If You Can't Play Nice . . .

Suffice it to say, I've seen a lot of candidates run for President in my lifetime. Rarely have I seen the juvenile name-calling and outright immature behavior that is characterizing the current election season. Frankly, it's just ridiculous.

Does the media have to publish / broadcast every single comment made by every single staffer for the Democratic candidates? Just how much is too much information? My opinion is that what we're getting now is far too much.

I certainly wouldn't want to speak to the press, if I were a Clinton or Obama aide.






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God Bless!

Jules

Individual Health Insurance

With the employment situation that exists under the current administration, it is incredibly difficult to get individual health insurance. Not to mention, Congressional bills, that are designed to help the uninsured, keep getting vetoed. If that isn't enough, $42 million has been spent to tell taxpayers, who are entitled to a rebate, that they are getting a rebate.

How amazing?! Virtually every taxpayer who files this year will be getting a rebate. I don't know about you - don't need another notice. Oh, of course, this is from the president who says that the economy might be in difficulty.

Thank you (heavy sarcasm), GWB for spending more and more and more money than is logical, helpful, or available. Which country/countries are buying off our president? Oh, and then we have our vainglorious VP -- a warmonger who's companies provide pathetic support and, yet, generate profits that are beyond embarrassing.

God help us all.




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Jules

Obama For President - NOT!

At the risk of repeating myself, I have to reiterate what I said when I was alerted that Obama was going to be in Arizona.

I'm sorry, but I believe that Obama is a really bad choice for the Democratic nomination. He has too little experience and relies on his glib delivery to hide his lack of actual knowledge.

The worst thing that could happen for the party would be promoting this young man as the Democratic candidate.

And I'm not even a registered Democrat!

Please don't support this candidate. To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen: "You are no Ronald Reagan." And I question why a Democratic candidate would even want to model himself after a Republican.






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Jules

Quitting Smoking

Okay, I'm really going to quit smoking in 2008. I even asked my NP (don't ask - that's a whole 'nother post) for a prescription for Chantix. Then, she explained that you have to take it for 3 months, it's $120.00 a month, and insurance doesn't cover quit-smoking meds. (Or at least, the state coverage doesn't.) They want to be sure patients are really serious about quitting, so those of us who can't afford health insurance to begin with have to pay for it ourselves.

Huh? Isn't that why Arizona is taxing cigarettes to death? Isn't it in the best interest of the state, which claims that smokers have higher than average medical claims, to do everything in their power to help residents quit and lower the overall payouts for treatment? Oh, wait! Those are mutually exclusive ideas, aren't they?

It's actually a real catch-22 for state health coverage and stop-smoking groups in Arizona. They get a large portion of their funding from the exorbitant per-pack cigarette tax - about $2.00/pack, I believe. As more people decide to quit, more and more tax money is spent on the people who actually paid the taxes. Then, as more people actually stop smoking, less and less tax money goes into the system. Already, between July and October 2007, cigarette sales, and therefore tax revenues, have dropped dramatically.

Forgive me, but who thought it was a great idea to tax smokers to pay for health programs, while exhorting these revenue-generators to quit? Once you cure the smokers, those very same health programs will be bankrupted. Just like gasoline taxes designed to pay for road construction and repairs - once the price of gasoline rises to the consumers' breaking point, they drive less, buy less fuel, and the tax revenue becomes a moot point.

Hmmmm. Perhaps it's my civic duty to continue smoking - never considered that?! Nah! Cigarette taxes were just a stupid idea to begin with.






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God Bless!

Jules

Judge Loses More Than Pants

Remember the judge that sued a dry cleaners for $54 million, over a pair of lost pants? Well, he lost his case and, more than that, he lost his job. Sounds only fair to me!

Roy Pearson's term as an administrative law judge expired on May 2nd. Officials from the District of Columbia confirmed to the AP on November 8th, that the Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges has decided not to reappoint Pearson. Amazingly, he did not immediately respond to a request for comment.






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God Bless!

Jules

Aqua Dots Recall

Mark was telling me about this recall last night. Frankly, I had never even heard of "Aqua Dots" before, but I guess they're a really popular craft toy?! (Every shopping website I checked has yanked their product page, so I still don't know.) Not that it matters, too much, what they are; what matters is the reason for the recall. Oh, and the fact that they're manufactured in and imported from China!

To quote the above article: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said the Aqua Dots craft toys include a chemical, 1,4 butanediol, on their beads which, if swallowed, can turn toxic and cause unconsciousness, respiratory depression, or seizures.

Not sure what 1,4 butanediol is? I wasn't either, so I did a little research. With thanks to the Faculty at the University of Washington and 'Neuroscience for Kids', here is what I found out:

1,4-Butanediol: An Overview

Its chemical formula is C4H10O2. You can purchase it on the Internet. It is in industrial cleaners. It is used in polyurethane to make car bumpers. It is used to make Spandex. It is also an abused recreational drug that has been linked to two deaths and six severe illnesses. "It" is 1,4-Butanediol (BD).

BD=GHB

Once ingested, BD (and a similar chemical, GBL) turns into gamma hydroxybutyrate, GHB. GHB, the so-called "date-rape" drug, received national attention when two teenage girls died after it was slipped into their sodas.

I have said this before and I will say it again - and again and again - STOP importing from China!! We have proven - over and over and over - that we are incapable of effectively monitoring the quality of products coming into this country. So in the best interest of the citizens and consumers of the United States - STOP LETTING CHINESE PRODUCTS INTO THIS COUNTRY!






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God Bless!

Jules

Tell Congress to Keep Fighting for Children's Healthcare

In a rare show of bipartisan compromise, Congress passed the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill. As expected, Bush vetoed it; however, the House was only a few votes short of enough to override the veto. So, possibly as early as today, Congress is voting on this bill, again.

Families USA is sponsoring a petition, targeted at Congress, urging continued bipartisan support for SCHIP. Only a few additional votes are needed to pass this bill - and make it veto-proof. Ten million American children need this program.

Won't you please sign the petition and remind Congress, whose members have guaranteed healthcare coverage, that the health of our future is dependent upon the health of our children?






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God Bless!

Jules

Protect Alaskan Wilderness ** Urgent Request **

The Wilderness Society is sponsoring a petition to stop the Bush administration from allowing drilling in the area of Teshekpuk Lake in Alaska. After years of protecting this region, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is considering opening it up for oil drilling. This simply cannot happen.

Scientists rate the Teshekpuk Lake area as one of the most important Tundra-Wetland ecosystems remaining in the world. It is home to lagoons, lakes, rivers, streams, meadows and more.

It also provides critical habitat to a million birds, more than 45,000 Caribou and other mammals, and seven Native communities. Even Polar Bears occasionally find their way to this area in the warmer months.

We have until November 6th, the BLM cutoff date, to comment and make our voices heard. Please sign this petition ~ by October 29th, to ensure Care2 can deliver all comments before the deadline. Help keep the oil industry out of this fragile ecosystem.

If you don't, who will?








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God Bless!

Jules

Tell Rush Limbaugh to Apologize

I've never been a Rush Limbaugh fan, although I used to listen to his TV program off and on. It was a bit like a train wreck - you didn't want to look, for fear of what you'd see, but you just couldn't help yourself. Plus, there was always the chance that you'd get to see him stuff both feet in his mouth.

Apparently, Mr. Limbaugh still likes to make an utter fool of himself. The latest came on his September 20th broadcast, where he called American servicemen and women who oppose the war in Iraq "phony soldiers". This is not a small number - according to a December 2006 poll, only 35% of service members approved of Bush's handling of the war.

The Care2 Petition Site is asking everyone who supports our troops (you don't have to support the war) and is offended by these comments to sign this petition and tell Rush Limbaugh to apologize to our troops. Remember, his show is broadcast on Armed Forces Radio, so members of the service - around the world - heard these insults.

Won't you take a minute and sign this petition? I have.

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We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

Keep the Internet Tax-Free

I just ran across this article and lost my sense of humor. Have you read it?

There is a movement under way to remove the moratorium on taxing Internet usage, something that tax-greedy states are jumping on. Can you imagine - being taxed for accessing and using the Internet? And how, exactly are they planning to implement this lovely new tax that we don't need or want - by the action?

What would that mean to people whose only affordable contact with relatives that are spread all over the United States? How are small businesses expected to grow and thrive, when every action they take on the web results in an unrecoverable expense? Frankly, this is insane!

If you would like to see the moratorium made permanent, here is a website where you can help - NoInternetTax.org. Please check them out and lend a hand.

Let me know if you have any other petitions or sites that are battling this situation. I'll be happy to post them here.

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We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

Armed With More Than Education

I ran across this story today and found that, much to my surprise, I had seriously mixed feelings about it.

In a nutshell, a teacher in Ashland, Oregon, who has a restraining order against her obviously violent ex-husband, wants to be able to bring her gun to school. She has a concealed-carry permit and I can truly understand her need to protect herself. However, as the school district reminded her, their policy prohibits anyone, except a law enforcement officer, from bringing a weapon onto a campus.

As a person who has, more than once, been on the receiving end of violent behavior, I immediately understood why this teacher carries a gun. Statistics show that, outside Seattle, restraining orders provide very little protection against a person who is determined to do harm. I mean, think about it. When facing an attacker, flashing a legal document isn't going to stop a bullet or a beating.

However, as a parent, I don't want weapons to get into my child's school - no matter why. Talk to a law enforcement official about the wisdom of keeping a gun in your home and they will tell you that, in too many cases, these weapons end up being used against the owner. And then, after you're dead, there is one more gun in the wrong hands. Unless you are well-trained and truly prepared to kill someone, you have no business with a gun - personal opinion.

Then, of course, there's the Second Amendment argument, about the right to keep and bear arms, that I just knew would come into play. However, I believe that the argument is incorrect in this usage.

"In the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, in England and the British Colonies, the militia system was based on the principle of the Twelfth Century Assize of Arms, where there was general obligation of adult males to possess arms and cooperate in the work of defense." ^ Osgood, Herbert Levi : The American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century , Page 499. Macmillan & Co., Ltd., 1904.

"United States federal courts have consistently interpreted the federal right to bear arms in United States as the modified collective right, not an individual right." Holder, Angela Roddy: The Meaning of the Constitution, Page 64. Barron's Educational Series, 1997. ISBN 0764100998

What do you think?

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God Bless!

Jules

Gonzales Resigns

I was actually quite surprised to see this headline this morning. Not because it wasn't an appropriate step, but because Bush and Gonzales have both stated, unequivocally, that the Attorney General has done nothing wrong in his tenure. And, if you believe that, I've got a bridge for sale - connecting San Francisco to Honolulu!

One of the other articles I read today explained the cronyism that supported Gonzales' entire career - he held NO public office that wasn't given to him by GWB - from the state level in Texas to the Federal government in Washington. It's no wonder there was a tremendous amount of butt-kissing going on. The two men were so politically entwined that it's probably difficult to tell where one stops and the other starts.

Of course, one of the most endearing qualities of both men is the ability to look Congress and the citizens of this country straight in the eye and lie. What more could you ask from your government!?

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We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

Senator Breaks with President?

In a move that made my non-Republican heart happy, Senator John Warner, R-Virginia, made a statement Thursday, asking the President to start pulling troops out of Iraq. The White House is, shall we say, not pleased that one of the most party-loyal Republicans in Congress has spoken out in direct opposition to current 'policy'!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Senator Warner or why his opinion should carry so much weight, here are some basic facts. He is Former Secretary of the Navy; former Chairman, and now the second-ranking Republican of the Senate Armed Services Committee, having begun his association with our men and women in uniform sixty years ago. In this capacity, and throughout his career, he has shown unwavering support for the men and women of the armed forces. He has also been a champion of modernizing the structure and operations of the military to ensure its effectiveness in the 21st century. In a nutshell, when John Warner speaks about the military, people listen and rightly so.

Having just finished a fact-finding tour of Iraq, Senator Warner determined that the government in Iraq is not living up to the promises that they made when the United States entered into this conflict. (Not a huge surprise. Many analysts have made the same observation.) What sets this statement apart, is that Senator Warner expects the US to take action to show the Iraqi government that we are not intending to continue throwing more bodies into the war without some serious effort on the part of the local government.

I don't see anything untoward about what he's saying. Truth hurts, eh, Mr. President?

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We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

Strange Bedfellows

It's not often that I agree with Newt Gingrich - okay it's never happened before. But today, made a prediction that I just had to go along with - Clinton / Obama Democratic Presidential Ticket! When the man's right, the man's right.

I was also intrigued (and again agree) with his assessment of McCain's chances of getting the Republican nomination. Mr. Gingrich put the odds somewhere between none and less than none. Arizona's senator has managed to even alienate his own party so completely that it's a wonder they recognize him at all.

As far as the rest of the Republican candidates - I don't know much about Romney and Thompson, but I'm not really too impressed with Guiliani. There is entirely too much negative press about his handling of the 9/11 situation and NY firefighters are leading the complaints. That and his 'close' relationship with his family, just lead me to believe that he has a habit of presenting one face to the public - and it's not the real man.

Should be interesting to see how things evolve?

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We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

Center for Rural Affairs

Please visit this site and send a message to Ms. Pelosi about the fake reform bill, submitted by House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson. I have and this is what I asked:

Ms. Pelosi:

I come from a family of farmers; family farms, not corporate farms. For over 30 years, I have watched the US government force these farmers out of business or into ever-increasing debt, to the benefit of mega-farms.

Chairman Collin Peterson's proposal is not real reform; it is bigger subsidies for mega-farms. It seeks to destroy family farming.

The fact that this 'reform' bill is brought by a Democrat upsets me greatly, but it does not indicate to me that it is legislation in the best interest of the people who need help most.

Please do not back this proposal.

This country was built on the blood, sweat, and tears of real farmers - not corporations. It is time that the government start supporting its citizens, not he-who-has-the-most-money.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Julie G. Hughes

The family farmers need your help. Please don't let Congress harm them again.

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We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

Support Breastfeeding

I have been reading, far too often lately, about mothers being harassed for daring to feed their children in public. When I was a young mother, there didn't seem to be the stigma associated with nursing in public. Of course, I was always discreet and covered myself and my baby to discourage prurient attention, but that doesn't really seem to be the issue these days.


One of my fondest memories is my younger cousin's surprised face. Only 15 or 16, she was holding my infant son in her arms, across her chest, and he started to "look for lunch." I can still hear my aunt's laughter as my cousin's face turned redder and redder. But I was not attacked for nursing my child or creating a situation in which my cousin was embarrassed; quite the contrary. My aunt simply explained the facts about, and benefits to, nursing infants to my cousin, who immediately handed my son back to me. Having grown up in that type of environment, it's very difficult for me to understand the negative emotions that breastfeeding brings out in people today.


In early 1980, I was flying with my 2 1/2 year old son and 2 month old daughter from Michigan to Colorado for my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. As the plane was taking off, I let my daughter nurse to equalize the pressure in her ears and keep her from being uncomfortable. No one on the plane complained. I did the same as we landed; again, no complaints. In fact, I can only remember one person who ever said anything and that was my very, very conservative grandfather.


I know that there was a time, which I thought had long passed, when breastfeeding was considered 'common' and women who nursed their infants were looked on as unsophisticated and coarse. If one had 'class,' one bottle-fed their babies. One infant formula manufacturer went so far as to develop and deliver a campaign in third-world countries that touted bottle-feeding as a healthier alternative to nursing. What they failed to take into account was that these families couldn't afford formula, ending up diluting what they had to make it last longer, and the infant malnutrition and mortality rate skyrocketed. As we have become a truly enlightened society, we should have moved away from stereotypes that actually harm the infant, the mother, and our society.


I strongly support organizations like Breastfeeding.com, La Leche League International, and the United States Breastfeeding Committee in their efforts to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.

Universally endorsed by the world's health and scientific organizations, breastfeeding offers a vast array of benefits, not just for infants and their mothers, but also for society. If you doubt the benefits to society, take a look at these statistics:

Economic Facts

Economic facts related to breastfeeding in the United States include:

• $2 billion per year is spent by families on breast milk substitutes such as infant formula
  
• $578 million per year in federal funds is spent by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to buy formula for babies who are not breastfeeding
  
• Every 10 percent increase in the breastfeeding rate among WIC recipients would save WIC $750,000 per year
  
• $1.3 billion more is spent by insurers, including Medicaid, to cover sick-child office visits and prescriptions to treat the three most common illnesses - respiratory infections, otitis media (ear infections), and diarrhea - in the first year of life for formula-fed infants versus breastfed infants.
  
• $3.6 to 7 billion excess dollars are spent every year on conditions and diseases that are preventable by breastfeeding.

From: US Breastfeeding Committee

If you are, or know, a nursing mother remind society that your child has as much right to eat in public as they do:

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God Bless!

Jules

Millions Stolen From Baghdad Bank

Have you seen this story? It seems that two, or three depending on to whom you speak, guards at the Dar Es Salaam Bank in Baghdad stole over one-quarter billion American dollars yesterday!


Now, I might be a grumpy old cynic, but does anyone believe that these guards - however many there were - had no connection to the militia? Of course they did! Else, how could they have gotten through all of the checkpoints and disappeared with all of the that lovely American money?


Does anyone believe that $282 million American dollars isn't going to go a long way toward funding further terrorist activities? Of course it is! Why mess with all those Iraqi dinars, when you can float around legal US currency?


Would anyone care to hazard a guess as to why there was so much American money in the private Baghdad bank? Your guess is as good as mine. That one I haven't quite figured out, yet. But, does it really matter, in the whole scheme of things? Not really. The money is gone and, undoubtedly, in the wrong hands.

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We also have a page on Squidoo that supports the Genocide Intervention Network.


We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules

I Have Had Enough! Vote Hillary!

Based on an amazing collection of manufactured 'truths' and an incredible amount of disinformation, the current administration started a war that has completely destabilized most of the Middle East. It has allowed fringe groups, that would never have had a chance to rise to this level of power, to overrun not just Iraq, but the entire area.


Now, I read that we, the taxpayers, are paying billions of dollars A DAY for a conflict that has very little citizen support and is doing little more than killing Americans. Of course, the Iraqi government is insisting that, if US troops leave, a civil war will ensue.


Has anyone noticed that the civil war has already begun?


Under the Clinton administration the United States actually enjoyed a budget surplus, and international respect.


Is there any doubt that we need to put another Clinton in the White House?

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We also have a page on Squidoo that supports the Genocide Intervention Network.


We look forward to seeing you online.

God Bless!

Jules