We planned our family summer vacation last night. The last week in May thru the first week in June we will be traveling to South Dakota and Wyoming to see: Deadwood, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Devil’s Tower, Crazy Horse Memorial, Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, Black Hills Nat. Forest, and Yellowstone Park. We have 12 days to see all of this and I think we will be able to do it. Gas prices will probably be $3.50 per gallon but we all need this vacation so I’m not going to let that ruin our fun.

We are still a little tentative about driving after New Mexico. Last years trip was to New Mexico and we all had a near death experience. I’ll have to post the story about that sometime as it was an amazing adventure. We will have to keep a close eye on the weather as we are driving to Yellowstone through the mountains to make sure the roads are passable.

There is a good possibility I will be able to conduct a paranormal investigation in the Bullock Hotel in Deadwood. The lady I spoke with said she would allow me to do it as long as the disruption was minimal. I would also get a detailed tour of all the haunts and I could add those stories to my book. Since we are driving I might be able to take my equipment depending on how big of a rental we get. But I don’t want to bog us down with a bunch of investigative equipment nor do I want to do anything too intense as this is a family vacation.

We also might take a trip out east in the fall. I have always wanted to see Salem, MA in October. We could stay at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast and see were the Salem Witch Trials occurred. Maybe even drive down to Washington DC to tour some of the museums.

I also have two paranormal vacations planned with the paranormal group: one to the Bell Witch Cave and another to the Villisca Axe Murder House. I have not set a firm date yet but hopefully we can all get together and agree on a date soon. Both of those would be good to see in either the summer or the fall and would be inexpensive weekend road trips.

Please note: From now on I’m going to use the term “sith lord” to represent whenever one of our idiot leaders takes away from the poor and gives to the rich and becomes sort of an anti Robin Hood. Let me introduce our first sith lord.

When Missourians stupidly elected Matt Blunt, little did they know they unleashed a sith lord on the state. When Matt Blunt was elect governor of Missouri, the first thing he did was to strip poor families of healthcare. With the same pen, he then awarded millions in tax breaks to businesses. Like most sith lord Republicans, Matt Blunt is an ambassador for big business and, likewise, unsympathetic toward anyone else. The hardest hit by these Blunt cutbacks were handicapped children, the elderly, and the working poor.

So it was no surprise when a recent study found out that in Missouri, uninsured adults were more than four times more likely to go without medical care when they needed it, compared with those who have insurance. Preventative care is non existent for these uninsured, hard-working families. So when they get sick it is usually something serious and expensive.

It was also no surprise when the same study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, a private health policy foundation in New York; found that 41 percent of adults earning $20,000 to $40,000 were uninsured in 2005. That's a jump from 28 percent lacking coverage in 2001. Of the estimated 48 million adults’ uninsured at some time in the past year, 67 percent were in families where at least one person was working full time. One in five adults under age 65 said they were paying off debt from medical bills. More than 1.3 million adults in the Midwest from ages 50 to 64 are uninsured.

In all, two studies were conducted. One found that increasing numbers of working people earning moderate to middle-class incomes are joining the ranks of the uninsured. A second found that a significant percentage of people without health insurance in the past year were unable to get medical care.

More statistics from the Commonwealth Fund survey (these statistics include the entire country):

• Two of five Americans with incomes from $20,000 to $40,000 a year (41 percent) were uninsured for at least part of the past year.

• More than half of adults earning under $20,000 a year (53 percent) spent time uninsured in the past year.

• Of the estimated 48 million adults who spent any time uninsured in the past year, 67 percent were in families in which at least one person was working full time.

• More than half of uninsured adults (51 percent) reported medical debt or problems with medical bills. Of those, nearly half (49 percent) used up all their savings to pay their medical bills. Two of five were unable to pay for basic necessities like food, heat or rent because of their medical debt.

• 59 percent of uninsured adults who had a chronic illness, such as diabetes or asthma, did not fill a prescription or skipped their medications because they could not afford them.

• More than a third of uninsured adults (35 percent) who had a chronic condition went to an emergency room or stayed overnight in the hospital in the past year because of their condition - about two times the rate of people with chronic conditions who had insurance all year.

Remember these are working people. They get up everyday and go to work but they get no healthcare so they skip life saving medications and when they do get sick, end up in hospital emergency rooms. If these families own homes they won’t have them long because the first illness will probably take everything they own.

Matt Blunt is not responsible for creating this mess but he compounded the problem by further adding to these statistics. Let’s all remember this sith lord at election time.

Ted Kennedy has renewed his annual fight to raise the minimum wage. Criticize this guy all you want but he is an ambassador for the poor. In the face of overwhelming Republican opposition, he is trying to bring morality and ethics to a Congress lacking in both.

Why do I say Congress is lacking in morality and ethics? Because since 1997 they have not supported giving the poorest Americans a raise but during that span they have raised their own salaries by $31,000. Congress claims that America cannot afford a minimum wage increase but, adjusted for inflation, corporate profits are up a staggering 85% while the minimum wage fell 41% and the average hourly wage fell 4%. The retail sector, which employs a large numbers of workers at or near minimum wage, profits have skyrocketed 159% while wages have tumbled.

Wages are a moral issue in this country. Do you think wages are not a moral issue? Then answer these questions:

• It is immoral that workers who put food on our table go without health care to put food on theirs?
• It is immoral that workers who care for children, the ill and the elderly struggle to care for their own families?
• It is immoral that the minimum wage keeps people in poverty and does not help them get out of poverty?
• It is immoral that Congress votes to limit wages of the poorest Americans but likewise increases their own wages?

These statistics support the minimum wage increase and prove businesses are not hurt like naysayer’s forecast. In the words of Joel Marks, national director of the American Small Business Alliance, "Fair wages are good for business."

With the federal minimum wage stuck in quicksand, a growing number of states have raised their state minimums above $5.15—Oregon and Washington are highest at $7.50 and $7.63, respectively. Studies by the Fiscal Policy Institute and others have shown that states with minimum wages above the federal level have had better employment trends than the other states, including for retail businesses and small businesses.

Dan Gardner, commissioner of Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries, says, "Overall most low-wage workers pump every dollar of their paychecks directly into the local economy by spending their money in their neighborhood stores, local pharmacies and corner markets. When the minimum wage increases, local economies benefit from the increased purchasing power."

The minimum wage has become a poverty wage instead of an anti-poverty wage. A full-time worker at minimum wage makes just $10,712 a year—less than $900 a month—to cover housing, food, health care, transportation and other expenses.

I cannot imagine raising a family on $10,712 per year, yet many American families are doing it every year. In the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.”

I think another famous individual born in Bethlehem said something similar. I still find it hilarious that many politicians claim to be Christian and then vote for legislation that hurts poor families or ignore legislation that could help poor families. Can you say, hypocrite?

The last two posts were extremely negative rants, so I wanted to post a positive rant today.

China.

Even though I think China will someday replace the US as the number one world power they have much to do before they achieve number one status. First of all, they must deal with their human rights issues. People within the country will finally rebel unless the government allows its people to be free. I am not suggesting a revolution but they can do other things to rebel and sabotage the dictator’s (I mean President’s) agenda.

Second of all, China is their own worst enemy. Whenever they gain economic momentum they usually do something stupid. The government will not let the markets set the wages so the population still works for pennies a day. They must end government “price fixing” of wages and allow their people to obtain a higher standard of living.

Other Chinese problems include: poor working conditions within factories, cleaning the environment (China is one of the worst polluted countries), and providing aid to other countries in need. The Chinese do not like to get involved with other countries problems but if they are the new number one power, foreign aid goes with the job.

To sum this all up; only China can prevent China from becoming the number one world power (Now the European Union is another story but no negativity today). The one thing I fear China could do is after sucking all the manufacturing jobs from the US, picking a war and winning it.

November Elections.

This November provides another opportunity for the people to vote for new local and state governments and a new House of Representatives and Congress. I believe the Republican plan has failed and I am ready for new leadership.

The problem is the Democrats never provide any new ideas. Maybe they will finally toughen up and challenge the Republicans. If the Democrats are to succeed they have to change the issues discussed at election time. I don’t want to hear anymore about these topics: men marrying men, abortion, God in the government, burning flags, establishing a national or state religion, issues dividing races but never accomplishing anything, where the next terrorist attack will happen.

On the other hand I WANT to hear politicians talking about these issues: education, national healthcare, a realistic plan to end the war in Iraq (not just a withdrawal date but a plan to establish a world coalition regarding the middle east to keep these rogue nations in check for now and in the future), cleaning the environment, plans to combat global warming, an investigation into gas prices and a special public hanging for the guilty, ending tax breaks for the rich, ending tax breaks for corporations that outsource manufacturing, an end to the unchecked, government snooping of its citizens.

To initiate change, the Democrats need to start addressing the 70% of the population that did not vote in the last election. The 30% that did vote are probably the ones wanting to keep the current regime in power. While you might win a few of these votes, start fishing in the 70% pond.

Right now I have a positive attitude about things and you all should too. Even though the Democrats usually find a way to screw things up, I am hoping because of the ass kicking they took in 2004, they will be wiser now. Don’t get me wrong because I am NOT a Democrat but this Republican majority must end sooner rather than later. I think I would vote for just about any other political party except the Nazi’s and Al-Qaeda.

The President and Congress agreed on 92% of all issues since 2004. I think both parties should get along but if you have that kind of agreement rate then one branch of the government is not needed at all.

So spread the word; start posting on your blogs today, chat amongst your friends today. Change is only possible if we initiate it. If you did not vote in the last election then get off your ass and vote! I hate to think what other liberties, freedoms and status we will loose if the current regime gets more unsupervised time in power. What this country needs is another FDR not another GWB.

Special Note:

It would also be a good idea if the President of the United States, the most powerful man on the planet, had a science advisor. GW Bush is the first president in American history that does not believe in science for some reason and I find that disturbing. Over the course of American history, science has played an important role in establishing and retaining our power. It is okay to be a man of faith as long as that faith does not blind you to reality.

A recent law proposed by the Congress, the gang that supposedly works for the people of the United States, will turn just about every citizen into a lawbreaker. If you copy an article, a photo, any file whatsoever you could be imprisoned for 10 years and any asset used in the “theft” will be stolen from its owner and sold at a public auction or destroyed. Translation, you find a cool picture on a website so you use it on your website. The government finds out you have “stolen” this picture so they arrest you, put you in jail for ten years and destroy your computer. Why? Because we all want that.

Our leaders of today are political whores, compared with earlier leaders. They have forgotten the interests of the American middle class, which is the majority of people in America and who elect the politicians, should factor into all decisions made by leadership. As the middle class goes so the country goes; if the middle class becomes weakened or extinct, the US becomes weakened or extinct.

Our politicians are whores because they sell legislation that conflicts with their values, the values of their constituents and the values of the nation to the highest corporate bidder. They also sell harmful legislation for an obvious payoff. These whores are worse than corporate whores because they are in charge of the interests of the American people. Instead, they have all become just another corporate subsidiary.

Politicians support laws like this because their interests lie with the corporations and not with the people. Too often decisions are made for personal gain that conflict with long term interests of the country, either from payoffs or favors from lobbyists or direct contributions from corporate America. In order to restore validity to our leadership, these steps must be taken sooner rather than later:

• Elimination of all lobbyists from Washington. This will finally restore the hearts of our leaders. Now they will make decisions based on what is good for the country as a whole, instead of selling legislation to the highest bidder.

• Elimination of all political contributions. Everybody politician gets the same amount of money to spend on an election campaign. So when elections are won the politician will not have to promise something to a contributor that conflicts with his values or the country’s values.

• Term limitations for all politicians. Good leaders should realize this is a short term job. Good leaders do not crave power.

• Elimination of the special retirement program for Senators, Judges and Representatives. They should get the same program everybody else gets, maybe then they will fix it.

• Reduce the pay and benefits of Senators and State Governors. How can the middle class be represented when there are no middle class Senators or State Governors? We need a mixture of Democrats and Republicans in the government and likewise we need a mixture of class within all branches of government. These Senators should be treated like average citizens but that is impossible when they are given ridiculous amounts of compensation through political contributions and federal benefits. I realize this will be the most difficult to change of all because they are in charge of their own salaries (what a gravy life).

These changes will force leaders to make decisions based on what is right instead of what is for sale. As it stands today, too many leaders make decisions based upon the amount of personal gain. If you remove personal gain from the equation, you remove the blinders and allow them to see clearly.

In this article, Philips has invented a device that will disable the remote control on your television during commercials. It will also disable the fast forward features if you record the program with a DVR or DVD burner. Why? Because we all want that.

The corporations on our planet are such whores. I say this because they’ll screw anybody and everybody for a few bucks. Why would you invent something every living person on the planet would hate and something that would make everybody’s life miserable?

In the movie Aliens, Ripley sums up the corporate mindset in one phrase, “I don’t know who is worse, us or them? At least you don’t see them (the Aliens) screwing everybody over for company profits.”

The real problem with this invention is our economy is supposed to be built on the idea of supply and demand. So if there is no demand for something it should die, right? Wrong. Supply and demand only REALLY matter when it comes to the enrichment of profits. What I mean by this is instead of the supply and demand principle our economy is built on the profit model principle.

In the profit model principle, if something can earn a profit you MUST create a market even if there is no market for it. This is accomplished through corporate sponsored government regulations or laws that create unnecessary and unwanted markets. Corporations support government regulations only when they create wealth. Regulations that support the enrichment of communities or the environment are fought because even if they are good for the entire population they cut into profits.

If companies can invent, patent and standardize anything that makes a profit regardless of demand, what keeps them from inventing:

• Lenses for glasses and contacts that muffle color.
• Car engines that only last 50,000 miles and burn 5 gallons of gas for every mile traveled.
• Soleless shoes.
• Pants with only one leg (cuts the cost of producing pants in half).
• Inkless pens.
• Computer keyboards with no vowels, numbers or punctuation symbols.
• Cell phones with no speakers.
• Cell phones with only 10 minutes of time before they completely die.
• Radio stations with 50 minutes of commercials per hour (we already have this now; it’s called AM radio).
• Controllers for console games have only one button.
• Treadles tires.
• Light bulbs that last three hours and muffle light.
• Heated refrigerators.
• Cooling heaters.
• Toeless socks.
• A plan to charge everybody for air (this would be “good for the economy”).
• New standards requiring all new homes to have no doors or windows.
• Keyless locks.
• A cover charge to get into grocery stores (we already have these too; they're called Sam’s Club and Costco).
• Duct tape with no sticky
• Calendars with no dates on them.
• Condoms so neither person has an orgasm (barbed for no one's pleasure).

I would like to send a message to Philips from the new keyboard mentioned above: fck y

I started doing a little research on this “religion” a while back and found they are a very dangerous mind control cult. They create fronts including the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, HealthMed and Narconon to get people into the cult because if people found out what they were really getting into they would quickly bolt. At risk to this cult are mostly only the uneducated but they have plenty of tricks to lure the educated. Even David Miscavige, the current head of the cult, is a high school drop out. Because of certain misguided and uneducated celebrities, most notably Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley, they get a lot of press. Also note the above mentioned celebrities are only high school educated at best.

Read this Time Magazine article to get some background if you want more information about some recent scandals and a quick look at the founder, L. Ron Hubbard. It talks about how they use mind control at their “audits” in which they claim therapists will cure you from drug addiction and other ailments. The various fronts they use to hook new unsuspecting members; and how they bilk these people out of millions of dollars.

The basis of the “religion” is that an evil alien named Xenu brought people to Earth billions of years ago only to kill them with a volcano. The spirits of these aliens are still on Earth today and possess all living beings. Your goal as Scientologist is to cleanse your body and rid it of these evil spirits. You do this through intense “auditing” which costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. As you progress through the “auditing” sessions you advance in rank from raw meat (right off the street) to OT8. A level OT8 has fully cleansed his body of all evil, alien spirits so they can never get sick and are immune to all disease. The reason people get sick is NOT from viruses but from these alien spirits, which cause all illness and disease both mental and physical.

How they hook people is they do not give you that whole story all at once but slowly over many hours of “auditing” and after you have already invested much money. As you advance in rank you also advance in power and I guess this lust for power and rank clouds their minds. You don’t even find out you’re possessed until OT3 and your goal through OT7 is to purge these spirits from your body; some of which are sleeping and are harder to expel.

One of the purposes of these “audits” is for the Scientology association to obtain all information about an individual’s life; delving into every corner including every sexual experience. Now if a person wants to leave they can publish intimate and sometimes embarrassing details of their life as blackmail to retain wealthy members.

Anyway, be careful because these cultists retain many lawyers and employ many tricks to get you hooked. Sometimes you do not know who they are at first until it’s too late.

Sarcastic side note

They should add a volcano to the list of weapons in Clue. Miss Scarlett did it in the Library with a Volcano. That sounds perverted!

This week Chinese President Hu Jintao visits the United States. His visit marks the beginning of the “passing of the torch” from the current number one super power to the future number one super power. It’s no secret the United States is economically eroding while countries like China are gaining momentum. Experts predict in twenty years China will replace the United States as the number one economic power with the European Union being a close number two.

Primary causes of the US economic erosion:

1. The growing national debt will negatively impact the US economy because eventually you have to pay off that bill. The payoff will restrict the governments’ ability to compete with foreign governments; this is exactly what happened with the old Soviet Union. China heavily subsidizes its manufacturing companies so they can manufacture goods cheaper than the cost of the imported raw materials; no other country can compete with this. This practice allows them to KEEP manufacturing jobs NOT lose them to other countries.

2. The devaluation of the US dollar. To bail us out of the national debt, the government has already begun the process of printing more money. So now the US dollar will quickly become worthless in comparison to other currency. As a result, the Euro is quickly replacing the dollar as the investors’ choice.

3. The permanent loss of higher paying middle class jobs in manufacturing and infrastructure will create an overwhelming burden for the US government as salaries continue to stagnate or decline. This increases the dependency on social programs and lowers the amount of income taxes collected. This also decreases the purchasing power of a large segment of the population so the GDP will also fall. If illegal aliens are allowed citizenship they will continue to erode these wages even further as the final frontier of blue collar jobs in infrastructure will also be at risk. The time is close at hand when the only jobs in the US for high school graduates be minimum wage. Very soon you might need a college degree just to be a Wal-Mart greeter.

4. The shift of US manufacturing to China could be devastating in war time. If we are ever involved in another world war we will not have the domestic manufacturing to produce the materials needed to compete. During WW2, US factories were easily converted to produce war materials but with these factories now completely extinct, we will no longer be able to produce the materials necessary to be a world power. China could exploit this advantage to conquer the US in a one on one battle. Unlike the US government, the Chinese realize how important these jobs are for global dominance.

5. Greed. The cheap Chinese labor is enticing to corporate America as profits have never been better. Paying someone $.25 cents a day when it used to cost $12 an hour with full benefits is too good to be true. But the long term damage to the US status as a super power will be permanent.

Our leaders are only concerned with immediate economic returns and do not have the sight to predict the inevitability of their poor decisions. Corporate America is given free reign to make decisions that negatively impact the country. Instead of our government encouraging domestic manufacturing and domestic jobs, they are allowing the corporations to take a path which is leading to disaster.

What can the US government do to protect American interests while keeping relations strong with China and other countries? The government can eliminate all tax credits for corporations that manufacture overseas and only give tax breaks for companies that manufacture domestically. This one simple thing could save us but it will never happen because the US government is bought by corporate America.

When America got involved in WW2, FDR swore no millionaires would be created as he would not allow any one to profit from war so he fought to ensure companies would not profit from American blood. However, quite the opposite of FDR, our current administration sells American blood to the highest corporate bidder. All you have to do is look at the tax return for VP Dick Cheney to see how many millions he is earning through Halliburton contracts.

I love this country and I want us to remain the number one super power in the world. But the path we are on could lead us to disaster unless our leaders smarten up and start leading the country again. Will this happen? Only time will tell.

Saturday we got another crazy cat. Right now she is in the spare bedroom getting used to her surroundings and the other cats. I will wait and let her tell me her name. Since that hasn't happened yet she is the "unnamed crazy cat". I think she looks like a rabbit.







Three cats; does this officially make me a cat person?

My son and I have been having interesting conversations for years. When we talk I try to make him think about what he is saying no matter what the topic.

When he was five years old we were in line at a Blockbuster and I was trying to convince him the ant in Bug’s Life was the same actor who played the ant in Antz. He told me it couldn't possible be the same actor because the ants were different colors and only one had antennas; smart kid. We had the whole place in stitches.

Well, last night we were trying to choose a place to eat; keep in mind he is now fourteen years old:

Me: Where do you want to go eat?
Son: I don’t know, where do you want to go?
Me: Something good, no fish heads tonight. (inside joke)
Son: How about Quizno’s? They’re good.
Me: Do they have tomatoes, vine-ripened tomatoes?
Son: Yea!
Me: I hate tomatoes.
Son: They have green peppers. You like green peppers.
Me: I hate green peppers. Do they have cheese?
Son: Yes!
Me: I hate cheese. How about meat? Do they have any meat?
Son: No they don’t have any meat.
Me: Crap! I love meat!!
Son: They have lots of meat, dad.
Me: Well, I hate that kind of meat!
Son: How about Chinese?
Me: Do they have rice?

He is a straight-A student but with a crazy man like me for a dad; I don’t know how he does it.

Finally it’s over!! Power, phone, Internet and television services have been restored. Below is a pictorial account of the last few days:

The Construction Begins



Shadow Watches The Action



I Survey The Downed Wires



Behold! The New Pole is Raised!!



Shadow Stands and Applauds as Power is Restored



The Baby Kitty Can Finally Relax



Peace At Last!

While reading through my favorite blogs, I noticed that Mimi was a featured writer on Beauty vs The Beast on the controversial topic, Roe vs Wade for Men. I never knew there was such a thing as Roe vs Wade for Men so I decided to give my two cents on this issue.

I don’t even want to start a debate on abortion so I am not even going to focus on that issue. Supporters of Roe vs Wade will tell you this law is all about choice but there cannot be choice unless this choice is offered to both sexes. If you agree that people have the right to choice then it should be a right for both sexes and not just one.

Both the man and the woman consent to have sex so the irresponsibility of the pregnancy is the fault of both participants. This irresponsible act is the cause of the pregnancy so why give the choice to "opt out" to only one person? If one cannot "opt out" then neither should be able to "opt out". So the whole “pay if you play” argument should be extended to the female too. Why must only the man “pay to play”?

In this Case, however, irresponsibility was not the reason for the pregnancy. The woman repeatedly assured the man she was "safe". Now she is pregnant and wanting this guy to pay for half of her child. Can we assume she wanted a child all along? Can we assume she got pregnant on purpose and now the system allows her to collect money from this guy for something he was led to believe was “safe”? Regardless of the answers, she clearly wants this child so if she wants it then she should pay for it.

If you believe it is cruel to demand a woman bring a pregnancy to term against her will then you should also believe it is cruel to demand the man disrupt his financial future and plunge his life into turmoil for the next 21 years to pay for a child only the woman wants. If one party wants the child then that party should pay for it. However, if the man agrees to this “male” abortion, then he looses all rights as a father and can never reestablish contact with the child and this can next be undone.

Another complicated matter is if the man wants the baby but the woman does not. Now what do you do? Should the woman be compensated for her "services" in carrying the child to term for the man? Definitely, yes, she should receive something. And again, if she agrees to turn the child over to the father then she looses all rights as a mother and can never reestablish contact with the child and this can not be undone.

If you agree that men and women are equals then we are equal in all areas; you cannot pick and choose where equality should exist. If you look at what is fair then you have to give choice to both parties and not let one make the choice for both. If you do not think men should have a right to an abortion then we should overturn Roe vs Wade to even things out again.

I know that this post might anger many people and I am NOT trying to legitimize deadbeat dads but if you look at this topic without any emotional baggage you might understand what I am trying to say. Now you can “tee off” on me.

This article talks about a woman living her life as a virgin and taking Christ as her spouse. I am not an authority on Christianity but why would anyone want to do this? The article also mentions she is one of 175 consecrated virgins in the United States. Of course, this woman is 60 years old, so guys are not lining up to get into her pants. At her age, I guess she has nothing to lose.

Denying your sexuality should be a crime against humanity. Sexuality is as basic of an instinct as hunger or thirst but we do not abandon our hunger or thirst cravings. So why sex? Why do we always have to abandon sex to get closer to God or to please God?

Doesn’t God want us to enjoy sex? He gave us these sex organs for a reason, are we just to watch them rot. If they are to be used simply for reproduction then why are so many sensitive nerve endings in that area? Why did He make it feel so good if we are only to have sex to reproduce? It goes to show how the true meaning of God's words have been poorly translated or even ignored.

Okay ladies, would you agree to a life of virginity? We have already seen what celibacy in the priesthood does to men; so I wonder what kind of externalities we would get from female abstinence.

Hell rode into St. Louis last night on the back of a thunderstorm; smashing down trees and telephone poles. As a result, a large oak tree crashed through our neighbor’s fence and tore down the neighborhood’s power lines. Ameren Electric is notoriously slow in getting power restored but not as slow as Charter getting the Internet and television restored. I am not expecting to have electricity or phone all week and only God knows how long the cable and Internet will be out.

Ameren is so bad that they will not even give me a date when they will be out to fix things. If I was a friggin’ Wal-Mart store I’ll bet they would restore my power in a matter of hours but since I’m Johnny Nobody they won’t even give me a time much less a date.

I have two freezers stocked full of meat other stuff. Where can I go to get my money back for all of this food? I cannot believe in the year 2006 we still have cabling above ground.