Better Inhale Deeply: March 2006

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Bennie

Bennie
Originally uploaded by TimothyJ.

He knows he is handsome, but thanks for telling him!

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Handlebars

Handlebars
Originally uploaded by TimothyJ.

I am soooooo strong! I snapped that handlebar pulling away from a red light. I must remember to only use this power for good!

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Or songs that get an emotional response from Vietnam Vets:

1. "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," by the Animals.
2. "Chain of Fools," by Aretha Franklin.
3. "Fortunate Son," by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
4. "(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay," by Otis Redding.
5. "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," by Nancy Sinatra.
6. "The Fightin' Side of Me," by Merle Haggard.
7. "What's Going On," by Marvin Gaye.
8. "Nowhere to Run," by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.
9. "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag," by Country Joe and the Fish.
10. "Purple Haze," by Jimi Hendrix.

I have a few that make me thing of Vietnam, although I am not a vet.

"Run Through The Jungle," by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
"Bungle in the Jungle," by Jethro Tull.
"2+2=?," by The Bob Seger System.

And my favorite protest song:

"I'd Love To Change The World," by 10 Years After.

Update:

A few more....

"Closer To Home," by Grand Funk Railroad.
"American Woman," by The Guess Who.
"American Pie," by Don McLean.
"War," by Edwin Starr.

And another favorite...

"Ball of Confusion," by The Temptations.

What a horrible time for the US, but some incredible and moving music resulted. Death is the mother of beauty?

There is an interesting webpage I tracked down that has sounds of vietnam on it, including battle sounds, Hanoi Jane, the original Goodmorning Vietnam and various speeches. It is a time capsule of the era. Check it out.

Wow! Just wow!

I was pointed by Nerve.com to this collection of anti-abortion activists abortion stories. The hypocrisy is absolutely amazing!

Abortion is a highly personal decision that many women are sure they'll never have to think about until they're suddenly faced with an unexpected pregnancy. But this can happen to anyone, including women who are strongly anti-choice. So what does an anti-choice woman do when she experiences an unwanted pregnancy herself? Often, she will grin and bear it, so to speak, but frequently, she opts for the solution she would deny to other women -- abortion.

In the spring of 2000, I collected the following anecdotes directly from abortion doctors and other clinic staff in North America, Australia, and Europe. The stories are presented in the providers' own words, with minor editing for grammar, clarity, and brevity. Names have been omitted to protect privacy.

"I have done several abortions on women who have regularly picketed my clinics, including a 16 year old schoolgirl who came back to picket the day after her abortion, about three years ago. During her whole stay at the clinic, we felt that she was not quite right, but there were no real warning bells. She insisted that the abortion was her idea and assured us that all was OK. She went through the procedure very smoothly and was discharged with no problems. A quite routine operation. Next morning she was with her mother and several school mates in front of the clinic with the usual anti posters and chants. It appears that she got the abortion she needed and still displayed the appropriate anti views expected of her by her parents, teachers, and peers." (Physician, Australia)

"I've had several cases over the years in which the anti-abortion patient had rationalized in one way or another that her case was the only exception, but the one that really made an impression was the college senior who was the president of her campus Right-to-Life organization, meaning that she had worked very hard in that organization for several years. As I was completing her procedure, I asked what she planned to do about her high office in the RTL organization. Her response was a wide-eyed, 'You're not going to tell them, are you!?' When assured that I was not, she breathed a sigh of relief, explaining how important that position was to her and how she wouldn't want this to interfere with it." (Physician, Texas)

"In 1973, after Roe v. Wade, abortion became legal but had to be performed in a hospital. That of course was changed later. For the first 'legal abortion day' I had scheduled five procedures. While scrubbing between cases, I was accosted by the Chief of the OB/Gyn service. He asked me, 'How many children are you going to kill today?' My response, out of anger, was a familiar vulgar retort. About three months later, this born-again Christian called me to explain that he was against abortion but his daughter was only a junior in high school and was too young to have a baby and he was also afraid that if she did have a baby she would not want to put it up for adoption. I told him he did not need to explain the situation to me. 'All I need to know', I said, 'is that SHE wants an abortion.' Two years later I performed a second abortion on her during her college break. She thanked me and pleaded, 'Please don't tell my dad, he is still anti-abortion.'" (Physician, Washington State)

I should not be so easily amazed, however. In my college days I bartended at a late night dive that had a large percentage of gay customers. At times we would get picketed by religious groups- the place actually opned in the afternoon. Frequently after the picketing ended, the ministers who had lead the protest would make their way in through the back door, and find themselves chasing the working class young men. When the drinking age rose to 21, this behavior almost completely stopped.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Fountain

Fountain
Originally uploaded by TimothyJ.

Swirls....

Going Down?

Down
Originally uploaded by TimothyJ.

Peachtree Center MARTA.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Max Cleland not injured in Vietnam (JJ Dinner, Atl)

Max Cleland spoke at tonight's Democratic Party of Georgia's Jefferson Jackson Dinner. He actually awarded the Hope Award to a Georgia Democrat. His second standing ovation was when he let us in on a little secret. He said, as closely as I can remember:

"I am going to let you in on a secret. For years I have said I was injured in Vietnam. That is not true. I actually was duck hunting with Dick Cheney...."

His first standing ovation was when he rolled onto the speaker's platform. He is well loved.

Cleland as well received.

Cathy Cox and Mark Taylor both spoke on their upcoming primary battle. Cathy Cox gave an "Are You Hungry" speech. Mark Taylor talked about what he has accomplished, and alluded to Cathy Cox voting against the Hope Scholarship Fund and Lottery back when Taylor was pushing it in 1992 or so. I did not know that. So the paper trail thing and the Hope Scholarship vote have really soured me on Cox. (The Hope Scholarship has allowed 1.6 million kids go to college tuition free.)

John Lewis is amazingly short. Shirley Franklin is even shorter. Some guy who is running for Lt. Governor is even shorter and looks like a 7th grader.

I sat near one of the wealthiest men in Georgia, who has been supporting the Democratic Party for decades and decades with big bucks. I watch Mark Taylor, Shirley Franklin, Cynthia McKinney (who I do not care for), Cathy Cox, and so many other Democrats walk by without even saying hello. A few old timers and the 7th grader stopped for a moment. I could not believe it. He has heavily supported many Democrats.

Evan Bayh gave the Keynote Address. Wow! Very impressive. First he spoke highly of Max Cleland, telling how days after "that disgusting and horrible" election battle with Saxby Chamblis, Max asked for permission to come speak with Bayh. Bayh wanted to tell him how sorry he felt for him. Cleland wanted to talk about how Bayh could prevent that from happening to him and any other Democrat in the future.

Bayh discussed running against the GOP by confronting them on national security, the budget and values. He feels we can win by attacking them on these. He sold me, and is my top primary contender right now. He spoke about how Georgia and Indiana are very similar and how he won by a higher percentage in 2004 than Bush did. I think he is nailing it.

Except for the vegetables sucking, the dinner seemed to be a great success!

Update:

From an incredibly GOP biased AP story:

Bayh said the GOP has been "a heckuva lot better at national security politics than national security policies."

From IndyStar.com:

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. -- Democrats can win elections in Republican territories like Georgia and Indiana but not by "selling out and becoming Republicans," Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., said Monday night at a state Democratic Party fundraiser here.

But they'll be successful by "reaching out" to convince independents and liberal Republicans that Democrats have what it takes to bring them better times, the potential 2008 presidential candidate told an audience of hundreds of Georgia Democrats.

"(Republicans) are not unbeatable if we go about it the right way, and the time has come to go about it the right way," Bayh said.

Bayh, the keynote speaker, said Democrats need to focus on getting the nation's fiscal house in order, reducing the country's dependence on foreign oil and letting people know that Democrats share their values, instead of coming across as "cultural elitists who can't relate."

But the first thing Democrats need to do, Bayh said, is take Republicans on in an area they've dominated: national security.

"It's a threshold issue for us, and it's a threshold issue for America," Bayh said. "People aren't going to trust us with anything else if we first can't convince them to trust us with their lives."

Before he spoke, Bayh told reporters that he does not support efforts by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., another potential 2008 presidential candidate, to censure Bush for authorizing domestic eavesdropping. Bayh said it's not clear whether the law requiring court approval before surveillance was broken, and he instead favors revisiting and possibly updating the law.

I really like that he is stating that we cannot win by being GOP lite. This is very important.

I dislike him saying that we need to revisit the NSA law when it is obvious Bush did break the law by not following it. If he cannot stand and fight for what is clearly the law then how much will he stand and fight for other things that matter as well. Funny he did not mention this during his speech.

One point for him, and one point against him. After reading about his NSA comments, I am still open to other candidates.