BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

Female Dems Say Social Security Is Their Fight By Allison Stevens WeNews correspondent Female Democrats lay down the gauntlet on Social Security yesterday. They depicted the president's privatization plan--which includes cuts to survivor and disabled benefits--as an assault on women that they were ready to fight. WASHINGTON, D.C. (WOMENSENEWS)--House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and other Democrats launched a campaign yesterday to build opposition to President Bush's proposal to partially privatize Social Security among a constituency that they say is most at risk: women. The official kickoff came on Capitol Hill, where Pelosi and more than a dozen of her colleagues--including one male member of Congress, Sander Levin of Michigan--pledged to incorporate women's issues in the overall debate on Social Security. They also committed to making it a frankly partisan issue. "Fresh out of Mother's Day . . . we're ready for the fight," Pelosi said ...

Israel's Memorial Day Yom Hazikaron is Israel's Memorial Day for its fallen soldiers. Although Memorial Day in some countries-the United States, for example-is marked by ballgames and barbeques, Yom Hazikaron is a somber day throughout Israel. Israelis don't listen to music, and many attend memorial ceremonies for relatives and friends who died in combat. Air raid sirens are played throughout the country in the evening and again in the morning (days in the Jewish calendar begin in the evening). Upon hearing the sirens, Israelis stand in silence. Drivers stop their cars and stand as well. The date chosen for Yom Hazikaron was 4 Iyar, the day before Israel's national independence day. Some Israelis found it awkward to put a sad day next to a celebratory holiday, but by doing so the government made it clear: without the soldiers who gave their lives, there would be no Israeli independence to celebrate.

Time to Demand Mother-Friendly Social Security By Kristin Maschka WeNews commentator The Social Security debate is all wrong. Instead of asking whether it should be saved or shelved, Kristin Maschka says we should be looking for ways to update a system that does a disservice to women, particularly those who are caretakers. Editor's Note: The following is a commentary. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily the views of Women's eNews. (WOMENSENEWS)--Tomorrow, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and other congresswomen--Hilda Solis, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Lois Capps--will host a forum in Washington, D.C., to air out the reasons for preserving Social Security, in the name of women, from President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security. Someone asked me which I would choose, Social Security or private accounts. I said neither, because both need fixing in order to fairly protect mothers. Social Security is the only option for protecting those who ...

WITH HONEST JOURNALISM LIKE THIS, WHO NEEDS KARL ROVE & FRANK LUNTZ! Please check IDDYBUD for her writeup on a very biased article about the CUNY Conference referenced above. IDDYBUD writes: Worst "News" Article I've Seen in a Long Time I've just read one of the worst, most biased accountings of the CUNY conference written by an AP journalist and published in the Akron Beacon Journal . I wouldn't complain so loudly had I not been a witness to the conference myself. The article is so one-sided that it seems to me that Mr. Ostling was at a different place altogether. Excuse me but was Ostling in the same reality I was? I was there and I saw & heard none of what he was talking about. Hmmm..... maybe we should have asked Jeff Gannon to write the 'real' story? LOL

Frank Luntz, the Propagandist of the Century by Katherine Yurica March 23, 2005/ Updated April 1, 2005 Meet the Man Who is Responsible For Turning Radical Religious Right Wingers Into Jolly Santas Frank Luntz graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with an honors Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science. He received his Doctorate in Politics at the age of 25 from Oxford University. He talks a lot. He spoke for 24 straight hours as part of the Oxford Union Society's Guinness World Book of Records debate. In 1993 he was named a Fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics. While working for the Republican National Committee on projects like Newt Gingrich's "Contract With America," Luntz has been hired for focus groups for MSNBC and CNBC, including live sessions following each night of both party conventions and presidential debates. He was a primary night and election night commentator for The News with Brian Williams on MSNBC and he wo...

O.K. STOP THE PLANET, I NEED TO GET OFF..... you have GOT to be kidding me! this is what our lawmakers are wasting their time on? How about bringing home the military personnel in Iraq? Or ending poverty? Or ending domestic violence? - site owner Texas lawmaker targets sexy cheerleaders AUSTIN, Texas, March 23 (UPI) -- Texas State Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston, wants his state's schools to lose state funding if cheerleaders or dance teams make sexy moves. "I've seen these sexually provocative type dances going on a number of times, and it's just not necessary," Edwards told the San Antonio Express News. Under Edwards' bill, a school could lose state funding if it allows an inappropriate performance, even if that activity occurs off-campus. The commissioner of education would determine the amount of money lost. Coaches and cheerleaders said the legislation is unnecessary. "We're hired as professionals to do our job, and part of that job is making sure r...

A MUST LISTEN!! CLICK HERE **************************** NATIONAL I.D. CARD? Good morning, campers. So now we’re going to get some kind of half-assed national identity card. Congress snuck in this lame new rule that makes states check your citizenship when you get a license. So pretty soon, the record of your identity is going to be in the hands of a clerk at the DMV. I mean, I don’t trust those people to get my eye color right. This bill is so dumb that even the people who PASSED it thought it was dumb. Otherwise, they’d have passed it in the light of day. Instead, they attached it as an amendment to a bill appropriating money for Iraq. Did I miss something? Is the DMV now part of the military? And, of course, this way, the idea won’t get debated. They have to pass this bill. It’s money for Iraq. We don’t want to debate that, right? No, we don’t want to look at the decisions of people who’ve been in charge of everything all this time. We’d rather put all our time and effort into watchi...

Narcissism Goes to Church: Encountering Evangelical Worship By Monte Wilson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Evangelical Worship Have you attended any modern evangelical worship services lately? (Question: Is "Evangelical Worship" an oxymoron?) No? Well, let's walk through one, shall we? "Good Morning!" bellows the greeter, Mr. Rapport. "Why don't we stand and greet one another?" While every-one nervously pretends to happily welcome those around him with body language that says, "I can't believe he made us do this," Mr. Rapport will walk up and down the aisle shaking hands with the members, kissing babies and, in essence, acting as if he were running for office. (Maybe he is.) What is this? It is the evidence of the modern proof of God's presence: Warmth and Fuzziness. The service must have the correct ambiance. People must feel wanted, even needed--or they will go elsewhere. Not l...

Can narcissism be reconciled with a belief in God? Answer : The narcissist is prone to magical thinking. He regards himself in terms of "being chosen" or of "being destined for greatness". He believes that he has a "direct line" to God, even, perversely, that God "serves" him in certain junctions and conjunctures of his life, through divine intervention. He believes that his life is of such momentous importance, that it is micro-managed by God. The narcissist likes to play God to his human environment. In short, narcissism and religion go well together, because religion allows the narcissist to feel unique. This is a private case of a more general phenomenon. The narcissist likes to belong to groups or to frameworks of allegiance. He derives easy and constantly available Narcissistic Supply from them. Within them and from their members he is certain to garner attention, to gain adulation, to be castigated or praised. His False Self is bound to b...

Rockin' With Roy As media enthusiasts, we can't claim to honor the second commandment -- no graven images -- but we always hoped the true believers would steer clear of idols. But everybody's a fan of something: "At Reclaiming America, [Judge Roy Moore's Ten Commandments] Rock sits out front, fresh off a tour of twenty-one states, perched on the flag-festooned flatbed of a diesel truck, a potent symbol of the 'faith-based' justice the Dominionists are bent on imposing. Activists at the conference pose for photographs beside the rock and have circulated a petition urging President Bush to appoint Moore -- who once penned an opinion calling for the state to execute 'practicing homosexuals' -- to the U.S. Supreme Court." This and plenty more oogie-boogie details from a Christian right conference in Ft. Lauderdale in Rolling Stone. Is this story hysterical and overstated? Sure. Are its subjects -- an A-list of the Christian far right gathered aroun...

No need for comparison "Nothing is good or bad but by comparison." -- Thomas Fuller We are each unique, so comparing ourselves to others serves no purpose. Even comparing myself to how I was a while back is not usually helpful. Typically, comparison just brings the ego a false sense of either superiority or inferiority. If we let go of comparison and choose instead to completely accept where we are, we can enjoy both peace and growth. "Do not judge and you will never be mistaken." -- Jean Jacques Rousseau

EMBRACE ME YOU CHILD Carly Simon At night I heard God whisper lullabyes While daddy next door whistled whisky tunes And sometimes when I wanted, they would harmonize There was nothing those two couldn’t do Embrace me you child, you’re a child of mine And I’m leaving everything I am to you Go chase the wild and nightime streets sang daddy And God sang, pray the devil doesn’t get to you I thought together they must sing the moon away I thought that they must know each other well For the magic that they made, when they played Wasn’t lost between their heaven and their hell Then one night daddy died and went to heaven And God came down to earth and slipped away I pretended not to notice I’d been abandoned But no-one sang the night into the day And later night time songs came back again But the singers don’t compare with those I knew And I never figured out where God and daddy went But there was nothing those two couldn’t do

Barbara's Linguistic Profile: 60% General American English 25% Yankee 10% Upper Midwestern 5% Midwestern 0% Dixie What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Barbara's Inner European is Italian! Passionate and colorful. You show the world what culture really is. Who's Your Inner European?

METS HOME OPENER TODAY!!! THE AMAZIN'S!

THE ANGLE ON ANGELS Dear Rabbi, Who is on a higher level, man or the angels? Jonathan in Johannesburg Dear Jonathan, It depends from what angle. Certainly angels are higher than man in respect to their level of comprehension of spiritual matters, their inherent greatness and their degree of holiness. Regarding their comprehension, the Zohar states: "The comprehension of angels is very great... which is not the case of those below them on the second level....The comprehension of those on the third level which is founded on the earth is the lowest, that is the level of comprehension of people" (Zohar Chadash, Bereshet, Midrash Ne'elam, on the verse 'G-d called the light day'). Regarding their greatness it says, "the angels are closest and first to receive the power and influence from [G-d] on high, and from them it flows down into the physical universe and all it contains, and from there down to man" (ibid. 16b). F...

SPRINGTIME IN NEW YORK from: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechthewizardofozwitchmelt.html

COMFORTABLY NUMB (Gilmour, Waters) THE WALL - Pink Floyd Hello? Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone at home? Come on, now, I hear you're feeling down. Well I can ease your pain Get you on your feet again. Relax. I'll need some information first. Just the basic facts. Can you show me where it hurts? O.K. Just a little pinprick. There'll be no more aaaaaaaaah! But you may feel a little sick. Can you stand up? I do believe it's working, good. That'll keep you going through the show Come on it's time to go. There is no pain you are receding A distant ship, smoke on the horizon. You are only coming through in waves. Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying. When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse Out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look but it was gone I cannot put my finger on it now The child is grown, The dream is gone. I have become comfortably numb.

My Give A Damn's Busted Artist: Jo Dee Messina Well you filled up my head, With so many lies. Twisted my heart Til something snapped inside. I'd like to give it one more try but my give a damn's busted. You can crawl back home say you were wrong, stand out in the yard cry all night long. Well go ahead and water my lawn. My give a damn's busted. I really wanna care, I wanna feel somethin' Let me dig a little deeper... Nope... Sorry... Nothin' You can say you've got issues. You can say you're a victim. It's all your parents fault, After all you didn't pick em Well maybe Oprah's got time to listen. My give a damn's busted. (*Well let me get this straight now) Your therapist said It was all just a phase A product of the prozac And your co-dependent ways So uhh ... who's your new neighbor these days My give a damn's busted. I really wanna care, I wanna feel somethin' Let me dig a little deeper... Eeh-Eeh (*Oh you're tellin'...