A Trapdoor In The Sun

World's Ugliest Dog Dies. Satan welcomes home long lost Spawn World's Ugliest Dog' Dies POSTED: 9:02 am CST November 22, 2005 SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- A celebrity pooch named Sam has died.With a hairless body, crooked teeth and a tiny tuft of hair on his knobby head, Sam was billed as the ugliest dog in the world.Owner Susie Lockheed said he died Friday, just short of his 15th birthday.Sam, who had his own Web site at SamUgliestDog.com , first captured ugliest-dog honors at a California fair in 2003 and had won the contest both years since.He was a purebred Chinese crested hairless and his looks made him an international celebrity. He made the British tabloids and was on TV in Japan. And, somehow or other, Sam was even on the radio in New Zealand.He also once compared hair with the famously coifed Donald Trump.On top of that, there were Sam T-shirts, calendars and coffee mugs. And he had three doggie pals: TatorTot, TinkerBell and PixieNoodle. In light of Sam's demise a...

Michael Newdow, the atheist who continues his fight against the Pledge of Allegiance, will open a new front this week in his campaign to purge references to God from government. He plans to file a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, challenging the national motto: "In God We Trust." UCDavis Health Newdow wants to remove the phrase from U.S. paper money and coins because he believes it represents a government endorsement of religion. "We are the nation that gave to the world the establishment that government should not endorse religion and everybody should be what they want," Newdow said Monday. "And of all the possible choices, we go with the motto of 'In God We Trust,' which totally contradicts that tradition." One constitutional expert who has closely followed Newdow's pledge cases doubts that a challenge to the national motto - printed on a range of government buildings in addition to currency - will succeed. The courts...

I'm predicting 35-14 Buckeyes tommorow...

Fitzgerald sees new grand jury proceedings By Adam Entous 28 minutes ago In a sign he may seek new or revised charges in the CIA leak case, special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald said on Friday his investigation would be going back before a grand jury. It was the first time Fitzgerald said he would be presenting information to another grand jury since the indictment and resignation three weeks ago of Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Lawyers in the case said the investigation into who leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, which has reached into the highest levels of the White House, could be moving into a new phase that could result in charges against other top administration officials. President George W. Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, was told by prosecutors last month that he remained under investigation and could still be charged, lawyers said. Fitzgerald may also be pursuing new leads following Washington Post...

http://www.arnoldsneighborhood.com/ ; )

Okay. We've all seen the current Republican talking points circulating... you know, the one with all of the quotes from Democrats who at one time supported authorizing Bush to use military force in Iraq... yeah, that one. The fine folks over at the RNC has even made a nice little movie clip with the soundbites over on their website. Well with all the attacks and rhetoric coming from the White House recently thrown at anyone criticizing the war in Iraq, here are some interesting quotes regarding patriotism, war and supporting the troops. Can you guess who said them? "You can support the troops but not the president." -1 "Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years." -2 "Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?" -3 "[The] President . . . is once again releasing ...

Democratic hawk presses for U.S. Iraq pullout By Vicki Allen WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic congressional leader on defense called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, as he rejected on Thursday Bush administration attacks on war critics and raised bipartisan pressure for a new policy. "The U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring them home," said Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, the senior Democrat on the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees defense spending and one of his party's top voices on military issues. Murtha's remarks followed a string of sharp attacks by President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney against critics of their Iraq-war policy and handling of prewar intelligence. Rule #1 in Rove Political Strategy Manual: Attack your critics and compare them to either Jane Fonda, Michael Moore, or Islamic terrorists. As performed by noted Whitehouse spokesmonkey Puffy McMoo...

I recently found myself 'banned' over at Let Our Voices Be Heard . Well, not really banned, but 'deleted'. It seems that the nice little old lady running the blog was patently offended when I brought up Kerry and McCain's military career versus that of Bush and Co... which, like a late night rerun of Who's the Boss, just isn't much to talk about. So, what is it about the truth that makes these people so mad? If you write an opinion blog and then open the floor for comments, can you reasonably expect to not get dissenting voices on your blog from time to time? And when you simply 'delete' their comments rather than argue their statements or dispute their facts, doesn't that make you look like the close-minded idiot? Here's what was said: I've been perusing Senator John McCain's website at :http://mccain.senate.gov/ and have concluded that Senator McCain isn't really a Republican. I've had my suspicions about this before,...

The Family at Capitol Hills Originally uploaded by nocrime2escape . We took this on a timer out in the barren Capitol Hills non-development. The clouds look a little crazy back there. I miss CA sometimes... the yellow grass in winter, the pine trees.

BBC.com US does not torture, Bush insists US President George W Bush has defended his government's treatment of detainees after a media allegation that the CIA ran secret jails in eastern Europe. "We do not torture," Mr Bush told reporters during a visit to Panama. He said enemies were plotting to hurt the US and his government would pursue them, but would do so "under the law". Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court has allowed a legal challenge to the Bush administration's use of military tribunals for foreign detainees. The court will decide whether a former driver for Osama Bin Laden, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, can be tried for war crimes before military officers in Guantanamo Bay. Correspondents say the case will be a major test of the US government's wartime powers. 'Country at war' The White House has not confirmed Washington Post claims that the CIA set up a covert prison network in eastern Europe and Asia to hold high-profile terror suspects ...

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it." - Edward R. Murrow I've spent a good deal of time lately exploring some interesting right-wing blogs here on blogger. I, of course, have a difficult time reading what is sometimes blatant propaganda and not having to exercise my right to comment. Some of the blogs I've visited are: The Creative Conservative - Politics from a somewhat neo-fascist point of view. Basically this site serves as a constant firing range against Clinton, Kerry, Dean, and anyone that doesn't tow the proverbial neocon line. Reading Ottman's fits of rage is akin to watching a car crash in slow motion. Over and over. Let Our Voices Be Heard - Written by a nice older Republican lady from Texas. Sometimes open minded, but usually very condescending towards opposing viewpoints. 90% of her comments are by similar thinking righties. The Better Wing - Penned by a teenager ...

FEMA email shows Brown as idiot, more worried about attire and eating arrangements than actually doing his job. Actual emails (courtesy Foxnews.com) Love the part about him being a 'Fashion God'. Priceless.

Last night, Kate and I had dinner with a couple of friends up in Sunbury. Kate has been friends with B. for years now, having worked with her at a Columbus Non-Profit while she was finishing up her bachelor's degree at OSU. Kate's also always been close to B's husband as well. Both are middle aged, middle class, rural living, hard-working Republicans. Despite that, I've always held them in the highest regard. After dinner, over some fine Maxwell House coffee, our discussion meandered into the political realm. This is dangerous territory, for as restrained as I am when debating political ideology, Kate is very much the polar opposite. She often goes in with her teeth bared, friend or not. She had asked B.'s husband what he thought about Scooter Libby being indicted, and the whole Valerie Plame Outing in general. After minor debate, B. brought into comparison the Clinton scandal in 1998, and indicated that she believed that was a much bigger and more serious breach of...

Young Singers Spread Racist Hate Duo Considered the Olsen Twins of the White Nationalist Movement Oct. 20, 2005 — - Thirteen-year-old twins Lamb and Lynx Gaede have one album out, another on the way, a music video, and lots of fans. They may remind you another famous pair of singers, the Olsen Twins, and the girls say they like that. But unlike the Olsens, who built a media empire on their fun-loving, squeaky-clean image, Lamb and Lynx are cultivating a much darker personna. They are white nationalists and use their talents to preach a message of hate. Known as "Prussian Blue" -- a nod to their German heritage and bright blue eyes -- the girls from Bakersfield, Calif., have been performing songs about white nationalism before all-white crowds since they were nine. "We're proud of being white, we want to keep being white," said Lynx. "We want our people to stay white ... we don't want to just be, you know, a big muddle. We just want to preserve our race...

So I installed this nifty little stealth tracker on the blog that gives me info on whoever is visiting. I'm trying to figure out who is who... I know who viewed my page from Mojave, maybe from San Bern... Minnisota is probably one of Kate's friends, NY... don't know... Nashville, Indiana? No clue.

I think I'm going to change this template... the pulsating ball is getting on my nerves and the blog never looks right on the Mac at home...

We watched Donnie Darko again the other night. I had seen the movie about a year ago (a library rental) and had a hard time grasping the concepts and plotlines of the film. This time, it seemed to make more since. The story is somewhat like Back to the Future, although there are no DeLoreans, mad professors, Calvin Kleins in this tale. The plot is centered around the life of a teenage boy named Donnie Darko (a name, not so accidentally, reminiscent of a super hero). He lives in the typical nuclear family. His mom is authoritive and his father throws discipline to the wind. They've put Donnie in pyschotherapy and on medication to cure him of his problems, however, his problems take on a life of their own. He begins to be visited at night by a strange guy in a macabre bunny suit, looking something akin to Bugs from Hell. The Bunny, Frank, leads Donnie off one night, leaving him asleep on a golf course. Donnie returns home the next morning to find a stray jet engine had demolished par...

How the Bush Administration Changes a Light Bulb How many members of the Bush administration does it take to change a light bulb? 1. One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed. 2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed. 3. One to blame Clinton for burning out the light bulb. 4. One to arrange the invasion of a country rumored to have a secret stockpile of light bulbs. 5. One to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton for the new light bulb. 6. One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing on a step ladder under the banner: Light Bulb Change Accomplished. 7. One administration insider to resign and write a book documenting in detail how Bush was literally in the dark. 8. One to viciously smear #7. 9. One surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how George Bush has had a strong light-bulb-changing policy all along. 10. And finally one to confuse Americans about the difference between screwing a lig...

I was 20 at the time. Two years removed from the juvinality of high school, but still had not completely adapted to life in the real world. I was rooming with several friends from high school in the smallish town of San Luis Obispo, about 10 miles from the beautiful Pacific surfline. We rented a small two bedroom townhouse a few blocks out of SLO Town's lively downtown district. Sharing rooms was never ideal, but given the high cost of living in the area, it was necessary. My roommates and myself had primarily met in music courses in high school, except for Ryan, who I met through others in band class. Ryan was one of the most gifted musicians I had ever met. He could play just about anything and made me look neolithic on the piano. Eric, also very musically talented, was always a bit of an enigma. Although a devout Mormon, he was easily the one of the most devilish guys I knew. No, he didn't slay goats and worship the Satanic Bible or anything like that... he was just very mis...

As most of you know, we spent the week of August 7th-14th in Avon, on North Carolina's beautiful Outer Banks. It was Chris and myself's first trip to OBX and Kate's fourth. The weather was wonderful the whole week except for one rainy Tuesday. We rented a cozy yet roomy beachhouse about 100 yards away from the dunes. We literally could wake up in the morning, throw our swimsuits on, and walk down to the water. The beaches were not near as crowded as the ones I remember frequenting while growing up on Florida's gulf coast. Most people would leave their beach chairs and unbrellas semi-permanantly parked in the sand, with no real concern of them disappearing. We left on Saturday the 6th on the 12 hour drive to Avon. Our poor Civic was loaded down like a camel trekking across the Sahara. With our three bikes were strapped onto the trunk, the bike rack was so weighed down that it left a permenant pressure dent in the bumper. The drive seemed to take forever, though hills and...