Sunday, March 27, 2011

Lies!

March 27, 2011
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them.
March 27 is … National "Joe"

Go here before or while you are reading this blog. http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Liar/fyUOb?src=5 Cut and paste if need be.

Have a cup of Joe this morning? While doing that, think about how citizens around the globe do not believe what governments say; their government or any government. Japan is the latest government to not be believed. Their citizens and the rest of the world knows the government is hiding the extent of the nuclear disaster. This is a hard one to keep secret but the Japanese government is trying to control the spin on the story. How can the water be unsafe to drink on Wednesday but OK on Thursday? What did they do, boil it? The nuclear problems are not the only things the government is hiding and lying about. The death toll is going to be well over 20,000 people but the government officially has it at under 8,000 people. The bodies are starting to spoil and they are washing up on shore. This is another situation you cannot hide but the Japanese government is trying. Why do governments have to treat its citizens as children and stupid children at that?

Libya is another current example.  Like many dictators and leaders of suppressed people, the Libyan government mostly ignores the turmoil in their country. When it is mentioned, it is just to brag how they are winning, beating back the invaders and rebels. If you ignore reality long enough and just continually tell lies, sooner or later the truth is forgotten about.

Similar tactics and propaganda was used by Saddam Hussein in Iraq during both wars we started against him. The Iranian leaders use this nonsense and have for years. They obviously do not care what the world outside of Iran thinks of them as long as their people believe it. Since this is all the Iranian people hear, they believe it.

North Korea is an expert as this subterfuge. You can tell when a North Korean government official is lying, his lips are moving. The President of North Korea issued a press release about eight years ago at the height of the Tiger Woods mania. The government release said the North Korean leader, in his early 60s at the time, tried golf for the first time. The release said he became bored with the easy game. He shot a 28 with 11 holes-in-ones. The North Koreans continually push the world to the brink of attack and then promises the world what it wants never intending on changing. The world accepts this time and again just to avoid a war. The North Koreans then brag to their citizens how they beat the world again.

In the news recently are other regimes no one believes i.e. Jordan, Tunisia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt and Somalia. All of these countries lie to the world and to their citizens. No one with half a brain believes what they say. A monkey with ears is more truthful.

European leaders are not much better. Russian leaders have lied since before WWII and continue to do so. Some of their leaders are in prison or have been eliminated by other government officials when the lies were not believed. The leader of Italy is a lying sexual predator. Not much credibility there. The leader of France is also carrying sexual predator baggage and the public lies of denial that come with the allegations. The former leader of Israel was just sentenced to prison for criminal activity.

Then we have the MENSA Society members running Afghanistan and Pakistan and the rest of the ‘Stans’ over there. Who could possibly believe or trust these drug smuggling government leaders? They are prostitutes. They take our money and then screw us, like most of the world does, but we do not learn.

Our government is no better. Our leaders tell us we will be out of a war in six months – a lie. We are told Gitmo prison will close as soon as I am President – a lie. We are told we have a coalition to fight in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya or Somalia – more lies. I will not raise taxes – lie. Health care reform will lower prices and everyone will get it - lies. Illegal aliens will not get welfare or free medical – lies. I am not a crook – lie. I did not have sexual relations with that woman – lie. The bailout will prevent unemployment from going over 8% - lie. The bank, company, (insert any industry you want) is too big to fail; we have to bail them out – lie, lie, lie. The list is nearly endless and disgusting. The worst part is that we, as citizens, accept the lies and keep voting these weasels into office. A prime example is Newt Gingrich. This lizard is a liar, see story below.

The earth has less than 200 countries on it. We give foreign aid to over 150. That is not money well spent and every politician promises to change it but they all lie.
Slaughter in America from three days ago. This story defines selfishness and lack of gratitude. According to a story on Aol, by their crime reporter, David Lohr, an Amber Alert for two juveniles has been canceled after they were found. In its place, a homicide investigation has been opened by police in Columbia, Ky., who have charged one of the juveniles in connection with the double homicide of his legal guardians.

Christopher Endicott, 15, has been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Gary Holloway, 50, and Barbara Holloway, 51. Police said a host of other charges have been issued as well, including fleeing and evading police, wanton endangerment, reckless driving and criminal mischief. "The investigation is ongoing and more charges could be forthcoming, pending a grand jury hearing," State Trooper Billy Gregory told AOL News. Authorities have declined to comment on how the Holloways were killed. "Autopsies are currently under way," Gregory said. Police have called off an Amber Alert for Christopher Endicott, 15, and Kyra Shockley, 12. Endicott has been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his legal guardians. Shockley was returned to the custody of her mother. The investigation into the case began Tuesday morning, when 12-year-old Kyra Shockley was reported missing. Shockley's mother, Ginger Shively, told TV station WBKO-13 that she suspected her daughter had run away with Endicott. She also said she did not approve of her daughter's relationship with the 250-pound teenager, which she said had been going on for about three months.

Investigators went to the Holloway home in Edmonton several times on Tuesday, but nobody answered the door. Later that day, at about 2:30 p.m., a family member of the Holloways entered the home and discovered the couple dead. No one else was found in the residence. Police also discovered that the couple's vehicle, a 1997 Chevy Lumina, was missing. Gregory said the couple had been awarded legal custody of Endicott in January. Family members told Lexington's LEX-18 TV station that the teen was a distant relative of Gary Holloway, whom they described as a quiet and generous person. "I just went to pieces," Holloway's sister, Marie Edwards, told LEX-18 of learning about her brother's death. "You hear something like that ... it's just everything runs through your mind at once. You don't know what to think."

Authorities issued an Amber Alert for the missing juveniles and released their photos to the media. The alert made it clear that authorities were already suspicious of their unexplained disappearance. "The ... missing children were possibly involved in a double homicide, but the circumstances remain unknown," the alert stated. "The children are believed to be in danger." However, at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, a firefighter spotted the Chevy Lumina driving down a highway in nearby Barren County. Police chased the car briefly, before it rammed through a fence, Gregory said. The juveniles were caught after a short foot chase.

Both juveniles were taken into custody for questioning. Following the interviews with homicide investigators, detectives made the decision to charge Endicott in connection with the case. Authorities are not yet commenting on what, if anything, the boy said to implicate himself. Endicott is being held at the Adair County Youth Development Center. Shockley has not been charged and was released to her mother.

Newt Gingrich has done an about face on President Obama and the Libyan situation. Newt Gingrich was all over President Barack Obama back on March 7 for not moving against Moammar Gadhafi, calling for an immediate no-fly zone over Libya and declaring that "this is a moment to get rid of him. ... Get it over with."

On Fox News, the former House speaker, who works for Fox News, said that "the idea that we're confused about a man who has been an anti-American dictator since 1969 just tells you how inept this administration is. ... The United States doesn't need anybody's permission. ... All we have to say is that we think that slaughtering your own citizens is unacceptable and that we're intervening."

Now that President Obama has done what Gingrich and many others said he should do, Gingrich says he would not have done what Obama did. Speaking on NBC’s The Today Show Gingrich said on Thursday, "I would not have intervened," Gingrich continued "I think there were a lot of other ways to affect Gadhafi. I think there are a lot of other allies in the region we could have worked with. I would not have used American and European forces."

What a liar, what a hypocrite, what an adulterous flip-flopper. This clown, who was run out of Congress, may run for President and will be a major candidate. We deserve what we get if we keep electing the truth and honesty challenged jerks that keep running and buy the elections by spending the better candidates into oblivion.
BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.
Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)
www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead



Saturday, March 26, 2011

"The Babes in Gadhafiland"

March 26, 2011
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them.
March 26 is … Make Up Your Own Holiday Day and Spinach Festival Day

We should call this National Popeye Day. Everyone should eat olive oil and have spinach fights, except in Japan where the spinach apparently glows in the dark now. That is my made-up holiday.

Ohio State apparently is not the best college basketball team in the nation this year, at least not last night. The Big Ten is out of the tournament. The conference, at one time earlier this season, had six teams in the top 25 but now none in the Elite Eight.

I do not believe this was based on a religious tenet, I think her family just wanted to get to the estate distribution. Elizabeth Taylor was buried on Thursday, a day after her death was announced. Generally, in America, we wait for rigor mortis to fully set in, thereby guaranteeing the deceased is in fact deceased, before we conduct a funeral. The grieving must have been too much to bear any longer or the lawyer was going on vacation.

Slaughter in America; One person has been shot at Martinsville West Middle School, in Martinsville, Ind., police confirmed today. The suspected shooter, a 15-year-old boy, is in custody, Brad Wilson of the Martinsville Police Department said in a phone interview. The victim was shot twice in the stomach and was transported to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis by a helicopter this morning. Local news outlet WRTV is reporting that he is in stable condition. His identity has not been confirmed. WRTV is reporting that the suspect, whose identity cannot be confirmed, posted a note on his Facebook wall this morning before the shooting. "Today is the day," he allegedly wrote. According to Fox 59 TV, the shooting took place near the school's cafeteria around 7 a.m. and may have stemmed from a fight between two eighth-grade boys at a school dance Wednesday night. In a news conference this morning, police said the suspect fled the scene on foot but was later apprehended. The school, which was on lockdown this morning, is about 30 miles southwest of Indianapolis. More on this tragedy at a  later date.

Gadhafi confidants are privately telling sources the dictator is ready to hold talks with the rebel leaders. Other rumors have his family setting up bank accounts around the world and sending valuables out of Libya. They must be preparing for a rainy day. It looks to most of the world like it’s been pouring for a month or so. It could be that forest for the trees thing.

Gadhafi is living the highlife or at least as high as you can when you live in a desert. He travels, or did, with a large breasted female medical provider at all times. With Moammar Gadhafi in hiding as coalition aircraft bomb his country, he's counting on protection from a unique bodyguard corps he's been training for decades an all-female, gun-toting posse of virgins. About 40 lipsticked, bejeweled bodyguards surround the Libyan dictator at all times. They wear designer sunglasses and high heels with their military camouflage. But they're purported to be trained killers, all graduates of an elite military academy in Tripoli that's solely for women.

Gadhafi established the Tripoli Women's Military Academy in 1979 as a symbol of women's emancipation. "I promised my mother to improve the situation of women in Libya," he reportedly said at the time. His mother, a Bedouin tribeswoman born when Libya was an Italian colony, was illiterate. Moammar Gadhafi reviews an honor guard at the presidential office in Kiev in November 2008 during a state visit to Ukraine. The few foreign visitors who've been granted a glimpse inside the academy describe a spartan cement-block complex where 100 handpicked women drill in elite killing techniques, day and night, for three years. They're awoken by bugle call at 4:30 a.m. and jog for one and a half hours, before branching off into classes. Some train to fly MiG fighter jets, while others learn martial arts or how to fire rocket-propelled grenades. "The three-year training program involves all aspects of soldiering, from firing artillery and rocket launchers to hand-to-hand combat and communications," said Jane Kokan, a Canadian journalist who was granted rare permission to visit Libya in 1995 for a documentary about Gadhafi's bodyguards. Doug Sanders, another Canadian journalist who visited the academy, in 2004, wrote on his blog that he believes the elite female bodyguards, known also as "Protectors of the VIP," reveal something about Gadhafi's "idiosyncratic mind, and a revolutionary enigma in a Muslim nation where women are still far from equal in daily life."

The academy's best students are dubbed "revolutionary nuns," and they never marry and dedicate their lives to the idea of Gadhafi's 1969 revolution. They're banned from having sex and swear an oath to protect the Libyan leader until death, if need be. In 1998, a bodyguard named Aisha threw herself on top of Gadhafi when Islamic militants ambushed his motorcade. A barrage of bullets killed her and injured two others, but Gadhafi escaped unharmed.

So while Gadhafi's all-female crew and especially their photos have been featured in many tongue-in-cheek articles in the Western press, they could actually prove powerful in protecting him. Foreign intelligence agents are likely trying already to stealthily chip away at the loyalty of Gadhafi's elite inner circle. But while diplomats at the U.N. and even some of Gadhafi's distant relatives have turned on him, there have been no reports of defections from Gadhafi's all-female bodyguard clan -- though the regime would likely try its best to squelch any such publicity. "Without the leader, women in Libya would be nothing," Fatia, a 27-year-old bodyguard trainee in Tripoli, told Kokan during her research. "He gave us life. I am ready to die for him. He is a father, a brother and a friend to whom you can confide. You have no idea how humble he is."

Gadhafi is thought to be in hiding somewhere outside Tripoli, but he emerged overnight to deliver a rousing speech from the balcony of his Bab al-Aziziya compound, which was hit by an allied cruise missile two days earlier. It's also where a mysterious Libyan air force crash, purportedly by a Libyan pilot on a kamikaze suicide mission, may have killed one of Gadhafi's sons. Reporters were barred from the Tripoli compound while Gadhafi spoke last night, and he was whisked away after five minutes. "This assault ... is by a bunch of fascists who will end up in the dustbin of history," Gadhafi told the cheering crowd. "We will not surrender." But there are rumors he might try to flee. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told ABC News that some senior Libyan officials are putting out feelers about possible exile locations, "allegedly on Gadhafi's behalf." But just last week, French and British bombers destroyed an airfield in western Libyan thought to house the Gadhafi family's private jets, thereby eliminating the Libyan leader's means of jetting out of the country secretly. Now he may be looking around at his bodyguards, wondering how long they can continue to protect him, or perhaps which one would make a good mother for his next child. He needs to replace the child the British claim was killed earlier this week in a cruise missile attack.

President Obama is feeling the pressures of having started his own war. He actually cut his vacation to South America short, by a whole two hours, to get a better handle on the situation. The phones must not work south of Cuba. He is not going to Libya to get a handle on the situation, just Washington DC. He then announced America was giving up the control of the Libyan war to NATO. It was not announced when we would relinquish control, just that we would, soon. So now we have another war we started we will not control the ending to. Man, we are slow learners.

Slaughter in America; Police have arrested a 35-year-old man they say killed his son and tortured the rest of his family in a bloody rampage. Police responded to a house in San Bernardino, a Southern California desert community Wednesday after neighbors reported a man screaming for help. They found Ian Anthony Roderiquez standing inside the house and talked him into coming outside, where he was detained. Once inside, police found Roderiquez's family, his wife and five children between the ages of 8 and 16. The oldest son, Richard, was dead, and the remaining victims were seriously injured, San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller said. "I have not in my career seen anything similar to this," Miller told the press. Without being more specific, she said two instruments of torture were used. Roderiquez was booked on one count of murder, four counts of attempted murder and six counts of torture. He remains jailed without bail. Neighbors reported seeing the blood-covered victims wheeled out on gurneys to waiting ambulances. "Their faces looked like bees stung them. That's how swollen they were," neighbor Denise Symeou told the local press.. She said wife Sujal Roderiquez was wrapped in a blanket and "her hair was drenched with blood." Sujal Roderiquez remains hospitalized today in critical condition. Two of her children were released from the hospital Wednesday night, and the other two remain hospitalized with injuries that are not life threatening, Miller said.

Neighbors sobbed outside the home, recalling what they said was a volatile relationship between Roderiquez and his eldest son. The boy had moved out of the home to stay with a grandparent because of the problems. Sponsored Li"On Friday I was out here and his dad was yelling at Richard really bad," neighbor Stephanie Perez told the Press-Enterprise. "He would yell, 'Richard!' really loud and slam the doors." The rest of the children would frequently walk through the neighborhood, asking neighbors for food. "The kids would always say they were hungry, so I would always give the kids food," neighbor Sofia Symeou told the newspaper. "One time, the dad said, 'Don't give them any more food!' “Perez said she witnessed a younger girl asking for food and that she never went to school.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.
Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (do a quick search, Title, my name)
www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.

"Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out." - Benjamin Franklin

Friday, March 25, 2011

Pres. Obama, listen to Ben Franklin. "There never was a good war."




March 25, 2011
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them.
March 25 is … Pecan Day and Waffle Day

The Turf Room in North Aurora, a restaurant, bar and off-track betting parlor deliciously prepares a bountiful and pleasingly presented Sunday brunch beginning at 10:00 a. m. They have an excellent waffle station I and my two boys enjoy. Give it a try for a leisurely Sunday meal with a few racing bets thrown in.

Slaughter in America, New York style; While family and friends wiped away tears and mourned the loss of Tina Adovasio at her funeral, her estranged husband was not at her final services. Adovasio's husband Edwin Coello, a former NYPD cop, was arrested and charged with her murder, a police spokesperson said Tuesday.

Coello's attorney Renee Hill did not immediately return phone calls for comment. Tina Adovasio went missing on March 11 and was found dead five days later. Her husband, a former New York City policeman, has been arrested and charged with her murder. Adovasio, 40, was found dead in a heavily wooded area off the Taconic State Parkway on March 16, five days after she went missing. Her husband reported her missing after an argument, police said. Although he was cooperating with authorities initially, Coello hired two lawyers, refused to have his car searched and declined to provide a DNA sample after his wife's body was found. Last week, he was named a "person of interest." Coello has a history of domestic violence and, according to the Bronx District Attorney's Office; he was arrested in February 2006 and charged with second-degree harassment against his wife. Authorities said he had reportedly been seen carrying a large duffle bag the day after Adovasio's disappearance. A family member, who did not wish to be identified, said Coello was not allowed to attend Adovasio's wake, funeral or burial. Adovasio, a mother of four, lived in the Bronx and worked as a nurse. She leaves behind four children, her parents, two brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles who all attended her funeral.
Howard Cosell (Cohn) was born on this day in 1918. Cosell came to be the most liked -- and the most disliked -- sports journalist across America. Cosell agreed when others described him as arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a show-off. And still others said he forgot to include “irritating, generous, funny, paranoid, charming, egomaniacal and insecure.” A New York attorney, Cosell ventured into the world of network sports journalism through his association with WABC radio and TV in New York in the 1950’s and early 1960s. He was featured as the boxing announcer for ABC Sports and, under Roone Arledge, filled various sports positions on Wide World of Sports from horse racing to Olympic competition. Cosell would, in a stentorian and often difficult to understand syntax, make use of his abundant vocabulary that contained big, big words that sent sports fans scurrying for their dictionaries. Always outspoken and frequently controversial, Cosell would Tell It like It Is, the title of one of his bestselling books on the subject of sports and broadcasting. It was Cosell who would be the first to claim that Cassius Clay (Muhammed Ali), would be a media star; and he championed Ali’s fight against the draft. His association with the boxer put him in front of Congressional committees and made him a regular guest lecturer in college classrooms. Cosell later quit broadcasting boxing matches and openly expressed a loathing for that sport, and for football, as well. Humble Howard was also host of a weekly program (not a sports program) for ABC Contemporary Radio -- interviews and commentary titled, Speaking of Everything. Cosell was a major figure, with colleague Jim McKay, in bringing the hard news story to the minds and souls of a nation in 1972 when several Olympians were tragically slain during the Winter Olympics in Germany. He later became more outspoken, even against his own colleagues who he had worked with for so many years. Many people felt that Cosell became a bitter, broken man in his later years following the death of his wife, Emmy. She was the only one who could tell him to “...shut up, Howard. Nobody cares.” The once-powerful ‘voice that roared’ left Monday Night Football after fourteen years.
Howard Cosell died in 1995. Roone Arledge said, “Howard Cosell was one of the most original people ever to appear on American TV. He became a giant by telling the truth in an industry that was not used to hearing it and considered it revolutionary.”

The University of Illinois is raising tuition, fees and room and board by about 7% for incoming freshman. Last year they raised it nearly 11 %. The raise in costs do not affect students currently enrolled at U of I. Tuition cannot be raised from what it was when you entered. Fees, room and board can go up but not tuition. Tuition is just under 50% of the cost for a student living on campus. It will now cost incoming freshman $93,600.00 for a four year education. How many make it through and graduate in four years?

Exactly what is causing the price increase? The University is not giving teachers raises, the buildings are paid for or at least the payment is not increasing, the land is paid for, the support staff is being reduced in size, they claim. Where are the increased costs?

From the Huffington Post; The Pentagon discharged some 250 service members under the soon-to-be-defunct “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in fiscal year 2010, according to numbers released Thursday by a group of gay troops and veterans, even though top brass ordered commanders to effectively stop enforcing the ban on openly gay troops during that time. A total of 261 service members, including 11 in the Coast Guard which falls under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security were tossed out in fiscal 2010, a tally by Servicemembers United found. The group said it based its numbers on internal Defense Department statistics that are not routinely released publicly. The discharges last year represented an all-time annual low since the policy began in 1994. More than 14,000 troops or 14,316 including National Guard, according to the group’s unofficial count have been discharged under the policy. President Barack Obama signed DADT’s repeal into law in December, but the policy remains in effect until he, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, certify that that the Defense Department is ready to implement the change without hurting military readiness or effectiveness. That won’t happen until all the troops have undergone training that is already underway. But halfway through the fiscal year, long before DADT got the official thumbs-down from Congress, Gates changed the way the policy was implemented. The idea was to make it harder to toss out gay service members who were otherwise doing their job, in part by leaving decisions about discharges to generals or admirals high up in the chain of command. Yet despite the loosening of restrictions, the equivalent of two Army companies were given their walking papers. "While this latest official discharge number represents an all-time annual low, it is still unusually high,” Servicemembers United's executive director, Alexander Nicholson, said. "Despite this law clearly being on its death bed at the time, 261 more careers were terminated and 261 more lives were abruptly turned upside down because of this policy." I do not think the lives were turned upside down. The people discharged went in knowing the rules and took a chance. They were not team players from the beginning.

This is a slippery slope we should not be climbing. Who is going to want to work in this field if they can be charged with murder for the acts of an unrelated third party? The government will have to provide them with nearly unlimited finances and police powers to fully investigate any hint of child abuse. Two former New York City child welfare workers have been charged in the death of a 4-year-old girl who was beaten, drugged and starved in her own home. Prosecutors said that Marchella Brett-Pierce was bound to her mother's bed for months and repeatedly beaten and denied food and water. At her death Sept. 2, she weighed just 18 pounds.

In an extraordinary move Wednesday, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes charged the girl's caseworker, Damon Adams, and his supervisor, Chereece Bell, with criminally negligent homicide in her death. Both have pleaded not guilty. Hynes said it is thought to be the first time New York City caseworkers have been criminally charged in the death of a child. The girl's grandmother, 56-year-old Loretta Brett, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and other charges Wednesday. She has pleaded not guilty. Her attorney, Julie Clark, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.
Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (do a quick search, Title, my name)
www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.

There never was a good war, or a bad peace." - Benjamin Franklin















Thursday, March 24, 2011

Elizabeth Taylor, RIP. You nailed it in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"

March 24, 2011
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them.
March 24 is … National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day
President Obama take heart and learn; Every anarchist is a baffled dictator.
On this date in 1966 The Beatles pose with mutilated dolls & butchered meat for the cover of the "Yesterday & Today" album. It is later pulled from the market. Boy have people changed.
Two time Oscar winner Elizabeth Taylor died on Tuesday evening. Often referred to as the most beautiful woman in the world by many, the London born Taylor, her parents were Americans from St Louis, MO, moved to Hollywood with her family at the beginning of WW II. She was under contract with Universal in 1942, at the age of ten. She made screen debut in 1942 in “There’s One Born Every Minute”. She was little before my time but I have enjoyed many of her performances. Later in life, she was more famous for being Elizabeth Taylor than her acting. A good life she led and she will be missed.

“To be or not to be ... the winner of an Oscar”. That was the question as the Academy Awards were passed out for the 21st time on this night in 1949. Actor/producer/director Robert Montgomery hosted the ceremony held at the AMPAS Theater in Los Angeles. Hamlet, produced by Lawrence Olivier for J. Arthur Rank-Two Cities Films, won Best Picture of 1948. Olivier also was pronounced Best Actor for his portrayal of Hamlet. The real star of the evening, however, was the Hollywood flick, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the story of a trio of prospectors in their search for gold in them thar hills. The search finally led them to gold in the shape of Oscar, three Oscars, to be exact, and a nomination for Best Picture. And, as far as we know, it was the first, and remains the only time a father and son both won Academy Awards on the same night. They were presented to Walter and John Huston for their stunning work in the 1948 film. Walter was awarded an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and his son, John, received honors for Best Director and for Best Screenplay (based on a B. Traven story). Other winners of the treasured golden statuette on this spring night were: Jane Wyman (the former Mrs. Ronald Reagan) for Best Actress (film: Johnny Belinda); Claire Trevor for Best Supporting Actress (film: Key Largo); Jay Livingston and Ray Evans for Best Music/Song (Buttons and Bows from the Bob Hope/Jane Russell flick, The Paleface). And although Olivier won the Best Actor Oscar, Humphrey Bogart was superb as the paranoid, and ultimately, homicidal Fred C. Dobbs in Sierra Madre. “Golddd, Golddd.”

It's not easy for a woman to get an abortion in South Dakota. There is only one abortion clinic in the state. As of Tuesday, it got even more difficult.

Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed a bill requiring women seeking an abortion to wait three days after meeting with a doctor and receive counseling before undergoing the procedure, news agencies reported.

The measure brought condemnation from abortion rights groups. CBS News.com said that the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of South Dakota and Planned Parenthood Federation of America announced Tuesday they plan to file a legal challenge to the law, which is to take effect July 1.

"I think everyone agrees with the goal of reducing abortion by encouraging consideration of other alternatives," Daugaard said in a written statement. "I hope that women who are considering an abortion will use this three-day period to make good choices." The governor said state attorneys have agreed to defend the law and that he's spoken with a sponsor who has pledged to finance the state's legal costs, the Associated Press reports. South Dakota is hardly alone in staking out new territory in the abortion battle. Many statehouses where Republicans have a majority are contemplating new abortion restrictions. "State bills are currently pending all over the country, and many states are considering multiple abortion-related bills," according to CBS News, which published an in-depth story on the issue.

In South Dakota, the three-day waiting period would be the longest in the nation, according to Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. Planned Parenthood operates the only health center in South Dakota that provides abortion care. "The voters of South Dakota, by resounding margins at the ballot box, twice have told their legislators that the decision to have an abortion is between a woman, her family and her doctor and that government should not intrude on that decision," said Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. "We know that women reflect, talk with friends and family, and consult with pastors and their doctors before making this difficult decision. This bill intrudes on those relationships, shows contempt for women and disdain for voters' wishes."

The counseling provision of the bill has attracted a good deal of the criticism. According to Planned Parenthood, the law has no requirements surrounding the qualifications of the crisis centers' counselors. "Furthermore, the crisis pregnancy centers must have as their central mission a desire to dissuade a woman from having an abortion, no matter what her particular risks or circumstances," the group says. Abortion opponents, however, say the bill gives women thinking about an abortion "both sides of the story," as the measure's main sponsor puts it, according to The Christian Science Monitor. "This bill would ensure that the woman...will have access to some personal support as opposed to somebody just pressuring her to get an abortion," said Rep. Roger Hunt, the bill's main sponsor. "It seems to me that spending a little time talking to somebody and waiting 72 hours is nothing unreasonable."

Abortion is a local issue. It is only important around election time. I do not think the bloc of people that vote solely on a candidate’s position on abortion makes or breaks any election. South Dakota can determine its own laws. That is the concept of State’s Rights. If anyone does not like the law in South Dakota concerning abortion, don’t go there. Go somewhere else and kill the fetus if you cannot wait three days to end a human life. We house people on death row for decades, except in Illinois but Governor Milquetoast is pro-choice. He doesn’t mind killing the innocent but he does mind killing the depraved and guilty.

A few quotes from the mind of Steven Wright. He’s weird but he’s funny.

All those who believe in psycho kinesis raise my hand.
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met.
OK, so what's the speed of dark?
How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked
something.
Support bacteria - they're the only culture some people have.
When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
Shin: a device for finding furniture in the dark.
Many people quit looking for work when they find a job.
I intend to live forever - so far, so good.
Join the Army, meet interesting people, kill them.
If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.
When I'm not in my right mind, my left mind gets pretty crowded.
Boycott shampoo! Demand the REAL poo!
Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk?
What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out.
I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

Music at the top of the charts on this day in history;
1947 The Anniversary Song - Dinah Shore
Managua, Nicaragua - The Freddy Martin Orchestra (vocal: Stuart Wade)
Oh, But I Do - Margaret Whiting
So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed - Merle Travis
1955 The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Bill Hayes
Sincerely - McGuire Sisters
Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup - Nat ‘King’ Cole
In the Jailhouse Now - Webb Pierce
1963 Our Day Will Come - Ruby & The Romantics
The End of the World - Skeeter Davis
He’s So Fine - The Chiffons
Still - Bill Anderson
1971 Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
She’s a Lady - Tom Jones
Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) - The Temptations
I’d Rather Love You - Charley Pride
1979 Tragedy - Bee Gees
What a Fool Believes - The Doobie Brothers
Heaven Knows - Donna Summer with Brooklyn Dreams
I Just Fall in Love Again - Anne Murray
1987 Lean on Me - Club Nouveau
Let’s Wait Awhile - Janet Jackson
Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship
I’d Still Be Loving You - Restless Heart

BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.
Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (do a quick search, Title, my name)
www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.

"Superstition is foolish, childish, primitive and irrational -- but how much does it cost you to knock on wood?" - Judith Viorst