Summing up W

Six Words For Bush asks that you sum up the current presidency in only six words.

It's a contest that runs til Inauguration Day.

We'll have to think a bit before we submit our own entry to christinehalvorson@yahoo.com, but submit we will. All in due time, my pretty.

Don't whine that six isn't enough words for you rednecks to assemble a coherent history of W.

Just remember what Shakespeare said, "Brevity is the soul of strategery."

Source: THE BRAZOSPORT NEWS

Update: Submitted my entry, "Advisors should be advisors – not policymakers."

This seems like a good use of taxpayer dollars...

KHOU-11 reports that the City of Houston will decide whether or not to allocate $150,000 to defend Chief Hurtt's no facial hair policy:

The case centers around four Houston police officers who filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against HPD over their beards.

The officers have not been allowed to wear a uniform because of the department’s strict no facial hair policy.

Yeah, with HPD's manpower shortage, this idea was pure genius: Sideline four officers AND spend thousands of dollars!

Source: blogHouston.net

A tasty tidbit: Beef brisket is good for you

A&M scientists say corn-fed cattle yield meat that's high in healthy fat


Texas A&M University scientists Tuesday gave a big thumbs up to barbecued beef brisket, saying the mainstay of he-man Texas cuisine is loaded with the same type of healthy fat found in olive or canola oil.

The high level of monosaturated fat found in brisket — up to 50 percent — comes from feeding cattle corn in a feedlot setting, AgriLife meat scientist Stephen Smith said. The more corn a steer eats, the higher the percentage of the good fat.

Olive and canola oils contain up to 80 percent monosaturated fat.

Smith and Texas A&M graduate student Stacey Turk, who conducted the research for her master's thesis in animal science, contend the discovery bodes well for other beef products in grocers' meat counters.

Grinding brisket, or grinding parts of brisket that contain the highest concentration of fat, could provide a healthy alternative to conventional ground beef, which typically is made from cuts higher in saturated fat, Smith said.

The key to brisket's monosaturated fat seems to be the corn-fed finishing most American cattle receive in feedlots. The same breeds of cattle fed entirely on grass do not develop the health-enhancing quality, nor is all fat in cornfed beef high in monosaturated acids.

Smith and Turk said they believe the new findings will be a boon to the beef business.

But there are concerns.

With biofuel makers now in the corn market, the golden grain is costing feedlot operators a whopping $5 a bushel, Smith noted.

And hours after Texas A&M announced its study Tuesday, the Pew Charitable Trusts and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health issued a scathing report on cattle feedlots and other aspects of modern industrial farming.

Hitting where it really hurts, other studies have indicated that grilling or barbecuing animal protein can generate heterocyclic amines linked to breast and colon cancer.

But not to worry.

Smith said Wagyu, Japanese cattle that typically spend their entire lives in pastures eating grass, also build up healthy levels of monosaturated fat in marbled flesh.

Perhaps the solution is to chow down on a delectable hunk of Wagyu. Raw.

Source: Houston Chornicle - allan.turner@chron.com

Sordid Lives: The Series

Logo will premiere Sordid Lives: The Series on July 23 at 10p with twelve 30m episodes based on the 1996 play and 2000 film of the same title about a dysfunctional southern family and citizens of Winters, TX.

The television series will star Bonnie Bedelia, Beth Grant, Leslie Jordan, Rue McClanahan, Olivia Newton-John and Caroline Rhea.

Source: Ellegedly.com

Just Because.....

New Living Will Form

I, ____________, being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of pinhead partisan politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it, or lawyers/doctors/hospitals interested in simply running up the bills.

If a reasonable amount of time passes, and I fail to ask for at least one of the following:

______a Martini ______a Margarita _______ a Cape Cod with 2 limes
______a Bloody Mary ______a Rum drink with an umbrella
______a Steak ______Lobster or crab legs ______The remote control
______a bowl of ice cream ______The Chronicle entertainment section -or-
______Chocolate

it should be presumed that I won't ever get any better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my appointed person and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes, and call it a day. At this point, it is time to call the New Orleans Jazz Funeral Band to come do their thing at my funeral, and ask all of my friends to raise their glasses to toast the good times we have had.

Signature: _________________________________

Date: _____________________

Help me pick my daughter's senior Pics

Please take a look at the pics of my daughter below and let me know your favorites. We are trying to decide which ones to order.....
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On a light hearted note - - boyfriend didn't believe him - --

It's a time-worn president's trick: walk up to a congressman chatting on the phone and send your regards to the astonished person on the other end of the line, charming the listener with your regular-guy credentials.

That's what President Bush did Monday night at the State of the Union address, when he approached Newton Democrat Barney Frank, who was talking on his cell phone in the House Speaker's lobby before Bush's speech.

What Bush didn't know was that the congressman was talking to his boyfriend.

"Tell him I said, 'Hello,' '' Bush said to Frank, leaning in to pat the congressman' s shoulder. As Bush continued into the House chamber, Frank told his skeptical boyfriend that it had been the conservative Republican president sending his good wishes. Frank's boyfriend didn't believe him, so the Massachusetts lawmaker put one of the sergeants-at- arms on the phone to back up his story.

After the speech, Frank said, he felt he had to tell Bush what he had done. After all, the president opposes gay marriage, and gay rights groups do not see the president as an ally.

Frank sought out the president, who put his hand on the back of the congressman' s head to hear him more clearly in the noisy, crowded room.

"Mr. President, by the way, the person I was talking to when you said to say hello was my boyfriend,'' Frank said he told the commander-in- chief.

"Well. I hope you said how open-minded I am,'' Frank said the president replied.

"I considered telling [the president] I wouldn't marry him,'' Frank said, "but then I thought, 'Nah.' ''

Source: Susan Milligan, Boston Globe

Lest we forget - " - - Over 65,000 homosexuals were interred or murdered

"We know Jews were the primary victims of the racism experienced during this horrendous period, but homosexuals were also targeted along with Roma gypsies and disabled people.

Event to remember gay suffering
A special ceremony took place at Liverpool's St John's Gardens in memory of the thousands of homosexuals who suffered at the hands of the Nazis. It was described as an opportunity to remember all those who died.

It was part of the events to leading up to National Holocaust Memorial Day being held in the city on Sunday.

A pink wreath in the shape of a triangle, the badge that gay men were forced to wear, was laid prior to a two-minute silence.

Over 65,000 homosexuals were interred or murdered between 1934 and 1945.

The wreath was laid by representatives from the Homotopia festival, Armistead, a sexual health service for gay and bisexual men, Lambda Centre Warsaw and Merseyside Police Anti-Hate Crime Unit.

Homosexuals 'targeted'

Director of the Homotopia festival, Gary Everett, who has organised the wreath-laying event said: "The Holocaust was one of the most horrific and evil chapters in modern history.

"It is of continuing importance that we not only remember the many lives lost but always be vigilant that something of this magnitude never happens again."

Liverpool's Lord Mayor, Councillor Paul Clark, said: "Holocaust Memorial Day gives us all the opportunity to remember those groups who were persecuted during the Holocaust.

"We know Jews were the primary victims of the racism experienced during this horrendous period, but homosexuals were also targeted along with Roma gypsies and disabled people.

"All the events running up to Sunday's main commemorative event play a pivotal role in educating people of all ages about the atrocities experienced during the Holocaust and more recent genocides."

Oil Prices!!

Gore for same-sex marriage

Not sure what prompted this, but Al Gore has quietly released a video with a forceful endorsement of equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians. It pushes the Democratic establishment that much closer to a position he now shares with Eliot Spitzer and some other leading Dems, and is prompting a bit of grumbling in gay political circles that this batch of candidates aren't quite there.

"Gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women -- to make contracts, to have hospital visiting rights, to join together in marriage, and I don't understand why it is considered by some people to be a threat to heterosexual marriage," he says on the video, which appears on his Current TV network. "Shouldn't we be promoting the kind of faithfulness and loyalty to ones partner regardless of sexual orientation?"

Gore's words come after the leading presidential candidates have tiptoed up to, but not crossed, the line of support for same-sex marriage. All three support equal substantive rights for gay and lesbians couples, and they've sought to woo gay voters in other ways: Elizabeth Edwards has voiced her support for same-sex marriage, for instance, and Barack Obama recently scolded the black church for homophobia, in a speech to an African-American congregation.

(via Towleroad)

America's worst 20 fast food items

Most folks can get by quite well with eating less than 2,000 calories per day. Each of these food items pretty well gets you there.

Caramel Banana Pecan Cream Stacked and Stuffed hotcakes?

By the way, just to show that you can find almost anything on the Web, The Healthy Dining Finder can help you pick healthier choices from standard restaurant menus by eliminating high-calorie add-ons.

Source: Houston's Clear Thinkers

Myths about oil are hard to dispel

Amidst the demagoguery of a U.S. Presidential campaign, it's rare to find the mainstream media willing to run Robert Bryce's common sense on energy policy and oil prices. For example:

Myth 3: Energy independence will let America choke off the flow of money to nasty countries.
Fans of energy independence argue that if the United States stops buying foreign energy, it will deny funds to petro-states such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. But the world marketplace doesn't work like that. Oil is a global commodity. Its price is set globally, not locally. Oil buyers are always seeking the lowest-cost supplier. So any Saudi crude being loaded at the Red Sea port of Yanbu that doesn't get purchased by a refinery in Corpus Christi or Houston will instead wind up in Singapore or Shanghai.


Refer to this article whenever you are listening to the candidates from either party start talking about energy policy. Come to think of it, while considering political choices, you should also keep handy this Bryan Caplan/WaPo op-ed entitled 5 Myths About Our Ballot-Box Behavior.

Source: Houston Clear Thinkers

Want to lose weight really, really fast? Chew gum.

Here's a short new study from German scientists who found that excess intake of sorbitol, a sweetener widely used in chewing gum, could induce severe weight loss. Patients could lose, in fact, as much as 20 percent of body mass.

From a summary of the article:

The first patient (a 21 year old woman) chewed large amounts of sugar-free gum, accounting for a total daily dose of 18-20g sorbitol (one stick of chewing gum contains about 1.25g sorbitol). The second patient (a 46 year old man) reported chewing 20 sticks of sugar-free gum and eating up to 200g of sweets each day, which together contained around 30g sorbitol.

After both patients started a sorbitol free diet, diarrhoea subsided, normal bowel movements resumed and weight gain was achieved.

As possible side effects are usually found only within the small print on foods containing sorbitol, consumers may be unaware of its laxative effects and fail to recognise a link with their gastrointestinal problems, write the authors.


It's true that this information is clinically useful to physicians, but does anyone else see the great potential for abuse here by those wanting to go on crash diets?

1. Eat 20 sticks of gum
2. Get really sick
3. Lose 20 pounds
4. Fit into that wedding dress

Originally posted by SciGuy

Change

"Top Ten Least Popular Holiday TV Specials"

Well, the results are in......enjoy!

"Top Ten Least Popular Holiday TV Specials"

As submitted by viewers of Dave Letterman.

10. "Mugging On 34th Street"
- Mike M., Wonder Lake, IL

9. "Gift Wrapping With The Stars"
- TJ L., Racine, WI

8. "Donald Trump's Holiday Combovers"
- Jeffrey W., Roscoe, NY

7. "Hillary Clinton in 'Pantsuits of Christmas Past'"
- James B., Mt. Ida, AR

6. "The 75th Annual Leaving of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Out On The Curb"
- Richard F., Saint Mays, CA

5. "That's Hot: Paris Hilton Tells The Story Of The Yule Log"
- Christine N., Del Mar, CA

4. "Pamela Anderson Celebrates 'The Twelve Days of Marriage'"
- Vern P., Gainesville, VA

3. "Larry Craig's Tappin' New Year's Eve"
- Anne S., Seattle, WA

2. "Michael Vick in 'Snoopy's Last Christmas'"
- Greg F., Columbia, SC

1. "Rudolph, The Performance-Enhanced Reindeer"
- Mark L., Kansas City, MO

Wonder Dog

Life's Journey

Love is for Everyone

Click on image to view full content....

Combating the Bible's "clobber passages"

For those of you interested in combating the unfavorable Bible texts thrown your way, check out this online magazine for GLBT Christians:

http://whosoever.org/bible/

The negative or critical e-mails I've received advise me to read my Bible. Specifically, I've been urged to read at least one or all of the six passages we as GLBT Christians know as the "clobber passages". These are verses, we're told, where God condemns homosexuality in no uncertain terms.

I have read my Bible, and I've paid close attention to those "clobber passages." So have many Bible scholars. We all agree that nowhere in the Bible are same-sex committed and loving relationships condemned. It's just not there. Instead, the Bible holds much joy, comfort and love for GLBT Christians willing to wade into its pages and hear the loving voice of God.

This section of Whosoever explores the 6 "clobber passages" and several other verses used as "prooftexts" of homosexuality's condemnation...........