Anderson/Hatgidakis/Nelson/Metcalf: Newsletter

Old news: October 2006

Back to Newsletter

Zach, Sam, & Anna
10/31/06
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!

Marsha
10/31/06
Happy 60th Birthday John!!!
Gary
10/31/06
Hey, the Five Words Game is coming back to life! Players now include Donna, Emily, Erika, Gary, Karen, and Paul. If you weren't named, start thinkin' -- and then send them to me!
Gary
10/31/06
Wow! Gettin' hotter in the political sphere. You may have heard that John Kerry just now criticized Bush's handling of the war. So Republican Talking Face Tony Snow accused Kerry of not supporting the troops and demanded an apology from him. Kerry responded with this:
If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I'm sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.

I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.

The people who owe our troops an apology are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who misled America into war and have given us a Katrina foreign policy that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it. These Republicans are afraid to debate veterans who live and breathe the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor.

Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they're afraid to debate real men. And this time it won't work because we're going to stay in their face with the truth and deny them even a sliver of light for their distortions. No Democrat will be bullied by an administration that has a cut and run policy in Afghanistan and a stand still and lose strategy in Iraq.

Then, instead of leaving it alone and letting the press NOT report it as they usually do, John McCain and a couple of others jumped on it and demanded Kerry apologize for THIS statement! :-) All you have to do is stand up to these creeps and they burst into tears. Go, Kerry!
Emily
10/31/06
Happy Halloween Everybody!!

I will try to send some pictures in tonight or tomorrow of my and Erika's costumes! We were all supposed to wear costumes to dance classes last week, and we are planning on doing a little trick or treating tonight.
Gary, we were wondering when the word game was going to up?? Everybody should get their answers in, because we are excited for it!!

So far, the only players are the same ones from a week ago: Donna, Emily, Erika, Gary and Karen. I guess nobody else wants to try it...? Maybe I need to declare a deadline: All answers have to be in by Saturday night (November 4)! And I will post the game on Monday, November 6. So Amanda, Anna, Brent, Grandma, John, Lindsey, Lori, Marsha, Olivia, Paul, Ryan, Samantha, Teghan, Tristen, and Zachary need to get busy! :-) (See my October 20 note below for how to play.) --Gary

Gary
10/31/06
Hey, Donna sent in this link to a Halloween Hangman game. Try it out, it's fun! (I just now got up to 415 points before getting "hanged.") Thanks, Donna!
Gary
10/31/06
With the election one week from today, the election machine is going into high gear -- and I don't only mean the political parties and campaign ads. I mean the so-called "liberal" media. A while back, after I got sick of CNN fawning all over Bush, I switched over to "The Today Show" as my morning viewing while I got ready for work. That show seemed somewhat less offensive; and I do like Al Roker. Katie Couric was a Bush cheerleader, no doubt about it -- but she's gone now, over at CBS News where she can be safely ignored.

But the "Today Show" is still very right-wing-leaning; and a a few mornings ago, when they were talking about the Michael J. Fox political spot and how Rush Limp-brain accused Fox of "faking" his symptoms, I was sickened to hear Matt Lauer ask a guest, "Don't you think Rush was just saying what everyone is thinking?" My God. Then this morning, it was All Republicans, All The Time: First, the lead story -- a ton of footage of Bush campaigning around the country (paid for with tax dollars, by the way) harping over and over -- and unchallenged -- that the Democrats "don't have a plan." And then, another three minutes of Press Secretary Tony Snow, spinning and spinning and spinning. After that, they focused on the Senate race in Maryland, and discussed how Republican Michael Steele is gaining on his opponent. They didn't discuss that he's doing it by downplaying the fact that he's a Republican and posing as a Democrat, and has actually printed and distributed bumperstickers that say "Steele Democrat." (The good news is, Steele is still around 10 points behind the Democrat Cardin.)

So, feeling that a fifteen-minute Republican infomercial was enough for one morning, I reluctantly flipped over to CNN; and was treated to another Bush love-fest. First it was Candy Crowley full of admiration for Republican Jim Talent for "energizing" the voters by talking non-stop about a Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Then they ran interviews with some carefully selected soldiers in Iraq who were saying "If we left now it would dishonor the memory of the soldiers who have already died" and "We have to stay until we finish the mission." (The "mission," as I recall, was to locate the WMDs, but never mind.) What CNN didn't talk about was how the Army is cracking down on soldiers' websites, blogs, and email -- "for security reasons" (i.e., the truth was getting out). CNN also didn't mention that the Army has reduced the number of reporters in Iraq by 80% recently.

In other words, the news machines (owned by the right) are going into overdrive to 1) convince wavering Republicans that the war is going well and should be maintained, and 2) persuade the Democrats not to vote because the Republicans are going to win anyway.

In spite of all that -- in spite of the White House bluster and spin, in spite of the sleaze and lies in the Republican political ads and TV "news," in spite of the rigged voting machines (and there will be some) -- I think the people have finally had enough of these guys, and the election results will prove it. One week from tonight!
Ryan, Amanda, Tristen & Teghan
10/31/06
Happy Halloween everyone!
Ryan, Amanda, Tristen & Teghan
10/31/06
Happy Birthday John!
Amanda
10/30/06
Ryan's sister Steph had her baby today! A girl, Alexis Savannah. 6 pounds 8 ounces at 11:12 am. She's beautiful!
Donna
10/30/06
Happy Birthday, John!


Happy Halloween!
Nelsons
10/30/06
Happy Halloween!
Grandma
10/30/06
Happy Birthday, John !!
Gary
10/30/06
Hey, new pictures today! (First new pics in over two months!) Looks like a big pumpkin-carving party at Grandma's yesterday. Thanks for the pictures, Amanda!
Nelsons
10/30/06
Happy Birthday John
Gary
10/28/06
Thanks for the review, Erika!

And feel better, OK??
Gary
10/27/06
So, you all remember when one of the Dixie Chicks remarked that she was "embarrassed" that Bush came from Texas, and all the right-wingers shrieked and fainted in horror, burned their records, etc? The Dixie Chicks then received death threats, had concerts cancelled, and all that? Well, they made a documentary movie about this vicious reaction from the Republicans, and called it "Shut Up and Sing." (Good title!) The thing is, NBC is now refusing to run the commercial for this movie because it is "disparaging to President Bush." The Dixie Chicks' agent said, "It's a sad commentary about the level of fear in our society that a movie about a group of courageous entertainers who were blacklisted for exercising their right of free speech is now itself being blacklisted by corporate America. The idea that anyone should be penalized for criticizing the president is profoundly un-American." (Get the whole story here.)

Both CNN and NPR have refused to air ads for the British-made movie "The Death of a President," a docu-drama about the assassination of a U.S. president. The movie does use Bush as the president (with stock footage), but it isn't about directly about him -- it's just more or less an action picture. I have seen the movie, as they made it available online and I downloaded it. (If anyone wants me to burn them a copy, let me know.) But, as I said, the movie isn't personally aimed at Bush -- it might as well be "President Smith" or "President Jones." Even so, CNN wants no part of it. (Though I have seen the movie advertised on MSNBC.)

My point is that even if we do begin to de-louse Congress next election day, we still have to somehow clean up the media too, which -- with a few rare exceptions -- has been bought and paid for by the right-wing.

Gary
10/26/06
And still another! (C'mon, 'tis the season...) Check this page for a brief list of current Republican criminals. It's worth a read!
Gary
10/26/06
And yet another political item. If you have six minutes to spare, here is a great way to spend them. Al Gore gave an off-the-cuff speech a few days ago in support of California's Proposition 87 (developing alternative energy sources). The past six years have been good to Gore: He's got a great speaking style now, much more connected and "human." And, by becoming the champion of the environment, he's got a real strong message. Can you imagine Bush talking like this for six minutes...? Ha! Makes you wonder what the world would be like if Gore had been elected in 2000.... Oh wait, he WAS! Anyway, watch the clip here.
Gary
10/26/06
Found this on a Democratic website. Like our earlier remarks about impeachment on this page, some people there were disappointed that Nancy Pelosi seemed to be shutting the door on the possibility of impeachment hearings. In reply, another wrote this:
Here are the facts:

1.) First, we do not have the majority and it would look foolish of us to commit to something BEFORE we had that majority. If Pelosi claimed that impeachment was the democratic majority's #1 priority, all the criticism over the corruption of Republicans and the War would be tossed to the side in order to talk impeachment 24&7. And you know those suck-ups in the media are gonna make it look bad - like it would be a big waste of time & tax dollars just like it was in 1998 (although none of them considered that back then)

2.) Nancy Pelosi is NOT the person who would be running the impeachment process. Impeachment charges would be started by the chair of the House Judiciary Committee WHICH, if we can win the house in 2006, would be John Conyers. We all know that John Conyers has been talking impeachment for awhile now and even has some other big names signed on to support it, but as a minority leader he has no way of making it happen. But if we had the Majority - that would be a different story.

3.) No one speaks for John Conyers but John Conyers, not even Nancy Pelosi. And I have not heard once since Nancy made that original comment that Conyers either agrees OR disagrees with what Ms. Pelosi said. Trust me, Conyers is the type of guy that if he has the goods and the chair of House Judiciary, no one can stop that man.

So please, let's not count our proverbial chickens before they're hatched or we might all end up with egg on our faces. John Conyers has been one of the brightest stars in the last dismal 6 years and he has earned my trust to warrant me to keep fighting for the majority. Until Conyers says otherwise, you know that impeachment is on his agenda!

Donna
10/26/06
This is interesting -- from the latest Gallup poll...
--Regardless of how they intend to vote, a majority of Americans, 54%, believe the Democrats will win control of the House on Nov. 7.

--More than 8 in 10 Americans believe Congress would set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq if the Democrats were to win control of Congress.

Gary
10/26/06
Hey, movie fans, check out this site that Donna found: M&M's candy has a site called 50 Dark Movies Hidden in a Painting -- you examine a painting for clues to horror movie titles. It's very well done! I've been at it for seven minutes, and have only found 11 so far. (One cool thing is you can save your progress and come back to it later.) Give it a try. Thanks, Donna!
Donna
10/26/06
ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition is working on a house in Lincoln -- 6800 Platte. They just started filming this morning. That has to be by Burlington RR, doesn't it? I think I'll swing by on my way home today and take a look.

Here's a map! --Gary

Gary
10/25/06
Okay, another movie for you -- this is a new campaign ad from the Democrats, which echoes a strong statement from Ted Kennedy today: "It's deeply disturbing that it takes a close election--not in Iraq, but in America--to get this White House to even talk about flexibility and changing course. American and Iraqi deaths didn't do it. The growing insurgency and increasing sectarian violence didn't do it. The conclusion in April by our intelligence community that the Iraq war is a rallying cry for anti-American extremism didn't do it. Only the prospect of losing his rubber stamp Congress and the President's own low polls seem to penetrate the wall of denial around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
Gary
10/25/06
Must be rough! Here's a time-lapse video of seven hours in a cat's life:
Gary
10/25/06
More Halloween costumes! Check out this one and this one and this one. :-)

Five Words contestants now number five: Donna, Emily, Erika, Gary and Karen. Why not you?

Gary
10/24/06
Okay, the Olbermann comment from last night is here (hosted on the excellent Crooks and Liars site).
Gary
10/24/06
Yeah, the polling on the impeachment question is interesting: 51% want Bush impeached. I know Pelosi is saying "There will be no impeachment," and at first that bothered me. But I can see a couple of different slants on this now: 1) She is saying "no impeachment" in order not to scare the Republican voters into rallying around their candidates -- like, "I don't like where my Republican Party is going, but if that San Francisco Liberal Pelosi is going to immediately start impeachment hearings, then I'm going to hold my nose and vote Republican again." Plus, even the most optimistic predictions give the Democrats a bare majority in the Senate: but to impeach, you need a two-thirds vote. Or 2) She really means "no impeachment," and intends to let Bush suffer through two more years with an uncooperative Congress investigating all his criminal activities; after which -- who knows? -- he might get impeached anyway. I like the sound of that....

Unless Karl Rove can really throw the voting machines out of whack, the Democrats will win a majority in the House. Only 16 seats need to be won there for a majority, and yet some are predicting a pick-up of anywhere from 20 to 50 seats for the Dems. The Senate will be much closer: 51 seats there is a majority, and right now it looks like it will be evenly split at 50-50. But if the Dems win all four of those seats Donna mentioned below, it will break 52-48 for the Dems. Virginia is leaning Repub (Democrat Webb at 45%, Republican "Macaca" Allen at 48%), Missouri is leaning Dem but very close (Democrat McCaskill at 47%, Republican Bush-puppet Allen at 45%), Tennessee is leaning Repub (Democrat Ford at 45%, Republican Corker -- using some of the sleaziest attack ads ever -- at 48%), and NJ is leaning toward the Dems (Democrat Menendez at 45%, Republican Kean at 42%). We will want to watch for "voting irregularites" in these states especially. Check here for more on those races.

Election night is two weeks from tonight, and is it just me or is the time really draaaaggggggging...? I wanna vote NOW! Oh, and yes, Olbermann's comment last night was a beauty, as usual. Started off slow but ended up with an emotional account of the human remains that were discovered just a few days ago at the World Trade Center site, after more than five years. His comment will be online soon, and I will post a link to it.

P.S.: So far, only four players in the Five Words Game: Erika, Emily, Donna, and Me.

Donna
10/24/06
I saw on Olberman last night that if the Democrats actually gain the majority that there could be talk of impeachment. Although Pelosi says that won't happen. Wouldn't it be lovely to see stupid Bush impeached? And I also heard today that in order to gain back control of the Senate, the Democrats just have to win in four states -- Virginia, Missouri, Tennessee and New Jersey. I hadn't heard that before.

And why would Bush buy all that land? You know there's something underhanded going on, you just don't know what it is. I hope Olberman picks up that story soon. I missed his special comment last night. Was it good?

Gary
10/24/06
Election day two weeks from today. And to get out the vote, George Bush tells a spectacular lie:
Gary
10/23/06
Halloween is a week from tomorrow night! Need a costume idea? 1) Dress in white, put a yellow circle on your stomach and devil horns on your head: You're deviled egg! 2) For two people, one dresses like a hippie, the other dresses like a mime: You're Peace and Quiet! For more ideas, go here.

And click here for the worst costume idea ever!
Gary
10/23/06
Things that make you go hmmmmmm: Making the papers today in Latin America (but not the U.S.) is a story that George W. Bush has purchased 98,840 acres of land near Chaco (near the border where Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil meet). Apparently one of the Bush daughters, Jenna, arrived there last week to oversee the deal. Maybe Bush wants a hide-out in case the new Democratic Congress wants to start investigations on ...oh, I don't know -- two stolen elections, his elimination of habeas corpus, his lies that led us into a war, his defiance of the Geneva Conventions, FEMA's bungled response to Katrina and the missing billions of FEMA money, Halliburton's no-bid contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan... There's more, but that's a start. Is Bush, like the Nazi war criminals before him, planning an escape to South America...? More details here.

We have three contestants so for in the Five Words Game: Erika, Emily and Me. Start a list of your words today, and send it to me!
Gary
10/20/06
Okay, let's do this thing! Let's start the Five Words Game!

As I suggested below, it's sort of a modified "Who Am I." All you have to do is think of five words you couldn't do without.

FIVE WORDS
you couldn't do without

rules:
  • no profanity -- you know who you are!
  • no proper nouns (names) -- I'm sure Amanda and Ryan say "Teghan!" a lot, but that would be a give-away

    guidelines:
  • it doesn't have to be a real word -- D'oh!
  • it could be a phrase, or more than one word -- Mmmmmm, donuts....

    When you have your five words, email them to me. After I've collected them all, I'll display them here and you can all start guessing!


    • It's a little harder than it sounds, I think. At least it is for me. One suggestion might be to "listen to yourself" all day, and take note of any words or phrases that keep popping up. Take your time, and have fun!
    Donna
    10/18/06
    I've noticed on the news lately they've been telling total number of U.S. soldiers killed each day. Today they even gave total counts for each of the last three months -- 77 so far this month.

    And Gary, don't joke about getting arrested. Mom read a story about a 14 year old girl that wrote 'kill President Bush' on her website. The feds came to her school took her to a room to talk to her without anyone else and did not notify her parents!

    I saw that! Well, no threats here. Though, to paraphrase Mark Twain, if Bush's funeral were to occur, I would postpone all other recreations and attend it! :-) --Gary

    Gary
    10/18/06
    A few days ago (on the 13th) I mentioned what seems to be a news blackout concerning the explosions and fire at a U.S. ammo dump near Baghdad. I still haven't heard anything about it from the mainstream media, but it is being talked about in various "unofficial" blogs and websites. Like this, from piglipstick: Watch the film, from an Arab broadcast and taken from eleven miles away -- about four minutes into it (be patient!) there is a huge blast that surely cost many lives. The U.S. story is that no casualties occurred, because Karl Rove wouldn't want us to hear about 500 or 1000 dead Marines just before an election.... They will no doubt hide such numbers by adding 10 or 20 deaths to the weekly tolls for the next many months.... Another account, from an Arabic website called Jihad Unspun, says that the ammo dump contained at least 50 tanks, plus artillery and helicopters; that at least 30 wrecked tanks, along with other destroyed vehicles, were counted as the Army hauled them away from the base; that a checkpoint was set up around the base and U.S. soldiers were confiscating cellphones and cameras that might have photographed the blast; that the base's buildings had been "totally destroyed"; that, in monetary terms, the blast caused damages that could top 1 billion dollars; and that at least nine huge transport planes bearing red crosses (the type of plane used to carry casualties) were seen flying back and forth from the area to a U.S. military hospital base, with an escort of fighter planes. I grant you, this is all from an Arabic news source that is friendlier toward Osama bin-Laden than toward Bush, so the news may be slanted. But on this story at least, I'm more inclined to believe them than I am to believe CNN or CBS or ABC. ...And now that Bush can arrest and imprison anyone he wants to, that remark will probably get me sent to Guantanamo. If so, somebody call Netflix for me and cancel my membership; no sense in running up bills for movies I won't be watching....
    Donna
    10/18/06

    It's now official. There will be a Halloween slumber party at my house Friday night. Tristen and Teghan are in, and I hope Livy can make it. It should be a fun and scary time -- but as Tristen said, not too scary. We'll make a spooky snack, maybe watch a movie and...I don't know what else.

    Gary, for the new game, I would vote for the 'can't do without' version. I think it would be more fun to pick five words you would miss saying.

    I think that's my fave, too. Start thinking, everybody! --Gary

    Emily
    10/18/06
    I guess there just hasn't been much time for me to write in lately either. I have been keeping pretty busy with school, work, dance, teen court, debate, and myc! But, they are all going well.
    I only have a few more months left on Mayor's Youth before they kick out all the seniors, so I am just trying to get out before we start up another big project again.
    We have been getting ready for the first debate tournament of the season, and my first tournament as captain. But, I will not be going, I will be taking my ACTs again on that day.
    Teen Court has been going well too. No big cases so far. But, I did hear that next week's session should be a good one. We already have 6 cases to hear, hopefully they are interesting ones.
    I have been keeping busy with dance as well this year. Since I am finally a senior I get the option of performing a solo, which I am pretty sure I will be doing. So, I am looking forward to that.
    Working has been taking up most of my weekends, but it is nice to get the paycheck. And, it hasn't been nearly as busy the past few weeks as it used to be.
    School has been a bit time consuming as well. All of my classes with the excception of debate and trig are AP and college credit courses, but so far I am doing well in them all. Mom, Dad, and Erika went to my conferences last week (I had to stay home and study for an Anatomy & Physiology test). But they got good reports from all of my teachers, I think, and so far I have all As and Bs, and am on track for first semester honor roll as well.
    I had a lot of fun with the movie squares game as well! What is the neat new game that you all came up with?

    The new game isn't nailed down yet, but it all centers on "five words." Something like this: Pick five words that you think describe you; or, pick five words that you "couldn't do without"; or, if you were only allowed to use five words in your day-to-day routine, which five would you pick? Then we put up the sets of words (without names) and we try to guess who they are. Sort of a spin-off of "Who Am I?" Something like that, anyway. Coming soon! --Gary

    Karen
    10/18/06
    I know I haven't written for a couple of weeks, just busy I guess. My school is going well -- even though I am there 2 hours a day longer, it still seems the same. Always busy with 1st and 2nd graders! Brent has been feeling great -- amazing what a difference his surgery has made. Emily and Erika had their conferences last week too. Erika will be on the honor roll once again and got glowing reports from all of her teachers. Emily has some tough classes, a couple of them are college credit -- she also is doing very well. She is also busy looking for a college to attend. No decisions yet, but she has put in several applications. Erika has an interesting assignment -- she is studying the holocaust. Each student adopted the identity of a person from the holocaust. On Friday they are taking a field trip to a synagoue and will talk with a child of holocaust survivors. Weather has completely skipped over fall, we are to have a possibly nasty day. High of 40, rain and snow! We already had a light dusting of snow last week. Gary I loved the game -- thanks for doing it :)
    Amanda
    10/17/06
    OK, I will break the silence, nearly 5 days people & no action!

    I have been at my job for 2 months already! Love it still!

    We had a suprise 30th birthday/getting out of the Air Force party for Ryan on Saturday. It went great, he never suspected a thing! Two of my friends from high school came that I hadn't seen in a lotta years, and that was nice. Best part of the party? The cake which read, "You're out, you're old, now go get a job! Happy 30th Birthday Ryan!" I did feel like I had to explain it to the Hy-Vee people though that he was out of the Air Force, and not like the closet... :)

    Had Tristen's parent teacher conference tonight & of course it went well. One of the nicest things her teacher said was that on each students birthday they go around the whole class saying what each person likes about the birthday kid & most kids reply, "you are nice," "you are funny," "you are a good friend." etc, standard, rhetorical responses, you know. Well, not Tristen. Miss VanZandt noticed that Tristen always has a unique, heartfelt comment about each person. I thought that was a neat thing...

    Teghan had a play date this morning. Ryan took her to her friend Kaylee's grandmas house at about 11, she had lunch with her, colored & played & then her grandma took them both to preschool at 12:45. She had a blast, she wants to do it everyday!

    No job for Ryan yet... Cross your fingers something comes soon! He is SO busy with school & being Mr. Mom though, that he has no time! He got a new leaf blower/vac for his birthday from us & he hasn't really gotten to use it & you know he is dying to use it now with all grandmas trees!

    Halloween-- Tristen is going to be an Egyptian girl & Teghan is going to be a purple princess. Both are costumes Lori made & we will send in pictures!

    All right, people, now hop to! Though we all thought up a neat game that hopefully Gary will do up here soon!

    Donna
    10/13/06
    Nice cool site today. I've been to Chaco Canyon National Park. I remember hearing a rattlesnake while I was there. If you get bit by a rattesnake there I think you'd just die, you're so far away from everything. We almost ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere, but everything is in the middle of nowhere there. The convenience store/gas station had an outhouse -- no indoor plumbing. We were told it was dangerous for whites to be anywhere there after dark. The road into the park isn't really a road. You just drive for miles and miles and hope you run into it. We had a local Native American Indian as a tour guide and the park rangers didn't want to let him in. Anyone can tour the park, but there are Native Americans living at the base of the canyon. You have to prove you're a descendant to get in. So this tour guide (and any other family member) has to pay the park every time they visit. He lives on a reservation nearby and he took us to his home where he had recently moved and built a huge teepee. I was surprised at how big the teepee was. Even though they live on a reservation, they have to get permission before they can cut down trees and you have to specify which tree(s) you want. He said he had waited years for approval.
    Gary
    10/13/06
    Hey, remember a few days ago the news (especially CNN) was full of footage of this massive explosion in Baghdad, where apparently an ammo dump was bombed? Huge fireball and smoke cloud? Well, since then there has been not one followup story anywhere. Have you seen one? Either there was no damage and no loss of life (yeah, right), or maybe it was really really bad and they're not releasing any news about it before the election...? This was a heavily-protected ammo dump inside a fortified base defended by more than 5000 soldiers. And nobody has anything to add to the original story -- not the government, not the press? (Of course, I realize that most of the press is busy covering a two-seater plane crash in New York City.) And then suddenly Republicans (and even Bush, who had been saying he wouldn't change his mind on Iraq even if his only supporters were his wife and his dog) are saying we have get out, have to make a plan, things aren't going well there, etc. I'm just sayin'....
    Gary
    10/13/06
    Any paraskevidekatriaphobics here? Which is to say, someone with a fear of Friday the 13th? If so, there are more than 20 million just like you in the U.S. alone. According to one study, nearly a billion dollars is lost in the U.S. on every Friday the 13th from people who stay home from work or refuse to travel. There is evidence to support that Friday the 13th may indeed be a day more unlucky than others, though it may just be a self-fulfilling prophecy: More accidents do occur on Friday the 13th than is typical, but this may be caused from peoples' heightened sense of anxiety which makes them more accident-prone. Historians think the fear of Friday the 13th originated in 1307: On a Friday the 13th in that year (in October, just like today), the King of France ordered a surprise dawn raid to capture and arrest all the Knights Templar in that country who were then charged with heresy, tortured, and executed. Only a few escaped. This freed the King from having to repay his huge loans to the Templars, and allowed him to confiscate their wealth. This ends today's history lesson. Be careful out there!
    Paul, Lori, Lindsey, Olivia
    10/12/06
    Happy Birthday Ryan!!!
    Donna
    10/12/06
    Happy birthday Ryan!!!
    Gary
    10/12/06
    MovieSquares update:
    Marsha joined the game, and missed only one (#3).
    Answers will be posted first thing tomorrow.
    Tristen & Teghan
    10/12/06
    Happy Birthday Dad!
    Amanda
    10/12/06
    Happy 30th Birthday Ryan!
    Nelsons
    10/11/06
    Happy Birthday Ryan
    Grandma
    10/11/06
    Happy Birthday, Ryan!!
    Paul
    10/11/06
    What a great webpage drawing today.

    The artist gave us the exclusive right to display it. Nobody else has got it! --Gary

    Donna
    10/11/06
    Don't you think Olbermann's gotten too popular to fear his show getting canceled by the ultra conservative owners of MSNBC? I would hope so anyway.

    Gary, where did you hear about the fake photos ABC was trying to take on (can't remember his name) the guy that was a recent suspect in the JB Ramsey murder? I'd like to read more about that. This is another one of those things that should be big news.

    There have been 43 journalists killed in Moscow in the last 10 years because they spoke out against things their government is doing. I wish we could get some of them to come over here. If you were to list all the things that Bush has done to our country, and how the media for the most part only reports on the stuff the goverment wants you to hear, you'd swear we were a communist country.

    Olbermann is safe if for no other reason than he's making money for MSNBC. I think I heard that he is now their highest rated show; I do know his ratings have gone up like 70% just in the past few weeks. On the ABC/Karr thing, I first heard it on Scarborough a few nights ago. Here is a news article about it, though the story sounds a bit different here. According to the ABC News spokesman here, Karr "suddenly exited the limo" to look in the school windows; On Scarborough, they said ABC took him there with the intention of getting some footage but were stopped by the cops. Either way, sleazy.... In Russia, reporters are putting their lives on the line to tell the truth; over here, reporters are spending their time setting up phony footage of child predators. --Gary

    The Hatgidakis Family
    10/11/06
    Happy Birthday, Ryan!!!!!
    Gary
    10/11/06
    Attention Olivia! I saw you writing a newsletter item last night on Grandma's computer, but it never got here. Did you forget to click on the "send" button?

    Chilly morning here, but no snowflakes....

    Check out this cool photo of Keith Olbermann (which originally appeared in Rolling Stone).

    Gary
    10/10/06
    More MovieSquares players:
  • Emily sent in a PERFECT SCORE! Sioux City is movie-town!
  • Livy got 19 right -- she missed 4, 5, 9, 12, and 22
    Anyone else? I'll leave the game up Wednesday and Thursday, and post the answers on Friday.
    Donna
    10/10/06
    Perfect scores?? Nice job Erika and Karen! 22 and 24 are bugging me. I have no clue what they are. That was a fun game.
    Gary
    10/10/06
    MovieSquares Update!
    Seven contestants so far, and here's how you're doing:
  • Lindsey missed two (9 and 22)
  • Tristen got half of them right! An excellent score for someone who hasn't seen a lot of these movies. (Missed 2, 3, 4, 9, 12, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
  • Donna missed five (14, 17, 21, 22, 24)
  • Erika got a PERFECT SCORE! Congrats, Erika!
  • Karen sent in a PERFECT SCORE also, 90 minutes later. Congrats!
  • Amanda missed six (2, 3, 17, 18, 22, 23)
  • Ryan missed only one (12)

    Anyone else who wants to play, feel free! I'll put up the answers at the end of the week.

    Gary
    10/9/06
    Good morning everyone, and Happy Columbus Day! Or, as the Native Americans call it (whose people were enslaved, killed, and infected with disease by Columbus and his followers), "Monday." If you are lucky enough to have today off, good for you! I don't: The University is in session on Columbus Day, so that we can have an extra day off at Christmas.

    Possible snowflakes on Wednesday, is what I'm hearing....

    Hope y'all enjoy the MovieSquares game. It should be fairly easy, I think. Good luck!

    P.S.: Attention any Beatles fan who wants to feel old: John Lennon would have been 66 today.

    Emily
    10/7/06
    I can't wait for the new movie squares game!
    We had a fun time in Lincoln on Thursday, and it was nice to see Grandma, Ryan, and Teghan! Too bad it didn't work out for us to be able to visit with everyone. But, I did enjoy the UNL tour.
    It has been really nice around here lately in the 80s, but it looks like today is about the last day for it. The weather channel said we could get snow on Wednesday!!
    Olivia, how is your ipod working out for you? I bought a nano yesterday, and I'm just starting to figure out how to use it!

    Thanks for the review, Emily! --Gary

    Gary
    10/6/06
    Oh, I meant to mention this too, in my post below. You saw where Condoleeza Rice made another surprise visit to Iraq? (As someone else pointed out, if things are going so well over there, how come the officials always make "surprise" visits?) Anyway, her plane had to circle for an hour because of mortar fire on the airport(!); she was photographed getting off the plane wearing a flak jacket (and apparently having a great time!); and during her meeting in Baghdad, the power went off. No big deal, though, because -- as Bush said recently -- the whole war in Iraq will someday be "just a comma." Stay the course!
    Gary
    10/6/06
    It was good to see Karen and Erika yesterday. (I missed seeing Brent and Emily, who were busy with their University interviews and tour all afternoon.) But those of us who weren't occupied thus went to Valentino's for lunch, and then Nebraska Bookstore for some shopping, and finally to the Van Brunt Center for a quick look -- where we saw Emily's name on the big screen as one of the students being welcomed.

    In other news... Wow, there's so much news right now, it is hard to write about any of it -- where to begin? Just let me say, watching the arrogant jerks in Congress self-destruct is an absolute joy. They are just beginning to pay for their abuses of power; for the balance of the payment, wait until after the elections when the Democrats, now in a majority, will begin a series of real hearings. Keeping up with the latest on the DailyKos, on Firedoglake, and on the Leftcoaster makes every day like Christmas. :-) And then there's the amazing Keith Olbermann who had another great commentary last night, calling Bush (high time somebody did) a liar. (Read it or watch it here.) And following his show every night is Joe Scarborough who, uncharacteristically for a Republican, is not blaming Foley's misdeeds on alcohol, or the Democrats, or Clinton, or the underage pages themselves, or Big Foot, or whoever else the Republicans will dredge up next to avoid taking responsibility. Last night, or the night before, he played a clip of Dennis Hastert blaming everything on Clinton and the Democrats; and then said of Hastert, "Harry Truman he is not." (Harry Truman, as you know, was famous for saying "The buck stops here.") Scarborough went on, looking straight into the camera: "If this is the best my Republican Party can do, we're doomed."

    Before all this, the polling on the races in November (only 32 days away!) had been neutral-to-good news for the Dems: certainly pick up a few seats in the House, maybe a majority, and little change in the Senate. Now, even right-wing pollsters are saying the Democrats will win a majority in both the House and Senate -- after twelve long years. For a good nonpartisan site tracking all the races, Senate and House, click here. This is an amazing time in American history!

    P.S. New Moviesquares game starts Monday!

    Emily
    10/4/06
    Donna, we will bring some of my senior pictures down. So, I am sure you will get to see a few of them at least. I'm not sure that we will really be around much to see you guys though. The whole meeting/visit/tour deal starts at 12 and will go until at least 4. And, we will proably aim at leaving soon after that since I will have to be back at school on Friday. But, hopefully it will work out for us to see you a little bit!
    Donna
    10/4/06
    Brr, it's chilly here today. And what a change, we had 90+ yesterday and a high of around 64 today. I hope it stays. I love this weather.

    Karen, what time do you plan on leaving Lincoln tomorrow? I usually leave Omaha around 3:30 so if you'll be around, I'll stop over.

    Emily, I hope you're bringing your senior pictures. I heard they're really good.

    Karen
    10/2/06
    October is my favorite month of the year, although it does feel more like July today. Livy, why are you going to Minnesota for your bed? Brent and I got ours in Omaha, and I know that they have a waterbed store in Lincoln. Just three days of school for me this week -- the teachers all have a convention in Des Moines. Thursday, of course, we are heading to Lincoln. Doubt we will see anyone except for Grandma, maybe Gary (if your building is included on the tour). Emily got her senior pictures on Friday -- just got done framing the last one of those. Hey Gary, what about a game on the web page one of these days? I really liked the sound bites or the little pictures........

    Good idea! Things got a lot less busy at work suddenly, so I'll try to get something put together soon. Stay tuned! --Gary

    Amanda
    10/2/06
    No, do hot chocolate!

    Mmmmmm, hot choc wins... --Gary

    Livy
    10/2/06
    Hey evrybody! Well nothin much really here, but there has been some more things added onto my list of things for my room. Well, first, my waterbed has been ordered, but we have to pick a day to go up to Minniappolis to get it. Also, my rug is ordered and will be here pretty soon, and my bedspread is odered, just it won't be here until November 11th I think. So when we get my rug, then we will look for colors, then we will strip the wallpaper off and then start painting right away, then we will put my wood floor down, (so nothing gets on it like paint) then the rug, and then the waterbed will be set up and filled with water, and then we will just put the bedspread on top, and I will take photos of before, during, and lots of after pictures. Well talk to you all later!!!

    Livy, here's a tip: Instead of water, fill the waterbed with your favorite beverage and then stick a long straw in it. You won't need your refrigerator any more! Smart, eh? Cherry Pepsi is more comfortable than Mountain Dew, but the most comfortable beverage of all turns out to be Cran-Apple. Amazing but true! --Gary

    Gary
    10/2/06
    New month! And the beginning of the three best months of the year. If you are a Supreme Court Justice, stop reading now and call your limo -- you're late for work. (First Monday in October is the first day of school for them.) Gonna be a bit too warm here today for my taste: Up in the 90s. But back down in the low 70s by Wednesday. Some trees have started to change color, but most are still green and leafy. Happy October, everyone!