Americans Less Likely to Text While Driving after Viewing Controversial U.K. Public Service Announcement

http://www.mediacurves.com/NationalMediaFocus/J7508-PSA/
Majority of Americans (85%) say the PSA should be aired in the U.S.

I tend to agree, especially lately, tho I was always firmly against this dangerous idiocy.

My daughter and now-ex-husband are on our county's Rescue Squad. A couple of months ago they responded to a call. It was a young man, a boy really, about 20-23, who'd left the road and hit a tree, and died on impact. They knew then that he'd died on impact, because his eyes were open wide, mouth open in a scream - so he saw what was happening but it happened so fast he couldn't stop it. Time to see, not to act. And, still clutched in his hand so tightly they had to pry his fingers loose, was a cell phone, and a partially completed text message.
HCD Research Inc., through its MediaCurves.com® website, is the leader in public perception of topical issues and draws from its MediaCurves™ panel to report on Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events, visual broadcasts, and advertisements.
Utilizing proprietary and patent-pending curve technology, survey participants view and evaluate a video or broadcast of current events by “dial testing” (moving their mouse back and forth on a scale) to indicate, for example, believability or agreement with the video. The responses are compiled and curves are created so that you can see when people agree/disagree or believe/disbelieve what is being said in the video.Studies conducted using the MediaCurves™ survey method cover topical areas including healthcare, business, politics, and other national and international news, both for single studies as well as longitudinal studies. In many cases, data indices have been developed for various topical areas and subject matter.
The above was copied directly from Media Curve's site, but I can tell you that I really enjoy being a member. The surveys are fun or interesting to take - not boring like many survey sites, and you won't find a page full of tiny circles to spend half a day clicking away at. There are also fun subjects as well as serious ones, such as entertainment, and culture.

https://www.hcdsurveys.com/panel/index.cfm

STOP GOV'T FROM RAISING FOOD TAXES, STOP BIG MEDIA CORPORATIONS FROM METERING INTERNET, RAISING NET BILLS WHILE RESTRICTING ACCESS TO NET AS WELL

I wrote about these two subjects on my other blog, but they're so important I wanted to do so here as well. But rather than repeat everything all over again I'm going to provide you with the links to the 2 stories on the other blog:

http://searchingfortruth-anonpartisansite.blogspot.com/

This is the link for my other site, above.

The following is a direct link to the story AMERICANS AGAINST FOOD TAXES

and has a link to the AAFT website and a petition to sign to tell our representatives in Congress that we do not want this tax passed - that we're watching and listening, and thinking, and they cannot get away with what they have been in the past. We won't tolerate any new taxes on the common people, the middle and lower classes are barely scratching by as it is and we no longer have much of a chance in this nation due to the rich sticking it to us and Congress taxing us to death, as we can barely keep up with our basic needs much less have time or resources to try to jump ahead in the world. NO MORE TAXES ON MIDDLE AND LOWER CLASSES, AND CERTAINLY NO MORE FOOD TAXES.

http://searchingfortruth-anonpartisansite.blogspot.com/2009/08/americans-against-food-taxes.html

And this link is for the story SAVE THE INTERNET, to stop companies such as Time Warner from charging us much higher rates for net usage, limiting how much we can use it, and charging us as if on a meter, depending upon how much we use it, how long we're on it per month, how many sites we visit, etc. So far Congress has prevented this, and Obama has spoken against it, but money is power, and we must fight to keep it that way, since they're fighting to squeeze more money out of something that doesn't belong to them. We pay for the access to internet per month, and that is all they should be allowed to charge for. Consider, too, that to meter the sites is to know too much about the sites we go to and what we do online. There is a link to the petition site, which itself has links to several groups fighting this outrage, as well as other abuses of power and abuses of the average citizen.

http://searchingfortruth-anonpartisansite.blogspot.com/2009/08/save-internet.html

Larry Garrison, The Newsbreaker

The NewsBreaker
A Behind the Scenes Look at the News Media and Never Before Told Details about Some of the Decade's Biggest Stories
Trade Paper
By Larry Garrison
For twenty-five years, Larry Garrison has been a news broker, operating within the secret side of the news, finding and releasing some of the most sensational stories of the last couple decades. Now, in this riveting account of the news behind the news, Garrison lets readers in on how such headlining stories are found, manipulated, and released to the public, blowing the whistle on the news media, and divulging what really happens when all of the major news agencies compete to report the same top stories. Garrison goes inside some of his biggest cases, providing never-before-released info on the Terri Schiavo case, Michael Jackson, TWA Flight 800, 9/11, the Oklahoma bombing, Andrew Cunanan and the murder of Versace, Jon Benet Ramsey, the Robert Blake murder case, Mary Kay Letourneau, and many, many more. Gutsy and gritty, Larry has uncovered and been exposed to facts of some of the biggest headlines of our times. And now, in The NewsBreaker, he finally tells the story behind the headlines, how news is made and reported, and why the networks wouldn't, or couldn't, give the full story on some of the most important news events of our time.
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1595552871&title=The-NewsBreaker&author=Larry-Garrison



http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=2406142&page=1

Garrison reveals what happens behind the headlines -- how the news changes from the scene of a story to when it hits a television screen -- and offers readers a rare look inside one of today's hottest industries. My clients are of a different nature. I don't practice in a court of law; I operate in the court of public opinion. But the people I represent need me in the same way a victim needs a lawyer. My clients have often been thrust into territory so far
from what they're accustomed to that the process could chew them up and spit them out without someone like me to watch out for their best interests. In much the same way lawyers help their clients through the legal system, I help my clients navigate the media machine, specifically the news media. And even though I don't always chase them, I am always on the lookout for them.
Read an excerpt from "The Newsbreaker" below:

{skipping most, just giving you a hint of what's in the 4 pages of the abc story, which is an exerpt of his book, so I'm literally giving you small exerpts of an exerpt,and I don't think I've ever used the word "exerpt" in 2 weeks as often as I have here.}


My clients are of a different nature. I don't practice in a court of law; I operate in the court of public opinion. But the people I represent need me in the same way a victim needs a lawyer. My clients have often been thrust into territory so far
from what they're accustomed to that the process could chew them up and spit them out without someone like me to watch out for their best interests. In much the same way lawyers help their clients through the legal system, I help my clients navigate the media machine, specifically the news media. And even though I don't always chase them, I am always on the lookout for them.

Guilty of Homicide, Sisters Grossly Abuse, Neglect 84 yr old Mother

I don't know anyone involved and haven't followed the case. But when I see the condition this poor woman was in, my God, I have no doubt and don't understand how anyone can support the sisters in any way. I'm not being a smart-ss, I mean it, I'm flabbergasted and wondering what I could've missed. When someone is sick enough you call a doctor. Period. Nevermind wishes about being home vs nursing home. The woman had dementia, and may not have known where she was. But forgetting all that, the report says not just bedsores, but one of the bedsores so deep you could see the poor woman's vertebrae! Come ON! When you see bone its LONG past time for help! And covered with ants?! And anyone can believe for a second the daughters were doing the best they could, or that the mother had rather be at home with bed sores to the bone and ants all over her, among the other horrid health conditions, than at a nursing home? Its just, I mean, Well I don't even know what else to say - It's just unbelievable that anyone could conceive of any way of believing any of this was okay. From what I've read, they not only killed their mother, they tortured her for a long time. Who among us wants to end our lives as this poor woman did? Imagine the pain she was in, physical to be sure, and surely mental anguish as well, for hour upon hour, day upon day, week upon week, til rescued for the last week of her life by the paramedics. Breaks my heart. Old people are people the same as anyone: they had lives, were young and full of hope, had dreams, lived their lives, and certainly learned thru experience and gained in some amount of wisdom. Our society does not value its elders as it should, as they deserve. Too often they're treated like 2nd class citizens, or as less than human, etc. And these daughters - when I see the mugshots I see nothing but self-pity and indignancy, as if they truly believe they are in the right. Sickens me. I've seen comments on a couple of sites supporting them, but the details weren't so specific in those stories, and I wonder if those who support them have read what I have about the mother's condition, cuz I just can't imagine anyone supporting such horrors. That is what it is too, something right out of a horror movie. ANd I can't help but feel that at least some people would react differently, be more upset about it that is, if it would've been a younger person, and nobody would accept this if it were a child (as well they shouldn't, but neither should they for ANY human being - even an animal should never be treated like this.) Here's the AOL story link among others if you wanna see what they say about it all.

http://news.aol.com/article/barry-sisters-guilty-of-neglecting/618975?icid=main|main|dl1|link3|http://news.aol.com/article/barry-sisters-guilty-of-neglecting/618975 The previous is the AOL news link, and has the mug shots of July and Jill Berry - it was actually the mug shots that called my attention to this story. I wasn't looking at the headlines, as I was searching for another AOL news story. But the looks on the faces of these women struck me as hateful and selfish and so I then looked at the headline, and then the story, and I'm so mad and disgusted I could spit.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/verdict-expected-in-sisters-neglect-case.html The above link had less detail about the mother's condition, and is one where commmentors support the sisters, with one woman saying she knows one of them and saying what a sweetie she is. Surely, they don't know the full story, yet the woman calling the sister a sweetie says she followed the story closely. I just dunno.

------------------------- Finally, I'll end with this one. I was looking for mug shots I could include (but can't find any that will download, tho you'll see them if you go to the aol story) and I came across this story, and decided to copy this portion of it so you can see what I've read and understand exactly where I'm coming from on my opinion of these horrible women. I know, too, a lawyer is supposed to defend his or her clients to the best of his/her ability, but I don't think that should mean lying or misleading anyone, or trying to get guilty people completely off. That's done for money and for future customers (ie more money), surely. If I were an attorney and had clients as these women, I'd have to tell the basic truth and look for some mercy or something, else refuse the case. I just could not try to get the guilty off scott free, its not justice. Well, here is the link to the final story here, and a section I copied and pasted from this story:

http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2009/06/17/83488486/index.xml

But defense attorney Gary Johnson described the Barry sisters as loving caregivers, dealing with their mother, who turned “ornery” and sometimes violent with dementia and refused to live in a nursing home or receive home health care.

To follow their mother’s wishes, the Barrys altered their work schedules and their lives to care for their mother in “heroic” fashion, Johnson said.

Barsanti scoffed at Johnson’s description, saying it was “cowardly” to fail to seek help they knew they needed to care for their mother.

He recounted testimony throughout the trial from hospital workers that described the elder Barry’s condition when she arrived at Delnor Hospital on April 20, 2007.

She was malnourished, dehydrated, had bed sores, feces on her body and under her fingernails and was wearing urine-soaked clothes, according to testimony. Barry died one week later from pneumonia, brought on by cancer and enhanced by her bed sores, malnourishment and dehydration, according to testimony.

Barsanti pointed out that in the four months before her death, there was no hospital or doctor visits or calls to medical professionals. It was during that time that Barry developed the bed sores – one of which was stage four – and dropped from 96 to 70 pounds, he said.

“There was nothing done at all,” Barsanti said. “They saw what was happening to her and they decided not to do anything.”

Barsanti said the Barry sisters’ testimony “should be taken with a grain of salt,” and was not entirely truthful. Each sister testified that they bathed their mother daily, but did not see any bed sores because of their positioning during sponge baths.

“It’s impossible to believe that you could bathe this woman and not see bed sores,” Barsanti said, adding that “anyone that would have seen [the most advanced] bed sore would have called a doctor.”

Johnson argued that the Barrys did everything they could on their own, and were afraid to upset their mother by hiring a nurse or other caregiver. The elder Barry had already suffered a stroke a few years before her death and they were afraid upsetting her would bring on another, he said.

======================== "It takes time for the absent to assume their true shape in our thoughts. After death, they take on a firmer outline and then cease to change." - Colette {Of course the quote has nothing to do with the story in this post above; the subject of death is coincidental only}

Amazing Hotel Swimming Pools

"Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them." - Washington Irving

========================================================

While surfing the net I came across tons of photos of these gorgeous pools (which I will likely never be able to afford to visit much less stay), and decided to share a handful here on my little blog in case someone that hasn't seen them happens across them 1st here instead. There are certainly many more to be found, to the point I had a hard time choosing which to include, and ended up choosing these at random.

This is the pool in the Hugh Hefner Sky Villa, top suite of the Las Vegas Palms.









Here I see I've accidentally included 2 pix (I know its 3 shots, but the top one is a split shot and came with the 2 angles), but I'll just leave em rather than fool with editing it. These are from the San Alfonso El Mar in Chile - what a pool! Some shots show boats operating in this pool.




Palace of the Lost City hotel, Sun City, South Africa.







Jade Mountain, St Lucia.




Hotel Caruso, Italy.









Well, I managed to lose the name and location of this one, but its pretty, so I'm leaving it.





This is the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Pool in Iceland, tho I neglected to note the name of the resort. I think, tho I'm unsure, that this is not really a hotel but more like a health resort. And tho its lovely, I've seen (and been thoroughly freaked out by) the movie Hostel, which had a resort too much like this one for me to actually ever want to stay here.






I hope nobody looks at these hoping to USE my info to vacation at these hotels, since I've been sloppy: I didn't note the names of this hotel, or the following one, either. I don't even know the country this one is in...


But this one is in Hong Kong.








These last several are all from the same hotel/pool: The Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. The pool has several very cool features (I think I even missed a couple of them), including a water slide which goes down thru a shark/fish tank.














The photo of the water slide from inside the shark tank is obviously photoshopped: its from the Golden Nugget's pamphlet, and meant to demonstrate what its like from inside. I'm sure its easier to do it this way than to try to get a good quality real photo from inside, not to mention safer since there IS a shark. Well, and I'd be surprised if you really got such a good view of the fish and shark in reality.

BzzAgent.com

http://www.bzzagent.com

I'll try to come back very soon to edit this info, but i'm in a hurry now. Check out www.bzzagent.com if you like this sort of thing, as I do. BzzAgent has a lot to do, such as creating or following and adding to BzzScapes, where you write about your favorite brands (Johnny Depp, for example, IS a brand, as much as Cover Girl or Frigidaire or Chevy) and provide links to websites, photos, etc to spread the word. They have Bzz Campaigns, where they send you - not samples, but FULL SIZED - products to use and review, as well as either extras or coupons to give to friends, family, or strangers on the street. There's the Frog POnd, where you explore given websites and rate them, etc. Of course, there are rewards such as reward points to be collected and traded in; being chosen for a campaign gets you the free products, and the longer you are a member and more active you are, the more often you get chosen and the bigger and better the products to try out, coupons, free trials and other similar product promotions. Now, you are absolutely not gonna make a lot of money, but you do get to earn a few coins extra while you explore, get free stuff, and get to have your opinion heard and counted.

=================================================================

"There is something that is much more scarce, something finer far, something rarer than ability. It's the ability to RECOGNIZE ability."

- Elbert Hubbard

Viewpoints.com

"Advertising may be defined as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." - Stephen Butler Leacock

{This quote, tho related to the below blog due to the correlation of selling products, is not meant in any way to detract from the below website. I love Viewpoints, because its by consumers of the products like you and me - you're encouraged to write your own reviews of whatever you wish - and this helps protect us from the tricks and lies of advertizers.}

===================================================
Great Social Website, with REWARDS EARNED occasionally by writing a specified number - usually about 5 - of PRODUCT REVIEWS, for anything you want to write about, from your favorite pencil to the worst car you've had, from the best fast-food restaurant to your favorite local restaurant etc; you choose what you wanna write about. Then the next time you are considering a purchase, or you want to try to find a better everyday product than the one you've always used, but there are so many you don't know where to begin (and don't wanna waste money by buying one worse than the one you're replacing) etc, do a search for it on this site and see what others have to say. Search for a general product like "cosmetics" or more specifically "lipstick", or search a brand name, such as "Cover Girl" or "Cover Girl lipstick". If you don't find what you're looking for exactly, ask someone to give their opinion.

http://www.viewpoints.com

This is the link to one of my favored websites. Viewpoints is a social site, with profiles, tags, photos, etc, but the main point is that its a product review site. Planning on a big purchase? Check here to see what others are saying about specific brands and their experiences with products, companies, and services.
Found something you just love and you wanna tell others about it? Did you get ripped off and wanna warn others? Treated badly by customer service and wanna strike out for vengeance? Write your own reviews. They also offer occasional incentives for writing reviews, for example, now they're giving away a $25 restaurant card to anyone who writes 5 reviews.
Check 'em out, see everything they have, look around, and join if you wish. Look me up and we'll be friends if you like, or just send me a message if you like the site, or whatever.

CHRIS JORDAN PORTRAITS: SEEING THE NUMBERS

I did a post on my other blog on this same subject, but decided to write on it here, too, because it blew my mind so much, and the more people see this, the better we may all be.
Chris Jordan is a very talented artist, and he uses his skills to take on some of the big social issues of our day and demonstrate to us what the numbers really look like, for example, when we hear that Americans use 28,000 42-gallon barrels of oil every TWO MINUTES. In this photo, each can of oil represents one 42 gallon barrel, and there are literally 28,000 cans in the photo (that is equal to the flow of a medium-sized river):


Each of these 100,000,000 toothpicks represents one of the

one hundred million trees cut down each year just to make the

paper for junk mail. Just junk mail.






These depict 2.3 million folded prison uniforms. This is not the number of prisoners in America. This is merely the number of prisoners that were convicted in 2005 (when Jordan was gathering his info and supplies for this photo). It may not surprise some people to know that the US has the largest prison system in the world.












Depicts 2 million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the United States every 5 minutes.






Depicts 170,000 disposable Energizer batteries, equal to 15 minutes of Energizer battery production. (The 1st pic is the detail at actual print size.)






If 170,000 real batteries were shown at their real size, the print of this photo would need to be
26 x 43 feet. That's for only 15 minutes. That's just the Energizer brand statistics -doesn't include any other battery brands. And these are disposables only, not rechargeable batteries that have finally died completely.



To depict one year of only Energizer disposable battery production - which is 6 billion batteries (6,000,000,000), at actual battery size, it would take a banner 26 ft high (as this one is) by 146 miles long.

This last image is built up of lines of text, made up of the names of 1 million organizations around the world that are devoted to peace, environmental stewardship, social justice, and the preservation of diverse and indigenous culture.





To see more of Jordan's work, as well as appearance locations and dates, check out his site at www.chrisjordan.com

QUOTES by Voltaire, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, John Wayne

JOHN WAYNE: May 26 1907 - June 11 1979

Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.

I've always followed my father's advice. He told me, first to always keep my word and, second, to never insult anybody unintentionally. If I insult you, you can be goddamn sure I intend to. And, third, he told me not to go around looking for trouble.

Life's tough. Its even tougher if you're stupid.

If you've got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.

Talk low, talk slow, and don't talk too much.

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. Its perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday.


VOLTAIRE: November 21 1694 - May 30 1778

[I always find it interesting, when reading quotes, articles, etc from someone who lived long ago, to imagine their words and their frame of mind, their reasons for thinking that way, in context with the time they lived in and the events of that time; then I like to compare how accurately or inaccurately the same words may fit with the world today - often you see how timeless things really are - and compare the events of their day with those of today. Sometimes its a mere slip of thought that quickly blows away; but sometimes the parallels and/or the changes, and so on, can really stir up some interesting ideas and show the way to fascinating life lessons. Its hard to describe what I mean, but I'm sure many others do the same, and that some won't be interested in such things, and the rest, the ones I write of this for, will try it and then you'll see what I mean. I have a hard time describing it without writing a small book on it, so I'll stop here. -JasWolfhawk]

A clergyman is one who feels himself called upon to live without working at the expense of the rascals that work to live.

A multitude of laws in a country is, like a great number of physicians, a sign of weakness and malady. +++
+++ [This is one of the sayings I was speaking of above - one of my main complaints in this country today is that our elected representatives make WAY too many laws - many to protect us from ourselves, because they know what is best for us. This is strictly and directly opposed to our Constitution and the ideas and ideals of our Founding Fathers and the many who died fighting for our FREEDOM. Laws are meant to be GUIDELINES to be USED WITH COMMON SENSE, for the purpose of protecting us from others that would do us harm. As for the individual, the only thing of his/hers that this nation's government is supposed to protect is our LIBERTY, our right to pursue happiness as long as its not at the expense of others. We all will die. Til then, we each have the right to live in a way that makes us happy. What use is a long life if its so restricted you cannot enjoy it? Okay here I go again. You see what I mean, and I'll go on with the quotes now.]

A witty saying proves nothing.

All sects are different, because they come from men. Morality is everywhere the same, because it comes from God.

As long as people believe in absurdities, they will continue to commit atrocities.

As long as there are fools and rascals, there will be religions.

Common sense is not so common.

Do well and you will have no need for ancestors.

Doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less in human beings of which they know nothing.
'
Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is an absurd one.

England has 42 religions and only 2 sauces. (Ha ha)

Every man is guilty of all the good he DID NOT do.

God created sex. Priests created marriage.

God is a circle whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere.

God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.

God is always on the side of the big battalions. [Well I guess so, since all winning sides always claim God helped them win, therefore their cause was just. Very excellent point.]

History is fables agreed upon.

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

I have lost the half of myself - a soul for which mine was made. [NOTE: Voltaire wrote this when Emilie, the love of his life, died. If you wish, you may read the love story of Voltaire and Emilie du Chatelet here http://www.visitvoltaire.com/love_story_voltaire.htm ++++++++


MARK TWAIN

Love seems the swiftest, but is the slowest of growths. No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century.

Man - a figment of God's imagination.

My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.

Of all things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. [Seen it on bumper stickers and all over the place, but never have seen anyone credit Twain for saying it.]

Of all the delights of this world man cares most for sexual intercourse, yet he has left it out of his heaven.

Pessimism is only the name that men weak of nerve give to wisdom.

The best cure for Christianity is reading the Bible.

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.

When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much he'd learned in 7 years.

OSCAR WILDE: October 16 1854 - November 30 1900

A grand passion is the privilege of people who have nothing to do.

A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her.

A man can't be too careful in the choice of his enemies.

Alas, I am dying beyond my means. (Wilde said this as he sipped champagne on his deathbed)

All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling.

A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.

America had often been discovered befoe Columbus, but it had always been hushed up.

America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.

Being natural is simply a pose.

Between men and women there is no friendship possible. there is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship.

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.

Everyone who is incapable of learning has taken to teaching.

I am not young enough to know everything. [HA! I seen teenagers and young men and women have not changed at all!]

I can resist anything but temptation.

Missionaries are going to reform the world whether it wants to or not.

MARK TWAIN, ie Samuel Clemens: QUOTES

Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish the rest.

An enemy can partly ruin a man, but int takes a good-natured injudicious friend to complete the thing and make it perfect.

Are you so inobservant that you do not yet realize that sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.


Buy land. They've stopped making it.

By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity. Another man's, I mean.

Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessaries.

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable.

Few things are harder to put up with than a good example.

Fleas can be taught nearly anything a congressman can.

Giving up smoking is easy. I've done it hundreds of times.

I am an old man and I have many troubles, but most of them never happened.

I am not one of those who in expressing opinions confine themselves to facts.

I am opposed to millionaires but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.

I cannot call to mind a single instance where I have ever been irreverent, except toward the things which were sacred to other people.

I did not attend his funeral, but I wrote a nice letter saying I approved of it.

I find that the further I go back, the better things were, whether they happened or not.

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.

I was born modest. Not all over, but in spots.

If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be - a Christian.

If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything.

In religion and politics people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing.

Irreverence is the champion of liberty and its one sure defense.

Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.



















Here are a handful of articles, stories, etc about or by Clemens/Twain:

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/02/04/markTwain.html ...Columbia University's newspaper, Columbia News, does a story on Twain 92 years after his death


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain ...The Wikipedia article

http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/about/writings.htm ....site dubbing itself the "official" Mark Twain site. Don't be discouraged when you see nothing on the home page - the drop boxes will take you to various sections such as a biography, listings of his writings, quotes, etc. I never looked at the entire site so I'm not even sure what all is there. Haven't checked to see if it is complete, but there is a listing of Twain's work

http://www.marktwainhouse.org/ ...site for the Mark Twain House and Museum, even has kids' activities

http://www.twainquotes.com/ ...has not only quotes but also other writings, such as "Mark Twain and the Countess Massiglia , 'The lowest-down woman on the planet' " , the Lost Autobiography of Orion Clemens, "Mark Twain's Quarrel with Undertakers: It All Begins With Jennie" and more

QUOTE by Samuel Adams, Founding Father and Public Enemy #`

"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
Samuel Adams, 1722-1803

Paris Jackson's short, moving speech about her Daddy

If you somehow missed it, you have got to see this poor sweet child say goodbye to her "Daddy". You can only try to imagine her pain. Not only did she lose her much beloved Daddy, and has no Mama (I hope she never saw any of the Debbie Rowe interviews or articles - no need in a child knowing such a thing), but she has to deal with the fact that so many people make fun of her Daddy, and there's no way they could avoid her having found out that a large percentage of the world thought he was guilty of child molestation (and anyone who researched the cases, I do not understand how they could believe it. But that isn't my point, at least, not in this blog. Yet.)
If you haven't seen this, I beg you, look. She is an innocent child who lost her Daddy, and she deserves to be heard after what the world has put her, her Daddy, and her family through. http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=paris%20jackson%20at%20memorial&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=#

KIDS on LEASHES

Well, I decided to do another blog, all serious, about searching for truth in politics, government, media, and maybe religion - or maybe I'll do a completely different blog on that and related spiritual things. Not the point. I never started that blog because I haven't had the time - tho I plan to sooner or later. And, I forgot about it.
Then I ran across a discussion board on putting kids on leashes, and of course had to put my 2 cents in. That didn't satisfy me since that board only had a few hundred readers, so I decided to use this blog to spread my opinion on the matter. Except, I accidentally posted it to my other blog. I wanna put the thing here, and I do not wanna retype the entire thing, so here's the link to that article on my other blog. Which is a sad blog, with only two posts, and one of those is explaining that my blog is not supposed to be about parenting so the one other post there is an accident. Sad.
Anyhow here's the link if you wanna read it: http://searchingfortruth-anonpartisansite.blogspot.com/2009/07/kids-on-leashes.html

Time Warner was shot down last week. They were trying to charge customers for EACH WEBSITE they visit, calling it 'Excessive Internet Usage". And they are not the only cable company or business that want to charge us not only a monthly fee for internet connections, they also want to add, on top of that monthly charge, a charge per site or session, or to put us on some sort of meter, like the electric meter or water meter, and charge us for using it as well as for connecting to it monthly.

Luckily, there are activists out there fighting against this. But they don't have the money and contacts and resources that these Big Corporate companies do, and if we don't get involved and tell our Representatives that we will not tolerate this, they will eventually win the right to milk us dry some more. Save The Internet.com is one of the most powerful and active groups trying to stop this. They're also connected to groups calling for a complete reform of the media.

Just check out their website, find out what's going on - be aware, be informed. You don't have to do anything nor spend any money, tho you certainly can if so moved. Even if you never so much as sign a petition, at least you'll KNOW, they won't be pulling the wool over your eyes.

Random Pix: gravestone for gay soldier, humorous bank sign, today's barbie

Found this surfing the web. Assuming it's a statement on the new vogue subject of obesity in the US. Or just a joke along the lines of trailer trash barbie with the baby on her hip, tattoos, short denim cut-offs and tube top, and cigarette. Then again, maybe that was also a statement...Hm...Anyway, its funny.

Stating the obvious? Think it works?

Now on a more serious note: this is quite witty, but sad. And when you look at it that way, it's ok to kill but n

ot to love, well, its quite a statement. Certainly gives me pause, thinking about our society and what we accept and how we think and judge, etc.

MUG SHOTS of a different sort: the good guys (well, up in the air on Jackson...)

Now, I've read a lot about Jesse Jackson, or however ya spell Jessie in his name, and I just ain't thrilled with the man. Mostly what got to me were accusations from Martin Luther King Jr's family that Jackson had something to do with King's assassination. And if you haven't read the

details, please, do. It's known that Martin Luther King was shot on the 2nd floor, on the balcony, and at the time Jessie was in the parking lot below. A couple of people have said Jessie kept looking at his watch then looking up toward the road and toward the GENERAL direction the shots later supposedly came from. Also, its known that King stayed at this hotel often, and had a special set of rooms that were positioned to be safer, and that those rooms were reserved, and someone from his group called and changed the rooms. If you've seen the pics, that set of rooms was wide open, he could've been shot by a sniper with a scope through his sliding glass doors, but no way could he come or go without going out onto the wide open balcony. It's also been said tho I cannot recall by whom, tho it was a member of King's closest people, that the only person he ever saw King lose his temper with and yell at was, guess who, Jesse Jackson. Supposedly said Jackson was doing this for all the wrong reasons, and only wanted to be famous and rich. I don't know if this was even a reliable source, and since I can't recall a name, this is far-fetched to readers. BUT, it IS known that Jesse was in the parking lot below King when King was shot, and Jackson never went up the stairs nor did he get near Mr King after the shooting. But the next day Jackson went around to different news stations and talk shows, showing a bloody shirt, (though I've no idea if it was real blood, like pig blood, or fake blood, or what - whichever it was not King's blood unless he managed to get it later off the dead man's poor body) saying Martin Luther King Jr died in his arms - a complete and sick lie, done at best to milk attention for Jackson from this tragedy, this terrible injustice, and that makes me sick. I sorta hate having both of them on the same page, and I wasn't gonna write anything on these mug shots since I spent so much time on the previous set, but I had to say something - couldn't just leave Jackson's picture here with King's without telling what I know, showing the difference in this great man and this.... opportunistic egomaniac , at best.

Ms Rosa Parks, after standing her ground. Or, sitting her ground? I always thought of her as an older lady, and in this picture she looks quite young. She's a pretty girl, too, even though you KNOW she has had a rather rough day before this was taken.

And here is The Man himself. Martin Luther King Jr. I THINK, but am in no way sure, this was after the bus boycott. Site I found it on says this shot was found in a police station when they were cleaning out some old files, again I'm not sure but I think it was a PD in Alabama, which would make sense, huh. Note the remark written in ink "DEAD 4-4-68". Site said nobody knows who wrote this, nor why, nor exactly what it's supposed to mean: did the person who wrote it think they just needed to note this general person was dead and no longer could be used as a photo for a suspect? Or was it a racist or a hater bragging? Or was it a fan mourning? There are other words written on King's suit but I can't make it out.

Mug Shots: mobster, serial killers and assassins WARNING, VIOLENCE, VERY GRAPHIC, SEXUAL CRIMES

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO DO SO, NOR IF YOU GET TOO UPSET READING ABOUT SUCH CRIMES, AS I HAVE DETAILED SOME OF THEM, AND THEY ARE EXPLICIT, GRUESOME, AND VERY DISTURBING

I came across a bunch of mugshots and chose a few to share. First, John Gotti, famed mobster.






John Joseph Gotti was born October 27, 1940, and died June 10, 2002.
He became boss of the Gambino crime family after the murder of the former boss, Paul Castellano, of which Gotti later convicted. Gotti was aka Dapper Don due to his flamboyance and love of expensive clothing, and as The Teflon Don (Don is Italian mobster-speak meaning "boss") because of prior prosecution attempts that would not stick. The FBI tapped his apartment and was finally able to successfully prosecute him. In 1992 he was convicted on several counts: racketeering, 13 murders, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit murder, illegal gambling, extortion, tax evasion, and loansharking. He was sentenced to life in prison, and died 10 years later.










John Wayne Gacy, the killer clown: born March 17 1942, died May 10 1994. Convicted and later executed by lethal injection for rape and murder of 33 boys and young men between 1972 and 1978 when he was finally arrested. 27 of these were buried in the crawl space under the floor of his house, and 2 more found on his property in Cooke County Illinois, on the northwest side of Chicago in Norwood Park. The rest found in nearby rivers. He became notorious as the killer clown because he'd throw block parties for neighbors and friends and entertain the children dressed up as Pogo the Clown.
Gacy was a businessman, owning his own construction company, PDM Contractors. He was vice president of the Illinois Jaycees, a political activist and very involved in the Democratic Party in and around Chicago (worried a bit about CHicago politics and law enforcement as well as Secret Service investiations),and met and was photographed with then 1st Lady Rosalynn Carter. In the photo he can be seen wearing and "S" pin, which indicates a person who has received special clearance by the United States Secret Service - a huge embarrassment to the Secret Service when the picture was found. Mrs Carter met him while she was in town for the annual Polish Constitution Day Parade, and Gacy was the director of the parade for the 3rd consecutive year.
After the 2nd of his employees disappeared, the 2nd victims parents asked the police to investigate Gacy, but they did not. If they had merely looked up his record, they'd have seen he had a few arrests for this and that, and had served time for sodomy. But they did not. A 3rd employee went missing. Still the cops didn't look at Gacy. Then this vic's car was found when it's driver stole gas. The driver said he got the car from Gacy - Gacy told police he purchased the car from the missing employee before the young man left town, and they left it at that. Then in 1977 a 19 yr old man told cops Gacy had kidnapped him and raped him at gunpoint - he specifically named Gacy, and cops took NO ACTION still. In 78 Gacy lured Jeffrey Rignall into his car, chloroformed him, took him to his house and raped and tortured him, then dumped him in Lincoln Park. The man survived, and though he'd been drugged he could remember the car and parts of the route they took. Instead of relying on the police, Rignall decided to take action himself, and staked out the exit he recalled them taking. He finally spotted the car, and followed it to Gacy's address, and told the police. The cops got a warrant and found several drivers licenses of missing boys and young men, syringes, torture devices, clothing too small for Gacy, etc. Well, they left, even though they also noted a funny smell coming from the floor. ONly later did cops get another warrant and discover the 27 bodies/skeletons under his floor and in his yard. (on a different subject, I wonder why Chicago is so overrun with crime.....)
Gacy was finally arrested - I wonder how many lives could've been saved had police looked at him when his 2nd employee went missing and Gacy was mentioned by the family as a suspect, but it's too late for that now I guess. Gacy was found guilty and given the death penalty. While on trial he remarked that the only thing he was guilty of was running a cemetery without a license. He never showed any remorse, and supposedly remarked that killing him wouldn't bring anyone back. HIs last words were reported to be to a guard on the way to the execution chamber, and he supposedly said "kiss my ass". He was given lethal injection on May 10 1994. His brain was removed, and studies found no abnormality. Its now owned by a woman who interviewed several serial killers and was looking for patterns to how or why they killed.









Jeffrey Dahmer, May 21 1960 - Nov 28 1994. Killed 17 men and boys,most Asian or African American, between 1978 and 1991, with most murders occurring between 87 and 91. The very gruesome murders involved rape, torture, necropilia, dismemberment, and cannibalism.
A reported normal child, he began to change between the ages of 10-15, growing more and more withdrawn with no interest in any hobbies or socializing, and a very strange interest in dead things. He'd go around the neighborhood on his bicycle looking for dead animals. Then he'd bring them home and dissect them, going so far as to put a dog's head on a stake. He began drinking heavily at a young age, and was a full-blown alcholic by his senior high school year. He dropped out of college after less than one term and his father made him join the Army. This seemed well at first, but he was discharged after 2 years for his alcoholism. He lived with his grandmother next, from 1982, but she did not like his strange behavior; for example, she found a male mannequin in his closet, had funny smells coming from the basement - he told his father he dissolved a dead squirrel in acid. He was arrested twice for indecent exposure, the 2nd time masturbating in front of 2 boys. His grandmother could not take anymore, and made him leave her home in 1988. Even with all this, nobody realized he'd already committed murder - his first in 1978 when he'd picked up a male hitchhiker and beaten him to death with a barbell after sex - an event that would come back around to Dahmer in the end.
In Sept 1988 Dahmer was arrested for drugging and fondling a 13 yr old boy. (Get ready to be outraged again, in some ways worse than the Gacy story, concerning the police.) He was sentenced to 5 years probation (even with the prior arrests for indecent exposure and masturbating in front of 2 boys) and 1 year in a work-release camp. He was released 2 months early from the work camp, and soon after the killings began in earnest.
In May 1991, 14 year old Konerak Sinthasomphone was found in the early morning hours wandering the streets, drugged, naked, and bleeding from his rectum, by 2 women. Oddly enough, this boy was younger brother to a former victim of Dahmer's, by chance seemingly. (Imagine that poor family's pain and anger.) The 2 women called 911, and 3 police responded. In the meantime Dahmer had tracked down his victim and tried to take him, but the 2 women wouldn't let him. When the cops arrived, Dahmer told them the 14 year old naked drugged bleeding boy was in fact his 19 year old boyfriend, and that they had fought after heavy drinking. The police released the boy into Dahmer's custody! Later on, Dahmer tortured and dismembered the boy. These cops later reported a funny smell in the home of Dahmer, which was the rotting body of his previous victim in the bedroom. The police audiotape was later released, where 2 of the cops were joking to the dispatcher, making homophobic remarks, joking they needed to be disloused and making fun of reuniting the lovers. Public outrage resulted in them losing their jobs, but 2 officers, - John Balcerzak and Joseph Gabrish evidently didn't feel at all responsible for the boy's death, did not feel they were unfit as cops, etc, as they fought for their jobs back. They won, and were reinstated WITH backpay, and named officers of the year by the police union for their valiant fight to win their jobs back. John Balcerzak was elected president of the Milwaukee Police Association in 2005. (The 3rd officer was unnamed in the articles I read for this blog.)
Finally, would-be victim Tracy Edwards escaped from Dahmer after a struggle, kicking him and punching him in the face even tho Dahmer had a knife. He led police to the house. Cops were unable to ignore what they found there this time. After being told to check the bedroom by the victim, they saw the photos Dahmer had on his wall of dismembered and mangled victims. Searching the place they found a severed head in the refrigerator, and other body parts including a heart in the freezer. Around the home they also found severed hands and penises, corpses in vats of acid, and such.
Dahmer was officially indicted on 17 murder counts. He pled not guilty by reason of insanity, but was found sane, guilty of 15 murders, and sentenced to 15 life sentences, or 957 years. After expressing remorse and claiming to be a born-again Christian, he was baptized. There was an attempt on his life - an inmate tried to slit his throat, but he escaped. Then in November of 1994, fellow inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution, Christopher Scarver, beat Jeffrey Dahmer to death with a metal bar from a weight machine (Dahmer's 1st vic, you'll recall, he beat to death with a barbell). Dahmer died in the ambulance of massive head trauma.









Son of Sam, aka .44 Calibur Killer, David Berkowitz was born June 1 1953. He is a serial killer and arsonist. Arrested in 1977,he confessed to killing 6 people and wounding 7 in a series of 8 shootings in New York City between 1976 and 1977. He claimed a demon possessed his neighbor's dog and commanded him to kill. Later he said he was the actual shooter in only 2 cases, killing 3 and wounding 1, and the others were killed by a satanic cult which he belonged to. Some in law enforcement, including those who investigated the case from the police dpts and journalists, think he may be telling the truth. Before Berkowitz was arrested, they suspected more than one shooter. The case was reportedly reopened in 1996 and remained open at least as late as 2004.
Berkowitz says he joined the cult in 1975, and at first it was only harmless stuff such as seances. Then they began with drugs, sadistic porn, and then violent crimes. He says they began killing dogs, especially German Shepherds, and indeed over a dozen dogs were found slaughtered around Yonkers - an area close to the park he says they used as a meeting place.
A letter was found in the street at one of the crime scenes, full of misspellings and rather crudely written, the author calling himself the Son of Sam. The letter claimed Sam beat him badly, along with the rest of his family, and that father Sam was getting old and needed blood to remain young - he liked to drink blood. The entire letter is easily found thru a Google search or on Wikipedia (most of all this info I got from Wikipedia, and I've only written small summaries - there is much more information on all these criminals and crimes if you're interested in finding out more, and very easy to find). "I am the monster Beelzebub", "I don't want to kill", "I love people" "don't belong on Earth", "return me to yahoos" "I'll be back" are examples of exerpts of this letter, and he also warned that they must kill him to stop him. It was signed "Yours in murder, Mr Monster".
Another letter was mailed to Jimmy Breslin of the New York Daily News. This letter had none of the crudeness of the first letter and seemed it must be written by a more intelligent person, though the unreleased details of the first letter were found in the second as well, leading police to believe they were from 2 different people yet both were at the least witnesses to the murders. The police were very thorough and hard-working in this case, unlike the above cases. They confiscated all the registered .44 cal guns in NYC and did ballistics tests on all of them, were investigating all of the 900 matching Volkswagens in NYC, formed a task force of 300 officers, set up traps in the newspapers and such, and roadblocks, dragnets, etc. There, they were on it boy. They finally were led to Berkowitz, and at first sought him as a possible witness, quickly realizing he was a suspect.
Berkowitz was arrested June 12 1978 and sentenced to 6 life sentences, a maximum of 365 years. He became a born-again Christian, and regularly councils troubled inmates and leads a prison ministry. He has written a letter to NY governor saying he has come to terms with things and knows he deserves life in prison , and does not want any parole hearings. The state has held 2 hearings for him anyway, neither of which he attended nor cooperated with, and both times his parole was denied due to the violent nature of his crimes, though noted he is an exemplary inmate. He says the cult led him to his crimes, though at the same time, he accepts full responsibility for his actions.
Berkowitz warns still that this cult is real, and has 2 dozen core members in NYC. He says he cannot tell too much or his family will be in danger. The cult supposedly has ties all across the US and is deeply involved in drug smuggling and other crimes. In a 1977 letter to the NY Post, the letter closes with "There are other Sons of Sam out there, God help the world". Journalist Maury Terry investigated and found strong evidence that a violent offshoot of the Process Church was responsible for Son of Sam murders and many other crimes. Terry's book, The Ultimate Evil, is about this, and has been expanded several times since first published in 1987. The case was reopened but nobody else has ever been arrested.
Berkowitz said that real life brothers John and Michael Carr, real sons of Yonkers resident Sam Carr, were in the same cult Berkowitz was in. John, he says, was referred to in the Breslin letter, "John Wheaties, rapist and suffocator of young girls". Both Carr brothers died within 2 years of Berkowitz's arrest. John was found dead in February 1978 at his girlfriend's North Dakota home. Police first suspected a homicide, but later ruled it a suicide. Michael was killed in a car crash in 1979 in Manhattan. Berkowitz says both were likely murdered due to heavy drug use, which made them untrustworthy, and seen as apt to inform on the rest of the cult if arrested.

Mark David Chapman, assassin of John Lennon. Born May 10 1955. On Dec 8 1980 shot Lennon 4 times out of 5 shots, with hollow point bullets, outside The Dakota apartment building in NYC. Then he stayed on the scene, reading the book he'd bought that morning, and had been obsessessed with, The Catcher in the Rye. He first pled guilty by reason of insanity, but later changed his plea to guilty of murder in the 2nd degree (though he'd planned the assassination for a long time and came to NYC specifically to kill Lennon). An assessment at Bellvue found him to be delusional but competent to stand trial. (There are many forms and degrees of insanity, and the measurement for crimes and trials is whether or not one knows right from wrong, and he knew killing Lennon was wrong. Many who try to claim insanity are undone when it is proven they tried to hide their crime, thus proving they knew they'd done wrong and would be punished, and trying to escape this fate. Chapman didn't even try to escape, but it was clear from everything he said that he simply didn't want to try and run, but knew it was wrong and knew the police were coming for him because he'd committed a crime.)

Chapman had waited outside Lennon's apartment all day with other fans. At one point he met the housekeeper taking Lennon's son Sean out for a walk, and knowing he was going to try to kill the boy's father, he shook Sean's hand. Lennon and Yoko Ono came out about 5 pm on their way to the recording studio. Lennon stopped to talk to fans, and shook Chapman's hand, and signed his autograph to an album Chapman had. Photographer Paul Goresh snapped a photo of this moment. Later Chapman said the bigger part of him won out at the time, and he wanted to go back to his hotel, but couldn't. "He knew where the ducks went in winter, and I needed to know this," a reference to the Catcher in the Rye.

About 10 minutes before 11 that night, Lennon and Ono returned. As they walked toward the entrance, Chapman turned and fired 5 hollow point bullets from a Charter Arms .38 revolver at Lennon, striking him 4 times in the shoulder and back, with 1 bullet piercing his aorta. Then he calmly took out his book and read til police got there. The first cops on the scene recognized the severity of Lennon's injuries and took him in the police cruiser to the hospital. Chapman was arrested without incident. Lennon died at the hospital at 11:07 pm.

Chapman has been denied parole each time he's up for it. Yoko and an online grassroots campaign work to prevent his parole. Chapman is a prisoner at Attica State Prison, confined to the Security Housing Unit for violent and at-risk prisoners, where officials say he is with 105 prisoners who pose no threat to Chapman. They fear putting him in the general population, that a Lennon fan will kill him.

Charles Manson. Lookin rough ain't he? This has taken longer than I planned on giving it, and most people are familiar enough with Charlie Boy here, so I'm just gonna show you his latest, 2008 mug shot, and anyone who wants his story can find it very easily.