WolfEagle1499's blog: "Good Reading"

IRAQ 1. The Bush Administration has spent more than $140 billion on a war of choice in Iraq. Source: American Progress 2. The Bush Administration sent troops into battle without adequate body armor or armored Humvees. Sources: Fox News, Boston Globe 3. The Bush Administration ignored estimates from Gen. Eric Shinseki that several hundred thousand troops would be required to secure Iraq. Source: PBS 4. Vice President Cheney said Americans "will, in fact, be greeted as liberators" in Iraq. Source: Washington Post 5. During the Bush Administration's war in Iraq, more than 1,000 US troops have lost their lives and more than 7,000 have been injured. Source: globalsecurity.org 6. In May 2003, President Bush landed on an aircraft carrier in a flight suit, stood under a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished," and triumphantly announced that major combat operations were over in Iraq. Asked if he had any regrets about the stunt, Bush said he would do it all over again. Source: Yahoo News 7. Vice President Cheney said that Iraq was "the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault for many years, but most especially on 9/11." The bipartisan 9/11 Commission found that Iraq had no involvement in the 9/11 attacks and no collaborative operational relationship with Al Qaeda. Source: MSNBC , 9-11 Commission 8. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said that high-strength aluminum tubes acquired by Iraq were "only really suited for nuclear weapons programs," warning "we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." The government's top nuclear scientists had told the Administration the tubes were "too narrow, too heavy, too long" to be of use in developing nuclear weapons and could be used for other purposes. Source: New York Times 9. The Bush Administration has spent just $1.1 billion of the $18.4 billion Congress approved for Iraqi reconstruction. Source: USA Today 10. According to the Administration's handpicked weapon's inspector, Charles Duelfer, there is "no evidence that Hussein had passed illicit weapons material to al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations, or had any intent to do so." After the release of the report, Bush continued to insist, "There was a risk--a real risk--that Saddam Hussein would pass weapons, or materials, or information to terrorist networks." Sources: New York Times, White House news release 11. According to Duelfer, the UN inspections regime put an "economic strangle hold" on Hussein that prevented him from developing a WMD program for more than twelve years. Source: Los Angeles Times TERRORISM 12. After receiving a memo from the CIA in August 2001 titled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack America," President Bush continued his monthlong vacation. Source: CNN.com 13. The Bush Administration failed to commit enough troops to capture Osama bin Laden when US forces had him cornered in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan in November 2001. Instead, they relied on local warlords. Source: csmonitor.com 14. The Bush Administration secured less nuclear material from sites around the world vulnerable to terrorists in the two years after 9/11 than were secured in the two years before 9/11. Source: nti.org 15. The Bush Administration underfunded Nunn-Lugar--the program intended to keep the former Soviet Union's nuclear legacy out of the hands of terrorists and rogue states--by $45.5 million. Source: armscontrol.org 16. The Bush Administration has assigned five times as many agents to investigate Cuban embargo violations as it has to track Osama bin Laden's and Saddam Hussein's money. Source: Associated Press 17. According to Congressional Research Service data, the Bush Administration has underfunded security at the nation's ports by more than $1 billion for fiscal year 2005. Source: American Progress 18. The Bush Administration did not devote the resources necessary to prevent a resurgence in the production of poppies, the raw material used to create heroin, in Afghanistan--creating a potent new source of financing for terrorists. Source: Pakistan Tribune 19. Vice President Cheney told voters that unless they elect George Bush in November, "we'll get hit again" by terrorists. Source: Washington Post 20. Even though an Al Qaeda training manual suggests terrorists come to the United States and buy assault weapons, the Bush Administration did nothing to prevent the expiration of the ban. Source: San Francisco Chronicle 21. Despite repeated calls for reinforcements, there are fewer experienced CIA agents assigned to the unit dealing with Osama bin Laden now than there were before 9/11. Source: New York Times 22. Before 9/11, John Ashcroft proposed slashing counterterrorism funding by 23 percent. Source: americanprogress.org 23. Between January 20, 2001, and September 10, 2001, the Bush Administration publicly mentioned Al Qaeda one time. Source: commondreams.org 24. The Bush Administration granted the 9/11 Commission $3 million to investigate the September 11 attacks and $50 million to the commission that investigated the Columbia space shuttle crash. Source: commondreams.org 25. More than three years after 9/11, just 5 percent of all cargo--including cargo transported on passenger planes--is screened. Source: commondreams.org NATIONAL SECURITY 26. During the Bush Administration, North Korea quadrupled its suspected nuclear arsenal from two to eight weapons. Source: New York Times 27. The Bush Administration has openly opposed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, undermining nuclear nonproliferation efforts. Source: commondreams.org 28. The Bush Administration has spent $7 billion this year--and plans to spend $10 billion next year--for a missile defense system that has never worked in a test that wasn't rigged. Sources: www.gao.gov/new.items/d04409.pdf, Los Angeles Times 29. The Bush Administration underfunded the needs of the nation's first responders by $98 billion, according to a Council on Foreign Relations study. Source: nationaldefensemagazine.org CRONYISM AND CORRUPTION 30. The Bush Administration awarded a multibillion-dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton--a company that still pays Vice President Cheney hundreds of thousands of dollars in deferred compensation each year (Cheney also has Halliburton stock options). The company then repeatedly overcharged the military for services, accepted kickbacks from subcontractors and served troops dirty food. Sources: The Washington Post, The Taipei Times, BBC News 31. The Bush Administration told Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan about plans to go to war with Iraq before telling Secretary of State Colin Powell. Source: detnews.com 32. The Bush Administration relentlessly pushed an energy bill containing $23.5 billion in corporate tax breaks, much of which would have benefited major campaign contributors. taxpayer.net, Washington Post 33. The Bush Administration paid Iraqi-exile and neocon darling Ahmad Chalabi $400,000 a month for intelligence, including fabricated claims about Iraqi WMD. It continued to pay him for months after discovering that he was providing inaccurate information. Source: MSNBC 34. The Bush Administration installed as top officials more than 100 former lobbyists, attorneys or spokespeople for the industries they oversee. Source: Source: commondreams.org 35. The Bush Administration let disgraced Enron CEO Ken Lay--a close friend of President Bush--help write its energy policy. Source: MSNBC 36. Top Bush Administration officials accepted $127,600 in jewelry and other presents from the Saudi royal family in 2003, including diamond-and-sapphire jewelry valued at $95,500 for First Lady Laura Bush. Source: Seattle Times 37. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge awarded lucrative contracts to several companies in which he is an investor, including Microsoft, GE, Sprint, Pfizer and Oracle. Source: cq.com 38. President Bush used images of firefighters carrying flag-draped coffins through the rubble of the World Trade Center to score political points in a campaign advertisement. Source: Washington Post THE ECONOMY 39. President Bush's top economic adviser, Greg Mankiw, said the outsourcing of American jobs abroad was "a plus for the economy in the long run." Source: CBS News 40. The Bush Administration turned a $236 billion surplus into a $422 billion deficit. Sources: Fortune, dfw.com 41. The Bush Administration implemented regulations that made millions of workers ineligible for overtime pay. Source: epinet.org 42. The Bush Administration has crippled state budgets by underfunding federal mandates by $175 billion. Source: cbpp.org 43. President Bush is the first President since Herbert Hoover to have a net loss of jobs--around 800,000--over a four-year term. Source: The Guardian 44. The Bush Administration gave Accenture a multibillion-dollar border control contract even though the company moved its operations to Bermuda to avoid paying taxes. Sources: New York Times, cantonrep.com 45. In 2000, candidate George W. Bush said "the vast majority of my tax cuts go to the bottom end of the spectrum." He passed the tax cuts, but the top 20 percent of earners received 68 percent of the benefits. Sources: cbpp.org, vote-smart.org 46. In 2000, candidate George W. Bush promised to pay down the national debt to a historically low level. As of September 30, the national debt stood at $7,379,052,696,330.32, a record high. Sources: www.georgewbush.com , Bureau of the Public Debt 47. As major corporate scandals rocked the nation's economy, the Bush Administration reduced the enforcement of corporate tax law--conducting fewer audits, imposing fewer penalties, pursuing fewer prosecutions and making virtually no effort to prosecute corporate tax crimes. Source: iht.com 48. The Bush Administration increased tax audits for the working poor. Source: theolympian.com 49. In 2000, candidate George W. Bush promised to protect the Social Security surplus. As President, he spent all of it. Sources: georgewbush.com, Congressional Budget Office 50. The Bush Administration proposed slashing funding for the largest federal public housing program, putting 2 million families in danger of losing their housing. Source: San Francisco Examiner 51. The Bush Administration did nothing to prevent the minimum wage from falling to an inflation-adjusted fifty-year low. Source: Los Angeles Times EDUCATION 52. The Bush Administration underfunded the No Child Left Behind Act by $9.4 billion. Source: nwitimes.com 53. In 2000, candidate George W. Bush promised to increase the maximum federal scholarship, or Pell Grant, by 50 percent. Instead, each year he has been in office he has frozen or cut the maximum scholarship amount. Source: Source: edworkforce.house.gov x 54. The Bush Administration's Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, called the National Education Association--a union of teachers--a "terrorist organization." Sources: CNN.com HEALTHCARE 55. The Bush Administration, in violation of the law, refused to allow Medicare actuary Richard Foster to tell members of Congress the actual cost of their Medicare bill. Instead, they repeated a figure they knew was $100 billion too low. Source: Washington Post, realcities.com 56. The nonpartisan GAO concluded the Bush Administration created illegal, covert propaganda--in the form of fake news reports--to promote its industry-backed Medicare bill. Source: General Accounting Office 57. The Bush Administration stunted research that could lead to new treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, spinal injuries, heart disease and muscular dystrophy by placing severe restrictions on the use of federal dollars for embryonic stem-cell research. Source: CBS News 58. The Bush Administration reinstated the "global gag rule," which requires foreign NGOs to withhold information about legal abortion services or lose US funds for family planning. Source: healthsciences.columbia.edu 59. The Bush Administration authorized twenty companies that have been charged with fraud at the federal or state level to offer Medicare prescription drug cards to seniors. Source: American Progress 60. The Bush Administration created a prescription drug card for Medicare that locks seniors into one card for up to a year but allows the corporations offering the cards to change their prices once a week. Source: Washington Post 61. The Bush Administration blocked efforts to allow Medicare to negotiate cheaper prescription drug prices for seniors. Source: American Progress 62. At the behest of the french fry industry, the Bush Administration USDA changed their definition of fresh vegetables to include frozen french fries. Source: commondreams.org 63. In a case before the Supreme Court, the Bush Administrations sided with HMOs--arguing that patients shouldn't be allowed to sue HMOs when they are improperly denied treatment. With the Administration's help, the HMOs won. Source: ABC News 64. The Bush Administration went to court to block lawsuits by patients who were injured by defective prescription drugs and medical devices. Source: Washington Post 65. President Bush signed a Medicare law that allows companies that reduce healthcare benefits for retirees to receive substantial subsidies from the government. Source: Bloomberg News 66. Since President Bush took office, more than 5 million people have lost their health insurance. Source: CNN.com 67. The Bush Administration blocked a proposal to ban the use of arsenic-treated lumber in playground equipment, even though it conceded it posed a danger to children. Source: Miami Herald 68. One day after President Bush bragged about his efforts to help seniors afford healthcare, the Administration announced the largest dollar increase of Medicare premiums in history. Source: iht.com 69. The Bush Administration--at the behest of the tobacco industry--tried to water down a global treaty that aimed to help curb smoking. Source: tobaccofreekids.org 70. The Bush Administration has spent $270 million on abstinence-only education programs even though there is no scientific evidence demonstrating that they are effective in dissuading teenagers from having sex or reducing the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. Source: salon.com 71. The Bush Administration slashed funding for programs that suggested ways, other than abstinence, to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. Source: LA Weekly ENVIRONMENT 72. The Bush Administration gutted clean-air standards for aging power plants, resulting in at least 20,000 premature deaths each year. Source: cta.policy.net 73. The Bush Administration eliminated protections on more than 200 million acres of public lands. Source: calwild.org 74. President Bush broke his promise to place limits on carbon dioxide emissions, an essential step in combating global warming. Source: Washington Post 75. Days after 9/11, the Bush Administration told people living near Ground Zero that the air was safe--even though they knew it wasn't--subjecting hundreds of people to unnecessary, debilitating ailments. Sierra Club , EPA 76. The Bush Administration created a massive tax loophole for SUVs--allowing, for example, the write-off of the entire cost of a new Hummer. Source: Washington Post 77. The Bush Administration put former coal-industry big shots in the government and let them roll back safety regulations, putting miners at greater risk of black lung disease. Source: New York Times 78. The Bush Administration said that even though the weed killer atrazine was seeping into water supplies--creating, among other bizarre creatures, hermaphroditic frogs--there was no reason to regulate it. Source: Washington Post 79. The Bush Administration has proposed cutting the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency by $600 million next year. Source: ems.org 80. President Bush broke his campaign promise to end the maintenance backlog at national parks. He has provided just 7 percent of the funds needed, according to National Park Service estimates. Source: bushgreenwatch.org RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES 81. Since 9/11, Attorney General John Ashcroft has detained 5,000 foreign nationals in antiterrorism sweeps; none have been convicted of a terrorist crime. Source: hrwatch.org 82. The Bush Administration ignored pleas from the International Committee of the Red Cross to stop the abuse of prisoners in US custody. Source: Wall Street Journal 83. In violation of international law, the Bush Administration hid prisoners from the Red Cross so the organization couldn't monitor their treatment. Source: hrwatch.org 84. The Bush Administration, without ever charging him with a crime, arrested US citizen José Padilla at an airport in Chicago, held him on a naval brig in South Carolina for two years, denied him access to a lawyer and prohibited any contact with his friends and family. Source: news.findlaw.com 85. President Bush's top legal adviser wrote a memo to the President advising him that he can legally authorize torture. Source: news.findlaw.com 86. At the direction of Bush Administration officials, the FBI went door to door questioning people planning on protesting at the 2004 political conventions. Source: New York Times 87. The Bush Administration refuses to support the creation of an independent commission to investigate the abuse of foreign prisoners in American custody. Instead, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld selected the members of a commission to review the conduct of his own department. Source: humanrightsfirst.org FLIP FLOPS 88. President Bush opposed the creation of the 9/11 Commission before he supported it, delaying an essential inquiry into one of the greatest intelligence failure in American history. Source: americanprogressaction.org 89. President Bush said gay marriage was a state issue before he supported a constitutional amendment banning it. Sources: CNN.com, White House 90. President Bush said he was committed to capturing Osama bin Laden "dead or alive" before he said, "I truly am not that concerned about him." Source: americanprogressaction.org 91. President Bush said we had found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, before he admitted we hadn't found them. Sources: White House, americanprogress.org 92. President Bush said, "You can't distinguish between Al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror," before he admitted Saddam had no role in 9/11. Sources: White House, Washington Post BIOGRAPHY 93. George Bush didn't come close to meeting his commitments to the National Guard. Records show he performed no service in a six-month period in 1972 and a three-month period in 1973. Source: Boston Globe 94. In June 1990 George Bush violated federal securities law when he failed to inform the SEC that he had sold 200,000 shares of his company, Harken Energy. Two months later the company reported significant losses and by the end of that year the stock had dropped from $3 to $1. Source: The Guardian 95. When asked at an April 2004 press conference to name a mistake he made during his presidency, Bush couldn't think of one. Source: White House SECRECY 96. The Bush Administration refuses to release twenty-seven pages of a Congressional report that reportedly detail the Saudi Arabian government's connections to the 9/11 hijackers. Source: Philadelphia Inquirer 97. Last year the Bush Administration spent $6.5 billion creating 14 million new classified documents and securing old secrets--the highest level of spending in ten years. Source: openthegovernment.org 98. The Bush Administration spent $120 classifying documents for every $1 it spent declassifying documents. Source: openthegovernment.org 99. The Bush Administration has spent millions of dollars and defied numerous court orders to conceal from the public who participated in Vice President Cheney's 2001 energy task force. Source: Washington Post 100. The Bush Administration--reversing years of bipartisan tradition--refuses to answer requests from Democratic members of Congress about how the White House is spending taxpayer money. Source: Washington Post OPINION If the past informs the future, four more years of the Bush Administration will be a tragic period in the history of the United States and the world. ------------------------------------------------ I pulled this from a Bulletin posted by my Dear Friend: DEElicious
Check out her other Blogs! She has some great reading!!!

-- In Bakersfield, California, anyone having intercourse with Satan must use a condom. (An asbestos one we presume.) -- In Oblong, Illinois, it's punishable by law to make love while hunting or fishing on your wedding day. -- In Minnesota, it is illegal for any man to have sexual intercourse with a live fish. (Apparently it's OK for woman.) -- No man is allowed to make love to his wife with the smell of garlic, onions, or sardines on his breath in Alexandria, Minnesota. If his wife so requests, law mandates that he must brush his teeth. -- Warn your hubby that after lovemaking in Ames, Iowa, he isn't allowed to take more than three gulps of beer while lying in bed with you -- or holding you in his arms. -- Bozeman, Montana, has a law that bans all sexual activity between members of the opposite sex in the front yard of a home after sundown -- if they're nude. -- In hotels in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, every room is required to have twin beds. And the beds must always be a minimum of two feet apart when a couple rents a room for only one night. And it's illegal to make love on the floor between the beds! -- The owner of every hotel in Hastings, Nebraska, is required to provide each guest with a clean and pressed nightshirt. No couple, even if they are married, may sleep together in the nude. Nor may they have sex unless they are wearing one of these clean, white cotton nightshirts. -- An ordinance in Newcastle, Wyoming, specifically bans couples from having sex while standing inside a store's walk-in meat freezer! -- A state law in Illinois mandates that all bachelors should be called master, not mister, when addressed by their female counterparts. -- In Romboch, Virginia, it is illegal to engage in sexual activity with the lights on. -- In Merryville, Missouri, women are prohibited from wearing corsets because "the privilege of admiring the curvaceous, unencumbered body of a young woman should not be denied to the normal, red-blooded American male." -- It's safe to make love while parked in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Police officers aren't allowed to walk up and knock on the window. Any suspicious officer who thinks that sex is taking place must drive up from behind, honk his horn three times and wait approximately two minutes before getting out of his car to investigate. -- A law in Helena, Montana, mandates that a woman can't dance on a table in a saloon or bar unless she has on at least three pounds, two ounces of clothing. (Ouch! These pasties hurt!) -- Anywhere in the U.S., it's illegal to use any live endangered species, excepting insects, in public or private sexual displays, shows or exhibits depicting cross-species sex. (Insectophiles apparently were successful in their lobbying efforts.) -- Lovers in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, should avoid satisfying their lustful urges in a parked car. If the horn accidentally sounds while they are frolicking behind the wheel, the couple can face a jail term. -- In Carlsbad, New Mexico, it's legal for couples to have sex in a parked vehicle during their lunch break from work, as long as the car or van has drawn curtains to stop strangers from peeking in. -- Women aren't allowed to wear patent-leather shoes in Cleveland, Ohio - a man might see the reflection of something "he oughtn't!" -- No woman may have sex with a man while riding in an ambulance within the boundaries of Tremonton, Utah. If caught, the woman can be charged with a sexual misdemeanor and "her name is to be published in the local newspaper." The man isn't charged nor is his name revealed. -- It is illegal for any member of the Nevada Legislature to conduct official business wearing a penis costume while the legislature is in session. -------------------------------------------------- I got this from: simplyred

Independence Daze Quiz How good are you at separating myth from fact? See if you know the difference between fact and fiction when it comes to these myths about our nation's independence. Questions and answers adapted from Discovery.com. 1) The Fourth of July has been a legal holiday since the American Revolution. a) True b) False 2) Traditionally, the American flag is folded 13 times because each fold bears a special meaning. a) True b) False 3) Benjamin Franklin proposed the turkey as the national bird of the United States. a) True b) False 4) All 56 members of the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. a) True b) False 5) Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the Fourth of July. a) True b) False 6) The Liberty Bell cracked when it was rung to celebrate American independence on July 4, 1776. a) True b) False 7) The preferred method for disposing of a torn, damaged, or soiled U.S. flag is to burn it. a) True b) False 8) The state flag of Texas is the only one that is allowed to fly at the same height as the U.S. flag. a) True b) False 9) John Hancock purposely signed his name in large script on the Declaration of Independence to show his defiance of the British. a) True b) False 10) An American flag should be burned if it has touched the ground. a) True b) False Answers: 1) B False The U.S. Congress made July 4 an unpaid holiday for federal employees in 1870. Congress didn't declare it a legal federal holiday until 1941. 2) B False Flag etiquette requires that before a flag is stored or formally presented, it must be folded into a triangular shape with only the white stars on the blue background showing. This ceremonial process requires a series of 13 folds to achieve, but there is no official meaning associated with that number. 3) A True When the newly independent United States was choosing a national symbol, the country was still at war with England and the bald eagle was deemed appropriately fierce and intimidating. However, Ben Franklin thought the bald eagle was "a bird of bad moral character," whereas the wild turkey, while "a little vain and silly," was still a "bird of courage" that "would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red coat on." 4) B False The Declaration of Independence was adopted by 12 of 13 colonies (New York did not vote) on July 4, 1776, but it was not actually signed by all of the delegates until August 2, 1776. 5) A True On July 4, 1826--50 years to the day after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence--John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of each other. 6) B False While there are dozens of stories that purport to explain when and how the Liberty Bell developed its famous crack, there is no documentation that definitively dates when this actually occurred. According to the Liberty Bell Museum, the crack developed sometime between 1817 and 1846. However, it is generally agreed that when the bell was rung in celebration of Washington's birthday in 1846, the crack expanded to the point that the bell should no longer be rung. 7) A True According to Title 4 of the U.S. Code, "The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning." 8) B False Actually, U.S. flag code states that any state flag may be flown at the same height as the U.S. flag as long as it is to the left of the U.S. flag. Contrary to rumors circulating on the Internet, no special exceptions are made for the state of Texas. 9) B False Hancock did not purposely sign his name in large script on the Declaration of Independence to show his defiance of the British. Nor did he exclaim, "There, I guess King George will be able to read that!" while he was signing his name. While it's true that there was a price on his head back in England, and that by signing the Declaration, Hancock was sealing his fate as a traitor against the British crown, these circumstances did not affect the way he signed his name. In addition to naturally having a rather large and flamboyant signature, Hancock was the first person to sign the document, so he had plenty of space. Furthermore, the Declaration of Independence was not addressed to the King of England, but to the people of the American colonies. 10) B False U.S. flag code does state "the flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise." But these are just guidelines for showing proper respect for the flag, not enforceable laws, and there is nothing stating that the flag should be destroyed if this happens. If a flag does touch the ground, the proper course of action is simply to lift the flag up, and if it's dirty, clean it. It should only be burned if it is damaged or soiled beyond repair. --------------------------------------- Oh BTW: Great job! You got 10/10 correct. Enjoy

I found this letter on the Internet & I just had to BLOG it: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the Orange County Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined. Dave LaBonte Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register: Dear Editor: So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry. Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought alongside men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German-American or the Irish-American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl. And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900s deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags. And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.

I Received this in the e-mail. I had to send it out to everyone.

Now as you know I don’t have any kids, but this is still very important to pass on

This is a Must Read for everyone who have children or grandchildren
EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ ALL OF THIS and HAVE YOUR CHILDREN READ IT TOO!

MAYBE AFTER THEY READ THIS
YOUR KIDS WILL NOT THINK THEIR PARENTS ARE TO OVER PROTECTIVE!!


After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get
on-line . She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her
Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:


ByAngel213: Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following Me home today It was really weird!
GoTo123: LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?
ByAngel213: Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.
GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't done that Have you?
ByAngel213: Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.
GoTo123: Did you have a softball game after school today?
ByAngel213: Yes and we won!!
GoTo123: That's great! Who did you play?
ByAngel213: We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross They look like bees. LOL
GoTo123: What is your team called?
ByAngel213: We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are really cool.
GoTo123: Did you pitch?
ByAngel213: No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be Done before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. Bye!
GoTo123: Catch you later. Bye


Meanwhile......GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search
for her profile. When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it out.
He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew about Angel so far.
Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985
Age: 13
State where she lived: North Carolina
Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall.
Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just told him
He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon until her parents
came home from work. He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons
on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats.
Her favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey.
He knew she was in the eighth grade at the Canton Junior High School.
She had told him all this in the conversations they had on- line.
He had enough information to find her now.

Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the ballpark
that day She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from walking home from
the softball games Parents were always overreacting and hers were the worst.
It made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she had brothers and sisters,
her parents wouldn't be so overprotective.

By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her.
Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her.
It was then that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second base
position to see a man watching her closely He was leaning against the fence
behind first base and he smiled when she looked at him. He didn't look scary
and she quickly dismissed the sudden fear she had felt. After the game, he
sat on a bleacher while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once
again as she walked past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He noticed her
name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found her. Quietly, he walked a
safe distance behind her. It was only a few blocks to Shannon's home,
and once he saw where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his car.
Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to
go to Shannon's house. He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time
to make his move.

Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the living room.
"Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded upset and she couldn't imagine why.
She went into the room to see the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa. "Sit down,"
her father began, "this man has just told us a most interesting story about you."
Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents anything? She had never seen him before today!
"Do you know who I am, Shannon?" the man asked. "No," Shannon answered.
"I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123."
Shannon was stunned. "That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14.
And he lives in Michigan!" The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't
true. You see, Shannon, there are people on-line who pretend to be kids;
I was one of them. But while others do it to injure kids and hurt them,
I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids from predators.
I came here to find you to teach you how dangerous it is to talk to people on-line.
You told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me to find you.
You name the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played.
The number and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze." Shannon was stunned.
"You mean you don't live in Michigan?" He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh.
It made you feel safe to think I was so far away, didn't it?" She nodded.
"I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her
and murdered her while she was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when
they are alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into
giving out information a little here and there on-line. Before you know it, you have
told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it.
I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it again. Tell others about this so
they will be safe too?" It's a promise!" That night Shannon and her Dad and Mom all
knelt down together and thanked God for protecting Shannon from what could
have been a tragic situation. *****NOW***** Please send this to as many people as
you can to teach them not to give any information about themselves. This world we live
in today is too dangerous to even give out your age, let alone anything else.



EVEN FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE WITHOUT KIDS SO THEY CAN SEND IT TO FRIENDS THAT DO HAVE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN.

I just was reading this on MSN and had to POST it. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19293872/?GT1=10056 I think the schools are GOING TOO FAR. When I was a kid, we solved problems with our FISTS, now it is GUNS. Heck, I even carried a KNIFE in school once, only because I was so use to carrying one all the time when I camped. I forgot to not transfer it to my School Clothes on Monday -- OPPS Well Here is the Whole Article -- There is even a Part are VOTING is this too much (I made sure I put that link in) -- Please go VOTE!!!! -------------------------------------------------- School penalizes students for hugs, high-fives Strict no-contact rule, meant to stem violence, has some pushing for change Updated: 6:40 p.m. ET June 18, 2007 VIENNA, Va. - A rule against physical contact at a Fairfax County middle school is so strict that students can be sent to the principal's office for hugging, holding hands or even high-fiving. Unlike some schools in the Washington area, which ban fighting or inappropriate touching, Kilmer Middle School in Vienna bans all touching — and that has some parents lobbying for a change. Hugging was Hal Beaulieu's crime when he sat next to his girlfriend at lunch a few months ago and put his arm around her shoulder. He was given a warning, but told that repeat missteps could lead to detention. "I think hugging is a good thing," said Hal, a seventh-grader. "I put my arm around her. It was like for 15 seconds. I didn't think it would be a big deal." But at a school of 1,100 students that was meant to accommodate 850, school officials think some touching can turn into a big deal. They've seen pokes lead to fights, gang signs in the form of handshakes or girls who are uncomfortable being hugged but embarrassed to say anything. "You get into shades of gray," Kilmer Principal Deborah Hernandez said. "The kids say, 'If he can high-five, then I can do this.' " Hernandez said the no-touching rule is meant to ensure that all students are comfortable and crowded hallways and lunchrooms stay safe. She said school officials are allowed to use their judgment in enforcing the rule. Typically, only repeat offenders are reprimanded. 'Making out goes too far' But such a strict policy doesn't seem necessary to 13-year-old Hal and his parents, who have written a letter to the county school board asking for a review of the rule. Hugging is encouraged in their home, and their son has been taught to greet someone with a handshake. Hal said he feels he knows what's appropriate and what's not. Click for related content Vote: Does the no-contact rule go too far? Has ‘zero tolerance’ in schools overstepped? "I think you should be able to shake hands, high-five and maybe a quick hug," he said. "Making out goes too far." His parents said they agree that teenagers need to have clear limits but don't want their son to be taught that physical contact is bad. "How do kids learn what's right and what's wrong?" Henri Beaulieu asked. "They are all smart kids, and they can draw lines. If they cross them, they can get in trouble. But I don't think it would happen too often."

The Plan! Robin Williams, wearing a shirt that says "I love New York" in Arabic. You gotta love Robin Williams...... Even if he's nuts! Leave it to Robin Williams to come up with the perfect plan. What we need now is for our UN Ambassador to stand up and repeat this message. Robin Williams' plan... (Hard to argue with this logic!) "I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan." 1) "The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those "good ole boys", we will never "interfere" again. 2) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany, South Korea, the Middle East, and the Philippines. They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence. 3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of whom or where they are. They're illegal!!! France will welcome them. 4) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!! No one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers. 5) No foreign "students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D" and it's back home baby. 6) The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while. 7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we'll go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.) 8) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of know that what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything. 9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens. 10) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer. 11) The Language we speak is ENGLISH...learn it...or LEAVE... Now, isn't that a winner of a plan? The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses. She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'you want a piece of me?'