Tight V. Formation

OH YEAH! TENNESSEE HERE I COME!

Yesterday, I had to shut off comments twice on two seperate blogs because readers had become verbally abusive towards each other and taken the conversation way off topic. Normally, I do not mind the dialogue hiking off of the beaten path a bit, but I'm not here to host an internet cage match.

I have friends from all walks of life with vastly different political and philosophical viewpoints. I value every one who brings an honest opinion or thought to the discussion. Our society flourishes on variety. A loss of it would spell the end of our Democracy.

E pluribus unam. From many, one. From many different voices, one people.

Do not ask me to delete someone you don't like or their comments. I don't delete people unless I feel that their presence isn't needed here. If you have issues with someone on a personal level, please take it up with them through PM or on your own/their own site.

From this point on, I reserve the right to cut off comments if I feel that the bickering and namecalling is getting to be too much. I do not condone blocking people or censuring free speech but in extreme cases and after repeated warnings, I may do just that.

Thank you all for reading and have a wonderful day.

Drew

I made this tonight... just messing around with a new program. The song is Rufus Wainright's cover of Across the Universe.

t's Friday - a good time to kick the hornet's nest of illegal immigration and see what happens. Mitt Romney wants to be the baddest Republican dude on illegals - toss 'em out, every last one of the 12 or so million. His position on undocumented workers is similar to former MA Governor Bill Weld's position on crime: "somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun."

So it's with considerable embarassment that Romney is exposed as someone who is dependent upon the labor of undocumented workers (just like the rest of us). First, it was his lawn company, which used undocumented workers, promised not to, and then was caught doing it again. Safe to say their bid was one of the lowest - as their labor costs would be lower than a competitor hiring U.S. citizens.

Then Romney gets his house painted (salmon color, for those of you who might be interested). He chose Olympic Painting and Roofing, a contractor with a long history of employment problems. (Romney probably liked the name - it reminded him of his success in running the Olympic games.) The Boston Globe quotes Olympic owner George Vasiliades as denying that he employed illegal immigrants at Romney's house - or anyplace else.

Vasiliades's record is spotty, to say the least. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to workers' compensation fraud charges and failing to pay unemployment tax contributions. He was sentenced to one year probation, and ordered to pay a $250 fine, court costs, and $4,880 in restitution to three employees. Olympic is currently under investigation by the attorney general's office for allegedly paying numerous workers off the books.

Olympic is also part of a federal investigation into the Aug. 31 death of Benedelso Ovalle of Lynn, who fell from a 2 1/2-story church in Salem while working for an Olympic subcontractor, BC Construction. Ovalle was a 17-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala, according to his family's lawyer, Anne Gugino Carrigan. According to the police report, Ovalle was not wearing a safety harness before he fell, and neither were two of five other workers at the scene. (Perhaps the safety manual was written in English.)

Of course, Vasiliades defends himself by asserting that he is not responsible for the actions of a subcontractor. I'm sure he was shocked - shocked! - that no fall protection was in place.

Frozen Rhetoric?
As part of his Iowa strategy, Romney is working diligently to secure the endorsement of U.S. Representative Steve King, who has identified illegal immigration as the most important litmus test for Republican presidential candidates. When King selected a contractor to paint his own house, he was not content to secure verbal assurances that all the employees doing the work had proper documentation. He decided to hang around the house while they were working, listening oh-so-carefully for Spanish accents - a sure sign (for King at least) of illegality. Maybe Romney could pick up a few tricks about household management from King.

This post began with the image of a hornet's nest. Let's end with one, too. Driving to work on this frozen Friday, I saw a bird perched beside a huge football-sized nest. All the insect inhabitants were presumably frozen. The bird was plucking them out and eating them, one by one, as if they were delicacies on a platter. That image may contain a lesson for all the politicians trying to confront the undocumented worker dilemma: let's chill out. Let's avoid inflaming an already over-heated situation. Sometimes a little perspective and dispassion can take the sting out of an issue and make it more manageable. After all, come spring, someone has to mow the lawns and paint the houses.

From Worker's Comp Insider

---

You see, this is one of the major sticking points I have with today's Republican party. It seems like they have a "Do as I say, not as I do" attitude, yet we're supposed to trust them with the reigns to the country?

That would be the word Liberal. It seems like every conservative blog I visit these days has someone throwing the L word around at anyone who is to the left of neoconservative. Let's take John McCain for instance. Because of his stance on illegal immigration, abortion and other civil issues, he's been tarred and feathered by the far right and branded with a big "L" on his conservative ass.
So that begs the question - are moderates now 'liberals'? If so, that's great. That means up to 70% of the US is now under liberal control, since between the far left and far right, the majority of this country's voting public remains moderate. That should make the fringe right happy.
In my opinion, we need another party. One that is both rational and balanced. One that isn't war happy and won't spend shitloads of taxpayer dollars on failed social programs. With the growing divide between liberals and conservatives... this party is needed.
I prefer to call myself a moderate, but if it's a liberal they want to label me, that's fine as well. Just be warned: I gather speed with you fucking with me.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

Classic Bush Pic...

....and who could forget this candid moment from the 2004 Presidential race:

---

Funniest caption wins a... um... I dunno..I'll think of something. Righties can play too but I'm going to post one for you guys as well.

---

So Kim wanted to watch BBM a few evenings back, mainly because she think's Heath Ledger is a hunk-a hunka... or should I say, was. Anyway, she'd never seen the movie and well, I'd seen it one and a half times. The first time, my ex Kate and I watched a bit of it at the theater. We were seeing some other movie and she wanted to sneak in BBM for a while and watch it while we waited for our show to start. Of course, we walked in and caught all the butt-secks parts. Then, after it came out on video, Kate forced me to watch the movie once again, from beginning to end this time.
Now Kim has me watch it and again, I struggle with what I think is an inheirently natural disdain for male on male action. I wasn't so much grossed out by the whole butt-secks in the tent part as much as just seeing these two cowboys hold each other and kiss and grope. I don't know... it just kind of turns my stomach to think of my lips frolicking with some other guy's lips.
So the question is, am I a homophobe for feeling this way? I don't have anything against gays personally. I think they are good people and equal with heteros..but seeing it still bothers me.

What is your weapon of choice? Christopher Walken

Have you hit a member of the opposite sex? No.

How about the same sex? Yes.

Who was the last person who got really angry at you? Probably Kim.

What is your pet peeve? Lazyness, intolerance, bigotry, stupidity

Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily? Generally I let things go. I do still hold a grudge against my ex though... I got cut pretty deep.

SLOTH

What is one thing you're suppose to do daily that you haven't? Make my bed.

What is the latest you've ever woken up? 4:00pm

Name a person you've been meaning to contact, but haven't? Cat and Ryan

What is the last lame excuse that you made? I'm tired.

Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through? No.

How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock this morning? Zero. I got up and went in to work.

GLUTTONY

What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice? STARBUCKS

Are you a meat eater? Yes.

What is the greatest amount of alcohol you've had in one sitting/outing/event? Um.. alot. There was Crazy Horse and Jack and Rum and MGD...the next thing I remember was praying to the porcieline god and laughing at some pickle that was sticking to the seat from a McDonald's cheeseburger.

Are you comfortable with your drinking and eating habits? No. I could eat much better. I've let myself slip this year. I don't drink but maybe twice a month at the most.

Do you enjoy candy and sweets? Not so much.

Which do you prefer: Salty and spicy.

Have you ever looked at a small house pet or child and thought, "lunch"?
LMAO!

GREED

How many credit cards do you own? Six

If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it? Hire illegals to make my bed and stuff.

Would you rather be rich or famous? Famous

Would you accept a boring job if it meant that you would make megabucks? I dunno. Maybe.

PRIDE

What's one thing that you have done that you're most proud of?
I made a kid. He's 12.

What's one thing you have done that your parents are most proud of?

Probably the whole kid making thing. They keep bugging me for more.

What thing would you like to accomplish late in your life?
Buy a private island in the Bahamas.

Do you get annoyed by coming in second place? No.

Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors? Huh?

Have you ever cheated to get a better score? In Jr. High maybe

What did you do today that you're proud of? I got up and went to work

LUST

How many people have you seen naked? Quite a few

How many people have seen you naked? A few

Have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a person of your chosen sex during a normal conversation? No. I find generally they catch me staring.

What is your favorite body part of a person of your gender choice? Eyes

Have you ever had sexual encounters (including kissing/making out) with multiple persons? No. Not so much into the Caligula scene.

Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute? No.