Cocktales - Archived Blog Posts

[cocktales]

after months at the center of a media storm and years as one of the most polarizing figures on the American news scene, Dan Rather will sign off this week as anchor of "CBS Evening News." But to paraphrase one of his homespun Rather-isms, don't bet the trailer money that he'll disappear.

Dan says he is NOT retiring; but just changing jobs!

Yeah, right!

Rather's reputation is hardly the only thing left unresolved. Coming six months after the Bush report, the anchorman's messy exit encapsulates much larger problems at CBS News.

CBS' problems on the eve of Rather's departure from the anchor chair are all the more stark when contrasted with the situation at NBC, which after years of careful planning successfully transferred Brian Williams into Tom Brokaw's position on the No. 1 rated "NBC Nightly News" in a burst of publicity last year.

Rather, meanwhile, is leaving the field to catcalls from some of his own teammates.

Some insiders blame Rather not just for his tangled role in the controversy, but for the larger problems in the news division. Executives were too deferential to him for too long, according to this line of thinking. They did not prepare for a smooth succession at the anchor desk; they permitted Rather to spread himself too thin. And above all, they allowed him to languish in the ratings for a decade.

I personally do not like Dan Rather!

Now saying that, let me explain why. I watched him openly disrespect a President in an interview--President Nixon. Sure, Richard Nixon made a horrible mistake; but he was/is the President and no one has the right to brow-beat him.

I also saw him do much the same to George Bush I.

Dan, kinda makes no bones about how much he dislikes the Bush's......I guess NOT openly on the air while on CBS; but his true colors come thru vividly.

He traveled to Texas to get the story that nailed the coffin shut; putting it on the air despite his "underlings" telling him not to. They did NOT have the original paper work. He demanded the story go on as written.

I also dislike Dan Rather because he will NOT take credit for his mistakes. He was the one who "made the story go on"; but he would NOT take any blame or come forward and say it was his fault.....no, he let a Producer and several other people take the blame.

So Dan........good riddance and good-bye!

Read Full Story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6988051/

Check these out:

 

[cocktales]

How do you like the new Book-Jacket for the latest book coming out this summer? Let's see this is Book Six isn't it?

Yes, sigh, I am a "fan-atic fan of Harry Potter"!

I'm NOT in the 12 step program yet; but yes, I am hooked on the great writing and the great stories that J.K. Rowling writes in each and every book.

Surely, some children cannot grasp the meaning of some of the intricacies of her works.......surely NOT! lol lol

Anyway, someone gave me the first book and I just started scanning through it and could not put it down,literally, until I was blurry and red-eyed and just over-come with joy over her writing skills!

Rumor has it that a major character gets killed off in this one. Could it be Dumbledore??? Heavens, I have not recovered from the loss of Sirius Black! But here's a thought: The Hogwarts headmaster seems to be the front runner in the Harry VI death stakes (probably due to his appearance in both cover illustrations), so I suspect someone else will slip this coil. We'll find out for sure come July when Harry fever strikes again and the 608-page tome hits stores. I, for one, can't wait.

 

[cocktales]

Oh Yes He Did!!! lol

John Bolton, President Bush's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Bolton has written about the International Criminal Court, criticized the United Nations and argued that U.S. interests take precedence over diplomatic harmony.

n the weeks after John Danforth resigned as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations , rumors that John Bolton might replace him sparked dismay among some U.N. diplomats.

Could the White House possibly have the nerve, they asked, to appoint the renowned U.N. critic to the post?

So when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced on Monday that Bolton was her choice for the job, the mood among some U.N. staff was disbelief.

Yet the pulling of hair may be a little premature. While Bolton is known for gruffness and occasional outbursts, the United Nations already has plenty of diplomats who share those qualities. Diplomats who know him said he was a man they could work with.

Personally, I think Bolton is the right man at the right time for the job!

Since Bolton's nomination, comments he made against the United Nations have gotten lots of attention — particularly a remark from 1994 when he said it wouldn't make a "bit of difference" if the United Nations lost the top 10 stories from its 39-story headquarters.

He won't be alone.

The rest of the Big 5 already have some real "bastards" as their representatives, why NOT the U.S?

There are plenty of tough talkers with reform-minded agendas, Germany, Japan, Brazil and India among them. And as a permanent member of the Security Council, Bolton will spend many hours surrounded by his fellow ambassadors, many of whom arrived with distinguished resumes of their own.

 

[cocktales]

Yep, that's her alright, the right-arm of the President of the United States, George W. Bush!!!

Karen P. Hughes, the longtime adviser to President Bush often described as the most powerful woman ever to work in the White House. Dub ya said he would NOT run for a second term unless Karen would come back to Washington and be his adviser and friend! Wow, I don't think President Bush get's enough credit for giving women jobs in high places, do you?

Seen as a virtual alter ego for Bush who understands how he thinks better than any other adviser, Hughes helped the president build his administration as his counselor in the first term before her surprise resignation in April 2002 to return to Texas with her family. Her forceful presence and physical stature helped cement her position as a key player in any policy decision.

Karen Hughes has been described as Hippocrates on a winged horse wielding a golden sword. She's one of President Bush's "closest," "most important," "trusted," "influential," "powerful," "crucial," "top" (fill in the superlative) "advisers." White House political fracas to untangle? Hughes has it covered. Political point to spin in a speech? Hughes brings the finesse. Administration tilting too far to the right? She's the White House moderate who counterbalances Karl Rove, the "tough-minded woman brimming with self-confidence."

Karen Hughes is one smart cookie! She has her fingers on the pulse of the Republican Party; while keeping an eye on the Democrats to ensure they "lay-off" her President!

 

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A California businessman has offered Terri Schiavo's estranged husband $1 million to not starve her to death and to transfer legal guardianship for her to Terri's family.

"Mr Schiavo categorically refused that offer," his lawyer, George Felos, told AFP.

"He has received many offers of money to walk away from this case. He's refused them all," the lawyer said, adding that one of the offers was for 10 million dollars.

"He has made a promise to Terri not to keep her alive artificially if something like this happened to her, and there is no amount of money that anyone can offer that is going to cause him to turn his back on her, betray that promise," he said.

Picture of Michael Schiavo.

Robert Herring, Sr., lives in San Diego and is the founder of WEALTHTV, a lifestyle and entertainment television channel. He also spent more than 30 years in the electronics industry as the founder and owner of HERCO Technology, which he later sold to a larger firm.

Herring contacted infamous attorney Gloria Allred to pay Michael Schiavo $1 million if he complies with Herring's request.

"After viewing video of Terri on television, I came to the belief that there was hope for her," Herring said in a statement Thursday. "As events have proceeded in the legal battle, it became clear to me that if something was not done for Terri, that all hope for her would be lost."

The money has been placed in a a trust account operated by Allred on Wednesday and the attorney sent a letter to Michael Thursday morning communicating the offer.

There is no word on whether Michael will accept the offer. Should he do so, courts will still need to sign off on changing legal guardian ship for Terri.

Herring said he acted now because he is worried that Florida courts will not turn back on their decision to allow Michael to starve Terri to death next week.

"With a date of March 18th quickly approaching, and no other viable hope for Terri to be able to keep her feeding tube, I felt compelled to act," he said.

Allred confirmed Herring's rationale.

"It now appears that the court process is ending, and that the legislative process has failed to stop the removal of the feeding tube," she said.

"He recognizes that unless something is done immediately, Terri Schiavo is not likely to survive very long," Allred added. "Knowing that time is of the essence and realizing that he is fortunate enough to be able to help, he has decided to take action.".

How much can a human being take? He's allowed Terri to "live" in this vegetative state for over 15 years to see if she will ever regain consciousness; but to no avail. I agree with the judge and Mr. Schiavo that the tube SHOULD be removed and her allowed to die. It is cruel and unusual punishment to allow her to stay in this "state".

It is just selfish parents wanting to prolong life when none exists!!!

Let Terri go. Let her die and rest in peace!
(Complete data of Terri Schiavo case can be read in it's entirety here:http://www.wilkesmchugh.com/news_schiavo.html

 

[cocktales]

Take a look at the commercial here:
http://buy.overstock.com/ostk_variety.mov

Admit it: You can't take your eyes off this commercial. This woman is so freaking hot!

What is going on with this ad?

While you are watching this ad are you thinking about the product she is selling or are you looking at a beautiful naked woman with ONLY a gold necklace around her throat with an "O" attached to it? lol

I thought so!!

This ad has actually worked though for product recognition.....before this ad, Overstock.com was in single digit numbers for product recognition; but after this beautiful woman does a number on us, the number is up to around 50%~~!! Like WOW!

I bet you cannot tell me the target audience that Overstock.com appeals to? I bet most of you are saying maybe the "younger" female/male audience types???

NOT so, about two-thirds of their bargain-hunting customers are women!

I think you can safely say, "Sex Sells"!!!

 

[cocktales]

If you are not a sports fan, you might be unaware of the controversy over steroids that has surrounded major-league baseball for many months. Leaked grand jury testimony from a criminal investigation and the usual informed whispers have fueled the pervasive sports punditry up until now.

Enter stage Right the United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform who announced that they will be holding hearings investigating steroid abuse in the big leagues.

Steroids are a dangerous thing and like other illegal drugs, they are making their way into the hands of children far to young for society to have any expectation of a reasonable risk/reward analysis on their part. I certainly agree that a program of communication to young people is desirable and justified, but I can not help but wonder if this is not a more appropriate matter for the Surgeon General than the Committee on Government Reform. It sounds like the Reform Committee is overdue a bit of self-examination.

Of course we all know that the truth is that like most of what poses as legitimate legislative activity in the hallowed halls of congress lately, these hearings are intended primarily to be attention getters for the politicians. The testimony of some of the biggest names in sports before the Congress will undoubtedly attract the approving attention of Americans who care more about who did what to whom than the substantive health concerns.

And while we are distracted, terrorists will have more time to exploit our exposed borders, North Korea will move a bit closer toward another nuclear tipped missile, and we will waste yet more precious resources into the entropy of an irrational health care system. Perhaps it is naïve to expect more of our leaders and our citizens than this, but one can always hope. Hope that the façade of genuine concern crumbles off of the Capitol Building. Hope that some of those watching The Show will notice that nothing is actually happening.

On the other hand, maybe not.

Play ball!

 

[cocktales]

BREAKING NEWS! The State of California lost its argument that marriage can be restricted to opposite sex couples at the trial court level today in Woo vs Lockyer when San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.

This is now the fourth time in a row (and second this year), opponents of same-sex marriage have lost at the trial court level with two other cases pending in Connecticut and Maryland. Just last week oral argument was heard before the Washington State Supreme Court in another same-sex marriage case.

"It appears that no rational purpose exists for limiting marriage in this state to opposite-sex partners," Kramer wrote.

The judge wrote that the state's historical definition of marriage, by itself, cannot justify the denial of equal protection for gays and lesbians.

"The state's protracted denial of equal protection cannot be justified simply because such constitutional violation has become traditional," Kramer wrote.

Kramer ruled in lawsuits brought by the city of San Francisco and a dozen same-sex couples last March. The suits were brought after the California Supreme Court halted a four-week marriage spree that Mayor Gavin Newsom had initiated in February 2004 when he directed city officials to issue marriage licenses to gays and lesbians in defiance of state law.

The plaintiffs said withholding marriage licenses from gays and lesbians trespasses on the civil rights all citizens are guaranteed under the California Constitution.

Robert Tyler, an attorney with the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, said the group would appeal Kramer's ruling.

Attorney General Bill Lockyer has said in the past that he expected the matter eventually would have to be settled by the California Supreme Court.

Well, Canada went through similar instances where the law was deemed unconstitutional, until one province finally agreed to allow same-sex marriages and now we have almost all of them allowing same-sex marriages!

Here's a test. The next time you meet some random guy and you're talking to him, instead of asking him if he's married or has a girlfriend, ask him if he has a boyfriend instead. In other words, just assume he's gay and leave it for him to correct you and tell you he's straight.

I am hopeful, no I am praying that people will finally see that Gay marriages WILL NOT affect the sanctity of marriage of heterosexual couples in any way...in fact, perhaps it will have a positive effect, seeing that Gay people can live together and NOT divorce; perhaps the per centages of straight marriages will improve and not so many divorces occur!

Thank you Mayor Gavin Newsom for starting this whole issue, allowing same-sex couples to be happy together!

Eventually the radical right wing of the Republican party will join the rest of us in the 21st century. They will not do so willingly, and they will have to be dragged kicking and screaming all the way, but it remains my belief that eventually they will join the modern world.

Or they are free to remain in their world and join the dinosaurs in extinction.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050314-1604-ca-gaymarriage.html

 

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Prime Minister Sharon has been quoted to have given his permission to strike Iran if talks fail.

Washington is “hallucinating” if it thinks Iran will scrap its nuclear fuel production plans in return for economic incentives, a senior Iranian official was quoted as saying Sunday.

The United States offered the encouragements in support of the European Union which is negotiating with Tehran to try to persuade it to give up sensitive nuclear activities.

Iran says it needs atomic technology to generate electricity and will never use it to make bombs, as the United States fears. London’s Sunday Times said Israel had drawn up plans for a combined air and ground attack on Iranian nuclear installations if diplomacy fails to halt Tehran’s atomic program.

The newspaper said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his inner cabinet had given “initial authorization” for a unilateral attack at a private meeting last month.

Israel, which bombed Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, played down the report. Iran has said it will respond vigorously to any attack on its nuclear plants.

Well, the situation is this. We all know that Putin of Russia has already made a deal with Iran to sell them Nuclear "stuff" and made Iran promise to give the expended fuel back to Russia so that they cannot use this for bombs......

Now, if Iran breaks off the talks with the European Community, what then will happen....Will Israel then launch an all out attack on all the nuclear sites in Iran? We all know we have a treaty with Israel to protect them in advent of war........and if Russia feels threatened by all this, what will happen??

Does Israel have the right to be concerned about the Iranian Bombs? You know Iran has already made it known that they will not rest till all Israelis are dead! Knowing that, do you think Israel has a right to destroy their nuclear capability??

The jury is still out!

 

[cocktales]

Let's see, today was a banner day for "justice"? (notice I put a question mark!)

Lets see, Scott Peterson, Robert Blake and Bernard Ebbers all stood before a judge to hear their fate....

First, Scott Peterson. Judge Alfred A. Delucchi accepted the jury's recommendation that Peterson be sentenced to death for killing his wife Laci and unborn fetus, Conner. The judge called him a cruel, hateful, mean person...and sent him to death row at San Quentin Prison in California.

Next, in a stunning case, Robert Blake was acquitted of murder of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley four years ago. The judge also dismissed one case of trying to get someone to kill her and also dismissed a second case of the same when they became dead-locked on that point. In other words...he's a free man!!

Finally, last; but certainly NOT least, we have the trial of Bernard Ebbers. You may NOT know his name right off; but when reminded, I'm certain you will know him and be curious of his fate.

A federal jury Tuesday convicted Bernard J. Ebbers of engineering a record $11 billion fraud that sent his once-highflying telecommunications company, World Com into the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

After eight days of deliberations, a mostly blue-collar jury of seven women and five men found Ebbers guilty on one count each of fraud and conspiracy and seven counts of filing false financial reports. Ebbers, who remains free on bond, could face as many as 85 years in prison. Sentencing was set for June 13.

I would say this was quite an eventful day in the courtrooms of America. I know we have our own ideas; but in a democracy, we agree to have our fate decided by a "fair and impartial group of our peers"! We often discuss the fairness of this; but accept the outcome; notwithstanding appeals.

Such in the day of Justice....I wonder if Lady Liberty was wearing a blind-fold today or NOT.......

 

[cocktales]

BASTARDS!!!!

I'm truly sorry to have to utter such a curse word when I am talking about one of God's houses......that of the Diocese of San Diego.

A member of the Greater San Diego Business Association and owner of two gay bars has been denied a funeral at the University of San Diego and in any Catholic church or chapel in the Diocese of San Diego. John McCusker, 31, owner of Club Montage and ReBar, two local gay nightspots, died early March 13. McCusker suffered an apparent heart attack while at the Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort on vacation.

A 1996 graduate of USD, McCusker's family wanted to have the funeral service there, but was denied after church officials received information about him and his businesses.....

"The facts regarding the business activity of John McCusker were not known by church officials when arrangements were requested for his funeral. When these facts became known the bishop of San Diego concluded that to avoid public scandal Mr. McCusker can't be granted a funeral in a Catholic church or chapel in the Diocese of San Diego."

So what about McCusker would cause a public scandal?

"His business is adult entertainment, which is inconsistent with Catholic teaching" Valdivia said. "People would be scandalized that the church granted a funeral to a person who had this type of business activity."

But instead, the bigots running the Catholic church are refusing to given this man a funeral. A funeral! Simply because he owned a couple of gay bars. If he were a pedophile priest raping young boys and girls they would give him a funeral. Hell, they'd give him a promotion. But because he's an upstanding GAY businessman, they won't even give him a funeral.

I am beyond words at the the contempt and loathing I have for the leaders of that so-called church. Aside from the religious right, they are doing their damnedest to further the devil's work in the name of God. They truly sicken me.

Just once, it would be nice if someone in that fucked up church would actually heed the words of that guy they are always talking about, Jesus Christ. Take for example, the Golden Rule, which is pretty much the basic message from Jesus: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

There is surely a special place in hell for the leaders of the Catholic church of San Diego and of the Holy Father in Rome if that's his teachings as well!!

I have only one thing to say, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do"!

Feel free to call the Catholic diocese of San Diego and let them know how you feel about their UN-Christian hate and bigotry.

Phone: 858-490-8200
Email: bcarr@diocese-sdiego.org
Conference@cacatholic.org
ckellett@diocese-sdiego.org
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...seofsandiegodeniescatholicfuneralritestobarow

 

[cocktales]

(Back dated one day due to JUB being down)

Pale Male

Lola

Pale Male is a 14-year-old (estimated) red-tailed hawk who’s a longtime and much-loved resident of New York City, having first been sighted here in 1991. He and a series of mates (Lola is his current mate; if I remember correctly, the last mate, Blue, died after eating a poisoned rat or pigeon – he and Lola have been together since 2001) have been nesting on an ornate parapet at 927 Central Park West (same building as Mary Tyler Moore, no less!) since 1993. Since 1995, at least one of each yearly brood raised in that nest has fledged with the exception of 2002 - Lola’s first clutch, according to the statistic page from which I’m gleaning all of this info. I wonder if red tails don’t do that well on their first try cause it looks like the first 2 clutches Pale Male & Blue had were abandoned and didn’t hatch, while over the subsequent 4 years, 11 of their 12 hatchlings fledged. 1992, Pale Male & First Love’s first full year together also produced no young – they had a run of rough luck, the first nest was destroyed, and then after they rebuilt in another location, they were both injured.

I’m quite fascinated by this statistics page, can you tell? I just found it today – included the link here ‘cause I really just stumbled across it. Check out palemale.com for more.

This winter the co-op board at 927 CPW, in a stupendous display of the unique arrogance that Manhattan co-op boards sometimes display, tore down the nest & removed the anchoring pigeon spikes (wire bristles designed to keep pigeons from landing on your fancy architectural details). Too messy, they said. Too many nasty carcasses & stuff. Poor Pale Male and Lola – they came home one day to find their nest just gone. They tried to rebuild – they’d bring sticks, but without the spikes, it was a useless effort as the sticks would just blow away.

But although they couldn’t speak for themselves, the hawk-watchers could. The media picked up the story; there were protests in front of the building, there were letters to the editor, and, finally realizing that they were embroiled in a complete PR nightmare & that even some of the residents of the building were angry (I think Mary Tyler Moore was among them!), the co-op board relented and hired someone to design, build and install a custom-designed falling-stick-and-dead-rat-proof red tail nest cradle on the parapet!

Once again…all together now…only in N.Y., yeah? God, I love New York and New Yorkers!!!! Lol…….sigh..

There was no guarantee they’d move back in – it was quite possible that after such a disturbance, they might want to look for new digs – but in the end, they chose to do so & proceeded to rebuild their nest in time for mating season. And now they’re incubating their 2005 clutch – I’ve been so busy with other stuff I actually hadn’t checked up on palemale.com for a couple of weeks (after all the waiting with bated breath to see whether they were going to rebuild was over & they’d begun their annual mating flights) and then one morning I was listening to the news as I was getting ready for work, and there in the middle of all the usual death, destruction & misery was the announcement – “Pale Male and Lola are expecting!”. Or something like that. I saw this “hawk watcher” talking to a reporter and saying she just knew there was an egg or eggs in the nest…….how she knew, well she just knew!!!

 

[cocktales]

The Terri Schiavo case has taken yet another turn as Congress attempts to delve in to the lives (and deaths) of every single American on the face of the planet. I am pro-life but I'm also anti-big government; Congress has now taken this too far.

In a last-ditch attempt to stop the court-ordered removal, a House committee on Capitol Hill here decided early Friday morning to start an investigation into Schiavo's case and issue subpoenas ordering doctors and hospice administrators not to remove her feeding tubes and to keep her alive until that investigation was complete.

The effort by the House Government Reform Committee came after lawmakers in both Washington and Tallahassee failed in attempts to pass legislation to keep her husband, Michael Schiavo, from having the tube pulled despite heavy lobbying by Schiavo's parents. (The Government Reform Committee is the same committee that forced Major League Baseball players and officials to testify Thursday about steroid use.)

It's interesting. Last week Tom Delay was feeling the heat of investigation into his dealings and the possibility of going to prison. This week he's on the positive side of the ledger, getting involved into places perhaps he should NOT!

What I find interesting about this case is the fact that so many right-wing, pro-life, Republicans have stepped up to stop Terri Schiavo's feeding tube from being removed. However, most of these same Republicans are the ones that scream for less government involvement in their day-to-day lives. It just baffles me. Get the feds out of everyone's lives; big governments never accomplish anything quickly (that is the case here) and the Terri Schiavo supporters have just made our government bigger.

Sorry folks, the feds need to stay out of this case unless they can figure out some violation of Federal law. Judges from Florida to the Supreme Court of the land have already deemed it a local issue and that issue has already been decided......how many times must it be done to be final?

You might think me a cold hearted bastard; but I am really, really NOT! I DO NOT want a person to continue suffering or cause suffering when there is nothing that can be done for them. I think over 15 years of trying is more than enough time for a recovery to have taken place, don't you?

Courts are "suppose" to leave emotions out of their decisions for those in front of them. I think Judge Greer acted responsibly in this case!

I think it's time to let Teri go.

 

[cocktales]

Sergeant Pat Graves has his badge covered with black electrical tape to honor the deaths of those killed on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Red Lake, Minnesota.

Teenage gunman Jeff Weise drove a stolen police car up to his school and then randomly shot at students and teachers, authorities said as the remote town of Red Lake grieved for the victims of the latest rampage to stun the United States.

Red Lake High School, is located on an Indian reservation, about 25 miles north of Bemidji, a town of about 25,000 residents, many of them Ojibway Indians.

A STUDENT who killed nine people and himself on a Minnesota Indian reservation identified himself as an “angel of death” and a “NativeNazi” on internet postings, a US newspaper reported yesterday.

"I guess I've always carried a natural admiration for Hitler and his ideals, and his courage to take on larger nations," the newspaper quoted Weise as saying in one forum used by neo-Nazis.

Weise began his rampage by shooting dead his grandfather, officer Daryl 'Dash' Lussier, and Mr Lussier's girlfriend.

He then drove to the school where he killed a male security guard, a teacher and five students before taking his own life, the FBI said.

"One of the students told me he pointed his gun at a boy and then changed his mind, smiled, waved at him, and shot somebody else," said reporter Molly Miron.

Police, alerted when students used mobile phones to call for help, said they exchanged gunfire with Weise, who ducked into a classroom and shot himself.

It was the deadliest US school shooting since the April 20, 1999, Columbine High School massacre in Colorado in which 14 students including the two killers and a teacher died. The Minnesota reservation is controlled by the Ojibwa tribe, commonly known as the Chippewa, which says it has roughly 10,000 members.

The young man was obviously very troubled - with one invalid parent and another who committed suicide. In my own community, (and it is not just Native Americans) inhalants, over-the-counter medications, meth-amphetamines, cigarettes, alcohol, and poor choices are aggravating an already difficult time in life - the 'tween and teen years. As a former educator, I believe that we must learn all we can from this tragedy for our present and future generations to survive.

My deepest sympathy goes to Jeff's remaining relatives, the Red Lake Reservation, the Chippewa Nation and all who are affected by this tragedy.

What now? How do we protect our young people while they are in school supposedly to learn? Gun control? Yeah, yeah, I know.....Guns don't kill people, people kill people.............BUT.........with guns!

HELP!!!!

 

[cocktales]

Okay, so they’re thinking about making consensual M2M sex in South African prisons ‘legal’.

Okay, so I realize that whatever rules are put into place in any prison anywhere in the world, the “gay” sex, either consensual or by force (which is unquestionably rape) will continue to happen. One only has to remember those scenes in Shawshank Redemption and Tim Robbins.

But to give consensual “gay” the green light stupefies me. This is not a matter of giving rights to gay prisoners, because I reckon that guys don’t have to be gay to indulge in sex whilst they are incarcerated, sheer physical need can make the hairiest of bums attractive to the straightest of inmates. And I am not talking rape, which is, as we all know, not a crime of passion, but a power thing.

But why should inmates, imprisoned because they have wronged society, have been tried in a court of law and found guilty, have rights and privileges? Maybe I am being too hard, but Dude, you did wrong, got caught, and got locked up. Why should you have rights? Why should you be able to watch TV???

During general elections, prisoners are allowed to vote. Why? By committing their crimes, surely they have given up their day-to-day rights (I’m not talking basic human rights, which should never be taken away) in having a ‘normal’ life while we’re funding their stay in jail? I think that prisoners – depending on their crime – should be put to use for the rest of society. Let them spruce up the community’s sidewalks and highways, let them make our cities and towns prettier. Local governments and municipalities cannot afford these niceties, they have far more pressing issues to deal with and pay for, but prisoners don’t need to get paid.
Going back to the legitimising of same sex philanderings within our prisons, what about safe sex? Do the prisoners get to choose their brand of condoms; does KY Jelly get handed out with dinner?

Get real guys, if you need the infamous “it”, I don’t want to pay for it.

I’ve put the term ‘gay’ in inverted commas, because I do not believe that this is gay at all, it is male sex.

In California it is "illegal" to have sex in the all male prisons; but the California legislature is considering handing out condoms to inmates....knowing full well they "will" have sex; either consensual or forced and if they hand out condoms, perhaps it will help stop/prevent HIV/AIDS. What next?

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1679760,00.html

 

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Pat O'Brien is the Host of "THE INSIDER."

A veteran newscaster with over 20 years in the entertainment business, O'Brien began as an anchor for "CBS Sports" in 1981 and later joined "Entertainment Tonight" as a substitute anchor and correspondent.

Pat O'Brien joins the list of famous people who have to go off the bottle, pills or whatever, as he takes a hiatus from taping his entertainment show "The Insider" to enter rehab for alcoholism.

However, the plot thickens even more as we speak..... The Insider host's statement to the AP announcing his entering treatment comes right after voice mails were leaked on the Web of O'Brien soliciting sex from an unidentified woman.

Hollywood sources suggest the timing of going into rehab was to defuse the release of several sexually explicit voice-mail messages, available on the Internet yesterday, soliciting sex from an unidentified woman.

The tape describes in graphic detail just how "badly" the caller wants various activities that involve, gosh, all parts of the woman's body.

"I'm so into you, Betsy is so f——ing jealous," the voice claims in one message. "I know you want me, but you have to be with Betsy, too."

"The Insider" host has one child with his wife, Linda.

Sadly, by the final message, Betsy seems to have pulled out of the threesome.

Says the caller: "Get another woman up, hire a hooker, let's get crazy, get some coke and if you get this message, if you agree with this, just look at me and say yes."

First Pat takes off to rehab, then we learn about his sexually explicit voice mails and now there's a photo to go along with the story.

He sent a picture of himself masturbating to his plaything "Betsy," "described as an attractive blond mother of two daughters." But it's Betsy's ex-husband who's in possession of the incriminating photo, which seems to have been attached to an email outlining just how Pat and Betsy could go about having an affair. He's rumored to be mulling over a sale to a celebrity tabloid (not Star, they don't pay for things like that, remember?).

Well, well, things get curiouser and curiouser....it seems those we tout as leaders in their fields have skeletons in their closets as well.

What are we to do?

Do we disavow the total kinky news items and give the loser the benefit of the doubt? Perhaps, this only proves that everyone's human in one respect or another and should NOT be held to a higher esteem than anyone else. I do however take exception to those who otherwise claim almost "papacy" and then turn out to be real screw-balls with the morals of an alley cat!

I find the whole scenario totally "interesting"; but not without mixed feelings of let-down....more to follow?

Here's the Pat O'Brien sex tapes:http://www.screenhead.com/funny/oddities/the-pat-obrien-voicemail-036643.php

 

[cocktales]

...........I Think It Did In Atlanta a few weeks ago!

When Brian Nichols was brought into an Atlanta court on 11 March for a retrial on a rape case, a single guard -- a five-foot-two 51-year-old grandmother -- escorted him. Although Deputy Cynthia Ann Hall was a veteran with plenty of training, Nichols overpowered and beat her by sheer size and weight. He then took her gun and escaped. Nichols killed court reporter Julie Ann Brandau and Judge Rowland Barnes as well as Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Hoyt Teasley on his way out of the courthouse. After carjacking several vehicles, Nichols pistol-whipped a reporter and stole his jacket. He then killed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent David Wilhelm and took his gun, badge and truck. Nichols finally surrendered after terrorising a woman named Ashley Smith in her apartment, while she talked him into giving up.

Why was Nichols left wearing no restraints, alone with only one guard whom he could obviously overpower? It is thought that the sight of a defendant in handcuffs, surrounded by guards, might unduly influence juries. In most cases when a juror spots a defendant in cuffs and escorted by police, the defense usually moves for a mistrial on the spot. Aren't the jurors supposed to know he's the defendant in the case? Is the fact that he probably just came from a holding cell -- as Nichols had -- supposed to be a secret? Would it have been too politically incorrect to suggest that Deputy Hall might want a partner just this one time -- maybe a six-foot weightlifter with a black belt in Judo and a toothache to put him in the proper mood?

magine the huge Liberal outcry that would have gone up had Judge Barnes, who clearly saw that Nichols might pose a threat, ordered extra escorts or restraints. (He did request extra officers in the courtroom, but not the holding area.) The media would have portrayed him as a stereotypical "redneck" judge, antithetical to both blacks and women. Barnes would have been excoriated as being "afraid" of Nichols (whom the media would have transformed into a gentle, misunderstood giant, like Michael Clarke Duncan playing John Coffey in The Green Mile), or at least trying to influence the jury by making him look dangerous. "Barnes Says Women Guards Can't Cut It," the headlines would have screamed. NOW would have joined forces with exploitive agitators like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to stage protests in the street outside the courthouse. Barnes's career would probably have been over.

But at least he'd be alive to enjoy his retirement, as would Julie Ann Brandau, Hoyt Teasley and David Wilhelm.

I say "Fuck Political Correctnes" sometimes when it means life or death!

 

[cocktales]

1990 photo of Terri and Michael, happy couple not knowing what the future held for them!!
---------------------------------------------------
I try(tried) to avoid things like the Schiavo case.

It’s not that I don’t care or that I lack empathy. It’s not like I haven’t been reading about this or am uninformed. God knows, it’s not as though I don’t have an opinion. It’s just that so many other people are doing such a good job adding noise to what should be a private matter — dang, that was close to an opinion — that I don’t see anything to gain by adding another voice.

Then again, loudmouth that I am, I cannot resist---again.

So here, in simple sentences using small words, is what I think. No links, no facts, just more noise:

Terry Schiavo has been, for all practical purposes, a vegetable for at least a decade. Despite the contention of others, the medical evidence is crystal clear for anyone lacking an agenda.

Give this poor woman a last shot at ending her life with dignity — she's NOT feeling the effects of no food or water..she will simply go further into a coma and pass on.

I don’t care where you stand politically and the fact that I even have to wonder, frankly, scares the hell out of me. This isn’t about you or your vote in 2006. This isn’t about Dubya. This has nothing to do with party lines, constitutional law or whatever your cause of the day is. This has do do with the private battle of one family. Governments stay out of it!

Leave her, and her family, alone, you fucking vultures. Are you getting this? It’s not about you. It’s not about what you think, how you feel or what you would do in the same position. Until you have a loved one in a hospital bed with a liquefied cerebral cortex, I don’t really care what you think.

Right, left or in the middle. I don’t care. Show a tiny little bit of humanity and let this woman die in peace while allowing her family a bit of grace. A simple moment to grieve however they see fit. The death of a once vital woman is not an excuse to make points with your constituency, lay the groundwork for ‘06 or to parlay your blogosphere fame into a steady gig with FOX or MSNBC.

There will be plenty of time to dissect her corpse and vilify whoever you decide is the bad guy, but for now, just shut the fuck up.

NOTE: Now if the media circus makes a mockery of her funeral and burial, that surely would be the last straw of decency!!

Rest in Peace dear Terri!

 

[cocktales]

1990 photo of Terri and Michael, happy couple not knowing what the future held for them!!
---------------------------------------------------
I try(tried) to avoid things like the Schiavo case.

It’s not that I don’t care or that I lack empathy. It’s not like I haven’t been reading about this or am uninformed. God knows, it’s not as though I don’t have an opinion. It’s just that so many other people are doing such a good job adding noise to what should be a private matter — dang, that was close to an opinion — that I don’t see anything to gain by adding another voice.

Then again, loudmouth that I am, I cannot resist---again.

So here, in simple sentences using small words, is what I think. No links, no facts, just more noise:

Terry Schiavo has been, for all practical purposes, a vegetable for at least a decade. Despite the contention of others, the medical evidence is crystal clear for anyone lacking an agenda.

Give this poor woman a last shot at ending her life with dignity — she's NOT feeling the effects of no food or water..she will simply go further into a coma and pass on.

I don’t care where you stand politically and the fact that I even have to wonder, frankly, scares the hell out of me. This isn’t about you or your vote in 2006. This isn’t about Dubya. This has nothing to do with party lines, constitutional law or whatever your cause of the day is. This has do do with the private battle of one family. Governments stay out of it!

Leave her, and her family, alone, you fucking vultures. Are you getting this? It’s not about you. It’s not about what you think, how you feel or what you would do in the same position. Until you have a loved one in a hospital bed with a liquefied cerebral cortex, I don’t really care what you think.

Right, left or in the middle. I don’t care. Show a tiny little bit of humanity and let this woman die in peace while allowing her family a bit of grace. A simple moment to grieve however they see fit. The death of a once vital woman is not an excuse to make points with your constituency, lay the groundwork for ‘06 or to parlay your blogosphere fame into a steady gig with FOX or MSNBC.

There will be plenty of time to dissect her corpse and vilify whoever you decide is the bad guy, but for now, just shut the fuck up.

NOTE: Now if the media circus makes a mockery of her funeral and burial, that surely would be the last straw of decency!!

Rest in Peace dear Terri!

 

[cocktales]

http://cdn.digitalcity.com/pmms/productpagemovies/07/04/1589634[IMG]
There's a new trailer out for Bewitched, and it turns out it isn't going to be a remake of the original series after all. Well, not exactly. Looks like it's going to be about a down and out movie star (Will Ferrell) trying to revive his career by making a new version of the classic TV show Bewitched. In trying to cast the perfect Samantha, he runs across Nicole Kidman, who turns out to really be a witch.
[IMG]http://cdn.digitalcity.com/pmms/productpagemovies/07/03/1589633
I was quite dismayed when I heard that they cast Will Ferrell as Darren, but my hopes have been buoyed by the idea that this isn't an exact remake per se. This new trailer looks quite cute. I can't wait to see Shirley MacLaine as Endora. I just hope she is just as catty as the TV Endora by Agnes Moorehead was....I loved her! Should be fun (or at least not as bad at The Stepford Wives remake).

I can hardly wait to see the movie, I was such a fan of the television show. I still cannot make up my mind which Darren I liked most, can you? lol