A world without the first admendment

Recently, something terribly frightening has been happening. Republicans want to remove our Freedom of Speech. At first I didn't pay much attention to Newt Gingrich, simply because he's a joke and I don't bother. But now there's more people talking about doing away with the First Amendment. Read Another Day in the Empire's post about Mike Gallagher for more information.

What's so scary is that until recently there was no one in the media that advocated for a removal of this right. Now there are people actually considering it. And people aren't that outraged about it.

Whenever I read an article like the one on Mike Gallagher, two things pass through my mind. One book and one movie. 1984, and the popular movie V for Vendetta.

Top 10 Ugliest Sneakers of 2006

Kineda has put together a list of the 10 ugliest sneakers from this past year. And they're not joking. Check it out here.

Across the Web, 21 December 2006

When Charity Shouldn’t Begin at Home from Common Dreams.

The Hidden Opportunity in Global Warming from AlterNet.

Colbert's word: The Draft [VIDEO] from AlterNet.

Rowling finds finishing final Potter book a nightmare from Yahoo!.

US Out Now from Antiwar.

The Star of Bethlehem from i-Science.

Rwanda seeks to join Commonwealth from BBC.

Triplets for woman with two wombs from BBC.

One in 20 Hispanics 'goes hungry' from BBC.

Avoid crappy plane seats with this site: seatguru.com from Boing Boing.

Baby put through airport x-ray from Boing Boing.

Two-headed fossil from Boing Boing.

Metalhead graffiti causes terror freakout from Boing Boing.

Aluna Tidal-Powered Clock from Inhabit.

Numbers

This is for all you number freaks. I didn't actually read through the whole thing (I'm not one of the previously mentioned "number freaks"), but what I did read of it was interesting.

What's Special About This Number?

Not quite how it seems

For the few remaining pro-Iraqi war people, when asked why we should be in Iraq and how the Iraqi people have benefited, they almost always bring up women's rights. However, in this article from Feministing, women may have less rights then they did before the invasion.

Iraqi Women Have Fewer Rights Than Ever

The French Could Have Killed Bin Laden

So what?

Not too long ago Americans were angry at Bill Clinton because he let Osama Bin Laden "go". Now it's the French. Are we going to have to start eating freedom fries again?

Seriously, what's the point of playing this little roundabout game? Saying, "You should have killed him" is not going to fix anything. You can't change the past.

Best I've Seen All Year

This is the best cartoon I've seen all year. And it's without doubt the most truthful.


Here's the link.

DNA testing

States get DNA samples from convicted felons. Everyone knows that. And it's as it should be. But should the police also take samples from people guilty of minor crimes and people that are arrested?

In the U.K., a country that makes everyone have their cheek swabbed for DNA sampling, criminals have been identified as a direct result of the DNA testing 660,000 times. On the other hand, the United States, who doesn't mandate sampling/testing, has only identified 39,000 criminals through this method.

Personally, it it can help solve rapes and murders then I'm all for it. But some may view it as an assault on our privacy. Opinions?

India forces couples to have HIV testing

In a recent article from the BBC it was reported that India would make HIV testing mandatory in order to do something about the growing HIV epidemic. Currently, there are over five million Indians living with the disease. For more information, click here.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it could prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and help people seek treatment. On the other hand, it's an invasion of privacy.

Maybe instead of mandatory, India should offer free testing. Unfortunately, they barely have the money and resources to deal with the number of illnesses now.

What are everyone else's opinions on this?

Learn about black holes

This is a really interesting little site. It's an interactive way to learn about black holes. Which some believe will kill us all. (It's highly unlikely, but there are some people that think a black hole is heading towards our galaxy and that will be the end of civilization as we know it).

Black Holes

Mad TV Tickle Me Emo

Check Bush's E-mail

Another site for all the Bush-haters.

I love Britain

Britain Approves World's Biggest Offshore Wind Farm

As the article says, this farm will provide electricity to 1 million homes.

widsom

"That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history. - Aldous Huxley"

lalala...

My biggest pet peeve is people singing. Not all singing, mind you. Just people who seriously can't. Or when someone sings along to a song. It annoys me beyond reason.

I'm not trying to be a joy killer or anything. And I'm not really sure why it bothers me so much, but it does. The worst of all is when someone tries to sing along with a song whose words they don't know, and it ends up being a series of mumbles that aren't actually words at all.

Just a few issues

In the December 2006 issue of Marie Claire, the magazine polled 600 of it's readers on some political issues. Since I've nothing better to do, here's what I think. Feel free to comment with how you feel for each issue.

How do you vote? Democrat, although I'm Green.

More than 78 million Americans didn't vote in 2004. If you could securely vote from home, would you be more likely to do so? Not at all. I always vote. Even in local elections. If you don't vote, you have no right to complain.

Legal immigrants in the U.S. pay taxes but can't vote. Should taxpayers have the right to vote, regardless of citizenship? Yes. If they pay taxes, they have a right to choose how they want the money spent. I'm obviously not in the majority on this question. 65% of the readers said no.

Would you vote for a female president? Yes. But only if she could do the job. I wouldn't vote for anyone just because they're a woman.

Does the U.S. have the right to determine whether other countries can develop nuclear weapons, considering we already have them ourselves? No. We're not the leader of the world.

Who pays for your health insurance? My dad. I'm 19 and getting ready to start college; I can't exactly afford it.

Electoral College or popular vote? I understand why there's an electoral college and the benefits, but it's always felt wrong to me.

Gay marriage - whose call? National. It's a human right.

Should the U.S. have a time line to withdraw from Iraq? Yes, but I'm not sure I trust them in keeping their promise.

Golly

Truly Weird... but fascinating

I personally don't want one of these. The idea of pumping blood into a scarf makes me feel icky. But Laura Splan, whose work "explores perceptions of beauty and horror, comfort and discomfort" (obviously) has created this scarf that uses your own blood to keep you warm. I have to say, it's outrageously creative. Still...

Laura Splan

Make sure you look at some of her other work.

(Thanks to Didn't You Hear for writing about this.)

I'm Angelic

According to this quiz anyway. Which I guess is a good thing. I would secretly love to have a "dark streak". Maybe it just hasn't come out in me yet.



How evil are you?

I'm Smarter Than You

The BBC just published an article that says in the header "Intelligent children are more likely to become vegetarians later in life, a study says". How awesome is that. Here's the link to the article.

Mel Gibson's Secret

Supposedly this has been on the net for awhile now, but being the slow-poke I am I haven't seen it yet. I'm counting on not being the only one.

It turns out that there's a hidden "easter egg" in the Apple trailer for Gibson's latest, Apocalypto. Check out AlterNet's entry about it for a slowed-down clip of the trailer.

And in case you're wondering if it's real or not, it is. I wanted to see it for myself, so I went to the original trailer and found it.

"A Story From History"

I love The Highlander. It's not a particularly fancy magazine (black & white, non-glossy), but the articles are some of my favorite. If you ever come across an issue, definitely take a look at it. You won't be disappointed.

This is a quick little tidbit from their November/December 1999 issue that's buried away between a larger article and a short article on the Memphis Scottish Society. Usually I skip the pages I think are only updates on Scottish Societies throughout the US, but I happened to see the title, "A Story From History", and read it. I want to share it with you here. Unfortunately I don't know who the author was, but it's a good read.

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself.

Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy farmer Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer.

At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family home.

"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud of."

And that he did. In time, farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin.

Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.

Albert and the 'eadsman

Written by Marriott Edgar

ALBERT AND THE 'EADSMAN

On young Albert Ramsbottom's birthday
His parents asked what he'd like most;
He said to see t' Tower of London
And gaze upon Anne Boleyn's ghost.

They thowt this request were unusual
And at first to refuse were inclined,
Till Pa said a trip to t' metrollopse
Might broaden the little lad's mind.

They took charrybank up to London
And got there at quarter to fower,
Then, seeing as pubs wasn't open,
They went straight away to the Tower.

They didn't think much to the building
'Tweren't what they'd been led to suppose,
And the "Bad Word" Tower didn't impress them,
They said Blackpool had got one of those.

At last Albert found a Beefeater,
And filled the old chap with alarm
By asking for Ghost of Anne Boleyn,
As carried her head 'neath her arm.

Said Beefeater "You ought to come Fridays
If it's Ghost of Anne Boleyn you seek,
Her Union now limits her output,
And she only gets one walk a week.

"But", he said, "if it's ghosts that you're after,
There's Lady Jane Grey's to be seen,
She runs around chases by the 'Eadsman
At midnight on th' old Tower Green."

They waited on t' green till near midnight,
Then thinking they's time for a sup,
They took out what food they'd brought with them
And waited for t' Ghost to turn up.

On the first stroke of twelve, up jumped Albert,
His mouth full of cold dripping toast,
With his stick with the 'orse's 'ead 'andle
He pointed, and said "'Ere's the Ghost!"

They felt their skins growing all goosey
As Lady Jane's spectre drew near,
And Albert fair swallered his tonsils
When the 'Eadsman an' all did appear.

The 'Eadsman chased Jane round the grass patch,
They saw his axe flash in the moon,
And seeing t' poor lass were headless,
They wondered what next he would prune.

He suddenly caught sight of Albert,
As midnight was on its last chime;
As he lifted his axe Father murmured,
"We'll get the insurance this time."

At that Mother rose, taking umbridge;
She said, "Put that cleaver away.
You're not cutting our Albert's 'ead off,
Yon collar were clean on today."

The brave little lad stood undaunted
Till the Ghost were within half a pace,
Then taking the toast he were eating,
Slapped it, dripping side down, in his face.

'Twere a proper set-back for the 'Eadsman,
He let out one howl of despair,
Then taking his lady friend with him,
He disappeared - just like that there.

When Pa saw the way as they vanished,
He trembled with fear and looked blue,
Till Ma went and patted his shoulder
An' said, "'S all right, lad, we saw it too."

Some say 'twere the drippin' as done it,
From roast leg of mutton it came,
And as th' 'Eadsman had been a Beefeater,
They reckoned he vanished from shame.

And around Tower Green from that moment
They've ne'er seen the sign of a ghost,
But when t' Beefeaters go on night duty,
They take slices of cold drippin' toast.

A Blonde Joke

A blonde walks into a bank in Chicago and asks for the loan officer. She says she's going to Europe on business for three weeks and needs to borrow $5,000. The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the loan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce.

The car is parked on the street in front of the bank. She has the title and everything checks out. The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the blonde for using a $250,000 Rolls as collateral against a $5,000 loan. And employee for the bank then proceeds to drive the Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.

Three weeks later, the blonde returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $18.41. The loan officer says, "Miss, we are very happy to have had your business and this transaction has worked out very well, but we are a little puzzled."

"While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multi-millionaire. What puzzles us is why you would bother to borrow $5,000?"

The blonde replies, "Where else in Chicago can I park my car for three weeks for only $18.41 and expect it to be there when I return?"


Finally... a SMART blonde joke

you know you're a monty python fan when...

You know you're a Python fan when...

.. Just by listening, you can tell which voice belongs to which Python.

.. You can recite whole scenes and gags by yourself AND do all the right voices.

.. You correct others when they get a teeny part of the script wrong.

.. Then you insult their parents with a French accent, saying 'Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!'

.. You've tried to do a Silly Walk.

.. You have ever tried to teach someone The Knights of Ni's new name: "The Knights who Say Ecki-ecki-ecki-ecki-p'clang-zoop-boing-g'berz'howliziv"

.. You see decapitation on TV and comment, "It's just a flesh wound."

.. You think someone with fresh fruit is dangerous.

.. All questions are asked in 3.

.. You constantly end sentences with, "Know what I mean? Know what I mean? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more!"

.. Whenever you see a rabbit you say "that's no ordinary rabbit, that's the most cruel, vile and vicious rodent you ever set eyes on!"

.. You're at the grocery and the butcher is wheeling a cart of meat to the counter and you say "Bring out your dead!"

.. You've ever tried to buy a license for your pet fish name Eric.

.. You've actually tried to research the velocity of an unladen swallow... both African and European!

.. You see a dead animal (especially a bird) and automatically exclaim, "THIS is an EX-PARROT."

.. Whenever someone begins, "I didn't expect..." you interrupt with, "Nooobody expects the Spanish Inquistion."

.. You have ever told someone to bring a shrubbery before entering your house.

.. You always refer to yourself as an upper-class twit, and pretend to jump over match boxes.

.. You have learned how not to be seen.

.. Your friends show off their house and you say: "It's only a model."

.. You know the "Philosophers Song" by heart.

.. ...You take college philosophy to learn why Immanuel Kant was a real pissant.

.. Mom asked you what do you want for dinner and you say, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM!!

.. Every woman you come in contact with, you touch their breasts.

.. You're still trying to find a man with three buttocks.

.. Everytime you hear a gun shot, the first thing through your mind is "Noooooooobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

.. You have ever tried "street climbing"

.. You keep walking back and forth by someone saying "good morning....good morning...."

.. You believe your name is Dinsdale and your being chased by a forty foot hedgehog named "Spiny Norman"

.. You eat, wear, burn, and feed the cat lupins.

.. You skip through the house making horse sounds with coconuts.

.. When in a restaurant, you can't resist taking the napkin, knotting the corners, and wearing it like a hat. (

.. After telling someone your profession, you immediately add "...but I always wanted to be a LUMBERJACK!"

.. You suddenly change the subject by saying "And now for something completely different..."

.. When, after coming in from doing hard work, someone asked you what you've been doing you've ever replied "I just spent four hours buryin' the cat" (and enjoyed the strange look you got)

.. You have ever responded to someone asking where something is by saying "Is it behind the rabbit?"

.. All of your comebacks/insults are in an "outrageous accent."

.. Somebody wishes to move past you (vehicle, etc.) you quote the bridge scene.

.. If you find yourself saying "NI" to people that you don't like

.. You have a perfect cockney accent... and you've never been to England

.. You find yourself saying "tis only a flesh wound" when you are bleeding to death and laughing about it through the pain

.. You have all the CD's with songs on them, and people catch you singing them to yourself.

.. You watched "As Good As It Gets" and snickered when Jack Nicholson played "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," not because of the irony of it all, but because you remember the song from "Life of Brian."

This is for Theodor Seuss Geisel

...or Dr. Seuss. Great writer, and probably the most-read children's author of all time. I was bored, so what the heck, let's learn about this man. But instead of writing about some boring biography, I found some pretty funny stuff instead, including one of his own political cartoons. Here you go! Tell me if you know of any more...

And now for the Dr. Seuss Bible:

One day God said, "This is what I will do:
I'll send down my son. I'll send him to you
To clear up this humpity bumpity hullaballoo.
His name will be Christ and he'll never wear shoes.
His pals will all call him 'The King of the Jews.'"

He didn't come in a plane.
He didn't come in a Jeep.
He didn't come in a pouch
Of a high jumping Voveep.

He rode on the back of a black Sassatoo
Which is the blackiest creature you ever could view.

He rode to Jerusalem -- home of the grumpity Jews
Where false prophets were worshiped -- some even in twos.
There was Murray VonMyrrh and Ghengis Vovooz --
The one you could worship by taking a snooze.

Christ spoke from a mound
Which is a pile of ground.
People gathered around
Without making a sound.

Thus he spake:

"Sin in socks
Socks full of sin.
How do we quiet
This Jehovaty din?
Do unto others as they do unto you.
That includes you, young Timothy Foo."

One pharisee said to another he knew,
"What shall we do with this uppity Jew?"
"Let's wash him in wine and make him all clean
And into Sam Zittle's crucifiction machine."

Twirl the Gawhirl
And release the Galeese
And in go the nails
As fast as you please.

And it is said
That he said as he bled,
"Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.
For they walk throughout life in toe crampity shoes."

Do you?

Amen.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
You really are a heel.
You're as cuddly as a cactus,
You're as charming as an eel.
Mr. Grinch.

You're a bad banana
With a greasy black peel

You're a monster, Mr. Grinch.
Your heart's an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders,
You've got garlic in your soul.
Mr. Grinch.

I wouldn't touch you, with a
thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.

You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch.
You have termites in your smile.
You have all the tender sweetness
Of a seasick crocodile.
Mr. Grinch.

Given the choice between the two of you
I'd take the seasick crockodile.

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch.
You're a nasty, wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks
Your soul is full of gunk.
Mr. Grinch.

The three words that best describe you,
are, and I quote: "Stink. Stank. Stunk."

You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch.
You're the king of sinful sots.
Your heart's a dead tomato splot
With moldy purple spots,
Mr. Grinch.

Your soul is an apalling dump heap overflowing
with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable
rubbish imaginable,
Mangled up in tangled up knots.

You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch.
With a nauseaus super-naus.
You're a crooked jerky jockey
And you drive a crooked horse.
Mr. Grinch.

You're a three decker saurkraut and toadstool
sandwich
With arsenic sauce.

And here's some sites:

http://www.seuss.org/seuss/seuss.home.html http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/

VHEMT

Q: What is the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement?

VHEMT (pronounced vehement) is a movement not an organization. It's a movement advanced by people who care about life on planet Earth. We're not just a bunch of misanthropes and anti-social, Malthusian misfits, taking morbid delight whenever disaster strikes humans. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Voluntary human extinction is the humanitarian alternative to human disasters.

We don't carry on about how the human race has shown itself to be a greedy, amoral parasite on the once-healthy face of this planet. That type of negativity offers no solution to the inexorable horrors which human activity is causing.

Rather, The Movement presents an encouraging alternative to the callous exploitation and wholesale destruction of the Earth's ecology.

As VHEMT Volunteers know, the hopeful alternative to the extinction of millions of species of plants and animals is the voluntary extinction of one species: Homo sapiens... us.

Each time another one of us decides to not add another one of us to the burgeoning billions already squatting on this ravaged planet, another ray of hope shines through the gloom.

When every human chooses to stop breeding, Earth's biosphere will be allowed to return to its former glory, and all remaining creatures will be free to live, die, evolve (if they believe in evolution), and will perhaps pass away, as so many of Mother Nature's "experiments" have done throughout the eons. Good health will be restored to the Earth's ecology... to the "life form" known by many as Gaia.

It's going to take all of us going.

http://www.vhemt.org/aboutvhemt.htm#vhemt

New Old Blogs

I really like a lot of the blogs I've posted on my MySpace blog since I joined the site, so throughout the day I might repost some of them here. Just a heads-up. :)

UPDATE: Done.

"The Bonnie Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond"

I recently came across this song/poem in the November/December 1999 issue of The Highlander, an American magazine about Scottish heritage. According to the article, written by Gilly Pickup,

The tune is a traditional one; it is said that it was first sung in the back streets of Edinburgh by street urchins. There is no denying it is a lament - a particularly sad song - but there is a note of defiance in it too, which surely turns this poor soldier's death into a kind of victory.

This was written by a prisoner in the 1700s. The prisoner was a Jacobite soldier who had been captured. There were so many of these captives that they were divided into groups, and only one out of each group would be tried while the rest were sent to the New World. After the selection, only 127 remained.

Here's the verses:

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond,
Where me and my true love were ever want to gae,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

Oh ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak' the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

'Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side o' Ben Lomond;
Where in deep purple hue, the heilan' hills we view,
And the moon coming out in the gloamin'

Oh ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak' the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

The wee birdies sing and the wild flowers spring,
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping;
But the broken heart it kens nae second spring again,
Tho' the waeful may cease from their greeting.

Oh ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak' the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

"Anti-Telemarketing EGBG Counterscript"

I wonder how telemarketers get dates. Seriously. Everyone hates them. So here's what to do the next time one calls. Sadly, I myself have never had the fortune of doing this (since strangely I've never had one call me - I don't know if I'm just super lucky or not worthy), but if anyone tries it out let me know how it goes.

Anti-Telemarketing EGBG Counterscript

UPDATE: Watch this video. It's hilarious.

How To Prank a Telemarketer

500

500 views. Whoohoo! I know it's not a lot, but it's something. I like thinking that people have come to this site 500 times to read what I have to say. THANK YOU!!

Top 10 YouTube Videos

I love AlterNet.

If you click on the title, you'll go to an article showcasing the top 10 YouTube videos. The third from the top is my favorite.

Viking Kittens

It's insanely weird that I actually find this interesting. It's not extremely good. But there's a good song (Zeppelin), and it's strangely hypnotizing. Or maybe it's just me.

Viking Kittens

Windows Mix

Do you find all those Windows sounds annoying? You might not after this:

Windows Mix

My problem with Sunday

I don't like the weekends. I never have.

This is mainly because nothing is open, when it is it's so crowded, nothing good is on TV, and even the internet is boring. Because we live in a Christian society, people view Sunday as a "day of rest" because God rested on the 7th day after creating everything. So, stores open late, they put infomercials on TV, and no one works.

With so much unemployment, wouldn't it be better for the economy to keep everything open on Sundays? Not everyone goes to religious services on Sundays. Hire people that will work Sundays so things can stay open. So people can get things done.

My Firefox Favorites

I love Mozilla Firefox. It's really safe and all that good stuff, but mainly the reason I use it is for the extensions and themes. So here's a list of my favorites (All of these are for Firefox 2).

EXTENSIONS

Adblock Plus - This gets rid of all those annoying advertisements on sites like MySpace.
WOT - This shows you the "reputation" of the sites you are visiting. The ratings are based on the viewer's (including yours) opinion of the site. When a site has a very negative rating, it alerts you.
Calorie-Count.com Toolbar - There are a lot of sites that let you track your diet, but this one is free. The reason I'm including it on the list is for the toolbar itself. When you're signed into the site, you're calorie intake is shown on a nifty little status bar. It stares at you.
Clean and Close - I'm sure I'm not the only person who hated having to press the "Clean Up" button every time I downloaded something, and then having to press "Close". This makes just one button, saving a little bit of time.
Clippings - This comes in handy if you can't always remember things like HTML codes you commonly use. It lets you save a clip of text to your "Clipboard" (not the one you use for Cut & Paste). When you want to insert it into whatever you're writing, just right-click and choose the text. I use it constantly.
Cooliris Previews - This lets you view a webpage without you actually clicking on it. You can also use Cooliris to search for a selected bit of text or send a link to a friend.
CuteMenus - Okay, so this doesn't really have a function, but it makes all your menus prettier.
Email This! - When you're on a webpage, just right-click and choose how you want to send this page to a friend. You can pick from Gmail, Yahoo, or Mailto.
FoxyTunes - This puts a little music player in your status bar. It supports a variety of players, and it saves time by making it easy to pause or stop your music.
GooglePreview - A must for anyone that searches with Google. It puts a nice little picture of the webpage right next to the link in the search results.
IE Tab - Although Firefox is awesome, some pages just look better in IE (like some MySpace profiles). This extension lets you click on a button in your status bar to switch over - all the time staying in the same window.
Linkification - This "linkifies" unclickable links on a webpage.
Organize Status Bar - This goes without saying. Otherwise it's just all a mess.
PermaTabs - You can right-click on a tab and make it permanent. Although you can unclose tabs in Firefox 2, this still makes it a little easier.
ReminderFox - Puts a reminder in the status bar that lets you know when an event arrives. You can add notifiers. Great for birthdays.
Smiley Xtra - A smiley sidebar great for forums.
StumbleUpon - My favorite overall. I use it daily. Using this extension, you can "stumble" to a new site. It's fantastic. Beware: You can waste hours using this.
Tabinta - When you install this, you'll be able to insert an actual tab into a body of text.
These Toolbars with Small Icon - Makes the toolbars less bulky.
Throbber Button - When you set this up, clicking on the throbber button in the top-right corner of the browser will take you to a site. It's great for sites you use throughout the day.


Those are my favorites. But if you have Firefox, by all means spend a few hours looking through all the extensions. You'll find one for everything.

Leader of the Free World?

I know this is totally a pointless site, but it's funny anyway.Leader of the Free World?

By the way, StumbleUpon is awesome. I absolutely love it. Because of stuff like this.

Apple iPhone

I WANT ONE! Although it looks as if I'll have to wait until 2007.

Thanks to Robotzilla I found this video from YouTube made by Apple fans.



Some of those ideas look pretty fricken' awesome.

"Prince Charles to Use Commercial Flights"

Here's the original article from AOL.

I think it's great that he's trying to save the environment. I've actually had a lot of respect for Prince Charles since I found out how much he does for the earth.

MySpace

I love MySpace. I've been a member for awhile now, along with a few other social networking sites. But despite my love, I'm usually pissed off by it. MySpace has a plethora of ways to annoy you. Spambots, error pages, slow loading times, Tom, 15 year olds, etc.. grr. But I will continue to use it.

Mel Gibson pisses off even more people with latest film

Obviously, everyone remembers the hoopla surrounding The Passion of the Christ. Gibson was accused of being anti-semitic, and there were protests against the film.

As it almost always does, history repeats itself.

With the release of Apocalypto looming on the horizon, activists in Guatemala are saying that the film is unrealistic. Here's the article from the BBC.

Mel Gibson just needs to stick with acting. And only acting.

It's about freakin' time!

I while back I posted a blog about the military discriminating against pagans. You can read it here.

This is an update I found from AOL

War Widow Dedicates Wiccan Plaque Symbol

By MARTIN GRIFFITH

AP

RENO, Nev. (Dec. 2) - The widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan saw a Wiccan symbol placed on a memorial plaque for her husband Saturday, after fighting the federal government for more than a year over the emblem.

Roberta Stewart, widow of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, and Wiccan leaders said it was the first government-issued memorial plaque with a Wiccan pentacle - a five-pointed star enclosed in a circle. More than 50 friends and family dedicated the plaque at Northern Nevada Veterans Cemetery, about 30 miles east of Reno.

They praised Gov. Kenny Guinn for his role in getting the Nevada Office of Veterans Services to issue the plaque in September. The agency cited its jurisdiction over maintenance of the state cemetery.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes more than 30 symbols, including more than a dozen variations of the Christian cross and the atomic whirl used by atheists, but not the pentacle.

VA officials have said they are rewriting rules for approving emblems, but the process requires a public comment period.

Last month, Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued the VA on behalf of Stewart and others for its refusal to include the Wiccan emblem.

"Our people are on the front line in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it's not right they're not getting equal treatment," said the Rev. Selena Fox, one of the Wiccan organizers of the event.

About 1,800 active-duty service members identify themselves as Wiccans, according to 2005 Defense Department statistics. Wiccans worship the Earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves "white" or good witches, pagans or neo-pagans.

Stewart and four other soldiers died Sept. 25, 2005, when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan.

100 Ways to Save the Environment

This site is a wonderful place to start if you want to do something nice for the world and for future generations. Here's an idea: Why not take up one of the tips every day until you run out? Or every few days? Or every week? It's better for everyone.

100 Ways to Save the Environment

Excerpt from "The Perils of Escalation in Iraq: A Grim History Lesson"

From AlterNet's G. Pascal Zachary:

"The past is not always prologue of course. But the failed escalations in Korea and Vietnam are surely warnings against any escalation of the war in Iraq. And surely the failed escalations of the past should cast doubt on any premature euphoria over escalating the Iraq war. The escalate scenario should only be met with dread -- and the hoary reminder that people who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."

VegSpace is back

It's been awhile, but it's finally back. Here's my profile. I love this site!

U.S. involvement in Iraq war eclipses WWII

From the History News Network:

U.S. involvement in Iraq war eclipses WWII

Source: AP (11-25-06)

The war in Iraq has now lasted longer than the U.S. involvement in the war that President Bush's father fought in, World War II.

As of Sunday, the conflict in Iraq has raged for three years and just over eight months.

Only the Vietnam War (eight years, five months), the Revolutionary War (six years, nine months), and the Civil War (four years) have engaged America longer.

Fighting in Afghanistan, which may or may not be a full-fledged war depending on who is keeping track, has gone on for five years, one month. It continues as the ousted Taliban resurges and the central government is challenged.

Bush says he still is undecided whether to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq or add to the 140,000 there now.

One of the Reasons Abortion Should Be Legalized

Because it kills 68,000 women a year.


And it sends over five million to the hospital.

BBC News

21 Reasons to Give Thanks

This Thanksgiving, progressives have a lot to be thankful for. Here’s our list:

We’re thankful for our country’s troops.

We’re thankful America dumped the 109th Congress.

We’re thankful Rick Santorum will have more free time to find the WMD.

We’re thankful we don’t have to go to war with the Secretary of Defense we had.

We’re thankful for “red state values,” like protecting reproductive rights, supporting stem cell research, and rejecting discrimination.

We’re thankful Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), who calls climate change the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” will no longer chair the Senate environmental committee.

We’re thankful Matt Drudge does not rule our world.

We’re thankful Al Gore helped the country face an inconvenient truth.

We’re thankful Bill O’Reilly does not resort to name calling - well, besides labeling ThinkProgress as “far left loons,” “kool-aid zombies,” “hired guns,” “vile,” “haters,” a “far left smear website,” and “a very well-oiled, effective character assassination machine.”

We’re thankful minimum wage ballot initiatives passed in six states.

We’re thankful the Dixie Chicks aren’t ready to make nice.

We’re thankful Ted Haggard bought the meth but never used it.

We’re thankful for the 100,000 readers who responded to our Tell the Truth About 9/11 campaign.

We’re thankful for “the Google” and “the email” (and the “series of tubes” that make them possible) — but not iPods, which are endangering our nation.

We’re thankful Maf54 isn’t online right now.

We’re thankful people send us Jack Abramoff’s email.

We’re thankful Keith Olbermann’s ratings are up and Bill O’Reilly’s ratings are down.

We’re thankful President Bush’s secret plan for Iraq is safe with Conrad Burns.

We’re thankful we won’t spend Thanksgiving turkey hunting with Dick Cheney.

We’re thankful the “Decider” only gets to make the decisions 789 more days.

And last but not least: We’re thankful to the Think Progress readers for their tips, energy and support.

Happy Thanksgiving! — The Think Progress Team.

From Think Progress

Betsy Miller

Recently I became aware of an admirable woman named Betsy Miller. Although she is not very well-known, I feel she shouldn't be forgotten.

Betsy Miller was born in 1791, the first of eight children, in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland, to parents William Miller and wife Mary. William dealt with timber and was the owner of a ship, the Clytus, which usually carried 200 tons of coal from Saltcoats to Belfast, Ireland. Carrying out their lives overlooking the harbor, the sea ran through the family's veins. Betsy began lending a helping hand to her father's business when she was fifteen years old. Her only brother, Hugh, also worked on the ship.

In 1839, when Betsy was forty-eight years old, tragedy struck the Millers. Hugh, who the family was counting on to carry on the business, drowned at Ardrossen, Ayrshire. In the same year William's health started to falter. Despite such setbacks, Betsy, who was as confident at sea as anywhere else, bravely took over the business. She needed to get her family out of the £700 debt that her father had put them in.

Betsy Miller became the first woman to be listed in the British Registry of Tonnage as a ship's captain. Although many people were at first startled to see a female captain, she received respect from the men she encountered.

According to records, Betsy always were a "white frilly cap", even though she was on a dirty coal ship. She converted the ship's deckhouse into her own private quarters so she could be apart from the men of her crew, and she was always at the head of things.

One of the key moments of her career took place in a storm just outside of Irving Bay. The captain, crew, and ship were all struggling to keep afloat. When things looked their darkest, Betsy calmly remarked "Lads, I'll gang below and put on a clean sark, for I would like to be flung up on the sands looking kind of decent ... Irvine folks are gossiping, nasty bodies!" While she was in her cabin, the situation changed drastically for the better. From that day forward her crew believed that they were alive thanks to Betsy's clothing and wisdom.


Betsy's career as the Clytus' captain ended in 1862 due to bad health. Two years later, when she was seventy-four years old, she died and was buried at Ardrossen Parish Church, which was later made into the North Ayrshire Museum. Her youngest sister Hannah took over for a little while, but the ship was not long after condemned by the Board of Trade. It was left to rot on the sea at North Pans.

In a fitting statement made after Betsy's death by the Ardrossen and Saltcoats Herald on 14 May 1864, "Her memory, her deeds and her example will live and be spoken of long after the generation who knew her personally will have passed away."

I'm back!

Sorry it's been so long. I kinda, sorta forgot about this blog. But I'm back and I'm going to continue adding to my growing archives.