Friday, June 27, 2003

The Ruckus Society's "War Profiteers Card Deck" sell for a $10 donation and are available at the group's Web site:

thhp://www.warprofiteers.com
Came across this interesting, political tidbit on a Pearl Jam chat group I sometimes frequent. Check it out, if you like:


Weapons of Mass Hypocrisy ... Posted: Jun 26, 2003 1:33 PM Reply

"While U.S. military personnel searched for weapons of mass destruction in Irag, an international team of weapons inspectors began touring the United States to draw attention to America's stockpile of WMD. ADBUSTERS magazine reports the Rooting Out Evil coalition (www.rootingoutevil.org) says the U.S. satifies all of President Bush's criteria for a dangerous state: It has a stockpile of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; it has refused to sign and honor international treaties; it has ignored United Nations directives; and its leader was not elected by popular vote. The campaign hopes to highlight the hypocrisy of the Bush administration by confronting U.S. weapons manufacturers in the months ahead."

http://adbusters.org/magazine/46/articles/rooting_out_evil.html

Wednesday, June 25, 2003

[Duchess Note ... If anyone is interested ... read on]

WHY KUCINICH? He's the candidate promoting a bold progressive agenda and building a winning coalition of activists committed to peace, economic justice, civil rights and liberties, the environment, women's equality, gay rights, workers rights.

ENDORSEMENTS ROLLING IN: Kucinich has just been endorsed by environmental hero Randy Hayes. Over the weekend, legendary civil rights activist Grace Lee Boggs endorsed. Last week, it was Ben Cohen and Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey. Former FCC Commissioner and author of "How to Talk Back to Your Television Set," Nicholas Johnson, has also endorsed.

DONATE: Send your endorsement in the form of a contribution, and have the federal government match it. Help us amplify our message.

https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php

For more information: http://www.kucinich.us

Tuesday, June 24, 2003

Yesterday, from 5:30pm to 7pm, I participated in a big Rally near Sheraton Hotel on 7th Avenue and 52nd Street in protest against Bushie. That jackass cowboy who calls himself president, was in town grovelling for campaign donations from greedy, selfish, narrow-minded millionaires. If you saw the Rally section, on the telly, with protesters showing banners about the "Child Tax Credit", well then, I was in that group. Did you know that Bushie's recent $350 billion tax cut will provide an average of $93,500 to every millionaire, but doesn't give a dime to millions of children [800,000 here in NYC] in hard working families with incomes between $10,500 and $26,625 per year?!? My cousin & his family [wife & three children] in upstate NY [he served in first Gulf War] are one of those "hard working families", so is a good friend of mine in CT with two teenage daughters. The insanity of the Bushie Empire must be stopped. Make a difference when the 2004 Presidental Election comes around and make the right choices. Our future, as hard working Americans, depends on it.

One of the chants from yesterdays Rally:

Soak, soak, soak the poor
Tax breaks for the rich,
Terribly, terribly, terribly, terribly
Workers feel the pinch!

Grow, grow, grow the debt,
Tax breaks for the rich,
States are strapped for spending cash
Services, you wish!

Strip, strip, strip our rights,
Innocents must pay,
But the Constitution still exists,
And we won't go away!

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The VoteToImpeach campaign is a critical effort. As Ramsey Clark stated in his May 12 address at the National Press Club that was broadcast nationally on C-Span: "When people vote to Impeach it is important. It reminds Americans that the Constitution provides the means for removing an Imperial President and officials who commit high crimes." To help support the impeachment campaign, please consider making a donation at:

http://www.VoteToImpeach.org/donate.htm .

The administration's crimes, including its lies and deceptions, are becoming increasingly exposed in the public discourse and media. Pressure is growing for Congressional
hearings on the Administration's lies and deliberate manipulation of "intelligence data" related to the much ballyhooed connection between Iraq and Al' Qaeda and the patently false claim about the "grave and imminent threat" posed by Iraq's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction. Under these circumstances it is all the more important to expand the grassroots VotetoImpeach campaign.

Participate in the Each One, Reach One initiative, and by visting:

http://www.VoteToImpeach.org/eachone.htm

You can send an email inviting one or more friends, family members or colleagues to join the Impeachment movement.

Let's keep the pressure on!

Monday, June 23, 2003

Damn good article from the "San Francisco Chronicle" by Harley Sorensen and brought to you via Common Dreams website. We all need to pull together, in a non-violent manner, and stop Bush and his bloody empire in DC. Right now! Not tomorrow ... today! Don't hide behind a flag like some whimp ... be a true American and patriot. Rally together and do what we can to keep Bushies from destroying our beloved country. Check out this article.............

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0623-09.htm

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Rolling into this past weekend I thought the only excitement I’ll experience will be purchasing and commence reading the new Harry Potter book, plus going to the gym. Well, I did pick up the book yesterday at BORDERS bookstore and saved 40%. So instead of paying $29 at one store, I got the book for $19 and that made me happy. So far I’ve read up to Chapter 9 and it’s wickedly good. Proud to say I love the whole Harry Potter series. Its fun, interesting and a fast read.

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Saturday morning at 10:30am I received a phone call from an acquaintance of mine, whom I met through a Pearl Jam IRWT club pal [ie: Melissa]. Jodie was on her cell phone and calling me from her car in Pennsylvania. She also had three other friends with her and they ALL reside in Detroit. They were heading to NYC for a 24-hour whirlwind tour of the city. OMG! They had been out at a bar until 1am drinking and decided to go see NYC. Just like that! Whoa! Said they’d be pulling into NYC and Brooklyn [where I live] in about 3 hours or so. We discussed some plans, travel tips and I hung up the phone. This left me 3 hours to get the following things done … color my hair, shower, dress, makeup, do laundry & dishes, go to the cleaners and tidy up the apartment. And yes … I did all that in 3 hours! Must be a world record for me.

Between 2pm and 2:30pm I received another call from Jodie and they had just gotten thru the Lincoln Tunnel. I gave them directions to Midtown Tunnel and told them to call me once through that. Which they did … gave further directions to my place and ran out of apartment with umbrella [plus my house keys] to meet them at corner. We met up at corner [two blocks away] at the same time. I’m like … OMG there is Jodie driving the car and their all waving at me. Wild! I point them in the direction of Keyfood parking lot. Jodie introduces me to the others … Debbie, Richard and Matt. Then she calls Melissa [she lives in Arkansas] on her cell phone and hands it to me. We chat for a few minutes and Melissa can’t believe that they’re in NYC. She’s totally wigging out. Its softly raining at this point and abit chilly outside. You wouldn’t know it’s the first day of summer. Anyhow, we head up to my apartment to chill for abit and the two fella’s run to local Deli to pick up beers. Debbie and Jodie also go, as they want to get film and tampons. Back at the apartment their drinking beer and we’re discussing the agenda for the days outing. Yep, I’m going with them to be hostess and tour guide.

We head out at 3:20pm and took my two good umbrellas. I’m using one and Debbie [for now] is using the other one. At the subway station they purchase one-day fun pass Metro cards for $7 and we hop on the subway. Need to take three subways into Manhattan and head up to the upper Westside. First stop on agenda … the “Dakota”, Central Park & the infamous “Strawberry Fields” with “imagine” memorial to John Lennon. Yep, it’s still raining. Hum … what did you expect … sunshine on the weekend. Yeah … right! After that we took the subway down to the lower Eastside, as Richard wanted to check out a tattoo parlor for supplies et al. While on subway riding downtown I take some pix of the four of them. We’re having a good time … lots of laughs. They’re a fun bunch.

We get off at Second Avenue and try to locate a tattoo parlor. I finally asked one of the “locals” and he points us in the right direction [off of East Houston]. We find the tattoo parlor, but the three dudes were not at all helpful, even abit snotty. We were being nice and polite too. I felt badly for Richard, but he seemed to take it well. A few doors down from that place was a neat Italian place. We were all hungry at this point and wanted pizza. The place had a groovy atmosphere and the food was good, plus reasonably priced. From there we walked several blocks to Delancey Street to catch a subway. The third item on our agenda was next … they wanted to see “Ground Zero” at WTC. We got off at Chamber Street stop and walked west, stopping at Starbucks, as they wanted coffee. By this time the weather outside was getting worse. Rain was coming down heavier and the wind was really picking up. Not a good sign! We made it to Ground Zero and stood at the viewing area not far from Millennium Hotel. Lots of other people are there as well, mostly tourist. We also stopped at Century 21 department store to buy socks.

The subways in that area are closed, so we head down to Wall Street station of 4 & 5 subway. Can you believe it, the damn station is closed and the token booth clerk has no idea where nearest station is. Geez! By this time we’ve lost our umbrellas do to the downpour and strong winds. I’m getting wet and not happy about that. Still, overall, we’re having a good time. Really! Leave the Wall Street station and run up Broadway to the Fulton Street station for A train. Along the way ducking into doorways or under awnings to get away from the horrible weather. Good lord, it was nasty! Finally get a subway back to my neighbor and while walking to my apartment its still windy, but rain has stopped. Its now 9pm and we all look like drenched rats. Not a pretty picture. Jodie gets her car from parking lot and then parks it on my street. Back at my place we change into dry clothes or try to dry the ones they were wearing. I lent Richard one of my sweatshirts. They all utilized my bathroom to clean up, drink beer, I drank tea and we sat around chatting until 11pm.

While we’re talking I’m also going over subway plans with Jodie, cause the four of them wanted to check out Times Square and Greenwich Village that evening. So … at 11pm … we said our goodbyes and they headed off into the night. Said they’d be back around 5am to pick up the car and drive back to Detroit. Yep, all the way to Michigan. After they left I did some things around apartment before going to bed at 12:30am. I’m tired and not feeling too well, but I had a great time hanging out with them. And so ends my adventure this past Saturday.

Friday, June 20, 2003

Well folks, tomorrow is the big day for avid Harry Potter fans like myself. Yep, thats right, "Order of the Phoenix" [book 5 in the series] is due out in bookstores worldwide. Can't wait to get my copy and start reading it. I've heard thru the grape vine that there is a "death scene" of a significant character. Much speculation on who it could be and why. Stay tuned for more updates..............

Also came across two excellent articles from the following newspapers ... Toronto Star & Boston Globe ... yes ... its politically related. At this point in time that shouldn't surprise you all. Here are the links:

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0619-11.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0620-02.htm

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Thursday, June 19, 2003

Duchess Note ... Several upcoming Rally's that may be of interest to some of you. I know I am very interested & will be at the rally on June 23rd. See below for more info.]

Bush Coming to NYC on June 23rd! Help us greet him!!!
Monday, June 23rd 2003 5:00 pm
NYC, New York

President Bush will be holding a fundraising event for his re-election campaign on the evening of Monday, June 23rd at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. Please help us support a permited rally organized by Planned Parenthood of NYC at 5:00 pm. This is an excellent opportunity to join forces and demonstrate to the world our opposition to the Bush administration's anti-choice, anti-rights and anti-peace policies. For more information please contact:

UFPJNY: 212-603-3700
PPNYC: Gina Gambone, 212-274-7247

Location: Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers West 52nd Street and Seventh Avenue NYC New York

Contact:
United for Peace and Justice
info@unitedforpeace.org
212-603-3700

Sponsored By: Planned Parenthood of NYC United for Peace and Justice NY http://unitedforpeace.org

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Also, check out this website:

http://www.justiceinjuly.org/

Wednesday, June 18, 2003

Check out this fascinating article [if you wish] by Thom Hartmann, via Common Dreams website.

"How An Earlier "Partriot Act" Law Brought Down A President"

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0616-03.htm

Monday, June 16, 2003

We're finally getting a combination of late spring, early summer weather over last few days, plus the occasional spurt of showers. Anyhow ... yesterday was a sunny, warm, cloudy day and no rain. I headed up to Connecticut for the day to spend time with my good friend Katherine. We've been communicating via email and occasionally the phone, but haven't seen each other since January. Much has happened during that span of months in her life. First of all, over a delicious seafood lunch at Red Lobster, she tells me that her and her beau Maurice are engaged. This is great news and I'm very happy for her. The situation concerning her daughters [ages 17 1/2 & 20 1/2] isn't so good, especially in regards to the younger girl. To complicated to go into and some of the subject matter is of a delicate nature. Stopped by the cemetery to take care of my grandmothers grave, stopped by her house briefly so she could take the dog out for walk. [I do not like Pitbulls.] Then we headed over to visit her beau/fiance Maurice. I experienced good vibes when I met Maurice and one can tell how much he deeply cares about my dear friend. We hung out for awhile, chatted and watched some neat film footage that he is working on restoring for a wealthy Connecticut family. Cool stuff. Then we went out for a drive to check out [& photograph] some pretty parks/gardens and get ice cream. Overall I had a nice day and got back to NYC around 8:30pm.

Recently picked up a new Richard Bach book on the "Ferret Chronicles" series. This delightful book is called "Rancher Ferrets on the Range" and mostly takes place up in Montana [Big Sky country].

Wednesday, June 11, 2003

My neighbors are always saying that car accidents happen alot at intersection near my apartment. In the 18 years of living in my Brooklyn apartment, not yet has one happened when I've been home, until last night. At about 10:30pm I'm sitting at my computer typing an email to my friend Sheila down in Florida. When I heard screeching tires and major crashing. Next thing I know the people in apartment above me are running to their window facing street and people next door run out of building to have a "look". As for me ... I continue to type my email. Two minutes later I hear and see a firetruck & ambulence go up my street. I live on a one-way street and these vehicles were going in the wrong direction. So I stop typing, grab my keys and head outside. I forget to put sandals on, but since its nice and warm outside, it doesn't matter. I look up the street and already a crowd has gathered viewing the "scene", along with the firetruck/ambulence/police folk doing their thing. So I stand in front of my building trying to gage whats going on and talking to one of my neighbors on second floor [she's looking out her window]. So far, we can tell from passers-by that no one is dead or seriously hurt. Thank god! After about 5 minutes or so I walk up the street to where some of my neighbors had congregated. We talked and viewed the accident scene. Both cars were totalled, one was slammed up next to a street-light post and had also shoved two parked cars onto curb. The second car, in this fiasco, was across the street up on curb. Apparently the one driver didn't stop at the stop sign and rammed into the other car as it went thru the intersection. You know auto insurance companies will be busy with this situation. After awhile I said "goodnight" to my neighbors and headed back to my apartment to finish email, then go to bed, cause by this time it was after 11pm. What a night! Whew!

Monday, June 09, 2003

I'm telling yah ... if Bill Moyers ran for president of the USA tomorrow ... I'd vote for him. Sadly, he isn't running for president, but a recent article from THE NATION called "Bill Moyers 'Presidential' Address" was fantastic. Personally, I'd like to see Dennis Kucinich be the Democratic hopeful. We need someone to turn this nation around and for the better. He may be the one to do it. Away from the total corruption [ie: greedy liars] of the Bush empire. Check out the article if you wish:

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0609-10.htm

Sunday, June 08, 2003

If you wish to sign a petition for American Values and joining the fight to keep President Bush's right-wing extremist nominees off the Supreme Court, fill out the form at the link below. Plus tell your friends about the Supreme Court Action Center.

In just a few days, more than 110,000 people signed the DNC's petition. The people at Moveon. org are preparing to deliver your signatures and comments, and they want to give your friends and family one final chance to sign the petition and support Democrats in this crucial fight.

http://mailer.democrats.org/rdr/002Kt00fJ90001D

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Several interesting websites dealing with world peace, politics and other important issues. Check them out if you wish:

http://www.thebulletin.org

http://www.wagingpeace.org

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On a cheerful note, I went up to Yonkers yesterday to do my volunteer work at the Ferret Shelter. The weather was muggy, rainy and a slight breeze. Good day to be indoors doing something relaxing or fun. It was great seeing the wee adorable furballs again. Joanne adopted out several to good homes, but has also received several newbies [ie: Staten Island] and their mostly 8 to 9 month old kits. They seem to be in good healthy, soft fur and full of inquisitive energy. The little "sad story" furkid from my last visit is doing better in walking/running around, fur is getting full/softer, inquisitive, cuddly, happy, but sadly has been diagnosed with Lymphnoma. He's on medication to help him along. It was great seeing Joanne, Aliza, Briana and Toni again, as well as the two dogs and all the cats. Did my usual duties in the shelter and one of these days will need to learn how to clip furkid nails. Someday.....................

Friday, June 06, 2003

Check out this great article [remarks] published on Thursday, June 5, 2003 by CommonDreams.org
Iraq's WMD Intelligence: Where is the Outrage?
by US [D] Senator Robert Byrd

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0605-13.htm

Thursday, June 05, 2003

[Duchess Note: If interested, please read on and take action, if not, disregard and believe me, I would understand completely.]

On Monday, Michael Powell and his allies on the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to authorize media consolidation. It's a sad day for democracy -- this decision will place the bulk of our country's newspapers and TV stations in even fewer hands. Diversity, fairness, and competition will decline as a result.

Luckily, democracy's awful resilient. Congress has the power to overturn these rule changes. More than 100 members of the House and roughly 20 members of the Senate asked the FCC not to approve these rule changes at this time. The members of Congress were right to be concerned, and they have the authority to act on those concerns now by introducing legislation that will undo these changes. Our friends at Common Cause have made it easy to contact your Representatives and Senators and let them know that you want the FCC's rules repealed.

You can take action now at:

http://causenet.commoncause.org/afr/issues/alert/?alertid=2446521

Tuesday, June 03, 2003

Click on the link below to read [June 2nd article - NY Times] about how the recent Bush Administration tax-cut benefits the wealthy and no one else. Basically Bush takes from the poor/middle classes and gives to the rich, just like his father did and of course Reagan. Check it out, if you wish:

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0602-06.htm

Monday, June 02, 2003

Greetings all ... todays journal entry will be non-political. Hum ... do I hear a sigh of relief from my regular readers. For once I'm going to chat about fun things, instead of topics which depress us all. Anyhow................

This past Saturday was another wet, cool day/evening in the Big Apple, but that didn't stop certain people from enjoying a fun BBQ. No way! Party on dude! At the ELITE gym where I workout and train ... John & David threw a big BBQ that evening. I showed up at the gym at 6pm with a big tin of my freshly baked brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Andrea and her beau Tim followed me in and the backyard was totally covered with awnings, tarp and umbrellas. Not a drop of rain fell on the guests and fellow gym members all evening, tho we knew it was storming up. For 4 1/2 hours I had a wonderful time chatting with people, drinking wine, eating good food and sampling some yummy cakes. [All of this I worked off at the gym next day.] We also celebrated John's 32nd b-day [he is my personal trainer] and there were achievement awards for certain gym members. I also saw some folk I haven't seen in a year and we caught up on gossip. It was a blast and everyone in good humor. From there I took car service home.

Recently I finished reading a terrific, interesting, funny book by Bill Bryson. Its called "I'm A Stranger Here Myself" and I recommend to all. Its basically the authors observations of America, after living in England for 20 years. I found myself laughing out loud during parts of it. Which can be somewhat embarressing when riding NYC transit. As with his last book ... "A Walk In The Woods" ... I have this urge to visit New Hampshire, go to a drive-in movie, eat a Twinkie, as well as hike part of the Appalachian Trail. Yes, I know, abit odd. Definitely go purchase the book and enjoy.