Printmaker's Soapbox

2012-01-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

Damn. The Supremes have once again demonstrated their moral & intellectual uncertainty. They ruled that CORPORATIONS are PEOPLE - and as such can donate any amount of money to political candidates anonymously. Yes - they are made up of people - individuals who have the right to make donations individually. What the court has enabled is the transfer of million of dollars to candidates & parties

2012-01-12T19:11:00.000-08:00

My Soapbox blog has borely neglected! Now is the time to resume paying some attention here. We are on the brink of chaos in this election year of 2012. It appears that Pres. Obama will face Mitt Romney in the presidential election this November. Romney seems a decent sort but he has gravitated toward the lunatic fringe of the Republican party - the so-called 'Tea Party'. The House of

2011-02-05T08:25:00.000-08:00

THE APPLE iPHONE. It's $200, $300 - and of course - the $50 model for poor folks. It's said that people are replacing them as soon as a new model comes on the market - which is frequently. That's 'phone' as in 'telephone' people. Now the iPhone can do much more that just a phone - granted. But the replacement rate? It seems every time Apple burps, the huddled masses sing hosanna. I LIKE Apple. A

2011-02-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

"A far-reaching anti-choice bill, introduced by Republican Chris Smith and supported by 173 members of the House, includes a provision that could redefine rape and set women's rights back by decades. Right now, federal dollars can't be used for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman's life is in danger. But according to the New York Times, the Smith bill would narrow that

2011-02-01T10:41:00.001-08:00

I was recently asked to sign a petition asking the Fox news head honchos to tone down the rhetoric of Fox news. My replay was: The name of the game is making money & as long as Beck, Rush, et al, are sucking it in Fox won't change. Face it - Fox is the Freddy Krueger of networks.

2010-10-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

The names of Nathan Hale and Thomas Payne are well know but there is another who looms large in the history of our country - Roger Williams - 1603 -1683? His name is largely forgotten now, except in Rhode Island but I learned about him in Junior High School - and recall that he left Massachusetts' Puritan colony and established Rhode Island as a haven for those seeking both freedom OF

2009-01-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

Whats-her-name from Alaska says something today about whatever. Does anyone really care. Oh yeah - her name is Sarah Palin. (McCaine should b e ashamed of himself - he's created a monster). Whatever. She's basically a media creation. Are they serious when they talk about her as a 'contendah' in 2012. And the Repubs thought Paris Hilton was a joke....

2008-10-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty quiet lately - just too many bizarre things to comment on and too many other things/projects taking up my time. Now here we are with just a little more than a week till the election of our next president. Obama or Bush - oops - I mean - McCain. Today I received an e-mailed link that just begs to be passed on... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03fcGelz8Hw 'nuff said - you betcha..

2006-06-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

The so-called conservative Supreme Court judges appointed by St. George of Bush have proved their perspicacity twice recently - once when they made their well known decision on eminent domain - which permits a business to take your land without your agreement. (If you live next door to any facility ruled by Halliburton - you are doomed)! Then came decision #2 demonstrating this Supreme Court's

2006-03-31T20:42:00.000-08:00

The following is a hoot! John Carroll of the San Francisco Herald wrote about the Unitarian Jihad in a recent column. This is just an excerpt - it is so funny:"Beware! Unless you people shut up and begin acting like grown-ups with brains enough to understand the difference between political belief and personal faith, the Unitarian Jihad will begin a series of terrorist-like actions. We will take

2006-02-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

So - once again AOL and Yahoo are out to screw the consumer. Oh - they're not going to charge consumers to send e-mails - only businesses - and then only as an option. Thing is - the hucksters that sign on for this will be able to SEND E-MAILS DIRECTLY TO MAILBOXES - BY-PASSING SPAM FILTERS. The YO-YOs responsible for this stroke of genius say that - by doing so - it will eliminate spam since

2006-02-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

Let's suppose that a cartoon is printed in an Arab paper showing a caricature of Jesus wielding a flame thrower and turning it on a group of Iraqi children. Let's suppose that it is widely disseminated throughout the western world. It goes without saying that there would be plenty of angered and insulted people writing letters to the newspapers and talking about it.Question: Would aggrieved

2006-01-30T10:29:00.000-08:00

OK - let's hear it for the latest blatantly stupid trend. Salt. Yep - in a recent Newsweek TipSheet section - taste tests on salt were conducted - tongue in cheek, I'm sure. Turns out you can pay anywhere from about 75 cents for 26 oz. of ordinary table salt up to - are you ready for this - $17.95 for 16 oz. of Pink Himalaya Salt! Now - I don't want to put down the Himalayas (subtle pun

2006-01-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

Did anyone watch The French & Indian War on PBS last night. Wow! (I always thought it was 'Wars' plural - but I'm not about to argue with near-perfection). Talk about knock-your-socks off! 9 to 11 PM and neither my husband nor I suffered from 'droopy-lid syndrome'. In past years, I've read a great deal about that era and some of the accounts last night were like revisiting a place where I had

2005-12-10T08:46:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season - to be silly! I think I'll join the fray - and offend everybody! This was my response to a righty pal who sent me the latest gooflogalnatity from the hard-right wing. (Go straight down Bush Ave. & make a hard right). His forwarded e-missive pertained to saying "Merry Christmas" and how that evil LIBERAL cabel is robbing us of the right to say Merry Christmas - and I've received a

2005-11-24T08:13:00.000-08:00

Well - there he goes again - my beloved George Will - the 'thinking conservative' - which I used to consider an oxymoron till I met George. The following is from his column in The Washington Post this week: "Thomas Jefferson's view: "It does me no injury," said Thomas Jefferson, "for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." But it is

2005-11-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

Reply sent to a recent e-mail about Billy Graham's daughter protesting the lack of religion in our country today:Unfortunately the Uber-Christians show no restraint at all - witness their efforts to expell evolution from the schools - 'yep - them diny-sores lived 6,000 yars ago'.Yessirree - the Taliban had it right - so did Henry VIII, who cut off the Catholic's heads - and his daughter (

2005-10-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

Evolution. Creationism. Intelligent design. How many of you have heard - or read - people saying "alls I knows - is I ain't descended from no monkey..." Maybe some of you have even read or heard it utilizing proper grammar. Aha!!Have you heard of Grammarism? You see, the Lord didn't create grammar. Men did. Are rules of grammar written anywhere in the Bible? No!Now everyone knows that most of us

2005-05-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

President Boob once again shows his mettle:From the LA Times: "WASHINGTON -- With Republican leaders preparing to allow a vote next week on a bill that would roll back President Bush's policy on human embryonic stem cell research, the President said today he would veto such legislation if it came to his desk."God forbid we should attempt to save the lives of our family and friends if doing so

2005-03-07T19:05:00.000-08:00

Well - I see that the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine - or Physicians Committee for Irresponsible Medicine as I call them - has launched another misinformation campaign. This is a militant animal rights group - with an agenda. Look at it this way - it's like the press releases put out by the Bush administration touting the privatization of social security - or the presence of WMDs

2004-12-06T08:23:00.000-08:00

"What fools these mortals be..." Alas - Shakespeare didn't know the half of it! "Lycos Europe tried to turn the tables on spam artists last week. The Internet service offered a free screensaver at a site called "Make Love, Not Spam." When installed on users' computers, the screensaver would try to jam the sites of known spammers with bogus requests for data. On Friday, Lycos yanked the

2004-11-24T20:29:00.000-08:00

"A Florida woman who said her 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich bore the image of the Virgin Mary will be getting a lot more bread after the item sold for $35,814.79 on eBay." Virgin Mary? Personally I think it looks more like Brenda Starr....

2004-11-03T13:57:00.000-08:00

New Zealand Herald - 1 hour ago NEW YORK - Oil prices rose on Wednesday as the re-election of US President George W. Bush countered a big increase in spare oil supplies ahead of winter. Who'd have guessed it? Hey - we were dumb enought to elect the oilman - it's carte blanche time, folks. Sure hope you have stock in an oil company. Shoot - we do - we should be very happy now.... you go,

2004-11-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

It appears that 'Landslide George' & his team of 'career civilians' has been re-elected. Not only that but the exteme right wing has taken over Congress. Perhaps John Kerry is fortunate - he did not inherit the mess GW has created. Look for health care to be a forgotten issue, social security to be diminished, personal freedoms to be curtailed in line with the philosophy of the American

2004-11-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

Muslim terrorists abuse Margaret Hassan in video tape and murder Vincent Van Gogh's great nephew in Holland because he made a film critical of Muslim marriage practices. We are told Muslims are good people - not bad. How should we judge. By words - or deeds.... Perhaps we should remember that Catholics and Protestants in Ireland have betrayed their respective religions by their deeds. Perhaps

2004-10-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

Toldja!! When will Osama listen to me?? From Google's News Page; "As the candidates spent their last Saturday before Tuesday's election attacking one another over terrorism, political analysts were quick to suggest that bin Laden's intervention would favour Bush, who has consistently led John Kerry on security." Dammit Osama - unless you're a member of the Republican National Committee (could

2004-10-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

SO - those dips in the road known as Islamic terrorists have added their 2 cents to our current political campaign in the form of a communication from The Holy Terrorist Osama Bin Laden. My message to the Holy Terror & his minions: Butt out unless you really want to see Bush re-elected!! You have absolutely no concept of the way the American psyche works. Sheesh. Do your homework.

2004-10-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

Reflecting today on the headlines in today's paper and their relevance to the upcoming election, a singular thought occurred to me. Both we and the Iraqi people were better off with the monster Saddam in power. What a weird thought - but think about it. The Iraqi people are no better off with the monster-terrorists rampaging through their country. God knows - we are no better off. The

2004-09-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Talk about missing a chance! The title on that photo should be My Gun is Bigger than Yours!

2004-09-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

Bush & Kerry - The Mighty Warriors

2004-09-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

Oh what a tangled web we weave - when first we practice to deceive... The Bush league opened a can of worms when the Whatsit 'boat veterans' came out of the closet with their attack on Kerry's military service record. Now Bush is on the receiving end. What did these turkeys expect? The difference is - the charges against Bush's record appear to be true. The whole thing is irrelevant - except

2004-09-10T18:39:00.001-07:00

From something called KazKaz Center: "On this photograph... (of dead children)...are not the children who have died in Beslan. On this photograph are bodies of the Chechen children who died by the hand of the Russian army in autumn 1999. Their deaths did not warrant the call-up of the UN Security Council, and Dr. Roshal did not rush to the scene of the tragedy with water and medicines to try and

2004-09-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

<>This is free speech? Excuse me while I go throw up!!! Pennsylvania child porn law struck down Posted September 10, 2004 @ 7:45 PM by Eric Bangeman A federal judge today overturned a Pennsylvania law aimed at restricting access to web sites hosting child pornography. Pennsylvania Statute 7330 required ISPs to block access by the

2004-09-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

Terrorists have struck again - in Russia. Murdering children! That's really going to help their cause....

2004-08-09T06:54:00.000-07:00

I surely do hope that the Muslim terrorist agents in this country don't re-elect George Bush! There are many rumors that a plot is afoot for a major act of terrorism just prior to the convention and/or election. Thing is - as I've said before - these people don't understand the American psyche. What worked in Spain won't work here. Quite the contrary. If that happens, we can thank Al Quaida for

2004-06-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of days, I've been reading about the murder of the American civilian, Paul Johnson. I've also read the most recent statements by his family which, in effect, say that they place no blame on the people of Saudi Arabia, stating that Paul loved both the country and its people. How great the contrast between the grace shown by this family - and the actions and words of the phoney

2004-04-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

Carol Burnett fell in love with John Foster Dulles. Well, my (previously stated here) crush on George F. Will is confirmed by his latest (April 28th) essay in Newsweek - Shock & Awe in Iraq. Reading it, my love for GF definitely deepened. People generally admire those whom they agree with - or who agree with them. Nothing new there. But ... me and a *gasp* died in the wool conservative?!?

2004-04-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

OK - I confess. I'm a reverse snob. If everyone else has it - I don't want it. If they have bigger and better - I want smaller and - unusual. We're in the midst of kitchen remodeling. The builders assumed I wanted the counter top du jour - i.e. granite (though concrete is moving up fast on its flank). No-o-o - it was a toss-up between ancient formica-type and old-hat (though expensive) Corian.

2004-04-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

Google Toolbar Options Help

2004-03-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

If you've been reading my Blog faithfully (of course you have) - you may remember my notes on cable TV treating the consumer like a cash crop. The following just appeared in my mailbox - an e-letter I subscribe to - it's from Rob Pegoraro's column in the Washington Post: ".....I hit the Web site of Rogers Cable, the Comcast of Canada, and quickly found a price list for digital-cable service that

2004-03-11T08:09:00.000-08:00

"173 people killed in Madrid explosions Salt Lake Tribune - 55 minutes ago Madrid, SPAIN -- Ten terrorist bombs blasted three Madrid train stations at the height of the morning rush hour Thursday, killing more than 170 people and wounding at least 600 before this weekend's general elections. Officials blamed Basque separatists....." Oh yeah - there's nothing like killing one or two or hundreds

2004-02-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

BTW - many scurrilous & untrue stories are being spread via e-mail by the right wing about John Kerry's military service. I suppose that speaks well for Kerry if he's making the Wingies nervous. We flaming liberals are just too nice. How about starting a few scurrilous & untrue rumors of our own. Oh - I know - how about this scurrilous & untrue rumor - a hotel maid found Dubya and George Nadir in

2004-02-23T19:23:00.000-08:00

Ralph Nadir is running for president - and NO - I did not spell his name wrong. Personally, I think he's a covert operative for the Committee to Reelect the President. How else can you explain his behavior?

2004-02-14T07:51:00.000-08:00

HAVE YOU HEARD?! There are indications of oil deposits on Mars! Why else.... oh - never mind. Sorry - I can't take credit for that - I read it somewhere.

2004-01-19T07:27:00.000-08:00

Imagine my surprise when I checked my Blogs for the first time in ages and discovered a link to my web page had been 'highjacked' by a shifty site. Not outright slime - but definitely suspect. So I deleted the post - which was made in Sept. 2001 and will try again here. This is the correct link to my fabulous - LOL - website Computer Tips - and let's hope it stay that way!

2003-10-30T16:33:00.000-08:00

Oops - forgot really dumb "Bennifer".........

2003-10-30T08:06:00.000-08:00

What's with the too-precious contractions of celebrities' names? J-Lo? Now "MACCA" for McCartney? How do you contract "puke".....

2003-08-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/ No Comment. The site speaks for itself.

2003-07-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Eeek!Late breaking news! They're doing it. RIAA really is going after the grannies & grampies! Sheesh - I thought I was being funny.......

2003-07-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

Ages & ages ago - when Napster was in full swing - I downloaded a whole mess of old folk music - some from Napster but most from more specialized sites. Music from the Civil War and - harder to find - music from the Revolution and all kind of old music. I don't really care about pop tunes but this act on the part of RIAA makes me want to sally forth (pardon the pun) and download things like crazy

2003-07-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

Bush Raises $34.4 Million, More Than All Democrats Kerry leads challengers with $10.9M in bank, while Dean is surging and Gephardt has surprising struggle. – Dan Balz and Thomas B. Edsall • $8.6M Collected by 68 Bush Backers • Details of Campaign Finance Data • Special Report: Campaign Finance (From the Washington Post) Guess who's buying the presidency?

2003-07-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

Recently, the person who opened a MSN Community Bulletin Board group - Let's Learn Paint Shop Pro retired her group because of ill health. I had not been a regular but it brought to mind all the people on the WWW who developr free software to download, free sites to help people, free images that they share willingly. They may be the most under-appreciated members of Web Society. As more & more

2003-07-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

My favorite Search engine, Google, is instituting all kind of new features. I use their Google News as my portal site. They've also got a new beta version tool bar that has a feature blocking Pop Ups. I downloaded it and will keep it if I like it. Looks promising - with the brand name "Google" it should.

2003-07-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

I've said this before - we are no longer 'consumers' - we are now regarded as a 'cash crop'. Consider the cable company - they pile fees on top of fees - $extra for this feature and $extra for that feature. The features are usually packages that include nonentities like Lower Slobovian Tent Toss Teams along with one or two desirable channels. And don't get me started on that miserable

2003-07-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

From USA Today: "In 2002, drugmakers spent $20 million on congressional races, four-fifths of it to help Republicans. That doesn't count a $17 million television ad campaign that the industry funded to boost Republican members of Congress in close races. Those ads featured Art Linkletter defending Republicans who favored a private model for providing drug benefits. They helped the GOP solidify

2003-07-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

Oh My Lord - I've become enamoured with George Will. The man is a 'thinking Conservative' - and yes - I do consider that an oxymoron. Heh-heh - if my Republican friends read this, I'll catch it - and most of my friends are Republican - in fact - most old people are Republican. But I digress. I like George because he's smart and he's not cranky and he doesn't follow the party line. He thinks!. I

2003-06-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

Last night, we caught a repeat of Walking with Cave Men on the Discovery Channel. It was an astonishing experience! After watching it, I wonder at the mindset of so-called 'creationists'. I don't see how any thinking person could watch this without feeling the presence of a Master Plan. Call it God - call it whatever. I do not consider myself a 'religious' person. As Katherine Hepburn was

2003-06-25T18:49:00.000-07:00

Reparations for ancient grievances is a joke. I refer to both Indian land claims and now - talk of slavery reparations extracted from companies that profited from slavery more than 130 years ago. These claims can't be compared to 'reparations' for Holocaust victims. In that instance, 'recovery of stolen goods' would be a more apt term. Many of those whose property was stolen - or their children

2003-06-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

A recent comic strip in our newspaper had one of the characters receiving an e-mail from "Jesus" saying "please help - I'm being held hostage by the radical right!" Is anyone else tired of receiving e-mails or reading articles that seem to make some special sort of claim on Christianity? You don't love George Bush? Bad Christian - bad person! You don't agree with him and his administration? Bad

2003-05-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

Alas - poor Dwight - I did a bad thing and made him choke on his coffee this AM. He was perusing the morning paper (as opposed to reading it), surveying the apocalyptic headlines when he rather absent mindedly remarked that he "never can think of the name of the 4th horseman of the Apocalypse" and did I remember what came after disease, famine & war. My answer was immediate - of course - it's THE

2003-05-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

Philosophical Question here......... How much is enough.....? Why do rich, powerful, presumably smart people destroy themselves for just... a little bit more? They bring down themselves, their families, their companies, their employees & stockholders for.... a little bit more. Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste they hurry past it. Recently a friend was reading aloud the list

2003-05-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

Why has spam bloated to dead-whale-on-the-beach proportions? 'Tis said there are actually people out there who will order from these slugs (slugs as in slimy, crawling things). Have you ever 'bitten'? I know I haven't. Nope. No Viagra, no enlarged body parts, no hot babes, no insurance or loans or mortgages or diets or........... well - you get the drift. I would never order or even respond to

2003-05-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

Twice in the last week, I've clicked on something that requires a Java Applet. Immediately the Microsoft Download window opens and tells me that I don't have and need the latest version. Nowhere do I see a download with apparent reference to Java. So - I went to Sun Systems site and downloaded Java. Right. After installing it, Java places a cute little old steaming coffee cup on my desktop that

2003-04-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

OK - Fun time - "12. You have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it." This came as part of one of those HO-HO e-mails about old people. Well, the following really happened to us a couple years ago. Keep in mind that we live kind of out in the country. Our son had come for dinner and later we were out on the deck. It was spring - near graduation - and we could hear sounds of a party

2003-04-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

Death for Sale - by the inch! Good grief - now I've seen it all. Recently the obituaries in our local paper - the Syracuse NY Post Standard - became longer and more detailed. Oh well. That's nice - kind of like obits were at the turn of the 19th century. Still - some seemed a bit bizarre - like the woman called to sit beside God and assist him in his daily duties. Huh? If nothing else - one

2003-03-22T14:11:00.000-08:00

All right already - enough! We're there. Our soldiers are there. Regardless of what we think of George W. - which is not much - we owe it to our armed forces to sit down & shut up! And a world without Saddam will be a better world. No question there. I do worry about what our esteemed leader's next "holy mission" may be but hopefully...................

2003-03-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

EDS' Brown gets $37M severance package Former Electronic Data Systems Corp. Chairman and CEO Dick Brown, who was ousted by the computer services company Thursday, is leaving with a severance package worth more than $37.4 million. Am I the only person in the world who thinks this is obscene? Shouldn't a failed executive get kicked out on his can? Shouldn't he be walked to the door by security?

2003-03-20T11:58:00.000-08:00

Today our men are in the Middle East engaged in war. We can only pray for them - and our country which has embarked on its first overt war of aggression. I think perhaps that provokes a greater fear than the military act itself.

2003-03-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

I must admit that occasionally the French do irritate me...f'rinstance - when they get their knickers in a twist over the 'corruption' of their language by English words and start talking about prohibiting such use. (Think 'le hot dog'). Right. Well - how about our language here in the USA - English? (I realize the Brits may take issue with that).Think about it, people. One time, after reading

2003-03-14T13:33:00.000-08:00

Members of the House of Representatives have renamed French Fries - Freedom Fries? How many words are there for stupid?? Dumb? Moronic? Silly? Idiotic? These are our representatives? Oh well. I have a suggestion - why don't the sponsors all troop over to the French Embassy and moon them?!

2002-05-05T20:56:00.000-07:00

"There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there." Indira Gandhi

2002-04-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

Computer Tips, Tweaks & Toys ...just a few helpful notes to use as you navigate the abyss of the web... In the course of wandering the internet, I've picked up many neat ideas & pointers. The web is a virtual Pandora’s Box—but one full of good things. Well, I’ll admit—not always good—but hopefully I can give you a few pointers along the way that will allow you to sidestep some of the swampy

2001-10-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

Bailey's Law of Reverse Expectations (which applies to life in general - not just 'computer life'): Whatever you expect doesn't happen; whatever you don't expect is what blindsides you!

2001-10-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

An excellent point was made on West Wing last week - that terrorism is never effective - but that fact doesn't STOP terrorism. In fact, the end result of terrorism usually has a result exactly the opposite of its intention. It strengthens the opposition. In this case it has drawn the US closer to people with whom it has had major differences - the terrorist's fellow Muslims in other countries

2001-09-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.... Chaucer September 12, 2001 - This is not an aupicious date to start this project.