"Islamofascism"

So now there's Islamofascism. Can we can also use Christofascists, Hebrewfascists, Hindufascists, Buddafascists, Taofascists? Can we break them down by sect? How about Catholfascists? Baptifascists? Episcofascists? JehovahWitnofascists? Hey, this is fun!

But seriously, the major problem I see with the term "Islamofascism" is that it lumps together groups with very different objectives and methods of operation. For example: al-Qaeda is a Sunni group that uses terrorist tactics in its pursuit of restoring the Caliphate. Hezbollah is a Shite organization which has created a functioning mini-state within Lebanon. Hamas is a Sunni group that is focused strictly on the Palestine situation. The Taliban are an uniquely Afghan group that has more to do with Pashtun tribalism than Islam. And there are dozens of other Islamic groups that sometimes use terrorism but have no connection with each other. How does lumping all of these groups under one label help us to defeat them?

Early Warning Signs of Fascism

1. A powerful and continuing nationalism
2. Disdain for Human Rights
3. Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
4. Supremacy of the military
5. Rampant sexism
6. Controlled mass media
7. Obsession with national security
8. Religion and government intertwined
9. Corporate power protected
10. Labor Power Suppressed
11. Disdain for intellectuals and the arts
12. Obsession with crime and punishment
13. Rampant cronyism & corruption
14. Fraudlent elections

Perhaps Bu$hCo is just trying to justify it's actions by "demonizing" its enemies. Or maybe it's a strictly emotional term meant for the incredibly large number of people who depend on cliches and catch-phrases as substitutes for thinking.

Pluto Voted Off the Island

Talk about no respect. It seems the International Astronomical Union decided yesterday that Pluto no longer makes the grade under their new rules for what constitutes a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit." I mean COME ON, no celestial body is perfect!

Pluto has had planetary status since its discovery in 1930 (think of the millions of textbooks, exhibits and planetarium shows that will need to be changed, not to mention having to abandon my elementary school mnemonic for remembering the names of the 9 planets: “My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles” - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto--pretty good, eh?). Does Mickey Mouse now have to change the name of his dog to Uranus? Actually, the dog debuted in 1930 as Rover, dog to Minnie Mouse. But Mickey and the dog hit it off, Rover became Pluto in honor of the planet, and Mickey became his master.

Now the IAU has decided (in their infinite wisdom) that The-Planet-Formerly-Known-As-Pluto be reclassified in to a new category called: “dwarf planets,” previously called “minor planets” (and to add insult to injury, not even capitalized). Who died and made these guys boss?

Well, Pluto, from one little girl who helped her Dad build a backyard telescope in the early 1960’s and spent many a wondrous evening exploring the heavens, I want you to know that some of us will always think planet size doesn’t matter.

What many of us already knew...

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

The Prudhoe Bay Lesson

I’ve been reading in the JuneauEmpire that the reason behind this scandal is more about internal Alaskan politics. There’s a nasty gubernatorial race going on right now in Alaska, and the incumbent republican governor Frank Murkowski is probably not going to win the primary on August 22nd. The biggest reason being a backroom deal he made with the oil companies for a new tax structure on the oil they take out of the state. This “deal” cut the Alaskan legislature out of the bargaining process and it apparently pissed off a lot of people, even people in his own party have made this the biggest issue of the campaign. The oil companies have also bought a lot of advertising bemoaning how damaging the increased tax (on them) will be to the Alaskan economy. Boooo Hooooo!

My view here from “the lower 48” is that BP is trying to teach us all a lesson: mess with them and they’ll shut down production. Or, as my husband is fond of saying “When you’ve got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.”

THREE THINGS TO THINK about:

1. COWS
2. THE CONSTITUTION
3. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

COWS:
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government can
track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall
where she sleeps in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves
to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens
wandering around our country. Maybe we should give them all a cow.

THE CONSTITUTION:
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we
just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's
worked for over 200 years and we're not using it anymore.

TEN COMMANDMENTS:
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a
courthouse........ You cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not
Commit Adultery" and "Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers,
judges and politicians -- it creates a hostile work environment.

(sent to me by a friend)

Write your Senator now!

The Honorable Paul S. Sarbanes
309 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC , 20510

Dear Senator Sarbanes,
As a native Marylander and excellent customer of the
Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your
assistance. I have contacted the Immigration and
Naturalization Service in an effort to determine the process
for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.

My reasons for wishing to change my status from
U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stem from the bill which was
recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted.
If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate,
as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for
five years, what I need to do to become a citizen is to pay
a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five
years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am
anxious to get the process started before everyone figures
it out.

Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have
had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect
of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine.

Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively?
This would yield an excellent result for me and my family
because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that
my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative
to her law school applications.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process
to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of
the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative.
Thank you for your assistance.

Your Loyal Constituent,
Pete McGlaughlin
---------------------------------

(emailed to me by a friend; checked out on Snopes)

What if...

Any 8th grader can tell you that by controlling crude oil production, oil companies are artificially keeping gas prices high. Because Americans’ demand for oil is relatively constant with the U.S. economy and consumers dependent on oil, big oil companies can raise prices and we “hostages” will continue to buy at whatever price they set. (I mean, REALLY, what other choice to we have?)

This got me to thinking: What if Bu$hCo invaded Iraq not to acquire oil, but to stop it from getting here in the first place? We know the war is definitely about oil, but what if the original plan was not to actually bring the oil to the U.S., but instead to stop the flow of oil to decrease supplies and keep prices high? Who profits the most?

Anyway, in the long run, if oil prices remain at their current levels, a financial disaster is inevitable. Interest rates will rise (as they already are) and Americans will have to choose between paying their rent or putting gas in their cars.

If America were Iraq...

"If America were Iraq, what would it be like." This may have been originally written in Sept 2004 but it's sure still relevant today. Goes to show, some things never change.

"This is America, please order in English."

Joey Vento of Geno's Steaks in South Philadelphia had the audacity to put a sign in his establishment's window that simply said "This is America, please order in English." Since when did it become a hostile act to express that you prefer to conduct routine business in English? Why is it that simply suggesting it would be better for all concerned if we spoke the same language such a major controversy?

Could it be because many of today's immigrants are coddled into believing they don't need to adapt to their new country's ways, customs and language? After all, they are taught in bilingual schools. They listen to radio stations in their own language. They watch television programs in their native tongue. The crux of the problem is that there is no urgency for assimilation, even though it has been proven over and over again that without assimilation only limited success is achievable in any culture.

In another time, no one would have thought twice about such a sign. Then again, in another time, the sign would not be needed. Only in America.

Flag Burning

If forced to choose between protecting the flag and protecting the Constitution, I’d choose the latter. I'm not a flag burner. I don't plan to burn the flag. I view flag desecration as a harmless, if obnoxious, form of protest. I even agree with people who say that flag burning is ineffective, misdirected, or "improper."

The problem is that we can't pass and enforce laws against flag burning unless we modify the US Constitution and remove an important part of the First Amendment. Supreme Court rulings have upheld that flag desecration is a form of political speech that should be protected by our Constitution. I agree. We do not need to amend the Bill of Rights to show our respect for the flag. Simply put, flag burning may destroy the flag, but an amendment to protect it would forever damage what it stands for.

Lemming Inspired Me

Today my horoscope says:

"People are saying one thing and doing another -- but hold your judgment on them. The only way to get what you know you deserve is to take a chance, no matter how enormous it seems. You can do this, so have some faith in yourself. While it may spook you, it'll be worth it in the end."

WOW!

I've never been much of a risk taker. As I said in my first-ever blog post, I am fairly intense and analyze most everything to death. This is not the same as not being able to make a decision, I make decisions fairly quickly since I pretty much know what I want, like and dislike, etc. I just wasn't born with the gene they now say makes you a risk-taker or a "thrill-seeker." I see no sense in jumping out of a perfectly good airplane or rafting down raging whitewater. I have paddled soundlessly in my canoe through nearby sloughs and have crouched in wetland grasses with binocculars just to get a peek at a Snowy Egret or a Cinnamon Teal.

I'll have to mull over what chance it is I should take.

An Iraqi Dentist named Zeyad

Even though I did not want my blog to become a political one, I cannot contain myself any longer. This is an Iraqi man living the horror and writing about it http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/

Read the 10/17/03 beginning and let me know what you think.

"Dad-isms"

Things my Dad always said:

"Pears make you pretty" (so I ate a lot of pears)

"Eating/Doing --fill-in-the-blank-- grows hair on your chest" (whenever he didn't want me to eat or do something)

"Tastes like more" (when anything tasted excellent)

"It'll sure feel good when it stops hurting" (to make me laugh whenever I got a scrap or a bruise)

"Take one for each hand" (when trying to decide what cookie to choose)

"That's the good kind" (whenever he really liked something)
-------------------------------------------------

Next time I'll tell you the story of "Falling Rock, " Dad's version.

My Father Passed Away 1/4/06

I have read that the death of a parent is a life-shaking event for which few are prepared. I never realized until now how much grief could feel like fear. I know the pain and sadness will eventually go away and I will be courageous and strong once again but it doesn’t mean I won’t continue to hurt from time to time. Some ache will be there forever, that’s just the way it is.

After the Tuesday 8 pm phone call from my brother suggesting we get to Tahoe as soon possible, I lay in my bed and began a silent conversation with my grandparents. I asked them to be there. I asked them to be the first to greet him – the first ones he’d see - when he “passed over.” I asked them for all kinds of favors for my father that night. I could almost imagine the joy at their reunion. When the phone rang again at 1 am and my brother said Dad had passed away about an hour before, I knew immediately that they had heard me. Thank you Nanny and Pop-Pop.

The morning we left for Lake Tahoe, there dawned the most beautiful sunrise I could remember in months, hot pink, flame red, and bright pumpkin orange against a pale, barely blue sky. I remembered that Dad was the one who taught me to see this way and appreciate these things. He gave me my love of nature, the stars, the sea, and the forest. Dad instilled my passion for art, books, learning and education. While gazing at the sunrise, a non-negotiable and excruciating reality hit me: I would never again hear his voice. I felt guilty, like I should have been there sooner so we could talk. But I have a feeling it would have been nothing deeply philosophical, nothing more than 'I love you,' definitely not the answer to all my questions, or the perennial answer to everything. I take comfort in my belief that he will never really be gone. I will have to listen harder but I will still hear him.

During the last years of his life, even before the lung cancer, Dad never let me forget that he was proud of me - not many children receive such a gift. The very last phone call I had with him, he ended the conversation with “I love you very much Cathy.” He said it three times. Now I know why.

There is a Chinese proverb that reads, "You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying overhead, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair." One of my heroes, Eleanor Roosevelt, believed that the true measure of a person was not his or her achievements, but rather the way in which he or she adapted to life's changes. During his younger years, Dad was not an especially happy person; thankfully he found peace and happiness later in life. Regardless of what happened in the past, I count myself lucky to have had him as my father.

My first entry

OK, so I’m a tad late jumping on the blog bandwagon. As with most everything in my life, I do as much research as possible before making a decision to do (or not do) something. I’m often accused of being too intense (MOI?) For those of you also new to blogging -- HA, I’m already assuming my blog will attract readers-- go here to learn everything you’ll ever need to know about blogging but were afraid to ask http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog --if that’s not intense, I don’t know what is! It’s a good place to learn what the word “disambiguation” means (then use it in sentence to REALLY impress your family & friends).

I was initially inspired by the December 2005 AARP Bulletin (pronounced A-A-R-P) that stated 0.3% of bloggers are age 50 or older http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/yourlife/older_wise_bloggers.html. Not that I care to reveal my age for all of cyberspace, but let’s say, like the AARP article, I’m an “Older, Wiser Blogger.” I also figured that if "80 years young" Millie Garfield of Swampscott, Massachusetts can do it, then so can I!

Maybe a good place to start is to tell how I decided on my blog’s name. In June 1999, I signed up for a free Yahoo! email account. For anyone who’s an experienced Web/Net surfer, having a unique or distinctive cyberspace moniker is der rigeur (jeez, look it up!) Anyway, when my youngest brother was learning to talk, he had a hard time with the word sister and it came out Sissy. Needless to say, the nickname stuck so when deciding what moniker to use –itsmesissy was taken- I went with “itsmecissy” instead because “c” is the first letter of my real name and because it looks better in print, don’t you think?

Well, I’d say this is a pretty good launch into the blogsphere (that’s a word bound to show up in the dictionary someday) with hopefully more to come.