ThinkAttack.com

The importance of being Brad Neely.

The woodpile wars.

Well, there haven't been many changes in my neighborhood in the last 25 years or so until recently, about 16 months ago when my neighbors of 33 years that lived two houses up the road abruptly sold out and moved to Seattle. An elderly couple, she was disabled and he couldn't take care of her anymore and their daughter insisted they move in with them. The house sold in two days.

The new owners immediately started cutting down many of the huge red oaks that surrounded the house in order to let in some sunlight. I can't fault them. I took down a lot of trees around my house back in '75 just to open things up. They even hired a bucket truck and a 120' crane. That house and my closest neighbor's house practically lived in a dungeon amidst these towering oaks.

Last May my closest neighbor died and her grown children spent the next several months cleaning out that big rambling home and it sold a few weeks ago. The first thing the new owner did was to remove four massive red oaks, three of them within five feet of the house. The fourth one, biggest of all, sat on the property line between them and us. I would guess it's age at 250 years and it's broad trunk was obviously rotting and leaning ominously toward his house. He wanted to take it down and as it was over 200 feet from my house and a line tree I told him to go for it. He hired the same contractor as my other neighbor and brought in the same crane and bucket truck.

Now they both have these huge piles of wood in their yards.

So here I am, the guy who HAD the biggest woodpile in this neck of the woods suddenly being challenged by two new neighbors (who obviously don't know anything about working up firewood).

I have a mere ten cords of wood split and stacked outside and maybe two cords in my cellar. These new neighbors have thrown down the gauntlet on the "BIGGEST WOODPILE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD". I figured I'd let them have their glory until late fall when I would have another eight cord load of wood dropped off.

Well, I have trumped them! Last week the guy I buy my wood from had a job in town and asked if I wanted a load now rather than wait 'till fall and dropped the price a bit so he didn't have to haul it the 35 miles to his yard. Yesterday he dropped off a load bringing my total to about 20 cords of wood in my yard.

Take that muthafuckas!

I can't wait 'till they come over and ask to borrow my homemade hydraulic wood splitter. I am such a tool.

I Want a New Drug

The moment had arrived. I sat on the couch eagerly anticipating the events to come. It had been four days since my friend had first told me about this, and during that time my mind reeled with a curious thirst, a thirst that was about to be quenched.

I remember being on a black hammock-like couch made of aluminum tubing and canvas. The room was dark, illuminated by the distant glow of the kitchen bulb and the dancing LEDs on a stereo that loudly pumped hypnotizing electronic beats and melodies into the air. I held the Pyrex bubbler in my hand and took a few deep breaths.

"Remember, this is like nothing you have ever experienced before, and probably ever will again. Are you sure you are ready for this?"

I nodded my head in agreement, put the mouthpiece against my lips, and struck the lighter. I sucked until I could taste the smoke, then released the carb, and inhaled the fumes. I recall handing my friend the bubbler, and looking at his face. He had a concerned, yet comforting, expression. I mentally tried to prepare myself the best that I could.

His face began to elongate, then shred apart. The room began to rotate, increasing in speed, until the centrifugal force caused it to explode into fragments and fly away. I found myself floating in the center of a whirling vortex of color and light. There was no gravity, there was no up, there was no down. I felt myself frantically waving my arms in search of some type of stabilization, but I could not see my arms before me. I was there, but my body was not.

I began to relax, looking around and absorbing all that I saw. There were strange light pink, powder blue, and pale yellow grimacing cartoon-like faces floating all around me. They were twisted and contorted, they looked eerie and odd, but the thought that I must appear the same to them comforted me. They floated around me, looking over me, examining my every detail, just as I did to them. I felt like a stranger in their world, but one that was welcome.

At this point, I had no recollection of smoking anything. I had no memory of my past; I did not even know who I was; all that I knew was this reality; this strange place in which I had never been. It was as though I had just been born, and I was looking at my surrounding world for the very first time. I had no sensation of time, and I felt as though this was all that there ever was.

The twisting cyclone around me began to slow down. As it slowed, it began to collapse. The beings began to leave me, one by one, floating off into the void. I began to feel a bit frightened as everything started to close in on me. My panic thickened as the swirling barriers of color and light engulfed me. I frantically felt myself grasping for something as the light consumed me. This was when I got my first sensations of physical reality. I felt my hands clutched around the aluminum pole of the black couch that ran beneath my knees.

I held on to it with all my strength as the colors began to form shapes. I saw the dark silhouette of a television. Beneath that, I saw flashing LEDs on a stereo. The room began to fall together just as it blew apart. I watched as the walls, the ceiling, and the floor formed around me. I once again felt gravity, and I jumped to my feet.

All my memories came rushing back to me. I began to remember who I was, where I was, and what I had done. I finally regained my composure, and I looked over to see my friend standing next to me with an eager and pleasing smile. He reached out his arm and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Are you back?" he asked with gleeful anticipation, "How was it?"

"It was amazing," I replied in a dumbfounded tone, "How long was I out?"

"Just about five minutes."

"Wow, it felt like an eternity."

I felt tingly and lightheaded for about another fifteen minutes as I sat and attempted to describe where I had been and what I had seen. Then, I was back to normal, and felt no lasting effects at all. Amazing memories of another universe are all that remain.

When it comes to mind-altering substances, I have done a lot, and I have done it in heavy doses, but nothing compares to what I experienced that day. My words do my sensations and my visions no justice at all, for there are no words in reality that can describe something that exists completely outside of it. Everything that I knew as "real" simply ceased to exist, catapulting me into another realm, all while I remained fully conscious and alert, or at least so it seemed.

Salvia Divinorum is her name.

Here are a few works of art inspired by her:

"Oversoul" by Alex Grey

S.A.D.E." by Alienmindscape

"Particulate Man" by Robert Kellett

You can read the experiences of other people's experiments here:
http://www.sagewi sdom.org/experiences.html

This is by far the most informative and educational website I could find:
http://www.sagewi sdom.org/index.html

America: Freedom to Fascism

Aaron Russo was an accomplished movie and music producer who had produced award-winning films such as "Tading Places" (starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd) and chart-topping musical acts such as Bette Midler. He made millions, which allowed him to rub elbows with some of this country's most rich and elite. While doing so, he learned something that caused him to take his life down an entirely new and different path. He got heavy into activism and politics. Unfortunately, he died of bladder cancer on August 24, 2007. However, before he passed, he produced, directed, and narrated a documentary that he funded out-of-pocket with his own money. The name of that film is "America: Freedom to Fascism", and it is linked below. It is about an hour and fifty minutes long, and I implore anyone and everyone to take the time to view it.

Quote:

This is a documentary about an honest search for the truth about the Federal Reserve Bank (a private bank) and the legality of the Internal Revenue System. Through extensive interviews with recognized experts and authority, the director shows an astonishing revelation of how the Federal Government and the Bankers have fooled the American public by taking their wages and putting it in the pockets of the super-rich.

The director goes so far as to interview one of the "master-minds" of the IRS Code, and you the viewer can draw your own conclusions as to how the system works. This is NOT a documentary filled with opinions, conjecture or editorial comment. It is a true documentary with a purpose, and that is to educate every wage earner about the Federal Reserve Bank and the IRS, how they got started, and where the money goes. It is well done, and it will make you laugh, and it will make you ANGRY!

~ from IMDB.com

My buddy

My mother's death was very painful. She had a brain tumor which they tried to remove........ unsucessfully. She died on her mother's birthday at the age of 70 and we buried her on her own birthday a few days later. My father was the one who had the burden of pulling the plug on her and the toll on him was crushing.

But it had to be done. She was beyond help.

I left home at age 19 and never went back except for visits. I miss my mother but it was 30 years after I left home when she died.

I have lived every day with this dog for 10 years and he has been the best buddy anyone could ever ask for. I posted an article here back in '02.

His life took a turn for the worse in the last two weeks. Tests showed that his pancreas had stopped functioning and he was losing bladder control. Diabetes. We bathed him and our sons came by to say their goodbyes.

Now that big rubber band between he and I has been cut and I am the bastard who did it.

Yes, I could have spent huge amounts of money to prolong his life....... maybe ........but he was 12 years old. He might have gained a year or maybe two on the outside..... to what end.

The Vet came to the house Tuesday to do the deed. I thought I had the courage to do him in myself but I failed..... I could not do it.

The Vet assured me that we were doing the right thing and that trying the other route would have been unfair to him and us.

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The last vision he had was from the table on our patio........ his throne overlooking his kingdom of our pond and field. It cost extra to have the Vet come to our house but I felt I owed it to him.

I held him as his life was leaving his body and he let out a howl that I took as a whatishappeningtomeIloveyougoo dbye. It tore through my heart like cold steel. I will hear the echo of that wail for days to come.

There have been many dogs and cats pass through my life but there have been none to compare with this guy. Our lives were in lockstep for over a decade and I'm having a bitch of a time adjusting.

My wife and I have shed a lot of tears in the past few days. He was a real member of our family.

This post is for you, Calvin. I love you. Rest well.

A White Christmas

Watching the evening news tonite and amazed at the hype regarding a 'major' snowstorm for the east coast....... Virginia, North Carolina, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Deleware, New Jersey.......etc....etc.... all paralyzed by a typical Nor'easter.

Fuckin' wimps. PREPARE!

OK. They put plows on their garbage trucks. Come on now!

We here in Maine are prepared to handle two feet of snow as easily as two inches of snow.

They know it's gonna happen. We know it's gonna happen.

Yet the country comes to a standstill due to a foot or two of snow in Washington DC.

After last year's 23" blizzard we had school the next day. DC schools will be closed all week.

We attack the storm. They fold under the storm's assault.

It happens every year yet they are never prepared.

I am fucking amazed.

Who Needs the Army?

Well folks, it's been a while. I hope this article finds everyone in good times and spirits. Me? I've been doing much better since the hey days here on think attack. No more tokin or cokin. I've been married for a year this month, own a nice house with a pool, a kickass German Shepherd, and a small business. I also work a second job, which as my business has headed south, has turned into my first job.

So, on with the story. Some of you may know that I've got a little bit of a shady past. When I was younger, I was accused of a sex crime. Not a "horrible" one, but a sex crime none the less. It was such bullshit. I've taken and passed every polygraph that the fucking state wanted me to, and was still placed on a little list I like to call the Registered Sex Offenders List.

For a while, I let it ruin who I was. It took a lot of time to get out of self destruct mode and move on with my life. And just for any nay sayers here, my wife and her friends worked for the Department of Children and Families at the time, and ol' Deano from think attack is one of my best friends. Those types of people wouldn't call me friend if this shit was serious.

So anyways. With my business shrinking and shirinking, and with my wife and I wanting to have children, I got a little bit of the Army bug. I figured, "Hey, I used to be a Paramedic. I was a specialist Cardio Tech. I've been to college. I've got good credit. I've got a 99 on the ASVAB. I'm willing to be deployed. I have letters of recommendation from a USAF Colonel and a Leiutenant. I also have the letter from the Lt. Col in charge of recruiting for The United States Military Academy at West Point from when they tried to recruit me when I was a kid. I'd be a perfect candidate!"

So, I started talking to a recruiter. I tested. I was told to pick my career. I tested for that too. I was told that Special Forces Medical Sergeant. Basically battlefield medic, with some extra bells and whistles.

Shit was I through the roof. I knew it would take a LOT of hard work getting into good enough shape for basic, none the less to wear that SF patch on my shoulder.

Now my future son would have something to be proud of. I would have a career for now, rather than a job. I could actually sacrafice something for this shit hole country that I love so much.

Then I got the message. "Not so fast partner." It was Sergeant Carnegie from the recruiter's office.

"There are 3 things that preclude enlistment into the US Military; Prior service who has been discharged for drugs, homosexuality, and any sort of sex offense." He went on to tell me how badly he felt, and tried to relate to me by telling me about his brother who's a registered sex offender for being caught urinating in public. He can't serve his country either.

If you've ever had a door closed in your face for reasons out of your control, then you may know how low this felt. The Fucking Army wouldn't even accept me. "You aren't even good enough to catch a bullet for Uncle Sam." You'd think I'd be the first one they want to deploy.

This isn't a "cry for the registered sex offenders" story here. I vote for most of the laws regarding sex offenders, but come on. When I moved to Seattle, where they do all registration on a case by case basis, They didn't even require me to register. Now the Army has an issue with it?

I've got a good life here in Florida with my wife, family, and a couple of friends. I just wanted offer something more to those who have had my back through my whole legal ordeal. I wanted to be able to tell my children that I served something other than probation.

Fuck em. Who needs the fucking Army anyhow?

Offer and Acceptance

So we have this Constitution That is supposed to uphold the liberties of all citizens of the federated republic, except... congress has the ability to pass laws that are contrary to the constitution due to the "necessary and proper clause", which states: "The Congress shall have Power - To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof."

There was a great deal of argument on the side of the anti-federalists that this clause would render the rest of the social contract ineffectual at guaranteeing liberty. One could say at this point that the interpretation of this clause certainly has undermined the liberties of all of U.S.

In fact this is how they managed to make marijuana illegal. Congressional powers to pass laws regulating commerce. Thus we have the U.C.C. and treaty laws that shred other countries laws on the grounds that they are barriers to free trade.

So Treaty law which is also contract law is the highest law of the land.

For example if you wanted to carry an anti aircraft gun lawfully all one would need to do is write up a notarized self executing contract and send it certified mail to whatever state and federal agency regulates such things stating: That you are noticing them of your intent to carry it and that they agree to let you without any penalty, legal or monetary if they do not respond otherwise opon thirty days from the recipt.

The contract would be adressed to the agent personally so that he would be personally liable to you should he break his feduciary duty to uphold his end of the contract. This then becomes a private matter that the court can only settle under the terms of the contract.

Essentially one could be granted license to do all kinds of ridiculous shit that so long as you have an agreement with the right puppet.

This is how many companies operate. Especially the third party debt collectors.

They offer a contract that looks like a notice of billing of which they state you have thirty days to "dispute". A dispute creates controversy so they can then file an affidavit with the court and get a judgement and if you are silent then you accept thier contract by default.

So before you accept that user agreement or sign that security agreement be sure to comprehend the details of an enforceable contract. Also don't be afraid to cross shit out and write in your terms of agreement this bit of info could save you loads of legal trouble and prevent nasty situations like foreclosure. Also note that any contract (like traffic tickets) can be recinded within 72 hours of it's acceptance.

DISCLAIMER
This is not intended as legal advise, The author assumes no liability for what anyone does with this info, if you seek legal advise be sure to seek out a qualified, licenced and bonded attorney.

waterfall

When the world was still quite young and the Creator had yet to think of man, he would often take walks throughout the forested earth. On one such stroll, the Creator wove between the majestic cedars and noble firs, admiring the garden of boulders that the trees were tending. Soon the boulders would grow to mountains, and the Creator was pleased with their care. A silver river turned about in the valley there, throwing bits of mist like glittering confetti wherever it caressed the boulders growing shapes. It was a lovely sight for the Creator to behold, and he settled upon the smoothest rock to smoke for a bit and revel in the beauty. As the Creator drew his pipe from one of the many pockets of his infinite robe, a miracle that had been nestled there tumbled out and was swept up in the rivers currant. Suddenly the river swelled and drew in the massive boulders, washing them in the miracle and binding them together. The land fell away, and the miracle leapt into the open air, taking rock and river alike. When it landed the miracle had run its course, but the river remembered its touch. Forever after that, a river could twist between the seeds of mountains, leaping bravely through the air in tribute to that long ago miracle, when the first waterfall was born.

Love #Haiku

Love is like lead paint. It makes men act retarded, although colorful.

Just a Reminder...

I know this country is busy mourning the loss of Michael Jackson and Farrah Facett, but I'd just like to mention that people are dying on an almost daily basis - not of a disease, but dying in combat, for this country. Though the media may not consider their passing a "news-worthy" event, I sure as hell do. They may not sing any songs good enough to be recorded, and surely aren't pretty enough to be on posters or in magazines, but they all damn well deserve to be remembered.

June 01, 2009

<pic>Army Staff Sgt. Jeffrey A. Hall,
28, of Huntsville, Ala.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) Fort Drum, N.Y.; died June 1 in Nerkh, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Pfc. Matthew D. Ogden and Pfc. Matthew W. Wilson.

<pic>Army Pfc. Matthew W. Wilson,
19, of Miller, Mo.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) Fort Drum, N.Y.; died June 1 in Nerkh, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Pfc. Matthew D. Ogden and Staff Sgt. Jeffrey A. Hall.

<pic>Army Pfc. Matthew D. Ogden,
33, of Corpus Christi, Texas; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) Fort Drum, N.Y.; died June 1 in Nerkh, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Jeffrey A. Hall and Pfc. Matthew W. Wilson.

<pic>Army Sgt. Jasper K. Obakrairur,
26, of Hilo, Hawaii; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died June 1 in Nerkh, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

June 02, 2009

<pic>Army Spc. Roberto A. Hernandez,
21, of Far Rockaway, N.Y.; assigned to the 549th MP Co, 385th MP Bn, 16th MP Bde (Abn), Fort Stewart, Ga.; died June 2 in Paktya, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his mounted patrol was attacked with an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire.

<pic>Army Sgt. Justin J. Duffy,
31, of Cozad, Neb.; assigned the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died June 2 in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

June 03, 2009

<pic>Army Spc. Jarrett P. Griemel,
20, of La Porte, Texas; assigned to the 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died June 3 at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered from a noncombat-related incident.

June 04, 2009

<pic>Army Maj. Rocco M. Barnes,
50, of Los Angeles; a member of the Tactical Command Post, 40th Infantry Division, California Army National Guard, assigned as an individual augmentee to the 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force; died June 4 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over.

<pic>Army Sgt. Christopher M. Kurth,
23, of Alamogordo, N.M.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died June 4 in Kirkuk, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by an anti-tank grenade.

<pic>Army Spc. Charles ‘Dusty' Parrish,
23, of Jasper, Ala.; assigned to the 5th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; died June 4 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered earlier that day in Jalula, Iraq, when his vehicle was struck by an anti-tank grenade.

<pic>Army Sgt. Jeffrey W. Jordan,
21, of Rome, Ga.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 108th Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard, Calhoun, Ga.; died June 4 near Kapisa, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class John C. Beale and Maj. Kevin M. Jenrette.

<pic>Army Sgt. 1st Class John C. Beale,
39, of Riverdale, Ga.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 108th Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard, Calhoun, Ga.; died June 4 near Kapisa, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire. Also killed were Maj. Kevin M. Jenrette and Spc. Jeffrey W. Jordan.

<pic>Army Maj. Kevin M. Jenrette,
37, of Lula, Ga.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 108th Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard, Calhoun, Ga.; died June 4 near Kapisa, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class John C. Beale and Spc. Jeffrey W. Jordan.

June 05, 2009

<pic>Marine Lance Cpl. Robert D. Ulmer,
22, of Landisville, Pa.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune N.C.; died June 5 as a result of a nonhostile incident in Taqaddum, Iraq.

June 06, 2009

<pic>Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua R. Whittle,
20, of Downey, Calif.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; died June 6 while supporting combat operations in Now Zad, Afghanistan.

June 09, 2009

<pic>Army Spc. Eduardo S. Silva,
25, of Greenland, Calif.; assigned to the 563rd Aviation Support Battalion, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died June 9 at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, of a non-combat-related incident.

June 10, 2009

<pic>Marine Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ricky L. Richardson Jr.,
33, of Franklin, Mo.; assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan; died June 10 while supporting combat operations in Delaram, Afghanistan.

June 13, 2009

<pic>Army Staff Sgt. Edmond L. Lo,
23, of Salem, N.H.; assigned to the 797th Ordnance Company, 79th Ordnance Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas; died June 13 in Samarra City, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device that his explosive ordnance disposal team was acting to neutralize detonated.

June 15, 2009

<pic>Army Spc. Jonathan C. O'Neill,
22, of Zephyr Hills, Fla.; assigned to the 549th Military Police Company, 385th Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Stewart, Ga.; died June 15 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, of wounds sustained June 2 in Paktya, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

June 16, 2009

<pic>Army Sgt. Joshua W. Soto,
25, of San Angelo, Texas; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas; died June 16 in Iraq of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

<pic>Army Capt. Kafele H. Sims,
32, of Los Angeles; assigned to the 18th Engineer Brigade, Schwetzingen, Germany; died June 16 in Mosul, Iraq, of a non-combat-related incident.

June 17, 2009

<pic>Army Sgt. 1st Class Kevin A. Dupont,
52, of Templeton, Mass.; assigned to the 79th Troop Command, Rehoboth, Mass.; died June 17 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, of wounds suffered March 8 in Kandau, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

June 19, 2009

<pic>Army Sgt. Paul G. Smith,
43, of Peoria, Ill.; assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry Regiment, Illinois Army National Guard, Aurora, Ill.; died June 19 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Joshua A. Melton.

<pic>Army Staff Sgt. Joshua A. Melton,
26, of Carlyle, Ill.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment, Illinois National Guard, Marion, Ill.; died June 19 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Sgt. Paul G. Smith.

<pic>Army Spc. Chancellor A. Keesling,
25, of Indianapolis; assigned to the 961st Engineer Company, Sharonville, Ohio; died June 19 in Baghdad, Iraq, of a non-combat-related incident.

June 20, 2009

<pic>Army 1st Sgt. John D. Blair,
38, of Calhoun, Ga.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Army National Guard, Lawrenceville, Ga.; died June 20 in Mado Zayi, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle.

<pic>Navy Command Master Chief Petty Officer Jeffrey J. Garber,
43, of Hemingford, Neb.; assigned to the Dwight D. Eisenhower in the North Arabian Sea; died June 20 of non-hostile causes.

June 21, 2009

<pic>Army Sgt. Ricky D. Jones,
26, of Plantersville, Ala.; assigned to the 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Fort Polk, La.; died June 21 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his unit was attacked by indirect fire. Also killed was Spc. Rodrigo A. Munguia Rivas.

<pic>Army Spc. Rodrigo A. Munguia Rivas,
27, of Germantown, Md.; assigned to the 710th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died June 21 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his unit was attacked by indirect fire. Also killed was Sgt. Ricky D. Jones.

June 24, 2009

<pic>Army Spc. Casey L. Hills,
23, of Salem, Illinois; assigned to the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, Pago Pago, American Samoa; died June 24 in Iraq of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over.

June 25, 2009

<pic>Army Spc. Joshua L. Hazlewood,
22, of Manvel, Texas; assigned to the 614th Automated Cargo Documentation Detachment; died June 25 in Arifjan, Kuwait, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.

<pic>Army 1st Lt. Brian N. Bradshaw,
24, of Steilacoom, Wash.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died June 25 in Kheyl, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

June 26, 2009

<pic>Army Pfc. Peter K. Cross,
20, of Saginaw, Texas; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died June 26 at Combat Outpost Carwile, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over.

And counting...

ferris wheel

3 years since my last post. 3 years. Because I wish to live life to live life? No. Just been busy.

I've made every attempt to look to the dark sky and snag the brightest star I could - to label it mine and store the dreams of childhood friendships lost to time. Years may pass between each thought, but the memories are vivid and clear, and I know I've lived them. I'm fond of them, and with no knowledge of a reason. The days as uneventful as they are, pass with little being retained. Perhaps a rut.

Life is its own meaning, its own purpose. I wish to be a writer. It is what I feel I do most honestly and I feel that it betters me as an individual. But it is something that will not put bread on my table every night.

I would love to write my entire life, of my understandings, of my experiences, of my knowledge, and more importantly - my mistakes. I would love to expand those understandings in order to write more. Fiction, nonfiction. poetry, prose. Trying to understand so that I may simplify and others may also understand and enjoy.

But again, in order for me to survive in our progressed society I must make money to buy a house, eat, buy clothes, and pay taxes. This is not including any vacation or down time, any time to simply enjoy life. One could argue that if one works five days a week from 830 to 500, they can spend their off-hours, weekends, and retired years "living and enjoying life" with no worries. This, to me, is not good enough.

Having to achieve security is a detrimental abstraction. It means that if I do nothing I do not have the reassurance of survival. We bring these abstractions to the level of our primitive minds. Survival itself is animal, have we not moved past being animals? I do not wish to survive or have to worry about survival, because making money to live should not even be considered survival.

The question, then, is how to break this mold. We define our children before they can see or speak. We are taught and trained through youth to be citizens who work for a living at a certain task. We are almost bred like cattle, but cattle are not given choices.

The argument is what our lives must take hold of as meaningful. Life is seen as a struggle between ourselves and the society we attempt to maintain. If one understands the society they live in, they can see that living in it is not living at all, but a fight to break free from society's restraints. We are raised being told that society's ideals are sacred, but we grow old to understand that those ideas are poison for our minds.

Some say that it is easier to live now than it was a hundred years ago, or a thousand years ago. Can this even be argued? I believe that the very idea of life has changed so dramatically due to the 20th century ideas of progress and modernism that it cannot be compared to earlier periods. We are scraping upon the soul of humanity. Where can we go from here? What can we do to change this? The answers to these questions are hard and get harder to make known and understood so that change can be initiated and accepted.

Society is still having a hard time looking through the veil of skin color and sexual orientation, how can we be asked to look through the telescope of progress?

I think somewhere our founder's ideas got lost, or the founder's descendants got greedy. The original idea was betterment, and we've forgotten what betterment truly means when applied to both the individual and the whole of society. It is not a question of "can we" or "must we" and maybe it's not a question at all. Betterment could very well be a statement.

Humanity can be salvaged, as long as we have the ability to think of ourselves as not just individuals but as a whole.

My mind is young and still hoping for truth. I know I am naive in my assumptions and presumptions, but I will try to not let age compound my fears and pressures, even though this is the function of age in our society. Age breaks us down physically and psychologically, when it should be freeing us. We are born with parents paying for our lives, and as we grow old we ourselves have to pay to live.

What kind of world is this?

Often I question my outlook, and the all important redundant question of "What does it mean to be alive?"

And the longer I live the more it becomes clear that life is to be lived as a dream where anything and everything is possible. Where everything that happens is relative to when and how you want it done. I am only one person and I can only rise as one person to smash all of my fears into the ground. Being only one person I am building my own pillars from the rubble of mortality.

Most will ignore their fears of the life they lived and many will deny they even lived at all. But what then? What in this chaotic haze of a world will they understand?

Life can have a purpose without a meaning. Life is a one word oxymoron. Life is a double standard. None of us are born with an identity. We build it. We all seek some point of light, some distant beacon to tell us we are heading in the right direction. Give us some god damned meaning. A path. How about a fucking tour guide?

Living in the cradle of a dying world, rejected by definitions and standards, a social haz mat scene, breaking apart daily and yeah, alone.

Looking for a peace of mind that will stay, I think I've found it in an introduction or two. I wasnt here on this rock when the thunder fell and made me tops on the food chain, and yet I stand in the ribbon river tickling my ankles with the questions.

And sure of only one thing - my demise. Why do I feel like an assembly line robot, built to do one thing until someone shuts off the power?

It's never too late. Speak. Tell. Do. Care. And I'll forget my hatred for your infections. If not, be the slave to your disasters. You're only one person without a lot of time. Live the way you want to be remembered. I'll remember you for how you lived.

Go and be free. These are only words.

Musical Discoveries

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It is rare if I'm not listening to music. Probably, somewhere near 24/7. Guilty as charged... Even as I sleep, music is streaming or being looped through my sound system and/or computer. Recently, given a chain of events, I happed upon this band: Menn Ársins. And more specifically, this particular song.

Every once in a while, something simply jumps off the page, grabs me by the scrotum, and holds me firmly in its grasp. I think what stood out most, initially, was 12 Steps to the Liquor Stores' musical sensuality and underlying groove. The more I listened to that seductive siren, the more I became addicted to it. And then it struck me... the lyrics are of an alcohol addiction, and early on, every addiction has its alluring bite. Absolutely brilliant play of instruments in unison with lyrics, imo!

More of the bands music can be heard, here, which is from the bassists' Last.fm profile page. These guys have me believing that the country of Iceland, has a very Warm soul.

I'm the first to realize that music is completely subjective, but give 'em a listen. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Besides... any bassist playing a Zon Sonus Fretless is a hero of mine.

THE BAND PLAYING LIVE

Title: Menn Ãrsins - Allt aÃ° gerast (Live @ IÃ°nÃ³, ReykjavÃk, Iceland. January 24th 2009) Category: Music Tags: Menn Ãrsins, Allt aÃ° gerast, Live, IÃ°nÃ³, ReykjavÃk, Iceland, January 24th 2009, Gunnar Hilmarsson, electric guitar, keyboard, vocals Kjartan GuÃ°nason, drums, SigurdÃ³r GuÃ°mundsson, fretless bass, SvÃ¡fnir SigurÃ°arson, vocals, music, Icelandic, concert, groove, guitar solo, electric bass, zon sonus Posted: Jul 26, 2010 - 10:15 pm	Duration: 3min 36sec Views: 473 Watch Video Locally Watch Video on YouTube

Menn Ãrsins - Allt aÃ° gerast (Live @ IÃ°nÃ³, ReykjavÃk, Iceland. January 24th 2009) Gunnar Hilmarsson - electric guitar Haraldur V SveinbjÃ¶rnsson - keyboard, vocals Kjartan GuÃ°nason - drums SigurdÃ³r GuÃ°mundsson - fretless bass SvÃ¡fnir SigurÃ°arson - electric guitar, vocals Websites: www.last.fm/music/Menn+%C3%81rsins www.reverbnation.com/mennarsins www.youtube.com/user/mennarsins www.last.fm/user/mennarsins You can buy our CD here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=1261496 (directly from the band) http://www.amazon.com/Menn-Arsins/dp/B001NH4JMY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1233865798&sr=8-2 (mp3 download as well)

Babies, Bars, and other taboos

Copied from SC:

Quote:

AthenA #427844 @Mon, 05-18-09, 10:20PM

I've been thinking about the flak that Flip got about taking Fiona into a pub.

We take Vivian everywhere with us, including to the brewery. I am far more concerned about the smoke in bars than the alcohol. She has been to the brewery a whole bunch of times (we go for pizza once a week), but we sit in the non-smoking section, and we almost always go at lunch when it's less busy.

We have taken her to one "real" bar, because the bartender is a notary, and we needed something notarized. We weren't going to stay, but there wasn't anyone else there, so we decided to stay for a burger while we were there.

Ultimately, I don't want her to be sheltered from the fact that adults sometimes drink alcohol, because knowing that, and experiencing it, will help her to have a healthy relationship with alcohol when the time comes. That being said, I would not take her to a bar on a Saturday night, and whenever we have been to a drinking establishment with her, it has been to get something to eat. Like I said, I worry A LOT more about the smoke than the hootch.

Quote:

rockdog #427845 @Mon, 05-18-09, 10:36PM

That's front page fodder, actually. ;)

Most of the states I travel in have become non-smoking. So for the most part, that issue becomes moot. For me, I just don't think it's the place to take a kid (mind you, I'm speaking of bars). We've taken all of our children to family restaurants where alcohol is served and they've all seen me drink a (one) beer with supper and then leave. I'm not sure Flip clarified himself. I think of a bar or pub as a place where folks go to gather (socialize) and drink, exclusively. I don't see that as a place I would take my children at a young age.

Quote:

AthenA #427847 @Mon, 05-18-09, 10:44PM

To me a "bar" is defined as a place where you wouldn't be able to carry a concealed weapon, which in MI, is an establishment that makes 50% or more of it's revenue from the sale of alcohol. The brewery meets that standard, so it is technically a bar.

However, it is not a frat-boy filled bong-fest. It is a casual atmosphere where people meet after work to have a beer or two. I don't think that I have ever seen anyone there acting totally pooched, and I doubt that it would be tolerated if they did.

A tangential conversation ensued re: guns in bars:

Quote:

rockdog #427848 @Mon, 05-18-09, 10:49PM

I suppose then it becomes the definition of 'bar' or 'pub'. Hey, as Clinton said, it depends on what your definition of is, is :D

LOL!

They're about to pass the law here in Tennessee that will let you carry a concealed weapon in bars.

DON'T FUCK WITH US HICKS!

Quote:

rockdog #427850 @Mon, 05-18-09, 10:51PM

I'm thinking guns and alcohol don't mix at a bar. But it's rare if I'm not packing when I go into a TGIF, Applebee's, Ruby Tuesdays, Olive Garden, O'Charleys, and the list goes on... etc.

Quote:

AthenA #427855 @Mon, 05-18-09, 10:54PM

I submit that if someone is a drunken asshole, they are probably a regular asshole too, and probably shouldn't be armed regardless of location.

Please feel free to address one or both issues.

i FEEL LIKE POSTING

Hey, have you seen Naked People before? It's not especially titillating or even that innovative... but it's got naked people and it's just one of those things on the web you should have seen.

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One Trillion Dollars

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Boy, we sure have a lot of these!

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Balance... nifty little short animated film

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Recently I've been playing music with this dude who lives near me. He's a guitarist and has a nice little home studio. The project is right now just us and it's very hard to describe. It's ambient, sountracky post-rock I guess. The songs are a blend of composed and improvised parts and are all long and all instrumental. It's pretty masturbatory. Nevertheless, I actually think it sounds pretty tight

See what you think:

Granite State - mix 11 (i suggest headphones and smoke 'em if ya got 'em before listening)

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This is so cool... it's an ultra high res photo of Obama's inaugural speech and you can zoom in until you can practically look up people's noses.

Fullscreen Gigapan Viewer

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How about some Animated Gif Server?

Yeah, right!

Dear President Obama

The following is an excerpt from a letter to President Obama concerning the recent surge of violence in Afghanistan by US forces.

When will it be enough, Mr. President? What is the number of dead and injured at which you will say "this can't go on;" the number at which you will decide it's time to turn away from violence and find another way? This really is the question upon which everything else will turn – how many bodies are too many? You know it is impossible to kill our way to a resolution, if for no other reason than every death and injury creates even more people willing to fight and die to remove us from their land.

We've been through this before, Mr. President, and I don't mean that in a rhetorical way. We have indeed been through this all before – unlike most of the people in our country or in your administration. We have seen and heard and smelled and felt what "death from above" actually means, not in a briefing report but right there in our hands and before our eyes. We've seen the look in the eyes of the people we occupied. We felt their anger and their humiliation. We remember these things well, Mr. President, because they will not go away no matter how many years pass.

The entire letter is available here:
- Obama_letter_afghanistan.pdf (64KB)

Help Defend Marriage

I must admit, I have become convinced that there IS a threat to marriage.

After seeing this ad....

Title: National Organization for Marriage (NOM) Gathering Storm Category: News Tags: Same-sex, Marriage Posted: Jul 29, 2010 - 08:18 pm	Duration: 1min 2sec Views: 1,032,979 Watch Video Locally Watch Video on YouTube

www.NationForMarriage.org The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to protect marriage and the faith communities that sustain it.

put out by National Organization For Marriage

and seeing the group's founder Maggie Gallagher all over t.v......

.....I am here to ask for your support in a new movement I hope to spearhead.

I want to defend and protect the holy institute of marriage from......

FAT PEOPLE.

That's right, after seeing the rotund Maggie chirping all over television a HORRIBLE image entered my brain.

Fat fuck Maggie having sex with her fat-fuck husband.

And that, my fellow Americans, is just plain gross.

Seriously, allow your mind to actually picture that fugly twat in the thumbnail above having sex with some hairy fat guy. Sweating and weezing, folds of fat flopping about, the bed springs squeeking and straining, the sounds it would make. I shudder.

Just seems unnatural now, doesn't it?
Disgusting?
Wrong?

And think about it. She's fat and ugly. Her husband is fat and ugly. Were they BORN that way?

No. They CHOSE to be fat. God didn't make them fat.

And we ALL know that the Bible specifically states that it is a SIN to partake in gluttony. In fact, it's one of the seven deadly sins. The Bible also sites MANY other examples of fat lazy people as sinners, but being a good Christian, I'm not actually THAT aware of what it says in the Bible. But I DO know one thing. Fatshit Maggie is a sinner.

Now, being a good Christian, I am not JUDGING Maggie. I don't HATE her. I just hate her sins, as any good Christian would.

And there is no way that in America, God's homeland, that we should allow the permeation of this sinful gluttonous lifestyle. I will NOT allow my children to be taught in school that it is acceptable to be a fat ugly woman like Maggie.

Speaking of the children, there is no way we can allow oinkers like Maggie and her husband to have children, through adoption or "naturally". Just consider the eating habits they would teach their child. That child would never have a fair chance at life, as it would be raised in a sinner's house of mayonaise and bacon grease and whatever other disgusting things tubbies put in their mouths. Ewwwww.

And how DARE anyone try to infringe on MY RIGHT to insult, discriminate against, and otherwise ridicule fat people. I'm an American, damn it. Our founding fathers were very clear that I have a right to be an asshole to my fellow Americans, especially ugly fat bitches like Maggie Gallagher.

Look at this.....

...and tell me that it doesn't scare the bejeezus out of you, just thinking about your children being shown that in school. That's what the secret agenda of heffers like Maggie is actually trying to accomplish. To make our children watch fat pron in school. I got an e-mail telling me so, thereby it IS true.

So I ask you, my fellow God-fearing Americans, to join me and speak out against the disgusting storm that is gathering. A storm that will try to change all of us into fat ugly cows like Maggie Gallagher, and not just change us, but tell us that being a fat ugly cow is "acceptable".

People like Maggie can have their gross, sinful, un-American fat sex in their OWN homes, but don't expect me to condone, tolerate, or in any way ALLOW it to exist in OUR country.

So please, help me spread the word of the gathering storm of piggy-sex that Maggie Gallagher is hoping will bring down our glorious christ-land of America, before it's too late.

Or else this....

...is the future we will all share.

So please, contact the National Organization For Marriage (N.O.M.) here...
contact@nationformarriage.org
and tell them that YOU want to protect marriage from fatties like Maggie.

Thank you,

Dr. Payne

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(p.s. Obviously the above is nothing but satire, and not meant to insult fat people at all. It is simply meant to offend Mrs. Gallagher and her family. If Mrs. Gallgher weren't a fat ugly woman, I would be ridiculing whatever she was, but since she IS a fat, stupid, hateful, ugly woman, that unfortunately is the group that bears the brunt of the ridicule.)

Heroes

Most of us have a hero/heroine in our lives. Someone who has led a life beyond reproach. I am interested to learn about some of yours. In the meantime, let me tell you a bit about mine.

His biography caught my attention as a 4th grade student in our Maine history lessons that were taught by the then principal of the of Cottage Farms School, Rita Andren. Every child who attended her classes loved her. I looked forward to school every day I was a student in her class. She died just recently at the age of 92.

His biography reads as if he was destined to be one of America's most honored, which he was.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

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As a veteran of the Viet Nam war, I can, to some degree, appreciate the trials and horrors that he had to endure during the Civil War. None of us living today can totally appreciate what those forces, north or south, went through during that conflict.

Medical care was basic. Amputate the damaged limb. If you were gutshot or headshot, they would stop the bleeding and you were left to die.

Joshua Chamberlain was shot through the pelvis at Petersburg and predicted to die of his wounds. They even published his obituary inthe Portland and Bangor newspapers. Well he did die as a result of his wounds, but it took another 50 years.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain will be forever tied to the Union victory at Gettysburg during the Civil War. His defense of Little Round Top during the battle of Gettysburg rivals the Spartan trials at Thermopylae for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor but that is not what sets him apart for me.

As a Major General in the Union forces at the Confederate surrender by General Lee at Appomattox courthouse, he was ordered by General Grant to disarm the Confederate troops.

As they filed by, expecting taunting and disgrace, Chamberlain ordered the Maine battalions to salute the defeated troops out of respect in what I consider the most dignified and heroic act of the Civil War.

He went on to serve as Governor of our state and President of Bowdoin College. He has my utmost respect.

There are many more who I could name as my heroes but I'll keep it short and name one more.

Mikhail Gorbachev.

The man had command of the Soviet Army and the KGB but he allowed Poland to go it's own way and the Berlin Wall to come down. He oversaw the dismantling of the USSR. He let it happen.

That took a lot of balls.

Who's your hero?

Floridiots

NSFW!

Going Galt

A new phenomenon is being talked about over the internet box, and cable news. A thing called "going Galt." A reference to the fictional character John Galt in Atlas Shrugged, the novel by Ayn Rand. In the book, which was published in 1957, all the wealthy industrialists disappear to a hideout (Galt's Gulch) where they wait for the collapse of the world economy, and civilization. They view charity and welfare recipients not simply as lazy moochers that deserve a swift kick in the ass, but as true evil that has harnessed the produce of the righteous to support them. This theme is evident in the cover art of the novel, which shows Atlas, like a corporate billionaire, carrying the burden of the world economy on his shoulders. The idea that Atlas should "shrug" off his burden and let everything come crashing down is the whole idea behind "going Galt."

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People are talking about quitting out of the economy like what happened in the book, or slowing down their work so that they produce less, thereby earning less, thereby paying less in taxation, thereby not supporting the government as much. One douche bag--excuse me--objectivist, has made a website called goingjohngalt.org. He is urging a work slow down as described above in order to send a clear message to Obama that socialism is not the way! His website was made fun of by Stephen Colbert on his March 11th episode of the Colbert Report. Stephen remarks at how the webmaster of goingjohngalt.org is calling for a work slow down, while at the same time in the right hand column of the main page is asking if anyone has any full or part time work for him.

Colbert - Rand Illusion

The idiot has not, and presumably will not take that down. Going Galt is like jumping off a bridge, and guys like this, along with Fox Noise pundits and Rush Limbaugh, are the type of people who stand at the base of a bridge egging their friend to jump, even though they never will themselves.

The whole idea that the wealthiest people are the ones who work the hardest is hilarious and scary at the same time. People forget that Rand didn't write Atlas Shrugged as a condemnation of American tax policy. She wrote it as a manifesto against her home country from which she escaped, the USSR. She saw America as the promised land of capitalism, where ingenuity and hard work are rewarded or at least have the opportunity to be rewarded. People who read Atlas and take themselves too seriously tend to see socialism around every corner. The Washington Monthly points out that "Obama is talking about a 39.6% top rate. In Reagan's first term, it was 50%. Under Nixon, it was 70%. When FDR pulled us out of the Great Depression, it was around 80%."

So Obama is more of an objectivist than Reagan? Neat stuff. But you will never hear a self proclaimed objectivist praise Obama for letting the wealthy keep more of their money than Reagan, because objectivists don't deal in objective facts. They deal in blind ideology, springing from a book written over half a century ago in a fictional America.

Someone commented that they wished the top producers and financiers had gone galt a long time ago, that way we wouldn't have this huge economic mess to begin with. Afterall, this depression wasn't caused by ordinary folk, the middle class. This whole thing was created by the rich elitists, the ones that wanted to make billions of dollars for themselves by creating ever-more confusing and untrackable investments on illegitimate mortgages. While they made bags of cash, everything is fine and dandy, but now when their own greed has wrecked the world economy, they threaten a STRIKE? It's laughable.

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Probably rolling over in her grave at what people do in her name.