Cheney's Office Subpoenaed

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office Wednesday, demanding documents and elevating the confrontation with President Bush over the administration's warrant-free eavesdropping on Americans.

Separately, the Senate Judiciary Committee also is summoning Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to discuss the program and an array of other matters that have cost a half-dozen top Justice Department officials their jobs, committee chairman Patrick Leahy announced.
Leahy, D-Vt., raised questions about previous testimony by one of Bush's appeals court nominees and said he wouldn't let such matters pass.

"If there have been lies told to us, we'll refer it to the Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney for whatever legal action they think is appropriate," Leahy told reporters. He did just that Wednesday, referring questions about testimony by former White House aide Brett Kavanaugh, who now sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The escalation is part of the Democrats' effort to hold the administration to account for the way it has conducted the war on terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The subpoenas extend the probe into the private sector, demanding among other things documents on any agreements that telecommunications companies made to cooperate with the surveillance program.

The White House contends that its search for would-be terrorists is legal, necessary and effective - pointing out frequently that there have been no further attacks on American soil. Administration officials say they have given classified information - such as details about the eavesdropping program, which is now under court supervision - to the intelligence committees of both houses of Congress.

Echoing its response to previous congressional subpoenas to former administration officials Harriet Miers and Sara Taylor, the White House gave no indication that it would comply with the new ones.

"We're aware of the committee's action and will respond appropriately," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. "It's unfortunate that congressional Democrats continue to choose the route of confrontation."

In fact, the Judiciary Committee's three most senior Republicans - Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, former chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah and Chuck Grassley of Iowa - sided with Democrats on the 13-3 vote last week to give Leahy the power to issue the subpoenas. The showdown between the White House and Congress could land in federal court.

Also named in subpoenas signed by Leahy were the Justice Department and the National Security Council. The four parties - the White House, Cheney's office, the Justice Department and the National Security Council - have until July 18 to comply, Leahy said. He added that, like House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., he would consider pursuing contempt citations against those who refuse.

Gonzales, in Spokane, Wash., on Wednesday to discuss gang issues with local officials, said he had not seen the subpoena documents and could not comment on them directly. "There are competing institutional interests," Gonzales said.

The Judiciary committees have issued the subpoenas as part of a look at how much influence the White House exerts over the Justice Department and its chief, Gonzales.

The probe, in its sixth month, began with an investigation into whether administration officials ordered the firings of eight federal prosecutors for political reasons. The Judiciary committees subpoenaed Miers, one-time White House legal counsel, and Taylor, a former political director, though they have yet to testify.

Now, with senators of both parties concerned about the constitutionality of the administration's efforts to root out terrorism suspects in the United States, the committee has shifted to the broader question of Gonzales' stewardship of Justice.

The issue concerning Kavanaugh, a former White House staff secretary, is whether he misled the Senate panel during his confirmation hearing last year about how much he was involved in crafting the administration's policy on enemy combatants.

The Bush administration secretly launched the eavesdropping program, run by the National Security Agency, in 2001 to monitor international phone calls and e-mails to or from the United States involving people the government suspected of having terrorist links. The program, which the administration said did not require investigators to seek warrants before conducting surveillance, was revealed in December 2005.

After the program was challenged in court, Bush put it under the supervision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, established in 1978. The president still claims the power to order warrantless spying.

The subpoenas seek a wide array of documents from the Sept. 11 attacks to the present. Among them are any that include analysis or opinions from Justice, NSA, the Defense Department, the White House, or "any entity within the executive branch" on the legality of the electronic surveillance program.

Debate continues over whether the program violates people's civil liberties. The administration has gone to great lengths to keep it running.
Interest was raised by vivid testimony last month by former Deputy Attorney General James Comey about the extent of the White House's effort to override the Justice Department's objections to the program in 2004.

Comey told the Judiciary Committee that Gonzales, then-White House counsel, tried to persuade Attorney General John Ashcroft to reverse course and recertify the program. At the time, Ashcroft lay in intensive care, recovering form gall bladder surgery. Ashcroft refused, as did Comey, who temporarily held the power of the attorney general's office during his boss' illness.

The White House recertified the program unilaterally. Ashcroft, Comey, FBI Director Robert Mueller and their staffs prepared to resign. Bush ultimately relented and made changes the Justice officials had demanded, and the agency eventually recertified it. Fratto defended the surveillance program as "lawful" and "limited."

"It's specifically designed to be effective without infringing Americans' civil liberties," Fratto said. "The program is classified for a reason - its purpose is to track down and stop terrorist planning. We remain steadfast in our commitment to keeping Americans safe from an enemy determined to use any means possible - including the latest in technology - to attack us."

Friday Nite retro

Welcome once again to Friday Nite Retro at Left in Aboite! Tonight's version is: I'm tired as hell, so here are some funny memories from the 1970's! ;) Have a great retro laugh or two or enjoy these for the first time if you're a "youngster":

Mr.Jaws (Dickie Goodman)


Junk Food Junkie (MacKenzie Phillips on The Jackson's Show)


Disco Duck (Rick Dees)


Billy Don't be a Hero (Covered by Paper Lace)


Angie Baby (Helen Reddy)


Life is a Rock, But the Radio Rolled Me (Reunion)

PBS Presidential Forum

Tonight I watched the All American Presidential Forum on PBS at the historically black Howard University in Washington D.C. It was hosted by Tavis Smiley, T.V. and radio host.

See full story here: http://u-blog-press.blogspot.com/

Fireman survives heavy smoke inhalation

Star - Spangled banner

It is with great pride that we announce our latest JibJab featuring the US Presidents singing the Star Spangled Banner:

New Hampshire chooses Gore

A New Hampshire presidential poll by WHDH-TV and Suffolk University shows that local Democrats prefer Al Gore to any of the current contenders.

Hillary Clinton has a solid lead over the rest of the current Democratic field. The poll, released this afternoon, shows 37 percent of likely Democratic voters backing Clinton or leaning towards her. Barack Obama was at 19 percent, with both John Edwards and Bill Richardson at 9 percent.

Al Gore, however, could enter the race as the leader. When his name is added, Clinton loses more than a quarter of her support, while Gore is backed by 32 percent.

Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani lead the GOP field. The former Massachusetts governor is supported by 26 percent of likely GOP voters, with Giuliani slipping to 22 percent. John McCain and Fred Thompson are both at 13 percent, a major move backwards for McCain. Romney's support, which relies heavily on younger voters, is up 7 percent from a comparable poll in March, when he trailed Giuliani (37 percent) and McCain (27 percent).

The poll, which has a 4.4 percent margin of error, surveyed 500 likely voters from June 20 to 24.

The Verve to reunite

The Verve announced today that they are reuniting for a winter tour.

The original band of Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe,Simon Jones and Pete Sailsbury have regrouped for the first time in almost a decade. The band broke up in 1999, with the tumultuous relationship between Ashcroft and McCabe being well documented with the two exiting the band repeatedly since they began in 1993.

In a statement, the band have announced they were: "Getting back together for the joy of the music." It is believed they will take a summer break and then return to the studio to complete their next album.

A couple of my personal favorites:

"Sonnet"


"Lucky Man"


I hope Ashcroft and McCabe can get along better and make this more than a short-term reunion. . .

"Pinhead" 16-Year-Old Schools O'Reilly

Bush full of boloney, REALLY!

According to the editors of Food & Wine Magazine's blog, many famous people special order food when staying at the posh Waldorf-Astoria. A special order at this fine establishment involves the ordering of something that they actually don't stock in their kitchen. And, considering the venue in question here, you'd think that a special order would likely be something rare or extravagant.

Yet the oddest special order recorded at the hotel is by George W. Bush. He always orders (Man is this ever gonna surprise you) bologna sandwiches on white bread with mayonnaise, and Doritos on the side. Why is this a special order? Well, number one - bologna on white bread in a 5-star setting? But, actually, the special order part comes into play because Bush insists on not only white bread, but his FAVORITE white bread, Wonder Bread, which the hotel does not stock.

Ya think anyone lost their job over this one?

Hotel Mgr - "I'm sorry, Raul, we must let you go! You have failed to anticipate the needs and wants of a spoiled white rich boy that never grew up!"

Raul - 'Screw you! I'm going to work for McDonald's; there's a good chance of a Clinton white house again and YOU will be sorry while *I* reap the rewards!"



Common Man

Tyson to go "bio"

I've blogged about the use of bio-diesel here several times; Willie Nelson and his bio-diesel lifestyle, Manchester College creating their own fuel, and Daryl Hannah and her bio-diesel El Camino. Here's a new entry into this category:

According to an article in today's WSJ, Tyson Foods and Syntroleum Corp are announcing plans for a $150 million plant which will use fat by-products from Tyson's plants to produce 75 million gallons of fat-based fuel per year. Finally we know where those trans fats that have disappeared from their products has gone.

Seriously, what a great idea. Hats off to these guys; let's hope many other corporations follow their fine example.

You Tell Me

Monday mornings always leave you feeling unequipped to face the day; just ask THIS guy:



Amaze me with your captions, you poetic artists of the blogosphere!

My Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven!

Okay, I've just been tagged by Barrett Laurie. . .

There are four simple rules--

1. Each player starts with seven random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog post with their seven things as well as these rules.

3. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog.

4. Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog.

Seven Random Facts About Me

1-In person, I'm actually very quiet.

2-I enjoy working with my hands and completing projects.

3-I hate bees and wasps.

4-I have visited 42 states.

5-My drink of choice is Budweiser Select.

6-I like to cook, and prepare most of our meals.

7-I collect old road maps and atlases.

Alright, I was able to pare that down to seven that weren't scary. . .;) Now to tag a few other unsuspecting souls:

1-Dave at Der Parson's Rant--Dave's an old friend who recently began blogging and is Fort Wayne's ONLY Amish blogger!

2-Chuck from Divided States of Bushmerica--Chuck is passionate writer with who shares many of my own interests.

3-Gary from Declarations--Gary's a true soldier for his cause and I'm proud that we're on the same team.

4-Donnie from the Katrinacrat--Talk about a guy who knows how to network; Donnie's the real deal.

5-Mary over at Knock Knock--Mary and I not only always agree on the issues, but she makes me laugh!

6-Pissed Off Patricia from Morning Martini--If you've never visited POP and her cat, go there NOW.

7-Sewmouse from Sew's Spot--Another blogger that always gives me a chuckle. And another one that I don't visit nearly enough (Like all of the above!).

That's a wrap on MY Magnificent Seven! Thanks to Barrett Laurie for adding me to his list. Now. . .off to warn the above "victims"!

Local Case Solved?

Hey, AWB, looks like you might wanna talk to the Somerset PD. . .they may have collared your beef burglar:

Burglar Stole Salad From Fridge, Police Say

SOMERSET, Pa. (June 19) - Someone kicked in the door of a man's apartment, stuck a knife in the door and took a chilled salad from his refrigerator. Somerset police said the man reported the bizarre burglary on Monday. He told investigators someone broke into his apartment while he went to a nearby tavern. Nothing but the salad was missing, police said. Police said they have a suspect and expect to file charges once they finish their investigation.

I'm guessing the guy may have stolen a piece of pie a month before swiping your steak. . .at least that would show a pattern.

Thank You

Thank you all for attending my birthday celebration this evening, and special thanks go out to Vic Demize for the tons of candid photos you took as usual!

Friday Nite Retro

Good evening and welcome to Friday Nite Retro! Sorry, no bio this evening, I'm busy with last minute preparations for tomorrow's festivities. . .so please enjoy some Sweet music:

Little Willy


Fox on the Run


Ballroom Blitz


Love is Like Oxygen

Another Year on this Planet

At exactly 9:01 AM PST on this date in 1964, I was dragged kicking and screaming into this world. I came into existence at Hemet Valley Hospital in Riverside County, California. You left-coasters likely know Hemet as a booming retirement community near Palm Springs, and as home to the Ramona Pageant.

I spent my first few years living in San Diego before my folks moved us back to Indiana in 1969. Back in those days, it was actually cheaper to live in CA than IN, if you actually could score a job. My dad was roughly the same age that I am now, and had left the Navy. Although he was a jack of all trades, from mason to school teacher, jobs were scarce and the California Dream crashed hard for our family. Sometimes you just have to go home again. . .and so we did.

Somewhat ironically, we moved to southwest Allen County where my dad's family (The Good's and Buskirk's) resided initially, but then placed our future on the strong growth trend on the southeast side, and moved to a brand new subdivision called Southwick Village in 1970. International Harvester was a HUGE local employer in the area, and most of it's employee's resided in this booming part of Fort Wayne. East Allen County Schools was considered among the top school systems in the state at that time, and I know that my parents were proud to have placed me into that system. Who could have foreseen that, just 12 years later, IH would pull out of Fort Wayne completely and shut down the growth in that part of our city?

I stayed, and watched the area slowly die over the course of twenty years before finally moving my family back to where my ancestry began here locally, Aboite Township. I still hope for the best for the area in which I grew up in; I still own my boyhood home there. And things are finally begining to improve there, thanks to the efforts of Mayor Richard and numerous others. I'll always miss my childhood home, and my history there; but I'm thankful for my ability to provide a home for my kids in a neighborhood that's more like the one that I grew up in back in the 1970's. We do what we have to do for our families, whatever our personal regrets may be.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my short history and rant about my childhood home. I will be celebrating the anniversary of my eventual demise with many close friends on Saturday; I wish you all could make it, but parking IS limited. ;)

Bob Evans "UP on the farm"

Bob Evans Farms Inc. announced the death of their founder, Bob Evans, today. The 89 year old Mr.Evans had suffered from pneumonia during the past week. His quest for quality sausage to serve in his 12-stool 24-hour steakhouse in Gallipolis, Ohio led to the creation of the 590 store chain that bears his name.

Evans complained that he could not get good sausage for the restaurant he started after World War II in Gallipolis in southeast Ohio. So with an initial investment of $1,000, a couple of hogs, 40 pounds of black pepper, 50 pounds of sage and other secret ingredients, he opted to make his own, relying on the hog's best parts as opposed to the scraps commonly used in sausage. He began selling it at the restaurant and mom-and-pop stores, and peddled tubs of it out of the back of his pickup truck.

"You might say the truck drivers did my research for me," he said. "They would tell me that this was the best sausage they ever had, and then buy 10-pound tubs to take home."

Evans formed Bob Evans Farms in 1953 with five friends and relatives. The chain emphasizes farm-fresh food, cleanliness and service in a homey atmosphere.

Press Play

On The Other Hand

Doctor: Couples open to donating embryos

By Randolph E. Schmid, AP Science Writer | June 20, 2007
WASHINGTON --A majority of couples with stored embryos from fertility treatments say they would be willing to donate unused embryos for stem cell research, says a doctor who surveyed patients.

"Large numbers of infertility patients ... support using embryos for research, and these are people who have invested emotionally and financially in these embryos," Dr. Anne Drapkin Lyerly of Duke University said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

In other words, these are the very people that if circumstances were different, would be bathing, feeding and caring for these embryos as children.

But the circumstances aren't different.

...while there has been a very vigorous public debate on the issue, it has been dominated by lawmakers and religious authorities while the people "most personally and intimately involved have been underrepresented, if at all, so we wanted to bring their voices to the center."

The people who are most intimately and physically involved.

Of 1,020 people who responded by saying they still had embryos in storage, 49 percent said they were likely to donate some or all of them for research. When asked specifically about stem cell research, the portion willing to donate embryos rose to 62 percent.

"It suggests that people are more willing to pursue research when they know more about it and how it might benefit their fellow citizens," Lyerly said.

She added that research was preferred over donating the embryos to other infertile couples, "which brings into question the idea that the more you care about an embryo, the more you want it to become a child."

"This has significant implications for potential policy change on stem cell research," said Lyerly, an obstetrician-gynecologist and bioethicist. She noted that research donations could provide thousands of new stem cell lines for study.

Like anything else, the more you learn about the good that can come from it, the less you fear. God bless these couples who would be willing to donate these fertilized eggs to help other human beings.



What a jackass. If he was my bar hugging local drunk, I still wouldn't talk to him.

And by the way, no one ever asked permission to use MY tax dollars to kill innocents in Iraq & Afghanistan.
Just saying, Mr. Bush.

Cross posted at that one guys blog.... eh, screw him.

Newtie's "revisionist history"

Newt Gingrich, that great revisionist historian and hypocritical adulterer, has just released a new "scary" video designed to fire up the anti-immigration crowd. In the video, available on his website and posted below for your perusal, Newtie claims that Mohammed Atta and the rest of the Saudi-Arabian terrorists from the 9/11 attack were in our country illegally.

The video begins with Gingrich saying, "Mohamed Atta, and several other 9/11 hijackers were in the United States illegally." Next, photos of Atta and the other 9/11 hijackers appear and the word "Illegally", printed in bold, red letters, flashes over the screen. "Today, more than five years since that tragic day, our borders remain open to gangs, drug dealers and terrorists," says Gingrich.




However, a check of the 9/11 Commission Report reveals that Atta entered the United States on a tourist visa and the U.S. subsequently approved him for a student visa on July 17, 2001 that was good through October 1, 2001.

"Atta was in the country legally on 9/11," confirmed Janice Kephart, a former counsel to the 9/11 Commission and co-author of the commission's report on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel to ABC News. "Atta was now legally in the United States until the day of the planned attack," reads the commission's report on 9/11 and terrorist travel on page 36.

In fact, all of the 19 men who hijacked planes on September 11th, including Atta, entered the United States on a tourist, or student visa, issued by the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. And Atta's visa status was widely reported in the media in 2002 when the INS famously sent a letter to Atta's Florida flight school, which was received on the sixth month anniversary of 9/11. The letter said the INS had approved a request to change Atta's status from a tourist visa to a student visa weeks before the attacks.

Citizens United, a conservative group lobbying against the immigration bill, paid for the ad and says they have purchased a "six-figure" media buy for the ad to appear on cable television. Do drop by and give them some "love". . .

Dem's gain ground in battleground districts

The first Democracy Corps battleground poll of 70 key congressional districts, half Democratic and half Republican, shows named Democratic congressional candidates "hold on average a 9-point lead in these districts that actually supported the Republican candidate by 1 point in 2006 and President Bush by 8 points in 2004. That means the center of the battlefield has shifted as much since 2006 as it did in the lead up to it."

Key finding: "Democrats enter the 2008 race in a strong position to readily defend their own seats while expanding their 2006 electoral gains. Democratic incumbents hold a significant lead in the battleground districts, winning the congressional vote by 20 points -- 56 to 36 percent.

Obviously, there are some special cases, but the consistency across all types of Democratic seats makes it difficult for the Republicans to find many Democratic targets. Indeed, Democratic incumbents’ electoral advantage is as strong in their most vulnerable districts, those held by freshmen who picked up new seats in 2006, as it is in the least competitive districts."

View the complete survey results .

Bloomberg kicks GOP to the curb

Billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced today that he is leaving the Republican Party. The former lifelong Democrat switched his designation to unaffiliated, fueling speculation that he may make an independent run for the White House in 2008. This could possible lead to a three-way New Yorker battle between Bloomberg, Clinton and Giuliani.


The question is, which party or candidate would be most affected by an indy
Bloomberg run?

Former Democratic Party Chairman Donald Fowler said Bloomberg would be "a disturbing factor to both parties," but the mayor would probably draw more Republican votes simply because "Republicans are more disenchanted than Democrats." Indeed, most polls find Bloomberg drawing votes from Republicans.

"Democrats are pretty happy with their candidates," Fowler said. "The Republicans are absolutely in disarray." He called Bloomberg "an exceptionally capable guy" who is "hard-nosed and accomplished," but argued that the obstacles for a third-party candidate are so daunting that it would be nearly impossible for Bloomberg to win.

Independent pollster Scott Rasmussen thinks Bloomberg could have a significant impact on the 2008 race. "Nationally there's a significant segment of the electorate that would give serious consideration to Bloomberg as a candidate", said Rasmussen. His third-party campaign could stress that he is a two-term mayor in a Democratic city and that he built his reputation as a political independent, social moderate and fiscal conservative.

Throughout his tenure as mayor, Bloomberg has often been at odds with the GOP and Bush. He supports gay marriage, abortion rights, gun control and stem cell research, and raised property taxes to help solve a fiscal crisis after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.But, until now, he never seemed willing to part with the GOP completely, raising money for the 2004 presidential convention and contributing to Bush and other Republican candidates. As late as last year he stated that "I couldn't be prouder to run on the Republican ticket and be a Republican."

But the times they are a-changin': Asked about a hypothetical independent candidate entering the race, Bloomberg launched a broad critique of the Bush administration and Congress and lamented the presidential debates to date.

"I think the country is in trouble," Bloomberg said, citing the war in Iraq and America's declining standing globally. "Our reputation has been hurt very badly in the last few years," he said. "We've had a go-it-alone mentality in a world where, because of communications and transportation, you should be going exactly in the other direction."

Arabic translator fired from the Navy for being gay

A Democrat in '08! But not that one!

It is a paradox of the 2008 presidential race. By a wide margin, voters want a Democrat to win — yet when offered head-to-head contests of leading announced candidates, many switch allegiance to the Republican.

In an LA Times/Bloomberg poll conducted this month, this dynamic was most clearly evident with Hillary Clinton:

- Frederick Cole wants the Democratic Party to take back the White House in 2008. "Look what a mess we're in," said Cole, a nurse in Louisville, Ky. "It's time for some fresh, new-thinker ideas." Yet if his party nominates Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York for president, the 52-year-old Democrat plans to vote for her Republican opponent. "It's a personal thing," Cole said. "I don't like her. I think she's condescending and arrogant.


- "I just don't feel like she has the integrity to do the right thing," said retired service-station owner Richard James, 62, a Democrat who lives in Herriman, Utah. James wants a Democrat to win in 2008; he sees President Bush's tenure as a "shipwreck" marked by cronyism and a botched war. Yet he would vote for Giuliani over Clinton.

- To Carol Bendick, 63, a Democrat who lives in Danville, Ill., Bush is too cozy with the oil industry, and she, too, wants a Democrat to succeed him. But she would support Giuliani over Clinton. "Who wants four or eight more years of the Clintons' marital disputes, paid for by the United States, we the people? I certainly don't," said Bendick, a teacher on disability.

- Several men who prefer a Democrat for president, but not Clinton, said they were simply unwilling to support a woman. Kevin Kidd, 45, a Democrat who owns a bar in Farwell, Mich., said a female president would make the United States "look a little wimpier." "Some countries have woman presidents, and I just think it makes them look weak," he added.

Some polls also have found that in matchups with Giuliani and McCain, Clinton's top Democratic rivals — Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina — would fall short of the general backing for their party:

- Retired Pennsylvania truck inspector Earl Geer, 55, an independent, is disgusted with the Bush administration and hopes a Democrat will capture the White House. But he would pick a Republican over Edwards. "I just think he's a slick character," Geer said.

- Tom Devlin, 70, a retired steel-mill worker in Wellsville, Ohio, faults Bush for factory shutdowns and job losses in the Rust Belt, and he would rather have a Democrat as president. But he would choose McCain over Obama. "McCain has a lot more experience, and I just think he would do a better job.

Political veterans will rightfully argue that polling on general-election matchups can be highly misleading when 17 months of the campaign still lies ahead. Yet these opinions are a snapshot of the mood of the electorate at this particular moment; a picture that smart Democratic contenders will do well to address immediately.

The very idea that an "informed electorate" could make the above comments implies that they are either misinformed or being spoon fed only what they wish to hear by their favorite "media source":

- Mr.Cole, you find Hillary to be condescending and arrogant? Compared to whom, sir, George "I'm the Decider" Bush?

- Mr.James, you're a Democrat in Utah? Congrats! However, I would suggest that you discuss Rudy with a New Yorker who's lived under his rule.

- Ms.Bendick, I agree that the money spent on the Clinton witch hunt was a disgrace. That pursuit was led by the same pack of Republicans whom you would vote for rather than Hillary. And may I remind you of the cost of W's personal little war in Iraq?

- Mr. Kidd, I suggest that you join the 21st century. Do you entertain your bar patrons with "how many feminists does it take to" jokes? With all due respect, be a real man.

- Mr. Greer, you would pick the epitome of the "slick candidate" (ANY Republican today) over John Edwards? You obviously have NOT done any research on Mr.Edwards. You might want to try that rather than relying upon the talking heads for information and opinion.

- Mr. Devlin, I understand your relating to a peer. But experience brings neither qualification nor wisdom. You are an experienced steelworker; I would not vote for you as president in spite of that fact. Again with all due respect, experience and age sometimes cloud one's judgement and approach to newer and better ideas and clear vision for the future. I assume you voted in the 1960 election.

Lady and gentlemen of the Democratic presidential field, these are the thoughts of the people who will be voting for or against you in just under a year and a half. They obviously seem to have some misunderstandings about your positions, your history, your sincerity. I would strongly suggest that these are the minds that you need to be meeting with across America. Save the sound bites, save the stump speeches, save the Bush-bashing (They already agree with you on THAT issue), and tell them about YOU. You as in "you, the person". Meld with them, let them know that you really ARE one of them, rather than a stuffed shirt on TV or a canned personality peddled by right-wing talkers in the most negative way.

There's a reason why people are excited by Mike Gravel, Ron Paul, Russ Feingold, and Dennis Kucinich. I hope you've not missed that lesson entirely. . .

Gore no threat to Hillary

If Al Gore runs for the Democratic presidential nomination, the former vice president appears to draw evenly from the top two contenders, Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois.

Each loses roughly five percentage points to Gore if his name is included among the hopefuls, according to a new nationwide Gallup survey of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. Clinton holds a wide lead over the field, either way — suggesting that a Gore run might not affect the outcome at all.

With Gore included, Clinton still handily leads the pack at 33 percent while Obama gets 21 percent to Gore’s 18 percent, a statistical dead heat for second place. Take Gore out of the equation and the Gallup poll shows Clinton at 39 percent and Obama at 26 percent.

John Edwards trails badly in either scenario, posting 11 percent at fourth place with Gore in the mix and back to third place at 13 percent without Gore.

Hat Tip: CQ Politics

You Tell me

Mundane Morning and time once again for that shining gem you look forward to during the dark period that is the beginning of the work week - Make Yer Own Caption! Astound me with your wittiness and caption this:

Things we learn as we age

Age 5 - I've learned that our dog doesn't want to eat my broccoli either.
Age 7 - I've learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back.
Age 9 - I've learned that just when I get my room the way I like it, Mom makes me clean it up again.
Age 12 - I've learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up.
Age 14 - I've learned that although it's hard to admit it, I'm secretly glad my parents are strict with me.
Age 15 - I've learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice.
Age 24 - I've learned that brushing my child's hair is one of life's great pleasures.
Age 26 - I've learned that wherever I go, the world's worst drivers have followed me there.
Age 29 - I've learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.
Age 30 - I've learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don't know how to show it.
Age 42 - I've learned that you can make some one's day by simply sending them a little note.
Age 44 - I've learned that the greater a person's sense of guilt, the greater his or her need to cast blame on others.
Age 46 - I've learned that children and grandparents are natural allies.
Age 47 - I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
Age 48 - I've learned that singing "Amazing Grace" can lift my spirits for hours.
Age 49 - I've learned that motel mattresses are better on the side away from the phone.
Age 50 - I've learned that you can tell a lot about a man by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
Age 51 - I've learned that keeping a vegetable garden is worth a medicine cabinet full of pills.
Age 52 - I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them terribly after they die.
Age 53 - I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.
Age 58 - I've learned that if you want to do something positive for your children, work to improve your marriage.
Age 61 - I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
Age 62 - I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.
Age 64 - I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
Age 65 - I've learned that whenever I decide something with kindness, I usually make the right decision.
Age 66 - I've learned that everyone can use a prayer.
Age 72 - I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.
Age 82 - I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch-holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
Age 90 - I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.
Age 92 - I've learned that you should pass this one on to someone you care about. Sometimes they just need a little something to make them smile.

Our SNL Losses. . .

We miss you all. . .

John Belushi


Gilda Radner


Phil Hartman


Chris Farley

IMPORTANT! "Thomas & Friends" recall

If your children are playing with any of the toys pictured below, then you need to be aware of a CPSC recall due to lead paint!



Click HERE for the full recall details and descriptions of each toy included.

"Stay the course" sayeth Our Bitch Mitch

Mitch Daniels declared his intention to run for re-election today. It's always a pleasure to see such good news featured above the fold in the Journal Gazette! Here's all I have to say about this:



But, if you'd like more in-depth coverage, Jen Wagner has a nice post on this subject.

Good Girls Don't

Friday Nite Retro

Welcome once again to Friday Nite Retro here at Left in Aboite; your weekly escape from the problems of today. . .at least for an hour or two! Tonight's featured artist has FAR too lengthy of a career to cover in one edition of FNR, so I present to you: William Martin Joel - The early years! (1973-1982)

Billy Joel was born in (surprise) the Bronx in 1949. From an early age, Joel had an intense interest in music; especially European classical music. He reluctantly began piano lessons at an early age at his mother's insistence. His interest in music instead of sports was the source of teasing and bullying in his early years. (He has said in interviews that his piano instructor also taught ballet. This led neighborhood bullies to mistakenly think he was learning to dance.) As a teenager, Joel took up boxing so that he would be able to defend himself. He boxed successfully on the amateur Golden Gloves circuit for a short time (winning twenty-two bouts), but abandoned the sport shortly after having his nose broken in his twenty-fourth boxing match.

In 1971, Joel signed a very bad contract with the Family Productions label. In order to get out of it, he moved to L.A. and spent six months of the following year playing in the Executive Lounge piano bar under the name Bill Martin. This experience is what gave him the material for his first breakout hit:

The Piano Man


Disenchanted with the L.A. music scene, Joel returned to New York in 1975. There he recorded what many fans and critics consider one of his best albums, Turnstiles. On Turnstiles, Joel used his own hand-picked musicians in the studio for the first time, and took a more hands-on role. This album produced his stirring New York anthem:

New York State of Mind

For his album The Stranger, Columbia Records united Joel with producer Phil Ramone. The album yielded four Top 40 hits on the Billboard charts in the US, "Just the Way You Are" (# 3), "Movin' Out(Anthony's Song)" (# 17), "Only the Good Die Young" (# 2), and "She's Always a Woman" (# 17). Album sales exceeded Columbia's previous top album,Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, and was certified multi-platinum. It was Joel's first Top Ten album, as it rose to # 2 on the charts. Phil Ramone eventually produced every Billy Joel studio release until 1989's Storm Front.

The Stranger netted Joel Grammy nominations, for Album of the Year and Song of the Year for Just the Way You Are, which was written as a gift to his wife Elizabeth.

Just the Way You Are


Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)


Only the Good Die Young


Joel faced high expectations on his next album. 52nd Street was conceived as a day in Manhattan, and was named after the street of the same name which hosted many of the world's premier jazz venues and performers throughout the 1930s, 40's, and 50's. Fans purchased over seven million copies on the strength of the hits "My Life" (# 3), "Big Shot" (# 14), and "Honesty" (# 24). This helped 52nd Street become Joel's first # 1 album. "My Life" eventually became the theme song for a new US television sitcom, Bosom Buddies, which featured actor Tom Hanks in one of his earliest roles.

My Life


Honesty


Big Shot


The success of his piano-driven ballads like "Just the Way You Are" and "Honesty" never sat well with him. With Glass Houses, Joel attacked the new wave popularity with aplomb. The album spent 6 weeks at # 1 on the Billboard chart and yielded such classics as "You May Be Right" (# 7, May 1980), "Close To The Borderline"(flipside of the "You May Be Right" single), "Don't Ask Me Why" (# 19, September 1980), "Sometimes A Fantasy" (# 36, November 1980) and "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me," which became Joel's first Billboard # 1 song in July, 1980. Glass Houses won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male. It would also win the American Music Award for Favorite Album, Pop/Rock category.

You May Be Right


Don't Ask Me Why


Sometimes a Fantasy


It's Still Rock & Roll to Me

The next wave of Joel's career commenced with the recording of The Nylon Curtain. Considered his most audacious and ambitious album, Joel took more than a page or two from the Lennon-McCartney songwriting style on this heavily Beatles-influenced album.

Work began on The Nylon Curtain in the spring of 1982. However, Joel was sidelined when he was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. At about 5:40 P.M. on April 5th,1982,Cornelia Bynum made a right turn at the intersection of New York Avenue and West 9th Street in Huntington. She then ran a red light and collided with Joel, who was going straight through a green light, on his 1978 Harley. After the crash, he flew right over her car and landed on his back. Both his left wrist and hand were broken and badly damaged. Joel, lucky to be alive, managed to get up and take inventory of his gear until a police officer arrived.

Joel was med-evaced by Helicopter to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. Due to the ensuing surgery, which included the temporary insertion of five pins into his wrist, hand, and a month in the hospital, production of the album was shut down temporarily while Joel recovered.

Once The Nylon Curtain was finished, Joel embarked on a brief tour in support of the album, during which his first video special, Live from Long Island, was recorded.

The Nylon Curtain went to #7 on the charts, supported by the popular singles Allentown, Goodnight Saigon , and "Pressure." "Allentown" rose to #17 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the most-played radio songs of 1982 and the most successful song from The Nylon Curtain album, surpassing "Pressure", which peaked at #19.

Allentown


Pressure

Joel's marriage began to suffer as his success rose, and he and wife Elizabeth divorced (this is when it became official, although the couple had separated in July 1982). In accordance with the divorce agreement, Elizabeth took half of the singer's assets.

Following The Nylon Curtain tour, Joel retreated to the island of St.Bart's in February of 1983 for some rest and relaxation. At the bar of the hotel in which he was staying, Joel met supermodel Christie Brinkley, who had recently divorced her husband Jean-François Allaux. They eventually became a couple, and married on March 23,1985.

And that concludes our journey into roughly the first half of Billy Joel's long-spanning career! I truly hope you enjoyed the trip, and possibly discovered some old favorites again, or encountered some new ones. . .

The "end times" for "peak oil"

Scientists led by the London-based Oil Depletion Analysis Center, report that global production of oil is set to peak in the next four years before entering a steepening decline which will have massive consequences for the world economy and the way that we live our lives.

According to “peak oil” theory our consumption of oil will catch, then outstrip our discovery of new reserves and we will begin to deplete known reserves.

Colin Campbell, the head of the depletion center, said: “It’s quite a simple theory and one that any beer drinker understands. The glass starts full and ends empty and the faster you drink it the quicker it’s gone.” Campbell, a former chief geologist and vice-president at a string of oil majors including BP, Shell, Fina, Exxon and Chevron-Texaco, explains that the peak of regular oil - the cheap and easy to extract stuff - has already come and gone in 2005. Even when you factor in the more difficult to extract heavy oil, deep sea reserves, polar regions and liquid taken from gas, the peak will come as soon as 2011, he says.

In recent years the once-considerable gap between demand and supply has narrowed. Last year that gap all but disappeared. The consequences of a shortfall would be immense. If consumption begins to exceed production by even the smallest amount, the price of oil could soar above $100 a barrel. A global recession would follow.

This scenario is flatly denied by BP, whose chief economist Peter Davies has dismissed the arguments of “peak oil” theorists. “We don’t believe there is an absolute resource constraint. When peak oil comes, it is just as likely to come from consumption peaking, perhaps because of climate change policies as from production peaking.”

One thing most oil analysts agree on is that depletion of oil fields follows a predictable bell curve. This has not changed since the Shell geologist M. King Hubbert made a mathematical model in 1956 to predict what would happen to US petroleum production. The Hubbert Curve shows that at the beginning production from any oil field rises sharply, then reaches a plateau before falling into a terminal decline. His prediction that US production would peak in 1969 was ridiculed by those who claimed it could increase indefinitely. In the event it peaked in 1970 and has been in decline ever since.

In the 1970s Chris Skrebowski was a long-term planner for BP. Today he edits the Petroleum Review and is one of a growing number of industry insiders converting to peak theory. “I was extremely sceptical to start with,” he now admits. “We have enough capacity coming online for the next two-and-a-half years. After that the situation deteriorates.”

What no one, not even BP, disagrees with is that demand is surging. The rapid growth of China and India matched with the developed world’s dependence on oil, mean that a lot more oil will have to come from somewhere. BP’s review shows that world demand for oil has grown faster in the past five years than in the second half of the 1990s. Today we consume an average of 85 million barrels daily. According to the most conservative estimates from the International Energy Agency that figure will rise to 113 million barrels by 2030.

Two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves lie in the Middle East and increasing demand will have to be met with massive increases in supply from this region.

BP’s Statistical Review is the most widely used estimate of world oil reserves but as Dr Campbell points out it is only a summary of highly political estimates supplied by governments and oil companies.

As Dr Campbell explains: “When I was the boss of an oil company I would never tell the truth. It’s not part of the game.” Indeed, in 1999, Britain’s oil reserves in the North Sea peaked, but for two years after this became apparent, it was heresy for anyone in official circles to say so. “Not meeting demand is not an option. In fact, it is an act of treason,” he says.

A survey of the four countries with the biggest reported reserves - Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Kuwait - reveals major concerns. In Kuwait last year, a journalist found documents suggesting the country’s real reserves were half of what was reported. Iran this year became the first major oil producer to introduce oil rationing - an indication of the administration’s view on which way oil reserves are going.

Sadad al-Huseini knows more about Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves than perhaps anyone else. He retired as chief executive of the kingdom’s oil corporation two years ago, and his view on how much Saudi production can be increased is sobering. “The problem is that you go from 79 million barrels a day in 2002 to 84.5 million in 2004. You’re leaping by two to three million [barrels a day]” each year, he told The New York Times. “That’s like a whole new Saudi Arabia every couple of years. It can’t be done indefinitely.”

The alternatives:

Coal - A 150 year supply exists, but coal is also a fossil fuel, and the "clean-burning" technology is a farce.


Natural Gas - Same problems as oil, with about twenty extra years of supply left.


Hydrogen Fuel Cells - Expensive and in short supply. Could be the answer with enough R&D.


Bio-fuels - Good call, but expensive. The space required to grow crops for this source is substantial.


Air-Solar-Wind Power - Another smart choice, but impossible to meet demand by these means.


Nuclear - Clean and efficient. However, increasing the number of reactors also increases the chance for serious accidents. And there's the ever-present threat from terrorists.


We need to explore other energy sources immediately. Can you imagine a gallon of gas rising by $1-2 dollars annually in just a few years? If you can't, think back to 2004. . .

My bets are on Hydrogen Fuel Cells and ramped-up Nuclear Power; what do YOU think?

Indiana's Matthew Shepard?

This is an excellent piece by Gabriel Rotello:

The story of a horrifying murder in rural Indiana has begun making the rounds of the blogs, where it's being compared to the crucifixion of Matthew Shepard.

But the story's twists and turns, as disgusting as they are tragic, have gone largely unreported outside blogs like Daily Kos and Towleroad and a crusading local paper in Indiana, the Bloomington Alternative. And therein hangs a tale.

The victim in this new outrage wasn't called Aaron 'Shorty' Hall for nothing. Shorty was 5-foot-4 and weighed a mere 100 pounds. In beefy rural Indiana, that passes for almost invisible.

On April 12, Shorty was allegedly beaten to death by Coleman King, 18, and Garrett Gray, 19. They subsequently confessed to police that the beating began when Shorty allegedly made a gay pass at them while they were all drinking beer at Gray's home.

The description of what happened next is horrific, a savage assault that eerily echoes the tortuous death of Matthew Shepard. This time it took the form of a relentless beating that went on for several hours at Gray's house before Shorty was finally dragged down the wooden stairs, his head banging loudly on each step.

King and Gray told cops they beat Hall again at the bottom of the stairs, threw him into a pickup truck and continued beating him as they drove down a remote dirt road.

Once there, one of them had the audacity to send a friend a cellphone photo of the dying Shorty. Then they dumped him, naked but still alive, in a ditch. According to weather reports, it was 39 degrees that night.

The next morning they returned and found Shorty's broken and lifeless body in a field near the ditch. He had apparently crawled out for help, found none, and died alone in the dirt.

A few days later they returned, wrapped the body in a tarp and hid it in Gray's garage, where police found it after being alerted by the recipient of the cellphone photo.

A sensational torture/murder hate crime like this seems like a slam dunk for major media attention, but so far it has received almost none.

Perhaps part of the reason is one of the case's odd twists: Some have publicly suggested that in fact Shorty made no sexual advance on Gray and King and that he was not, in fact, gay.

Instead, it's been suggested that the two teens cooked up the gay angle because they believed that in homo-hating Indiana, it would help excuse their murder.

In the twisted teenage wasteland of their minds, the theory goes, the so-called 'gay panic' defense is still operative in Indiana: If you simply say your murder victim made a queer pass at you, you'll probably get off lightly.

It's impossible to tell if this version is true. But that's no reason for the media to ignore this story. In fact, in a weird way the tale is at least as significant if Shorty was not gay.

The reason begins with the fact that Indiana remains one of just five states that refuses to enact a hate crimes bill. Why? Because such a bill would cover -- you guessed it -- gays.

The latest version failed in the state legislature again this February, and the executive director of the antigay American Family Association of Indiana, Micah Clark, credited "concerned Christians" with scuttling it.

If such Christians hadn't furiously lobbied the Indiana Statehouse about this bill, Clark said, it "would have passed easily." He smugly added, "The good guys won on this issue."

Shorty Hall's lonely death indicates otherwise.

I'm not suggesting that if Indiana had passed a hate crimes bill last February then this horrific murder would not have happened. But I am suggesting what law schools have taught for generations: "The law is a great teacher."

One of the reasons for hate crimes laws is to teach: to send a powerful lesson that the kind of savage bigotry that leads to violence and murder based on race, ethnicity and other factors -- including sexual orientation -- is a profound offense against the moral foundations of our society.

Hate crime laws send the lesson that violators will not be treated more lightly for such crimes, as they traditionally were, but punished more sternly.

When a state like Indiana stands almost alone by refusing to send such a message, it unavoidably sends the opposite message. And in rural Indiana it does so in a place teeming with vengeful right wing Christians who continue to infect the young with a vile hatred of gays. That leads to a combustible combination.

So in this tragic case, whether Shorty was gay or not, or made a pass or not, isn't the larger point.

The larger point is that Shorty's killers appear to have imbibed a profound lesson from the homo-hating Christians of their state and the simpering cowards in their state legislature, who would apparently pass a hate crimes bill "easily" if it didn't include the gays despised by so-called concerned Christians.

That lesson is this: If a queer comes on to you in Indiana and you kill him, pipe up about it because you just might get a pass. And hey, if you happen to kill someone who isn't queer, just call him queer anyway and you still might get a pass.

Concerned Christians in Indiana may have no problem with that. But I'm betting that Jesus would take a dimmer view.

"I Got a Crush on Obama"

An amusing, risqué music video, featuring a nubile young woman breathlessly singing her love for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., appeared on the Web this week. Titled "I Got a Crush on Obama," the song and video took the Obama campaign by surprise and further demonstrated how the democratic nature of the Internet — specifically Internet video on sites such as YouTube — is affecting politics in unpredictable ways.

"Hey, 'B,' it's me," a woman who calls herself "Obamagirl" murmurs amorously into a phone at the beginning of the slow jam. "If you're there, pick up. I was just watching you on C-SPAN."

The song and video goes on to poke racy fun at the way some voters have responded viscerally to both Obama's charisma and the personal nature of his political appeal.

"You seemed to float onto the floor/Democratic convention 2000 and 4/I never wanted anybody more/than I want you," Obamagirl coos.

"Baby, I cannot wait/til 2008/Baby, you're the best candidate," she continues as she walks around New York City in various stages of undress, occasionally posing near life-size pictures of the lanky senator from Illinois.

An Obama campaign official said its team had nothing to do with the video, but otherwise declined to comment.

Regardless of whether your candidate is on the giving or receiving end of the viral videos shaping candidates' images these days, YouTube and similar video-sharing Web sites have emerged, making campaigns even less in control of their message than ever before.

Earlier this campaign season, a pro-Obama advertisement assailing Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., based on Apple's "1984" TV commercial, caused a stir when it came out that the creator of the video worked for the company that runs Obama's campaign Web site, despite Obama's claim that he had no ties to the ad. As of Wednesday afternoon, that video had received 3,393,766 hits on YouTube.

As much as the news may break the hearts of thousands of Democratic men, Obamagirl, in reality, is not the pulchritudinous callipygian who riffs on policy with Akon-esque beats, singing "you're into border security/let's break this border between you and me/universal health care reform/it makes me warm."

Gore/Obama?

DON'T count out Al Gore as a presidential candidate - Bill Clinton certainly hasn't. Clinton, whose wife, Hillary, is leading the pack of Democrats for the 2008 nomination, was at a recent Air America relaunch at the apartment of the liberal radio network's new chief, Mark Green, when political blogger Andy Ostroy asked him, "Do you think Gore's going to run?"

Clinton replied, "Someone's got to fizzle. If someone fizzles, then, yeah, he could enter the race. He's got plenty of money, his own money, to do it."

Ostroy predicted: "It'll be Obama who will fizzle by September, and Gore will toss his hat into the ring and enlist the junior senator from Illinois as his running mate. An unbeatable ticket."

Bush's corporate court

George W has struck another blow against America's working stiffs. This time, he didn't do it directly – he did his part when he appointed John Roberts and Sam Alito to the Supreme Court. And now, these two black-robed corporate hirelings are pummeling workers from the bench.

They just issued an absurd opinion that totally convolutes common sense in cases of pay discrimination against women. Lilly Ledbetter had worked for Goodyear Tire for 20 years. Late in her career, she learned that men doing the same work she did had been getting far higher pay raises over the years, leaving her salary some 40 percent lower than theirs.

Her 1998 lawsuit was backed by the government's anti-discrimination agency... until Bush came along. Last year, when Ledbetter's case reached the Supremes, the Bushites disavowed the agency and filed a brief on the side of the corporate discriminator. And now, Bush's two corporate-biased judges have – Big Surprise – embraced his and Goodyear's view of the case.

Alito wrote in the 5-4 opinion that the discrimination was irrelevant because, technically, employees must file a pay complaint within 180 days of having their salaries set. This bit of judicial activism completely overturns decades of federal policy and precedent.

More importantly, it's a ridiculous atttempt by Alito, Roberts, and gang to overturn reality. The corporate workplace is shrouded in secrecy and is hostile to anyone asking questions – so no one's going to know within 180 days that discrimination is afoot. What Bush's judges have done – on behalf of powerful corporations – is effectively to negate the federal law prohibiting workplace discrimination.

This is why it is essential to begin evaluating judicial appointees not merely on social issues, but especially on how they'll treat workers, consumers, the environment, and others abused by corporate power .

via - Hightower

Childhood lessons

The best place to be when you're sad is with your dog.

Puppies still have bad breath even after eating a Tic-Tac
.
When your mom is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair.

No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.

If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.

Reading what people write on desks can get you through the test.

Never hold a dustbuster and a cat at the same time.

You can't hide broccoli in a glass of milk.

School lunches stick to the wall.

Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.

A pencil without an eraser may as well just be a pen.

Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.

Sometimes your best move is blocked by your own checkers.

Never say "Last one is a rotten egg" unless you're absolutely sure someone is slower than you.

It's impossible to unlearn a bad word.

If you want a kitten or puppy, start out by asking for a horse.

Your room gets smaller as you get bigger.

You can't start over just because you're losing the game.

A snow day is more fun than a vacation day.

If you want someone to listen to you, whisper it.

All libraries smell the same.

Sometimes you have to take the test before you've finished studying.

You can't trust dogs to watch your food.

If you throw a ball at someone, they'll probably throw it back.

Don't nod on the phone.

It's easier to see the mistakes on someone else's paper.