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WolfEagle1499's blog: "Good Reading"

created on 04/16/2007  |  http://fubar.com/good-reading/b74191
This is Reposted from a Bulletin by: Rate/Fan/Add/Every1 ---------------------------------------------------
No woman should ever be treated this way... And even more disgustingly by authority !!! Wake Up America, we are Under Siege !!! I had posted this 2 days ago... the orriginal video has been pulled by either myspace (Fux news cover-up team media) or by the source... but I did manage to find a working version of a follow up video after much searching. That was also pulled by both You tube, and by Google videos, with the help of some really cool friends, I found another working version of the first video. I also took the liberty to blow this video up to max size to make sure that it gets seen. PLEASE PLEASE repost this like wild fire so that it is viewed while it is still available. I also added a link to the news source where I found the video... (if anyone knows how to copy this video so that it remains available and can be reposted if it pulled from this source, please copy it, and inform me, I will give you my e-mail address to send it to me. Thanks) Please make sure this gets around! Hope Steffie deserves to be taken as a valuable human being, we need to support her. This could be your wife, your mother, your sister, or your daughter. America (and the world) needs to take a stand on human rights. This starts here and now by reposting! Stark County OH Sheriffs office phone: (330)430-3800 e-mail: strkshrf@raex.com http://www.sheriff.co.stark.oh.us/ Do your thing fellas liveLeak... the video source CANTON -- Hope Steffey's night began with a call to police for help. It ended with her face down, completely naked and sobbing on a jail cell floor. Steffey says Stark County sheriff's deputies used excessive force and assaulted her during a strip search 15 months ago, according to a federal lawsuit. Stark County Sheriff Timothy Swanson denies the allegation. Steffey's attorney says her clothes, including her underwear and bra, were stripped from her body by at least seven male and female sheriff's deputies and jail workers. She lay face down in handcuffs at the time. "Hope begged and pleaded with her ... assailants to stop," the lawsuit says. "There was no forcible penetration but Hope felt as if she was being raped." The sheriff denies this was a strip search. The sheriff's policy requires officers conducting any strip search to be of the same sex. Her attorney, David Malik, said Steffey, 41, was never asked to voluntarily remove her clothes. In an e-mail, Swanson said Steffey was asked to remove her clothes but refused. He said deputies took them off for her own safety. Swanson declined to comment further, saying the details would come out in court. Channel 3 News obtained exclusive video of Steffey's night in the Stark County jail cell. You can click the link at the bottom of the page to view it. A warning: it is difficult to watch. Steffey declined to be interviewed for this story. But her husband, a high school educator, talked to Channel 3's Tom Meyer.Greg Steffey said his wife is still traumatized. But the couple wants the story told to prevent it from happening to someone else. "This could be your wife or anyone's wife," Greg Steffey said. He said he still can't believe this happened to Hope, a 125-pound woman who, earlier that night, turned to police for help. "You don't treat people like this," Greg Steffey said. "I don't think murderers are treated like this much less people charged with disorderly conduct." Steffey's ordeal with the Stark County Sheriff's deputies began after her cousin called police for help.In a 9-1-1 call, her cousin said Steffey had been assaulted by another cousin. When a Stark County deputy arrived, he asked for Steffey's driver's license. She accidentally turned over her dead sister's license, which she said she keeps in her wallet as a memento, the lawsuit says. The deputy refused to give the license back and told Steffey to "shut up about your dead sister," according to her attorney. The sheriff denied that in a written response to the lawsuit. Eventually, Steffey was arrested and taken to the Stark County Jail. She was later charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. After her clothes were removed, she was locked in a cell. To stay warm, she wrapped herself in toilet paper. She remained in the cell for six hours. During that time, she was not allowed to use a phone or seek medical attention for injuries she suffered that night, including a cracked tooth, bulging disc and bruises, the lawsuit says. The sheriff denies that.
An Open Letter To The Hollywood Bunch 02/24/03 Snopes checked: http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/daniels01.asp From Charlie Daniels Web Site: http://www.charliedaniels.com/soapbox-2003-022403.htm
Ok let’s just say for a moment you bunch of pampered, overpaid, unrealistic children had your way and the U.S.A. didn’t go into Iraq. Let’s say that you really get your way and we destroy all our nuclear weapons and stick daisies in our gun barrels and sit around with some white wine and cheese and pat ourselves on the back, so proud of what we’ve done for world peace. Let’s say that we cut the military budget to just enough to keep the National Guard on hand to help out with floods and fires. Let’s say that we close down our military bases all over the world and bring the troops home, increase our foreign aid and drop all the trade sanctions against everybody. I suppose that in your fantasy world this would create a utopian world where everybody would live in peace. After all, the great monster, the United States of America, the cause of all the world’s trouble would have disbanded it’s horrible military and certainly all the other countries of the world would follow suit. After all, they only arm themselves to defend their countries from the mean old U.S.A. Why you bunch of pitiful, hypocritical, idiotic, spoiled mugwumps. get your head out of the sand and smell the Trade Towers burning. Do you think that a trip to Iraq by Sean Penn did anything but encourage a wanton murderer to think that the people of the U.S.A. didn’t have the nerve or the guts to fight him? Barbra Streisand’s fanatical and hateful rantings about George Bush makes about as much sense as Michael Jackson hanging a baby over a railing. You people need to get out of Hollywood once in a while and get out into the real world. You’d be surprised at the hostility you would find out here. Stop in at a truck stop and tell an overworked, long distance truck driver that you don’t think Saddam Hussein is doing anything wrong. Tell a farmer with a couple of sons in the military that you think the United States has no right to defend itself. Go down to Baxley, Georgia and hold an anti-war rally and see what the folks down there think about you. You people are some of the most disgusting examples of a waste of protoplasm I’ve ever had the displeasure to hear about. Sean Penn, you’re a traitor to the United States of America. You gave aid and comfort to the enemy. How many American lives will your little, ”fact finding trip“ to Iraq cost? You encouraged Saddam to think that we didn’t have the stomach for war. You people protect one of the most evil men on the face of this earth and won’t lift a finger to save the life of an unborn baby. Freedom of choice you say? Well I’m going to exercise some freedom of choice of my own. If I see any of your names on a marquee, I’m going to boycott the movie. I will completely stop going to movies if I have to. In most cases it certainly wouldn’t be much of a loss. You scoff at our military whose boots you’re not even worthy to shine. They go to battle and risk their lives so ingrates like you can live in luxury. The day of reckoning is coming when you will be faced with the undeniable truth that the war against Saddam Hussein is the war on terrorism. America is in imminent danger. You’re either for her or against her. There is no middle ground. I think we all know where you stand. What do you think? God Bless America Charlie Daniels

sep11amystump1uj6.jpg September 11, 2001
September 11, 2001, marked yet another significant turning point in world history. Whatever innocence was left in the world was lost on that fateful day. On lesser numeric scales, equally heinous crimes are committed against humanity virtually every day of the year. What is happening in the world? It is difficult to explain. Somehow the perpetrators of the most evil and disgusting crimes have been stripped of the virtue of mercy. It would seem that their basic humanity is simply missing. The memory of those planes crashing into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the one that crashed into the Pennsylvanian field, will be etched into people's minds forever. For many of us it was like watching a Hollywood movie as it unfolded before us on television screens all around the world. We watched in stunned silence as we learned that the events were real and were happening in real time. In the blink of an eye, families can be thrown into turmoil when loved ones are lost or injured, often in the most tragic of circumstances. Relatives and friends are forced to relive the horror of these tragedies over and over again as anniversary dates come and go. The grief and sense of loss they feel is intense. Loving relatives and friends can only wonder in disbelief at why such tragedies occur. Praying for the souls of those who are tragically lost can help the healing process. But such process is never complete. I have searched my extensive personal library for some words that might help those who are grieving the loss of mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends and other loved ones. "When you die, all your possessions become someone else's. But the person you are will always belong to you." It is impossible to make sense of tragedies, particularly when they involve very young people who have not had an opportunity to experience the joys of life. We seem to be living in a strange world where the harmful actions of a few evil-doers can destroy the lives of so many innocents. It is hard to accept that these things occur. "Cherish the memories of those you have loved and lost, They will never be forgotten by those who loved them most." May God bless you and those you love and have loved each and every day. Please share these thoughts with anybody suffering the loss of a loved one. Remember 9/11 LINK 1 Inside the Twin Towers: Heroes Emerge LINK 2 The Fall Of The Twin Towers LINK 3 SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 VICTIMS LINK 4 Tragedy Of 9/11 LINK 5
My Thanks goes out to this Lady for creating the Bulletin I took this From: Thank You! ۞WÌLÐÇÄŦ۞® õWñÈR õҒ WÌLÐÇÄŦ ŦRÄÌñ ñ LõÚñGÈ ۞
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I will never forget where I was that day! And not because I almost lost my sister and a good friend. They was on a plane going to NYC. But because of all thee other families Lives that was changed that Day!

Be a Breast Supporter!

Let's be honest, we all love breasts. Straight men and lesbians everywhere love to look at, fell and maybe even have a little nibble on some lady funbags. And everyone else loves to laugh at the ridiculousness of man-boobs. With this in mind we should all be doing what we can to help keep as many breasts on this planet healthy. So with this in mind, I have a favor to ask, it only takes a minute.... The Breast Cancer site is still having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on "donating a mammogram" for free (pink window in the middle).
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This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising. Here's the web site! Please repost this to help keep pert breasts, saggy breast, tiny little breasts, huge breasts, and man-boobs, healthy, beautiful and funny! http://www.thebreastcancersite.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I got this from: Heartsound-President of The Hug Brigade
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Protect Your Family :)

I just read the following in a Bulletin. This is some good information & wanted to make sure people see it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I want to bring something to everyone's attention. This won't apply to all, or even many, of you, but it's something to think about. Feel free to add/edit/blog/bulletin, if you so desire. I've been noticing an increase in the amount of people who are putting their family at risk, in my opinion. I've seen pictures in public folders with children holding school certificates w/ their first and last name and the name of their school. I've seen profiles with first and last names, as well as hometown, listed¡¦ with pix of children with the child's first name. I realize that the child's last name is not always the same as the parent, but many times it is. Just today, I saw a picture in a public folder of a little boy standing outside of his school. The school's name was in huge letters and the caption read "Eric's first day of Kindergarten" with a very recent date on the pic. Again, profile had mom's first and last name with city/state listed. A memorable one was someone who had a picture of his daughter outside of their home. In the immediate background was a street sign, with the street he lived on and the cross street. The house number was in plain site in the picture, which also had the child's first name posted under it. Within seconds of doing a google search/reverse lookup, I was able to provide this person with his last name and the name of his child's school and who her teacher was. He immediately removed the picture, of course. (Tag numbers on automobiles should be blanked out, too.) I am not trying to down anyone, just trying to maybe help with awareness. By all means, share your pictures with us, I love seeing them. There are many programs that can be used to block out names or other info. Paint is very easy to use and many already have it on their computer. I will even offer this¡¦ if you have pictures that you want to share, but don't know how to fix them, send me a private message, I will teach you how or do it for you. Have a great weekend everyone! Ms. D P.S. The thing that made me aware of this¡¦ awhile back I had a picture up with my dresser right behind me, with mail laying on it (name and address visible) and someone pointed it out to me. Granted, it was my PO Box, but still. I was so grateful that someone took the time to warn me, as I'd never thought about it. (repost of original by 'Ms. D' on '2007-08-24 10:43:27')
Devil is in the details of Mass.
health care law
Businesses, individuals wrestle with implications of universal insurance http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20255585/ By Bill Dedman Investigative reporter MSNBC Updated: 5:54 a.m. ET Aug 16, 2007 ON CAPE COD, Mass. - Grill cook David Smith is feeling pretty healthy, thank you, and he isn't happy that the government is forcing him to sign up for health insurance — even if it may be good for him. But cook Scott Carter wishes he'd had insurance last year, when he got socked with $9,000 in medical bills. An experiment is cooking in Massachusetts, which invented everything, or so its residents will tell you. And they can stake an honest claim for basketball, chocolate chip cookies and Technicolor, not to mention the American Revolution. Now Massachusetts is tinkering with universal health insurance. By Dec. 31, nearly everyone in the state will be required to have an insurance card. The Massachusetts plan is a political experiment, a policy experiment, and a social experiment. It imposes a system of shared responsibility, with new burdens on individuals, on employers, and on the government. The state taxpayer association calls it "a truly noble experiment." In broad strokes, it works like this: * Nearly everyone has to have insurance, or else face a penalty at tax time. * Businesses with 11 or more employees have to pay a "fair share" of the cost, or they face a penalty, too. * The state has signed up more than 150,000 poor people for free or subsidized health insurance, negotiated lower-cost plans for everyone else, helped the self-employed and employees of small businesses qualify for group coverage, and required that, starting in 2009, everyone have prescription drug coverage and low deductibles so their health insurance actually helps when they get sick. For a glimpse at the plan's effects on employers and employees, we took a drive out on Cape Cod, that spit of sand stretching into the Atlantic like a flexed arm (one bejeweled with pirate-themed miniature golf courses). We visited two restaurants to meet the owners, cooks and waitresses, who are struggling to adapt to the Massachusetts Health Reform Law.
What's a good employer?
First stop, the town of Dennis on Nantucket Sound, where an old restaurant family has opened a new restaurant. The McCormicks have been serving seafood for 49 years at the Ebb Tide, and now have opened a larger, less-formal restaurant just two doors away. Out on the deck, the Sea View serves pan-seared crab cakes, broiled swordfish brochette and lobster quesadillas. By the usual reckoning, the McCormicks are good employers. The same workers come back year after year for the summer season, which the new restaurant is stretching from April to December. Many of their 60 workers at the two restaurants have been with the family a decade or more. When a 21-year-old Russian dishwasher had a recurrence of cancer, the family helped him arrange a bone marrow transplant in Boston, and he lived with the family for a full year while he recovered. But perhaps there's a new reckoning. With a seasonal business, the family has never offered health insurance. "Most of our employees look at us to having flexible hours and the ability to make some good money while they're here," said owner Gail McCormick Knell. And most of the employees already have insurance, either through parents or a spouse or a second job. The Massachusetts plan is a social experiment, with the potential to change how Americans think about personal responsibility. Is a good employer who doesn't offer health insurance still a good employer? Is a person living without health insurance to be regarded as selfish, like a driver without auto insurance?
Single mom works three jobs
One of the servers at the Sea View, Maureen Linehan, 49, is a single mom working three jobs — one job because it provides health insurance for her and her 16-year-old daughter, and the other two jobs so she can pay the bills, including her share of the insurance. "I work three nights a week at the Ebb Tide, and then I do weekends catering at the Sea View, and then I have a full-time job for a nonprofit." Altogether, she earns about $35,000. Linehan's day job is in social services, as a case manager helping families find housing and deal with other problems, such as substance abuse. She said she regularly sees poor families adapting to the health insurance law. The Massachusetts plan is a policy experiment, too. Will the state be able to enroll enough young, healthy people — the kind who pay premiums but don't get sick very often — to reach the goal of universal, or near-universal, coverage without needing a tax increase to pay for it? And even if everyone signs up, can the system be sustained if it doesn't address the rising cost of health care? Since the law took effect on July 1, about 170,000 of the uninsured have signed up — but most of them are the poor. Just 17,500 or so have signed up for the unsubsidized health insurance plans through July, but those plans just became available May 1. That leaves the tougher nut: about 200,000 to 300,000 people who earn enough money so they aren't eligible for subsidized care. They may not see the need to spend part of their disposable income on health insurance. The state has already backed off of "universal." About 160,000 uninsured people in the state have incomes that are too high to qualify for subsidized health insurance — but too low to afford the lowest-cost unsubsidized plans. About 60,000 of these working poor won't face a penalty for not getting insurance, but the 100,000 others are in a bind. "What I'm starting to see," Linehan said, "is the people have to pay for their health care, and now they can't afford to pay their rent." Linehan has insurance through the nonprofit agency but said she worries that her part of the cost will rise. "If the board decides tomorrow that they're not going to pay the big chunk of it, I would really have to get another job. And I don't have much more room left — I'm out of time. There is no more time left in my day to work." Every cost is rising, she said, but insurance costs are the ones that she fears could knock her into insolvency. Every doctor visit is $20, and prescriptions are $50 a month — on top of her share of the premiums, nearly $300 a month. "My daughter just had an operation, so my insurance covered it. I don't know what we would have done if that didn't happen. And I had to borrow the money for the deductible." "I'm one of the working-class poor on the Cape. I lucked out — I bought my condo just before the prices went up — but if anything changes, I will be one of my clients."
Medical bills clobbered cook
Back in the kitchen, 23-year-old Scott Carter is preparing for the dinner rush. This is his 10th summer with the McCormicks, and he has worked his way up to cook. Last winter, he came down with a stomach ailment that left him with $9,000 in bills from the resulting surgery. The hospital worked out a payment plan — $100 a month for 90 months — but that was little comfort to Carter, who was taking home only about $15,000 a year. "I was like, I don't know what I'm going to do," he said. "I need help. "And that's when all this talk about health insurance for everyone came into play. And I was like, ‘Well, what about me? I'm everyone. Let me get health insurance.’ I'm sure to be the first person. I'm ready, pen in hand." One premise of the state plan is the state's costs for health care will fall if people get preventive care. Carter said that's certainly true in his case. "I would have gone to see the doctor, and they would have told me, 'You've got to start eating right.' I just wouldn't have been in the predicament. I hadn't been to a doctor’s in like six years for a checkup or a physical." "When I had health insurance, as a kid, I went every half a year, like clockwork. And after I didn't have health insurance, I never went. ... I feel healthy, so I imagine I am." He'll soon have insurance. Businesses with 11 or more full-time employees must offer it -- though it's more complicated than that. The Sea View employees who sign up for the new insurance plans will pay most of the cost. The McCormicks expect to set up a so-called Section 125 plan (named after a part of federal law), and the employees can pick out the insurance plan they want from the state's menu. The premiums are paid with an employee's pre-tax dollars — that saves money on withholding taxes for the employer and for the employee. If employers don't either pay at least one-third of the premiums, or get 25 percent of the employees to sign up, they'll have to pay a penalty (the state calls it a "fair share contribution") of $295 per employee per year. Owner Gail Knell has spent hours at seminars on the new law, and it didn't help much. "I became more confused with the seminars, because there were so many regulations." (And she's a professor of business at Cape Cod Community College.) "If you're a small business, your profit margin is very small, and it keeps getting smaller and smaller," she said. "You know, I'm all for people having insurance. ... And if we can help get it to our employees, that's a good thing." But how are the employees going to pay for that insurance — if not from their salaries? In other words, won't some employees expect higher wages, now that they have another bill to pay? "You're betwixt and between," Knell said. "Do you extend your season, so that they can work more so they can have it longer and afford more? And how does that affect our business and our business decisions?"
A reluctant participant
The quiet dining room of the Sea View was a distant memory after the half-hour drive to the raucous precincts of Arnold's Lobster and Clam Bar, a New England seafood shack near the beach in Eastham. The joint started with a "Happy Days" theme (thus the name, Arnold's, just like on the TV show). Now the roller skates are long gone, but the clams are fresh and the onion rings piled high. The owner answers when tourists call him Arnold, but his name is really Nathan Nickerson III, and most everyone calls him Nick. He admits to being a P.T. Barnum of the seafood shack set — he loves to carry around a 50-year-old, 17-pound live lobster "pet," about the size of a second-grader, draping it over small children, whose eyes get big in a hurry. Nickerson has long offered health insurance at Arnold's, but not everyone has taken it. Cook David Smith, 35, is one of those exceptions, and he's not happy that the state is coercing him into signing up. "I was moderately outraged," Smith said while grilling burgers and assembling lobster rolls. He called health insurance "something for your own good that you're being required to do." Persuading the young and healthy to join the health plan is key to its success. That's why the state is spending $1.3 million to advertise on Red Sox cable broadcasts. "Their audience is ours," said the spokesman for the state program, Richard R. Powers. "Most of the people in the state who haven't gotten insurance are young, and most of those are men." So far, only a few thousand people a month have signed up, but the deadline is still four months away, and even then the penalty for noncompliance is weak. Those who can't show proof of insurance by the end of 2007 lose their state tax exemption when they file their income taxes in 2008, or about $219. The penalty increases in January 2008. For every month in 2008 that they don't have insurance, residents will have to pay a penalty of up to half the cost of the lowest-cost plan. That could be as much as $150 a month, or $1,800 a year, due at tax time in 2009. The definition of personal responsibility may be expanding. As the Boston Globe's liberal editorial page said of the penalties, "That's tough, but it's necessary to change the behavior of people who are used to going without insurance, either because they are healthy or are accustomed to relying on the Uncompensated Care Pool to pay for their care."
‘A stiff requirement’
Smith sounds like he'll go ahead and sign up. "I'm required to shell out an additional 6 grand a year now," he said, guessing at what it might cost him. "I mean — that's a stiff requirement when you're only making 30 grand a year or under, you know?" Out front at Arnold's, owner Nickerson shows off the new mini-golf course he installed at a cost of nearly $1 million. ("Renting golf balls," he said with a mixture of disgust and rapture.) While he is glad to offer health insurance and to help pay for it, he said, he doesn't like the government’s forcing him to do it. "I think that's basically how liberal government works — liberals in the government work," he said. "They force-feed you things that they feel are good for you, like it or not. And that's the way it is. ... There's so many regulations on every level now, to try to run a business, it's very, very difficult. Having said that, I'd like to see everyone with health insurance." Even employers who already offer insurance will face higher costs under the new law, because more employees will be pressed to sign up for the company health plan. Nickerson said just a little more cost could tip over some small businesses. "The way I figure my cost is not the cost of the actual item, but what it costs me to keep Arnold's running year to year," Nickerson said. "And it's having less and less to do with the cost of the fish or the cost of the seafood, as it does the cost of insurance and lawyers and taxes. So that's why the continued push to place more burden on the small-business man is going to eliminate more small businesses, and we are the core of the economy down here."
Hoping for failure?
The Massachusetts plan is a political experiment, too. Will the political left accept a reform that leaves insurance companies in the central role, instead of a Canadian-style system run by the government? Will the political right accept a reform that coerces employees and employers into buying a particular product? What effect will its success or failure have on reform efforts in other states and in Congress? And what impact will it have on the 2008 presidential campaign, particularly for Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who proposed much of the program? So far, the coalition that birthed the new law is holding: Consumer groups, employer groups and state officials all said that the plan is fair and has a chance to succeed, at least if the growth in health care costs can be stemmed. "It's a truly noble experiment," said Michael J. Widmer, the president of the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, a research group run by employers and associations. "I'm hardly naive, but I have to say the complexity of this as it has unfolded has awed me. I think where we are today is remarkable, given the complexity of all this." As for Romney, the taxpayer group has been critical of his claims that he turned around the state's economy — "there's been no turnaround," Widmer said. But on health care, "he and his team were very skillful in how they handled months and months of wrangling. This is the signal achievement of his administration." Consumer groups also support the new law, but would like to see the demands on employers greatly increased. They wanted a Canadian-style program but saw that it had no chance here. "We love single-payer, but it's not politically viable in this state," said Lindsey Tucker, health care reform coordinator for the consumer group Health Care for All. "There are too many interests, the government, the providers. That wasn't an option. This idea of shared responsibility — it's amazing how well it has worked. It's very exciting." That doesn't mean the law is without its detractors. "I would like to say this," said Jon Kingsdale, a former insurance company executive who is executive director of the state's new health care agency. "Frankly, there are a lot of people outside of Massachusetts who, I think for ideological reasons, want this to fail." "On the far left, there are people who are single-payer enthusiasts. On the far right, there are market enthusiasts. ... Nobody in America wants to be told what to do," Kingsdale said. "But for the vast majority of people who are already buying health insurance, 90 to 95 percent, they're going to benefit from having that last 5 or 10 percent to buy in."
Click for related content Facts on the Massachusetts Health Reform Law Q&A with the head of the state’s insurance program Commentary: Privacy is price of healthy worker discounts Part 1: When staying alive means going bankrupt
New MSN Autos columnist Lawrence Ulrich puts together his own list of profligate highway indecency. http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?contentid=4024908
by Lawrence Ulrich Tires and brimstone: the most hellacious automotive sins. Pope Benedict XVI, as you may have heard, has been dispensing soulful automotive advice. Hot off the Vatican press, "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road" offers a list of driving commandments. This Top Ten list, still the catchiest commandment format, nails the biggies: Drunk driving, reckless driving, etc. And yes, even the bird-flipping that many of us have succumbed to in moments of personal trial. But I confess to a shaky grasp of other papal road rules. Using your car for personal glorification is bad, as is speeding. (Look, if cars aren't for speed and glory, I might as well ride a Golden Calf). Then there's using your car as "an occasion for sin," a big strike against anyone who remembers drive-in movies.
What actions do you think
deserve banishment to the traffic circles of hell?
Still, if any spiritual leader can get people to drive better, I'm all for it. Like any driver who strives to do unto others, I have precepts I wish others would follow. And it doesn't take much to spark some righteous wrath. So invoking a columnist's right to hurl pronouncements like a Charlton Heston fastball, I've engraved my own list of sins against highway decency. Borrowing an infernal page from Dante, offenders would be banished to their appropriate level in the Nine Traffic Circles of Hell.
First Circle
You're an attorney, maybe a private-equity moneylender, which already has you on a Matterhorn-steep moral slope. You buy an insanely hot and expensive car. But this pearl has been cast before swine: Rather than honor thy automotive fortune, you thumbeth your Blackberry and peek at its profane texts, all whilst straying from the path and coveting your neighbor's lane. Verily, is that burning rubber I smell, or sulfur?
Second Circle
Three freeway lanes are shrinking to two, as signs brighter than burning bushes have been suggesting for miles. You ignore these mystical signs, as heathens will do, and fly past a seething multitude of stopped cars. You finally stop within inches of the flashing merge arrow. Only then do you try to squeeze in line—while feigning utter surprise that your lane has disappeared. Drop one circle if you make sheepish, help-me-out hand gestures to implore your brethren to let you back in.
Third Circle
You drive a Camaro. Yes, I'm sure you're a good person. I just hate Camaros. Can I get a witness?
Fourth Circle
I walk through the valley of the shopping mall, yet I shall fear no evil. Until you zipped in front of me into that parking space, even though freakin' Lazarus could have seen that I was there first, meekly waiting to inherit that patch of earth. Did I mention it's the holidays, and that my kid is expecting that new action figure? Did you just flip me the bird? Fine, I'll just wander through this wilderness again—but he who goes around, comes around, pal.
Fifth Circle
You worship at the black altar of Harley-Davidson, but you're no biker. You're a normal, suburban guy hiding behind leather Village-People outfits and a wall of assaultive noise: the trashy two-cylinder soundtrack of every once-peaceful village and vacation spot. Meanwhile, you're the first to call the cops when teenagers roll down your street playing Ludacris. Fortunately for you, Hell is filled with Harleys.
Sixth Circle
That new BMW or Benz is virginal and pure. Yet you make of it a cheap prostitute, adorning it with 22-inch golden rims, smoky-eyed windows, and a glittering wing on its back. As Gabriel said: Wings are for angels and Mitsubishis.
Seventh Circle
You've spent an eternity in the fast lane, doing 59 mph, holding up charitable souls with an actual destination. Drivers flash their lights and honk, but you're holding firmer than a pillar of salt. Finally, cars attempt to pass on the right—and you respond by flooring the gas to cut off their opening. Your fate: A pointy pitchfork in your stubborn behind, attached to the hood of a burning Pinto.
Eighth Circle
You're a committed Greenie, a tireless apostle against global warming, evil corporations and any SUV. You flaunt your hippie-vegan lifestyle and fastidious demands for organic food. Your mode of transport? A decrepit, Woodstock-era VW bus that spews more pollution than a dealership full of Hummers. Drop one circle if the ashtray betrays one final hypocrisy: a pack-a-day Marlboro habit.
Ninth Circle
,/b> You buy an SUV of Ark-like proportions, insisting you need room for all the world's species, off-road capability for the coming flood, and the towing capacity and mighty V8 to tear down the very walls of Jericho. Your wife buys another, because she does the shopping. Yet your household has begat a single toddler, plus a toy poodle. The biggest burden you've ever pulled is potting soil from Home Depot. And you wouldn't dare sully your golden chariots off-road, preferring to commute with them daily at a foul, guzzling 10 miles a gallon. And if your only passenger is an extra-large Starbucks? Congratulations: The devil's got nothing on you.
Well, this was written by a Woman but I still agree with it. I might not be where I want to be in life (had a set back, that most of you know about), but I plan on being there within a year or two. Then again, plans are not set in stone anymore -- Life is Free!! :) ~~~WolfEagle1499 I thought this was well worth the repost. The music era is a little different for me, but most of what is said is true. I loved it. :) Like I said, there is nothing like being happy with who you are..at ANY age. :) YotD ************************************************* The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know. Old Age, I decided, is a gift. I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long. I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will. I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things. Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect. I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong. So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it) MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART! MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER! FRIENDS FOREVER!
I just found out that this is an Urban Legend. The Fellowing Letter was not written by an Australian Dentist but by Peter Ferrara, an associate professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law in Northern Virginia
http://www.snopes.com/rumors/america2.htm
----------------------------------------------------- Claim: A piece defining "What is an American?" was penned by an Australian dentist. Status: False. Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2001] The following was said to be written by a dentist in Australia. An American You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So I just thought I would write to let them know what an American is, so they would know when they found one. An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan. An American may also be a Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans. An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them choose. An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God. An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each man and woman to the pursuit of happiness. An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need. When Afghanistan was overrun by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country. As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. The best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best athletes. Americans welcome the best, but they also welcome the least. The national symbol of America welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America. Some of them were working in the Twin Towers in the morning of September 11, earning a better life for their families. [I've been told that the people in the Towers were from at least 30, and maybe many more, other countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.] So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American. So look around you. You may find more Americans in your land than you thought were there. One day they will rise up and overthrow the old, ignorant, tired tyrants that trouble too many lands. Then those lands, too, will join the community of free and prosperous nations. And America will welcome them. -------------------------------------------------- Origins: As the reaction to pieces from a Canadian broadcaster and a Romanian journalist demonstrate, Americans take great delight in encomiums to America and Americans authored by citizens of other nations. This piece isn't such a case. The "What is an American?" article quoted above was not penned by an Australian (or a dentist), but by Peter Ferrara, an associate professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law in Northern Virginia. Mr. Ferrara's commentary was originally published in the National Review on 25 September 2001. (Text enclosed in brackets was not part of Mr. Ferrara's piece as published, but was added by someone else.) Last updated: 29 March 2002
I would still keep this going! Pass this around the World? Then pass it around again. Because it still says it all, for all of us Thanks!

Very Interesting

I got this in an E-mail today & thought I'll share it.
VERY INTERESTING
1. The Garden of Eden was in Iraq. 2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization! 3. Noah built the ark in Iraq. 4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq 5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq! 6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor, which is in Iraq! 7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq. 8. Jonah preached in Nineveh - which is in Iraq. 9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel. 10. Amos cried out in Iraq! 11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem. 12. Daniel was in the lion's den in Iraq! 13. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the "writing on the wall" in Iraq. 14. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq. 15. Ezekiel preached in Iraq. 16. The wise men were from Iraq 17. Peter preached in Iraq. 18. The "Empire of Man" described in Revelation is called Babylon, which was a city in Iraq! And you have probably seen this one Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible. But do you know which nation is second? It is Iraq! However, that is not the name that is used in the Bible. The names used in the Bible are Babylon, Land of Shinar, and Mesopotamia. The word Mesopotamia means between the two rivers, more exactly between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The name Iraq, means country with deep roots. Indeed Iraq is a country with deep roots and is a very significant country in the Bible. No other nation, except Israel, has more history and prophecy associated it than Iraq. And also, this is something to think about! Since America is typically represented by an eagle. Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages... The following verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible) Koran (9:11) - For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace.
(Note the verse number!) Hmmmmmmm?! I BETTER NOT HEAR OF ANYONE BREAKING THIS ONE OR SEE DELETED. This is a ribbon for soldiers fighting in Iraq. Pass it on to everyone and pray.
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