Ways To Support Our Troops

I've stumbled across some interesting blogs lately. Several that are written by Army Wives whose husbands are on active duty. An Army Wife's Life is a very nice blog for several reasons. She chronicles her life as an Army wife, whose husband is in Iraq. She gives insight into what our troops are doing, about her experiences with her first pregnancy while her husband is gone and maintaining her marriage with such a long seperation. She has a great post on Ways To Support Our Troops. In her lastest post she points to an article titled Soldiers Detain Suspected Terrorists, Secure Enemy Weapons Caches that is well worth the read. Another great military wife blog is The Patriette. She points to a good article on A Proper Welcome Home For Iraq Vets. The Patriette is a good read. I found myself reading on her site for a very long time. She has interesting information about being a military wife, interesting articles and nice splash of personal posts with personality.

Sanity's Bluff has some great photos on his blog today. As he says, they speak for themselves. And while you are there, check out his mission statement. Another site I found tonight that I like is A Small Town Veteran. I probably like it cause he's a Vietnam Vet :) He has a good article about the surge in sales of disposable cell phones since the 'al-NYT' broke the NSA 'wiretapping' story as well as many other interesting and thought provoking posts.

His article reminds me of the this guy. There's still been no media coverage of Matt Pottinger's decision to leave his position as a Wall Street Journal Reporter to become a Marine. On returning from a war zone Matt Pottinger said something to the effect of - it seems like the country doesn't realize we are at war. salud

I support the Fiscal Watch Team Offset Package

For information on the Fiscal Watch Team Offset Package, check out the PorkBusters blog at The Truth Laid Bear.

This offset package is supported by Senators John McCain(R-AZ), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Mark Dayton (D-MN), John Ensign (R-NV), John E. Sununu (R-NH), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jim DeMint (R-SC). Senators opposing the package are: Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Barack Obama (D-IL), John Kerry (D-MA), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), John Warner (R-VA). This package has been proposed to offset the costs of the devastating hurricanes on the gulf coast. It will save American taxpayers close to $130 billion over a two year period. I see the need for PorkBusters for more than the hurricane relief. I believe we will need to keep trimming the fat for a while to deal with the multiple problems we are faced with - primarily the Global War on Terrorism. Check out the details fo the offset package and see if supporting this grassroots effort is something you would like to put your blog to.

An Appeal From Center-Right Bloggers

N. Z. Bear, The Truth Laid Bear, has put out the statement below with the undersigned bloggers. In light of my feelings about The Utter Degradation of DC Culture, I am proud to add my name to this statement and appreciate the opportunity NZ Bear has given us to do so.

An Appeal from Center-Right Bloggers

We are bloggers with boatloads of opinions, and none of us come close to agreeing with any other one of us all of the time. But we do agree on this: The new leadership in the House of Representatives needs to be thoroughly and transparently free of the taint of the Jack Abramoff scandals, and beyond that, of undue influence of K Street. We are not naive about lobbying, and we know it can and has in fact advanced crucial issues and has often served to inform rather than simply influence Members. But we are certain that the public is disgusted with excess and with privilege. We hope the Hastert-Dreier effort leads to sweeping reforms including the end of subsidized travel and other obvious influence operations. Just as importantly, we call for major changes to increase openness, transparency and accountability in Congressional operations and in the appropriations process. As for the Republican leadership elections, we hope to see more candidates who will support these goals, and we therefore welcome the entry of Congressman John Shadegg to the race for Majority Leader. We hope every Congressman who is committed to ethical and transparent conduct supports a reform agenda and a reform candidate. And we hope all would-be members of the leadership make themselves available to new media to answer questions now and on a regular basis in the future. Signed, N.Z. Bear, The Truth Laid Bear Hugh Hewitt, HughHewitt.com Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit.com Kevin Aylward, Wizbang! La Shawn Barber, La Shawn Barber's Corner Lorie Byrd / DJ Drummond , Polipundit Beth Cleaver, MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Jeff Goldstein, Protein Wisdom Stephen Green, Vodkapundit John Hawkins, Right Wing News John Hinderaker, Power Line Jon Henke / McQ / Dale Franks, QandO James Joyner, Outside The Beltway Mike Krempasky, Redstate.org Michelle Malkin, MichelleMalkin.com Ed Morrissey, Captain's Quarters Scott Ott, Scrappleface The Anchoress, The Anchoress John Donovan / Bill Tuttle, Castle Argghhh!!!

Reading Blogs

I've run across some interesting things surfing around the internet between doing other things. But then, we always do don't we? The Median Sib has some outrageous information about an Ohio teacher giving children an assignment to study internet porn for his class. I heard a blurb about that somewhere else. I have to wonder what exactly it is he's trying to teach the kids? Most schools have to have filters on the computers to keep porn sites inaccessible to the students. This teacher gives them an assignment to look it up and write observations. Maybe he's a perv and gets his kicks that way. The world just gets curiouser and curiouser. Daddys Roses has a post that is somewhat related - just in the fact it's about schools and the increasing restrictions on discipline and/or consequences for the behavior of students. This has to be leading to difficulty in getting good teachers. Which of course, leads to a decay in the educational standards overall. I really enjoyed Ruthlace's post on How Old Is Old. She also has some Interesting Facts that are worth checking out. The Cozy Reader has some info that will help you find out what your power color is. Check it out. She's also got a lot of interesting posts. Check out Alone On A Limb - just cause he's alone on that limb and needs some company :) Actually, he's done a Thursday Thirteen list and his posts are worth checking out even though he's a raving liberal. He's my brother so we accept him anyway. (just kidding Alone on the Limb!) My favorite designer and stylist has a new blog Dollybelle's Peepshow. She has some of her work displayed. She is incredibly talented. She is preparing to move to Rome, Italy and we are very excited for her. My daughter just called me from the airport - she's back in the home land. She's been in Germany for the last 3 weeks visiting her brother and sister-in-law. I'm very happy she's home (almost home - in the same state and country anyway). It seemed she was gone a long time. It's a very long trip. She called me when they were leaving this morning - which was before I went to bed last night. I'm looking forward to hearing all about her visit .... More later:) ciao

God Hates Hate

Honestly, when I first heard these people speak, I thought it was some kind of sick joke. I heared an interview with Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of a radically anti-homosexual picketer and self-promoter Rev. Fred Phelps Sr. In the interview she gleefully spewed hatred at virtually every aspect of society that is not a part of their cult called Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. I have to admit, the thing that bothered me the most was her hatred of American Soldiers. She gleefully talked of them burning in hell. She and other cult members picket the funerals of American Soldiers, declaring they are in hell and a soldier's death should be celebrated. She says the families don't deserve to be spared their pickets and hate-filled words, after all, they raised these 'spawns of hell'. And to add insult to injury, they do this with such joy. All of the photos of the picketers portray signs written with raw hatred held by smiling, seemingly happy picketers - men, women and children.

Her words made me feel physically ill. I went to their webpages, still trying to convince myself that these people are not seriously celebrating the deaths of our soldiers, declaring they are burning in hell and celebrating that 'fact'. Unfortunately, it looks as though they are quite serious. There was an explanation as to their smiles and joy over the damnation they perceive has befallen their fellow citizens.

It is a sin NOT to take pleasure in the wrathful out pourings of God's justice on this nation. "The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked" (Ps. 58:10). Get used to it, America! It's only going to get worse. The more you persecute God's people, the more wrath He pours out on you!

I've read some of their writings here and here as well as some excerpts from Hatemongers, the HBO movie about Fred. It seems to me this cult throroughly enjoys in the reaction they receive from their foul - mouthed - outrageous -socially - unacceptable - hate - filled - cruel- demonizing - of -everyone - but - themselves. I do wonder ... are they doing it for the attention? Is it a sick joke to them? Do they just like getting interviews? Do they enjoy the fact they are able to anger people to violence? How much money are they making doing this? If it's the money, where's the money coming from? Who donates to them? Is it just the money they are making from their lawsuits? Are all these smiling faces in the photos family members? Do they really believe this? The more I have read of this group, the more it appears to me to be simply a cult of hate and they are clearly insane. They seem to thrive on hate. The cult is primarily populated by two very large families who reward each other for acts of violence against virtually anyone. Getting arrested is a badge of honor. Verbal and physical assault is their mode of operation. They are bullies who have law degrees and intimidate any efforts at restraining them with a barrage of lawsuits, pickets and public declarations that the person involved is a 'fag' and that 'God Hates [fill in the blank]'. Fred and his wife have 13 children who have had numerous children of their own. I don't know how many children the other cult family, the Hockenbargers, have. Sadly, they seem to all be very fertile. Most people would consider them 'white trash'. Wonder if God Hates Westboro Baptist Cult?

Hat tip to Jessica You can hear Shirley Phelps-Roper's interview here More info on Fred Phelps. More info on the Cult of Westboro Baptist Church.

The Utter Degradation of DC Culture

The Alito judicial confirmation hearings this week have again given us a clear view of the utter degradation of the Washington DC culture and by implication of the rest of our society. Senators from both parties were on display to the nation. One would assume the candidate, who has a large body of legal decisions accumulated during his fifteen years on the federal bench, would be questioned about his decisions, opinions and legal expertise. Instead the hearing degenerated into one of personal attacks, innuendo and name-calling. The stars of this disheartening charade were the democrats, in particular, Senators Biden, Schumer and Kennedy. Sen. Biden revealed himself to be simply stupid, arrogant and pompous. Sen. Schumer came off as just what he is, a mean spirited, shameless, obnoxious little schmuck. Of the three, Kennedy deserves the award for “The most disgusting degenerate ever to hold an elective office”. During these hearings Kennedy again quoted one of his famous mantras of 1973, "Do we operate under a system of equal justice under law? Or is there one system for the average citizen and another for the high and mighty?" Now, this is a man who ducked a charge of DUI and vehicular manslaughter in 1969 by lying and capitalizing on his prominent family name. How he can utter the above phrase without the ghost of Mary Jo Kopechne striking him dead is beyond human understanding. The most staggering aspect of Sen. Kennedy’s career is the fact that he is an elected official who has been constantly re-elected! He not only has the approval of his constituency in Massachusetts but also his party, most liberals, and a large segment of society. If you consider the above and the fact that the Republicans are also largely a compassionless, corrupt bunch of self-serving thieves, then one can only conclude this nation is very close to moral bankruptcy. If discipline, compassion, honesty, accountability, courage and respect for the rule of law are no longer to be found in the average citizen, can the collapse of this society be far behind?

"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato -

*written by My Beloved Curmudgeon

Distinguished Gentleman from Massachusetts

Senator Edward 'Teddy' Kennedy

The Importance of Links!!!

Okay, I'm sick of being an adorable rodent. I don't like rodents and don't see anything adorable about them. When they have little mice on Christmas ornaments, I don't buy them. I don't think they are cute. I don't like Mickey or Minnie. The little mouse in the cartoon with the cat always chasing it .... it always outwitted the cat, but I wanted the cat to catch it. If that makes me a bad person - then so be it. I actually have a phobia about mice. I can't stand them. I will throw away anything that I think a mouse might have touched. They give me the willies. This blog has been stuck on 'Adorable Rodent' for a couple of days now. It needs 17 more links to get out of the rodent phase. I looked it up. I don't even like looking at that part of the page because I don't like the image 'rodent' puts in my head. This is a serious problem. I need links. Even mercy links, pity links, any kind of links to get me out of this 4th level of rodent-ness. So - if there is anything on here you might want to look back at some time - link. If there is anything on here you hate and want to make vicious fun of - link. I don't care - just link

Link

With deepest regards and appreciation for your kind consideration of my neurosis.

Monthly Marathon

Can't eat beef - might get Mad Cow Can't eat chicken - bird flu What about eggs? Salmonella! Can't eat pork .. fears of trichinosis... What about fish? ..... heavy metals in the waters has poisoned their meat .... Fruits and vegetables ... insecticides and herbicides. What's left????

Chocolate Better get over to The Median Sib and her Monthly Marathon And start working it off.

Camp Katrina

I ran across a site that I think is really good. It's called Camp Katrina The sites subtitle is; 'Proving that the United States Military does more than just kill people and break things.' It's full of good news about our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines.

This blog gives the other side of the story. The side we don't often here in the MSM. In this blogs, our guys are the good guys. Hooah!

A Question

I heard a question asked at the confirmation hearings today (only got the chance to watch a few minutes of it). I'm curious of what people think about September 11th and why they think the way they do. Do you view the events of September 11, 2001 as: 1. An act of war. (an attack) 2. A criminal act. (a tragedy) 3. Just one of those things that happens. (an unfortunate event) I'd like to know how people view it and why.... Thanks in advance for any responses.

Congratulations

My soldier son is getting a promotion at the end of this month. He will be a First Lieutenant. Congratulations Josh. :) Here's to you. Hoorah.

psych-o, psych-o, daylight come but there's nobody home

What's with the love affair some aging and has-been hobbywood types have with third world despots? UNICEF spokesperson and AARP Person of the Year Harry Belafonte is at it again. He is buddying up with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and while visiting there called our President 'the greatest terrorist in the world'. Now, you know if he called Hugo Chavez anything other than wonderful while he's down there, he'd have his head lobbed off. Easy to criticise anything American... This is an 'American' who apparently can't find anything good to say about America. He and some of his buddies love the likes of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. They actually seem to think these are free and loving societies. Don't they see the people who are desperately trying to get out of those countries? I would try to understand their logic, their reasoning, but I've never heard them even try to explain. They (Harry and friends) just say things like, 'Bush is evil and America is bad'. They don't say why America is bad. They don't say why Castro and Chavez are good. They just say America is bad and Castro and Chavez are good. So how can anybody figure out their logic? Of course he's entitled to his opinions. He also has the right to say whatever he wants to say - because he's an American. It's just irritating and, I think, dangerous. Some of Harry's other psych-o psych-o statements: October 2002 - Harry referred to Secretary of State Colin Powell as a 'house slave'. Belafonte's Racial Remarks Prompt Criticism, Anxiety August 2005 - Harry called Black Republicans 'black tyrants' and said they deserve how they are being treated. August 2005 - Harry equated the Bush administration to Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany. Cybercast News Service Referring to Black Republicans (particularly Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell), Harry states:

I not only think that they are misguided, but I think they know exactly what they are doing, and I think that they are men who are possessed of evil.

And now he's all chummy with a guy who was recently dancing in the streets and jumping up and down to chants about how bad America and Bush are. A man who makes no bones of the fact that he would like to see America destroyed. So, Harry, speaking of misguided, you are welcome for the freedoms my father, uncles, husband and son have and are providing for you and others like you. Talk on. You have the right. It's been granted to you by other Americans who are willing to do the heavy-lifting to see that we continue to have the freedoms that allowed you to become famous and wealthy enough to get the media to report every day-o thing you say. Daylight come and there's nobody home. Hat tip to The Cozy Reader and The Violence Worker. Also: Rightwinged asks what Harry really wants to accomplish. Good question. Michelle Malkin asks him to please just stay in Venesuela. She has a good overview of some of his more psych-o moments. (I wish I'd seen her list before I wrote my little piddlin' of his statements above). Check out Sensible Mom's Useful Idiots Meanwhile, bedtime for me :) day - o, day - o Update: Check out Rhymes With Right's post on this Seditious Statements Abroad.

Back To Kennedy

Back to Kennedy.

I can't hear him speak, especially in such a condescending and morally superior manner that I don't think about Chappaquiddick Island. If you take a moment and read (or listen to) his speech after he left Mary Jo Kopechne to die in his submerged car on Chappaquiddick Island you might find yourself questioning how he can shamelessly expressing concern over anyones morality, honestly or personal courage. By his own statement, he and his family had participated in the sailing event on the island for 30 years, yet he accidentally drove off the bridge because it was dark and the bridge has an odd angle to it. He's 30 years familiar with the island, yet not familiar enough to navigate the roadways. He was comforting Ms. Kopechne and other Kennedy campaign secretaries because they were so upset over the death of Robert Kennedy. That's all. Nothing more. His wife would have been there, but she wasn't feeling well. And, he adds, he doesn't like the fact that people implied he might have been driving drunk or conducting himself in an immoral manner! He had been at the party and had simply been comforting these 'girls' and was simply giving Mary Jo Kopechne a ride. His conduct and statements over the few hours after he allowed Ms. Kopechne to drown in his car is simply inexplicable. He says he can't explain it because he doesn't remember it. His doctors told him it was shock. Yet, he can tell us how he felt as the water rushed into the car, how he got to the surface and how he repeatedly dove down to try to rescue Ms. Kopechne until he thought he would drown again. He remembers clearly going back to the party and getting his kin folk to come help him. The only reason he told them not to tell anyone else was because he didn't want to scare the other 'girls' who were friends of Ms. Kopechne. His only concern was for them. He had been much too exhausted to rescue the 'girl' he was escorting, but for some unexplicable reason, he dove back into the water, swam across and went to his hotel and slept till the next morning. The next morning he called his family attorney who convinced him to report the accident. That all makes perfect sense, doesn't it? If he says it, it must be true. The one thing in the speech that rang true, he said:

This last week has been an agonizing one for me and for the members of my family, and the grief we feel over the loss of a wonderful friend will remain with us the rest of our lives.

I suppose posts like this are what will remain with him the rest of his life.

For Mary Jo Kopechne, an 'Average American' who certainly didn't get a 'fair shake' from Senator Edward Kennedy.

Check out links here to other posts about this here. Also, check out Rhymes With Right's post, This Is Too Much.

Alito Confirmation Hearings

The confirmation hearing for Judge Alito started today, as most of you know. As I was watching I couldn't help but think of how predictable it all was. The rhetoric was split strickly down political lines. Yawn. The 'concerned' statements were lead by Ted Kennedy. Shockingly - yawn again. It was interesting all the same. I learned more about Alito. The senators pretty much acted as they always act with the cameras on them. Honestly though, how does anyone take Ted Kennedy seriously? When he said Alito's record 'troubles me deeply', am I the only one that thought of Ted Kennedy's troubling 'record'? Kennedy went on to talk about Alito's views being 'frightening' and that 'Average Americans' will have a hard time getting a 'fair shake' with Alito. He even implied that Alito would not be fair with 'persons of color'. While he's blubbering about all this, I couldn't help but think of the 'fair shake' Kennedy gives 'Average Americans'. Come on, Teddy, how average are you? How many of us could leave someone to drown in a shallow pond and not only side-step being charged with vehicular homicide, but go on to have a lengthy and powerful career in the Senate. Why do the good people of Massachusetts continue to elect this guy? Just because he's a Kennedy? Do they even think about who they are electing? One of my personal favorite senators, Lindsey Graham stated, "If we don't watch the way we treat Judge Alito, we're going to drive" good people away from the judiciary." He always seems so commonsensical to me. The Washington Post Online has the full transcripts of the hearings for anyone interested in seeing how the Senators and Judge Alito conducted themselves today.

There is a great parody on the hearing today at Striving For Average. Also, check out check out Elephant in my Coffee and My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Michelle Malkin, GM's Corner, and NIF. More later - I have stuff to do :)

More to the Story ...

I have to admit, I have wondered at the lack of postering and grand standing over the Abramoff scandal. Since he is said to have had questionable dealings with primarily Republicans, I would have thought that would have been all over the news. But then, I'm not quite as dumb as I look (most of the time anyway)- I figured there were obviously other people who weren't real anxious for this to be a big news story. Come on - you know if this was a news story that would give the President a black eye it'd be all over the news, 24/7. But it's not. So there's more to the story. And here is part of the rest of the story, thanks to Blue State Conservative and Mark in Mexico. The list of Democrats taking money from Abramoff: Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) Received At Least – $22,500 Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) Received At Least – $6,500 Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) Received At Least – $1,250 Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) Received At Least – $2,000 Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Received At Least – $20,250 Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Received At Least – $21,765 Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) Received At Least – $7,500 Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) Received At Least – $12,950 Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) Received At Least – $8,000 Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) Received At Least – $7,500 Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) Received At Least – $14,792 Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) Received At Least – $79,300 Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) Received At Least – $14,000 Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Received At Least – $2,000 Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) Received At Least – $1,250 Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) Received At Least – $45,750 Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Received At Least – $9,000 Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT) Received At Least – $2,000 Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) Received At Least – $14,250 Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) Received At Least – $3,300 Senator John Kerry (D-MA) Received At Least – $98,550 Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Received At Least – $28,000 Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) Received At Least – $4,000 Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,000 Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) Received At Least – $29,830 Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Received At Least – $14,891 Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Received At Least – $10,550 Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) Received At Least – $78,991 Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Received At Least – $20,168 Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) Received At Least – $5,200 Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) Received At Least – $7,500 Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) Received At Least – $2,300 Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) Received At Least – $3,500 Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) Received At Least – $68,941 Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) Received At Least – $4,000 Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) Received At Least – $4,500 Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) Received At Least – $4,300 Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Received At Least – $29,550 Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,250 Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) Received At Least – $6,250 Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte $423,480 Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte $354,700 Democratic National Cmte $65,720 Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) $42,500 Patty Murray (D-Wash) $40,980 Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) $36,000 Harry Reid (D-Nev) $30,500 Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) $28,000 Tom Daschle (D-SD) $26,500 Brad R. Carson (D-Okla) $20,600 Dale E. Kildee (D-Mich) $19,000 Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md) $17,500 Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) $15,500 Chris John (D-La) $15,000 John Breaux (D-La) $13,750 Frank Pallone, Jr (D-NJ) $13,600 Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo) $12,000 Mary L. Landrieu (D-La) $11,500 Barney Frank (D-Mass) $11,100 Max Baucus (D-Mont) $11,000 Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) $10,000 Nick Rahall (D-WVa) $10,000 Ron Kind (D-Wis) $9,000 Peter Deutsch (D-Fla) $8,500 Joe Baca (D-Calif) $8,000 Dick Durbin (D-Ill) $8,000 Xavier Becerra (D-Calif) $7,523 Tim Johnson (D-SD) $7,250 Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) $6,000 David E. Bonior (D-Mich) $5,000 Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) $5,000 Fritz Hollings (D-SC) $5,000 Jay Inslee (D-Wash) $5,000 Thomas P. Keefe Jr. (D-Wash) $5,000 Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md) $5,000 Deborah Ann Stabenow (D-Mich) $5,000 Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) $4,500 Tom Carper (D-Del) $4,000 Kent Conrad (D-ND) $4,000 Jerry Kleczka (D-Wis) $4,000 Sander Levin (D-Mich) $4,000 Robert T. Matsui (D-Calif) $4,000 George Miller (D-Calif) $4,000 Kalyn Cherie Free (D-Okla) $3,500 James L. Oberstar (D-Minn) $3,500 Charles J. Melancon (D-La) $3,100 Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) $3,000 Cal Dooley (D-Calif) $3,000 John B. Larson (D-Conn) $3,000 David R. Obey (D-Wis) $3,000 Ed Pastor (D-Ariz) $3,000 Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) $3,000 Richard M. Romero (D-NM) $3,000 Brad Sherman (D-Calif) $3,000 Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss) $3,000 Max Cleland (D-Ga) $2,500 Grace Napolitano (D-Calif) $2,500 Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif) $2,500 Bill Luther (D-Minn) $2,250 Gene Taylor (D-Miss) $2,250 Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) $2,000 Ken Bentsen (D-Texas) $2,000 Dan Boren (D-Okla) $2,000 Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn) $2,000 John D. Dingell (D-Mich) $2,000 Doug Dodd (D-Okla) $2,000 Ned Doucet (D-La) $2,000 Lane Evans (D-Ill) $2,000 Sam Farr (D-Calif) $2,000 John Neely Kennedy (D-La) $2,000 Carl Levin (D-Mich) $2,000 Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) $2,000 Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) $2,000 Robert Menendez (D-NJ) $2,000 Adam Schiff (D-Calif) $2,000 Ronnie Shows (D-Miss) $2,000 Adam Smith (D-Wash) $2,000 Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif) $2,000 Mike Thompson (D-Calif) $2,000 Maxine Waters (D-Calif) $2,000 Peter DeFazio (D-Ore) $1,500 Norm Dicks (D-Wash) $1,500 John Kerry (D-Mass) $1,400 Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) $1,000 Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif) $1,000 Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) $1,000 Jim Costa (D-Calif) $1,000 Susan A. Davis (D-Calif) $1,000 Eliot L. Engel (D-NY) $1,000 Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) $1,000 Tim Holden (D-Pa) $1,000 Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) $1,000 Joe Lieberman (D-Conn) $1,000 Jim Maloney (D-Conn) $1,000 David Phelps (D-Ill) $1,000 Charles S. Robb (D-Va) $1,000 Brian David Schweitzer (D-Mont) $1,000 Pete Stark (D-Calif) $1,000 Gloria Tristani (D-NM) $1,000 Derrick B. Watchman (D-Ariz) $1,000 Rick Weiland (D-SD) $1,000 Paul Wellstone (D-Minn) $1,000 Ron Wyden (D-Ore) $1,000 Bob Borski (D-Pa) $720 Shelley Berkley (D-Nev) $500 Howard L. Berman (D-Calif) $500 Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) $500 Democratic Party of Washington $500 Barbara Lee (D-Calif) $500 Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif) $500 Democratic Party of Montana $5,000 Democratic Party of New Mexico $6,250 Democratic Party of South Dakota $9,500 Democratic Party of Minnesota $9,000 Democratic Party of North Dakota $10,000 Democratic Party of Oklahoma $15,000 Democratic Party of Michigan $23,000 Mark in Mexico (R-Oax) $.09 Grand Total $1,541,682

Quote of the Day

Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. Mark Twain A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

New Template

I've been working on a new template. I like learning how to do new things - and this has been a challenge. But I think I'm getting it figured out. I haven't decided if I like it or not - but I like it better than the other one. I'll have to do some tweaking on it yet - but I'm putting it up anyway. I brought work home to do this weekend and haven't touched it. I don't know why I do that. But whether I like it or not, I have to get to it. After I pay some bills on line, I might try to post something worth reading :) ciao