i think i know why bush is so adamant for 'staying the course'

cuz as long as we 'stay the course' all his buddies stand to reap billions on this war in iraq.

makes me proud to be an iowan

lots of comments regarding pat robertson's murderous tirade on national television in the des moines register's letters today.

weeeEEEEeeee!

I'm a Christian. I believe in a higher power, and Pat Robertson does not speak for me. We ask moderate Muslims to stand up and denounce inflammatory rhetoric against the Unites States by radical (Muslim) religious leaders. So it's time we walk the walk and stand up and denounce our own religious leaders when they suggest violent acts to solve world problems.

-Matt Culp, Des Moines.

Why is it acceptable for Pat Robertson to advocate for murder on national TV? Can we all do that? Or would we be arrested?

-Fran Fuller, Des Moines.

You say it is bizarre for a Christian minister to endorse assassination. However, it is no more bizarre than Christian ministers and American Christians in general supporting the war in Iraq. What's the difference?

-Mark Lindahl, Des Moines.

Pat Robertson's plea for assassination gives credence to what I have believed for a long time: Very often the religious right is not right, and the moral majority is not necessarily moral.

-Priscilla Brown, Cedar Falls.

As a Christian minister, I am appalled that the Rev. Pat Robertson suggested the assassination of the president of Venezuela. Not only is this an act that has been outlawed by decree of President Ford, it is totally opposite of the calling of Christians to love their neighbor.

This suggestion to act illegally made over the public airwaves by a supporter of President Bush needs to be thoroughly investigated by the FCC. It is every bit as obscene as the halftime shenanigans of Janet Jackson.

-The Rev. Jim Nelson, Des Moines.

The right Reverend Pat Robertson denounces a woman's right to choose as murder. He denounces stem-cell research using embryonic cells as murder. But he advocates the assassination of a world leader. How ironic.

-Jane E. Brown, Granger.

When I was growing up, I attended a fundamentalist, evangelical Christian church. I was taught that it is a sin to kill anyone for any reason.

The problem with many Christians today is that they pick and choose from the Bible what they want to believe. I guess they think killing is OK now. To justify killing someone because he is from a different country, has radical views, has a different religion or is a suspected terrorist doesn't make it right. Sin is sin.

-Jeffrey Smith, Clive.

from the GOOD NEWS DEPARTMENT:

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll reflects further erosion in President George W. Bush's job approval rating, continuing the slow but steady decline evident throughout the year so far. The poll -- conducted Aug. 22-25 -- puts Bush's job approval rating at 40% and his disapproval rating at 56%. Both are the most negative ratings of the Bush administration. Bush's previous low point in approval was 44% (July 25-28, 2005) and his previous high point in disapproval was 53% (June 24-26, 2005).

--GALLUP

*giggle*

Letter Of The Day

A fact is an event we can observe. A scientific theory or law is a testable explanation of facts. By testable we mean we can predict from it and see if our predictions are right.

Theory is not fact. Its truth requires only that the predictions be confirmed so that we can say things work "as if" they are governed by the theory.

We can say that a tsunami is an immediate act of God or we can use geological theory that acts "as if" the tsunami is a wave resulting from underwater movement of tectonic plates. It moves across the ocean, and we can predict its striking land by obtaining sensor measurements from appropriate devices located around the world.

The theory of evolution is that the species are shaped by environment. The mechanism is the environmental selection of individuals who will have offspring. The corollary is that the individual is shaped by environment.

Intelligent design is a labor saver. If drug-resistant diseases are a product of intelligent design rather than of environmental impact, then we have no need for much drug research nor for exercising care in completing prescribed drug dosages. If individual characteristics are products of intelligent design rather than of environmental impact, then we have no need to discipline or otherwise regulate the environments of children.
-Gordon M. Harrington,
Waterloo.

--source

the whole page of opinion letters today deals with intelligent design and evolution theory. a good read if you want to hear both sides.

gas prices and politics

seems that the intersection has finally come within sight.

WASHINGTON — As consumers feel pain at the pump, record high gas prices are registering as a political problem with congressional Republicans.

--yahoo

2 oil men in the whitehouse + oil companies having record profits = high prices at the pump

Letter Of The WeeQ

Methamphetamine poses a much greater danger to Iowa and the rest of the Midwest than terrorism ever will, yet White House officials have focused more attention on marijuana than on meth ("GOP Lawmakers Criticize Bush's Meth Proposal," Aug. 19). Focusing on marijuana instead of meth is like swatting only the flies in your house when wasps are buzzing around. The Bush administration doesn't seem to have a clue as to what the real dangers are to the citizens of this country.
-David Leonard,
Adel.

--source

what IS it with these stupid people

they claim that 'freedom is not free' and that it costs us blood to be free.

WHEN did animals donate their blood?

Letter Of The Day

There have been several articles in the paper recently about how to bring about giving our children a better education. I can clearly see that for several years now, something is lacking in the way subjects are taught.

I only had an eighth-grade education until later on in years when I decided to further my education. But even with my eighth-grade schooling, I knew the difference between: loose and lose, their and they’re, stripped and striped, flower and flour, clothes and cloths and other commonly used words.

These misspelled words are in the Globe Gazette, on billboards and even in published books.

I have never heard of a stripped cat, Globe Gazette, but I do own a beautiful striped cat.

--Dianne Ott, Mason City

--source

do you like IM?

then you'll luv this lil' gem from google:

http://www.google.com/talk/

caught this tidbid on Slate's Today's Papers

from one of the places i go every morning:

According to a Page One Post piece, a group of scientists from the U.S. government and abroad have confirmed that traces of weapons-grade uranium found in Iran's nuclear equipment parts were indeed a result of contamination by Pakistan, which sold Iran the second-hand equipment. "The biggest smoking gun that everyone was waving is now eliminated with these conclusions," said a "senior official." As the WP notes, last year now-Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton accused the Iranians of lying about the contamination.

boy, doesn't this just make you cringe?

the draft of the iraqi constitution

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq-Constitution-Text.html

from the Really Great News Department(TM)

George W. Bush's overall job approval ratings have dropped from a month ago even as Americans who approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president are turning more optimistic about their personal financial situations according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 36% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 58% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 33% approve and 62% disapprove.

Among Americans registered to vote, 38% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 56% disapprove, and 36% approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 60% disapprove.

--source

the 36% must be those haves and have-mores, or maybe we have that many macho shitheads, the deluded, the selfish, the cluess, the stupid fundamentalist bigots.

and as someone else online pondered: these are the same 30-somethings who were rabidly after clinton. these twits succeeded in convincing MSM that THEY were the majority... you know, the ones when MSM tries the

"some people are saying..."
"an anonymous source said..."
"people have reported ..."
"everyone knows that ..."

there's that core bushite crowd.

my problems with IE are legendary

and to show how well i take the issues when they come up (and they come up often), take a look at how someone else was able to condense the frustration into less than 1k.

http://monster-island.org/tinashumor/humor/ielinux.html