Rain and wind up here this morning ...
That wind is blowing like it wants to blow away the world ....
Sweep it clean ...
Start over again ...
And there is a lot of water out there, to boot ....
And it's still coming down ....
And so ...
Full Version: A.B.'s Corner, Volume 5
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79
QUOTE(amy @ Mar 4 2008, 01:55 PM) 
Hello to all....
A.B.....I'm thinking about you and Carolyn and I hope that her health is improving.
Thank you, Amy. I wish you well in your political activities. I know you will be a huge benefit to your group.
This is the first time I have posted on the forum for several days. Carolyn is still in the hospital and has been unable to make any progress for quite a while, she has had pneumonia, and an obstructed bowel which prevents her from being able to have any food or liquid by mouth for a long, long time. Yesterday, there was an apparent breakthrough and there is some reason to be more optimistic today. We are having horrific weather here today and it may be impossible for me to drive to the hospital for the for 1st time.
Thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts.
A.B.
QUOTE(amy @ Mar 4 2008, 12:55 PM)
Just want to let you know that I'll be taking a break from forums for a while.
Good luck, Amy! And thanks for the poem. I had to memorize that one in the sixth grade, and lines from it still come back to me from time to time. Some timeless (if a bit sexist) lessons there.
[quote name='amy' date='Mar 4 2008, 07:55 PM' post='807251']
Just want to let you know that I'll be taking a break from forums for a while. Very soon, I'll be involved with volunteer work for the Obama campaign and it will take up a a lot of my free time. So, good times ahead for me...when I volunteered for the Kerry campaign,I met so many interesting people and I know that will also be the case when I volunteer for Obama. Exhausting work but well worth it! . . .
Amy - I will miss you here but maybe our paths will cross on the campaign trail. I did phone banking for Ohio, and that was a very interesting experience. I'm planning to help out in Pennsylvania. In between, I close on Pawling, and do a little moving. Please stay in touch.
The Snuff
Hello to all....
Just want to let you know that I'll be taking a break from forums for a while. Very soon, I'll be involved with volunteer work for the Obama campaign and it will take up a a lot of my free time. So, good times ahead for me...when I volunteered for the Kerry campaign,I met so many interesting people and I know that will also be the case when I volunteer for Obama. Exhausting work but well worth it! . . .
Amy - I will miss you here but maybe our paths will cross on the campaign trail. I did phone banking for Ohio, and that was a very interesting experience. I'm planning to help out in Pennsylvania. In between, I close on Pawling, and do a little moving. Please stay in touch.
The Snuff
For Amy from the Snuff
Invisible Mothers...
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no
one can see me at all. I'm invisible.
The Invisible Mom.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this?
Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel ? I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It
was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:
"To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building
when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals. We have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God
sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard , 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of
kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder.
As one of the people who shows up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving 'My Mom gets up at 4 am in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Great Job, MOM!
Invisible Mothers...
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no
one can see me at all. I'm invisible.
The Invisible Mom.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this?
Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel ? I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It
was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:
"To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building
when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals. We have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God
sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard , 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of
kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder.
As one of the people who shows up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving 'My Mom gets up at 4 am in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Great Job, MOM!
Good to hear from you, Mr. A.B.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop with you and your wife ...
And the good thoughts keep going out your way ...
And so ...
Thanks for keeping us in the loop with you and your wife ...
And the good thoughts keep going out your way ...
And so ...
Amy - I hope you will have a minute to check in once and a while and give us a personal look inside the campaign organization where you are volunteering. I wish I were well enough to be doing the same.
A.B. - I hope the weather eases there so you can be with Carolyn, but you need also to not get so worn out that this is detrimental to your health. So I hope you took the day to relax and restore your strengths. And that being away a day may give you perhaps a chance to spot improvement when you resume visits. The human body and spirit has amazing qualites for healing and come on a different time schedule than our daily routines and at times they are not visibly detected.
lenal
A.B. - I hope the weather eases there so you can be with Carolyn, but you need also to not get so worn out that this is detrimental to your health. So I hope you took the day to relax and restore your strengths. And that being away a day may give you perhaps a chance to spot improvement when you resume visits. The human body and spirit has amazing qualites for healing and come on a different time schedule than our daily routines and at times they are not visibly detected.
lenal
What a beautiful day it was outside up here today ...
A clear blue sky ...
On the warm side ....
I got out the bamboo rake and did a lot of raking today ....
Had a fire going ...
Burned up a lot of dead branches and stuff ....
All in all, very pleasant out there ....
That is one thing that I like about being up here, that feeling of relief and rejuvenation when spring finally does come ....
And so ...
A clear blue sky ...
On the warm side ....
I got out the bamboo rake and did a lot of raking today ....
Had a fire going ...
Burned up a lot of dead branches and stuff ....
All in all, very pleasant out there ....
That is one thing that I like about being up here, that feeling of relief and rejuvenation when spring finally does come ....
And so ...
Happy Friday, everyone ....
Happy Friday to you Liv. Its raining here in DC. Been busy phone banking for Obama in Wyoming.
That kind of day. But here is a blonde joke to make people laugh:
BISCUITS WANTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER (the actual AP headline)
Linda Burnett, 23, a resident of San Diego , was visiting her in-laws, and
while there she went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries.
Several people noticed her sitting in her car with the windows rolled up
and with her eyes closed, with both hands behind the back of her head.
One customer who had been at the store for a while became concerned
and walked over to the car. He noticed that Linda's eyes were now open,
and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was okay, and Linda
replied that she'd been shot in the back of the head, and had been
holding her brains in for over an hour.
The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors
were locked and Linda refused to remove her hands from her head. When
they finally got in, they found that Linda had a wad of bread dough on the
back of her head.
A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud
noise that sounded like a gunshot, and the wad of dough hit her in the
back of her head. When she reached back to find out what it was, she felt
the dough and thought it was her brains. She initially passed out, but
quickly recovered and tried to hold her brains in for over an hour until
someone noticed and came to her aid.
Linda is a blonde and a Republican who is going to vote for McCain, but
I'm certain that's irrelevant.
That kind of day. But here is a blonde joke to make people laugh:
BISCUITS WANTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER (the actual AP headline)
Linda Burnett, 23, a resident of San Diego , was visiting her in-laws, and
while there she went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries.
Several people noticed her sitting in her car with the windows rolled up
and with her eyes closed, with both hands behind the back of her head.
One customer who had been at the store for a while became concerned
and walked over to the car. He noticed that Linda's eyes were now open,
and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was okay, and Linda
replied that she'd been shot in the back of the head, and had been
holding her brains in for over an hour.
The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors
were locked and Linda refused to remove her hands from her head. When
they finally got in, they found that Linda had a wad of bread dough on the
back of her head.
A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud
noise that sounded like a gunshot, and the wad of dough hit her in the
back of her head. When she reached back to find out what it was, she felt
the dough and thought it was her brains. She initially passed out, but
quickly recovered and tried to hold her brains in for over an hour until
someone noticed and came to her aid.
Linda is a blonde and a Republican who is going to vote for McCain, but
I'm certain that's irrelevant.
That has got to be one of my all-time favorite stories, that one about the bread dough ...
"Linda replied that she'd been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in for over an hour" ......
You have to admit, she had perseverence, anyway ...
And determination, too ...
I wonder what she was thinking about all that time ....
And if it gave her a headache .....
And so ....
"Linda replied that she'd been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in for over an hour" ......
You have to admit, she had perseverence, anyway ...
And determination, too ...
I wonder what she was thinking about all that time ....
And if it gave her a headache .....
And so ....
Just dropped in to take a load off.
My prayers to you and Carolyn, Mr A.B.
Good luck with your house Snuff. Drove thru Pawling last fall - - beautiful spot I must say.
Keep that woodpile handy, Liv. Winter ain't over just yet.
Good luck politikin' Amy.
Still love your penguin, Peg.
My prayers to you and Carolyn, Mr A.B.
Good luck with your house Snuff. Drove thru Pawling last fall - - beautiful spot I must say.
Keep that woodpile handy, Liv. Winter ain't over just yet.
Good luck politikin' Amy.
Still love your penguin, Peg.
QUOTE(jeffmoskin @ Mar 7 2008, 10:39 PM)
Keep that woodpile handy, Liv.
Winter ain't over just yet.
Winter ain't over just yet.
Good morning, jeffmoskin ...
Good to see you back around the place in here ....
And my goodness, but you are looking real mean there in your avatar of the day ...
And it is hard to say about winter, jeffmoskin ....
It seems to be more down south than up here these days ....
We had rain last night ...
More is forecast for today ....
And yes, I was down in the woods the last couple of days with the wheelbarrow hauling out more wood and getting it inside, under cover, so I have some, just in case ...
It's supposed to drop back down today and only be in the 20's tomarrow ...
Yesterday was up in the 40's ...
Go figure, eh?
And so ...
"Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world."
- Henry Kissinger
YEAH, RIGHT, Henry ...
Okay ....
Yes, yes ....
Tell that to the witless Republican DONKEY in the Washington White House right now ...
Who was on the radio up here this morning ...
Telling me not to worry ...
Because the FUNDAMENTALS of the American economy are "sound" ....
SAY WHAT?
What world is that fool living in, I wonder?
And more to the point, what are these alleged FUNDAMENTALS of the American economy that are allegedly sound?
By my reckoning, the FUNDAMENTALS of the American economy right now bear an awful lot of resemblance to the FUNDAMENTALS of the American economy back in 1929 ....
Just before the GREAT DEPRESSION fell down upon us ....
And lasted until about 1955 ....
And so ...
- Henry Kissinger
YEAH, RIGHT, Henry ...
Okay ....
Yes, yes ....
Tell that to the witless Republican DONKEY in the Washington White House right now ...
Who was on the radio up here this morning ...
Telling me not to worry ...
Because the FUNDAMENTALS of the American economy are "sound" ....
SAY WHAT?
What world is that fool living in, I wonder?
And more to the point, what are these alleged FUNDAMENTALS of the American economy that are allegedly sound?
By my reckoning, the FUNDAMENTALS of the American economy right now bear an awful lot of resemblance to the FUNDAMENTALS of the American economy back in 1929 ....
Just before the GREAT DEPRESSION fell down upon us ....
And lasted until about 1955 ....
And so ...
Just dropping by and want to share our recent visit by some beautiful waterfowl --
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gpabill/sets/...892909441/show/
Isn't nature awesome?
This is the largest flock we have ever seen here - at least since I have lived here (1987).
lenal
QUOTE(lenal @ Mar 8 2008, 12:52 PM)
Just dropping by and want to share our recent visit by some beautiful waterfowl --
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gpabill/sets/...892909441/show/
Isn't nature awesome?
This is the largest flock we have ever seen here - at least since I have lived here (1987).
lenal
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gpabill/sets/...892909441/show/
Isn't nature awesome?
This is the largest flock we have ever seen here - at least since I have lived here (1987).
lenal
Very nice, lenal ...
There are some real good pictures in there of the birds using their wings ...
It is good for the practice of t'ai chi to be able to see the wings so up close ...
"White crane spreads wings, about to fly" ....
And so ....
Lenal, those pics were just stunning! Many were frame-worthy.
Well, it was kind of a wild night out there last night .....
Wind and rain ....
A little snow overnight ...
Had some real loud claps of thunder yesterday afternoon ....
A lot of power is out around the area ...
Cooled off quite a bit ...
Down in the 20's now ....
Supposed to stay cold for a bit, I guess ....
But March can be that way, up here ...
And so ...
Wind and rain ....
A little snow overnight ...
Had some real loud claps of thunder yesterday afternoon ....
A lot of power is out around the area ...
Cooled off quite a bit ...
Down in the 20's now ....
Supposed to stay cold for a bit, I guess ....
But March can be that way, up here ...
And so ...
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Mar 9 2008, 03:41 AM)
Well, it was kind of a wild night out there last night .....
Wind and rain ....
A little snow overnight ...
Had some real loud claps of thunder yesterday afternoon ....
A lot of power is out around the area ...
Cooled off quite a bit ...
Down in the 20's now ....
Supposed to stay cold for a bit, I guess ....
But March can be that way, up here ...
And so ...
Wind and rain ....
A little snow overnight ...
Had some real loud claps of thunder yesterday afternoon ....
A lot of power is out around the area ...
Cooled off quite a bit ...
Down in the 20's now ....
Supposed to stay cold for a bit, I guess ....
But March can be that way, up here ...
And so ...
What comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb?
A lion dressed in lambs clothing.
And if he had a good enough tailor ...
Why ...
You could never tell ...
And so ...
Windy out there today ....
A cold dry wind ...
A big wind came through about 8:00 P.M. last night and snapped off a big maple like a matchstick ....
So that will go into the firewood pile for next year ....
And so ...
Nature provides ....
And so ....
Why ...
You could never tell ...
And so ...
Windy out there today ....
A cold dry wind ...
A big wind came through about 8:00 P.M. last night and snapped off a big maple like a matchstick ....
So that will go into the firewood pile for next year ....
And so ...
Nature provides ....
And so ....
A.B...I hope Carolyn is doing better. Know that my thoughts are with you both. You've had some horrendous weather in Ohio. Spring is on the way....but, in name only, I think! The image of a lion well tailored in a lamb's suit...very clever, Jeff and Liv! True,too.
Lenal...the photos are beautiful. What a treat it must be for you to see these gorgeous birds in your backyard.
Talented photographer!Snuff...where will you be in PA when you volunteer for the Obama campaign? I imagine around Philly? Soon, an Obama office will be opening near my home. My first volunteer activity will be at our local St. Patrick's Day parade this week-end although others have been phone-banking for Wyoming and MS. After the MS election on Tuesday, I'm know there will be lots of activity in preparation for our primary on April 22.
Wonders never cease...my husband has changed his voter registration from Rep to Dem so that he can vote for Obama in the primary. Astounding, really! Today I received a phone call from the Hillary campaign asking if I would like to attend a gathering tomorrow at a high school in Scranton where Hillary will be speaking(her father was from Scranton). I respectfully declined the invite. We all will be inundated with calls from both candidates until the primary is over.
A.B.s Corner...just need a few more chairs ...
That cozy corner on the patio is a nice addition to Mr. A.B.'s Place, amy, especially with the warm weather beckoning ...
That's the kind of place that I always gravitate to ....
Especially when it is quiet ...
It's chilly up here this morning, but the wind has gone wherever the wind goes when it is not here ....
So that is something, anyway ....
It's supposed to be warming back up the next couple of days ....
Just to the north of me the other day, they got a half-inch of ice ....
There are still people without power up that way, and the report is that they won't get it back till tomarrow ...
Location is everything up this way when the storms of winter come prowling ....
A few miles one way or the other means rain vs. freezing rain ....
Or inches of snow vs. feet ....
And so ...
That's the kind of place that I always gravitate to ....
Especially when it is quiet ...
It's chilly up here this morning, but the wind has gone wherever the wind goes when it is not here ....
So that is something, anyway ....
It's supposed to be warming back up the next couple of days ....
Just to the north of me the other day, they got a half-inch of ice ....
There are still people without power up that way, and the report is that they won't get it back till tomarrow ...
Location is everything up this way when the storms of winter come prowling ....
A few miles one way or the other means rain vs. freezing rain ....
Or inches of snow vs. feet ....
And so ...
QUOTE(amy @ Mar 10 2008, 02:39 AM)
Snuff...where will you be in PA when you volunteer for the Obama campaign? I imagine around Philly? Soon, an Obama office will be opening near my home. My first volunteer activity will be at our local St. Patrick's Day parade this week-end although others have been phone-banking for Wyoming and MS. After the MS election on Tuesday, I'm know there will be lots of activity in preparation for our primary on April 22.
HI Amy
Don't know where in Pa I will be assigned. I await instructions from the campaign. In the meantime, have been doing phone banking, today in Mississippi. That has actually been a very interesting experience. As for Pa., I think the process goes something like this: The Pa. State head requests volunteers from the national offices to come to the state to canvas. They will coordinate buses from various places to take people there or one can drive. They also provide you with a list of hotels/motels that you can stay in once you get to your respective place. The campaign will decide which city they want to send you to. They offer you the opportunity to designate the days you would be available to go. Tasks include everything from door to door canvassing, telephone banking etc. They will also need volunteers on election day at the polling places. I will likely be up there the weekend before the election. I have been impressed at how well they have organized grass roots assistance. Their on the ground operation is amazing. I may be the only old hag on the bus. But that's OK.
Good morning, Snuf ...
Well ...
A chilly morning out there to start the day ...
Down in the high teens ...
But it is supposed to be heading up into the 40's, with sunshine ...
So it should be a nice day out there ...
And so ...
A chilly morning out there to start the day ...
Down in the high teens ...
But it is supposed to be heading up into the 40's, with sunshine ...
So it should be a nice day out there ...
And so ...
QUOTE(amy @ Mar 10 2008, 02:39 AM)
Snuff...where will you be in PA when you volunteer for the Obama campaign?
Just got an email from them. I will be doing voter registration there next week. This also cuts into my time with my son who will be home for Spring Break so I have to plan the days with him first.
Hi All, Liv too, especially Liv
I'm still reeling from the Spitzer news. I have been asking myself what is it about prosecutorial jobs that lend themselves to flings, divorce, escapades etc. Spitzer isn't the first. He does it with a call girl ring. Guiliania got divorced and married three times. And there are others. What a sad state of affairs. And Im tired of the politicians dragging their wives up to the podium to stand by their sides as they all regurgitate the same verbiage, and wonder if these women really have a choice but to grin and bear it.
Its sunny and a tad warmer here today, but still on the chilly side. Could be worse. Could be freezing rain. Could be snow. I haven't recovered the from the change to day light savings and my clock is still thrown off. Hopefully I'll adjust soon. Keep the faith.
The Snuff
I'm still reeling from the Spitzer news. I have been asking myself what is it about prosecutorial jobs that lend themselves to flings, divorce, escapades etc. Spitzer isn't the first. He does it with a call girl ring. Guiliania got divorced and married three times. And there are others. What a sad state of affairs. And Im tired of the politicians dragging their wives up to the podium to stand by their sides as they all regurgitate the same verbiage, and wonder if these women really have a choice but to grin and bear it.
Its sunny and a tad warmer here today, but still on the chilly side. Could be worse. Could be freezing rain. Could be snow. I haven't recovered the from the change to day light savings and my clock is still thrown off. Hopefully I'll adjust soon. Keep the faith.
The Snuff
QUOTE(amy @ Mar 9 2008, 07:39 PM)
A.B...I hope Carolyn is doing better. Know that my thoughts are with you both. You've had some horrendous weather in Ohio. Spring is on the way....but, in name only, I think! The image of a lion well tailored in a lamb's suit...very clever, Jeff and Liv! True,too.
Good News !!
As I type this, Carolyn is resting or snoozing in the living room recliner. I brought her home from the hospital yesterday. She has been there since February 6. The road ahead is still not perfectly smooth but we have great optimism and faith in God that we will have many good years together.
Thanks to all who have shared the past tough times with me. Your thoughts and words have been a big help to me.
Snuff, Your involvement in the Obama campaign should be very interesting. Good luck!
A.B.
GREAT NEWS, MR. A.B. ......
And so ...
And so ...
Spitzer is an individual for whom no one really feels any pity ....
He is a vicious individual ....
And people see this as a form of divine retribution for Spitzer's HUBRIS ...
Spitzer is a political ICARUS who believed in his mind that he could fly right through the sun .....
And it would have to get out of his way when he did ....
And like the other one .....
Spitzer's wings were only held together with wax ....
And so ....
He should resign ....
For the good of the state .....
And so ....
He is a vicious individual ....
And people see this as a form of divine retribution for Spitzer's HUBRIS ...
Spitzer is a political ICARUS who believed in his mind that he could fly right through the sun .....
And it would have to get out of his way when he did ....
And like the other one .....
Spitzer's wings were only held together with wax ....
And so ....
He should resign ....
For the good of the state .....
And so ....
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Mar 11 2008, 02:55 PM)
Spitzer is an individual for whom no one really feels any pity ....
He is a vicious individual ....
And people see this as a form of divine retribution for Spitzer's HUBRIS ...
Spitzer is a political ICARUS who believed in his mind that he could fly right through the sun .....
And it would have to get out of his way when he did ....
And like the other one .....
Spitzer's wings were only held together with wax ....
And so ....
He should resign ....
For the good of the state .....
And so ....
He is a vicious individual ....
And people see this as a form of divine retribution for Spitzer's HUBRIS ...
Spitzer is a political ICARUS who believed in his mind that he could fly right through the sun .....
And it would have to get out of his way when he did ....
And like the other one .....
Spitzer's wings were only held together with wax ....
And so ....
He should resign ....
For the good of the state .....
And so ....
Sigh.
When will this country separate the public lives of elected officials from the private.
How many years did we lose looking for Monica's blue dress when we could have been taking care of public business?
I don't care if Spitzer was a mean SOB.
Or an angel.
He was elected GOVERNOR, and unless he screwed the State of New York, I really don't care who he screwed personally.
QUOTE(Abu Beacon @ Mar 11 2008, 02:33 PM)
Good News !!
As I type this, Carolyn is resting or snoozing in the living room recliner. I brought her home from the hospital yesterday. She has been there since February 6. The road ahead is still not perfectly smooth but we have great optimism and faith in God that we will have many good years together.
Thanks to all who have shared the past tough times with me. Your thoughts and words have been a big help to me.
Snuff, Your involvement in the Obama campaign should be very interesting. Good luck!
A.B.
As I type this, Carolyn is resting or snoozing in the living room recliner. I brought her home from the hospital yesterday. She has been there since February 6. The road ahead is still not perfectly smooth but we have great optimism and faith in God that we will have many good years together.
Thanks to all who have shared the past tough times with me. Your thoughts and words have been a big help to me.
Snuff, Your involvement in the Obama campaign should be very interesting. Good luck!
A.B.
Thank goodness, Mr A.B.
And my prayers to Carolyn for a speedy and full recovery.
And how lucky you are to have her back at home.
The news is good.
QUOTE(Abu Beacon @ Mar 11 2008, 05:33 PM)
Good News !!
As I type this, Carolyn is resting or snoozing in the living room recliner. I brought her home from the hospital yesterday. She has been there since February 6. The road ahead is still not perfectly smooth but we have great optimism and faith in God that we will have many good years together.
A.B.
As I type this, Carolyn is resting or snoozing in the living room recliner. I brought her home from the hospital yesterday. She has been there since February 6. The road ahead is still not perfectly smooth but we have great optimism and faith in God that we will have many good years together.
A.B.
This is very good news, A.B.
I bet Carolyn is enjoying that recliner and the quiet of home after being in the hospital for so many weeks....and she's back home with you...just great!
Do you get to see Beacon at all? He must miss you and Carolyn although I'm sure he's being spoiled rotten.
Congratulations to you and Carolyn for this reprieve, AG. I hope that you both enjoy every new morning!
Spitzer's DUTY as NYS governor, jeffmoskin, BY OUR NYS CONSTITUTION, which is not subject to being voted on or vetoed or altered or amended by people in other states of the union ...
Was to "TAKE CARE THAT THE LAWS ARE FAITHFULLY EXECUTED" ....
Prostitution, for good or bad, is AGAINST THE LAW ...
By dealing with this illegal prostitution as he was, Spitzer was PROTECTING the breaking of the law ....
HE WAS NOT TAKING CARE THAT THE LAW WAS FAITHFULLY EXECUTED ...
HE WAS TAKING CARE TO BREAK THE LAW, HIMSELF, AND TO PROVIDE HIS PROTECTION TO THOSE WHO LIKEWISE WERE ALSO BREAKING THE LAW ...
He went against all the honest folks in New York State when he made that choice ....
And anyway, the LOSER is supposed to be resigning here today ...
So that will be the end of his political career here, anyway ....
Some of the wags in the know say that he is going to move to California to run for governor as a DEMOCRAT out there, and they say that he will be welcomed in with open arms ....
And California will then make him president ....
And so ....
Get the TRASH out of NY, and I don't care where he goes ...
And when he gets out there to California, jeffmoskin, THEN your values will prevail ...
STATE'S RIGHTS, after all ...
And I can live with that ...
And so ...
Was to "TAKE CARE THAT THE LAWS ARE FAITHFULLY EXECUTED" ....
Prostitution, for good or bad, is AGAINST THE LAW ...
By dealing with this illegal prostitution as he was, Spitzer was PROTECTING the breaking of the law ....
HE WAS NOT TAKING CARE THAT THE LAW WAS FAITHFULLY EXECUTED ...
HE WAS TAKING CARE TO BREAK THE LAW, HIMSELF, AND TO PROVIDE HIS PROTECTION TO THOSE WHO LIKEWISE WERE ALSO BREAKING THE LAW ...
He went against all the honest folks in New York State when he made that choice ....
And anyway, the LOSER is supposed to be resigning here today ...
So that will be the end of his political career here, anyway ....
Some of the wags in the know say that he is going to move to California to run for governor as a DEMOCRAT out there, and they say that he will be welcomed in with open arms ....
And California will then make him president ....
And so ....
Get the TRASH out of NY, and I don't care where he goes ...
And when he gets out there to California, jeffmoskin, THEN your values will prevail ...
STATE'S RIGHTS, after all ...
And I can live with that ...
And so ...
YOU BETTER WATCH OUT, AH-nold ....
CLIENT 9 THE DEMOCRAT from New York is coming out there to take the governor's office away from you ....
By the WILL of the people of California ...
And so ...
CLIENT 9 THE DEMOCRAT from New York is coming out there to take the governor's office away from you ....
By the WILL of the people of California ...
And so ...
QUOTE(jeffmoskin @ Mar 11 2008, 06:27 PM)
Sigh.
When will this country separate the public lives of elected officials from the private.
How many years did we lose looking for Monica's blue dress when we could have been taking care of public business?
I don't care if Spitzer was a mean SOB.
Or an angel.
He was elected GOVERNOR, and unless he screwed the State of New York, I really don't care who he screwed personally.
When will this country separate the public lives of elected officials from the private.
How many years did we lose looking for Monica's blue dress when we could have been taking care of public business?
I don't care if Spitzer was a mean SOB.
Or an angel.
He was elected GOVERNOR, and unless he screwed the State of New York, I really don't care who he screwed personally.
Read it and weep, jeffmoskin ...
HUBRIS!
Don't leave home with it ...
At least here in NYS ...
And so ...
"Spitzer tripped up on laws he enforced"
By SAMANTHA GROSS and DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press
Last updated: 6:23 p.m., Tuesday, March 11, 2008
NEW YORK -- Eliot Spitzer knew how to catch bad guys by following the money.
As attorney general, he once broke up a call-girl ring and locked up 18 people on corruption, money-laundering and prostitution charges.
He ruthlessly investigated the pay packages of Wall Street executives and was so familiar with shady financial maneuvers that he rose to become the top racketeering prosecutor in Manhattan.
But in the end, it appears that Spitzer may have been done in by the same behavior he built a career out of prosecuting.
In fact, it seems he was tripped up by some of the very financial accounting methods he used so successfully against multibillion-dollar Wall Street firms.
http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/for...mp;#entry811581
Liv....I guess your "guv" has created a bit of a problem for himself. 
~"Here's what happened, it was one of those sting deals. And they caught Eliot Spitzer, Gov. Spitzer, with a wire, recording him soliciting a prostitute. And I'm thinking, 'Holy cow, we can't get Bin Laden, but we got Spitzer. We got Sptizer.'" --David Letterman
~"The big new scandal breaking here in New York, Eliot Spitzer apparently involved in some kind of prostitution activities -- you know what that means?: Hookers. And right now, Spitzer is huddling with his advisers to develop a drinking problem." --David Letterman
~"According to the FBI wiretap, they had the transcript, Gov. Spitzer was listed as Client No.9. No. 9? He's the governor, who were the eight guys in front of him? You'd think as governor, you'd at least get to go first." --Jay Leno
~"Here's what happened, it was one of those sting deals. And they caught Eliot Spitzer, Gov. Spitzer, with a wire, recording him soliciting a prostitute. And I'm thinking, 'Holy cow, we can't get Bin Laden, but we got Spitzer. We got Sptizer.'" --David Letterman
~"The big new scandal breaking here in New York, Eliot Spitzer apparently involved in some kind of prostitution activities -- you know what that means?: Hookers. And right now, Spitzer is huddling with his advisers to develop a drinking problem." --David Letterman
~"According to the FBI wiretap, they had the transcript, Gov. Spitzer was listed as Client No.9. No. 9? He's the governor, who were the eight guys in front of him? You'd think as governor, you'd at least get to go first." --Jay Leno
I know that prostitution is illegal (dumb law, IMHO) and that if you cross state lines you violate the Mann Act (passed in the 1900s to ban white slavery).
I also know that Spitzer was a pit bull against the barons of Wall $treet who make millions making deals shipping jobs to China.
Is it possible he was set up?
Who will chew Wall $treet's butt now? Patterson? I don't think so.
I also know that Spitzer was a pit bull against the barons of Wall $treet who make millions making deals shipping jobs to China.
Is it possible he was set up?
Who will chew Wall $treet's butt now? Patterson? I don't think so.
Spitzer was DIRTY, jeffmoskin ...
He was THE MAFIA ...
He wasn't cleaning up Wall Street ....
He was taking control of Wall Street ...
Him and his THUG "DEPUTY SHERIFFS" ...
He was ICARUS ....
He thought he could fly to the sun ...
And DARWINISM caught up with him ...
And now, he is gone ...
And I personally am glad of that, as a citizen and resident of this state ...
And so ...
I am personally amazed at the power of PROPAGANDA ....
How this Spitzer was able to pull the wool over the eyes of so many intelligent people who could not perceive that he was nothing but a THUG ...
TIME Magazine has him down as their CRUSADER OF THE YEAR ....
Let's see them live that down ...
And so ...
He was THE MAFIA ...
He wasn't cleaning up Wall Street ....
He was taking control of Wall Street ...
Him and his THUG "DEPUTY SHERIFFS" ...
He was ICARUS ....
He thought he could fly to the sun ...
And DARWINISM caught up with him ...
And now, he is gone ...
And I personally am glad of that, as a citizen and resident of this state ...
And so ...
I am personally amazed at the power of PROPAGANDA ....
How this Spitzer was able to pull the wool over the eyes of so many intelligent people who could not perceive that he was nothing but a THUG ...
TIME Magazine has him down as their CRUSADER OF THE YEAR ....
Let's see them live that down ...
And so ...
QUOTE(amy @ Mar 12 2008, 07:51 AM)
QUOTE(jeffmoskin @ Mar 12 2008, 11:36 AM)
Is it possible he was set up?
I don't think so, jeffmoskin ...
Take a look at his face right above here ...
Does he look like somone indignant at being set up and falsely accused?
Or does he look like someone who was caught with his pants down in a fancy cat house?
ARROGANCE and HUBRIS caught CLIENT 9 Spitzer ....
And if he was set up, he did it to himself ....
By being an ARROGANT, CONCEITED FOOL ...
And so ...
"Spitzer tripped up on laws he enforced"
By SAMANTHA GROSS and DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press
Last updated: 6:23 p.m., Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Banks are required to file Suspicious Activity Reports to the government whenever they observe something they fear may be a crime.
In court papers, Client 9 -- identified by another law enforcement official as Spitzer -- hurried to get more than $4,000 in cash to pay a call girl at a Washington hotel.
That kind of activity, repeated over time, is just the kind of thing that would set off alarm bells with a bank's compliance officer, who is trained to be on the lookout for what is called structuring or "smurfing" -- a pattern of transactions aimed at hiding the nature or purpose of certain money.
Spitzer of all people should have known that, said Miami-based lawyer Gregory Baldwin, credited with coining the term "smurfing" in the 1980s as a federal prosecutor.
"I think he's done enough cases where he's charged money laundering that he would know exactly what kind of information you get from the banks."
"It's such a perfect example of what goes around, comes around," he said.
Whether Spitzer thought he was smarter than the feds because of his own professional experience is, for now at least, a matter for psychologists to speculate on.
A person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press that the probe began with a referral from banks to an Internal Revenue Service office on Long Island about suspicious transactions involving accounts ultimately traced to Spitzer.
The IRS studied the records and then referred the case to federal prosecutors in October.
It was then assigned to the public corruption unit of the federal prosecutor's office in Manhattan.
Although the public sometimes thinks it requires a transfer of $10,000 or more to attract attention, banks can label transactions suspicious even if they involve far less money, said Walter Pagano, a former IRS agent who has testified in court on white-collar crime.
Spitzer might have tried to keep his transfers below the $10,000 threshold, underestimating the scrutiny that banks give to lesser amounts.
"The whole situation is marked by irony, hypocrisy and self-righteousness."
"And the other irony of it is that you've made a career off of a wiretap, and your demise is by the same prosecutorial tool."
end quotes
Spitzer is a PUTZ, jeffmoskin ...
That's probably the best and most charitable thing that you can really say about him ....
And the look he left on his wife's face in that picture speaks volumes about the man's lack of character and values ....
And so ...
QUOTE(amy @ Mar 12 2008, 07:51 AM)
TIME MAGAZINE CRUSADER OF THE YEAR!
Spitzer of all people should have known that, said Miami-based lawyer Gregory Baldwin, credited with coining the term "smurfing" in the 1980s as a federal prosecutor.
"I think he's done enough cases where he's charged money laundering that he would know exactly what kind of information you get from the banks."
"It's such a perfect example of what goes around, comes around," he said.
And so ...
Carolyn is recovering at home with AB which is wonderful news. I am licking my wounds at home from a dental implant this morning. My canines are keeping me company. Don't feel like writing much, but thought this article from Steve Clemons might add to the commentary on the Spitzer Affair:
Eliot Spitzer: A Dog Bites Man Story?
The political tremors emanating from the news that Eliot Spitzer met a prostitute in Washington, DC at the Mayflower Hotel are obvious, but a friend of mine who is an expert on probability theory suggested to me that beneath the surface noise, this is really just a "dog bites man" story.
In other words, people meeting prostitutes happens regularly through our society.
He writes:
From the entry:
-- Steve Clemons
Eliot Spitzer: A Dog Bites Man Story?
The political tremors emanating from the news that Eliot Spitzer met a prostitute in Washington, DC at the Mayflower Hotel are obvious, but a friend of mine who is an expert on probability theory suggested to me that beneath the surface noise, this is really just a "dog bites man" story.
In other words, people meeting prostitutes happens regularly through our society.
He writes:
My instinct when the Spitzer news broke was that "married man visits prostitute" is a bit like "dog bites man". Happens all the time. I did a little research to back that up. From studies it is estimated that there are 23 FTEP's (full time equivalent prostitutes) per 100,000 population seeing roughly 2.4 customers per day. With a population of 300 million that makes for 165,000 prostitute visits per day.A source for prostitution's prevalance is available via wikipedia and its excellent roster of notes -- particularly the entry under "occurrence".
As to what percentage of those are by married men, I'd say 25% might be a conservative guess, so let's say 40,000 married men visit prostitutes per day. That number could be off, but I'm sure it's order of magnitude correct.
From the entry:
According to the paper "Estimating the prevalence and career longevity of prostitute women" (Potterat et al., 1990), the number of full-time equivalent prostitutes in a typical area in the United States (Colorado Springs, CO, during 1970-1988) is estimated at 23 per 100,000 population (0.023%), of which fraction some 4% were under 18. The length of these prostitutes' working careers was estimated at a mean of 5 years. A follow-up paper entitled "Prostitution and the sex discrepancy in reported number of sexual partners" (Brewer et al., 2000) goes on to estimate a mean number of 868 male sexual partners per prostitute per year of active sex work, and offers the conclusion that men's self-reporting of prostitutes as sexual partners is seriously under-reported. A 1994 study found that 16 percent of 18 to 59-year-old men in a U.S. survey group had paid for sex (Gagnon, Laumann, and Kolata 1994).I don't think that this will really help check the political drama around Spitzer -- but I think it's useful context.
A number of reports over the last few decades have suggested that prostitution levels have fallen in sexually liberal countries, most likely because of the increased availability of non-commercial, non-marital sex.[20]
-- Steve Clemons
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Mar 12 2008, 12:41 PM)
I don't think so, jeffmoskin ...
Take a look at his face right above here ...
Does he look like somone indignant at being set up and falsely accused?
Or does he look like someone who was caught with his pants down in a fancy cat house?
ARROGANCE and HUBRIS caught CLIENT 9 Spitzer ....
And if he was set up, he did it to himself ....
By being an ARROGANT, CONCEITED FOOL ...
And so ...
Take a look at his face right above here ...
Does he look like somone indignant at being set up and falsely accused?
Or does he look like someone who was caught with his pants down in a fancy cat house?
ARROGANCE and HUBRIS caught CLIENT 9 Spitzer ....
And if he was set up, he did it to himself ....
By being an ARROGANT, CONCEITED FOOL ...
And so ...
The man has been caught in his own web of hubris.
Cannot be denied.
The great moralist, caught with his pants down.
But...
he was a pit bull against the greedy Wall $treet bastards.
Who will step up to the plate now???
QUOTE(jeffmoskin @ Mar 12 2008, 07:36 PM)
But...
he was a pit bull against the greedy Wall $treet bastards.
Who will step up to the plate now???
he was a pit bull against the greedy Wall $treet bastards.
Who will step up to the plate now???
Somebody ...
Or maybe nobody, jeffmoskin ...
Or maybe Darwinism ...
Or maybe God will step in and intervene ...
"GET OUT OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH, DO NOT LOOK BACK!"
Or the fall of Babylon ...
Whichever, it seems that FATE or HUBRIS is catching up with not only Eliot Spitzer, but also Wall Street and its TYCOONS and such ...
Sew the seeds of EXCESSIVE GREED, after all, and eventually a crop of thorns will arise where the seeds fell ...
HUMAN HISTORY, jeffmoskin ...
The DRAMA of human life ....
The Greeks had it in spades, it seems ...
But then, a careful reading of history shows that all civilizations have the same thing to some degree or other ...
Look to the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius for confirmation of that ....
Or the Bible ....
And jeffmoskin ....
You are from New York, meaning the city ....
You surely must know the history of NYS and Wall Street and ROBBER BARONS, such as Jay Gould ...
That is back around the end of the 1800's and the beginnings of the 1900's ...
And the CRAP is really still the same, especially today ....
And Eliot Spitzer wasn't trying to end the CRAP, jeffmoskin ...
He was trying to take it all over and become its BOSS OF BOSSES ...
Like a lion tamer in a cage of submissive lions made so by a liberal dosing of the lion tamer's whip ....
And this all takes us right on back to our earliest conversations in CGCS, jeffmoskin ...
About the "meaning" of life, and moral compasses and belief systems, etc ...
"Many are called, few are chosen" ...
"Leave the dead to bury the dead" ...
Or just simple Pinnochio and the kids who run off with Jimmy Lampwick and get turned into donkeys for the mines ....
And so ...
QUOTE(Snuffysmith @ Mar 12 2008, 05:17 PM)
I don't think that this will really help check the political drama around Spitzer -- but I think it's useful context.
-- Steve Clemons
-- Steve Clemons
Snuf, with all due respect to this person Steve Clemons ...
He is WAY WIDE of the mark here ....
This has nothing to do with whether or not prostitution is a good thing, or a bad thing, or new, or ancient, which it most certainly is, from a reading of history ...
The rebel Jesus in the Bible in one case stepped in to prevent the stoning to death of a woman thought to be a prostitute ...
"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone ..."
And that was some 2,000 years ago, now ...
In many civilizations, past or present, prostitution is a fact of life, and is not necessarily illegal or unlawful ...
BUT ...
That has nothing to do with what happened here ...
And the efforts of this Steve Clemeons to trivialize Spitzer's behavior are in fact ludicrous ....
Spitzer was not JOE CITIZEN, here ....
He was the elected governor of the State of New York ...
BY OUR CONSTITUTION, which is not subject to being voted on or nullified by citizens of other states of this union, when he swore his oath of office here in NYS, Spitzer swore to uphold the NYS Constitution ...
Which made it his duty to US, the CITIZENS of this state, to take care that the laws of NYS were faithfully executed ....
And there is where he failed, and miserably so ....
Here, in America, Snuf, for good or bad, LIBERTY is defined as:
Freedom from all restraints EXCEPT such as are justly imposed by law.
- Black's Law Dictionary
Now, there is where my disagreement with your Steve Clemons would stem from in this specific case ...
Whether or not it should be, and that is a moral judgment, prostitution is and remains illegal in NYS and America ...
Now, your Steve Clemons can make all the arguments that he wishes to the effect that laws against prostitution in NYS or America are not in fact "JUSTLY IMPOSED BY LAW" ...
BUT ...
I myself am of the mind that once a law is made law, then until revoked or repealed or deemed unconstitutional, it is law ...
Whether or not it was "justly imposed" in my personal opinion does not alone serve to negate it ...
AND AS NYS GOVERNOR, Eliot Spitzer did not have the unilateral authority, jurisdiction or discretion to "decriminalize" prostitution so that HE could then participate in it, to the ruin of his family ...
Your Steve Clemons, on the other hand, seems to have a feel that a bunch of people can merely get together and decide that they don't like this or that law, such as the laws against prostitution, and thusly negate the law as if it did not exist ...
WITHOUT HAVING TO GO THROUGH THE DUE PROCESS OF HAVING THE LAW CHANGED OR NULLIFED IN COURT OR REPEALED ...
Which I believe is part of what led Spitzer to his ruin here in NYS, starting right at DAY ONE ...
When he tried to become a CAUDILLO ...
Instead of assuming the constitutional duties of a governor of the State of New York ...
And so ....
Perhaps you would do me the favor of forwarding my feelings on this matter to this gentleman for his consideration as to how a citizen of the State of New York looks at this matter ....
And tell him that if he does not like our laws up here, that he should then move here, and become a citizen himself, and then he can take lawful measures to have these laws changed, or removed from the books ...
But in the meantime ...
Well ..
And so ...
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Mar 13 2008, 07:57 AM)
Or maybe Darwinism ...
Or maybe God will step in and intervene ...
Or maybe God will step in and intervene ...
Good Morning! 
Speaking of God......
~So Rene Descartes is seated at the bar.
The bartender asks "can I get you a drink?"
Descartes says, "I think not." So now there's no Descartes!
(The moral nonsense: "Don't ya put Descartes before divorce")
~One day the zoo-keeper noticed that the orangutan was reading two books - the Bible and Darwin's Origin of Species.
Surprised, he asked the ape, "Why are you reading both those books?"
"Well," said the orangutan, "I just wanted to know if I was my brother's keeper or my keeper's brother."
~Over the massive front doors of a church, these words were inscribed, "The Gate of Heaven." Below that was a small cardboard sign which read, "Please use other entrance."
~Rev. Warren J. Keating, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Yuma, AZ, says that the best prayer he ever heard was, "Lord, please make me the kind of person my dog thinks I am."
~A woman went to the post office to buy religious stamps for her Christmas cards.
"What denomination?" asked the postal clerk.
"Oh, good heavens! Has it come to this?" said the woman. "Well, give me 50 Baptist and 50 Catholic ones."
~A woman was at the beach with her children when her four-year-old son ran up to her, grabbed her hand, and led her to the shore, where a sea gull lay dead in the sand.
"Mommy, what happened to him?" the son asked.
"He died and went to heaven," the mother replied.
Her son thought a moment and then said, "And God threw him back down?"
~After the church service a little boy told the pastor, "When I grow up, I'm going to give you some money."
"Well, thank you," the pastor replied, "but why?"
"Because my daddy says you're one of the poorest preachers we've ever had."
~When some people came to dinner, the hostess turned to her six year old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?"
"I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied.
"Just say what you hear Mommy say," her mom answered.
The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"
~One beautiful Sunday morning, a priest announced to his congregation: "My good people, I have here in my hands three sermons...a $100 sermon that lasts five minutes, a $50 sermon that lasts fifteen minutes, and a $10 sermon that lasts a full hour. "Now, we'll take the collection and see which one I'll deliver."
~A local priest and a pastor were fishing on the side of the road. They thoughtfully made a sign saying, "The End is Near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!" and showed it to each passing car.
One driver who drove by didn't appreciate the sign and shouted at them, "Leave us alone, you religious nuts!"
All of a sudden they heard a big splash, looked at each other, and the priest said to the pastor, "You think maybe we should have just said 'Bridge Out' instead?"
QUOTE(jeffmoskin @ Mar 11 2008, 06:27 PM)
Sigh.
When will this country separate the public lives of elected officials from the private.
How many years did we lose looking for Monica's blue dress when we could have been taking care of public business?
I don't care if Spitzer was a mean SOB.
Or an angel.
He was elected GOVERNOR, and unless he screwed the State of New York, I really don't care who he screwed personally.
When will this country separate the public lives of elected officials from the private.
How many years did we lose looking for Monica's blue dress when we could have been taking care of public business?
I don't care if Spitzer was a mean SOB.
Or an angel.
He was elected GOVERNOR, and unless he screwed the State of New York, I really don't care who he screwed personally.
Can't help agreeing with every word from Jeffmo. Although I feel this is retribution at its best, it still seems to me to be a tempest in a teapot. ( to quote one of our past presidents, Warren G. Harding, I believe. )
Wish all the self righteous would look over their own lives before condemning the fallen. ( Screwing the public is a whole different thing., )
I do feel sorry for all the wives of politicians who are caught up in these types of embarrassments.
A.B.
QUOTE(Abu Beacon @ Mar 13 2008, 06:52 AM)
Can't help agreeing with every word from Jeffmo. Although I feel this is retribution at its best, it still seems to me to be a tempest in a teapot. ( to quote one of our past presidents, Warren G. Harding, I believe. )
Wish all the self righteous would look over their own lives before condemning the fallen. ( Screwing the public is a whole different thing., )
I do feel sorry for all the wives of politicians who are caught up in these types of embarrassments.
A.B.
Wish all the self righteous would look over their own lives before condemning the fallen. ( Screwing the public is a whole different thing., )
I do feel sorry for all the wives of politicians who are caught up in these types of embarrassments.
A.B.
To support what you wrote, Mr. A.B., - this from the Letter to the Editor page on NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/opinion/...tml?ref=opinion
"To the Editor:
Re “The Myth of the Victimless Crime,” by Melissa Farley and Victor Malarek (Op-Ed, March 12):
In the various political roundtables this week, everyone seemed to agree, at least, on the “victimless crime” argument. I am shocked that the thoughtful, intelligent people (mostly men) on these shows are so comfortable with the idea that a woman would choose to have sex for money.
Do these people know any women? Can they really believe that this is a choice?
We have programs in place to reach out to people who “choose” to use drugs or “choose” to live on the streets, so why do we view prostitution, high-priced though it may be, as just another comfortable, middle-class career choice?
Yes, Eliot Spitzer’s prostitute probably drank fine wine. That doesn’t change the fact that she engaged in a psychologically damaging transaction every day.
I applaud Melissa Farley and Victor Malarek for calling our attention to the one neglected and yet terribly important issue of the Spitzer scandal.
Kathleen Reeves
New York, March 12, 2008
And yet, in "Old Europe" to use a Rumsfelianism, when Francois Mitterand died, present at the funeral were his wife, and his long-time mistress. And the hang-dog look on their faces were because he had died, not because he was "unfaithful."
We are different cultures, America and Europe.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Mar 13 2008, 06:21 AM)
..."
ow ...
In many civilizations, past or present, prostitution is a fact of life, and is not necessarily illegal or unlawful ...
BUT ...
That has nothing to do with what happened here ...
BY OUR CONSTITUTION, which is not subject to being voted on or nullified by citizens of other states of this union, when he swore his oath of office here in NYS, Spitzer swore to uphold the NYS Constitution ...
Which made it his duty to US, the CITIZENS of this state, to take care that the laws of NYS were faithfully executed ....
BUT ...
I myself am of the mind that once a law is made law, then until revoked or repealed or deemed unconstitutional, it is law ...
Whether or not it was "justly imposed" in my personal opinion does not alone serve to negate it ...
AND AS NYS GOVERNOR, Eliot Spitzer did not have the unilateral authority, jurisdiction or discretion to "decriminalize" prostitution so that HE could then participate in it, to the ruin of his family ...
WITHOUT HAVING TO GO THROUGH THE DUE PROCESS OF HAVING THE LAW CHANGED OR NULLIFED IN COURT OR REPEALED ...
Which I believe is part of what led Spitzer to his ruin here in NYS, starting right at DAY ONE ...
ow ...
In many civilizations, past or present, prostitution is a fact of life, and is not necessarily illegal or unlawful ...
BUT ...
That has nothing to do with what happened here ...
BY OUR CONSTITUTION, which is not subject to being voted on or nullified by citizens of other states of this union, when he swore his oath of office here in NYS, Spitzer swore to uphold the NYS Constitution ...
Which made it his duty to US, the CITIZENS of this state, to take care that the laws of NYS were faithfully executed ....
BUT ...
I myself am of the mind that once a law is made law, then until revoked or repealed or deemed unconstitutional, it is law ...
Whether or not it was "justly imposed" in my personal opinion does not alone serve to negate it ...
AND AS NYS GOVERNOR, Eliot Spitzer did not have the unilateral authority, jurisdiction or discretion to "decriminalize" prostitution so that HE could then participate in it, to the ruin of his family ...
WITHOUT HAVING TO GO THROUGH THE DUE PROCESS OF HAVING THE LAW CHANGED OR NULLIFED IN COURT OR REPEALED ...
Which I believe is part of what led Spitzer to his ruin here in NYS, starting right at DAY ONE ...
Reading through your post, Livyjr, I can easily understand your outrage because you are viewing this indiscretion of Eliot Spitzer as a legal issue rather than a moral issue. Actually it can be classified as both. I have a feeling that many if not most people, feel that prostitution should not be illegal mainly because it is unenforceable just as prohibution was in the 20's. However, as you say, it is the law, like it or not, which puts Mr. Spitzer in a different category as one who enforces the law, not merely as one who should obey it. I see it, frankly, more as a situation where a person who did not control his human failings rather than one who failed to control his behavior in enforcing an unenforceable law.
A.B.
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