Why I Love My Wife

Mae on the Phone, originally uploaded by CelticWander.

Because she sends me emails like this:

"hey...happy v-day! Yeah for celebrating with chocolate and flowers the brutal death of a martyr!"

I love you honey

Johari

Meggo Mae has a link to Joahri Window. I filled it out for her...please add your two cents to mine.

Thanks

Torture is a Moral Issue

Please join in endorsing this statement of faith leaders

Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions hold dear. It degrades everyone involved --policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation's most cherished ideals. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable.

Torture and inhumane treatment have long been banned by U.S. treaty obligations, and are punishable by criminal statute. Recent developments, however, have created new uncertainties. By reaffirming the ban on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment as well as torture, the McCain amendment, now signed into law, is a step in the right direction. Yet its implementation remains unclear.

The President's signing statement, which he issued when he signed the McCain Amendment into law, implies that the President does not believe he is bound by the amendment in his role as commander in chief. The possibility remains open that inhumane methods of interrogation will continue.

Furthermore, in a troubling development, for the first time in our nation's history, legislation has now been signed into law that effectively permits evidence obtained by torture to be used in a court of law. The military tribunals that are trying some terrorist suspects are now expressly permitted to consider information obtained under coercive interrogation techniques, including degrading and inhumane techniques and torture.

We urge Congress and the President to remove all ambiguities by prohibiting:

* Exemptions from the human rights standards of international law for any arm of our government.

* The practice of extraordinary rendition, whereby suspects are apprehended and flown to countries that use torture as a means of interrogation.

* Any disconnection of "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" from the ban against "torture" so as to permit inhumane interrogation.

* The existence of secret U.S. prisons around the world. Any denial of Red Cross access to detainees held by our government overseas.

* We also call for an independent investigation of the severe human rights abuses at U.S. installations like Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan.

Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation. What does it signify if torture is condemned in word but allowed in deed? Let America abolish torture now --without exceptions.

Click here to sign your endorsement

ok...i give

Entish


To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
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Our First Advert

The Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler had just posted an ad on craigslist. Check it out, here.

Paying For The War

Well, our esteemed leader has come out with a new budget. Cutting programs and funding he said were essential last week in his State of the Union Address.

He wants to make tax cuts permanent for those who make more in a year than most of us will in 10. He wants to cut funding in the education 1/3 of the targted programs are in education). Raise military spending so his administration can focus the nation’s resources on our highest priority — protecting our citizens and our homeland.

He also wants to cut social security benefits. Didn't he learn from last year? Most importantly he wants to take a way the widow/er benefit of $225, for those who lost a spouse in war. Because "eliminating it is not going to cause an appreciable financial hardship to a survivor." Even though, that $225 will help pay for a burial plot, or headstone, or vault. It is an amount that has not been raised since 1951.

Also, here is the real zinger...wounded soldiers are getting billed for missing or damaged body armor. 1st Lt. William “Eddie” Rebrook IV got a bill for $700 for body armor that got cut off him after being blown up by and IED. He was preparing for discharge when approached for the missing armor, and has been threatened with extended service time, if he does not pay.

You gotta love it. There are those who are for this war, but do not want to sacrifice a hair on their head to help it. And there are those of us who are against the war willing to pay higher taxes if it means getting our folks out of harms way sooner and safer. If it means educating the kids, so that our safety as a nation will be protected, by intellectually curious people. There are those who are for the war, but want cuts made in domestic spending to pay for the war. And there are those of us who cry when we find out the assistance guaranteed the soldiers widows/ers is being taken from them.

I'm It

Tripp tagged me:

4 Jobs You've Had In Your Life:

A character at Chuck E Chese
A summer school teacher/child minder
A carpenter in the scene shop in college
A stagehand in the performing arts center in college

4 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:

Serenity
The Fisher King
Trainspotting
The Commitments

4 Places You Have Lived:

Springfield, IL
Decatur, IL
Chicago, IL
That is it

4 TV Shows You Love To Watch:

Mythbusters
My Name is Earl
WWE RAW
WWE Smackdown

4 Places You Have Been On Vacation:

London
Grand Canyon
McGregor, IA
Disney (both)

4 Websites You Visit Daily:

Tripp
Cliff
Daily Kos
Crooks and Liars

4 of Your Favorite Foods:

Pizza
Hot Dog w/Mac and Cheese
Ice Cream
Pastas

4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:

Hiking the Appalachian Trail w/Mae
Napping
Learning SCUBA
In the middle of nowhere, out west.

4 Bloggers You Are Tagging

Meggo Mae
Devon
Dr. Astro
Larry

Pre-1776 Mentality

This is a diary posted by Sen. Russ Feingold:

I've seen some strange things in my life, but I cannot describe the feeling I had, sitting on the House floor during Tuesday's State of the Union speech, listening to the President assert that his executive power is, basically, absolute, and watching several members of Congress stand up and cheer him on. It was surreal and disrespectful to our system of government and to the oath that as elected officials we have all sworn to uphold. Cheering? Clapping? Applause? All for violating the law?

The President and his administration continue their spin and media blitz in attempts to defend the fact that they broke, and continue to break, the law. Their weak and shifting justifications for doing so continue. The latest from the President seems to be that basically the FISA law, passed in 1978, is out of date [ed. The president's statement is about 3/4 down the page --jt]. His decision that he can apparently disregard "old law" fits the pattern with the President and his administration. He's decided to disregard a statute (FISA) and the Constitution (the 4th Amendment) by continuing to wiretap Americans' phone calls and emails without the required warrant, while at the same time claiming powers of the presidency that do not exist. (Perhaps he feels the Constitution is too "old," as well.) This administration reacts to any questions about spying on American citizens by saying that those of us who stand up for our rights and freedoms are somehow living in a "pre-September 11th, 2001 world."

In fact, the President is living in a pre-1776 world.

Our Founders lived in dangerous times, and they risked everything for freedom. Patrick Henry said, "Give me liberty or give me death." The President's pre-1776 mentality is hurting America and fracturing the foundation on which our country has stood for 230 years. The President can't just bypass two branches of government, and obey only those laws he wants to obey. Deciding unilaterally which of our freedoms still apply in the fight against terrorism is unacceptable and needs to be stopped immediately.

Many of you saw this week's story in the Washington Post on the exchange Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and I had during his confirmation hearing in January of last year. Mr. Gonzales misled me and the Senate Judiciary Committee under oath about whether the President could spy on Americans without a warrant. (Many of you blogged about it when the story first broke and I thank you for getting the word out.) That exchange is extremely telling about the depths to which this administration will go to grab power. I look forward to a little more honesty from the Attorney General when he testifies about the spying program before the Judiciary Committee on Monday.

I don't have to tell you how important this issue is. It gets to the core of what we as a country are all about. We all agree that we must defeat the terrorists who threaten the safety and security of our families and loved ones. Why does this President feel we must sacrifice our freedoms to fight terrorism? This is a gut check moment for members of Congress. Do we sacrifice our liberty? Do we bow to those who try to use security issues for political gain? Do we stand and applaud when the President places himself above the law? Or, do we say enough?

Stop the power grab, stop the politics, stop breaking the law.

It's time to stand up - not to cheer, but to fight back.

Good Think He Didn't Mean It

"Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. [snip]...other new technologies will help us reach another great goal: to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025." --George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, 1/31/06.

"One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally." --Knight Ridder Washington Bureau

Here is another Gem from the NY Times:

"The Energy Department will begin laying off researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the next week or two because of cuts to its budget.

A veteran researcher said the staff had been told that the cuts would be concentrated among researchers in wind and biomass, which includes ethanol. Those are two of the technologies that Mr. Bush cited on Tuesday night as holding the promise to replace part of the nation's oil imports."

These are the people who are to do the research to reduce our dependency by 75%.

I will not add commentary, as this speaks for its self. Also, my mom reads this and I may say some not nice words. What else did he not mean literally? Typical doulblespeak. Just like the Health Savings Accounts. The people that this is supposed to help do not have enough money to put into a savings account. Trust me, I would be one if I did not have insurance through my job.

Bappy Hirthday, Tripp

We better be blessed, originally uploaded by CelticWander.

Tripp is the sexy one on the right...the one with the great legs...go wish him a bappy hirthday! Now! Go! What are you waiting for? Do IT!

Horridly ... well, just horrid

Over at The Sneeze I happened upon this post about this song. It is the most horridly amusing "thing" I have heard....EVER!

This is what Jim Nadyer, host of The Annoying Music Show, has to say about it, "'O Holy Night,' by a vocalist whom Nayder says is so bad he remains unnamed and 'has entered the Annoying Music Show witness protection program.'"

Just listen...and if you are at work, plug in the ear phones or be prepared to get looked at by co-workers as if you are strangleing a cat...which happened t me.

enjoy

First Time For Everything

I had my first actor's nightmare last night. It was aweful.

I do not normally remember dreams, so the fact I remember this says alot.

Feel free to give intrepreations in the comment...curious about it...

Here goes:

For some reason I was running late getting to the show, not sure why, I just remember being late. Once at the theater I could not find costume pieces since the laundry was done over the break. I miss the scene leading into mine so I intend to enter the stage during the cross-fade into my scene and the one previous. I have no lines in the previous scene, so only my presence is missed. As I prepare to enter the scene doing the military march routine we do, the stage is 3x the size (up until now, everthing has been "normal'), I am missing my gloves and 2 essential props. At this point all hell breaks loose. The stage is huge; the jail cell is in 3 parts, as opposed to one piece flown in; and everyone is improving, ok, I can deal with that; the audience starts adlibbing; yelling; Ted Kennedy is one of the "prisoners" in the scene, except for it is 1980 canidate Kennedy, not the one we see today. We start doing the scene (Teddy and Me). My pulse is through the roof. The curtain comes down and we try to reset the chaos of the scene. The curtain comes up and the same thing happens.

Very Weird....not the typical actor's nightmare. I have my clothes on, I know my lines, but that does not seem to matter, since everyone seems to be adlibbing

What think you???

Tears

Tears, originally uploaded by CelticWander.

Carnacki over at dailykos.com reminds us that Mrs. Alito's tears that have caused a lot of hub bub have overshadowed these tears.

God Grant us Peace.

I Got Tagged

So, Tripp tagged me on on Friday for the Friday Feast but I did not find out until today, so here goes:

Appetizer: Have you ever seen a ghost or an angel?

An angel, yes in deed. I was in a car accident in high school (my senior year I think), and as the car spun into the trees I saw a face in the windshield, and felt a sense of calm and reassuance. When I crawled out of the passanger side of the car, I only had a scrape on my arm from broken glass. I looked at the drivers side and there was a branch through the windsheild, it was kissing a tree pretty good...Yes, I think an angel helped me out there.

Soup: What is your favorite board game?

Sequence. Lots of fun.

Salad: What is the last movie that made you cry?

Not sure, honestly, I think I may have been a little teary when I saw to favoite characters die in Serenity.

Main Course: What would you do if you had 3 months off from your job?

Travel. Start and finish in Ireland. Make one big circle around Europe.

(if I had 6-9 months...Hike the Appalachian Trail)

Dessert: What kind of shoes are you wearing today?

New Balance 400 Running Shoe

The sacrifices one makes

before..., originally uploaded by CelticWander.

On Friday I am opening The House That Swift Built at the Atheneaum in Chicago. If you get a chance come see it.

Anyhoo...I had to make a sacrifice for the show...I offered too, so, it was not forced...

Here you see me before...

Click here to see during...

Click here to see me after the sacrifice...

He Makes Sense

Jesse Jackson, love him or hate him, he makes sense here:

Messiah's message lost in shuffle

Early returns on Christmas are up, we are told. Are these reports on an increase in church attendance? Or a decline in the numbers of homeless? The spread of peace in the world? No, the reports are about sales, better than last year, particularly in the high-end luxury stores. Christmas -- the mass celebrating the birth of Christ -- is the biggest shopping season of the year.

But of course, that's not what the Christmas story is about. Nor is it about the right's newest goofy campaign -- the hyped up ''war on Christmas.'' The ideologues over at Fox News have decided that to save Christmas, we've got to insist that stores advertise ''Christmas sales,'' not holiday sales, and that cards wish people a ''merry Christmas,'' not a happy holiday. Behind their moralizing, these folks are trying to use Christmas for petty political purposes. But that's not what the Christmas story is about either.

It's about a couple -- Mary and Joseph -- forced by an oppressive government to leave their home to travel far to be counted in the census. They were homeless in a strange land. Christmas is the story of a child born in a cow's barn and placed in a manger, a makeshift crib. This was a working barn. Jesus had straw for a floor, fouled by the animals. The innkeeper had no room for the strange couple. If he had understood who the baby was, he would have offered them his bed.

The measure of Christmas can't be about Christmas cards or holiday cards, for Mary and Joseph had no address. It isn't about buying and selling things. Yes, wise men followed the star and brought gifts to the poor child. But their wisdom was not in the value of their gifts, but in their ability to see what the innkeeper missed: the power of the infant asleep in a wooden manger. The Christmas story instructs us to treasure every child, for even the poorest child of a homeless couple has limitless potential.

Unlike the reports on the business page, the reports on the moral page are grim. Poverty is up in this country -- more than 30 million now in poverty. Homelessness is up, with mayors reporting record numbers seeking shelter each night. More people go without health care for lack of insurance -- more than 45 million Americans now. The survivors of Katrina are being abandoned once more.

Reports from the values page are also pretty dismal as well. Inequality is at record levels, yet the administration insists on cutting taxes on the wealthy, while opposing any increase in the minimum wage. College tuition is soaring, but Congress voted to cut student loans to help pay for those top-end tax breaks.

What is Christmas about? It is about an oppressed people praying for a Messiah, a mighty warrior who would conquer their oppressors. The expectation grew so high that even Herod grew uneasy. But when the Messiah came, he came as the prince of peace, not of war. He taught love and hope and charity, not violence and vengeance. He was the greatest liberator of them all, but he carried no arms and provisioned no army. His army would be the legions of the faithful.

But this year, the reports from the peace page are also grim. Our soldiers are in armed occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Our cities are girded against the threat of terrorist attack. We possess the mightiest military that the world has ever known, but we are more insecure than ever. We turn our backs on the genocide taking place in Darfur. The fake moralists howl about the labels on our store sales, not the hunger of the poor.

A mass for Christ is not about shopping, whatever the name. Christmas should celebrate family and community. It should remind us to measure ourselves by how we treat the ''least of these.'' Today in America, millions of poor children head to school not ready to learn. They suffer from malnutrition, from inadequate health care, from mean streets and broken homes. One of five children is raised in poverty. We are failing the standard he taught us.

Let us all remember the true spirit of Christmas this year. Protect the babies in the dawn of life. Care for the elderly in the dusk of life. Nurture the sick; shelter the homeless. Stop for the stranger on the Jericho Road. Work for the promise of peace. Surely that is what Jesus would want under his tree. Merry Christmas everyone.

The War on Chrismahaunakwanzaka

Rep. John Dingell of Michigan gave the following speech on the Floor of the House. It is brilliant response to House Resolution 597. A resolution designed to protect the icons of Christmas. The absurditiy of it is that it does not protect the menorah or the Kwanza candles, just Christian icons of Christmas. Anyhoo...here is the speech:

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the House
No bills were passed ‘bout which Fox News could grouse;
Tax cuts for the wealthy were passed with great cheer,
So vacations in St. Barts soon would be near;

Katrina kids were nestled all snug in motel beds,
While visions of school and home danced in their heads;
In Iraq our soldiers needed supplies and a plan,
Plus nuclear weapons were being built in Iran;

Gas prices shot up, consumer confidence fell;
Americans feared we were on a fast track to…well…
Wait--- we need a distraction--- something divisive and wily;
A fabrication straight from the mouth of O’Reilly

We can pretend that Christmas is under attack
Hold a vote to save it--- then pat ourselves on the back;
Silent Night, First Noel, Away in the Manger
Wake up Congress, they’re in no danger!

This time of year we see Christmas every where we go,
From churches, to homes, to schools, and yes…even Costco;
What we have is an attempt to divide and destroy,
When this is the season to unite us with joy

At Christmas time we’re taught to unite,
We don’t need a made-up reason to fight
So on O’Reilly, on Hannity, on Coulter, and those right wing blogs;
You should just sit back, relax…have a few egg nogs!

‘Tis the holiday season: enjoy it a pinch
With all our real problems, do we honestly need another Grinch?

So to my friends and my colleagues I say with delight,
A merry Christmas to all,
and to Bill O’Reilly…Happy Holidays.

Effin' Hypocrites

Over at Street Prophets I came across this diary. I probably should not be blogging right now because I am so angry.

If you remember back in March the President flew back to Washington DC from Crawford, TX to take care of the Terri Schivo issue. Dr. Frist had diagnosed her via a 3 minute video tape, and everyone was fighting for her. I am torn about what "should" have happened, but I think I would side with the husband, but that is not what this blog is about. This is about the classist, racist, hypocritical law in Texas that allowed a conscious woman to die. Ms. Schivo may or may not have been consious, but Tirhas Habtegiris, a legal immigrant from Africa, was, and she was told on Dec. 1 that the medical staff was pulling her life support plug in 10 days.

She knew she would not make it long, but wanted to remain on life support until her mother arrived from Africa. But that would take a little while. In the meantime she had become a burden to the Republic of Texas since she did not have insurance. You see, when Pres. Bush was Gov. he vetoed a bill that would have put the the sole decision of advance directive into the hands of the patient or proxy. Instead the bill remained the same and allows for the state to decide that they will no longer cover the patients medical expenses, and allow for the medical facility to pull the plug regardless of the patient/proxy's directive. So, because a person is poor, the state can decide when their life should end.

Where are the protesters with red tape over their mouths? Where are the high and mighty preachers? Where are the vacationing congress members flying back to Washington? Where the hell are they? Is not Ms. Habtegiris's life just as valuable as Ms. Schaivo's? Or is it less vaulable becasue she can not afford insurance? Because she is poor, and an immigrant?

If these two faced sons of bitches in Washington are going to slap us around with this "Culture of Life" mantra, they better be fighting for everyone, not just their base. White Christian good looking women are not the only people who suffer. They are the one's everyone pays attention to, but there are more. There is the poor immigrant in Texas, there is the laid off factory union member, there is the Arab American, there is the crack baby...these are lives, too! But what do we expect for a society that kills it's own in some sort of Divine Judgement.

If you care so much about a "Culture of Life", how about you proove it? Pass laws that protect the vunerable. Pass Healthcare. Ban the Death Penalty. Provide adoption outlets that do not cost an arm and a leg. Take care of the least of these. If you are going to claim the mantle of Christianity and shove it in the face of everyone you meet, you best well live into it fully. You can not pick and choose.

Noone...ever should know the day they will die.

1000

Tomorrow the 1000th person will be executed by the state since the Supreme Court reversed its decision on the death penalty.

Please pray for the soul of the victims of the crimes
Please pray for the soul of the executed
Please pray for the families of both

Please pray that we turn from the cycle of redemptive violence

Here is a prayer by Sister Helen Prejean

God of Compassion,
You let your rain fall on the just and the unjust.
Expand and deepen our hearts
so that we may love as You love,
even those among us
who have caused the greatest pain by taking life.
For there is in our land a great cry for vengeance
as we fill up death rows and kill the killers
in the name of justice, in the name of peace.

Jesus, our brother,
you suffered execution at the hands of the state
but you did not let hatred overcome you.
Help us to reach out to victims of violence
so that our enduring love may help them heal.

Holy Spirit of God,
You strengthen us in the struggle for justice.
Help us to work tirelessly
for the abolition of state-sanctioned death
and to renew our society in its very heart
so that violence will be no more.

Amen.

Wisdom

I love Clarence Jordan.

"Jesus said it is not enough to limit your love to your own nation, to your own race, to your own group. You must respond with love even to those outside of it, respond with love to those who hate you. This concept enables men to live together not as nations, but as the human race. We are now at the stage of history where we will either take this step or perish."
--Clarence Jordan from The Substance of Faith and other Cotton Patch Sermons