HIGHER TAXES? EVIDENTLY IT MAKES ONE FEEL BETTER ABOUT THEMSELVES

First we had Sen. Biden tell us, with a straight face, that paying higher taxes was patriotic.  Logically that means those of you who do not want to pay higher taxes are unpatriotic. But being a good policitican he will say that is not what he meant. 

I do not mind paying taxes, if I feel my money is being wisely spent.  And please please, if you remember anything, remember who controls the purse strings in our great nation; Congress does!!!  Do I think they are spending our money wisely?  Need I say No!!!

And NOW, Sen. Obama has stated that if we do want want to pay higher taxes, we are being selfish.  I sure wish he had said that a lot earlier in the campaign.

The One Speaks:

"The point is, though, that -- and it’s not just charity, it’s not just that I want to help the middle class and working people who are trying to get in the middle class -- it’s that when we actually make sure that everybody’s got a shot – when young people can all go to college, when everybody’s got decent health care, when everybody’s got a little more money at the end of the month – then guess what? Everybody starts spending that money, they decide maybe I can afford a new car, maybe I can afford a computer for my child. They can buy the products and services that businesses are selling and everybody is better off. All boats rise. That’s what happened in the 1990s, that’s what we need to restore. And that’s what I’m gonna do as president of the United States of America.

"John McCain and Sarah Palin they call this socialistic," Obama continued. "You know I don’t know when, when they decided they wanted to make a virtue out of selfishness."  Sen. Barak Obama (ABC News -Jake Tapper -  http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/obamas-new-atta.html )

Shall we talk about being selfish?  Oh Let's do!!

Sen. Obama  (D-Ill)  donated $240,000 (of $4.2million)  in 2007, or about 0.6 percent of $4.2-million claimed income

Sen. Biden,(D-MD)  donated $995 (of $320,000)  in charitable gifts in 2007 about 0.3 percent of  $320,000.claimed income

Sen. McCain (R-Az)  donated $105,467 (of $405,410) in 2007, or 26 percent of  $405,409  claimed income. (This does not include Cindy McCain's income, nor her charitable works, Operation Smile, the Craniofacial Foundation, Operation Halo, etc)

Gov. Palin (R-Ak)   donated $3,325 (of $166,080) in 2007, about 2.5 percent of $166,080 claimed income.

Given that Sen. Biden and Sen. Obama love their pork spending -- [Sen. McCain has not asked for a penny in pork barrel spending] (http://www.cagw.org/ ), it seems to be that they are very unselfish, and very patriotic with spending others money, and doing so by raising taxes, like so many in Washington, they know how to spend our money better than we do.

TAXE VOTING: (from Roni Deutch Tax Center  http://www.rdtc.com/Blog/archive/2007/11/29/tax-views-of-top-10-presidential-candidates.aspx )

Sen Obama's Tax Related Voting Record

• Voted NO on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax. (Mar 2007)
• Voted NO on raising estate tax exemption to $5 million. (Mar 2007)
• Voted NO on supporting permanence of estate tax cuts. (Aug 2006)
• Voted NO on permanently repealing the `death tax`. (Jun 2006)
• Voted YES on $47B for military by repealing capital gains tax cut. (Feb 2006)
• Voted NO on retaining reduced taxes on capital gains & dividends. (Feb 2006)
• Voted NO on extending the tax cuts on capital gains and dividends. (Nov 2005)

 

Sen. McCain's Tax Related Voting Record

• Voted YES on repealing Alternative Minimum Tax. (Mar 2007)
• Voted YES on raising the estate tax exemption. (Mar 2007)
• Voted YES on repealing the `death tax`. (Jun 2006)
• Voted NO on $47B for military by repealing capital gains tax cut. (Feb 2006)
• Voted NO on $350 billion in tax breaks over 11 years. (May 2003)
• Voted YES on eliminating the 'marriage penalty'. (Jul 2000)
• Voted YES on requiring super-majority for raising taxes. (Apr 1998)

Remember to vote this Tuesday.

REQUIEM FOR A SOLDIER NOT YOUR STEREOTYPICAL OPERA SINGER!

Amazing what constructive things you can do when you can't sleep; finished two chapters in The Picture Of Dorian Gray, answered some emails, and surfed some music.  I found this young lady that is new to me.  I was looking for Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli's duet of Time To Say Goodbye, which I found, but also listed was that song by Katherine Jenkins (Shemp, you are going to like her!!) and Bocelli, which lead me to search out more of her songs. I chose to use this one, REQUIEM FOR A SOLIDER, as I knew it from Band of Brothers, but I did not know there were words to it.  All this time I thought it was theme music for the soundtrack.  Enjoy.  Oh, if anyone is interested, she is Welsh.  First Catherine Zeta-Jones,and now Katherine Jenkins.  And Cherie, I noticed her eyes first!!!

 

 

 

REQUIEM FOR A SOLDIER
by Amici Forever

You never lived to see
What you gave to me
One shining dream of hope and love
Life and liberty

With a host of brave unknown soldiers
For your company, you will live forever
Here in our memory

In fields of sacrifice
Heroes paid the price
Young men who died for old men's wars
Gone to paradise

We are all one great band of brothers
And one day you'll see we can live together
When all the world is free

I wish you'd lived to see
All you gave to me
Your shining dream of hope and love
Life and liberty

We are all one great band of brothers
And one day you'll see - we can live together
When all the world is free

 

Cavey, this one is for you!

My favorite picture of Katherine,

the Tardis is in the background!

 

with the troops

THE WOMAN IN RED DRIVES THE MEN CRAZY STUDY SAYS

Ladies, you want to catch that mans' eyes, or light a warm fire under your husband?  Seems like you should try wearing red.  I am not all so sure about this, but it was an interesting study to read.

 

 

 

THE WOMAN IN RED DRIVES THE MEN CRAZY  STUDY FINDS  By Will Dunham  – Tue Oct 28, 2008 Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – If a woman wants to drive the men wild, she might want to dress in red.

Men rated a woman shown in photographs as more sexually attractive if she was wearing red clothing or if she was shown in an image framed by a red border rather than some other color, U.S. researchers said Tuesday.

The study led by psychology professor Andrew Elliot of the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, seemed to confirm red as the color of romance -- as so many Valentine's Day card makers and lipstick sellers have believed for years.

Although this "red alert" may be a product of human society associating red with love for eons, it also may arise from more primitive biological roots, Elliot said.

Noting the genetic similarity of humans to higher primates, he said scientists have shown that certain male primates are especially attracted to females of their species displaying red. For example, female baboons and chimpanzees show red coloring when nearing ovulation, sending a sexual signal that the males apparently find irresistible.

"It could be this very deep, biologically based automatic tendency to respond to red as an attraction cue given our evolutionary heritage," Elliot, whose findings appear in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, said in a telephone interview.

 

The study involved more than 100 men, mostly college undergraduates, who were shown pictures of women and asked to rate how pretty they were, how much the men would like to kiss them and how much the men would like to have sex with them.

Men were shown a woman, with some of the pictures bordered in red and some bordered in white, gray or green. Even though it was the same picture of the same woman, when she was framed in red the men rated her as more attractive than when she was bordered by another color.

Men were then shown photographs of a woman that were identical except that the researchers digitally made her shirt red in some versions or blue in others. And once again, the men strongly favored the woman in red.

The men also were asked, "Imagine that you are going on a date with this person and have $100 in your wallet. How much money would you be willing to spend on your date?" When she was clad in red, the men said they would spend more money on her.

The researchers noted that the color red did not alter how men rated the women in the photographs in terms of likeability, intelligence or kindness -- only attractiveness.

The researchers then had a group of young women rate whether the pictured woman was pretty. Red had no impact on whether women rated other women as pretty, they found.

Gay men and color blind men were excluded from the study.

RESEARCH REPORTS BRITISH WOMENS' BREASTS BIGGEST IN EUROPE

A bra manufacturer by the name of Triumph came up with this research idea, regardless,  you just have to love science!!! And not only does this report show that British Women have the biggest in Europe, but in Great Britain (another reason to call Britain Great!) the Women in the North lands have the Biggest in Britain.  I can only hope they are still comfortable for the owners.

Mr. Triumph I presume?

BRIT GIRLS' BOOBS ARE THE BIGGEST IN EUROPE

The Sun, Friday Oct. 24th, 2008   thesun.co.uk

BRITISH women have the biggest breasts in Europe, a survey revealed yesterday.

The poll for bra maker Triumph found that only in this country did more than half the women need a D cup or larger.

Percentage of women wearing cup size: D C B A UK 57 18 19 6 Denmark 50 19 24 7 Netherlands 36 27 29 8 Belgium 28 28 35 9 France 26 29 38 7 Sweden 24 30 33 14 Greece 23 28 40 9 Switzerland 19 24 43 14 Austria 11 27 51 10 Italy 10 21 68 1

Our 57 per cent ? including curvy model Kelly Brook ? put the rest in the shade, with Denmark second on 50 per cent, then Holland with 36 per cent.

Smallest were the Italians where 68 per cent had a size B.

The Swedes and the Swiss had the largest number of A cup sizes at 14 per cent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breasts Are Bigger up North

eMediaWire  UK

A recent UK poll of women’s lingerie habits by soseamless.com, an online retailer specialising in seamless lingerie, tells us that women in the North of England have the biggest breasts, with 69% sporting a C-cup or above, compared to 65% of women in the South and 58% of women in Scotland, who have an average bra size of 36B compared to the national average of 36C.

(PRWEB) November 13, 2005 -- A recent UK poll of women’s lingerie habits by soseamless.com, an online retailer specialising in seamless lingerie, tells us that women in the North of England have the biggest breasts, with 69% sporting a C-cup or above, compared to 65% of women in the South and 58% of women in Scotland, who have an average bra size of 36B compared to the national average of 36C.

Women in the North are also the most frequent bra shoppers, buying a new bra twice as often as their southern counterparts, on average 3 – 4 times a year. Money doesn’t seem to be an issue either, with only 4% citing price as a key factor when buying a new bra, compared to 13% of women in the South and 9% of women in Scotland.

For the UK population as a whole, the primary purchase factor is comfort, with 95% of women stating that a comfortable bra is their main priority. Price is their second concern, followed by seamless / invisible under clothing, and finally fashion / brand.

The UK Poll of more than 1,000 women’s bra sizes and lingerie buying habits was conducted by YouGov on behalf of soseamless.com as part of their ongoing customer services programme. Soseamless.com wanted to determine what women look for in a new bra as this is critical in its decision process when adding to their collection.

“Women have always looked for comfort first and foremost when choosing every-day lingerie, but what we are seeing now is a definite trend towards seamless lingerie,” explains Laura Holt, Managing Director soseamless.com, “not only is seamless lingerie extremely comfortable, it also delivers the smooth and natural silhouette demanded by this seasons close fitting fashions, a fact that the style conscious woman clearly appreciates."

And just for those of us (the males reading this I am sure) who are clueless as to what the numbers and letters mean:

How to measure for a properly fitted bra.

Mike's Studio Tricks of the Bra  http://www.glamography.com/edu/fitbra.htm

Measure around your rib cage, underneath your breasts, where the band of your bra sits. Make sure to pull the tape snug and keep it flat against your back. Add 5 to this number (if you end up with an odd number, round up to the closest even number). This number is your bra size. Example: 29 inches +5 = size 34.

Measure around the fullest part of your breast, again keeping the tape snug, but not tight, and parallel to the rib-cage line. If this measurement is an odd number, round up to the next even number.  Example: 37 inches rounds up to 38.

 

To determine your cup size, subtract the first measurement from the second.

Example: 38 minus 34 = 4:
1-inch difference = A cup;
2-inch difference= B cup;
3-inch difference = C cup;
4-inch difference= D cup,
5-inch difference = DD cup.
6-inch difference = F cup.
7-inch difference = G cup.
8-inch difference = H cup.

So the examples result in a bra size of 34D, so this would be a good starting point to try to find the right bra for you. 

If when you look at yourself in your bra you seem to "Flow" over the edges then get a cup size larger and Bra size smaller. The same is true if you don't fill the cup, reduce the cup size and go one bra size larger

(there are lots more tips and tricks of the bra on this site: http://www.glamography.com/edu/fitbra.htm )

 

For Old Times, For Good Times,  and due to requests, we reprint the last known picture of Cherie's Boobys, Oh, and Gator, Cherie says she would like them back. . .

 

They were so happy then, dancing and bouncing to their own music.

 

 

 

 

 

AND HAVE A MOST HAPPY AND SAFE HOLLOWEEN

 

 

 

TIME FOR SOME OOOOOOOOS AND AHHHHHHS THE GREAT ORION NEBULA

Time to sit back, take a deep breath, and think on things so beautiful, so magnificent, we cannot really grasp the size nor complexity.  And  Mother Nature does it all in her spare time.

 The heavens declare the glory of God;
       the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1

Astronomy Picture of the Day

2008 October 23

 

Great Orion Nebulae
Credit & Copyright: Tony Halla

Explanation: The   Great Orion Nebulae , also known as M42, is one of the most famous nebulae in the sky. The star forming region's glowing gas clouds and hot young stars are on the right in this sharp and colorful  two frame mosaic that includes the smaller  nebula M43  near center and dusty, bluish reflection nebulae  NGC 1977 and friends on the left. Located at the edge of an otherwise invisible giant molecular cloud complex, these eye-catching nebulae represent only a small fraction of this galactic neighborhood's wealth of interstellar material. Within the well-studied stellar nursery, astronomers have also identified what appear to be numerous infant solar systems. The gorgeous skyscape spans nearly two degrees or about 45 light-years at the Orion Nebula's estimated distance of 1,500 light-years.  --NASA

MAXIMUS DECIMUS MERIDIUS WAS HERE

Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Archeologists have found the tomb of a Roman General that inspired Gladiator starring Russel Crowe.  I had no idea there was some basis in fact for the movie.. The writers did a fantastic job of making an entertaining movie from a small bit of ancient history. 

Found: Tomb of the general who inspired 'Gladiator'

By Peter Popham in Rome  The Independent UK on line

Thursday, 16 October 2008

 WARNING  ANCIENT  HISTORY BELOW  WARNING

YOU MIGHT LEARN SOMETHING NEW!!!

Natural disaster makes for great archaelogy. Pompeii and Herculaneum we owe to the fury of Vesuvius – and today Italy's Culture Ministry announced the dramatic discovery of the ruins of the tomb of the general who was the inspiration for the patrician-turned-vengeful gladiator played by Russell Crowe in the film Gladiator, fabulously well preserved thanks to a catastrophic flood.

The general in Gladiator, named Maximus Decimus Meridius by the film makers, was a favourite of the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius in the late 2nd century AD and fought with him against the fearsome Germanic tribes who threatened to inundate Italy, beating them back and postponing the empire's decline and fall for another century or more.

 

A little bit of film trivia, our own Gator was originally cast as General Maximus Decimus Meridius, but the prop dept. could not manufacture a helmet that would look historically accurate, and still fit Gator.    

 

All of this was also true of Marcus Nonius Macrinus, the man whose last resting place has now been identified. What is also true is that, while Marcus Aurelius is celebrated as a wise, prudent and benign emperor, his son and heir Commodus was a luxury-loving spendthrift who blew his father's careful legacy in a few years of riotous living and had a particular passion for gladiatorial shows.

Commodus was just the sort of emperor, in fact, who would likely have driven his old man's favoured generals up the wall with exasperation and contempt. Hence, in the film, the clash between the general and the new emperor, the destruction of the general's family, his exile as a slave and eventually triumphant – and highly improbable – return to Rome as a gladiator. All jolly good fun and completely fanciful, beginning with the patricidal murder of Marcus Aurelius by Commodus.

Concerning the true Marcus Nonius Macrinus, we know plenty about his military career – Daniela Rossi, the archeologist with Italy's Culture Ministry who reported this week's finding, says more than ten inscriptions have been found recording his triumphs, the fullest one to date being from Ephesus and in the Greek language – but tantalisingly little about what made him tick. He came from Brescia in northern Italy, where his was one of the most important families, he began his military career under Aurelius's predecessor Antoninus Pius, and fought valiantly and successfully against the Quadi and the Marcommani, the Germanic tribes which had crossed the Danube and were set on invading Italy.

Two years ago the remains of a great villa were discovered on the shores of Lake Garda, not far from the modern city of Brescia where the Fabia tribe to which his family belonged were the rulers. Here Macrinus lived with his wife Arria, who was from the Etruscan Arri tribe.

What is certain is that Macrinus was one of the most important figures of his age and an intimate friend of the emperor who was famous for his wise rule and his aphorisms, such as "Everything harmonises with me which is harmonious to thee, O Universe. Nothing to me is too early or too late, which is in due time for thee."

Doubtless he was one of the men on whom Aurelius most depended for the safety of the empire while he was ordering the construction of beautiful monuments and thinking great thoughts back in Rome. When Aurelius's brother Verus, with whom he had ruled jointly, died in battle, Macrinus was "chosen out of the closest friends", in the general's own words, to be a priest in the cult of the new Roman god Divus Verus, the deified spirit of the dead brother.

And when Macrinus died his son erected this magnificent tomb for him between the River Tiber and the Via Flaminia, the road leading north-east across the Appenines to the modern seaside resort of Rimini which Macrinus must have taken many times on his way to confront the Quadi and the Marcommani. Eight and a half kilometres from the city walls, it was in an area where his Fabia tribe had become important landowners.

Professor Rossi calls the find "the most important ancient Roman monument to come to light in the suburbs of Rome for many years," and she and her ten colleagues in the dig are now working against the clock to find what else is down there, stuck in the ancient mud which settled over the tomb once the flood had done its devastating work.

The site belongs to Gruppo Bonifaci, a Roman construction company, which has sponsored the dig and promised funds for a museum on the site to house the findings when everything has been recovered. But because of the site's commercial value to the firm – they plan to build housing on it - the archeologists have limited time to retrieve what can be retrieved, "perhaps until Christmas," says Professor Rossi.

The work is arduous because the ancient site of the tomb was seven metres below the present ground level. It was built at a depression in the landscape, another reason why in the long term it was a poor place to build anything, being vulnerable to the moods of the river nearby. Around 1500 Rome's rulers reached the inevitable conclusion and moved the Via Flaminia to higher ground further west where it would be safe from further flooding.

Today, as it has been unearthed over recent months by the archeolgists, the tomb looks much as it must have done when the Tiber's flash flood wreaked havoc on it, smashing walls and columns and pediments and caking the resulting mess in a coat of lime

"The tomb was destroyed by the river, perhaps by a sudden flood," said Professor Rossi. "We have only just begun to find how much is down there, so it is too early to say what form the tomb took, whether it was a single structure or two or several: much of it remains buried in mud; perhaps we will also find the sarcophagus. It's also too early to say how big it is, but it appears there was a row of columns at least 15 metres long, so it was quite huge."

When and how did Marcus Nonius Macrinus die? "We really don't know," admits Professor Rossi, "but if we succeed in finding the other two parts of the broken inscription, perhaps we will find out."

THE PERFECT SHOWER, IT USED TO BE SO EASY, WHAT HAPPENED

So now research has discovered what the perfect shower is, and scientists have done it with a mathmatical formula.  I am not sure how mathmatics could tell me how to make a perfect shower.  I thought I knew what what a perfect shower was?  On top of this odd news, if this had been done here, I am sure some Congressman would have given millions of our tax dollars for the research, as long as the research was done in the Honorable Congressman's (or woman's) district.   The article follows:

Scientists create formula for perfect shower   The Independent -- Science Section UK 8 Oct. 2008

 

Scientists have developed a mathematical formula for the perfect shower.

The balance of privacy, pressure, time and temperature in the shower all need to be carefully moderated to create the perfect shower experience, according to Mindlab International.

The team led by neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis developed the formula for Cheltenham-based manufacturers Mira Showers.

The formula took into account several basic shower features, from the force of the jet and the time you take in your shower, to concern that the hot water will run out.

Each shower is rated on a scale of one to 100, with a score of 85 - 100 resulting in a perfect shower.

Dr Lewis said: "Creating the optimum shower is no easy feat, but a worthwhile endeavour. It offers psychological benefits; by varying the temperature of the water and the power of the jets, relaxation or stimulation can be aided.

"Endorphins are then released in the brain to make our mood more positive and feel energised.

"Also, because our skin contains a thousand nerve endings per square inch, creating the perfect shower to stand under is crucial in creating intense and extremely pleasurable physical sensations.

"As an added bonus, showers generate negative ions that also have an uplifting effect on mood, so help to further reduce stress, wash away frustrations and dissolve muscle tension."

The shower formula took into consideration the following seven essential elements: water pressure, environmental conditions, privacy factor, time length of shower, temperature of shower in degrees Celsius, fixture type and spray pattern.

Mindlab International specialises in neuroscience as applied to consumer behaviour and decision-making.

Dr Lewis and his team surveyed 1,000 adults in the UK for the study held last month.

 

I think I could have saved a lot of time and a lot of money if they let me try my hand at this research.  Talking to a few friends, 99 percent overwhelmingly  voted this the perfect shower:

Have fun, and remember, in the drought stricken parts of the US, saving water is a duty!!