... that you do not get to pick your family, but you DO GET TO PICK YOUR FRIENDS (and your PASTOR/MENTOR).

And nothing like tossing your grandmother under the bus if you think it will help you become leader of the free world.

"I can no more disown him [referring to the "Reverend" Wright] than I can disown my white grandmother -- a woman who helped raise me . . . but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."

And then there is this, from the same L.A.Times piece published Wed. March 19th:

Writing on the Huffington Post website last week and in interviews with Chicago newspapers, Obama had said that when he sat in the pews at Trinity United Church of Christ, he had not heard Wright make some of his more controversial statements.

On Tuesday, saying "nagging questions" remain for some voters, Obama offered a different account.

"Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes," Obama said.

Maybe he thinks that the Huffington statement was not dishonest because he qualified it by saying he had not heard Wright's "more controversial statements". And maybe he thinks he comes across as an honest guy when he admits, in the latest speech, that he had, in fact, sat in that church and heard "remarks that could be considered controversial."

If so, he is wrong on both counts.

No, make that three things. Sorry, Senator, but there really are no "nagging questions" about this issue.

... is currently playing: The End Of A Love Affair from the album Lady in Satin by Billie Holiday.

... is that catchy new tune "Housing Bubble, What's The Trouble" by the group PERSONAL ATM.



... is currently playing: House Of Cards from the album Stones in the Road by Mary Chapin Carpenter.

... is currently playing: I Feel The Earth Move from the album Tapestry by Carole King.

Sometimes a person (or a group of people, on behalf of a city or state) says or does something so stupid and/or classless that I tell myself, "You are never going to get a dime of my money." This has happened so many times lately that I decided to make a list, lest I forget some idiotic statement or action and end up sending money in a direction where I don't want it to go. So here goes.

VERMONT:

At first I thought it was just one city that voted to impeach Bush and Cheney, but apparently city after city in Vermont voted to do so. F**ing morons.

Ever since we moved to the East Coast, I have wanted to go up to Vermont in the Fall to see the leaves. Well, there are a bunch of other states that have pretty red leaves in October. I will give them my money instead of the bozos in Vermont.

BOULDER, CO:

More f***ing morons talking about impeaching the President.

I have only been to Colorado once and I wasn't terribly impressed. And since I hate to be cold, it isn't on the top of my boy-I-can't-wait-to-go-there list. But my adorable niece, Tracie, and her new hubby moved to Denver, so it is not inconceivable that I could find myself in Boulder someday, itching to spend some money. And THAT is why I need this list -- to remind me why we shouldn't go there, even if we are in the vicinity visiting family.

BERKELEY, CA:

Even though our friend, Robert Gaustad, owns a great restaurant in that city (Bobby G's Pizzeria), I won't be spending a dime within the borders of Berkeley after the stunt they pulled regarding our Marines:

In a move reminiscent of Berkeley's 1960s antiwar protests, the City Council ignited a national firestorm last month by issuing a strongly worded declaration that blasted military recruiting techniques and labeled the Marine Corps as "uninvited and unwelcome intruders." One council member said U.S. troops were responsible for "horrible karma," and Mayor Tom Bates offered to help the Marines evacuate.

The return fire was swift. Several Republican senators sponsored a bill to reroute $2.3 million in federal funding from Berkeley to the Marines. In the last 10 days, city officials have received 26,000 e-mails, mostly from irate people who called the declaration irresponsible. Several council members have received death threats.

Many critics said that although they were opposed to the war in Iraq, they believed the council had crossed the line, going beyond protesting the nation's foreign policy to demonizing men and women in uniform.

"The e-mails are running 15 to 1 in favor of the Marines," said Councilman Gordon Wozniak, one of the dissenters in the 6-3 vote on the declaration. "They've run the gamut from being very thoughtful to dismissing Berkeley citizens as liberal scum."

In recent days, Berkeley officials have backpedaled and Bates issued a public apology. Tonight, the council will consider a motion to remove the criticism about recruiting and express the community's support for U.S. troops fighting abroad.

Even if said motion to "undo" the damage is passed, it is too little, too late as far as I'm concerned. It's clear what the majority of them think of our military. So no money for you guys either!!

... is currently playing: Too Much, Too Little, Too Late from the album The Essential Johnny Mathis by Johnny Mathis.

"Barack says nothing better than anybody in a long time. He's just messianic. He's saying nothing, but people are in tears listening to it. He could say anything. It really doesn't matter."

-- Rush Limbaugh

... is currently playing: Beneath The Surface from the album Chiaroscuro by Mike Marshall and Darol Anger.

Like last Saturday, for instance, when I saw this headline on the Washington Post web site:

"Catholics Rethink Quinceanera Craze."

I stupidly assumed that it meant that poor Hispanics were rethinking the notion of spending tens of thousands of dollars (and frequently ending up deep in debt) to celebrate their daughters' fifteenth birthdays. Ah, I thought, they are finally starting to get their priorities straight.

But no. The "rethinking" has nothing to do with the issue of whether or not to have a party they cannot afford. The Church has just convinced these parents to use this "opportunity" to push a "pro-chastity message" on their girls.

Now this might be a noble goal -- particularly when dealing with a demographic in which:

... 51 percent of Hispanic girls get pregnant before age 20, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

But couldn't that message be pushed without spending upwards of twenty grand per kid??

Party or college education? Party or college education? Hmmm.... Is it really that hard to see which will ultimately benefit a girl more in the long run?

According to Luz Reyes, the mother profiled in this article, the party is "a prize for them being good."

Remember when "being good" was what parents expected of their kids? You didn't get a prize for doing it, you just got something unpleasant if you didn't. At the risk of sounding like my mother, it was, in many ways, a better world back then.

... is currently playing: Dress You Up from the album Like a Virgin by Madonna.

A friend of mine named Gay Courter is a best-selling author of both fiction and non-fiction. (You can read about her and her books at gaycourter.com.) In addition to her writing career, Gay has spent many years working as a guardian ad litem (child advocate) in the Florida foster care system.

Ten years ago Gay and her husband, Phil, adopted a 12 year old girl who had spent 9 years in the foster care system. During those 9 years, Ashley lived in 14 different foster homes and, sadly, was subjected to physical and emotional abuse by people who were being paid by the state to care for her.

In spite of how she suffered in foster care, Ashley thrived with her new family. She was an honor student and attended college on a full scholarship. During her college years she received many awards and devoted much of her time to being an advocate for kids in foster care. Currently, she travels the country, speaking to groups about her experiences in foster care.

Ashley has written a book called Three Little Words: A Memoir which was published this month by Simon & Schuster and she is currently making the rounds on talk shows. Tomorrow (1/15/08) she will be on Good Morning America and this weekend she will be interviewed by Nancy Grace.

Kudos to Ashley for all that she has accomplished in her short life (especially considering what she was subjected to during her early years). And congrats to Gay and Phil, who saw the potential in Ashley and made her a part of their loving family.

And check this out: Ashley gets top billing over Diane Keaton!



... is currently playing: Haven't Got Time For The Pain from the album The Best of Carly Simon by Carly Simon.

... but even so ... after a few months of depressing grey days ... I NEED SUN!


Downtown Toms River, NJ - Mid-January, ~ 5:00 p.m.

... is currently playing: Another Grey Morning from the album JT by James Taylor.

... and now I know why!


... is currently playing: Past The Point Of Rescue from the album The Hits by Hal Ketchum.

... is still a friggin' tax!!

From the L.A. Times:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will propose hiking the cost of insurance for millions of California homes and businesses in the budget he unveils Thursday, with the money to be used for firefighting efforts.

The proposal, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, calls for new charges to be tacked onto the insurance bill for every residential and commercial property in the state. Administration officials call the charges fees and defend them as consistent with the governor's pledge, repeated in his State of the State address Tuesday, to not raise taxes. The plan, which the insurance industry has agreed to support, would cost California property owners and renters $12.50 for every $1,000 in insurance premiums, for a projected $125 million.

"I don't know how you avoid calling it a tax," Lew Uhler, president of the National Tax Limitation Committee, said of the assessment. "The ability of government officials to figure out new ways to tax us is limitless, no matter what their nomenclature."

The levy [emphasis mine] is the latest to be championed by the governor. Last fall, Schwarzenegger signed a bill that raised California drivers' registration payments by as much as $11 to pay for research on alternative fuels. And his healthcare plan relies on new taxes on tobacco users, hospitals and employers.

Administration officials acknowledged that some of the money raised could be used to balance the budget. They declined to be precise about how much.

The charge would be added to an existing 2.35% premium tax on property insurance policies. That tax, which is not earmarked for any particular program, generated $216 million for the state budget in 2006, according to the Department of Insurance.

... is currently playing: Dig Down Deep from the album Marc Cohn by Marc Cohn.