PEACE! (or, can I still affect the banner ads)
Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Peace & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Love & Happiness & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy & Hope & Joy

SMILE!

Chinquapin

U.S. of F.?
So, not only are we "renting" the land out homes sit on(property tax), but if our government thinks they can make a buck off of our land, they can take it from us.

Looks like one step closer to fascism.

This sh7t is really starting to scare me.

Chinquapin

Lawrence Welk, Bob Ross & Fred Rogers... Coastal Liberal Elite?
Thank goodness someone informed us before it's too late.

"GEORGE NEUMAYR(executive editor of the American Spectator Magazine): Mr. Tomlinson has not politicized PBS. Bill Moyers politicized PBS. The liberals have been politicizing PBS from 1967. This is a ridiculous smear against Ken Tomlinson for simply doing his job.

It is his job; it is his duty as the chairman for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to ensure philosophical balance in programming that is financed by all Americans. This programming is not simply -- it's not supposed to be the personal playhouse of the left wing in this country. It's not supposed to simply be a perk for coastal elites."

I will give kudos to The American Spectator for "printing" letters in response to The NewsHour segment.
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=8340

I don't know if it's too late, but please, help Save PBS

Happy summer!

Chinquapin(Aquavit on the house!)

How Do I Say Goodbye
My cousin(1st cousin once removed to be accurate)has had all life support removed. I won't go into details, but I'm thanking God, The Higher Power, The Universe, Fate, and anything else I can think to thank that his father and his wife are on the same page about this.

Now all I have to think about is how to say goodbye from 2000 miles away.

Bye Jeffy

Why Haven't I Heard About Tamika Houston?
I hope Natalee Holloway is found safe and sound. If you don't recognize her name, you should if I link it with "18 year old missing in Aruba".

I also hope Tamika Houston is found safe and sound. If you don't recognize her name, it's not your fault. I just heard about her an hour ago. She's been missing since May, 2004... over 1 year ago!

What the h*ll is wrong with this place? Just one more reason to watch BBC World News, at least for international news.

Chinquapin

Is There A Bad Moon On The Rise?
Get those Quake-Kits up to date people.

Tonight's special: Earthquake Cocktail

Chinquapin

I Was Gonna Write About How Greatful I Am To Be An American
BUT...

I had to share that while talking to my mom on the phone, she asked me if I'd heard about a "sizable" earthquake that just happened. No, nothing on the news, nothing on Yahoo's home page. So I went to USGS-CA/NV page & I didn't see anything. I checked back in a minute, and a 7.0 GIANT RED SQUARE popped up off the coast of N. California/S. Oregon. Check the web news again, turned on the TV... nothing.

Back to links from the USGS, and I found out the quake was 90 some miles west of the coast. Oh-oh, Tsunami is my next thought. So I did a search and guess what, there's a TSUNAMI WARNING from the CA/MEX border up to the northern border of Vancouver, BC. A Tsunami watch from BC to Alaska.

OK, 50 minutes after the quake, the Channel 9 news(which airs from 8pm-11pm) which started 10 minutes after the quake, just announced the warning, and didn't really make much of it.

I'm guessing that San Fran is a little more on the ball, and I certain that Oregon doesn't take any chances, they have regular Tsunami drills.

All in all, I'm still grateful to be a non-white, non-male citizen of the USA in the year 2005.

Chinquapin

The Third Year I Won't Be Flying Old Glory
I've always loved Flag Day, don't know why. Maybe 'cause it's the 1st "holiday" after school lets out(it was where I grew up). Maybe 'cause it signals Independence Day is just around the corner.

I wore a lot of red, white & blue as a little kid, especially in the summer. Even though the Vietnam War was unpopular in our house, summer was bar-b-q, fireworks, and boating on the lake decked out in multiple combination of those colors. I couldn't wait to decorate my bike with crape paper, make paper chains, and stick a little flag with stars & stripes in the middle of the handle bars.

In 2000, I moved into a house with a flag pole holder already attached to the porch. Being late July, I waited until the Labor Day rush to buy a shiny new nylon flag of the United States of America. I dutifully brought the flag in when it rained or when the wind became too gusty. It was was lit at night, and I'd read that you didn't have to lower a flag at night if it was lit. My neighbors also had flags, mostly up for holidays. An older neighborhood for the Midwest, we averaged about 7 flags in 2 short blocks.

More flags showed up after September 11, 2001.

I moved to a much smaller town November that same year. Many more flags waving than I seen on previous visits(before 9/11/01), and I raised my flag at my new place.

Late March, 2003, I lowered my flag of the United States of America, and have not since raised it. I have a tiny flag that I keep on my desk, to remind me of the pledge I used to speak, then later take daily. At the time I didn't know that the Pledge had been changed because of the Red Scare, and by the DAR even earlier. Today I honor that pledge, without the addenda.

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

I think I'll include the original "with equality, liberty and justice for all." now that I know about it.

Chinquapin(working to reclaim the "...land of the free and the home of the brave.")

June 1, 1972
That's the 1st image seen in "All The President's Men". Mr. Man & I watched it tonight, just to remind us of all the sh*t that happened when we were young and carefree(Star Wars isn't gonna make it better this time).

God, I hope we've seen the date of the beginning of the end of "The Most Devastating Detective Story of THIS Century".

Chinquapin

Oops, I forgot to say, "Thanks Mr. Felt".

Off The Wall
What happened Michael? I thought the young man in the tux was so cute.

Chinquapin