Category Archives: News & Politics

Just my rants, raves & reflections on things that happen around the world.

Bernie Mac dies at 50

Torn_Rose

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/08/09/obit.bernie.mac.ap/index.html

Bernie Mac, the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor and comedian who worked his way to Hollywood success from an impoverished upbringing on Chicago’s South Side, died Saturday at age 50.
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Dammit, I loved Bernie Mac. He had such a great and strong personality who just took over whatever he was doing. When I heard he was in the hospital I had a “dark feeling” he was going to die and then read everything was fine 2-3 days ago so I just assumed he would be back.

This one hurts.

TOO FUCKING YOUNG!

How Do I Feel?: crushed crushed

 

Exhausted

This post will probably be shorter then my normal on details….I’m exhausted.

We had Harold’s brother Diesel, his wife Eliza and their 2 boys, Jonathon & Dylan here for a visit.  We had a great visit, we feel bad that the house is a mess with packing, but they were cool with it.

When they got here Wednesday, we let them decide what they really wanted to do since they drove all day.  They decided to chill out and play games on the xbox360 & wii.  I don’t want to get into the dinner not working out the way we wanted, but we still ended up having a good meal.

Thursday we headed to the Portland Zoo and Children’s Museum.  Wow, that took longer then I thought….I thought we would have time for the Rose & Japanese Gardens that is in the same park.  We had fun and boy did my legs hurt after all the walking, I guess it made up for missing the gym……..grin

Friday, it was off to the Multnomah Falls.  It was gorgeous! Now, I knew it wasn’t far, but was thinking it was a 45-60 min drive…nope, only about 20min!  We are kicking ourselves in the ass for not visiting sooner and looking forward to when school starts so we can visit without as many people there.  And with us moving to right next to 84….it will be even quicker to get there.  We did some walking there and my legs are feeling it.

I hope to get time the next 2 days to post some pictures…..but I’m not promising anything.  We have to pack the rest of the house around all the work that we do….we move this Friday the 15th.

Today started very early with us getting up at 0530 so we can see our family off.  Then we crawled back into bed.  When we woke and start catching up on all the news that we missed the last few days, we found out about Bernie Mac.  =(  I’m trying not to think about it too much, because I just want to cry.  He was a great one.

Then you can see that we got into with Comcast…..gggrrr  No more said there.

We did go and pick up my new bikini that we had made and I’m very happy with and did a few errands.  Otherwise we have been working.  Harold had started to work on his area of packing and I had a ton of online work to do.  I still have some, but it is much better under control then it was.  I did get a bunch of laundry done.  =)
Now for office work Sunday, I still need to do store orders, our books,  file some receipts, and get my paperwork ready for the post office (address changing).

For Monday, I need to call and make sure that I have water starting on the 15th, see if I can schedule our new trash account and get to the post office.

Over the next 2 days, on packing, I need to attack the bathrooms, get some of our stuff ready for trip, attack the office and our bedroom.

I’m hoping that writing it out here that it will help me mentally prepare and motivate myself.  =)

Alright, I’m heading to bed…..

More Tax Deceptions

McCain released three new ads with multiple false and misleading claims about Obama’s tax proposals.

A TV spot claims Obama once voted for a tax increase “on people making just $42,000 a year.” That’s true for a single taxpayer, who would have seen a tax increase of $15 for the year – if the measure had been enacted. But the ad shows a woman with two children, and as a single mother, she would not have been affected unless she made more than $62,150. The increase that Obama once supported as part of a Democratic budget bill is not part of his current tax plan anyway

**I keep getting forwards with lies like this and it is getting old.  If you think Obama is going to tax the working family, then you need to do some reading

2008 Aug Portland 0074

Very Depressing

I’m totally shocked by this, he was one of my favorites :

Actor and comedian Bernie Mac dies at age 50

Quick Hi & News of Interest

I have a quick moment to post an actually blog.  I normally don’t get this chance during payroll eve….lol  But I started much earlier, like I use to, and it is a hell lot less stressful on trying to get everything ready.  I’m going to have to do that more, especially for payroll on the 15th because I’m going to be losing my mind with the move.

I just hope that I can get through my book keeping tomorrow early.  We picked up the bubble wrap and I want to get that cabinet done.
Got a better workout today.  My new trainer and I are getting more use to each other.  It doesn’t help that I like to talk and with her being new, I’m a chatter box.  But we did less talking today and more focusing.  I didn’t feel as sore as I should’ve yesterday and I’m feeling it today, but I’m not sure I should be feeling it in my neck as much……mmm

Sexual assault in military ‘jaw-dropping,’ lawmaker says

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A congresswoman said Thursday that her “jaw dropped” when military doctors told her that four in 10 women at a veterans hospital reported being sexually assaulted while in the military.

A government report indicates that the numbers could be even higher.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-California, spoke before a House panel investigating the way the military handles reports of sexual assault.

She said she recently visited a Veterans Affairs hospital in the Los Angeles area, where women told her horror stories of being raped in the military.

“My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41 percent of the female veterans seen there say they were victims of sexual assault while serving in the military,” said Harman, who has long sought better protection of women in the military.

“Twenty-nine percent say they were raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and downward spirals many of their lives have taken since.

**This is a down right embarrassing that the military does not address it as effectively as it can and should.  No one should ever be subject to such a horrible violation.

Congress: No annoying airplane cell phone calls

WASHINGTON – Cell phone calls on airplanes in flight are not only unsafe, they’re obnoxious and they should be permanently banned, according to some members of Congress.

House members, most of whom board airplanes almost every week, traded horror stories Thursday about their worst experiences with annoying fellow passengers who talk loudly on cell phones before takeoff and after landing. One lawmaker said his wife sat next to a woman who loudly discussed her sex life on the phone.

Another House member topped that with the passenger sitting him behind on one flight who got a “dear John” phone call from either his wife or sweetheart just before takeoff. The begging and pleading was just terrible to listen to, he said. Finally, with the plane ready to take off, a flight attendant had to threaten to have U.S. Marshals drag the man off the plane before he finally put his phone away.

**I normally don’t agree with restrictions such as these, but with as rude and inconsiderate people are I FULLY agree with this.  I do not want to fly with people talking on their damn phones.  I can’t even stand hearing the lady behind me talking loudly through out the whole flight over my headphones.  I just want to tell her to shut her mouth and that I don’t care what her grandkids are doing…..they aren’t my family, so why would I want to hear about them.

Playing the ‘Playing the Race Card’ Card

To see why I don’t think Obama “played the race card”–and why I don’t quite buy the McCain camp’s defense, which is that Obama is using race to “delegitimize any line of attack against him”–try removing race from the equation and imagining the Republican nominee delivering a similar soliloquy: “They’re going to try to say I’m a confused. They’re going to try to say that I’m too angry. They’re going to try to say, ‘Well, you know, he’s a North Vietnamese collaborator with PTSD and he’s older than all the presidents on the dollar bills. But that’s just because they don’t want to debate me on the issues.” Would this be “playing the age card”? Or would it be a legitimate (if preemptive) defensive maneuver against illegitimate insinuations–a maneuver, in other words, designed to focus the electorate on the stuff that McCain wants them to focus on? 

**I know that I didn’t agree with 90% of McCain’s policies, but I did respect him.  But he has totally flip-flopped on running an honorable campaign.  The type of campaign that this country deserves and needs.  I’ve totally lost any respect that I had for him.  =(

Kitten

Babble & NewsFlash

We are currently watching Balls of Fury it is funnier then I thought it would be.  Christopher Walken is a riot and creepy as ever…..got to love him.  It may be one to get on DVD…..lol

I got quite a bit of work done today, so I’m happy about that.  It will be a big help for tomorrow.  I didn’t get much packing started at all.  I really need to pick up some bubble wrap for my china and knick-knacks.  I hope to be able to get at least the china cabinet done tomorrow.  Once I get all our breakables done, I’ll feel as if I’ve made some progress.  Then I can move on to the bathrooms and my part of the office.

Does Bush proposal threaten access to the pill?

A Bush administration proposal aimed at protecting health-care workers who object to abortion, and to birth-control methods they consider tantamount to abortion, has escalated a bitter debate over the balance between religious freedom and patients’ rights.

The Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing a draft regulation that would deny federal funding to any hospital, clinic, health plan or other entity that does not accommodate employees who want to opt out of participating in care that runs counter to their personal convictions, including providing birth-control pills, IUDs and the Plan B emergency contraceptive.

**You have no idea how much this really, really, really pisses me off.

Legislators aim to snuff out penalties for pot use

(CNN) — The U.S. should stop arresting responsible marijuana users, Rep. Barney Frank said Wednesday, announcing a proposal to end federal penalties for Americans carrying fewer than 100 grams, almost a quarter-pound, of the substance.

Current laws targeting marijuana users place undue burdens on law enforcement resources, punish ill Americans whose doctors have prescribed the substance and unfairly affect African-Americans, said Frank, flanked by legislators and representatives from advocacy groups.

“The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government’s business,” Frank said on Capitol Hill. “I don’t think it is the government’s business to tell you how to spend your leisure time.”

The Massachusetts Democrat and his supporters emphasized that only the use — and not the abuse — of marijuana would be decriminalized if the resolution resulted in legislation.

 **Do you know how much money this country would make in taxes?  And then allow law enforcement to focus on more important things, like violent crime?  What a concept.  Legalized alcohol has killed more people then pot,  legalized alcohol has contributed to more domestic violence then pot has.

2008 June Powell Butte 0043