further proof of racism in america..

i ran across this today.. this is possibly one of the best slideshows demonstrating the colorblind nature of this country in a disaster.. the words surrounding the pictures paint a different picture however. race in this country is an issue that rears it's ugly head, however, the pendulum has swung and what was a legitimate point of view that required the courage of a nation to overcome, has become a commonplace political card played over and over and over again. the unfortunte thing about this is that when there is a legitimate issue of race, the country will dismiss it as another typical reaction from the mouths on the black left. how people can dismiss condi rice and colin powell as 'uncle tom' and there is not a peep from the black community - other than agreement.. it shows the true nature of this line of thinking.. racism is only racism if it progresses the views of the black community leaders (jackson, sharpton, etc) if it is against a person in the bush administration.. it's not really racism

'no' to girly men..

arnold's statement:

"In Governor Schwarzenegger's personal life and work in public service, he has considered no undertaking to be more noble than the cause of civil rights. He believes that gay couples are entitled to full protection under the law and should not be discriminated against based upon their relationship. He is proud that California provides the most rigorous protections in the nation for domestic partners.

"Five years ago the matter of same-sex marriage was placed before the people of California. The people voted and the issue is now before the courts. The Governor believes the matter should be determined not by legislative action — which would be unconstitutional — but by court decision or another vote of the people of our state. We cannot have a system where the people vote and the Legislature derails that vote. Out of respect for the will of the people, the Governor will veto AB 849."

this is a victory for the people of california who overwhelmingly voted against this.. glad to see the gov had the huevos to do what was right!

ohhh ghey, can you see...

well, heck.. here we stand.. in the middle of the worst national disaster that has ever hit the country and the senate of the state of california made a point to stay up late the day after it hit to pass some legislation.. what did they stay up late to pass you might ask ?? well, the ghey marriage bill, that's what !! not any discussion on the ways to assist with hurricane relief.. no discussions on solving the major financial crisis in california, but they sure could all get on board ghey marriage. the assembly of the state approved it this week.. this has now been shipped to the governor's office for his signature..

this has been called the 'last frontier of bigotry..' by california congressmen.. i'm unsure what rights gay folks don't have that the rest of us have right now.. and i'm not sure that re-defining an institution that has been around since the beginning of time is going to resolve the issues that face marriage in this country today..

so, awaiting the gov's signature is this bill that, if passed, may see a new rush to california.. maybe the ghey rush of '05 or '06.. maybe they'll be called 'oh-sixers'.. who knows. one thing i do know is that california, for all of it's physical beauty is the moral pit of this country.. add to that high taxes, cities stuffed full of illegals, public schools teaching islam and the fact it is the home of boxer, pelosi and waxman.. no thanks.. i think i've seen all the good there was to see in california..

and it's interesting, in this age of disasters.. we've now had 2 of the 3 that were most feared in the usa.. a terrorist attack on new york & a cat4 + hurricane hitting new orleans.. the only one left is the 'big one' in california..

ipod news..

from thinksecret.com

EXCLUSIVE: iPod mini to move entirely to flash and color, shuffle and phone details emerge
By Ryan Katz, Senior Editor
September 2, 2005 - Apple will upgrade both its iPod mini and iPod shuffle lines of music players, but most likely not at its media event next week, Think Secret has learned. The media event will instead be devoted almost exclusively to the new iTunes-enabled Motorola phone and the company's partnership with Cingular. The new phone will reportedly be available in two capacities, 256MB and 512MB, capable of storing about 70 and 140 songs, respectively. Users will not only be able to plug the phone into their computer to tap their iTunes Music Library for tunes, but will also have the ability of buying songs on the fly over Cingular's network, probably for about $2 a song, sources report. The ability to download songs from the phone represents a departure from Apple's original design. Months ago it emerged that cell phone networks Apple was in talks with, eager to share revenue that a music download service could generate, were uninterested in carrying the phone unless such a feature was included.Cingular will be the only carrier of the phone in the U.S. at launch, while London's Times reported Thursday that O2 will be the exclusive carrier in Britain.

Color-screen iPod mini flash
While expected to be separate from next week's phone announcements, updates to Apple's popular iPod mini are also on the horizon. The music player will ditch its hard drive and move entirely to solid state, flash media, a move that sources familiar with the new design say will shave 20 to 25 percent off the size of the unit.The new iPod mini, which will probably be introduced at Apple Expo Paris on September 20, will be available in three capacities: 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB. The iPod mini will sport dual NAND flash memory chips to achieve those higher capacities, and Apple has already locked in for the rest of the year a majority of Samsung's new 4GB flash modules. To further the size savings, the new iPod mini will sport a color screen that's slightly smaller than the current version. Sources say the screen will measure 1.467 inches, down from 1.67 inches, but will feature a higher resolution: 176 x 132, up from 138 x 110, as Think Secret reported in February. It's likely, while uncertain, that the iPod mini's scroll wheel will also see a small reduction in size.Pricing is not entirely clear, but the new 4GB and 6GB models may remain priced at $199 and $249, respectively, while the 8GB iPod mini could cost as much as $299. At that price the 8GB iPod mini would cost as much as a 20GB iPod, but Apple reportedly is not worried that equivalent pricing will affect sales of the iPod mini as sales of the full-size iPods have lagged far behind iPod minis in recent quarters.News of a forthcoming flash-based iPod to replace the mini line was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

iPod shuffle to see 2GB bump
At the same time as it revamps the iPod mini, Apple will also introduce a 2GB iPod shuffle and drop pricing on current iPod shuffles. The 512MB iPod shuffle is expected to fall to as low as $69 while the 1GB model will reportedly drop to $99. The 2GB model is expected to land somewhere between $129 and $149.

Video iPod?
Sources remain conflicted over details of a video iPod. While the grapevine has been abuzz about a video-enabled iPod, fueled by comments from record label executives, it appears that a video iPod may not in fact debut in September after all, although full-size iPods might still see a bump in capacity.Reliable sources at both ends of the spectrum have both confirmed and denied that a video iPod will arrive soon, leaving Think Secret to conclude that this one is "too close to call."

atheists contribute to relief effort..

in response to the major disaster along the gulf coast, i've been looking for the 'atheist army'.. the 'red non-cross'.. oddly enough, i haven't even found the 'agnostic army' taking supplies to the disaster victims.. and now this:

The American Atheists organization says President Bush should stop urging prayer for Hurricane Katrina victims because it violates the Constitution.

Ellen Johnson, president of the group said Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Bush "should not be violating the Constitution by telling people to pray for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It's unconstitutional for government officials to be promoting religion; and besides, judging from the speed of some relief efforts, officials should be busy working instead of preaching."

this woman is pure genius.. let's concern ourselves with these prayer requests in this time of disaster.. how dare this nation pray for these people.. how dare they !! and who is it that is helping ?? it is the SALVATION ARMY.. the RED CROSS.. and it is the maligned Christian folks in the BIBLE BELT who are volunteering time away from their jobs, putting people up in their homes, bringing literally tons of supplies. in a time like this, you really find out who you can count on in this country.. it's become apparent that the 'reverend' al sharpton and the 'reverend' jesse jackson are mouthpieces for entitlement and little else.. it's the everyday, hard working, middle class church goers who are opening their homes and their wallets..

i couldn't be more proud of the state of Texas - we've taken in close to 300,000 folks who have lost everything -- without even a peep of undue stress.. the reaction from churches and other religious organizations has been overwhelming.. yet, all the atheist folks can do is lodge a worthless complaint about prayer.. now THAT is contributing to society.

this says it all..

Numerous soldiers also told Army Times that they have been shot at by armed civilians in New Orleans. Spokesmen for the Joint Task Force Headquarters at the Superdome were unaware of any servicemen being wounded in the streets, although one soldier is recovering from a gunshot wound sustained during a struggle with a civilian in the dome Wednesday night.

“I never thought that as a National Guardsman I would be shot at by other Americans,” said Spc. Philip Baccus of the 527th Engineer Battalion. “And I never thought I’d have to carry a rifle when on a hurricane relief mission. This is a disgrace.”
Spc. Cliff Ferguson of the 527th Engineer Battalion pointed out that he knows there are plenty of decent people in New Orleans, but he said it is hard to stay motivated considering the circumstances.

“This is making a lot of us think about not reenlisting.” Ferguson said. “You have to think about whether it is worth risking your neck for someone who will turn around and shoot at you. We didn’t come here to fight a war. We came here to help.”

nawlins mayor fears cia..

it's official, paranoia has reached new highs.. the mayor of new orleans now fears that the cia is going to kill him for criticizing the president.. are you kidding me ?? this guy has nothing better to do than speculate about his government sponsored end ?? he failed to make sure his city was evacuated properly... he failed to have a plan in place to take the poor and infirm out of the city he knew to be in the line of danger ?? at what point do people in our country take account for their actions.. thousands of school busses sat dormant as he told everyone to leave his city.. leaving the poor and the helpless to deal with a category 4 hurricane on their own..

the fact that people in this country like to blame their ill fate on others and take no responsibility makes me sick.. if you are facing certain death/destruction.. walk your butt out of the city.. back before the bus and the airplane, there was the put one foot in front of the other method.

i'm growing weary of the thought that people are unable to take control of their own destiny in this country.. everyone has the same opportunity in front of them.. some have more help than others.. but education is free.. desire is free.. hard work costs nothing.. hoping your government does everything for you, may cost you your life. have a plan.. we're all a moment away from the next unforseen disaster.. take a moment and think about how you'll deal with it.. with no government help.