i begged y'all to come breed with me

here

i am known as 'rose bush' so look for me
or breed with me on facebook (same handle)
and i'm still begging you. i DID reach my goal state. i got assigned a NEW goal state now though. some COME BREED WITH ME

via the routes game
here's some info from the site (see it's NOT about sex at all, it's about genetics and dna and the like)
..............

Genetic testing scans DNA for genetic variants related to, eg, disease, ancestry and looks. The decision to be tested is a biggie. Could you take being told you have an above average chance of, say, getting Alzheimer’s or going blind?

It’s thought that Melanoma skin cancer is caused by an inherited faulty gene in only a few cases. But still you’re more likely to contract it if, like Katherine, you have the genetic trait of pale skin that burns easily.

Lupus is an incurable disease where the immune system attacks normal tissue. You’re up to 12% more likely to get it if there’s a family history, so Katherine might carry an inherited ‘Lupus gene’.

Cancer may run in your family if, eg, there are several cancers of the same type or several cases of rare cancers. But don't panic: only 5-10 percent of cancers are thought to be caused by faulty inherited genes.

Genetics Development December 2008: Britain’s first baby screened to be ‘breast cancer gene’-free is due.

Genetics Development June 08: Scientists find evidence of an association between Lupus and certain gene mutations.

Katherine Ryan: who she? She's an award winning comedian. If only she had some kind of, y'know, website. Hang on a minute................

this happened in springfield in november

i didn't hear or read about it until right now. it's VERY disturbing in more ways than one.

the first of course being these men (allegedly) burned a predominantly african american church to the ground INJURING FIREFIGHTERS for good measure

the second is they are out on 100,000 bail. that seems VERYYYYYYYYYYYYY low to me., there was over 2,000,000 in damages done

the third being - the MAXIMUM they could get (if found guilty of course) is 10 years. that's the MAX. it is rare for anyone to get maximum sentences especially if you're a whiteboy

all because they were afraid when barack obama got elected to be OUR president. cowards. they are cowards

Three men indicted for burning black church on election night
Jeremy Gantz
Just hours after Barack Obama was elected president last November, three men set ablaze a predominantly African-American church in Massachusetts to "interfere" with the civil rights of its congregants, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.

Benjamin Haskell, 22, Michael Jacques, 24, and Thomas Gleason, 21, all of Springfield, Mass., burned Macedonia Church of God in Christ to the ground in the early hours of Nov. 5th as payback for the election of the country’s first African-American president, the department's indictment alleges.

The three men were released Monday on $100,000 bail each, the Springfield Republican reported, after spending 11 days in federal custody..........

the following article IS from november...
Black church in Springfield burns
Fire began hours after vote, prompting fears it was arson
By Milton J. Valencia
Globe Staf
A predominantly black church under construction in Springfield was destroyed by fire early yesterday, just hours after Barack Obama's landmark victory, triggering concerns that the building was purposely set ablaze in a possible hate crime. The blaze started at Macedonia Church of God in Christ at 3:10 and caused an estimated $2 million in damage.

Church officials pledged to rebuild, but the concerns that their building was targeted dampened a mood that had been so uplifted in the night of Obama's historic win to become the nation's first black president-elect.

"This was a special time in our nation's history, but I also know not everybody was happy and celebrating," said Bishop Bryant J. Robinson Jr., head of the church. "After 71 years of being an African-American, you know these things happen."

Located on King Street, the church was moving to the site at 215 Tinkham Road, where the fire occurred..........

pic: Firefighters worked to prevent the blaze in Springfield from spreading to houses. (Mark M. Murray/Springfield Republican)

stupid west hartford criminals

hint to all the criminals committing (or thinking about committing a crime in west hartford) DO NOT, i repeat DO NOT do it in the kane street or elmwood area. shite, even i know (and i'm not a criminal) the police are ALWAYS busting people in those areas. read the papers, that's where a TON of busts in west hartford occur. mostly drugs. some weapsons too.

i do go to kane street every once in a while when i go to stop and shop and that's the route i take. i love stupid connecticut criminals. they're great!

West Hartford Police Street Crime Unit Looking For Trouble

By JOSH KOVNER |The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD - In mid-sentence, Sgt. Jeremy Clark swings his unmarked cruiser into the rear lot of the Burger King at Kane Street and Prospect Avenue.

Fifteen seconds earlier, he was talking about what he learns from the people he arrests. Now he's rolling past a nondescript blue Nissan parked a short distance from a smattering of other cars, facing a stockade fence. He taps the license number into the computer, checks the information on the screen and looks back at the Nissan.

A visitor, sitting in the passenger seat of the cruiser, is only just now realizing Clark is keyed in on the Nissan. The visitor has no idea why.

It's late on a December morning. The sun is bright but offers little warmth. In the Elmwood section of West Hartford, a checkerboard of shopping plazas and industrial buildings, traffic is already thick, relentless............

the cool justice report

hooks us up with some avery doninger video from fox & friends (yeah, i know, of ALL the networks, but it's a start)

andy also has a bunch of other avery links too. check it out, he's done some exhaustive reporting on this

please come breed with me

via routes game
discover the secrets in YOUR genes
(and i'm telling you breeding is addicting)

my breeder is at the bottom of this web page OR you can befriend me on facebook (i'm actually trying to get MORE friends than stink bomb who is a stuffed animal i might add) where i am known as rose bush (yes, i am)

found via wonderland

here's the press release

Routes is an eight week cross-platform game that debuts online from Channel 4 Education. Routes, produced in partnership with the Wellcome Trust, takes players on an immersive journey into the world of genetics, evolution and the human genome, in a bid to find out what makes us human.

Embedded in the game, award-winning comedian Katherine Ryan explores her own genetic make-up, and tests her DNA to find out whether it is her genes or her environment that define who she is. Can genes make you fat? Do they hide critical information about disease? Can Katherine blame her genetic make-up for the fact that she gets drunk on two beers?

As players delve deeper they are forced to explore these questions by solving puzzles, playing mini games, trading tips and collaborating on challenges, and as the broader game unravels the players will uncover a compelling mystery that lies at the heart of Routes itself. Who owns your genes? What are the pros and cons of exploring your genetic make-up? Do your genes determine who you are, or does our environment play a greater role?

The Routes website goes live in January 2009 at www.routesgame.com

a shout out to

the goshen volunteer fire department AND dr katherine skiff kane!

Harrowing Horse Rescue
By LAUREN PETTY
Kim Garcia snuggles the horse she used to call Smoky. Now she's nicknamed him Frosty, after a nearly fatal fall through the ice.
"I could just see his nose and eyes," her husband, Bob Garcia said.

It was Bob who found the horse Tuesday night nearly submerged in a pond on their property. The horse had fallen through a beaver hole. "I just ran over and grabbed him and started screaming for my wife," Garcia said.

Kim called 911 and Bob held on until Goshen Volunteer Firefighters arrived and helped pull the horse out of the water.

They put the 450-pound horse on a big red tarp and dragged the horse 150 yards to the barn.
"My wife and firefighters started rubbing him down with dry comforters off the beds in the houses," Garcia said.

The rescuers tried to warm the horse by covering him with blankets until the veterinarian, Dr. Katherine Skiff Kane, arrived. ...........











picture:

Goshen Fire Department
A six-month-old horse, pictured here, was rescued from an icy pond in Goshen on Tuesday.

it's blog for choice day

it's also the anniversary of roe v wade.

the topic this year is:
What is your top pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress?

i'll tell you what mine is, if you tell me what yours is!

first off, i'm going to start by saying (as i always start off by saying.....) i am NOT pro-abortion. what i AM is; PRO-CHOICE. my body and my sisters' bodies are our own. it's OUR decision.

as we used to say back in the day, KEEP YOUR LAWS OFF OF MY BODY

here we go

my hope for president obama and the congress (and everyone else) is: (and this is THE most important thing regarding choice. when one is WELL informed and WELL education about ALL OF THE CHOICES, one can make THE BEST decision possible)

STOP WASTING MONEY ON ABSTINENCE ONLY EDUCATION. not only does it NOT work (how many times do studies have to prove that i ask you?) it also stops our children and our teens from learning about birth control and safer sex practices. both are absolutely essential for a healthy society and culture. since abstinence does NOT work, would you rather have your sons and daughters practicing birth control and safer sex than getting pregnant and/or contracting stds? i know what my choice is: teach our children well. teach our children thoroughly. teach our children ALL of the options NOT just the ONE THAT DOESN'T WORK.

comprehensive sex education for all (and yes, this includes all the nations we help with this. hiv/aids funding. when we dish out that dough we make ABSTINENCE ONLY preaching a condition. that is RIDICULOUS)

blog for choice 2009
pro choice america

aha!

thanks to truthout we have another copy! yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh

wow

i can't IMAGINE sending home a permission slip on this one.

like helen outlines, we used to watch that crappy tv that was rolled into our classroom(s) for important events. space launches, perhaps an important figure coming to america and absolutely FOR SURE A PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION. this IS america NO? (this is america YES). what bullshite about some religions don't 'believe' in elections. fine don't vote BUT AS A STUDENT IN AN AMERICAN SCHOOL ONE MUST LEARN ABOUT OUR GOVERNMENTAL PROCESSES. of course i'm NOT buying the religions reason 'excuse' by one bit. i'm also with helen on this one, even if it was ANOTHER bush in the white house, it is IMPERATIVE our children watch the inauguration. period

don't they have civics? hmmmmmmm
do we need permission slips to teach our children american history? wtf??????????????

Schools Don't Need Permission To Let Kids Witness History
Helen Ubiñas
Erin Scafe has signed so many permission slips for her kids it's become almost automatic. Yes, they can go on that field trip. How much? Sure, they're in for a bag lunch.

But the slip she recently got from Windsor's Clover Street School was different.

After some information about Tuesday's bag lunches, there was a question about fourth- and fifth-graders watching the presidential inauguration.

The school offered two options: I give my child permission. I don't.
Scafe was confused. Permission?

Shouldn't children be expected to be interested in American politics?

She scribbled her disappointment on the slip and suggested that it was a horrible mistake and very disturbing. It's not that she thinks it's racially or politically motivated, she later told me. She just can't imagine what the motivation could be. It's not a districtwide policy or anything.

"This is not a choice. This is what I expect from my educators. This is a public school."

Scafe's an unabashed Obama supporter. But, she said, she would have expected her children to watch the inauguration at school even if John McCain had won.

After we spoke, I was equally puzzled. Have we gotten so PC or partisan that we've completely lost our perspective?...........

i've seen the promised land

MLK: Why I Cannot Be Silent

I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. I join with you in this meeting because I am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of the organization which has brought us together: Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam. The recent statement of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart and I found myself in full accord when I read its opening lines: "A time comes when silence is betrayal." That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.

The truth of these words is beyond doubt but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.

Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. And we must rejoice as well, for surely this is the first time in our nation's history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history. Perhaps a new spirit is rising among us. If it is, let us trace its movement well and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us............

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: some GOOD news???????????

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: some GOOD news???????????

i'm posting this because it's interesting

not because i agree with it. i'm of the belief a dog (or cat) should sleep INSIDE with the family. i'm not a believer in keeping dogs outside in doghouses. it is not within me to do such a thing.


it's a tough call though. i know these types of dogs LOVE the snow. i don't know if they love to pull sleds or not, but i'm guessing they do. i just don't know if they love to pull them for 100 miles or so.

but like i said, it's an interesting story

A Rare Connecticut Musher Marshals the Dogs

By GAIL BRACCIDIFERRO
AS she begins her fifth season of competitive sled dog racing, Kathy Lesinski said her family has finally accepted that mushing is her prime pursuit.

Not that she can blame them for not taking her racing of Siberian huskies seriously at first — it’s hardly a burgeoning occupation in Connecticut, where dense development and a dearth of snow pose major training challenges.

She and her husband, Bill, have found ways to overcome those challenges — hustling their 15 dogs out for 3 a.m. training sessions when the weather will be too warm for the thick-coated dogs during the day, using an all-terrain vehicle instead of a sled when there is no snow and heading to New Hampshire for long periods during the racing season from November through March to find colder temperatures and more predictable snowfalls for 30-mile training runs...........

picture: Three Pairs Photography/Barry Millman

GO! Kathy Lesinski and some of her huskies in a 60-mile race last year in New Hampshire. She placed first.

here is some feedback i just left

nbc connecticut's website (formerly nbc30)

why do we need hef's 'smoking hot' girlfriend on the first page of your website? i really want to know
really

(the following was NOT a part of my feedback)

talk about objectifying women...........

also, tell me HOW this is news?

if i wanted this crap, i'd go to the playboy website OR tmz OR entertainment weekly OR some other site. really now

let's keep our fingers crossed

this looks good for now! i like what mr schroeder had to say (in larger type below)

'Savior' of Connecticut Papers Says Local Control Will Succeed


By Joe Strupp
NEW YORK Michael E. Schroeder, the incoming owner of two Journal Register dailies in Connecticut that were facing closure, says he can make them succeed by being a local operator.

Schroeder, whose background includes 15 years at Newsday and a stint running a failed Boston free weekly last year, plans to move from his Huntington, N.Y., home to an apartment near The Bristol (Ct.) Press and The Herald of New Britain by the end of the month.

"I am looking forward to being part of the community and rebuilding these newspapers," said Schroeder, 50, whose intent to purchase those two dailies was announced Wednesday. "I believe you have to be part of the community you are serving. You can't phone it in."......

New deal set to save Bristol Press
By JAMES CRAVEN
Press staff
NEW BRITAIN — With less than two weeks before staff at The Bristol Press and The Herald of New Britain were scheduled to cover their keyboards and lock the doors for the final time, a last-minute buyer has appeared to save the newspapers.

Publisher Edward Gunderson announced Tuesday that Michael E. Schroeder, owner of Central Connecticut Communications, has entered into a letter of intent to buy the two daily papers. The sale, which should be complete within two weeks, includes three weeklies: the Wethersfield Post, the Newington Town Crier and the Rocky Hill Post.

“We look forward to building upon the rich history of these properties as local businesspeople,” Schroeder said. “We plan to work with current staff, readers and advertisers to produce papers, Web sites and other media that successfully educate, inform and entertain the communities they serve.”.......

stupid connecticut (alleged) criminals

there it is again, the 'alleged' word. one MUST use it if the person one is talking about has NOT been convicted.

however, it pains me to do so in this case.

if in fact ms earley was DRUNK she deserves to have her child taken away from her IMMEDIATELY (and in my most humble opinion FOREVER)

if ms earley was indeed imbibing at a bar WITH A THREE WEEK OLD BABY (as i understand it, ms earley didn't 'allegedly breastfeed her baby until AFTER she left the bar) and walked out of the bar (allegedly) in a stupor, the bartender should be fired. if someone of management level was in the bar at the time of ms earley's alleged throwdown (of demon rum) the bar should be closed and shuttered forever.

if you read a rose is a rose from time to time you'll know a couple of things about me
1) i encourage and support breastfeeding anytime and anywhere*
2) i personally love to drink (i mention the half door VERY often. it's my home away from home. no, hell, it IS my home)

BUT to breastfeed while drunk that is entirely a different story. it is one of THE most outrageous, stupid, selfish, neglectful acts i have EVER heard of.

Mother Accused of DWB - Drinking With Baby

By Kyle Reyes

NBCConnecticut.com
Middletown police have accused a Durham mom of bringing her infant daughter to a bar, drinking and then later breast feeding while she drank more booze.

Allanah Earley, 36, took her 3-week-old daughter to a bar, got drunk, then started stumbling around Middletown in the cold with the child, police said.

She made it to a friend's house, where she kept drinking and began breast feeding the baby, police said.

Earley couldn't stand up straight as police interviewed her, police said. Her speech was slurred and her eyes were bloodshot, police said.
....................

*in sobriety of course

i'm linking to this wapo article

for a reason. it's too far away for us to drive on over to the dc area to do our grocery shopping BUT if you're in the greater hartford area it's NOT too far to drive to the shield street plaza and do a little shopping at a dong (one of THE best, and might i add BIGGEST asian markets in the area). in my neighborhood alone (well within a couple of mile radius), there are a few smaller asian groceries (not to mention indian, thai, japanese, vietnamese, laotian, korean, greek/middle eastern and chinese restaurants)

A Dong Supermarket
160 Shield Street (off New Britain Avenue), West Hartford
860-953-8903

(oh and while you're at it DO NOT FORGET cosmos international. indian grocery store on farmington avenue. Cosmos International
770 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford
203-232-6600)

if you want to buy something like spices WHICH COST A FORTUNE - go to cosmos. they have GREAT spices for GREAT prices (granted, you're not going to get them in those pretty little glass bottles.)

oh just stop in one of the stores one day. you won't be sorry. you'll have trouble identifying SOME of the items, but hell, you'll be able to find what you're looking for! just do it

A World of Bargains
Asian Supermarkets Attract Chefs and the Budget-Minded

By Melissa McCart

Special to The Washington Post
It's a busy Saturday morning at the Super H Mart in Fairfax City, where scores of people navigate carts down aisles, stocking up on the week's groceries. In the center of the seafood section, Yoon-Hee Heather Choi, a native of Seoul and a Fairfax resident since 1993, holds court as she leans over ice-filled bins showcasing the day's catch: silver mackerel, shimmery saury and whole squid, eyes aligned like dominoes.

"That squid looks great for calamari," says a man next to her.

"No," she says, then points to the fish counter behind her. "Go to the fishmonger and ask for small ones. They're sweeter." Whole squids slightly longer than a man's hand sell for $2.99 a pound, while smaller calamari the length of a finger cost $1.99, either size a fraction of the price at a Whole Foods Market ($5.99 a pound) or Giant ($8.99 for a frozen 13-ounce box)..........

it IS from the connecticut forum after all

(hat tip: boing boing)

bye mayor mike

i knew him. not well, but i did know him. i NEVER saw mike without a smile on his face. i never saw him NOT say hello to people. the man was one of THE BEST schmoozers i have ever seen in my entire life. you could just tell how much he enjoyed being out and about. greeting people, talking, telling jokes.

i never heard him quiet either. the man COULD and DID tell a mean tale. he once told me his mother (or his mother's family. not sure it was long ago) had something to do with opening the first and last tavern. don't know if it is true or not, but hell, when he told it, it sounded good to me!

MIKE PETERS, 1948-2009

'Mayor Mike' Peters Dies At 60; Struggled With Liver Damage
By EDMUND MAHONY The Hartford Courant

Mike Peters, the wise-cracking fireman who, over four terms as mayor, helped lift Hartford from a political, financial and crime-ridden funk, died just before 8 p.m. Sunday following a struggle with liver failure, family members said. He was 60.Peters had undergone a nearly eight-hour surgery last October to remove his cirrhosis-damaged liver and replace it with a healthy one. He had done well with the new liver, but developed complications with his kidneys. By Nov. 20, he was back in intensive care, and his doctors were considering a kidney transplant once he regained strength.During his time in office, from 1993 to 2001, Peters repeatedly was elected to serve as Hartford's last weak, or ceremonial, mayor. Armed with a revision to the city charter, his successor, Eddie Perez, would eventually gethat Peters always wanted but never had: Strong mayoral authority to shape the city's agenda.But powerless or not, Peters had limitless enthusiasm and he hurled it at his ceremonial office with great effect. Armed with only his personality, a not inconsequential weapon, he reinvigorated a city that, during the 1980s, seemed perched endlessly on the dismal brink of yet another failure................

Timeline: Important Dates In Peters' Life

The Hartford Courant

picture: In this 1998 photo, Hartford Mayor Mike Peters makes a joke as he speaks at a news conference at the state Capitol in Hartford. At left, behind Peters, are M. Jodi Rell, then the lieutenant governor, and then-Gov. John Rowland. (BOB CHILD / AP / March 19, 1998)

if you owe back connecticut state tax

take note of this

State offering tax amnesty program
HARTFORD, Conn.—The Connecticut tax department is urging people who owe back state taxes to participate in an upcoming tax amnesty program.

State officials hope the amnesty will raise about $40 million and help close a projected state budget deficit that's in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The amnesty will be offered from May 1 through June 25 to any taxpayer with back taxes owed as of Nov. 28, 2008. Eligible taxpayers will be able to pay off those taxes while avoiding penalties and criminal prosecution.

There will also be a small reduction in accrued interest...........

i didn't know wtic was so effed up

but it is. i knew they were bordering though

it starts with them playing that george noory dude in the morning (when i say morning i mean 2 or 3 am here). the button is pre-set and it's usually on wtic when i turn on my car radio on my way to work in the morning. WHY? well because i've had it on wtic listening to colin mcenroe on my way home from work each day.

i actually LIKE listening to colin. i don't always agree with him, but i think he's intelligent, funny, witty, caustic and something special. if it's before 3:00 pm and i actually get that blob, flush limburger my hair stands on end. it's all ok when colin comes on though. he was a true treasure and wtic just made one gigantic mistake

i don't get a chance to listen to diane and ray in the morning so i can't say if i would have liked them or not. i do like her from watching and listening to her prior work. BUT TO EFFING FIRE HER TO GIVE VICEVICH MORE TIME? WTF is up with that? i happen to know 'buddy' (not well, i knew his first wife and met him a few times through her) and i didn't like him then and i sure as shite haven't grown to like him NOW.

i'll listen to wtic today because it's colin's last show. after that, EFF THEM. (and i'm thinking here, is tic leaning a bit to the right now? flush and buddy and goddess only knows who else...........hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......... i think i may have something here after all!!!)

colin, they made a mistake. a bad one. i will miss you on wtic BUT i hope this will lead to something mo' better for you (and for US, your 'adoring' public)

WTIC AM Purge: Diane Smith, Colin McEnroe
By
Roger Catlin
on December 30, 2008
The end of the year sweeps out two more local voices from Hartford talk radio.

New Year's Eve will be the last day for Diane Smith who has been half of "Mornings with Ray and Diane" for nine years on Hartford's WTIC AM. Out at the end of the year, too, is afternoon raconteur and fellow Courant blogger and columnist Colin McEnroe.


"After months of reporting on every aspect of the global economic slowdown," Smith said in an e-mailed announcement Tuesday, "I have a new angle to report: After 9 years on the air at WTIC-AM NewsTalk 1080, I will sign off as co-host of "Mornings with Ray and Diane" at 10am on 12/31/08."


She says she's in talks with the station to explore ways to continue to contribute. In the meantime, she is at work at developing a new weekly series for CPTV, "Connecticut on the Road" as she continues her series "Positively Connecticut" which will produce a fifth book for Globe Pequot Press.

"Most of all," she says, "I hope to find new ways to continue my unofficial role as a goodwill ambassador for Connecticut."........

Colin McEnroe, Diane Smith Laid Off at WTIC-AM"
By
Christopher Keating
on December 30
In a stunning announcement, longtime radio hosts Colin McEnroe and Diane Smith are leaving their posts at WTIC- AM radio.

McEnroe, a longtime columnist at The Hartford Courant, is a fixture in the afternoons from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. with a mix of newsmaker interviews and a conglomeration of witticisms that includes anything that comes to his mind at the moment. Smith is the morning radio partner of host Ray Dunaway at the most influential news and sports station in the state.

McEnroe clearly has had his own niche in the local radio world since 1992, frequently bantering with former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Curry as one of the most frequent guests through the years.

Steve Grant is reporting at www.courant.com that the station confirmed Tuesday that McEnroe and Smith have been laid off. Grant says that the new lineup begins Monday, January 5, with an afternoon "news block'' that will be anchored by reporters Bill Pearse and Aaron Kupec - focusing on both national and local stories.......

here's a link to colin's blog with two of his latest postings. the comments sections are to be read:

ruh roh!
and
balms away

oh and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let wtic KNOW why you will no longer be listening to wtic.....
here is the CONTACT INFO page

saw this in the courant the other day

and i thought it was a great story. i'm sorry mr tinsley got shot (more than sorry) but i am so very happy he's not only found work, but been kicking butt at his job. shout out to the va and mike wolf for helping mr tinsley and giving mr tinsley a chance, along the way

Disabled Veteran In Bloomfield Builds Bikes As He Rebuilds His Life

By STEVEN GOODE |The Hartford Courant

BLOOMFIELD — - Brian Tinsley lost a lot that day in Afghanistan.

The bullet that entered one of his temples and exited the other took away his sight, his sense of smell and part of his sense of taste.

But it didn't take away his ability to find a silver lining.

"Someone else might not have survived," said Tinsely.

Tinsley, 25, joined the Army after graduating from Bloomfield High School in 2001. His goal was to serve his country, learn to be a mechanic and take that skill with him back to civilian life. Tinsley was doing both, providing special forces support in 2003, when he was shot.

The bullet also took away his memory of that day.

"I don't have any recollection," he said. "I regained consciousness in Walter Reed Hospital about a month later."

But Tinsley didn't lose his desire to live an independent, productive life.

Tinsley went to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Eastern Blind Rehabilitation Center in West Haven to learn how to maintain his mobility and read Braille, and even helped Habitat for Humanity build a house in Hartford.

"It'll drive you nuts if you just sit and do nothing," he said.

Tinsley eventually found his way back to a local bicycle shop he frequented in his youth when he rode stunt bikes. But this time around, he wasn't looking for parts, he was looking for work. Specifically, he wanted to build bikes...........

photo: BRIAN TINSLEY, 25, of Bloomfield, was shot in the head while in Afghanistan on military duty in 2003 and lost his eyesight. Tinsley now works at the Bloomfield Bicycle and Repair Shop in Bloomfield and was hired by Mike Wolf, left, owner of the store, who said, "We hope that he'll be with us a long time." (ROSS TAYLOR / HARTFORD COURANT / November 13, 2008)

merry christmas

merry christmas

some of my ornaments. some are quite old and some are new. i love them all

merry christmas eve

some cops in avon

racist or not? i know what i personally know (having worked in avon for more than 1/2 of my life). i also know if ANYONE feels guilty about bringing these emails to light, THEY SHOULD NOT

andy thibault at the cool justice report links us up to some articles

and here's colin mcenroe's story (he is the one that filed the initial complaint i believe)

matthieu ricard

i heard him being interviewed by the bbc on npr this morning on my way to work. i was quite moved (note: if the video doesn't work, here's the link )

you know i read this yesterday

and could only shake my head. one would think ANYONE with half a brain couldn't support someone like sarevil palin for political office. i mean the women is beyond ignorant AND let's face it, she couldn't name ONE periodical she has read in the past? listen, i'm being KIND to her here, especially only mentioning that ONE thing.

i mean the courant story NAMES NAMES and all. i'd be MORTIFIED if people actually knew i admired someone like sarevil (who really did stir up the racial pot more than ANYONE or ANYTHING else). well, it seems like daniela altimari is sort of actually GUSHING about sarevil, doesn't it? i don't see where she reports any racism or people insisting barack obama is something he's not or how there are MORE barack obama posts than sarevil ones........... hmmmmm

Sarah Palin Fans In Connecticut Hold On To Hope
By DANIELA ALTIMARI |The Hartford Courant

Sarah Palin lost the election, but to many, her light hasn't dimmed.

In fact, the Alaska governor, with her sassy, frontier-woman image and rock-ribbed, right-of-center politics, has become the repository for the hopes and dreams of conservative Republicans across the nation. Even here in liberal Connecticut, she has a devoted circle of fans.

"Most politicians say what they think people want them to say," said Melita Motherway, a 46-year-old mom and engineer from southeastern Connecticut. "She's different. She absolutely practices what she preaches."

As they set about restoring the shine to the national GOP's tarnished brand, many Republicans have seized upon Palin as the one who will lead them back to the win column, and help them endure the Barack Obama years............

......But supporters such as Motherway, Brislin and Trawick already have found an outlet for their pro-Palin activism. It's called TeamSarah.org, a social networking site with more than 60,000 members who are determined to stay connected and keep the conversation going...........

........Once on board, members can join groups: Rush Limbaugh Fans for Sarah Palin; Catholics for Sarah; and Pro Woman, Pro Life, to cite three examples. There are family pictures of the Palins. Husband Todd has a page of his own. And sprinkled throughout, there are personal testimonies from members about what they did to help Sarah. Praying for is her popular, especially following the arrest Thursday of Bristol Palin's boyfriend's mother.........


and then i came across this from larisa:
TeamSarah.org: where racists come to discuss "Christian values"

This is downright scary - TeamSarah.org - a bastion for those that evolution has left behind, including racists, anti-Semites, and the not so Christian Evangelical "end of times" crew. Oh, and of course the pro pre-life bunch too (anti-abortion is not what these people are... they are pro everything before and after life and the living). Here is Geoff Dunn describing this collective of the left behind in a HuffPo entry:

But what's interesting is that there are actually more blog topics about "Obama" than about "Palin." Of course, Obama's citizenship, birth certificate, and alleged Muslim upbringing are constantly questioned, along with his youthful drug use (though funny, Palin's admitted use of marijuana is not, and we won't even mention Levi Johnston's mother). There are also a lot of references to Obama being the anti-Christ: "He is the antichrist sent here to destroy America. Nobody knows who he is or where he was born."

And then there's some plain, downright nastiness and plenty of good ol' fashioned racism that, well, certainly doesn't sound Christian, if you catch my drift. When a blogger named James asks if anybody has bought the new Obama coins, SavantNoir responds: "[Y]es James, and i melted it down to see the look of agnoy on his face, made it a BB pellet and shot it into a pile of shit.".......

snows and crows

off of my back porch late afternoon sunday december 21st

thank the goddess for the innocence project

A Daughter's Nightmare, 20 Years Too Long
Helen Ubiñas
She was 10 when a cousin picked her up from school and told her that her father had been arrested for killing someone; a Daddy's girl who rushed past reporters parked outside her grandmother's house to find her mother inside, crying by a window.

"I was confused," Vanessa Roman recalled as we sat in her New Britain living room Tuesday night.

She'd left for school that morning with her family intact, and suddenly the house was filled with people trying to reassure her and her younger sister that everything was going to be all right, that their father was innocent.

She didn't need them to tell her that............

emergency contraception is NOT abortion

it never was and it never will be.

king george and his court do NOT respect women. they never have and they never will. this is just another nail in our coffin

Federal Regulation Will Override Plan B Agreement
By ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER | The Hartford Courant
A federal regulation set to take effect in the final days of the Bush administration threatens to "blow apart" the carefully crafted agreement that guarantees all Connecticut hospitals provide emergency contraception to rape victims, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Friday.

The rule, issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reinforces protections for health care workers and institutions who refuse to provide services they object to, including abortion.

When it takes effect Jan. 18, the regulation will override the 2007 Connecticut law that requires hospitals to provide emergency contraception, commonly known as Plan B, to rape victims, Blumenthal said.

"We went through a very lengthy, painstaking, contentious process to reach our statute in Connecticut, which has worked well for everyone," Blumenthal said. "This administration's new regulation threatens to blow apart that very significant balance of interests and compromise.".........

because i feel so passionately about it

i'm going to come right out and say it:

i don't care if god herself told you it was ok for kids to fire uzis. IT'S NOT. IT'S NOT OK FOR A KID OF 8 TO HOLD OR FIRE AN UZI

2 plead not guilty inboy's Uzi death
Springfield, Mass. (AP) - Two men accused of providing machine guns to a show where an 8-year-old Connecticut boy fatally shot himself with an Uzi have pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
Attorneys for Carl Giuffre of Hartford, Conn., and Domenico Spano of New Milford, Conn., entered the pleas Monday after the men were excused from appearing in court in Springfield..

Hampden District Attorney William Bennett said the men brought the guns to the Westfield show in October after being wrongly assured by a show promoter that it was legal for children to use the Uzi under Massachusetts law.