No Christianity but Islam is ok ...

Requiring the teaching of Islam in California school

I'm not against Islam let me just make that clear up front. The radicals sure I'm very against them and everything they believe in and or do.

My issue with what this California school is doing is that they are trying to squelch Christianity and promote Islam. Where is the separation of school and religion. They want to poo poo teaching anything about Jesus and the Christian faith but say ok to a 3 week intensive course on Islam?

I dunno when I was in 7th grade during World History we learned about all the world's main religions. It was a very generic overview and quite interesting. By no means were we required to take "Islamnic names", wear robes and a few other crazy things this school requires for this intensive 3 week course.

Honestly I'm appalled that this school board even thinks this is "Acceptable" if my child went to that school I'd be suing them. For all the frivolous law suits this one would be worthy. People fought in courts to get Christianity removed from the classroom. That should include all relgions! Keep religion out if you want it out that means ALL religions not the ones that aren't politically correct or popular at that time.

I'm ashamed to share a country with a school board and educators think this is acceptable. There are islamic schools in our country that's where that kind of stuff should be done. The kids can choose to go to those schools or parents to send their kids there if they want that for them. That should not be FORCED on anyone in public schools. You don't see bible study of the Christian bible required in public schools. There are various religious schools where that would be acceptable.

So fine you want a 3 week Islamic course where bizzarre things are required I want a 3 week bible study on the Christian bible and they are forced to take biblican names. You're no longer Rhadika you're now Sarah! You're no longer Zach you're going to be Jacob! Make em wear sandals and a crown of thorns! Now if this was happening you'd have every person out there yelling and screaming. Why is it ok if this is Islamic teaching but not ok for Christian?

When you're done doing 3 weeks on Chrisianity lets do 3 weeks on Hinduism!

And then 3 weeks on Satanism as much as we don't want to admit there's a large religioius following here to. Lets not forget Scientology!

Soo my point is you cannot force a 1 sided religious view like that w/out doing the same for every other major religion out there.

This is rediculous .. all of it plain and simple. Pull your heads out of your asses and be the educators without bias you trained to be.

When will the madness end?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071130/ap_on_re_af/sudan_british_teacher;_ylt=Ane39JdAiO_k.vvc81tX1kms0NUE

So what will it take for these eccentric and apparently brain washed people to wake up? Does Jesus need to come back and say .. hello .. I'm the true prophet blasphemy to those who worship another.

I know many of us in the civilized world would like to believe this kind of stuff doesn't happen but it does and far too often. We heard about this one but only becuase she's a British citizen. What of those who live in that country and are executed on spot and no one ever hears?

When I read things like this it makes me ashamed to be a part of the same human race as these evil animals. I have to wonder if they're not all demon possessed. My only solace is in the fact that either kharma or judgement day will see justice for all whom they've wronged.

Men, what would you do?

Hypotehtical question:
You're with a woman and you're into some hot and heavy petting.. she has a massive stroke and dies in your arms. You're all aroused and hard as a rock. Do you continue to do her .. or call 911?

Healthcare in America Flawed, that's a given!

Sicko a Healthcare Documentary

I'm not a fan of Michael Moore .. however, this documentary is worth watching. If you think our experience is great with healthcare think again. The movie is Sicko and it's available for viewing free on the Internet.

My personal experience with what he describes has been felt many times, even recently.

I personally, can't find a doctor that will take my insurance (ironically, through the Medical School I work) to look into thyroid issues that run in my family and I believe I have. I may never know if I have them becuase I cannot afford to pay cost for a specialist. Most doctor's won't accept Blue Cross Blue Shield (UT Select). I work in a world class Medical Center and cannot find a doctor to look into my medical issues all due to my insurance I and my employer pay hundreds of $$ every month.

A few years ago...

I was uninsured once and got a bought of food poisioning and had to go to the emergency room for immediate care. The bills were close to $7,000 and before I could even see a doctor the billing department made my husband negotiate how much we would put down before I was seen by doctors. We decided to use some of our rent money that month to put down $100 so I could be seen by a doctor. I was so ill I would have promised nearly anything in order to be seen. I remember they informed us that we had to put down no less than 100$ or I would not be seen by the emergency staff.

Socialized medicine isn't the evil communist construct we've been lead to believe. Just wait till you or a family get cancer or need some invasive proceedure your health care provider doesn't feel is medically necessary.

Appalling... using Trade Center Human Remains as pot hole filler..

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/03/24/2007-03-24_911_remains_fill_potholes_worker_claims.html

I might add when you do a search on yahoo/google a lot of the Reuters news stories /etc have been mysteriously .. removed. A cover up?

Plain and simple if they knew there were remains they should be cremating them and or making them into some kind of memorial. Pot hole filler is not an proper place for remains EVER!

France Opens UFO Files for last 50 years ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070322/wl_afp/sciencespaceufo;_ylt=Ah6DMhNjY_BL.YrU81de1g7MWM0F

Well ... we can only hope other governments will follow suit. I find this very interesting.

One thing that's funny is the fact they didn't have the foresight to make the hosting servers a bit more robust or go with multiple hosting. I mean geeze.. lessee.. "I'm a major country and I'm going to open my UFO files to the world online. This is something that's never been done before. Maybe we should get a robust system to host these important files because nearly the entire online community would want to see the site."

Lol ... So Duuuuuuuuuuuuhh yah the servers crashed shortly after the site went live. Numnuts.

Health Insurance... sometimes pretty worthless

Ok this is a rant so if you don't want to read a rant move on.

So I have UT Select (Blue Cross Blue Shield) PPO. This means I don't need a PCP and I can go to whomever I wish w/in network. So I'm looking for a specialist in Endocrinology for Thyroid issues. You'd think that'd be pretty easy to find hell there's hundreds of doctors in this speciality in the Med Center where I work. Try there's only 2 doctors nearby that take our insurance (worth using) they're affiliated with the best Hospitals.

So I Call Doctor #1. The phone rings and rings tried 2 days in a row no answer... wtf!!!!!!!!!!

Call Doctor #2 get a rather rude lady who takes my information and keeps asking me if I "REALLY" want an appointment. No I'm just calling for no @#$@#$@# reason. She takes my info and never calls back.

The rest of the doctors nearby that take my insurance are all affiliated with our Med School. Which I gotta say out of the other 3 times I've used them has been a BAD experience. You get residents .. not doctors RESIDENTS doing the work. F that... I swear they rig our health insurance so that 90% of the doctors come up are affiliated with our med school. Actually I'm sure of it. I so can't wait to get the @#$@#$ out of this place, get some better insurance and say F the guinea pigging of your employees.

Any of the other decent doctors are out of network with (all insurances) their office people say or they don't accept any insurance at all it's pay as you go. W T F. Get a f'n clue we're not all rich and can pay right out for our healthcare. So what exactly am I and my employer paying over 300$ /mo for?

I look forward to the day when healthcare gets the SHAFT! When the Hospitals can no longer charge every patient for new sheets when they're just laundering old ones. When they get caught padding the bills!! When they finally get called on all the excesses they charge for that are UNNECESSARY!. Healthcare costs, charges are the biggest fleecing of Americans I've ever seen and it's pathetic. Doctors take an oath to do NO harm... and yes a lot of this is from the doctors the people on the boards who allow the administrators to get away with this crap.

Something will have to give soon. Healthcare costs are rising so fast nothing can keep up.

If you have daughters in Texas and Virginia .. HPV vaccine more harm than good?

http://washingtontimes.com/business/20070202-100152-9747r.htm

I being someone who lives in Texas and has a daughter almost at the age required for this vaccine worry.

A. We don't know what exactly is in this vaccine. Some say mercury ... didn't we always learn this is BAD for your health especially BRAIN function?
B. There is NOT enough research on this vaccine and what it does. Especially not many years and long term effects.
C. HPV caused cancer is not "spreadable" like other diseases so why force the vaccine? Other vaccines are understandable as they pose a great health risk if one person gets say "the mumps". It can be contracted by others due to contact and people can die from it.
D. There are now many reports of girls reacting badly (seizures etc) from getting the vaccine since June 2006. Do we need deaths of our daughters and brain damage of many before we find out what's causing this?

What's next.. forcing unwed, underage mothers to get abortions? Not much different. It's our body where's the control? Last I checked this isn't Gattica.. or is it?

Is there some health risk to others if they don't take the vaccine? NO! Cancer is NOT "catchy". HPV is also not a leading cancer causing agent like some would have us believe.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/womens-health/WO00014

What's #1? The number one Cause of Death in women is Heart disease!

What's #2? Cancer:
- #1 Cancer Killer is Lung Cancer is the #1 Cancer killer of women and the #2 killer of women overall.
- #2 Cancer Killer is Brest Cancer
- #3 Colorectal Cancer

Funny the adds would have you think that Cervical cancer is #1 killer of women. It is NOT so do not believe them! Please contact Rick Perry's office and tell him what you think about this! If you don't live in Texas it's only a matter of time, Virginia is already considering making this mandatory as well.

Rick Perry Contact Info: Not verified but it's a start -
Texans for Rick Perry
PMB 217, P.O. Box 2013
Austin, TX 78768
Phone:
512-478-3276
Fax:
512-478-4734
General Email:
texansforrickperry@rickperry.org
Web Site Issues & Comments:
webmaster@rickperry.org

Get out and Vote!

If you can legally vote please do so! Our way of life and democracy depends on people getting out and voting.

Just remember, you have no right to complain about the government if you don't get out and vote. No matter what you're opinion get out and voice it through voting.

Btw early voting is often the best route due to no lines :). So really there's no excuse for not voting.

To love a cat ...

They purr,
they paw,
they snub,
and they rub ...
in the end they are your friends,
a good listener,
a soft companion,
the quiet headlight eyes in night.

That rustling noise in the window,
the mysterious force that bends the blinds,
but we love them.

When they pass,
on they go,
to kitty heaven,
to run,
and jump,
and paw,
and rub,
as if they were young kittens again.

To my dearest Patches may your rest in kitty heaven be well! Keep my dad company.


~Z~

How to best describe camping at the Texas Ren Fest

http://www.houstonpress.com/issues/2004-11-11/news/feature_1.html

Since this article pretty much sums up the experience and friendliness I figured I'd just include as it's a wealth of information.

We'll possibly be going back to camp more at the festival in a few weeks. If you haven't gone you should!

Z

DOD Loses funding for Robot race ....

The Pentagon's research arm, which has twice hosted the high-tech contests since 2004, blames an obscure section in a defense spending law signed by President Bush this week. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency believes the law prevents the agency from awarding the $2.7 million prize money.

Ok here's some irony. This arm of the DOD is charged with trying to reduce fatalities out on the battlefield. What's the best way to induce progress in army grade robotics? Host a Contest with a LARGE prize .. like the X prize etc. For a few years now this has been very successful and lucrative for the Universities who partake in this challenge. Not to mention I love seeing the documentaries they do about the months leading up to the challenge and seeing what Universities came out on top :P But I digress.

Question is who is really behind this cut and was President Bush aware when he signed it into law. Obviously, no politician can read every page of these laws they're far too long. You'd think someone would have brought this up though :(

Honestly, I can't wait to see the outcome of the Elections this year... I forsee a wind of change. Will it get any better .. I think not sadly. Our country is heading down a very dangerous path. God bless you all and reaffirm your faith in what is grounded and does not waiver.

~Z~

If you blog and there's no one there to read it ...

Soo just like if a tree falls in the forest and there's no one there to hear it does it really make a noise :P

Of course it does due to the compression of air waves and the sound traveling outwards.

If you write a blog and no one reads it does it really exist? :P Surely it does.. but the writer clearly has to asses is it worth putting the effort into.

~~~~~~~

On another note ... one of these days I'm eventually going to start working on my inventions I keep thinking up or at least publish the ideas so that someone who knows how to make them happen can make em :P

~Z~

Mystery Box ... hmm

http://www.midnightbox.com/

So my friend Martin showed me this site... interesting. Seems like fun if you have some $$ and time to burn :).

Too fun to not pass on.

Z

Texas Ren Fest 2006 - Camping

I've waited a few days to collect my thoughts of this years camping at the Texas Ren Fest. Lessee no running water, no electricty, poor planning and drunk people make for an interesting mix of sex, drugs and celtic drum circles.

I've never seen so much public drug use, sex and craziness. I'm not much into the drug scene considering I've never touched drugs and don't plan to start. I highly value daily showers :P so I really don't see myself doing this again until we either get or rent a camper.

As far as the faire goes there are some new things. We didn't stay long enough to really explore it much. The weather was very hot and oppressive, why I let our friend talk us into going opening weekend I'll never know. Usually, we wait until the last weekend not to mention there's some good item discounts the last weekend.

Met some nice people at least and had some good games of cards. Realized we really need to get a new tent. We've not used our tent in so long some of the sealant is gone on the roof so all night long you had "drip, drip drip" on your head :P I somehow messed up the mantles on the lantern so when we turned it off the mantles went .. boom :P.

Overall I'd rate the weekend as a 6 out of 10. I'm still not sure if we'll ever do that again. The people are great but the setting just sucks much!

At least the costumes I slaved over were a hit.. so not all is lost.

~Z~

Kudos to 7-Eleven, bye bye Mr. Chavez

7-Eleven ousts Citgo

Finally, a US company has decided to stand up for our country and our government. We may not always agree with what our government does but there's a lot to be said for patriotism.

1. If you don't like what's going on in your country ... change it. Our government is made up of elected officials. If you don't like the candidates .. run yourself.

2. We need to be a cohesive country right now due to the nature of the world. So many fractured countries, wars and other country dividing issues.

3. We need to stand up for what we believe in. What does America believe in collectively? We should have some kind of goal, core values etc. Right now we are quite divided as a nation and when bad things happen it only fractures us more ... instead it should bring us together.

So like 7-Eleven who has vowed to end its longtime relationship with Citgo (a subsidiary of the State owned Venezuelan oil company). We too should stand up for our country, it's way of life and even our government. So I vote to ban Citgo gas. I personally will NEVER (yes, I'm serious Mr. Chavez) NEVER buy Citgo gasoline again. Even if it meant I ran out of gas on the freeway, it's a matter of principle.

Sure some will argue that this hurts the US workers of Citgo. Well to them I say ... go to another company. Houston (Citgo is based out of Houston) has TONS of jobs in the energy sector you don't have to work for Citgo you CHOOSE to work for Citgo. Personally, I couldn't work for a company that is even remotely related to Hugo Chavez and his ill begotten government. Teach Mr. Chavez a lesson that we the Americans deserve BETTER than him. We don't need his oil and we don't need his company.

We stop buying his oil, we stop working for his company and his country goes back to the stone ages. Obviously he wants to oppress his people into oblivion (he's passed a law where no one in Venezuela is allowed to speak out against the President/speak ill of him) yet it's ok for him to verbally abuse other heads of state.

Mr. Chavez, YOU sir are the Devil or maybe even the dreaded Chupacabra. No God fearing man with love in his heart could possibly talk of another human this way. Pray for Mr. Bush if you don't like what he's doing. Open a diplomatic dialogue ... offer some respect and you might be surprised. Keep up what you're doing and you're in for a RUDE awakening. The detention of one of your diplomats from the UN is just a start.

Z .. out

Art teacher fired for doing her job ...

Wonders never cease. This school Frisco ISD in Texas has a School Board that have completely lost their collective minds.

The following article http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4214639.html describes how the woman took the kids to the Dallas Art Museum

School board members have voted to not renew the contract of a veteran art teacher who was reprimanded after one of her fifth-grade students saw a nude sculpture during a school trip to a museum.

Mind you she took them there at the request of the Principal.

This woman has been teaching for years and for them to do this to her is ridiculous. So instead of the parents being PARENTS they are going to require that their beliefs be taught by the educators even though almost every set of parents have a different rule set. ART is ART .. The human body is and can be ART that's why it is an ART Museum.

To the Retarded Parents of this "said" child (yes I said retarded ... they must have mental difficulties to be acting this way), if you're concerned with WHAT your kid may see at an ART museum how about you DON'T sign the permission slip. It's not like they surreptitiously took your kid along with 88 other students to the Art Museum without your knowledge and consent. Every child MUST have a permission slip signed by the parents to attend such activities.

If you don't know what an Art Museum is perhaps you should actually VISIT one before allowing your kid to go to one. Wait.. that would require them to no longer live in their ostritch hole and be close minded anymore.

Ohh and to the "doo to doo" (said in the Mind of Mencia way) parents you better not go to Europe because they truly believe in the Human nude form as ART and advertising. You might have a heart attack seeing all the half/completely naked ads just out and about in the street for ALL to see regardless of age. Ohh wait their not hung up on their naked bodies.

Also, I'm curious in this family have none of the kids ever seen a one of their parents naked? (I find this hard to believe). Not to mention .. does the kid ever undress to say take a bath or shower lol.

Grow up! Take an art appreciation class, stop stifling your child's chance at a NORMAL/better future and quit ruining people's lives. BTW I'm going to assume they're religious freaks I hope they know they can go to HELL for ruining other people's lives. Just remember (parents) you'll have to answer to God some day for all that you do or THINK you are doing to better your kids lives, when in reality you're just causing misery for others.

Getting fired over artwork ... what's next getting killed for Free Speech in the US? .. wait it's probably happening as we speak. lol.

Just for the record I'm not a Democrat I've always been a Republican but it's people like the afore mentioned that are making me SERIOUSLY doubt their sanity and my choice :P.

Fun links for today!

Ok first up what could be better than the muppets + the matrix? The Muppetmatrix that's what : http://www.magicdonnie.com/themuppetmatrix.html

Ok next up for those who like a challenge - it's a fun line drawing thing that a guy sleds on the line when you're done drawing. Good luck I make the poor guy crash and burn every time I try it hehe.

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/40255643/

Enjoy!

Zel

Over Heard in New York Website

This site was too funny not to post a link here. I guarantee hours of fun. It's rare to find almost all content on a single website that will make you laugh. This one surely did. Perhaps it's becuase I grew up in NY state or becuase the things people say are just outrageous hehe. Either way I really enjoyed this site and wanted to share it with all my friends :)

Ciao

Z

Morgellon's Disease ... fact or fiction?

CBS news story on this disease

The above news story pretty much sums up what most of the official sites say. Doctors tell the patients they're mentally disturbed and other things because they refuse to believe this is a real problem.

The University of Oklahoma has one scientist that is looking into this mysterious disease. Personally, being someone that lives near where several of these people have contracted the disease is VERY worrisome.

I think we need to shout this from the roof tops because it's too scary to think what's going to happen if this starts spreading like wild fire.

Some more sits about this bizarre disease:

http://www.morgellons.org/index.html

http://www.morgellonsusa.com/morgellonsusa.html

My heart goes out to the people who are dealing with this disease. Just remember they didn't believe AIDS was real in the 70s early 80s either. The doctors say it isn't real because they don't have it in any of their medical books ... it's called evolution, something cooked up in our labs, bioterrorism or some other foreign thing we've just not found yet.

There are still millions of species on the Earth no one has discovered... maybe more (so studies say). I guess when half the US population comes down with this disease maybe then they'll start to listen.