...and you thought Bush disrespected the American Constitution...

Bush *does* disrespect it, but this guy has outright contempt for it.

Found via Raw Story

"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution," Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday. "But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view."

This is very scary, folks. Huckabee just *might* be the scariest candidate on the right, because he's folksy and funny and likable and it helps him to sell this kind of un-American crap to the sheeple, idiots, average persons who aren't giving this whole thing a lot of thought one way or the other.

Turn on the lights, it's getting very dark around here.

January 15

This is the birth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a person who truly was an agent for change... that word is being run into the ground now... but not unnecessarily. We still need it, the whole world needs it. I also have a dream: that the USA will stop its march toward fascism, imperialism and One World Government. Those are our enemies and we are fast becoming them.

Let freedom ring.

Still here

I survived the cardiac testing yesterday with just a residual upset stomach from eating such a high-fat lunch (part of the regimen) and some red, itchy skin on the chest from my allergy of those sticky doodads. What I had was the Nuclear Stress Test where they inject something radioactive that attaches to the heart so they can look at it. Oh well, whatever it takes.

They said "no news is good news" until my follow-up appointment in two weeks, so I'm hoping for no news.

Stressed over stress test

I am not looking forward to Monday. Per doctor's orders I am not to have any coffee or chocolate (or anything with caffeine, including decaf) from Sunday afternoon until Monday night. The reason for this deprivation is that I am scheduled to have a cardiac stress test on Monday afternoon. Worrisome, and looks like no fun at all. Can't remember the last time I was on a treadmill, and certainly wasn't decked out like this!

Sometime over the holidays, I was just sitting there as close to relaxed as I ever get, and I started having pretty strong chest pressure that extended to the arms and hands. It was a constant feeling that lasted 10-15 minutes, and then I was fine. I know it wasn't heartburn or indigestion because, believe me, I know what those are like.

I decided to see a cardiologist, because so many people on my father's side died from heart disease. He himself died of a heart attack at 44, and this was after having a normal EKG the same day. No medical person has ever shown much concern over my heart risk factors before. My blood pressure and cholesterol levels are enviable (thanking being vegetarian for the lack of cholesterol worries), and was not overweight until this year. Stress, anxiety, nerves, working too long hours at the keyboard and other (medical) factors have now pushed me just a smidgeon or two over the "ideal" level. A couple of years ago, a doctor tried to prescribe a drug that was not recommended for people with a family history of heart disease. They actually poo-pooed that lonely little risk factor of family history as insignificant. I refused to take the drug, not only for that reason, but one of the other possible side effects was "death", so I decided it was not worth it. Good grief! Who's the doctor here? Me? The drug was not even designed for my particular ailment! Anyway, back to the present situation. The cardiologist said it was possible that the latest episode was angina, so here I go. Let the testing begin.

Friday Feline - Accessorize!!

Nothing dresses you up like a good pair of jeans... to lay on.

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Life from a cat's perspective - Cats - Catblogging

Faux Music

Faux Music Meme found at Dr. Monkey's place.
This was fun. I enjoy reading lists of band names I’ve never heard of anyway. SXSW music conference is just around the corner, and they have about 1500 official bands plus hundreds of unofficial ones playing in every nook and cranny in town.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

The name of my band is “Opera Colorado” if you can't read it (that might already technically BE a band name... sortof). More readable if you click the pic. If you love band names and want to browse, check out this great link. It’s hard to think of a better time waster.

And here’s a challenge: a quiz to see if you can tell the difference between a discontinued Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream flavor and a band found on MySpace! I got 50% right.

No tags, just do it if so inclined.

All patrons must have valid ID and a note from Miss Manners

[LINK] I used to live in the town that this is about. Here's what's being proposed by a City Councilman for the bars:

no open bar, no drinking games or contests, no dancing on tables, and no indecent, profane or obscene language, songs, entertainment and literature.

This makes me sick and angry, but don't shoot me

[LINK] His name was Tusker and he was 50 years old. He was at a New Year's party, maybe he shouldn't have been there, but it was where he lived, and was too ill to be moved somewhere else. He was used to people and was well-loved, but after being taunted and abused at the party, having fireworks and bottles thrown at him, being slapped, having his hair pulled out, he was provoked into trashing some cars and stomping on bottles. No people were hurt.

Nevertheless, less than a week later, Tusker was executed... shot by rangers who thought he was a problem anyway, and this must have been his last straw. Johnny Rodrigues, head of the independent Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force did not agree with them, but what's done is done.

Rodrigues said that the elephant was provoked into trashing cars by some of the hundreds of young people at a New Year's party, and that no one was hurt.

"Despite this senseless abuse, we have had no reports of Tusker hurting anyone, which is testament to his basic good nature," Rodrigues said. "It is shocking these parties where drugs and alcohol are abused should be permitted in wildlife areas."

Music from powerful speakers at the party could be heard for miles across the bush, he said.

Witnesses told The Associated Press the elephant stomped on beer and soda bottles and attempted to eat broken glass. They reported drunken party goers taunting the elephant by throwing bottles, lighting fireworks, flashing car lights, hooting and even plucking hairs from the animal's tail and slapping its rump.

Don't forget your Party Hat

The presidential race here has certainly turned ugly, but not so in Sunny Town!

Engrish.com

Saturday as it should be

Saturday was the first warm day of the year, with temps pushing 80 (the weather chart says it got close to 80 around midnight and has cooled down today, Sunday), but it was a beautiful day but with a breeze strong enough to blow your hat off. We went over to DaVine Foods for lunch, located in Enchanted Forest. I have blogged this place before. It's located in an artist workshop and is a very funky little kitchen located in a little trailer, with tables all outdoors. It's not only all veggie, but organic and wheat-free (which is good for MrB, who is allergic to wheat). Pizza!! MMMMM! The car at the top was by our table, and looks like a dream car for me. First of all, I always wanted a golf cart, and second, it's off-the-scale cute. Even pulls a little wagon! I know it's not that practical for the highway and such. You'd get bumped off by a big truck or a strong breeze or you'd just fall out of it taking a turn, plus it's not that speedy... but it would be cool just to take down to the grocery store.

After taking a breather on the live entertainment front, we are getting back out there again on a more limited basis, about once a week. Here is a video I shot of the South Austin Jug Band last night at Momo's. They put on a fantastic show. This is a hot swing jazz version of that old 1920s Gershwin tune, Lady Be Good featuring two of the best fiddlers in Texas (ain't no joke), Dennis Ludiker and Brian Beken. My videography skills are horrendous, and the frame rate on the conversion makes it look as jumpy as the music demands -- so please pardon that and just listen. :-)

Tags: Music - Austin - Texas - Texas Music - Gershwin - veggie

Purrsday Night - Snow ski? No ski.

Have to share this cat "action" shot I saw over at webshots. Take a look at the rest of this very cute photo album here.


As for Henry, he's been known to pounce snow before, way back in the day (although he didn't have flair like the ginger boy above who looks like he's got invisible skis and poles), but those days are over. For one thing, it really doesn't snow enough to count here. The natives might tell you it snows here, but I've been here for 7 years, came here from the midwest, and heartily disagree. Back in 2004 we got 2-3 inches, which was enough to make THE most pathetic snowmen you can imagine if you scraped most of it up in a pile. Then, a year ago we had ice for 2-3 days, but it was mostly menacing, not pretty and pounceable. Besides, Henry is much more interested in laying around and being warm (and so say we all). In fact, the hotter, the better.


Tags and links: Friday Ark - Carnival of the Cats - This week's carnival is at Cat blogosphere on Sunday - Cats - Catblogging

Dennis's menaces

Kucinich is getting snagged in bureaucratic red tape, and it's not even the government -- it's his own political party. He's been excluded from the Texas ballot because he wouldn't sign and swear an oath to “fully support the Democratic nominee for President, whoever that shall be,” something he crossed out on the application form. In turn he, along with supporter Willie Nelson, have filed a lawsuit against Texas, stating that a blind loyalty oath is a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution! Willie Nelson's statement added that such a requirement is "un-American". [net news publisher] [Burnt Orange Report] Party spokesperson Amber Moon said that Kucinich wanted to change the pledge so that he wouldn't be required to support a candidate who would use war as a tool of foreign policy.
[Houston Chronicle]

It's not just Texas messing with Kucinich -- Iowa excluded him from the Des Moines Register debate because his Iowa field director operates from a home office rather than a rented storefront. That's according to his website.

Tags: Kucinich - Willie

"I" Day

[LINK] Finally a holiday for people like me, Introverts. We are a misunderstood bunch. The article at the link makes a lot of good points. It was written by Diane Cameron, and truth be told, she just made it up but I hope it catches on. She writes:

Ahh, Jan. 2. The day that introverts get to breathe a sigh of relief. We can come out of hiding; it's safe to answer the phone, and to stop pretending we're under the weather. Hip Hip Hooray! The holidays are over.

Yes, from mid-December through New Year's Day, those of us with an introverted nature live in a state of perpetual dread. The weeks of office parties, neighborhood potlucks, and open houses drain all our energy. But today we can relax; we made it through.

I'm an INTP (and yes, I did notice the name of the guy who wrote the at the link), and really a very strong type. Here's another INTP page. What's your type? Any more INTPs? I always have to belong to whatever group has the smallest number of members. Typical. I seem to live on the flatter ends of the bell curve.

Here's another good article on Introverts vs. Extroverts, especially during the holiday season. Tomorrow my day job kicks back in, after a couple of weeks ago when I was dreading that holiday luncheon so bad that I actually got sick and left an hour before it started. Urgh. Not going to win that "Little Miss Perky" prize, am I?