Monday, June 22, 2009
CONGRESS! Golden Fleece Retirement Plan
This Must Be A Campaign Issue
In 2004
We must be asking the wrong questions during election years. Our senators and congressional representatives do not pay into Social Security. Many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan. In more recent years, no one in congress has felt the need to change it. Their plan works like this:
When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die, except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments (most retirees go for years and years without a cost of living adjustment, if ever). For example, former Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7.8 million, with their wives drawing $275,000 during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average life span for each.
Their cost for this excellent plan is ZERO. This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Fund – our tax dollars at work! From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into – every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer) – we can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement. In other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one month to equal Senator Bill Bradley’s benefits!
Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made. That change would be to jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from congress. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us and then watch how fast they would fix it.
In 2004
We must be asking the wrong questions during election years. Our senators and congressional representatives do not pay into Social Security. Many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan. In more recent years, no one in congress has felt the need to change it. Their plan works like this:
When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die, except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments (most retirees go for years and years without a cost of living adjustment, if ever). For example, former Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7.8 million, with their wives drawing $275,000 during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average life span for each.
Their cost for this excellent plan is ZERO. This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Fund – our tax dollars at work! From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into – every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer) – we can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement. In other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one month to equal Senator Bill Bradley’s benefits!
Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made. That change would be to jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from congress. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us and then watch how fast they would fix it.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Stigmas More Precious Than Gold
It’s saffron-harvest time in the Swiss Alps. Local guild organizes to cultivate the world’s costliest spice.
Saffron crocus in Mund, Switzerland Photo: Swissinfo
Before there was Tempurpedic, Zeus reclined on a bed of saffron flowers, pungent crocus of the Mediterranean. We mere mortals prefer saffron as spice, when we can afford it. The precious orange threads, harvested from the stigmas of crocus sativus , cost about $10 a gram (the weight of a paper clip) and turn whatever they touch a luscious, setting-sun gold.
While saffron is native to Iran and Turkey, today most of it is grown in Spain, where it flavors and colors the national casserole: paella. So what a surprise to learn that Mund, Switzerland, is growing some of the finest saffron in the world.
In 1979, farmers in the village started a saffron guild, after seeing that the crocus was gradually disappearing from this habitat. An article from swissinfo calls saffron farming “a tradition that dates back in Mund to the 14th century.” Since farmer organized 25 years ago, “the saffron fields have grown to cover 16,000 square metres. they have put the village on the map.”
It takes 130 flowers’ worth of crocus to produce one gram of the orange spice (75,000 blossoms to a pound). But the taste is— what?—pungent, bitter, sweet, all at once. Let the Olympians sort it out at their next slumber party.
In Mund, saffron flavors pasta, bread, and risotto. There’s even a locally made crocus aperitif. Here are directions for soup from a whole site of saffron dishes.
It’s saffron-harvest time in the Swiss Alps. Local guild organizes to cultivate the world’s costliest spice.
Saffron crocus in Mund, Switzerland Photo: Swissinfo
Before there was Tempurpedic, Zeus reclined on a bed of saffron flowers, pungent crocus of the Mediterranean. We mere mortals prefer saffron as spice, when we can afford it. The precious orange threads, harvested from the stigmas of crocus sativus , cost about $10 a gram (the weight of a paper clip) and turn whatever they touch a luscious, setting-sun gold.
While saffron is native to Iran and Turkey, today most of it is grown in Spain, where it flavors and colors the national casserole: paella. So what a surprise to learn that Mund, Switzerland, is growing some of the finest saffron in the world.
In 1979, farmers in the village started a saffron guild, after seeing that the crocus was gradually disappearing from this habitat. An article from swissinfo calls saffron farming “a tradition that dates back in Mund to the 14th century.” Since farmer organized 25 years ago, “the saffron fields have grown to cover 16,000 square metres. they have put the village on the map.”
It takes 130 flowers’ worth of crocus to produce one gram of the orange spice (75,000 blossoms to a pound). But the taste is— what?—pungent, bitter, sweet, all at once. Let the Olympians sort it out at their next slumber party.
In Mund, saffron flavors pasta, bread, and risotto. There’s even a locally made crocus aperitif. Here are directions for soup from a whole site of saffron dishes.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Weight-Loss Drug to Be Sold Over the Counter
February 7, 2007
Weight-Loss Drug to Be Sold Over the Counter
By STEPHANIE SAUL
The Food and Drug Administration today approved the first officially sanctioned weight-loss drug that will be sold without a prescription.
The drug, called Alli, is expected to be available to consumers this summer and will become the only government-approved alternative to unproven over-the-counter weight loss remedies.
Although the same weight-loss medication has been available by prescription since 1999, some drug industry analysts believe it will be more widely used as an over-the-counter product. That market is currently dominated by herbal potions and nutritional supplements that advertise fast weight loss, but have no proven effectiveness and can be dangerous.
Because they are classified as nutritionals, they do not require F.D.A. approval.
An obesity specialist in Washington, Dr. Arthur Frank, said Alli had a safe track record and could help patients lose 5 to 10 percent of their weight. On the negative side, Alli can cause annoying side effects including diarrhea and oily stools.
Alli’s marketing plan calls for a realistic approach that will emphasize the need to diet and exercise while taking the medication. In studies, about half of patients taking Alli in combination with a diet and exercise plan lost 5 percent or more of their body weight in six months.
The product’s maker, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, said it planned sell Alli for about $2 to $3 a day. The company has predicted that Alli will be used by 5 million to 6 million people a year.
The F.D.A.’s approval of Alli comes at time when the federal government is under pressure to address a growing obesity problem in the United States. Roughly 31 percent of American adults, or about 60 million people, meet the criterion for obesity. More than 64 percent of the adult population in this country is regarded as overweight.
Another weight-loss drug is also under review by the agency. That compound, rimonabant, works on the brain’s pleasure centers to suppress appetite. If approved, it would be available only by prescription.
Alli is an over-the-counter version of a prescription drug called Xenical, which has been sold in the United States since 1999. While Xenical is sold in 120-milligram doses, Alli will be sold in 60-milligram capsules. Company studies have shown that the 60-milligram dose provides about 85 percent of the weight loss of the higher dose.
The drug works by blocking the breakdown and absorption of fat in the intestine, at the same time blocking absorption of calories from that fat. Fat that is not absorbed merely passes through the system, the reason Alli also causes annoying side effects — ranging from flatulence and oily stool to occasional loss of bowel control.
“Say you have a big fatty meal, it blocks the absorption of a lot of fat, which is good, except that when you get a lot of fat way down in your colon, you have a chance of diarrhea, loose stools and unpleasant intestinal symptoms,” said Dr. Frank, the medical director for the George Washington University Weight Management Program. Dr. Frank has served on an advisory panel for Glaxo.
Dr. Jana Klauer, a weight-loss and nutrition specialist in Manhattan, said the drug’s side effect had been a deterrent to its use.
“I haven’t had terrific success with it,” Dr. Klauer said. “My patients just don’t like the side effects. I use it a little bit, but not a lot.”
Through its intestinal side effects, the drug also creates an aversion to eating excessive fat, another reason it works, Dr. Frank said.
The intestinal symptoms can be minimized by eating a diet of no more than 30 percent fat. The company will package Alli capsules with seven pocket reference guides that provide advice on meal-planning, what to order when eating out, a fat and calories counter, and a journal for recording daily food intake.
The educational plan will also include a Web site, myalli.com, where customers taking Alli will be able to log in, track their progress and obtain personalized advice.
Steven L. Burton, Glaxo’s vice president for weight control products, said the F.D.A. asked the company to strengthen its campaign to package the product as an overall weight-loss plan.
“The F.D.A. wanted us to reinforce education about the behavioral role in weight loss,” Mr. Burton said. “They asked for more emphasis on what really are the keys to successful weight loss, steady gradual weight loss. You need to be getting more physical activity. We worked on strengthening those in the label.”
The product was approved despite protests from the Public Citizen Health Research Group, which had cited studies linking the prescription version of the drug with pre-cancerous changes in the intestine.
But Dr. Frank said the drug had a good safety record. “It’s safe, there’s no question it’s safe,” Dr. Frank said. “It’s a nonsystemic drug. It’s not absorbed by the intestine. The only thing it does it runs through the intestinal tract and drags out some fat with it.”
But Dr. Frank expressed concerns that some patients will buy the pills and not read the educational material, and then have episodes of diarrhea.
Dr. Klauer said she was concerned about the potential for abuse.
“Whenever anything is over the counter, there is a potential for abuse and I have no doubt that that’s going to happen,” she said. “I think people who don’t really need it will take it. People who don’t need to lose weight will take it.”
Because Alli blocks the absorption of some vitamins, people who use it must also take a multivitamin.
GlaxoSmithKline licensed the product from Roche in 2004 with plans to switch it to the over-the-counter market even though the prescription product never met sales expectations, a disappointment that has been blamed on the drug’s side effects as well as Roche’s low-key marketing.
The company is regarded at expert in over-the-counter drug switches because of its experience commercializing Nicorette chewing gum and Nicoderm skin patches in 1996. Previously, those products had been sold only by prescription.
GlaxoSmithKline is expected to use some of the same marketing techniques in switching Alli.
In addition to the Web site, the drug’s introduction is expected to be accompanied by significant television and magazine advertising.
“G.S.K. seems to be putting a lot more into how to market it to consumers,” said Morgan Downey, executive vice president of the Obesity Society, an obesity research and advocacy organization in Silver Spring, Md., that has received financial support from GlaxoSmithKline.
Alli’s approval followed the recommendation of a federal advisory panel last year that favored its over-the-counter sale by a vote of 11 to 3.
Dr. Louis J. Aronne, a Manhattan obesity expert who conducted some of the early research on the drug, said he believed Alli would be a welcome alternative to some ineffective products currently sold in the over-the-counter weight loss market.
Weight-Loss Drug to Be Sold Over the Counter
By STEPHANIE SAUL
The Food and Drug Administration today approved the first officially sanctioned weight-loss drug that will be sold without a prescription.
The drug, called Alli, is expected to be available to consumers this summer and will become the only government-approved alternative to unproven over-the-counter weight loss remedies.
Although the same weight-loss medication has been available by prescription since 1999, some drug industry analysts believe it will be more widely used as an over-the-counter product. That market is currently dominated by herbal potions and nutritional supplements that advertise fast weight loss, but have no proven effectiveness and can be dangerous.
Because they are classified as nutritionals, they do not require F.D.A. approval.
An obesity specialist in Washington, Dr. Arthur Frank, said Alli had a safe track record and could help patients lose 5 to 10 percent of their weight. On the negative side, Alli can cause annoying side effects including diarrhea and oily stools.
Alli’s marketing plan calls for a realistic approach that will emphasize the need to diet and exercise while taking the medication. In studies, about half of patients taking Alli in combination with a diet and exercise plan lost 5 percent or more of their body weight in six months.
The product’s maker, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, said it planned sell Alli for about $2 to $3 a day. The company has predicted that Alli will be used by 5 million to 6 million people a year.
The F.D.A.’s approval of Alli comes at time when the federal government is under pressure to address a growing obesity problem in the United States. Roughly 31 percent of American adults, or about 60 million people, meet the criterion for obesity. More than 64 percent of the adult population in this country is regarded as overweight.
Another weight-loss drug is also under review by the agency. That compound, rimonabant, works on the brain’s pleasure centers to suppress appetite. If approved, it would be available only by prescription.
Alli is an over-the-counter version of a prescription drug called Xenical, which has been sold in the United States since 1999. While Xenical is sold in 120-milligram doses, Alli will be sold in 60-milligram capsules. Company studies have shown that the 60-milligram dose provides about 85 percent of the weight loss of the higher dose.
The drug works by blocking the breakdown and absorption of fat in the intestine, at the same time blocking absorption of calories from that fat. Fat that is not absorbed merely passes through the system, the reason Alli also causes annoying side effects — ranging from flatulence and oily stool to occasional loss of bowel control.
“Say you have a big fatty meal, it blocks the absorption of a lot of fat, which is good, except that when you get a lot of fat way down in your colon, you have a chance of diarrhea, loose stools and unpleasant intestinal symptoms,” said Dr. Frank, the medical director for the George Washington University Weight Management Program. Dr. Frank has served on an advisory panel for Glaxo.
Dr. Jana Klauer, a weight-loss and nutrition specialist in Manhattan, said the drug’s side effect had been a deterrent to its use.
“I haven’t had terrific success with it,” Dr. Klauer said. “My patients just don’t like the side effects. I use it a little bit, but not a lot.”
Through its intestinal side effects, the drug also creates an aversion to eating excessive fat, another reason it works, Dr. Frank said.
The intestinal symptoms can be minimized by eating a diet of no more than 30 percent fat. The company will package Alli capsules with seven pocket reference guides that provide advice on meal-planning, what to order when eating out, a fat and calories counter, and a journal for recording daily food intake.
The educational plan will also include a Web site, myalli.com, where customers taking Alli will be able to log in, track their progress and obtain personalized advice.
Steven L. Burton, Glaxo’s vice president for weight control products, said the F.D.A. asked the company to strengthen its campaign to package the product as an overall weight-loss plan.
“The F.D.A. wanted us to reinforce education about the behavioral role in weight loss,” Mr. Burton said. “They asked for more emphasis on what really are the keys to successful weight loss, steady gradual weight loss. You need to be getting more physical activity. We worked on strengthening those in the label.”
The product was approved despite protests from the Public Citizen Health Research Group, which had cited studies linking the prescription version of the drug with pre-cancerous changes in the intestine.
But Dr. Frank said the drug had a good safety record. “It’s safe, there’s no question it’s safe,” Dr. Frank said. “It’s a nonsystemic drug. It’s not absorbed by the intestine. The only thing it does it runs through the intestinal tract and drags out some fat with it.”
But Dr. Frank expressed concerns that some patients will buy the pills and not read the educational material, and then have episodes of diarrhea.
Dr. Klauer said she was concerned about the potential for abuse.
“Whenever anything is over the counter, there is a potential for abuse and I have no doubt that that’s going to happen,” she said. “I think people who don’t really need it will take it. People who don’t need to lose weight will take it.”
Because Alli blocks the absorption of some vitamins, people who use it must also take a multivitamin.
GlaxoSmithKline licensed the product from Roche in 2004 with plans to switch it to the over-the-counter market even though the prescription product never met sales expectations, a disappointment that has been blamed on the drug’s side effects as well as Roche’s low-key marketing.
The company is regarded at expert in over-the-counter drug switches because of its experience commercializing Nicorette chewing gum and Nicoderm skin patches in 1996. Previously, those products had been sold only by prescription.
GlaxoSmithKline is expected to use some of the same marketing techniques in switching Alli.
In addition to the Web site, the drug’s introduction is expected to be accompanied by significant television and magazine advertising.
“G.S.K. seems to be putting a lot more into how to market it to consumers,” said Morgan Downey, executive vice president of the Obesity Society, an obesity research and advocacy organization in Silver Spring, Md., that has received financial support from GlaxoSmithKline.
Alli’s approval followed the recommendation of a federal advisory panel last year that favored its over-the-counter sale by a vote of 11 to 3.
Dr. Louis J. Aronne, a Manhattan obesity expert who conducted some of the early research on the drug, said he believed Alli would be a welcome alternative to some ineffective products currently sold in the over-the-counter weight loss market.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
May this day ...
May this be the day when it all comes together * happiness in your heart * serenity in your soul * success in all the things you do * time enough to reach for your dreams * patience to see you through * inner beauty * an open mind * days that find you feeling wonderful * confidence, strong and lasting * strength to do what needs to be done * believing in tomorrow * living in today * knowing the right way is the only way * clearing out the confusion * facing the facts * not being afraid * never giving up * finding hope in hard-to-find places * putting smiles on other people's faces * knowing when to talk * and knowing when to listen * standing by the truth * being firm in your commitments * using your insight to set you right * going from rock bottom to mountain top * learning from mistakes * understanding the greatness within * looking for the good that is always there * sharing the things that need to be shared * remembering that it can all be a puzzle, but solving problems is one of the sweet joys of life * you can always pick up the pieces * and you can always make things right.
I love this Comeback ... Iraq War
One of my sons serves in the military. He is still stateside, here in California. He called me yesterday to let me know how warm and welcoming people were to him, and his troops, everywhere he goes, telling me how people shake their hands and thank them for being willing to serve, and fight, for not only our own freedoms but so that others may have them also. But he also told me about an incident in the grocery store he stopped at yesterday, on his way home from the base. He said that ahead of several people in front of him stood a woman dressed in a burkha. He said when she got to the cashier she loudly remarked about the U.S. flag lapel pin the cashier wore on her smock. The cashier reached up and touched the pin, and said proudly, " Yes, I always wear it and probably always will."
The woman in the burkha then asked the cashier when she was going to stop bombing her countrymen, explaining that she was Iraqi. A gentleman standing behind my son stepped forward, putting his arm around my son's shoulders, and nodding towards my son, said in a calm and gentle voice to the Iraqi woman:
"Lady, hundreds of thousands of men and women like this young man have fought and died so that YOU could stand here, in MY country and accuse a check-out cashier of bombing YOUR countrymen. It is my belief that had you been this outspoken in YOUR own country, we wouldn't need to be there today. But, hey, if you have now learned how to speak out so loudly and clearly, I'll gladly buy you a ticket and pay your way back to Iraq so you can straighten out the mess in YOUR country that you are obviously here in MY country to avoid. "Everyone within hearing distance cheered!
IF YOU AGREE, Pass this on to all your proud American friends.
Our Congress is Defunct!
Ok ... This is repulsive. Wake up America!!! Get a grip! Come on! How much more bending over can you take? Is this whole country enjoying this anal abuse?
I have a solution to this blatant gross negligence by the very Congress Persons who are supposed to be representing the best interests of their constituents. You may not like it. It involves everyone one of us to actually get up and do something. Stand up for ourselves and this for Country.
We need to excise all of these politicians, all the way up the chain of command. Excise them like the cancer that they are. They should be charged with treason for violating or betraying the trust of every American Citizen. Now deport them. Deport every single one of them, along with all of the illegal immigrants that flood our borders.
Then we start all over. Elect new Officials, Politicians, Department Heads, Judges, etc. Institute a new salary scale commensurate to the working poor and middle class.
The United States Government has no business aiding any country in the process of instituting a government when it's own entity is plagued with corruption & greed.
If you don't, or won't, do something, then you lose the right to bitch or complain about the status or position of this Country and should be deported right along with the rest of this criminal syndicate.
Thank you for your time. I hope you put some thought into what you're going to do come the next elections.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTES: I've found some nouns and adjectives that adequately describe our political system as it is today.
1. Defunct
adj 1: no longer in force or use; inactive; "a defunct (or dead) law"; "a defunct organization" [syn: dead] 2: having ceased to exist or live; "the will of a defunct aunt"; "a defunct Indian tribe": a defunct political organization.
2. Negligence
n 1: failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances [syn: carelessness, neglect, nonperformance] 2: the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern [syn: neglect, neglectfulness]
3. Traitor
n 1: someone who betrays his country by committing treason [syn: treasonist] 2: a person who says one thing and does another [syn: double-crosser, double-dealer, two-timer, betrayer]
4. Trea·son n.
Violation of allegiance toward one's country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one's country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies.
A betrayal of trust or confidence.
5. Com·men·su·rate adj.
Of the same size, extent, or duration as another.
Corresponding in size or degree; proportionate: a salary commensurate with my performance. Measurable by a common standard; commensurable.
6. sloth
n 1: a disinclination to work or exert yourself
Definition: inaction
Synonyms: dawdling, dilly-dallying, dormancy, droning, goof-off time, hibernation, inactivity, indolence, inertia, joblessness, laze, laziness, lazing, leisure, lethargy, loafing, loitering, otiosity, pottering, shiftlessness, sloth, slothfulness, slouch, slowness, sluggishness, stupor, time-killing, time-wasting, torpidity, torpor, trifling, truancy, unemployment, vegetating, vegetation
Definition: immorality
Synonyms: anger, covetousness, crime, damnation, debt, deficiency, demerit, disobedience, envy, error, evil, evil-doing, fault, gluttony, guilt, immorality, imperfection, iniquity, lust, misdeed, offense, peccability, peccadillo, peccancy, pride, shortcoming, sinfulness, sloth, tort, transgression, trespass, ungodliness, unrighteousness, veniality, vice, violation, wickedness, wrong, wrongdoing, wrongness
7. Organized Crime
n. criminal activity on the part of an organized and extensive group of people —compare RACKETEERING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congress Is Empty, Get Used to It
The House Has Spent 19 Days in D.C. So Far This Year
March 21, 2006 — - The seats of Congress are empty this week, with the nation's lawmakers out of town for the St. Patrick's Day recess.
The empty seats are a sight that is becoming more common in the Capitol with Congress on track to set a modern-day record for the least amount of time in session. The House plans to be in Washington 97 days this year.
When the nation's representatives are not in the capital, they're not on vacation, but Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., says some more time in Congress would be useful.
"If Washington, D.C., is where the action is for lobbyists, it certainly ought to be where the action is for members of Congress," Lungren said.
The average American has worked more than 50 days in 2006, but, so far, the House has worked in Washington just 19 days, a total of 118 hours. The Senate is not far behind with 33 days at the Capitol.
"If we get much shorter, I mean, we're going to have a drive-through Congress," said Mary Boyle of Common Cause.
The House calendar is already set for the rest of the year. The representatives will meet for two weeks in April, a week in May and July, and all of August. Even a national newspaper points out that with fewer than 100 days scheduled, the House is on track to be in session less than what President Harry Truman called the "do-nothing" Congress of 1948.
Republican Rep. Jack Kingston defended the schedule while meeting with children in his Georgia school district on Monday.
"The work isn't all about Washington and voting," Kingston said. "We really have three jobs. One is voting in Washington. The other is getting out there on the streets. And the third job is one-on-one casework."
It's also an election year, and Republican leaders have made sure members can spend plenty of time talking to voters and maintain the Republican hold of the House majority.
Copyright © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures
I have a solution to this blatant gross negligence by the very Congress Persons who are supposed to be representing the best interests of their constituents. You may not like it. It involves everyone one of us to actually get up and do something. Stand up for ourselves and this for Country.
We need to excise all of these politicians, all the way up the chain of command. Excise them like the cancer that they are. They should be charged with treason for violating or betraying the trust of every American Citizen. Now deport them. Deport every single one of them, along with all of the illegal immigrants that flood our borders.
Then we start all over. Elect new Officials, Politicians, Department Heads, Judges, etc. Institute a new salary scale commensurate to the working poor and middle class.
The United States Government has no business aiding any country in the process of instituting a government when it's own entity is plagued with corruption & greed.
If you don't, or won't, do something, then you lose the right to bitch or complain about the status or position of this Country and should be deported right along with the rest of this criminal syndicate.
Thank you for your time. I hope you put some thought into what you're going to do come the next elections.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTES: I've found some nouns and adjectives that adequately describe our political system as it is today.
1. Defunct
adj 1: no longer in force or use; inactive; "a defunct (or dead) law"; "a defunct organization" [syn: dead] 2: having ceased to exist or live; "the will of a defunct aunt"; "a defunct Indian tribe": a defunct political organization.
2. Negligence
n 1: failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances [syn: carelessness, neglect, nonperformance] 2: the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern [syn: neglect, neglectfulness]
3. Traitor
n 1: someone who betrays his country by committing treason [syn: treasonist] 2: a person who says one thing and does another [syn: double-crosser, double-dealer, two-timer, betrayer]
4. Trea·son n.
Violation of allegiance toward one's country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one's country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies.
A betrayal of trust or confidence.
5. Com·men·su·rate adj.
Of the same size, extent, or duration as another.
Corresponding in size or degree; proportionate: a salary commensurate with my performance. Measurable by a common standard; commensurable.
6. sloth
n 1: a disinclination to work or exert yourself
Definition: inaction
Synonyms: dawdling, dilly-dallying, dormancy, droning, goof-off time, hibernation, inactivity, indolence, inertia, joblessness, laze, laziness, lazing, leisure, lethargy, loafing, loitering, otiosity, pottering, shiftlessness, sloth, slothfulness, slouch, slowness, sluggishness, stupor, time-killing, time-wasting, torpidity, torpor, trifling, truancy, unemployment, vegetating, vegetation
Definition: immorality
Synonyms: anger, covetousness, crime, damnation, debt, deficiency, demerit, disobedience, envy, error, evil, evil-doing, fault, gluttony, guilt, immorality, imperfection, iniquity, lust, misdeed, offense, peccability, peccadillo, peccancy, pride, shortcoming, sinfulness, sloth, tort, transgression, trespass, ungodliness, unrighteousness, veniality, vice, violation, wickedness, wrong, wrongdoing, wrongness
7. Organized Crime
n. criminal activity on the part of an organized and extensive group of people —compare RACKETEERING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congress Is Empty, Get Used to It
The House Has Spent 19 Days in D.C. So Far This Year
March 21, 2006 — - The seats of Congress are empty this week, with the nation's lawmakers out of town for the St. Patrick's Day recess.
The empty seats are a sight that is becoming more common in the Capitol with Congress on track to set a modern-day record for the least amount of time in session. The House plans to be in Washington 97 days this year.
When the nation's representatives are not in the capital, they're not on vacation, but Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., says some more time in Congress would be useful.
"If Washington, D.C., is where the action is for lobbyists, it certainly ought to be where the action is for members of Congress," Lungren said.
The average American has worked more than 50 days in 2006, but, so far, the House has worked in Washington just 19 days, a total of 118 hours. The Senate is not far behind with 33 days at the Capitol.
"If we get much shorter, I mean, we're going to have a drive-through Congress," said Mary Boyle of Common Cause.
The House calendar is already set for the rest of the year. The representatives will meet for two weeks in April, a week in May and July, and all of August. Even a national newspaper points out that with fewer than 100 days scheduled, the House is on track to be in session less than what President Harry Truman called the "do-nothing" Congress of 1948.
Republican Rep. Jack Kingston defended the schedule while meeting with children in his Georgia school district on Monday.
"The work isn't all about Washington and voting," Kingston said. "We really have three jobs. One is voting in Washington. The other is getting out there on the streets. And the third job is one-on-one casework."
It's also an election year, and Republican leaders have made sure members can spend plenty of time talking to voters and maintain the Republican hold of the House majority.
Copyright © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures
Saturday, March 18, 2006
DontDateHimGirl.com--Revolutionizing the Way Women Date!
DontDateHimGirl.com--Revolutionizing the Way Women Date!
This is some funny stuff. Very similar to what I've already done since 2004.
This is some funny stuff. Very similar to what I've already done since 2004.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Growing up
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and
NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms ... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good. and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
http://www.sillyhumor.com/growingup/index.html
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and
NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms ... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good. and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
http://www.sillyhumor.com/growingup/index.html
Friday, June 24, 2005
Dirty IQ Test
| Your IQ Is 110 |
 Your Logical Intelligence is Exceptional Your Verbal Intelligence is Exceptional Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional Your General Knowledge is Average |
