murphy's law7

Let me taste the wine,
Let me breathe the wind.
Allow me to soar, to new heights.
Show me the beauty, of the moment.
When all is still, and very calm.
For in that time, I can regain,
My fullest sense of self,
My innate ability to reconnect,
To all, that is well with the Universe.
h
7.29.08

British Airways and Spain's Iberia Airlines, are in potenial merger talks.

**

Sirius Satellite radio reports, that their purchase of XM Radio, has been completed.

**

Merrill Lynch, the third largest securities firm, is
planning to sell thirty-one billion, of complex derivatives, at an eighty percent loss. Merrill Lynch's management has been under scrutiny recently, and one analyst has stated, that the company will probably be broken up, and taken into a consortium of companies, in about two years.

***

The House Judiciary Committee, held a five hour
hearing, to determine if there was sufficient valid evidence, to send a report to the full House, to begin impeachment hearings, against President George W.
Bush. The accusations include, presidential signing statements, which basically nullified the bills which had been signed into law by the President, the firing of nine U. S. Attorney Generals, the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens (to which the Congress recently passed a law, immunizing the tele-communications companies, which had performed such services at the behest of the Federal Government),
and other abuses of executive power by the Bush administration. Representative Dennis Kuchinich, read the Resolution on the floor of the House. House speaker
Nancy Pelosi, allowed the Resolution to go the committee for the hearing, she has said in the past that impeachment was off the table. She evidently wanted a record of the hearing, to be recorded in the Congressional Record, but you never know. There is really not enough time to complete impreachmment proceedings, before the end of the president's term. To be continued.

Hey, Well here in the US of A
people are finally getting the idea. They have reduced
their driving by a huge amount, so much so, that it is actually having an effect on the price of gasoline, a gallon of regular gas has gone from $4.10 per, to about $3.98. Keep it up America. We are helping ourselves, by reducing consumption.

*****

Senator McCain, Republican presumtive nominee, gave an
interview, where he used the word understand, some 15 times, he looked as though he was losing it. Meantime
Senator Obama, has come off of a spectacular trip overseas, where he spoke before 200,000 German people, some of whom were waving American flags. He also met with the Prime Minister of England, the President of France, the Chancellor of Germany, military leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan, the King of Jordan, the Prime Minister of Israel, the former Prime Minister of England and other heads of states.
He is now leading Senator McCain by nine points, as Senator McCain puts out an ad saying that Obama does not care about the American troops. Although it was Senator McCain who voted against an increase in educational resources for the troops, so that they would keep serving in the miltary, while Senator Obama voted for the bill. Oh well.

*****

A lady in the United States
was given a plaque and honored as Parent of the Year, for having seventeen children, you read it right, and she and her husband are expecting their eighteenth child. God bless.

Keep smiling!

A man driving, with two of his friends, thought he would have some fun, with an old commercial. He pulled up beside a car, at a red light, looked over at a man in the car beside him and shouted to the man, "Pardon
me sir, would you have any Grey Poupon"? The man looked at him, reached over and pulled out a pistol, pointed it at the three men and said, "I've got your Grey Poupon"! The two cars pulled off, with the three occupants kind of shaken up, after what was supposed to be a joke, but gone a little wrong. They slowed down, wrote down the other car's license plate number, reported the man to the police, who arrested him on a felony weapon's charge.
True story. So how was your day?

* * * * * *

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Going to Africa, where
Lions and Tigers roam.
On to Sparta, where,
Greek soldiers trained.
Let's go now, to Madrid,
As the ladies really dance.
Moving on to Ireland,
to relish the green.
Then way down under,
To old Australia,
to visit Sydney.
Off to Hawaii now,
where Hilo is great.
Can't forget Paris,
The city of lights.
Riding that cloud,
All the way.
Kind of tired now.
Think I'll head for home.
Will try it again,
Tomorrow night.
Ride that cloud.
Great way to travel,
Less expensive too.

Needless to say, here in the U.S., it has been a very bad week for Senator John McCain, in his bid to be President. His proclamation, that he has made in the past, regarding, the question, of when the American troops would come home from Iraq, where he said, it really didn't matter, as long as the casualities were down, which is really uncontrollable, in my humble opinion, has been a bit undercut. His position as well as the Bush administration's position, which is to stay until..., has been underminded by President Maliki of Iraq, who gave an interview to a magazine, in which he said he was basically very open
to the idea of the Americn troops leaving Iraq, in 16 months or roughly by 2010, which ties up very neatly with Senator Obama's position on troop withdrawal. It was apparent that the White House, toubled by the comments of Maliki, called and asked for a correction of sorts, that he did not mean it, did not say it or whatever, as it did not fit with the current Republican stance on the war in Iraq. President Maliki quickly put out a statement, that he was either
misquoted or there was an error in the translation, of what he said, he also made mention of the fact that he was not endorsing Obama. Now if he was misquoted, why was it necessary to say that he was not endorsing Senator Obama. Can't have one without the other, yes? Then another Iraqi official came forth and said, the Iraqis definitely wanted the troops out by 2010, not having anything to do with the American presidential campaign, but having to do with the people of Iraq. Got that. This puts President Bush and John McCain in a box by themselves, the Iraqi people want the troops out, the Iraqi soverign government wants them out, as well as President Maliki. Senator Obama wants to bring them home also. Senator McCain and President Bush had previously said that if the Iraqi government wanted the troops out, they would have to leave. But now it's going to be, not until the Bush administration say they can leave, sounds like double talk to me.
Then there is Senator McCain, continuously making mistakes on foreign affairs, which is supposed to be his strong suit, like calling countries by names that have long since been changed, to another name, such as the Chech Republic, or not knowing who really runs Iran, or how many troops the U. S. currently has in Iraq, or that Pakistan does not share a border with Iraq. Everyday almost, there is a blooper of some kind around his strong suit, knowledge on foreigh affairs. The New York Times rejected an op-ed piece he wrote, about Iraq, saying that he had not been specific enough, and he had not defined, what his version of "victory" was. They asked him to re-submit the article. In repsonse to criticism, the paper said they had printed at least seven or nine articles by Senator McCain, but this particular one, was unacceptable. A reporter dissected Senator McCain's
economic policy, and came away saying, that his plans
were out of balance in essence and ineffective. Back to the drawing board, I would imagine, guess he might call his former Economic Advisor Phil Gramm, who resigned from the campaign, on Friday, after stating that we were only in a "mental recession".
Meanwhile Senator Obama is enjoying a well received
greeting, by the troops in Iraq, and making two, back to back three point basketball shots, during his off time with the troops. The pictures of the Senator, being so well received by the men and women of the military service, would be the envy of any presidental candidate. My guess would be that Senator McCain is kind of sorry he made such a point, of the fact that Senator Obama, had not been to Iraq since 2004. Obama saw him and raised him, he appears, so far to be the winner in this game of great public relations overseas. He meets with King Abdullah of Jordan, tomorrow, then on to Germany, where it is said one hundred thousand people will await him, then to France, and on to England. I might have the sequence out of order, but those are the countries, he will visit. Senator Obama is said to be getting ready to name his Vice-President prior to the beginning of the Olympics in China on August 8, 2008. Senator McCain, as leaked by reporter, Robert Novak, may announce his Vice-President, as early as this week, to take away some of the attention from Senator Obama. We'll be watching,
along with everyone else, nothing like good old American politics, to hold your undivided attention.

With the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve Chairman, testifying before Congress, recently, that banks in the system, and investment companies, should be allowed to fail. Then a day or so later, Indymac Bank, in Pasadena, California, one of the largest banks, to fail in the U.S., closed its doors, due to liquidity problems, because there was a run on the bank. Which some speculate, was caused by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, sending a letter, in which he described his concern over the financial condition of Indymac, to the regulators. It appears that anyone who is lucky enough to have over one hundred thousand dollars, in any one bank which is insured by FDIC, had better start taking their excess cash, over one hundred thousand out of their bank slowly, and move it to other banks. You are insured up to one hundred thousand dollars, over that, if a bank closes, you will only receive 50% of the excess of the one hundred thousand dollars, eventually. If it is an IRA, it is insured up to two hundred and fifty thousand. So a word to the wise should be sufficient.
The FDIC is sufficently captialized, it is reported, but a great many of the banks in the U.S. and around the world, due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis, are basically insolvent. There is a FDIC watch list in the U.S. of about ninety banks, mostly regional and small,
but there are many more, which are having problems keeping afloat. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two of the largest mortgage insurers, are having their problems as well. But the Federal Government has announced, that they will do everything it takes, to keep the two companies solvent, and able to fulfill the purpose they were established to do.
So don't be caught flat footed, and look around and you have lost a portion of you savings, because you were not diligent. These are troubled times, and you must be aware of the problems, which are going to take a long time to be fixed. For one thing, when the Indymac Bank was closed that Friday, it did reopen the following Monday, with the Fed in charge, but any money over one hundred thousand dollars, at that point in time would not be accessible, to be withdrawn from the bank, until the bank is sold, and only a percentage of the excess, would be available to you, after the dust settles. So be aware. Move your money around if neccessary, and keep it under the insured level at any one bank.

There is a story, about a younger Abraham Lincoln, which shows why the name honest Abe stuck to him. He took a job as Postmaster, it is said, when he was in his twenties, in New Salem, Illinois. At times when the people who had mail,did not come, to pick up their mail, he would deliver it himself, carrying the mail in his hat. When he left the job, and moved to Springfield, Illinois, he took the funds paid to him, by customers for postage and such, with him. When the official came to pick up the money from him, one of his friends thought, that he might not have the money, because Abe had been under a financial strain. After opening his door for the official, who had come for the money, Mr. Lincoln went off to find an old trunk, and after rummaging through the trunk, he found an old sock, and in that sock was the money, in the exact same coinage, as he had initially received it. He was indeed honest Abe, as he has been portrayed, for so long.

Do remember to check out:
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Enjoy your weekend.

Trusting someone means just that, you trust them.
You take them at their word, when they tell you something.
Trusting that it is the truth.
You put your faith in them, that they will be true to their word.
Now, if they betray that trust, then the deal ends.
Or does it?
Not always, I believe in second chances, why not go through it again?
One more try, we'll put that word trust, into play.
Make yourself vulnerable again.
It's a wonderful thing, trust.
As long, as it is not abused, and you are not misused.
Second chance is operating. We are trusting you, one more time.
One more time, for you to show, that you are worthy of that trust. One time.
It's your turn, and I will certainly withhold judgment,
Because you see, I have been given that, one more time as well.
So here we go, let's make this work, one more time.

One day recently, a man in New Jersey was working in his yard, when he found he could not see, he experienced a type of snow blindness. He was taken to the hospital, where he went lost conciousness. The doctors found a a tear in his aorta, he was taken to the operating room, where he virtually stopped breathing. He suffered extensive brain damage and paralysis on one side of his body. The operation was a success, and he recovered his breathing ability. In the meantime, his expectant wife was in the same hospital, having gone into labor, probably from the stress. She gave birth to a baby boy. The mother felt, when she looked at her newest born child, that the baby could affect her husband's will to live and he would get better. So, when she was able, she took their newborn son into her husband's hospital room, and placed the little one, on her husband's chest and held him there for a while, until the child's father opened his eyes and recognized his newborn son. The father started to smile, and his eyes lit up. Those who were in the room, started to laugh and cry, at the same time. They saw in his face, a tremendous look of happiness. He saw the baby boy as often as possible. He was eventually able to leave his bed and struggle to walk again, through therapy, without assistance. He improved so much so, that after a period of time, he was able to return home. He carried his newborn into the house, with the rest of his family by his side. All this was accomplished, in part by the smallest member of the family. What a story to tell him when he is older, you at birth, gave your father a strong reason to live.

I'll cross that bridge,
When I come to it,
Heard it many times, yes?
Well, when you get to that bridge,
Will you analyze it, inspect it,
Check, if it is structurally sound?
Probably not.
The majority, walk onto the bridge,
Thinking, here's that bridge,
Let's just cross it now.
Before you cross that bridge,
Better make sure, you need to cross it,
Perhaps, it's more sensible,
To stay on the other side.
Crossing certain bridges,
May not be, the smartest thing to do.
Take counsel, with yourself,
Before you wind up in,
Very, very, deep water,
With not a lifeguard in sight.
7.14.08

I say this with no authority whatsoever,
But, surely you know,
That you are vulnerable,
To the whims, of people,
Who love, to use other people,
To get their way.
Whatever, their mission might be,
Surely you know,
That, they will use every trick,
They have, within their adgenda.
They will talk incessantly,
Cry insistently,
Shout excitedly, to you,
And for sure, at you, until
You either, let them have their way,
Or do what it is, they want.
You become powerless, to resist,
Your will has been compromised,
And you just give in,
To that short, bundle of joy,
Who calls you mommy.
7.11.08

What is it about New York City buildings, that attracts
people, men in particular, to want to try their hand at climbing up the side, until someone calls the police, and they march them out of the building in handcuffs? There seems to be more of them than usual this year, or is it my imagination? The latest one, said that he did it, to call attention to Al Queda. Why
would anyone want to call attention to Al Queda? I think they do a pretty darn good job, I'm sorry to say, of calling attention to themselves. The gentleman who climbed up another building, not too long ago, said he did it because he saw another man climbing up a tall building in New York City, and he went home grabbed his gear, and started to climb a building as well. He also got arrested. Now this is my real thought, where are the Home Land Security people?
Why is it, that three men, in the past two months or so, have scaled up a building, in the heart of New York City, and they go up and up, until the police go to the window and tell them to come in, so that they are then arrested. What is the story here? We have abundant searches at airports to the point of x-ray machines, that can see all the way through your clothes, isn't that a fun thing to have happen? We can't carry certain products, in certain quantities on the plane, for fear there are chemical components, being carried on, in order to put a bomb together on the plane. We have to take our shoes off, to see if the soles have ignitable substances inside, for bombs. Other measures are taken, to look out for the safety of the passengers, which is well and good. But when it comes to men scaling the walls of tall buildings, in one of our largest cities in the U. S., the climbers just scurry on up, until they are told to come on in now, Mr. Climber, you have been a bad boy. Now, I find this too strange, and more than a bit disconcerting. What if they have a dirty bomb in their little backpack, or some other highly explosive material, which could seriously damage the building they are scaling and hurt a lot of people, who are working in the building. It is usually an office building. I think that some kind of precaution should be taken to prevent such goings on. Jail time and a fine is not enough.
Whether it be little pointed things which are embedded in the walls of the buildings, which will stick the person all over until they decide, this isn't for me, (pardon me for being heartless), or they don't even try it, from jump street. This is getting to be too much of a habit, of people, climbing up buildings for attention. They stopped a lot of people, from stealing pine trees, to be used as Christmas trees, by spraying a foul smelling substance on the trees. Some sort of deterrant, should be devised to discourage men from
deciding, to make the buildings in New York City, their little Mt. Everest. It could be dangerous to the public, and it is also dangerous to those who decide to try it, whether they realize it or not. Get it together New York, or the least, that might happen, is that we are watching another crazy person climbing up, and his grip doesn't hold, or his foot slips and an awful disaster happens, causing a mother to lose a son, or a child to lose a father, or someone's brother lands up in a bad, bad place. Hope it doesn't happen, but the law of averages will no doubt prevail, it's sad to say. So listen up, New York City Government and Home Land Security, this is a tradegy just waiting to happen.

Loving,
Caring,
Trying to stay alive,
Laughing,
Crying,
Using my vision, as a guide.
Working,
Playing,
Taking it all in stride.
Faith,
Judgment,
Most neccessary, to survive.
Past,
Future,
Moving forward all the while,
Me,
Myself,
With, all my essence of being,
Human!

Although we receive a lot of things from the sun, warmth, heat,light, and vitamin enrichment. Tanning is not a good thing, to relish in from the sun. Each time you tan yourself, your skin is damaged, and the more you do it, the more damage you do to your skin. Even applying suntan lotion, with various SP factors, may
not be enough, to combat the effects of the change to your precious skin. As you age, you will no doubt encounter wrinkles which will deepen, from the effects of the sun. More important, there is the danger of skin cancer, melanoma, as it is properly called. These are very dangerous blemishes, which cause discoloration, and can go deep into, your very inner cells and, if not treated or caught in time, could lead to your death. One of the most famous people to die from melanoma, was Maureen Reagan, President Reagan's daughter. Others have been stricken with the disease, Senator John McCain has had four bouts with it. He had to have deep surgery to remove the cancerous growths. At this time, he is cancer free.
Some people use tanning beds, these are not thought to be safe either. The only thing that is not thought of as harmful, are the bottled tanning solutions, so if you must indulge, stay out of the sun and off of the tanning beds, try the bottled kind of solution, to be kinder to your skin, so as not to risk having skin cancer later in life, or sooner. It has been reported, that those who are in their twenties, are experiencing skin cancer, at an alarming rate. Be aware that the sun is an enemy of your skin, and take precautions, this is your life, it's not just about a short term, beautiful suntan, it's about your long term health.
Take care.

Being yourself should be the way to go,
Being honest, when asked, should work.
But, at times, your all out truthfulness,
May kick you, to the very rear,
But alas, please don't change your style.
In the end, all things being considered,
Honesty, will invariably, hopefully,
Place you, there on the winning side.

It is very hard to watch the fires in California, just like the terrible floods in the midwest. Seems like the water from the floods, should be able, to be channeled over to the fires in California, but alas, not that easy.
There are so far, 300 plus fires that are burning out of control, as has been reported. The top priorites are Big Sur and Goleta which is near Santa Barbara.
The National Guard has been called out to assist with the fires. Many more resources are needed, according to the Governor, and he authorized those resources, in hopes of containing some of the wildfires. There used to be certain times of the year, that the wildfires would burn, but now, according to the Governor, the fires burn year round. In the Santa Barbara area 2,700 homes are threatened. In the Big Sur area, one-half million acres have burned, in the last two weeks, according to reports. This area, would be the size of Jacksonville, Florida. The fires are thought to have been started by lightening strikes. A tragedy in deed. Let's all pray for localized rain, in the areas where
California is burning.

What forms us, as adults, are our beliefs, our value systems, and our vision or lack thereof. How our lives evolve, depends in some measure, on our judgment, our choices, our view of right and wrong.
But of all things, please remember this, if you observe a very decent individual, with half-way decent morals, fairly good judgment, you best better believe, that his or her parents played a very big part in the development of that worth while person. They are greatly responsible for the outcome, in no small measure, of that individual. So let's hear it for the parents, who thought enough of society, to help to
nuture and care for that individual, to teach them the best that they could, and let them go out into the world to give back the best, that they could. The parents who cared enough for their child, to put forth their very best effort. To instill in their child the, pure sense of empathy, for their fellow man or woman. We are all grateful, to those parents, whoever they may be and whereever they may be. Here, here!
You have our deepest gratitude, now and always.

Archeologists are thrilled to have finally found, the boyhood home, of the first President of the United States, General George Washington. The dig took place in Virginia, after several dead ends and seven years of trying to find the site, they finally struck gold, so to speak. The George Washington Foundation's spokesperson, said that they hope to fill in many holes, in the first president's history. They are
very excited by the discovery.
So far, they have unearthed many, many artifacts, including pieces of ceramics, kettle fragments, toothbrush handles, pottery and hair rollers or rods, used for the stately wigs worn during that time.
They located the area where the Washington families' fireplace stood. They are still searching for the dairy house and the smoke house.
It is thought that the surrounding landscape, holds many answers to the president's attributes and his roots.
It is believed that Washington lived in this particular house, from the ages of six years to the age of twenty, from 1738 to 1752.
So far, they have not found the hatchet, that Washington supposedly used to chop down the infamous cherry tree.
They will continue to scour the dig, to uncover more and more, historical information, that will be of great interest to many people.

* * * * * * *

Interested in building your vocabulary, while you contribute rice to the hungry, through the United Nations, go to:
www.socyberty.com/Free-Rice-While-Building-Your-Vocabulary.110566
Have fun, the game is addicting.

Even though you look up,
And you see, a tall, tall mountain,
Don't be dismayed, turn and walk away.
Turn back around, and take on that mountain.
The first thing to do, is to believe,
That you are bigger than that mountain,
That you can conquer it,
Whatever that mountain represents.
Some problem, that is standing in your way.
Some obstacle, that must be removed,
So that you can travel on.
To reach whereever it is, you want to go.
Change your perspective, not easy, but,
Start, by believing that you can.
That you have, the fortitude,
To reach the top of the summit,
Then shout to all the world,
"I made it, I am the mighty victor".
You can do it, it is within you,
Others have, you most definitely will!

Would fibbing by omission, constitute a valid fib? If
you intentionaly leave something out of a statement, that changes that statement, does that mean it is a real live fib? If the individual listening, is left to assume that you meant something, that you actually didn't, are you guilty of devisiveness? Does this make you are fibber? In some circles, yes, possibly not in the courtroom, where the more astute you are, with your statements, the better you are at being adroit. You get credit there, possibly. Remember the famous "it depends on what the meaning of is, is".
But then, he was found guilty of some sort of perjury, was he not? Not coming forth with all there is to tell, so that, left with what was conveyed, a person is handed something other than the truth, is not good.
But, what is one to do, if you don't want to tell a bold faced lie, so you fudge, and omit, and basically
deceive. Not cool, best to fess up and state what is, and let the chips fall where they may. Your character may be on the line, and it is far less stressful on the mind, and more peaceful for the soul, to be up front. Think about it, but don't think too long. See you.

Take a walk over to:
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Thank you, take care always.