholic school?
Crowe: They enjoy the worship and religion that we bring into their teaching. They're fans of goodness and they respond to the shows that they see or the stories that we read. You can see already that the myths of good versus evil are so inspiring, even to a young person. They just want to root for good. They want to see that the path might be rocky, but it's worth sticking it out. And it's the same story that I've sort of told in my own movies. And I just love to see that it burns in the heart of most people, that those are the stories that transcend. I just like seeing that honored in their school.
Beliefnet: Do you think that sense is innate?
Crowe: Yes. I do.
Can you believe that? An actual Hollywood bigshot actually praising his Catholic childhood and wanting to bring his children up in the faith? And a celebrity who doesn't sound like an ignorant ass when talking about religion especially the Catholic Church? Amazing. From watching his movies no one could ever tell anything about this.
Now that Katie Holmes is expecting a baby out of wedlock, her parents and friends are only now realizing that Tom Cruise Mapother IV may not be the best son-in-law material.
Katie’s dad furious about shotgun wedding via MSNBC.com:
Tom Cruise’s future father-in-law apparently isn’t a happy camper. Katie Holmes’s dad is said to be “very upset” because his unmarried daughter is pregnant with Cruise’s child. And, what’s more, the devoutly Catholic Martin Holmes reportedly is none-too-thrilled about his daughter’s involvement in her husband-to-be’s controversial religion, Scientology.
“[Martin Holmes] was very upset and got into a real spat with Katie,” the forthcoming issue of Life & Style Weekly quotes “a close friend” of Cruise as saying. “Tom had promised her parents that they would do the right thing and get married before any baby came along.” After scolding his daughter, according to the mag, Martin Holmes berated Cruise by declaring “You’re no good.”
“He said he and his wife were very upset by the news,” according to the source, “and demanded the pair get married quickly.” Furthermore, a member of Christ the King Church, which the Holmes family belongs to, told L&S that Cruise and Holmes’ publicist, his sister Lee Anne DeVette, sent a letter to parishioners, asking them not to talk to reporters.
Although a family friend told the mag that the Holmes family is thrilled by the news of a grandchild, they’re also concerned. “It seemed like Katie was being controlled by Scientologists,” the friend told L&S. “Now they wonder if it’s a Rosemary’s Baby situation, where Katie is being groomed to provide Tom with a child.”
Hmmm, it only "seems" like she's being controlled? And they only "wonder" she's being groomed (like a paid brood mare perhaps) to have Crazy Tom's kid? Where have they been all this time? She didn't even know Tom Cruise until earlier this year when he called her out of the blue because he wanted to get to "know her" (aka more famous starlets turned him down). Within a month or so they were engaged and now within six months they're having a baby and this coming from a Katie Holmes that was dating/engaged to actor Chris Klein for 5 years without feeling the rush to the altar or all of a sudden getting pregnant.
Drowning in troubles
Fell in with bad company
His name? Al Cahall.
Tonight is the beginning of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. It is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. The day when GOD looks over the Book of Life and judges your sins committed in the past year. Like Santa Claus on Christmas (except GOD works all year round and on his own schedule) HE's checking a list, checking it twice, going to find out who's been naughty or nice. So on this day Jews fast and atone for their sins for the past year, asking for forgiveness and promising to do better the next year. Whether people actually do is another matter entirely. In our household, the Holy Day is usually celebrated by lighting a 24-hour candle in honor of dead loved ones. We were not a religious family (heck my Dad isn't even Jewish) but we felt we had to do something. So to everyone (and to GOD if you're reading this), a solemn Yom Kippur.
We are also in the middle of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which also consists of prayer, fasting and reparation to GOD. To all my Muslim friends, have a joyous and happy Ramadan and hopefully a happy afterwards Eid afterwards.
Why do the clouds cry?
Do they feel the day ending?
And the moon rising?
This year's Yankee team
Underachieving their way
To obscurity
Alas, poor Yankees
Couldn't you get just one hit
When we needed it?
Avoid sloppy plays?
Bad middle relief? Fans wait
Home till next season
Well, that's it. The Yanks just lost to the L.A./California/Anaheim Angels (or whatever they're calling themselves these days) by a score to 5 to 3. Their season is over and the Angels will go on to the ALCS. Congrats to the Angels and Angels fans. They played near mistake-free baseball and deserved to win.
The Yankees by contrast had many (and I mean MANY) chances to win, they left dozens of men on base, couldn't get the big hit when they needed it, couldn't get the big homerun when they needed and two guys who drove in over 100+ runs during the season, ARod (the A.L.'s home run leader and possible MVP embarassed himself) and Matsui (no Godzilla here) were invisible. The defense was sloppy and so was the pitching. Randy Johnson somewhat redeemed himself out of the bullpen tonight but they should have pulled the hook on Mussina in the 2nd when the Angels went ahead. This was not a game they could afford to lose and I knew once Mussina gave up a couple of runs he would end up giving more. That's his M.O. He's either brilliant or bombed. Frankly I knew when the Yankee hitters couldn't get a big inning off the rookie who replaced Colon and couldn't throw a strike after entering the game that they were in trouble and I knew as soon as the collision in the outfield with Crosby and Sheffield on that so-called "triple" (that should have been caught) allowing two runs to score that the game was over. And this was in the beginning of the game. If you allow a bone-headed move like that to happen and don't come right back and get at least one run right back, you usually lose and the Yankees did. By 2 runs. The exact number that bone-head play in the outfield cost them. Dumb. Once again the Yanks did themselves in. They just don't seem to have the same fire they did when they were winning World Series every year.
Ah, well. It was a good year and heck, the Red Sox are out of the playoff too so it's not ALL bad. As for the four teams left - Chicago, L.A., Houston and St. Louis. I personally could care less who wins it. Just as long as the baseball is good.
See ya' next season!
Let's see how Game 5 comes out. I don't want to jinx anything.
On another matter: how about that Astros/Braves game yesterday? 18 innings long. Well pitched, well played. 43-year old Roger Clemens (certainly one of the greatest pitchers in history) comes out of the bullpen to throw several scoreless innings for the win. The least likely person (Burke) hits the game-winning homerun. Once again Ted Turner's Braves go home (which is almost as sweet as the Red Sox losing). It's games like that which remind you why baseball (and not football or basketball) are America's national pastime. There's nothing else quite like it.
Columbus landed
Claimed for Spain a brave new world
Others came before
Yet he's remembered
Age of Discovery starts
Race for gold and land
Colonization
Genocide, missionaries
Sacrifice and faith
Columbus brought all
No plaster saint, nor villain
Just a man of faults
Let us remember
The man himself, not the deeds
That came later on
Woken hours spent
Searching for a sense of self
Who am I really?
Built a house of snow
Melted under the noon sun
Wrong place to put it
Tom Cruise (Mapother IV) and his "fiancee" Katie Holmes are expecting a BABY! Jeez, God, no! Can't they stay away from the headlines for just a few weeks? And it wasn't the gossip pages that exposed it either, the duo announced it themselves for no particular reason.
Lee Ann DeVette, for those who don't know, just happens to be Tom Cruise's sister (and fellow Scientologist) as well as his publicist. And of course the fact that this news coincides with the first public appearance of Tom and Katie together in weeks just a couple of days ago, hanging with his daughter with Nicole Kidman in in pictures obviously staged for the cameras. But it's got to be just a coincidence, right? Right? Hello, anybody out there?"Tom and Katie are very excited, and the entire family is very excited," Cruise spokeswoman Lee Anne DeVette told People (magazine) exclusively.
All my houses gone
Sheltering sky above me
God's green Earth below
A very good win tonight and mostly thanks to Mike Mussina. I've had some somewhat negative thoughts about Mike Mussina and the Yankees during the season because I've always thought he could be much better than he has been. But I've never doubted that when Moose is on his game he is one of the best pitchers in the Major Leagues, no matter how old he is. Tonight he was definitely on his game and we beat L.A.'s 21-game winner, Bartolo Colon, to boot. The pressure is on the Angels now and the Yankees shouldn't relent. Especially since the Red Sox got shellacked by the White Sox earlier today (how sweet that was). Needless to say, in Yankee land, its been a good night.
P.S. As proof of how into the game I was tonight not only did I not change the channel while I was watching (and I hate listening FOX announcers so that's big) but for the first time in a long time I forgot to watch my favorite TV show, The Amazing Race, which was on at the same time. I simply long track of what time it was. But the end result (a Yankee win) was worth it.
On the Jewish calender it is the year 5766! Rosh Hashanah everyone!
Built a house of dreams
Hopes and fears are its decor
Stands for tomorrow
Built a house of stone
That traps inside like a shell
It cracked and crumbled
For the 8th year in a row, the NY Yankees are the champions of the American League East. After a sloppy Friday game in which they had many chances to win and didn't, they beat the Red Sox done today and with Cleveland's loss, have taken the AL East title (even if the Bosox win tommorow). I admit, I was wrong. The Yankees have more heart than I thought. I've never been so happy to eat crow. And this year is all the more sweeter because we had to come back all year long. Except for a literal handful of days all season the Yanks weren't in first place but when the dust clears they were. Bravo!
Kudos go to the Captain, Derek Jeter, for uniting the team. ARod for an MVP season. Gary Sheffield for letting his bat doing all the talking. Jason Giambi for coming back from the literal bottom to having a great year. Cano and Wang for great rookie years. Tom Gordon for being one of the most reliable middle relievers in the league (and there aren't many). For Shawn Chacon for showing everyone (especially the Colorado Rockies) that he still has an All-Star arm and for Aaron Small to have a season pitchers could only dream of, a 33-year old journeyman, in the minor leagues, thinking about hanging it up and retiring, is called up mid-season and goes an incredible 10-0. For Mariano Rivera, the best pitcher in the American league and the best closer in baseball history. And for Joe Torre who showed he could deliver a winner even with a team that played (at several times this season) simply dreadful baseball. The Yanks have been through a lot. Yankee fans have been through a lot. Which just makes this all the more sweeter.
In the best of all possible worlds, the Cleveland Indians win tommorow and the Yanks beat the Red Sox. Then the Indians beat Boston in a one-game playoff. Which would mean the Red Sox get pushed out of the playoff altogether (wouldn't that be ironic after being in 1st place most of the season?). I don't expect that to happen though. The baseball gods wouldn't be that generous. But if there is one team I don't want the Yanks to face in the playoffs its the Red Sox. I could stand New York losing to any other team (Cleveland, LA, Chicago) but not Boston, not again. Of course those Red Sock suck-ups at FOX Sports, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver (who were so pro-Boston today I had to turn the sound off the TV) would LOVE for Boston to embarass the "Evil Empire" again, but as a fan of Major League Baseball's "Death Star"-studded team, I'd rather not go down that route again. My nerves couldn't take it.
But let's leave those worries for another. Now let's just soak up this win: GO YANKEES!
Built a house of wood
Illuminated by lights
Fire layed it waste
